PF Mamadou Diarra (Signed LOI on 11/14)

[ctchamps]

Diarra specified he will announce at 11:30 Friday morning

That's great. I won't have to check every twenty minutes (ok every 30 seconds) like I did for Sterling during his official. I'm holding Diarra to that time!

 

[UCFan1513]

That's great. I won't have to check every twenty minutes (ok every 30 seconds) like I did for Sterling during his official. I'm holding Diarra to that time!

Haha same here. Gonna get that commitment during a rough Pre-Calc class hopefully

 

[Brochacho]

Relevant because of VCU; Stanford Robinson a "VCU lock" according to their forum picked the Rams today. The Rhode Island Rams, that is.

 

[caw]

Relevant because of VCU; Stanford Robinson a "VCU lock" according to their forum picked the Rams today. The Rhode Island Rams, that is.

Obviously means he heard Diarra is a lock for VCU.

 

[gtcam]

Now that he's gone and we don't have to be quite as correct - recruiting Lubin was just a bad idea from the jump. It sounded like a bad idea early and it looked even worse after the game he played up in Springfield or Worcester or wherever.

It wasn't good for the kid and it wasn't good for UConn.

Reaching for recruits at UConn's level is how you end up with APR issues and roster holes - let's not do it anymore.

Seeing the upside of this guy, I don't see comparatives between him and Lubin
I agree - Rock was a mistake

 

[mauconnfan]

Not close to Rock I'm afraid just watching the video. I like Rock, wish him well but there wasn't enough athleticism in his game it was all brawn and for now it's a bit slow for UConn level. This kid Diarra will jump up the charts I believe based on his decision to play just a couple of years ago to what you see in these video's. He's a keeper and I am confident will be KO's to teach in a year or so.

 

[3uconn]

Great breakdown of him and his game here:
http://hubs.ly/y0P-sh0

 

[tcf15]

Great breakdown of him and his game here:
http://hubs.ly/y0P-sh0

Yes, please.

 

[KembaStepback]

I

Seeing the upside of this guy, I don't see comparatives between him and Lubin
I agree - Rock was a mistake

I think it's impossible to say Rock was a mistake. I think he played pretty well when he got a chance. He was only a freshman!

 

[Tenspro2002]

Who's a historical comp for this guy? Kevin Freeman? A less skilled Jeff Adrien?

 

[3rdbass]

I

I think it's impossible to say Rock was a mistake. I think he played pretty well when he got a chance. He was only a freshman!

He played very well in the Cincy games and also against SMU. He just wasn't getting a lot of playing time and with SE coming in and them trying to pursue more inside help he saw the writing on the wall. He didn't want to wait to develop to see the court. He wanted to see the court now and can you blame him seeing the lack of talent we had up front. LOL!

 

[selles]

Who's a historical comp for this guy? Kevin Freeman? A less skilled Jeff Adrien?

Sounds a little like Marcus White to me.

 

[mauconnfan]

Who's a historical comp for this guy? Kevin Freeman? A less skilled Jeff Adrien?

He's bigger than both, taller at least, but good comparisons. Hope he can shoot it like Jeff eventually.

 

[Huskybass]

I liked the little I got to see of Lubin. I am guessing that he winds up being a pretty good college player at a smaller school. I wish him well.

 

[James]

Who's a historical comp for this guy? Kevin Freeman? A less skilled Jeff Adrien?

current comp i would say is montrezl harrell IMO

 

[HooperScooper]

Who's a historical comp for this guy? Kevin Freeman? A less skilled Jeff Adrien?

Adrien was a top 40 recruit who ripped it up on the AAU circuit the summer before his senior year. Diarra hasn't done close to what Adrien did.

 

[Candyman]

Lubin was not a good fit at all. Seemed like a good guy and I was hoping he was a diamond in the rough but he wasn't. He was slow and had no athletic ability. Ollie likes guys who can run and be flexible. So I was confused as to why he offered him. Yes- he added muscle we didnt have but at the same time he was a 6'6 to 6'7 PF who couldnt jump and would strugle to score if he played extended minutes. Also in the minutes I seen him play I didnt see him grabbing many rebounds either.

I have faith Ollie saw what he could do in practice and decided that Nolan and Facey were better options. I wish Lubin luck wherever he goes and I'm sure he can help a mid-major down south.

 

[3uconn]

One thing I know about UConn's recruitment of Diarra is that the staff has seen him more than any other school. I trust that they have a very good fee for his game and how he will be at UConn. If the coaching staff wants him, then we all should want him.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Another blurb on Diarra if not already posted;

http://www.coxhub.com/articles/mamadou-diarra-is-a-highly-coveted-2016-forward

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Who's a historical comp for this guy? Kevin Freeman? A less skilled Jeff Adrien?

He doesn't have the upper body strength of either of those guys. He has really long arms though. If he gets stronger without sacrificing what quickness he has, he has a chance to be a pretty good player.

 

[mauconnfan]

He doesn't have the upper body strength of either of those guys. He has really long arms though. If he gets stronger without sacrificing what quickness he has, he has a chance to be a pretty good player.

He's a junior in prep, they didn't either at that point of their careers. He'll get there.

 

[kcc1442]

I

I think it's impossible to say Rock was a mistake. I think he played pretty well when he got a chance. He was only a freshman!

I'm with you. I don't think he ever would have been more than a 15 minute a night role player but he could have been a damn good one by his senior year and although he wasn't dominate or really good at anyone one particular skill (maybe rebounding) he wasn't terrible or very substandard at any either. And what people love to forget when they say "he wasn't a good fit" is that he was very necessary and Ollie probably extended him the chance because we would've only had 9 scholarship players (one of which got hurt early on and was out for pretty much the rest of the season) w/o him and only 3 true front court players. Plus to your point as well, he was only a freshman!

 

[Sibeerian]

Another blurb on Diarra if not already posted;

http://www.coxhub.com/articles/mamadou-diarra-is-a-highly-coveted-2016-forward

I'm not clicking anything called "coxhub"

 

[RipCity]

Not trying to insult or start something with anyone, but why does everyone always have to compare players to other players? The reason we loved Adrien, Freeman, etc. was that they were unique for our program. We should be hoping that Diarra builds a name for himself just like they did, but in his own way.

 

[Stainmaster]

Not trying to insult or start something with anyone, but why does everyone always have to compare players to other players? The reason we loved Adrien, Freeman, etc. was that they were unique for our program. We should be hoping that Diarra builds a name for himself just like they did, but in his own way.

I agree 100%. I think part of the reason people are so vitriolic to certain players is because they expect them to measure up to our legends and get mad if someone isn't a Kemba or Emeka or whomever. We should support our guys for who they are, not who came before them.