NC State junior PF Mohamed Diarra providing spark
NC State junior power forward Mohamed Diarra is gobbling up rebounds at an impressive rate.
Statistics will show him having 5.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game, but when extended out to 40 minutes, he’s up to 12.0 points and 15.2 boards a contest this season.
Diarra has been turned loose from a minutes basis the last four games, averaging 30.8 minutes per contest. As a result, his numbers have improved to 9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
NC State (17-10 overall, 9-7 ACC) plays at Florida State (14-13, 8-8 ACC) at 9 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN2.
“We want guys to play with confidence,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “He is starting to knock down shots for us. Two things he has done for us lately is really rebound the basketball and has defended, and has knocked down some three-pointers.
“He has provided to us energy, confidence and the swag that he is playing with right now.”
The 6-foot-10, 215-pounder from Montreuil, France, had been a junior college standout at Garden City (Kan.) C.C., where he averaged 17.8 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, and blocked 71 shots in 30 games. JucoRecruiting.com named him the No. 1 junior college prospect in the country. He has come a long ways since being in Paris, France.
Diarra transferred to Missouri and the adjustment wasn’t easy last year. He averaged 3.2 points and 3.3 rebounds with 15 blocks in 25 games played (six starts) on a 25-10 squad.
“At Missouri with freedom, here, Coach Keatts gives me confidence and trust,” said Diarra, who can speak French, Mali and English. “I wanted to prove to myself and to everybody that I can play at this level. I want to play at the next level and be ready for that level.”
Part of that trust is that Diarra has an unflappable demeanor on the court, and that is evidenced in his three-point shooting. He went 4 of 16 from beyond the arc at Missouri, but is 12 of 33 at NC State. Diarra has made 7 of 11 on three-pointers during that aforementioned four-game stretch.
“I think I’m the best player on the [court] every time,” Diarra said. “He [Keatts] knows I can shoot the ball like a small forward.”
Diarra started the first five games, and then went to the bench with freshman forward Dennis Parker moving into the lineup. Keatts knows he’ll need players like Diarra, senior wing Casey Morsell or current sixth man Jayden Taylor to produce over the next five games — four in the regular season and at least one in the ACC Tournament.
“We are going to need those guys to play well down the stretch,” Keatts said. “[D.J.] Horne has been Superman for us for those six games. We need someone to step up and play and play well with him.”
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