Syracuse recruit Moustapha Diagne was in action on Saturday night at the Mary Kline Classic in West Orange, NJ. Diagne, who struggled in recent all star games, quietly put up great numbers in an event that has been heavily populated by SU recruits and targets in the last few seasons.
Diagne scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, a very efficient night. After only attempting one shot through the first quarter, he was able to show off his post moves as the game wore on. He scored eight of his points in the second quarter and even attempted a three pointer that was off the mark.
In all-star events, guards tend to not give up the ball, mostly because they want to showcase their skills against stiff competition. Therefore, when Diagne got the ball, he made sure that his touches would count after only scoring seven points in the Jordan Brand Classic’s regional game.
After leading his high school team to a state championship, Diagne looks to slot into an Orange front court that has become surprisingly sparse with the departures of Rakeem Christmas, Chris McCullough, and BJ Johnson. Tie in the question marks surrounding the oft-injured DaJuan Coleman, and depth becomes even more important.  Although relatively under the radar, he will have a chance to play his way into the rotation with fellow freshman forwards Tyler Lydon and Malachi Richardson.
In his senior season, the big man averaged 14.8 points per game, 12.2 rebounds per game, and 2.3 blocks per game.
While Diagne was the only Orange commit to play in the Mary Kline Classic Senior Game, 2016 commit Matthew Moyer participated in an underclassmen game. Orange targets Sedee Keita, Trevon Duval, and Jordan Tucker also participated.
Like Diagne, Moyer also scored 12 points, with a majority coming in the second quarter. Moyer did a little bit of everything during the game, showing off some dunks, some ball handling, and some passing. He will transfer to South Kent School in Connecticut next season to improve on his skills against tougher competition. Moyer attended Lincoln High School in Ohio for the past three years.
Posted By: Jason Weingold
