Arizona State Freshman Turning Heads in NBA Draft Space

Through a week of college basketball, the 2026 NBA Draft class is off to a blazing start.

A myriad of five-star freshman have performed even better than expected, and it was already one of the more hyped classes in some time. 

Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer have all lived up to the hype as No. 1-level prospects, and others like Tennessee’s Nate Ament, Arizona’s Koa Peat and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson are banging on the top tier’s door.

But the draft never turns out exactly as expected. Scouts and NBA decision-makers can hone in on five-stars and lauded returnees, but that won’t stop lesser-ranked prospects from trying to put themselves on the map, which Arizona State center Massamba Diop is doing through two games.

Diop joined the Sun Devils as a relative unknown in terms of impact. The 7-foot-1 product hails from Rufisque, Senegal, but spent most of his basketball career at various stops in Spain. He played two seasons in Gran Canaria’s youth teams, before going to the ACB and EuroCup, per Arizona State athletics. He was a three-star recruit per 247sports.

Most recently, he spent two seasons playing for Gran Canaria II.

His basketball career is trackable, though it wasn’t a given that he’d be able to hit the ground running at the college level. So far, he’s done just that.

In Arizona State’s opener against Southern Utah, Diop scored 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, adding five rebounds, two assists, three bocks and a steal. 

A one-off performance is one thing, but in a follow-up against Utah Tech, Diop went for 18 points on 58% shooting, with six rebounds, an assist and two steals. After failing to attempt a triple in his first outing, he hit on both tries in game two.

Even more, the eye test backs up Diop’s play. He has premier bend, fluidity and mobility for a player of his size, running the floor with ease, skying for dunks, slashing down the lane and even stepping back for one of his three-pointers.