Arafan Diane Scouting Deepdive
As uber-skilled big men make a resurgence at every level of the sport, is Iowa United's Arafan Diane the next in line to make waves at the college level?
There are very few player archetypes in all of basketball that are a better mix of productivity and entertainment than the uber-skilled, yet somewhat unathletic, big man. Not only that, but trends at every level of the sport suggest that these players are a development coach’s dream. The NBA has been dominated by Nikola Jokic for over half a decade, with up-and-coming talents like Alperen Sengun and this year’s Derik Queen fitting into this mold. These players rarely emerge during their high school years, with players like Jokic and Sengun playing professionally before making the stateside leap. Domantas Sabonis is another player who somewhat fits into this mold, and he was a big-time recruit who spent his college years at Gonzaga, but even he was a significantly different prospect than he is a player today. Derik Queen is the only player I’ve named who I think will have a similar role in the league that he had during his prep days, as he’s playing a scaled-up version of that role with Maryland. That brings us to today’s player of interest, Iowa United’s Arafan Diane, one of the most intriguing recruits in all of high school hoops.
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Player Profile:
Arafan Diane is a 7’0” and 280lb center currently playing for Iowa United Prep in Des Moines, Iowa. He’s a top 100 recruit in the class of 2026, holding offers from programs such as Florida, Louisville, Oregon, Creighton, and several others. Despite his status as a four-star recruit near the back of his class’s top 100, big-time programs are obviously interested in adding him to their ranks. Before joining Iowa United, Diane played for Dynastie Sports Institute in Montreal, Cananda. He has also spent time in the Guinea national team system, recently appearing in the U17 World Cup. In that tournament (7 games), he posted averages of 19.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 blocks, and .6 steals per game on shooting splits of 54.8% from the field, 33.3% from beyond the arc, and 73.8% from the free-throw line.
Interior Scoring:
Based on the information you’ve already read, I doubt it will come as a shock when I say that Diane operates almost exclusively inside the arc. More specifically, the closer he finds himself to the hoop the more proficient he becomes in several aspects of the game. Not only is he a dominant post-scorer, but he’s also an effective passer out of this area, adding layers to a playstyle that opponents already struggle to gameplan for. That said, let’s break down his standout interior scoring abilities, and how he combines strength and skill into an incredibly intriguing offensive package.
Diane is a bruising force in the paint, utilizing his size and strength to create scoring advantages at the rim. That said, what separates him from his peers are the other ways he’s able to create his own shot from this range. He has fantastic footwork, a strong sense of where he is on the court, and an elite soft touch that we don’t typically see from heavy footed big men. He’s able to throw his shoulder into the chest of his defender, knocking them off-balance and out of position, which then allows him to better put his craftiness to work. His unique toolbelt of size, strength, footwork, and feel builds the foundation for a potentially prolific interior scoring game down the road.
While I do believe that his on-ball scoring around the basket is what gives him a legitimate professional floor, his ability to work away from the ball at his size is just as impressive. For being as heavy as he is, he actually moves quite fluidly and is willing to get up and down the court in transition. He always seems to be in the right spot as a play finisher. Maybe he’ll set up camp at the dunker spot, or perhaps he’ll slip into the picture from the weak side when one of his teammates drive to the hoop. Either way, he provides a release option to his teammates at all times, which keeps his team’s offense from ever going completely stagnant. He’s also a fantastic screener (obviously), offering his guards multiple options by rolling to the hoop or by picking up screen-assists. If he never left the paint, I doubt many people would bat an eye, but he doesn’t do that, he patrols the court and does the dirty work to maximize both his and his teammates’ output.
In-Between Game:
Despite me saying that Diane’s interior scoring abilities give him a professional floor, it’s probably his in-between game that has him on the radars of scouts in professional leagues around the world. Why? Because it’s his game from this range where he shows just how good he could be under the right developmental circumstances. It’s his game from this range where you see just how skilled Diane actually is. It’s here where we see how elite his touch is, and where his potential as a floor spacer becomes real. The first time I watched him play in person he absolutely dominated his opponents with his in-between game, and those few games left me thinking he would eventually be a five-star recruit in his class.
Diane’s arsenal of post-hooks, touch- and push-shots isn’t entirely unique, but I’d be lying if I said I’ve seen many high school juniors this comfortable taking and making them. Not only that, but he generates them in a myriad of ways. Most high school recruits remain more or less stagnant in their game during their prep years, sticking to what they’re good at and not trying their hand at much else. Diane, on the other hand, has consistently gotten better and more versatile in this department throughout his short career. So, while this part of his game still has some flaws, he has shown both the feel necessary for future success and the willingness to improve and diversify his game.
This is where things really get interesting. See, Diane does not attempt shots from beyond the arc. In most cases, this lack of even the most miniscule volume would suggest a complete ineptitude in the category. However, his ability to knock down traditional mid-range jump shots at a solid rate would suggest the opposite. Sure, his mechanics on these shots aren’t perfect, as he lifts the ball atop his head before somewhat catapulting it toward the basket, but his feel on them is undeniable. He’s also a proficient free-throw shooter, which tends to reflect outside shooting success. His mid-range shooting ability is another element of his game where he has shown consistent improvement throughout high school. I have no reason to doubt that his development will stop anytime soon, in fact, I expect it to accelerate once he finds himself working with a college or professional development staff.
Passing & Playmaking:
Much like his in-between scoring, his ability to maintain his composure when faced with high-pressure defensive schemes and find open teammates for easy offense is a significant ceiling and floor raiser. His passing acumen is probably the biggest reason (in addition to his physical metrics) why I compared him to the likes of Derik Queen and Alperen Sengun in the opening paragraph of this article. Currently, he shoulders so much of his team’s scoring load that his passing somewhat falls to the wayside. However, I’ve seen enough flashes to believe in his long-term outlook as an offensive hub.
As I’m sure you could have guessed, Diane faces countless double teams simply because of his sheer presence with the ball in his hands. While this does limit his scoring output (A scary thought when you consider how dominant of a scorer he already is), it has allowed him to showcase his passing acumen. This defensive pressure hasn’t kept him from delivering passes on a dime to streaking teammates, and it helps that he can see clear over many of the opposing centers he matches up against. Obviously, that height advantage won’t always exist once he gets to college, but I do believe he’ll be regularly double-teamed at higher levels because of his size and feel in the post. When you consider that his teammates are only going to get better as he progresses through his career; his passing skills become even more interesting.
Even more so than his ability to find teammates near the basket, his kickout passing shows us how he could impact the game as an offensive hub in the future. He’s excellent at handling excess pressure and delivering cross court passes to open shooters along the perimeter. His timing in these situations is fantastic, allowing help defenders to get just far enough away from their original matchup so that recovery isn’t possible before he throws the pass. He puts just enough heat on these passes that they get to his teammate quicker than a defender can, but not so much that they’re difficult to handle. Again, once he finds himself surrounded by college and eventually, professional talent, he’ll be even more effective as a passer and overall facilitator.
Rebounding:
Diane actually isn’t as good of a rebounder as you might expect. Sure, he takes up a lot of space and is almost always in good position to grab rebounds, but he often struggles to secure the ball on the way down. He doesn’t have the greatest hands, and he regularly fumbles easy boards once the ball comes off the rim. However, he’s still a solid rebounder who obviously has a very high ceiling in this department. If he can ever gain some extra coordination in the scenarios, I fully expect him to become the glass cleaner his physical metrics would suggest he is. That said, when he does come up with a rebound, specifically on the offensive end, he immediately gains a major scoring advantage over his often-off-balance opponents. He’s excellent on put backs, utilizing his feel and strength to turn offensive boards into easy points.
One thing I noticed that probably goes unnoticed by the casual fan is his ability to go up and over opponents without fouling. Some of his rebounds in the previous video look like over-the-back violations at first glance, but consider this: if someone of Diane’s size went over someone’s back, are they going to hold their ground or even remain on their feet? The answer is no. His size and strength alone give him just enough space to go up vertically for rebounds, and when he gets a board that close to the basket he’s going to score almost every time. As I mentioned, he’s still in need of a ton of development as a rebounder, something that leaves me incredibly excited for his potential in this department.
Defense:
Diane’s defensive impact is more dynamic than you’d expect, and it will probably be his most important swing skill when he gets to college. Despite him lacking real vertical pop, his size, length, and timing make him a very effective rim protector. In addition to that, he simply takes up a ton of space on the court, which generates steals and deflections when he isn’t even making an effort to generate them. Players don’t even attempt to post him up. In Iowa United’s game against the Columbus Explorers, a team that bolsters Cameron Boozer, the top forward in the 2025 recruiting class, Boozer completely avoided Diane in the paint. Instead, he attempted to drag him out to the perimeter. So, while Diane has a fantastic defensive presence at the rim, he still has a lot of work to do before he becomes a well-rounded and versatile defender.
He really is a talented rim protector, for a multitude of reasons. He moves across the paint incredibly well and gets off the floor incredibly quickly. This allows him to make split-second decisions and effectively defend multiple players at once; recovering across the paint to stop cutting opponents after he’s already stopped the initial drive. He’s also great at staying vertical when contesting shots, ensuring that he doesn’t pick up unnecessary fouls when protecting the rim. At the end of the day, his ability to remain on the floor is one of the most important things for him, and this is ensured by his impressive verticality. If he can ever slim down in a positive way (maintain/build muscle while cutting fat), he could become even more mobile and athletic. In that case, I believe he could be one of the most intriguing defensive prospects in college basketball.
As far as steals are concerned, most of Diane’s are generated because of the amount of space he takes up on the court. Sure, he occasionally makes an effort to stand in passing lanes and have the ball fall in his lap, but for the most part his steals come naturally. The one standout trait I noticed in this department was his willingness to get back on defense during his opponent’s fast breaks. You don’t always see this from big men, especially at the high school level. Just by making that effort he’s able to take up enough space to stop a ton of fast break opportunities.
Summary:
Before I summarize Diane’s game, I want to list out any of his weaknesses that I noticed when watching him play. I’ve had the privilege of watching him play several times in person, in addition to plenty of games on the internet, so I feel like I have a good feel of what he should work on. That said, this is a high school recruit with a ton of time to develop as a player, so all these flaws should be viewed as areas in need of improvement, not as traits already knocking on their ceiling.
His vertical pop is severely limited, but it’s difficult to determine if this is an athleticism or weight issue. He’s a swift mover and gets off the ground quickly, he just doesn’t get very far off the ground. I do think this is something that could improve in the future, which usually isn’t the case with vertical athleticism issues.
At times, he can get sped up on at-the-rim attempts when faced with overly physical defenders, something that shouldn’t bother him at his size and with his feel. This leads to bad close-range misses on occasion.
His hands aren’t great, and by that, I mean his ability to handle fast passes, rebounds, and steals. He fumbles a lot of balls that he probably shouldn’t.
In my opinion, the weight he shoulders for his team on the offensive end can obscure his thought processes and shot selection at times. He forces a ton of bad shots from the mid-range and post instead of finding better position or kicking out to open teammates.
Even though he’s a very good free-throw shooter relative to most high school aged big men, he doesn’t take nearly as many attempts from the charity stripe as you’d expect. I attribute this to his avoidance of contact with physical defenders, when he should be pressing the issue.
He has no semblance of an outside shooting game, neither taking nor making shots from beyond the arc. In today’s era of basketball, that probably won’t fly in the future. That said, his feel on mid-range jumpers suggests he could become a long-range shooter down the road.
He could be a more active and versatile defender capable of defending smaller players away from the hoop. His on-the-ground athleticism and quickness in other areas of his game would suggest this to be true.
He’s a super fiery player, which is not inherently a negative, and is actually something I’d love to see from more players. However, I think his passion often works on him negatively rather than positively. He often has bad body language, yells at his teammates, and gives up on plays. He needs to learn how to turn this passion into a positive.
To summarize Arafan Diane’s game, I would once again reference the players that are currently succeeding at high levels who play a very similar game to him. I hate comparing a high school kid to the NBA MVP, but Diane does play a similar game to someone like Jokic, even if it is on a much much much much smaller scale. The better comparison is current Maryland Terrapin and soon-to-be lottery pick Derik Queen, who is dominating in college while playing a similar game to Diane. These hyper-skilled big men combine a traditional sense of the game with modern elements to make for an incredibly difficult-to-defend playstyle. Not only do they play incredible basketball for themselves, but they also make their teammates better in the process. Diane is still super raw when compared to these players, but he actually has advantages over them for when he begins his development process. He’s naturally larger and stronger than most of his peers, while still maintaining strong touch and impressive quickness. There’s a world where a major leap is still ahead of him, and he’s already such an intriguing prospect.
Diane is one of the better high school centers from the mid-range and in-between range that I’ve watched in recent memory. His interior scoring game is naturally super strong. He has shown legitimate passing flashes, and I believe he could eventually be used as a full-time offensive hub. While he doesn’t attempt threes as of today, his feel on similar shots is interesting from an outside shooting standpoint. He’s a solid rebounder and an excellent rim protector who will only get better in both categories. All in all, this is the perfect big man prospect for any development program that believe in their abilities. I think he will more than likely be a four-year college starter, and I hope that by the end of his collegiate career he has progressed enough to potentially make an NBA transition.