Continuing our Post-July 2012 Review series
Keita Bates-Diop: When Purdue offered the Illinois forward last fall, it certainly did so knowing that the best was yet to come for him.
It's coming.
The versatile 6-foot-7 Bates-Diop (which is pronounced "Jop" by the way) blew up this summer and seems to only be scratching the surface still, because he will get more physical in the years to come, for one thing.
Right now, Bates-Diop is vaguely Durant-ish in his ability to pull up off the dribble and shoot jumpers. You don't see many guys his height and of his length who can do that like he can. Bates-Diop is a good three-point shooter, a terrific ball-handler and a very good athlete, one who's becoming so much more aggressive and violent around the rim. He was good, on average, for about one highlight-reel dunk per game in those contests we saw this month. That is a clear sign, I'd say, of a player who's working his way out of the softness of youth.
Another sign of maturity came in how much more consistent Bates-Diop seemed to be from game to game this summer as opposed to the spring.
What sticks out, too, is that Bates-Diop is clutch, blessed with a knack for making winning plays. He made at least one buzzer-beating shot this summer. This weekend in Fort Wayne, he passed up the chance to take a tough game-winner and made a brilliant pass to a wide-open teammate under the basket for a layup, just in the nick of time. A lot of players his age would have gotten excited and forced the shot. At Purdue's team camp, he made a game-winning three to beat Brownsburg.
What Bates-Diop is now is a player who can do a little bit of everything, an uncommon blend for a player of his size. He is agile enough and quick enough afoot to defend guards yet tall, long and athletic enough to guard the rim as well.
The next step will be to become a little bit better as a post player ? after all, he's well on his to 6-9 ? rather than being primarily the face-up player he is right now. But as is, he is a guy schools from coast to coast will want, an almost too-good-to-be-true combination of ability and intelligence.
When coaches follow recruits in the summer, it's not only an indication of who they want but also of who think they have a great shot to get.
Matt Painter and John Beilein were all over Bates-Diop in July, while Illinois kept an assistant standing guard everywhere he went.
Those two head coaches know they've got a great shot to land someone who's going to have many more suitors in coming weeks and months. By the time all is said and done, Bates-Diop might be one of the elite players in his class nationally.
In Bates-Diop's case, though, there doesn't seem to be much reason to believe he'll get out of Big Ten country.
But no one's going to know until he says something.
He won't until a decision is in. And considering the fact that he's more intelligent than any adult who might be interviewing him ? myself very much included ? he is not likely to stray off message.
So the wait is on.
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