Moussa Diabaté
Moussa Diabaté (born 21 January 2002) is a French college basketball player for the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top power forwards in the 2021 class. Early life and youth career. Born in Paris to Malian and Guinean parents, Diabaté started playing basketball at age 12 with Sporting Club Maccabi de Paris. After a few months, he moved to USD Charonne, where his interest in the sport formed, and he later competed for Saint Charles de Charenton Saint Maurice. Diabaté was not allowed into the  sports institute CREPS for academic reasons. At age 14, he moved to the United States to advance his basketball career. In eighth grade, he joined the middle school program of Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. At first, he did not speak English and struggled to adjust to the American style of play. High school career. As a freshman in high school, Diabaté played for Florida Preparatory Academy in Melbourne, Florida. For his sophomore season, he transferred to DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida. Diabaté grabbed 30 rebounds in a game against Marshall County High School. As a sophomore, he averaged  17.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. After the season, Diabaté competed for Nightrydas Elite at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. For his junior season, he moved to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. In December 2019, Diabaté helped his team reach the City of Palms Classic final. He participated in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp during NBA All-Star Weekend in February 2020. As a junior, Diabaté averaged 14.5 points and seven rebounds per game. In his senior season, he averaged 14.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, and led his team to a 21–3 record . He was selected to the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic rosters. Recruiting. Diabaté was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top power forwards in the 2021 class. On 9 November 2020, he committed to playing college basketball for Michigan over offers from Arizona, Kentucky and Memphis, among others. College career. On 20 February 2022, Diabaté was involved in the postgame melee following a 77-63 loss to Wisconsin and appeared to throw punches. He was suspended one game by the Big Ten Conference for his role in the brawl. Diabaté was named to  the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. National team career. Diabaté led France to fourth place at the 2018 FIBA U16 European Championship in Novi Sad, Serbia. He averaged 11.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, recording 16 points and 17 rebounds against Serbia in the quarterfinals. At the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship in Volos, Greece, he averaged 13.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game for France, who came in fifth place. In a group stage win over Greece, Diabaté recorded 14 points and 20 rebounds.