MINNEAPOLIS - It’s safe to say that Virginia wouldn’t be here without Mamadi Diakite. That’s especially true after last week’s stunning buzzer beater against Purdue that saved the season, but boiling it down to just that shot wouldn’t tell the whole story.
Diakite’s play the entire tournament has been vital to the Cavaliers’ success. And, perhaps, inimitable. On a team where versatility has been a critical characteristic all season, Diakite offers a perfect blend of low post offense, rebounding, screening, rim protection, and overall defense that really makes UVA’s overall effectiveness rise. The Hoos just needed him to string it together consistently.
“I pulled him aside I don’t know how many games ago and I just told him we’re going to need you and you need to slow down when you get it in the post, take your time, and you can score,” Virginia Associate Head Coach Jason Williford said. “We’re going to throw it to you but you’ve got to be able to produce.”
That’s been on display in the run to the Final Four. Diakite’s produced at a level beyond what anyone could have predicted.
The junior forward entered the NCAA Tournament averaging 6.8 points. 3.6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. In his last two outings prior to March Madness, he tallied 5 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 blocks combined in limited foul-marred ACC Tournament games with NC State and Florida State. That prompted him to seek out UVA coach Tony Bennett for a meeting where he pledged to be “ready” for the Big Dance.
Boy, has he.
In the four NCAA Tournament games that earned him a spot on the South Region team, he nearly doubled his season averages in all three categories. He averaged 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.25 blocked shots per game. The game by game look shows 17 points and 9 rebounds against Gardner-Webb, 14 points and 9 rebounds against Oklahoma, 7 points and 11 rebounds against Oregon, and 14 points and 7 rebounds against Purdue.
That’s a combined points-rebounds line of 18 or more in all four games. He’d done that just four times in his career, all earlier this season (Coppin State, at Boston College, Wake Forest, at Louisville), and never in back-to-back games before this four-game stretch. Then he capped it off as part of the season-saving moment against Purdue when Kihei Clark rifled a pass to him for an 18-footer that forced overtime.
“I don't watch a lot of TV, but I'm sure he's the toast of the town in so many ways. His shot was amazing,” Bennett said. “That shot will go down, the pass and the shot, in Virginia basketball history. From the start of the year, I said he's an X-factor for us, and the way he's played all tournament has been significant.”
“It makes my job easier” Virginia’s Braxton Key said of playing alongside Diakite. “He’s another guy that can rebound. He defends, blocks shots, helps everybody defensively, and offensively. He’s found himself a little bit and his role with the team. He’s been giving us a great lift.”
“Mamadi’s my guy,” UVA senior Jack Salt said. “He’s such an amazing player and I try to give him confidence whenever I can because he’s just an animal. All the guys know Mamadi’s an amazing player and he’s got no limits on where he can go. So when he made that shot, I was so happy for him because he deserved it.”
That’s a sentiment shared around the Cavalier locker room. Diakite wears a near constant smile and rarely lets things get too frenzied around him. That includes his play on the court now that his understanding of the game is catching up with his considerable athletic ability. He’s certainly comfortable in his own skin too.
Nothing, perhaps, captures that more than his dye job late this season that changed his dark hair into a golden hue. Some people who play basketball on national television may not have taken that bold step. Others, including friend and team manager Grant Kersey who messaged him that he might want to wait until after the season to change his hair color, may have been fearful of a jinx. Diakite brushed off that text advice and told Kersey he’d show him the finished product when his hair was done.
That likely didn’t surprise Kersey. Diakite’s personality and demeanor stay the same regardless of where he is or who he is around whether they’re walking to class, hanging out at the apartment, or around basketball.
“He’s so relaxed. He’s always got a smile on his face,” Kersey said. “We’re always joking around. He’s always the same. He never changes. I think that’s just credit to who he is, his culture, and where he was brought up.”
Where Diakite was brought up is thousands of miles away across the Atlantic Ocean. He is from Conakry, Guinea in Africa. The Guinean people have a reputation for their kindness and giving spirit, which certainly appears in Diakite. His childhood there didn’t include basketball, though.
The Cavalier junior gravitated to soccer as most kids do and eventually got to the point where he was really good and drawing some attention for it. But he was also growing fast and soccer was often around violence in his country and the potential for injury was high.
Diakite’s father suggested he change paths and give basketball a try.
“I didn’t want to switch sport,” Diakite said. “I thought basketball was a weird sport that Americans played. I wasn’t interested. I had all my little emotions going on, crying, and whatever. But I started playing and I thought it was fun. I was very athletic compared to others.”
Eventually, Diakite started watching old NBA tapes of Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwan to try to learn more about the game. He tried to pick up on how they played. He worked out fervently - “probably spending in 24 hours, 11 hours working out,” he says - with the goal of coming to the United States to play.
That happened just before his 16th birthday when he joined the student body at the Blue Ridge School, nestled in the countryside of the Virginia mountains. He knew little English, picking up words like hungry, bathroom, and workout first. His game developed from a novice level to the point that UVA and others offered him a scholarship. He joined the program in 2015-16 for a redshirt year before his role steadily grew over the last three years.
Most of that unfolded away from the spotlight of March Madness. Then, everything exploded over the last month. Including his popularity after that improbable sequence and incredible shot against Purdue. That’s likely to increase if Virginia’s season continues at the Final Four. The Cavaliers face Auburn on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. (ET) for the chance to play for the National Championship on Monday.
“My cousins told me that if I go back home right now, the whole population would come welcome me home,” Diakite said. “Which is very amazing and here in the U.S., everywhere I go people want to take pictures with me.”
While Diakite couldn’t have seen all of that coming when he boarded a plane bound for America as a teen, he’s happy for his story to provide inspiration.
“I’m just trying to prove the point to everyone, anything is possible,” Diakite said. “Work hard and focus on how much you can improve every day. It can be a little step. It doesn’t have to be a big step. It can be a little step every day. In a year, you’re in a different spot. That’s what I’m trying to get people to understand. It’s doable. It’s always doable.”
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!