Mohamed Diarra transfer to NC State basketball analysis

NC State basketball has made five additions thus far from the transfer portal. Missouri junior forward/center Mohamed Diarra was the fifth to pick the Pack, announcing his commitment Monday.

Here is an analysis of Diarra’s potential impact.

Mohamed Diarra in 2022-23

Missouri elected to field a small lineup for most of the season, using 6-foot-7, 240-pound Kobe Brown as the tallest starter. Brown was effective on a team that went 25-10 and made the second round of the NCAA Tournament, averaging 15.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest.

Despite being one of the few options taller than Brown on the roster, Mohamed Diarra was slow to garner playing time. He only got onto the court five times in the first 15 contests on the Missouri schedule. Then starting with a loss at Texas A&M, Diarra played in each of the final 20 games of the year for the Tigers.

With that, Diarra started to flash more of the potential that made some consider him to be the top junior college prospect in the 2022 class. He had 11 points and 6 rebounds in a win at Ole Miss. He grabbed 10 boards in both a home win over LSU and a road loss at Mississippi State. In a home loss to eventual No. 1 overall seed Alabama, Diarra had 8 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

During SEC play, Diarra averaged 4.6 rebounds, which was second best on the Missouri squad. He achieved that, along with 4.8 points, in 15.3 minutes per action.

Diarra’s per-40 minutes average overall for the entire season for rebounding was 11.2.

Transfer Portal Rankings

On3’s basketball transfer portal rankings had Diarra rated the No. 155 power forward available in the transfer portal.

The Fit For NC State Basketball

With the losses of forwards Jack Clark (headed to Clemson) and Dusan Mahorcic to the transfer portal, NC State basketball is losing its top two rebounders from last year’s team.

Throw in the transfer of Ebenezer Dowuona (Georgia Tech bound) to go with Mahorcic, the Pack is also losing two of its three primary post options 6-foot-9 or taller on the roster.

Mohamed Diarra’s arrival helps alleviate those losses. The 6-foot-10, 215-pound Diarra averaged 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Garden City (Kan.) Community College, and he proved at Missouri that his rebounding prowess can translate to the Power Five level.

Diarra also combines with the 6-foot-10.5 Ben Middlebrooks, a sophomore at Clemson who is transferring to NC State, to reload the height and depth options in the post. The Pack is also expected to return fifth-year senior DJ Burns Jr., an honorable mention All-ACC performer last year.

The bet NC State basketball is making is that a Middlebrooks/Diarra combination will prove more durable and an upgrade over Mahorcic/Dowuona.

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