Inside The Huskies

Report Says UW Will Add French Swingman

Dominique Diomande is a 19-year-old pro prospect.

Dan Raley

Dominique Diomande is a French basketball player who may be headed to the UW.
Dominique Diomande is a French basketball player who may be headed to the UW. / Twitter

One of the things that makes Gonzaga basketball so powerful year in and year out is its reliance on the overseas basketball player, with French and NBA-retired big man Ronny Turiaf immediately coming to mind.

If reports are accurate, it appears the University of Washington will more actively pursue this talent resource as well, with DraftExpress.com reporting on Wednesday that 6-foot-7 French swingman Dominique Diomande has committed to Danny Sprinkle's staff for the coming season. The school has made no official pronouncement.

The possible addition of Diomande, who most recently played for the French pro team ADA Blois, would pair him on a Husky front line that already has 6-foot-8 Great Osobor from Bradford, England, as an anchor.

Diomande, who reportedly has competed for the Ivory Coast national team, is just 19 years old and, according to online bios, isn't eligible for the NBA Draft until 2027. How he has retained his college eligibility is unclear, unless he has been playing without a contract.

Various online reports suggest that Diomande also was recruited by SEC teams and had been scouted by the Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers and Washington Wizards, again unconfirmed.

Interviewed for a YouTube segment in November 2023, in which his head was cut off most of the way through the video, Diomande confirmed he was interested in pursuing college basketball as a means for getting to the NBA.

"It's still an option, for sure," he said. "I just want to make it to the league, whatever way I have to take it."

In that same interview, Diomande said he had the choice to play for either the Ivory Coast or French national teams, but chose the former to honor his late father, who was of African descent and once a basketball player.

For Blois, he averaged 15.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game this past season, according to DraftExpress.com, which advertises itself as a private basketball recruiting and analytical service used by the NBA, colleges and international teams.

Sorting through myth and what's real still is difficult when it comes to overseas players and confirming what's been reported. One internet posting showed that Diomande came up with a 34-point, 23-rebound game in the Egyptian Basketball Federation back in 2021 when he would have been 16.

If Diomande is, indeed, coming to the UW, the Huskies will have to get a scholarship available for him after already having reached the 13-player limit.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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