Is Ismael Diouf about to start getting more involved? Keatts goes in-depth into his growth…

For weeks I’ve been encouraging NC State to give more minutes toIsmael Diouf.

I’ve said it over and over again. He’s no savior, but the 6’9 freshman brings a whole different skill set to an NC State team whose shortcomings are that they are way too one-dimensional.

I’ve broken down each and every one of his possessions in a piece earlier this season. I’ve showcased his per-minute rebounding numbers to show that he’s one of the tops on the team in his minimal minutes. I’ve called out that he’s in the team’s top-5 in +/- during ACC play. And I’ve examined how with him in the lineup, NC State is doing some of its best per-minute work.

It’s proven. Ismael Diouf is helping NC State. But he’s currently only averaging 8 minutes per game, and that’s with 2 recent games where State has been without one of their main frontcourt pieces.

There’s no secret here. Diouf is 6’9. He’s aggressive. He’s rebounding well on the offensive glass (a place NC State needs help), he’s 2-3 in post-up attacks and has only been scored on twice in the post, while protecting the rim (without fouling) on a multiple drives. Diouf also has 2 dunk attempts, where he’s challenged defenders at the rim. Both times he was denied, but both times he was obviously fouled. Here he is getting hacked against UNC.

All of the stats, video and analysis seems to point to an increased role for Diouf, however, it hasn’t really materialized on the court.

However, last night, during the Kevin Keatts radio show, Tony Haynes, the host, spent about half the show peppering Kevin Keatts with questions about Ismael Diouf.

Why? It’s not like Diouf was the story of the night vs. UNC. It’s not like he’s seen a huge uptick in minutes. Could Tony Haynes be seeing what most of the fan base is seeing?

Here are the quotes from Keatts on Diouf…

“Ish has done a good job. He’s going to continue to get better. Ish is deal is, to continue to grow confidence as he gets in the game and is ready to go. You also get that in practice time. He’s a guy who is used to playing more of 4’s and not very physical guys. Even though a lot of his game leans towards a 4/5, and just getting him to the point where he feels comfortable banging against the 4/5s. He’s got great size he’s just not used to playing against those guys.”

“He’s starting to get it. Whether both of those guys (Ben & BHH) are playing or not, he’s starting to, in practice, earn minutes regardless and that’s the good thing.”

“We wanted another post and we started looking around. Through AAU and old relationships, we found out. Ish wasn’t looking to come over to this point of the US to play basketball. He was possibly going to pursue a professional league. His deal is that he just needs to adjust to the way the game is played over here and the physicality that we have in our game here. I don’t know if it helps or not when you’re in the Carolina game and there ain’t many fouls.”

“I keep saying this, but just believe in his abilities. Just him being able to adjust to a bigger guy. Him and I had a conversation about the physicality of the 5 men. I was like ‘Ish, a lot of those guys, they don’t post up as much. They are pick and roll, pick and pop guys. So you can be one of those guys. I think a lot of times when you say 5 people think centers. There were two centers last year, it was Zach Edey and DJ Burns. Now everyone is playing with 2 forwards if you ask me.”

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MY TAKE ON THE QUOTES:

I think it’s great to see Tony Haynes push Keatts on his thoughts about Ish Diouf. I think it was encouraging to see Keatts say that’s Ish is earning more minutes in practice. However, it was a little concerning to hear that that conversation about the physicality of the 5. It seems as if Keatts continues to view Diouf as a 5, which means Keatts may not be toying with the idea of using him at the 4, alongside Ben or BHH. I hope I’m wrong about the context of that quote, because I believe NC State would be able to unlock a much more efficient offense by having Ben in the middle and Diouf as the stretch 4, moving Styles to the 3. A bigger lineups that may be a little slower, but that would be more efficient on offense, more rim protection on defense and better on the glass.

I mean, Keatts himself is saying most teams play two forwards. NC State is playing a forward and a guard in their front court on most nights. And with the quote about there being only two real centers in college basketball last season, if that’s the case then wouldn’t you want to buck the forwards trend and get a true center, seeing as both of those guys led their teams to the Final Four last year?

Anyways, just my 2 cents.