The nucleus of OSU’s offense and defense last season, Bates-Diop had breakout performances in big-time games. Whether he needs to work down in the low post for rebounds and buckets, or find the open mid-range jumper, Bates-Diop uses that wingspan to make plays.īy the time KBD’s Buckeye career finished, he compiled 19 double-doubles-and in 18 of those games, Ohio State walked away victorious. That’s a pretty good thing to have in your arsenal-and it’s something that you either have or you don’t. All of that game time built a solid foundation for KBD to become a star playmaker in Ohio State’s tournament run last season.ĭraftExpress reports that Bates-Diop has a wingspan of 7-foot-4. The only year he didn’t see the court for 30 games was in 2016-17 that year he was sidelined for 18 games with a stress fracture in his left leg. He has a solid foundationīates-Diop saw action in 30-plus games in three of the four seasons he was in Columbus. While adaption is needed to fit a Thibodeau system, KBD showed that he can transition into different coaching styles and circumstances while at Ohio State. While head coach of the Chicago Bulls, Thibodeau had the Bulls in contention to win the Eastern Conference. As an assistant coach under Doc Rivers during the Boston Celtics “Big Three” era, Thibodeau helped bring a title to Beantown. 48 will hurt KBD and his short-term earnings, but if he can keep a spot on the Timberwolves, he has the chance to develop under a proven coach in Thibs. A potential trading of Anthony-Towns would hurt more than Wiggins, but there’s at least a solid nucleus to what Thibodeau has to build around. If either Wiggins or KAT is delivered a one-way ticket out of Minny, the team still has talent. Taj Gibson and Nemanja Bjelica appear to be the main forwards right now, meaning the T’Wolves will have to trade Andrew Wiggins or even Karl Anthony-Towns. With Bates-Diop in the fold, he would be a good off-the-bench playmaker right now. Jeff Teague and Jimmy Butler will be the scoring duo, and if Gorgui Dieng picks up production, those three will be the main figures in Minneapolis until at least 2020. But don’t let that result fool you: the squad Tom Thibodeau has in Minneapolis can win games. Then, they ran into a very hot Houston Rockets squad and were dispatched in five games. While the T’Wolves made the postseason last year, they made it by the skin of their teeth as the No. There are plenty of reasons to be excited for KBD’s drafting into the association. 48 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The things I’ve shown here, my growth is stuff I’ve gotten better each and every year, which is hard to do.After leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to a second-place conference finish, and NCAA Tournament appearance, forward Keita Bates-Diop finally heard his name called at the 2018 NBA Draft. I came in at 22, so I’m in my fifth year and I’m still young. “I’m middle age on this team, but in general I’m still relatively young in the league. “The guys who get it at the first chance or whatever you want to call it, that’s very, very rare,” Bates-Diop said. Rookie and fellow Ohio State product Malaki Branham called Bates-Diop "like my big brother" as he's adapted to the NBA. He is averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 20.3 minutes per game. Bates-Diop had started 24 games this season, more than he had posted (17) in his first four seasons combined. Since then, it’s been a steady climb in all three categories. Keita Bates-Diop having season in last year of contract In 30 games, he averaged 8.2 minutes, 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds – all career lows. But after growing his scoring from 5 points to 6.8 in his second season, year one at San Antonio saw Bates-Diop’s minutes and production decline. That’s admittedly been a bit of a learning curve for Bates-Diop, who said he took in a lot from the veterans he played with during his rookie season at Minnesota as well as his playoff experience with Denver in 2019-20 as teammates with Nikola Jokić. Ohio State basketball: San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham enjoys Ohio NBA homecoming at Cleveland That’s really been the area he had to work in is that aggressive, physical part.” “We’ve approached him in that tone, so since he’s come he’s made significant progress in understanding how you have to be to stay in the NBA and what it takes to be a performer. “It’s a matter of becoming a little nastier, a little more aggressive, understanding that people would like to take his job away and he’s trying to carve out an NBA career,” Popovich said.
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