First things first--he can flat out play, and is a great fit for the other bigs we expect to have on the roster next year. He's very long, athletic and mobile, and is improving on his ball skill level. In the full game I watched where there were at least seven, if not more, high major players, including several 5*s, he was easily the best player on the floor in my view. And those skills compliment, rather than mimic, guys like Hunter Dickinson, Terrance Williams, Will Tschetter, and even, to a lesser extent, Brandon Johns, allowing us a ton of flexibility in terms of lineups. Indeed, one thing I noticed on film is that he's a good interior passer and doesn't have tunnel vision when he gets the ball. That's a major plus if you look at the possibility of him playing in two big lineups on some occasions (i.e., alongside Dickinson ).
Now for the elephant in the room--what about the bypass college/go pro possibility? It's certainly a possibility, though not necessarily a probability, and certainly not the done deal many thought it would be for Isaiah Todd even after he "committed" to Michigan. Nonetheless, there are huge differences between the Diabate situation and the Todd situation which make taking Diabute a no brainer when taking Todd was, well, more problematic. These include: (1) Diabate is the sixth commitment in the class (Todd was the second when he committed), which means we're less likely to be turning away guys who could help for a long shot (see comments on Efton Reid at the end of this paragraph); (2) Diabate, as good as he is, was/is not the linchpin, or the most important person in the class in terms of need and and fit (that would be Houstan); (3) Diabate provides us with another in at what are currently the two big programs in prep school basketball--IMG and Monteverde--whereas Todd did not; (4) The whole pro landscape, and what is out there at other than the NBA level, is currently in a state of flux because of COVID and the economic losses which have been suffered by pro leagues throughout the world; and (5) Diabate does not have family members outwardly talking about turning pro as did Todd. Put another way, if Diabate matriculates at Michigan would be a tremendous plus; however, if he goes to the G League, that would be disappointing but not a disaster. It might well put us out of the running for Efton Reid who is good (and who has also talked about the G League), but I never saw Reid and Dickinson playing alongside each other, so I always saw Reid as a likely back-up, and in that circumstance, I would rather roll dice on the better, more versatile player in Diabute, especially with the rest of the class we've got.
The hoops future is looking very bright. Kudos to Juwan and the staff.
Now for the elephant in the room--what about the bypass college/go pro possibility? It's certainly a possibility, though not necessarily a probability, and certainly not the done deal many thought it would be for Isaiah Todd even after he "committed" to Michigan. Nonetheless, there are huge differences between the Diabate situation and the Todd situation which make taking Diabute a no brainer when taking Todd was, well, more problematic. These include: (1) Diabate is the sixth commitment in the class (Todd was the second when he committed), which means we're less likely to be turning away guys who could help for a long shot (see comments on Efton Reid at the end of this paragraph); (2) Diabate, as good as he is, was/is not the linchpin, or the most important person in the class in terms of need and and fit (that would be Houstan); (3) Diabate provides us with another in at what are currently the two big programs in prep school basketball--IMG and Monteverde--whereas Todd did not; (4) The whole pro landscape, and what is out there at other than the NBA level, is currently in a state of flux because of COVID and the economic losses which have been suffered by pro leagues throughout the world; and (5) Diabate does not have family members outwardly talking about turning pro as did Todd. Put another way, if Diabate matriculates at Michigan would be a tremendous plus; however, if he goes to the G League, that would be disappointing but not a disaster. It might well put us out of the running for Efton Reid who is good (and who has also talked about the G League), but I never saw Reid and Dickinson playing alongside each other, so I always saw Reid as a likely back-up, and in that circumstance, I would rather roll dice on the better, more versatile player in Diabute, especially with the rest of the class we've got.
The hoops future is looking very bright. Kudos to Juwan and the staff.
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