Coming from Iowa United Prep, Arafan Diane is a throwback paint spectacle. The former five-star recruit, was given McDonald's All American, Jordan Brand Classic, and Nike Hoop Summit selections. In his brief FIBA tournament career, he averaged 18 points per game and 14 rebounds on over 55% from the field.
Arafan is one of the most underrated bigs in this freshman class. It's easy to jump to conclusions or underestimate him because of his glaring physique.
Listed at 7-foot and 280-pounds, he is a monster carving out space under the basket and using his size to create space, score and and draw fouls. This gives him lots of off-ball gravity. He doesn't have to dribble to get himself into an advantageous position. He can basically walk his defender into a bad spot, turn over his shoulder, and draw a foul. Diane is a big target in the post, and truly one of the best youth post scorers in recent history.
Diane's issues start on the defensive end. These issues are inherent with being a 300 pounder. Changing directions and guarding in space is where he really struggles. Teams will drag him out to the perimeter and shake him just because he has high hips and a high center of gravity. Being such a gigantic person, there's going to be natural human limitations. Ideally, he'll play exclusively in drop coverage, and be good at the point of attack in the low post where he can utilize his size and physicality.
He wasn't a super productive shot blocker. He averaged just over a block a game for Iowa United, which you would want more for a player his size. He is an impressive rim protector at times and I think there is potential for him to be a great defender at the collegiate level given the slower pace. In the NBA though, with every team wanting to play with more pace and space, he could really struggle. For his translation to really work at the next level, it's gonna start with significant work on his body.
Diane has the rare combination of size and skill. His throwback dominant post scoring could give teams a different look to throw at smaller frontcourts. Kelvin Sampson is recognized as one of the best in the country and should get the most out of Diane's unorthodox game. His NBA outlook will depend on his mobility and conditioning to play long stretches.
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