By Albert Robledillo
2021 class French power forward Moussa Diabate has committed to Michigan. Diabate, the most coveted European prospect playing in the American High School circuit for this class, chose Michigan over fifteen high major programs such as Kentucky, Arizona or Alabama among others.
Diabate, a top-10 player in the 2002 Eurohopes ranking, will join another top European prospect, German wing Franz Wagner (currently #5 in the 2001 Eurohopes ranking) who will start his Sophomore year at Ann Arbor.
Diabate was playing in Saint-Charles Charenton (France), alongside 2020 Arizona commit and top-50 2002 Eurohopes Daniel Batcho, when he decided to move to the US at the age of 14. He first joined Florida Preparatory Academy (FL) before moving to DME Academy (FL). Since the 2019/20 season, Diabate is at IMG Academy (FL) where he will spend his senior year in High School.
The Paris native represented his country in the FIBA Tournaments twice. He made his debut in the 2018 U16 European Tournament in Novi Sad (Serbia) where he averaged 11.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Despite being one year younger, he was also called for the 2019 U18 European Tournament in Volos (Greece) averaging 11.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
A versatile defender
While he is still figuring out his offense, Moussa Diabate is a defensive dominant force. At 6'9 with a 7'2 wingspan, Diabate covers all the floor being able to protect the rim and switch into guards easily thanks to a unique combination of quickness, agility and strength. Diabate also crashes the boards consistently and is very active with his hands. On offense, he is not a creator and his basketball IQ and off-ball reads are far from perfect, also lacks of a soft touch near the rim; he usually scores outpowering players around the rim. Diabate has also made big strides in his mid-grange game although he has more room to improve.
2021 class French power forward Moussa Diabate has committed to Michigan. Diabate, the most coveted European prospect playing in the American High School circuit for this class, chose Michigan over fifteen high major programs such as Kentucky, Arizona or Alabama among others.
Diabate, a top-10 player in the 2002 Eurohopes ranking, will join another top European prospect, German wing Franz Wagner (currently #5 in the 2001 Eurohopes ranking) who will start his Sophomore year at Ann Arbor.
Diabate was playing in Saint-Charles Charenton (France), alongside 2020 Arizona commit and top-50 2002 Eurohopes Daniel Batcho, when he decided to move to the US at the age of 14. He first joined Florida Preparatory Academy (FL) before moving to DME Academy (FL). Since the 2019/20 season, Diabate is at IMG Academy (FL) where he will spend his senior year in High School.
The Paris native represented his country in the FIBA Tournaments twice. He made his debut in the 2018 U16 European Tournament in Novi Sad (Serbia) where he averaged 11.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Despite being one year younger, he was also called for the 2019 U18 European Tournament in Volos (Greece) averaging 11.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
A versatile defender
While he is still figuring out his offense, Moussa Diabate is a defensive dominant force. At 6'9 with a 7'2 wingspan, Diabate covers all the floor being able to protect the rim and switch into guards easily thanks to a unique combination of quickness, agility and strength. Diabate also crashes the boards consistently and is very active with his hands. On offense, he is not a creator and his basketball IQ and off-ball reads are far from perfect, also lacks of a soft touch near the rim; he usually scores outpowering players around the rim. Diabate has also made big strides in his mid-grange game although he has more room to improve.
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