PF Mamadou Diarra (Signed LOI on 11/14) | Page 7 | The Boneyard

PF Mamadou Diarra (Signed LOI on 11/14)

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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.
 
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gtcam said:
Seeing the upside of this guy, I don't see comparatives between him and Lubin
I agree - Rock was a mistake
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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!
 
KembaStepback said:
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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!
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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!
 
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Tenspro2002 said:
Who's a historical comp for this guy? Kevin Freeman? A less skilled Jeff Adrien?
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He's bigger than both, taller at least, but good comparisons. Hope he can shoot it like Jeff eventually.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Who's a historical comp for this guy? Kevin Freeman? A less skilled Jeff Adrien?
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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.
 
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.
 
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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.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Who's a historical comp for this guy? Kevin Freeman? A less skilled Jeff Adrien?
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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.
 
Mr. Wonderful said:
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.
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He's a junior in prep, they didn't either at that point of their careers. He'll get there.
 
KembaStepback said:
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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!
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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!
 
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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.
 
RipCity said:
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.
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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.
 
Stairmaster said:
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.
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I think the vitriol is more a product of overblown expectations and assuming that kids are going to immediately recreate their high school highlight videos as soon as they set foot on campus. It happens virtually every year.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
I think the vitriol is more a product of overblown expectations and assuming that kids are going to immediately recreate their high school highlight videos as soon as they set foot on campus. It happens virtually every year.
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You mean we're not playing against a bunch of chairs?
 
RipCity said:
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.
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I'm just trying to get a feel for what kind of game he has, since I know very little about him. My goal isn't to come out of this saying "he's the next Jeff Adrien, and anything less is a disappointment".

Is he a bruiser? Can he shoot a foul line jumper? Does he have post moves?

The easiest way to answer those questions is by referring to attributes of players we know well, something like "OK, he's undersized like Freeman, but more muscular, probably has a crude offensive game like Oriakhi, but with Adrien's motor and toughness".

Also, we didn't love Adrien and Freeman because they were unique. We loved them because they were good players and good teammates who were fun to root for. If Diarra is exactly the same as those guys (and we get him) that would be great.
 
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RipCity said:
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.
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Given the two names mentioned above, I think people are just wondering/hoping where the toughness is going to come from, PF is a good place to look.
 
I'll be pretty surprised if he doesn't commit to UConn. As he's said many times, UConn is his dream school. I don't think he'll be an immediate impact player but he'll give us 4 good years and give this team some serious heart.
 
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