Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Gorgei Dieng
Position: C
Hgt: 6'11"
Wgt: 230
Age: 23
Projected Draft Number: #18 NBADraft.net/#20 Draftexpress.com
College: Louisville
College Stats 2012-13: 31.1min 9.8pts (.534FG% .000TPt% .652FT%) 9.4reb 2.0ast 1.3stl 2.5blk 1.8TO
Capt's Review: Dieng is a classic bang-em-down-low center, though he's a little bit smaller than ideal (1/4 inch taller than Cousins but two inches short on both wingspan and standing reach). Dieng is not a skilled offensive player, with no jump shot, poor free throw shooting, and no handle, though he did bring his assists up to a respectable 2.6 per-40 this year and he has no problem powering up through traffic for a dunk if he gets the ball down low. Fortunately Dieng is a player who appears to understand his limitations and tends to stick with what he is able to do. Where Dieng stands out is on the boards and defensively. As a rebounder he doesn't hesitate to bang and box, and he has pretty nice hands. Defensively he has great timing as a shotblocker, though he doesn't always seem comfortable on the hedge or moving out to the perimeter to guard players, which might limit his ability to swing to the PF in the NBA if he can't overcome it. The nice thing about Dieng is that because he's 23 he's more mature both physically and mentally and should be able to step in now and play rotation minutes, but that also suggests that he's a lot closer to his ceiling than if he were 19.
Mass's Review: If Gorgui Dieng wasn't 23 years old odds are he'd be projected to go much higher in this years draft. Dieng has very good defensive potential because he is a shot blocker who isn't JUST a shot blocker. He can do it all defensively, and projects as a perfect pairing on a team with another scoring big. He appears to have the ability to play center or power forward, but could struggle against some of the bigger, stronger centers in the NBA. He is competent offensively, and is starting to develop a solid jumper, but that isn't why a team would draft him. His high FG% and low FGA tells me that he knows his limitations on that end. This years free agent pool lacks solid defensive big men, which should help Dieng find minutes as a valuable defensive player in his rookie season. Dieng is relatively NBA ready, and would be a top target of mine if the Kings were to trade down in the draft this year.
Baja's Review: originally from Senegal, may be the most ready all around defensive center in the draft. He'd get some competition from Jeff Withey and Alex Len, but as far as being ready to step in and help a team, I'd put my short term money on Dieng. He averaged 30 minutes a game for Louisville, and made his presence known mostly on the defensive side of the ball. However, Dieng has a very nice little 15 foot jumper, and he shoots a good percentage with it. He's also a very good passer, especially in the post where he hits cutters, or kicks the ball out to a spotup shooter. But for the most part, most of his scoring comes off alley opps, backdoor cuts, the pick and roll, or putbacks. He's a good shotblocker averaging 2.5 BPG, which is actually down from his sophmore year when he averaged 3.2 BPG. He's a good athlete with good leaping ability, and his body is a far cry from where it was when he came to the US. He's probably put on 50 pounds since then, and he could still carry more. He's also a good man to man defender in the post, and he'll probably get even better as he adds muscle. He rebounds the ball well, and is fundamentally sound in that area, fighting for position, and blocking out. I like Dieng! He's not fancy and he doesn't come with bells and whistles. He's just a blue collar guy with some upside left, thats most ready to step in and contribute.
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