Out of West Africa, 7-1 center Arafan Diane visits Ducks in September

In 1994 years ago Nick Nolte starred in a basketball movie called "Blue Chips" that seems quaint now. The big scandal in the film was that a big-money booster, played by the late J.T. Walsh bought a recruit's family a tractor.

In the film a young Shaquille O'Neal plays Neon Boudeaux, a raw, sweet-natured dunk machine from the playgrounds of New Orleans. His tutor Jenny Bell, the coach's ex-wife, played by "Dance With Wolves" star Mary Donnell, promises him $100 if he passes his SAT test.

Thirty-one years later Neon Boudeaux has come to life, only he's a 7-1, 260 raw but gifted center from Conakry, Guinea in West Africa, Arafan Diane, currently playing for Iowa United Prep in Norwalk, Iowa.

Within just a few months of playing in AAU and National Basketball Players Association showcases, Diane has risen from relative unknown to the No. 22 prospect and No. 1 center in the 2026 class.

He's visiting Oregon in September.

"He's certainly got some power and rawness to his game, but he's clearly on the come-up." Adam Finkelstein of CBS/247Sports said.

The intriguing part of Diane's meteoric rise is that he just started playing basketball five years ago. The story is that he was buying a soccer ball at a local market when he met met Souleymane Kasse, the coach of the Guinea National Training Center and an assistant for Guinea’s national team.

According to Sam Lance of Hoops HQ, Kasse convinced him to buy a basketball instead.

Diane soaked up the game. When he was old enough to travel on his own at 14 they shipped him to Montreal to play for Dynastie Prep, a youth program for promising international players run by Alex Victor.

Victor worked with him for three years before sending him on to Norwalk.

Since then Diane has played in U17 World Championships, the NBPA Top 100 and national AAU tournaments, developing a soft touch around the basket, an impressive power game as well as the ability to kick the ball out to open teammates and block shots.

He's even averaged 73 percent from the free throw line, a frequent weakness for big men growing into their bodies, as it was for Neon/Shaq.

Diane has drawn comparisons to versatile international stars like Nikola Jokic, Alperen Sengun and Derik Queen. He seems to have competitive drive and he's an intelligent young man who speaks five languages, rapidly developing an understanding of where basketball can take him.

Dillon Brooks, Chris Boucher and Jordan Bell all developed into NBA players under Altman. Diane is in the eye of recruiting storm that includes Purdue, Indiana, Houston, UConn, Creighton and Florida with another batch of offers streaming in every time he suits up at a prospect showcase.

He's have his choice of schools, and no doubt someone will even offer to send his family a tractor. But few could teach him the game as thoroughly as Dana Altman, who's worked with promising international players before.

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