Diarra Shout Out | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Diarra Shout Out

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Just think, come March we should have a second unit with Jarra, Samson and Ball coming in fresh. Gonna wreak havoc.
 
Diarra was awful from 3 last season, but his sophomore year he shot almost 33% on 2.6 attempts per game which is decent volume. So I don't think it's huge aberration that he is shooting well this season, although he has clearly put a lot of work into improving his shot. If anything, it was last season (when he shot a dismal 19% from 3) that was the big outlier.
 
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Kembacity said:
Found it hilarious people here assuming Laphonso Ellis is pronouncing it wrong over and over again on TV but us (mostly) white boys from CT we know how to really pronounce it! And that top secret pronunciation is… exactly as one would sound it out in English, of course
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Well, despite my whiteness, i'm going to pronounce it the way the young man pronounces it, and not assume i know more about how to pronounce his name than he does.
But you go ahead and tell him he's wrong when he says it.
 
When Diarra takes open set threes he hits a very, very high percentage. A lot of his threes the past year and a half were last second heaves, or defended shots. He was trying too hard to be Jordan, or (more likely) Joey. That wasn't his shot and he seems to have corrected the type of three he takes over the past 6-8 games. I haven't seen any last second heaves, or really any rushed shots at all. Everything is set and open from three for him recently.
 
Some long time Husky fans remember how Calhoun often had an instant offense guy come off the bench who would instill energy, notably the Microwave, John Gwynn. His role, as that of others, was to come in for a few minutes and knock down shots. Gwynn's D was not very good from what I remember.

Now in the case with Diarra, he's becoming an all around solid rotation player contributing on both ends within the team's offense and defensive schemes. He's getting better each game. Although he's undersized (height & weight) he makes up for it with effort, quick feet and hands, solid instincts, passing, driving and shooting. He keeps on improving and making the most of his opportunities. He reminds me a little of Ryan Boatright, but is a much better defender and decision maker. Diarra seems to have learned how to play fast and safe. He's going to make an occasional bad play, but he's been making a lot more good ones on both ends of the floor the past 3 games (14, 9, 12 points, and a mix of rebounds and positive defensive plays) .

He's clearly been a factor helping win some games this sesson. Even earlier in the season he filled the box score in the wins over UNC and the Zags. I think we'll be seeing more of him, giving Newton and Spencer some needed rest to keep the fresh, not to mention instill some intensity on the defense end of the floor disrupting their opponents offense.
 
UCan3 said:
Actually I was concerned when we lost Alleyne and didn’t know if Diarra was up to task.
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Hassan may not have Alleyne's textbook form on his jumper, but he is much more creative and opportunistic.
In almost every game, he finds an opening to a completely unmolested layup. Just drives through a gap in the exterior D to an unguarded hoop.
 
HCCForever said:
I rather see Diarra take a three than Castle.

I loved Diarra's drive to the hoop in the second half which the announcer described as "parting of the red sea".
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He seems to do that on a fairly regular basis. Maybe we should call him Moses. Then we could argue about whether the emphasis is on the 1st or last syllable. Or if the M was silent.
 
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RichZ said:
Hassan may not have Alleyne's textbook form on his jumper, but he is much more creative and opportunistic.
In almost every game, he finds an opening to a completely unmolested layup. Just drives through a gap in the exterior D to an unguarded hoop.
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I’ve noticed that too. He splits hedges and euro steps past defenders pretty often now. Huge turnaround from last year
 
WrenchFan69 said:
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He could have easily left after the national championship for more playing time and I wouldn't have blamed him.

Glad he stayed, as I've mentioned before in this thread, he really needs to be an option late in the game when we need baskets. We're finding out that this team is a lot more than Spencer, Newton Karaban and Clingan.

The unsung heros off the bench, Hassan and Samson have been instrumental in UConn's success.
 
RichZ said:
He seems to do that on a fairly regular basis. Maybe we should call him Moses. Then we could argue about whether the emphasis is on the 1st or last syllable. Or if the M was silent.
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and if I should have capitalized it as Red Sea.
 
RichZ said:
Hassan may not have Alleyne's textbook form on his jumper, but he is much more creative and opportunistic.
In almost every game, he finds an opening to a completely unmolested layup. Just drives through a gap in the exterior D to an unguarded hoop.
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Alleyne's form on his jumper it textbook? He shoots with his body sideways which I was always taught isn't right. I thought you're suposed to be square to the basket with your body?

 
Diarra continues to play really well off the bench, game after game. I'm not sure we've had a better role player off the bench in my 40 plus years as a UConn fan. Game after game he makes plays that help seal the win.
 
Huskybass said:
Diarra continues to play really well off the bench, game after game. I'm not sure we've had a better role player off the bench in my 40 plus years as a UConn fan. Game after game he makes plays that help seal the win.
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No?

gwynne.jpg
 
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Love Hassan, he is really contributing, and his scoring is a big bonus- he has earned all the minutes he is getting. Maybe his play will spark Ball to up his game- Ball is not not doing as well now compared to earlier games this year, when it seemed like he would really develop and quickly. But the one thing that I've noticed with Hassan is that he does get beat sometimes on defense, not a lot, but enough times to surprise me. Maybe he is playing too tight on the opponent he is defending, who often is the quickest guard for the other team so it isn't easy to contain them. He is a very good defender, and maybe I just take it for granted that he will stop anyone he is defending which is unfair, and he did shut down the drives to the hoop in the Xavier game which helped get the win, so maybe I'm worrying too much about nothing.
 
Huskybass said:
Diarra continues to play really well off the bench, game after game. I'm not sure we've had a better role player off the bench in my 40 plus years as a UConn fan. Game after game he makes plays that help seal the win.
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In yesterday's game, around 9 minutes left, almost under the rim, he made three up-fakes with the ball, getting two defenders to commit to jumping to try to block the shot, both of whom ended up out of bounds when he went up for the unguarded layup. I don't care if it's smarts or instinct, that's great basketball.
 
I legitimately cannot think of a UConn player who has improved so much offensively in one season. Look at those shooting percentages! He’s not just a hard-nosed, defensive-minded glue guy anymore. Not to look past this year, but I really hope he plays with us again next season.
IMG_4205.jpeg
 
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I sensed last year he was one of the leaders of the team but not being a significant contributor diminished his positive attributes. This season his contributions have added to his leadership qualities which gives the team another significant voice especially when some other leaders tend to be quieter.
 
Huskybass said:
Diarra continues to play really well off the bench, game after game. I'm not sure we've had a better role player off the bench in my 40 plus years as a UConn fan. Game after game he makes plays that help seal the win.
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There are several players who come to mind; Diarra is on a good streak right now. Us fans are glad he's working his way in to the conversation.

I'd still have Gwynn, Rashad and a few others ahead of him right now.
 
If he can keep knocking down open 3’s at a ~38% clip we are in such great shape. Solo will figure it out too and Stewart is coming along nicely. Samson can slide back into his rim runner role as soon as Donovan is back. Our bench is looking very solid again.
 
Huskybass said:
Diarra continues to play really well off the bench, game after game. I'm not sure we've had a better role player off the bench in my 40 plus years as a UConn fan. Game after game he makes plays that help seal the win.
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Same energy as the Tristen Newton is a top 3 PG in UConn history comment from earlier in the year or the Karaban is one of the most clutch players.
 
Huskybass said:
Diarra is considerably better on the defensive end and is averaging 2.3 assists. Gwynn scored a bunch, but Diarra has contributed in many more ways. Diarra's shooting %'s are 81, 54 and 40. Gwynn's were 70, 44 and 35 during the "Dream Season".
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Surely agree Diarra has phenomenally improved this season. Gwynn was really that microwave a la the originally nicknamed Vinnie Johnson. John raised the crowd like none before him, scored in double figures and made first team all Big East Tournament as junior, never starting a single game.
I might put Diarra in top ten bench players for half a season. I hope to again at season's end.
 
On the CT Scoreboard podcast (shoutout @gwhuskyfan), Karaban was on and he was asked about Hassan and how well he's playing. Alex said he's not surprised because Hassan is deadly from 3 in practice.

His impact since the beginning of Big East play reminds me a lot of Shabazz as a freshman. He would come in, play great defense, get a steal or two and knock down a clutch 3. Just an infusion of energy.
 
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