Mamadi Diakite waited until the last hour, but confirmed what most seemed to be thinking about his immediate future.
The 6-foot-9, 228-pound forward will return to Virginia for his redshirt senior season and is withdrawing his name from the NBA draft.
what most fans and analysts were expecting.
To me, Diakite needs to improve his consistency on the offensive end. He's pretty skinny as well, and at 6-9, isn't dominating in size, so more muscle would be good if he can add it. He also doesn't have a great outside shot, sitting at 28.6 percent on 3s for his career. But he showed what he's capable of in the NCAA tournament, coming up huge by averaging 10.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks in the six games, and of course hit the biggest floater in Virginia history against Purdue off the fantastic assist from Kihei Clark. In the regular season and ACC tournament, Diakite averaged 6.8 points, 3.7 boards, and 1.5 blocks. If he can play like he did in March and April for an entire season, then I can see him being drafted, but I don't think he would've been this year.
Diakite possesses spectacular athleticism, explosiveness, and great defensive instincts and skills; he just needs to continue to refine what he has. He's always been a player that, to me, does his best when not overthinking. When he seems to be in attack mode just playing free, he can be really good. When he gets hesitant and lost in his thoughts, results can vary. There was a video released recently showing him knocking down a good number of 3s in a workout. If he can consistently do that at UVa next season, that makes the Wahoos all the more dangerous, and Diakite's stock will rise. The ability to shoot 3s is essential in today's pro game.
So with Diakite's announcement, UVa has one scholarship available for next season should it choose to use it.
The players on scholarship for next season right now are:
The 6-foot-9, 228-pound forward will return to Virginia for his redshirt senior season and is withdrawing his name from the NBA draft.
Diakite had UVa fans on pins and needles late Wednesday night, as prospects had until midnight ET to make their decisions. But he made the choice that seems to be the best for his development andI am excited to annonce that after testing the waters and getting great exposure and encouraging feedback, I have decided to return to the University of Virginia for my senior year. I can’t wait to join my coaches and teammates and get to work as we try to win another one. 🏆— Mamadi Diakite (@_mdiakite) May 30, 2019
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| Mamadi Diakite was excellent in the NCAA tournament. He could become an NBA player with continued consistency. |
To me, Diakite needs to improve his consistency on the offensive end. He's pretty skinny as well, and at 6-9, isn't dominating in size, so more muscle would be good if he can add it. He also doesn't have a great outside shot, sitting at 28.6 percent on 3s for his career. But he showed what he's capable of in the NCAA tournament, coming up huge by averaging 10.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks in the six games, and of course hit the biggest floater in Virginia history against Purdue off the fantastic assist from Kihei Clark. In the regular season and ACC tournament, Diakite averaged 6.8 points, 3.7 boards, and 1.5 blocks. If he can play like he did in March and April for an entire season, then I can see him being drafted, but I don't think he would've been this year.
Diakite possesses spectacular athleticism, explosiveness, and great defensive instincts and skills; he just needs to continue to refine what he has. He's always been a player that, to me, does his best when not overthinking. When he seems to be in attack mode just playing free, he can be really good. When he gets hesitant and lost in his thoughts, results can vary. There was a video released recently showing him knocking down a good number of 3s in a workout. If he can consistently do that at UVa next season, that makes the Wahoos all the more dangerous, and Diakite's stock will rise. The ability to shoot 3s is essential in today's pro game.
So with Diakite's announcement, UVa has one scholarship available for next season should it choose to use it.
The players on scholarship for next season right now are:
- Redshirt senior Mamadi Diakite
- Sophomore guard Kihei Clark
- Redshirt sophomore forward Francesco Badocchi
- Senior guard Braxton Key
- Redshirt freshman center Francisco Caffaro
- Sophomore guard Kody Stattmann
- Redshirt junior forward Jay Huff
- Junior guard Tomas Woldetensae
- Freshman guard Casey Morsell
- Freshman center Kadin Shedrick
- Freshman forward Justin McKoy
- Senior forward Sam Hauser (not eligible to play)
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