How NC State’s Mohamed Diarra blossomed into an elite rebounder

Mohamed Diarra did not gravitate towards basketball as a child growing up about 13 miles from the Eiffel Tower in Montreuil, France, a suburb outside of Paris. Instead, his sport of choice was soccer. Diarra spent the first 15 years of his life kicking a ball around, playing on various teams in France. But as he continued to tower over the rest of the children his age, Diarra’s uncle suggested he try basketball. The young Frenchman dreamed of playing professional soccer in Europe. But with his tall frame, basketball seemed to be a more natural fit. Diarra took that advice and swapped his soccer cleats with hightops and immediately started putting shots up. They were not pretty at the time, but Diarra’s mindset flipped. He was determined to turn pro in basketball, even though he was a very raw basketball player. The size and athleticism was there, he just had to refine it. “When I started playing basketball, people didn't think I’m going to make it,” Diarra said on a rainy day in Raleigh inside the Dail Basketball Center. “I always talked about, ‘I’m going to be a pro in basketball’ even when I was really bad. I don’t play just for fun, I play for a reason. I want to make it pro and take care of my family.” The former soccer player has turned his new sport into a free education. Diarra, a 6-foot-10 post player, moved to the United States in 2019 to attend Redemption Christian in New York for prep school before he attended Garden City Community College to begin his collegiate career. It has been a winding road for Diarra, but after a brief stint at Missouri, he has been a force on the glass for NC State in his first season with the Wolfpack.