Clutch performer
New Husky guard Diarra has knack for hitting big shots
STORRS — You never forget your first game-winning shot. Hassan Diarra certainly hasn’t.
As a sophomore last season at Texas A&M, Diarra hit not one, not two, but three shots that either tied or won the game for the Aggies with 10 seconds or less left to play.
He called the first one, on Nov. 10 against Abilene Christian University, his most memorable. And he spared no detail when remembering the circumstances.
“We were down by two, we had the ball,” Diarra recalled. “My teammate went to the free throw line, he missed both of his shots. My other teammate went to grab the ball for a rebound, it was tipped out of bounds by the other team. We were running an inbounds play, and the inbounds play fell through. So, I popped to the ball, caught the ball and took two dribbles to my left and shot it. And it went in. We won by one, thank God.”
A quick visit to YouTube and it all checks out. Diarra’s 3-pointer fell through the hoop with 0.9 seconds left to give the Aggies the 81-80 lead. He even had the presence of mind to bat away the long inbounds pass to seal the victory.
“I think it boosted my confidence even more for the rest of them,” Diarra recalled.
Indeed, his season highlight reel was hardly over. On Jan. 22 at Arkansas, Diarra hit a 3-pointer with 9.1 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime (where A&M lost). And in a second-round SEC tournament game on March 10 in Tampa, Diarra’s trey with 0.4 seconds left in overtime gave the Aggies an 83-80 win over Florida.
Diarra, who transferred to UConn last month, doesn’t reveal any secrets to hitting clutch shots.
“I would just say you need to be confident in yourself, not to be rattled or anything,” he said, completely unrattled while grad assistant Chris Mastrangelo jokingly fiddled with the back of Diarra’s practice jersey during the interview. “I feel like those shots are a product of my work. I work hard every day, and they just go in.”
It’s no coincidence that two of the players UConn has brought in from the transfer portal this spring have
shown a knack for clutch play. Nahiem Alleyne, the rising senior from Virginia Tech who should be arriving on campus in a couple of weeks, had a huge game in his NCAA tournament debut two seasons ago against Florida. Alleyne hit a gametying 3-pointer with two seconds left to send the game into overtime, and though Virginia Tech eventually lost, Alleyne finished with a career-high 28 points — the second-most in school history in an NCAA tourney game.
Add Diarra’s array of clutch buckets and the Huskies have brought in some true gamers.
“That’s big for us,” UConn coach Dan Hurley noted. “It’s tough to play or coach here because expectations are always super-high. Then, when you get to March, you have to have the type of mentality: ‘I want the ball, I want the moment, I’m gonna thrive under these pressure-packed conditions.’ It’s not a series in the NCAA tournament, it’s a one-game thing. So, you’d better have guys who believe in themselves.”
Hassan Diarra certainly believes in himself.
“We’re going to obviously need that,” Hurley continued. “You need that in March.”
Diarra, who grew up in Queens, N.Y. and prepped at Putnam Science Academy, may not be able to put a finger on why he thrives in the clutch. Part of it may have to do with having that “New York thing,” as Hurley likes to call it (only substituting “thing” with an unprintable).
“They’re different,” Hurley noted. “You can’t pinpoint what it is. ‘That guy’s got to be from New York, the way he’s walking and talking.’”
James Bouknight had it, according to Hurley. Associate head coach Kimani Young has it. So does newly-minted director of player development Mamadou Diarra. That would make sense, since Mamadou is Hassan’s older brother.
Hassan, who followed Mamadou to Putnam Science Academy and wound up the program’s all-time leading scorer, wants to make a name for himself and create his own legacy in basketball. But he’s excited to have his older brother as part of the staff.
“It’s cool, but it’s kind of weird, too,” Hassan admitted. “It’s definitely an adjustment having him around, but it’s truly a blessing. Not many people get to have their brother around during their college years. I’m just happy that I’ve been able to do that.”
In Mamadou’s new role, he can’t do any on-court coaching (except when an assistant is away on a recruiting trip or otherwise). But Hassan knows he’ll hear plenty from his brother.
“He can yell at me. Hopefully, he’s tough on me, just like Coach.”
Diarra can’t predict what type of role he’ll play in his first season at UConn. He averaged 6.2 points per game last year at A&M while starting just three of 40 games. With high-scoring ECU transfer Tristen Newton in the fold, along with Alleyne and top returnees Andre Jackson and Jordan Hawkins, the Huskies’ backcourt is deep, talented — and versatile.
“The beauty of guys like Tristen and Hass, they can play on the ball and get you into stuff, create for others,” Hurley noted. “But they’re comfortable playing off the ball, letting Dre take it and create in transition, or create in the ball-screen game, where Dre is a really outstanding passer and creator. Especially if he’s out on the court with four other guys who can score the ball. It’s going to create driving lanes for him, and passing options.”
Hassan Diarra may not start too many games in his first season at UConn. But as the New York-tough rising junior has already proven several times, he sure can finish them.