Pacers Draft Options: Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop

Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop may be the perfect prospect to fill the backup forward role for the Indiana Pacers.

Coming out of high school, Keita Bates-Diop had a lot of pressure to perform at Ohio State; he was the 24th-ranked prospect in the nation prior to his freshman season with the Buckeyes. KBD had a rough freshman year, playing under 10 minutes per game. After a sophomore year in which he played all 33 games and filled the stat sheet, Bates-Diop played in only nine of Ohio State’s games during his junior season due to an injury.

In the two season KBD played meaningful minutes, he was a star for the Buckeyes. In 2017-18, he posted 19.8 points per game on 48 percent shooting. Diop also knocked down 79.4 percent of his free throws and nearly 36 percent of his three-point shots. He could be the perfect backup forward for the Pacers moving forward. Let’s take a closer look at his game.

Weaknesses

Although Bates-Diop hit almost 80 percent of his freebies, he only attempted four foul shots per game. He will have to be more aggressive as a scorer at the next level. His aggression, in general, was a little lackluster in college, as he also only totaled 0.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. Those numbers may seem great on the surface, but his size indicates he should generate more plays than that. Being passive won’t get you far in the NBA, and it could hinder KBD from being great.

Bates-Diop also struggled as a ball-handler, posting only 1.1 assists while coughing up 1.2 turnovers per game over his career. He will have to take better care of the ball in the NBA.

Another “weakness” for many NBA fans is his age. At 22, Diop is older than many other prospects. However, that shows he has much more experience, so it DOES. NOT. MATTER.

Strengths

Bates-Diop has incredible size for an NBA forward, standing 6-foot-7 with a wingspan of 7-foot-4. That size and length allowed him to haul in 8.7 rebounds last season at Ohio State. He can play Small-Forward or Power-Forward with that size, making him a very versatile player. He has a frame that will fill out over time if he focuses on the weight room.

Impressively, KBD only racked up 1.7 fouls per game in 2017-18. That discipline kept him in the game for over 33 minutes on a night to night basis. The more time spent on the floor, the better. Diop was named the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2017-18 and led the Buckeyes to a top-3 finish in the Big Ten, and his big minutes were a huge part of that.

There is a ton of potential with Keita Bates-Diop. He can develop into an elite defender and slasher, but an improved jump shot can make him a stud in the association. He will be a great role player as a backup forward early on in his NBA career. With that kind of floor, he should be an attractive pick.

Can the Pacers land him?

Although I would love for the Pacers to grab Bates-Diop, it seems very unlikely he will be available at 23. He is projected to go in the top 20, and his pre-draft visits around the league will likely have his stock only trend up. A trade up would almost certainly need to be done in order to get Bates-Diop, and who knows if Indiana would be interested in that.

Next: Pacers Draft Options: USC Guard De’Anthony Melton

Who knows if he will be available or not at 23, but as fans, we can only hope. Keita Bates-Diop looks like he will be an impactful player in the NBA, so hopefully, that impact can be made while playing for the Indiana Pacers.