From French soccer fields to the ACC: Mohamed Diarra filling role for NC State basketball
Mohamed Diarra wouldn’t mind being a professional soccer player in Europe, perhaps playing for either Barcelona or Marseilles, his two favorite clubs..
Anyone could use a quick, athletic 6-foot-10 midfielder, couldn’t they?
What about a French goalkeeper with a 7-foot-6 wingspan? That could cover a lot of net.
Diarra broke into a wide smile when that was mentioned Tuesday, laughing at the thought. Fact is, he’s pretty happy where he is, at N.C. State, giving the Wolfpack a quick, athletic big man.
The transfer from Missouri has had his moments in his first season with the Pack and had one of his best games Saturday. State lost at Wake Forest 83-79, but Diarra had 13 points and 12 rebounds, putting together his second double-double of the season and having an impact in the game.
“Whatever my team needs, I’m here,” Diarra said during an N&O interview at the Dail Basketball Center. “If my team needs rebounds, I’m here. If my team needs energy, I’m here to give the energy. I can make some shots but don’t care about scoring because we have great scoring on the team. I just have to play my role.”
Wake Forest’s Andrew Carr did post up and score the go-ahead basket over Diarra late for an 81-79 lead, but Diarra fought for position and contested the shot without fouling. He stayed in the game for the Pack’s last offensive possession.
“He’s starting to play right,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said after the game. “He’s our best rebounder when he plays a lot of minutes. He has changed the dynamics of our team a little bit.”
The Pack’s next game is Saturday at Clemson and Diarra has leaned on teammate Ben Middlebrooks for intel about what to expect from the Tigers in Littlejohn Coliseum. Middlebrooks transferred from Clemson after playing behind P.J. Hall, the versatile and highly competitive 6-10 senior who is a handful for any team.
Hall had 25 points in the Tigers’ win over North Carolina in Chapel Hill and worked over the Pack last season as Clemson beat State three times.
Another guy who hurt the Pack was Ian Schieffelin, a bruiser at 6-8 and 238 pounds who has had 10 or more rebounds in 10 games this season. In a two-overtime loss to Georgia Tech, the junior went for 20 points and 15 boards.
“Ben said if we don’t play hard against Hall, he can kill us,” Diarra said. “They have others, but we know he is the key guy.”
Learning a new sport
Until Diarra was 15, until an uncle suggested he start playing basketball, Diarra was a dedicated soccer player growing up in the Paris suburb of Montreuil.
And growing up quickly. He said he was 6-8 when he was 15.
“My uncle was a basketball coach and he said, “Let’s try it. You’re tall, let’s see what you can do,’” Diarra said.
Guess what? He tried it and didn’t like it. It was all so new: dribbling, shooting, learning a new sport..
“I started playing and it was hard, it was hard,” Diarra said. “I came from a sport where you use your feet, so it was hard for me. The first month, I tried to give up, honestly.”
His uncle and his family didn’t let him, urging him to stay patient, keep working at his game. Slowly, he began to build some confidence.
Diarra played four years in France, often changing clubs, although Diarra said his basketball path never crossed with Victor Wembanyama, the 7-4 wunderkind from France and the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs.
It was Anthony Kabala, a friend who lived in the U.S,. who encouraged Diarra to come over and play with him at Redemption Christian Academy in Troy, New York.
Diarra said he returned to France to graduate from high school, then it was on to Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas. That’s due west of Dodge City.
He wasn’t in Paris anymore.
“A real small town,” Diarra said, smiling.
But the kid from France soon became something of a big name there. Diarra was ranked the No. 1 junior college player in the country his second season, averaging a double-double with 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. It was time to move up.
N.C. State a better fit
At Missouri last season, Diarra was on a team that went 25-10, that was beaten in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But he decided on another move and entered the transfer portal, and N.C. State, he said, is a better fit for him.
“I think it’s the culture and the coaches,” the junior said. “I loved everybody at Missouri, but here they’ve given me the confidence I’ve needed.
“Coach Keatts said, ‘If you want to play for me, you’ve got to put the work in. Go to the gym, get better at everything.’ Coach Keatts said I could be the most complete player on this team, and every day here I work for that.”
It shows. No. 23 for the Wolfpack – “I was 93 at home but I can’t wear it over here” – has been more noticeable in games. He even knocked down a pair of 3’s in the Wake Forest game, saying he has more confidence in that aspect of his game, too.
Diarra remains confident the Pack (15-9, 7-6 ACC) can win enough games to get in the NCAA Tournament. Winning at Clemson would give the Pack its first Quad-1 win of the season.. Do that and ...
“Things can change quickly,” Diarra said. “Things can always change very quickly.”
