DC was the difference during the entire tournament. He is an unbelievably quick distributor from the post position, under the basket or outside the key. This allows the pace and flow to continue. Nothing against AS but DC is a more cerebral player He does not appear to me intimidated by the competition and plays beyond his years - he is going to be fun to watch.
I have said all along that I feel Diarra is the teams best option at the PG position, Yes Newton is very controlled but Diarra is a better defender and he is an above average distributor. Newton is a 2 not a 1. While Ajax is the energizer bunny and world class athlete he is not a guard.
The 3 games were a joy to observe and the results speak for themselves. This team has the potential to go far but is still young in terms of playing together and experience for some key players. They could be scary good by February, but please not major injuries.
Donovan has exceeded expectations off the charts. A rare combination of size, skill and knowledge of how to play the game the right way.
As much as Bill Walton may wander at times in his announcing, he played 4 years for John Wooden and the 1986 Celtics. In Chief’s World these are legendary teams in which you pay respect to. Bill said so many complimentary things about how Donovan played the center position and how Andre Jackson did various things to help his team win, that at different times he said each was the tournament MVP. Lol
To Chief that’s pretty impressive stuff because it is not that either put up 25-30 points, what Bill was saying was far deeper and material. He was basically saying these guys play the game like he was taugh. Wow/ Respect!!!!!
As for Diarra, a retired HOF coach shows up at practice and starts scribbling notes - What impressed him probably wasn’t the biggest scorer - my guess is distribution, push intensity and being a dog on defense. For anyone familiar with the type of notes Jim and George has done at PC - lol they are not for the faint at heart - a lot of constructive criticisms - very few compliments - they focus on fixing things that can be done better.
One coach told me a previous year, they are right about just about everything but it would be nice to hear something positive. Lol
So it speaks volumes Jim talked up Diarra in my book.