Draft Dreams In The Making. David Hein

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      Diawara looking to follow Okobo's path at Pau

      PAU (France) - Ask Digué Diawara who his role model is and he will say Kevin Durant. But when it comes to following someone's path, the EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez forward chose to go the way of French compatriot Elie Okobo - and Diawara hopes it leads him to great things as well.

      With Diawara's frame and game, it shouldn't be a big surprise that he looks up to the NBA superstar who is a two-time NBA Finals MVP. Durant is also the reason Diawara wears No. 35 wherever possible - both at Pau-Lacq-Orthez and with the French national team.

      "KD is my role model, the type of player I'm inspired by. He can literally do everything on the court. Everything is fluid with his game," Diawara said.

      The 6ft 8in (2.04m) forward has shown glimpses of a Durant-like skillset in his consistent role with Pau-Lacq-Orthez in the Basketball Champions League as he averaged 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in the team's first 13 games in the Regular Season. In the French ProA, Diawara is averaging 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds.

      He said the biggest challenge of playing in the BCL was "getting used to the different teams, because everybody is not playing the same basketball."

      This is actually the second go-around in the BCL for the 21-year-old Diawara, who played five games for ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne in 2016-17 as an 18-year-old.

      "I learned that the level of intensity and focus is important. Every game I'm facing some known and very experienced players," Diawara said looking back to his experience three seasons ago.

      Diawara joined Pau before last season, and he was happy to see the news that his club would be playing in the BCL this season.

      "I was really excited because the first time I played in the BCL I was just starting with the pro team at ASVEL. I didn't get much playing time so now it was my turn to be on the court and have experienced it fully," he said.

      Pau-Lacq-Orthez's roster has changed in big ways this season with the additions of veterans like Justin Dentmon and Eke Ibekwe.

      "They're sharing with me their experience, how to handle some situations and they're giving me some advice to improve my game," Diawara said.

      American teacher introduces game

      Diawara's start in the game came in Dreux just outside of Paris when he was around 10 years old.

      "An American teacher came to be a sports teacher at my high school, and at the same time my best friend was playing basketball too. I was already taller than most of the kids back then, so he asked me if I wanted to try basketball," he remembered.

      Diawara, who is one of six children with two brothers to parents from Mali, said he was doing some judo and athletics before he fell in love with basketball. And his basketball role models were the same as many other kids.

      "Like a lot of kids, the first one was Michael Jordan, but my father used to tell me about Magic Johnson a lot, with his fakes and fancy assists. And later one of my coaches introduced me to Durant and he's been my biggest role model since then. But growing up I liked watching Kobe (Bryant), (Scottie) Pippen and Tracy McGrady."

      National team history

      Diawara's talent landed him a spot with ASVEL's youth system in 2014 after he made history with the France U16 national team. He helped the French win the FIBA U16 European Championship for the first time since 2004 - matching a team that featured the likes of Nicolas Batum, Adrien Moerman, Antoine Diot, Abdoulaye MBaye and Alexis Ajinca.

      "It was amazing, my first European Championship. We won every game, we had an amazing group of guys. It was like we were a big family. Everybody was having fun," said Diawara, who averaged 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in Riga.

      That France team in the Latvian capital also included Killian Tillie, who was named MVP of the tournament, Frank Ntilikina, Bathiste Tchouaffe, Yves Pons and Adam Mokoka.

      Diawara did not play for France in the summer of 2015 and the FIBA U18 European Championship 2016 was postponed from the summer until December in Turkey. But it turned out to be the same result … an undefeated run for France to the title, the country's first U18 continental crown since 2006, which was also won by Batum and co.

      "It was a great experience. Everybody knew each other, we had no problem playing all together. Like I said about the U16 team, a big family and we were winning, so it was cool," said Diawara, who averaged 6.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1-3 assists and 1.2 blocks.

      Especially impressive for France were Ntilikina, who was crowned MVP of the tournament; and Sekou Doumbouya, who had his coming out party as he made the All-Star Five despite being just days shy of his 16th birthday.

      "They were clearly dominant. And Sekou was younger, so it was crazy to see him play like that," Diawara recalled.

      Disappointing seventh place

      That performance meant France would be playing at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 - the country's first appearance in the biennial competition since 2009. After winning all three games in the Group Phase, France beat Puerto Rico in the Round of 16 but lost to Canada in the Quarter-Finals.

      "It was a disappointment," said Diawara, who averaged 4.9 points and 3.4 rebounds. "We were counting on doing something bigger of course. But the World Cup was a great experience, and it was in Egypt, so it was cool too."

      Tillie returned to the team after not playing at the U18 European Championship but France were missing Ntilikina and Doumbouya in Eygpt. And eventual MVP RJ Barrett was just too much for Diawara and co. as he poured in 27 points.

      "We knew that Canada was a tough team. They were playing good, switching defense a lot and we fell into their trap. Barrett was the leader and he stepped up," Diawara recalled.

      Later that summer, Diawara played a year up at the FIBA U20 European Championship 2017 and averaged СКАЧАТЬ