29. Mamadi Diakite, Power Forward
Current Team: Virginia
The reigning Division I National Champion Virginia Cavaliers lost a good portion of their young core to the NBA Draft last season. That trio included forward De’Andre Hunter and a pair of combo guards in Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy. But the fourth man up on last season’s national title winning squad was talented big man Mamadi Diakite.
You would see Diakite playing at the five and Hunter playing as a stretch-four in a lot of looks from Virginia head coach Tony Bennett last season. Diakite is continuing to show his versatility so far this season.
He does fit the profile of your ideal traditional back-to-the-basket center that can run the floor really well and carry a strong presence down low. His finishing ability near the rim and ability to hit the glass hard shouldn’t come into question.
Through three games this season, Diakite is averaging 14.7 points per game, 9.0 rebounds, and 0.3 assists. He’s also extended his shooting range while hitting on 33.3 percent of his tries from downtown. All of the production trends indicate that Diakite is going to move his draft stock in the right direction this season.
The lengthy 6-foot-9 and 230 pound power forward will need to continue working on his off-ball awareness and offensive arsenal. He doesn’t appear to have a clear cut role that he could fit into with an NBA rotation yet. For him to rise to a potential lottery selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, he needs to continue to improve his basketball IQ with Virginia.