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SF/PF Keita Bates-Diop (Official Thread)

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Bates-Diop continues to shine
Wed, 01/16/2013
Matt Daniels

Walking out of the visiting Rantoul Township High School locker room last Friday night, Keita Bates-Diop acted like a normal teenager.

Head down.

Thumbs working frantically on the screen of his cell phone.

With an Ohio State stocking hat firmly planted on his head, the Normal University High School junior forward had just delivered what has become the norm for him this winter.

Bates-Diop, who choose Ohio State on Nov. 18 ahead of other Big Ten schools like Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue, among others, scored 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals in the Pioneers' 73-49 Corn Belt Conference win against Rantoul.

He did so in a little more than 20 minutes on the floor.

He picked up his second foul three minutes into the second quarter, prompting U-High head coach Bob Fitzgerald to sit his standout the rest of the first half.

Bates-Diop was on the bench and stayed there with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but it was because of how he helped U-High turn a one-point game early in the second quarter into a blowout by the time the fourth quarter arrived.

"The thing about Keita is he's a quiet player," Fitzgerald said. "He's going to put up 20, and you're not going to know about it because he's not a ball hog and he's not stingy. He works within the offense. We won, and he scored a lot, so I'd give him a pretty good grade."

It's clear to see why Bates-Diop garnered the type of interest he did this past summer when he rocketed up the rankings of several recruiting services.

He still is a lithe forward, at 6 feet, 8 inches and 190 pounds.

But the smooth way he plays, along with an improved jump shot that looks more natural than it did last year, and an ability to affect the game on both ends of the floor are clear indications of why he was coveted by many high-major Division I programs.

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http://www.illinihq.com/blogs/recruting-wrap/2013-01/bates-diop-continues-shine.html
 
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University High's Keita Bates-Diop dunks against Rantoul Friday, Feb. 15, 2013, in Normal. (Pantagraph/CARLOS T. MIRANDA)
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http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/hi...cle_dfb5f0ec-77f9-11e2-b071-0019bb2963f4.html
 
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Bates-Diop leads U High past BHS at regional; Lincoln next
By Randy Reinhardt | [email protected]

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Bloomington junior Jaylen Beasley, left, reaches over University High junior Keita Bates-Diop, right, on defense in Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, IHSA Class 3A regional semifinal game at Bloomington High School. (For The Pantagraph/B Corbin)

BLOOMINGTON ? Bloomington High School?s hustling pressure defense made matters treacherous for University High all evening Wednesday.

Yet U High standout Keita Bates-Diop was toughest on the Purple Raiders in a frenzied final minute at the Robert Frank Sports Complex.

Bates-Diop scored the Pioneers? final six points and drilled a well-guarded 18-foot jumper with two seconds left to propel U High to a tense-from-start-to-finish 55-53 BHS Class 3A Regional victory.

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http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/hi...11e2-9e82-0019bb2963f4.html?comment_form=true
 
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Lincoln ends U High’s season with thrilling OT win
By Jim Benson | [email protected]

BLOOMINGTON — When University High School’s Brad Dulee threw in a long shot with a second left in regulation, Max Cook feared the worst.

“I was a little bit (worried). I thought he was behind the line and hit the 3,” said Lincoln’s junior guard. “But our coaches said it’s not over and we had to keep playing, and that’s what we did.”

Dulee’s basket was ruled a two-pointer, forcing overtime in Friday night’s tense Class 3A Bloomington Regional championship game. The Pioneers took their only two leads of the game in the extra session, but the Railsplitters didn’t flinch either time.

Cook’s 3-pointer with 1:31 left gave No. 1-seeded Lincoln the lead to stay. He hit two more free throws with 5.8 seconds remaining as the Railers escaped with a 48-45 victory over the No. 2-seeded Pioneers at the Robert Frank Sports Complex.

Lincoln (28-4), ranked No. 6 in the state poll, advanced to Wednesday’s 7:30 p.m. Mount Zion Sectional semifinal against Central State Eight Conference rival Chatham Glenwood.

The Railers took an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter before U High (22-6) mounted a furious rally helped by six Lincoln turnovers.

Keita Bates-Diop, the Pioneers’ 6-foot-7 All-Stater who scored a game-high 20 points, sank a 3-pointer with 1:16 left to cut Lincoln’s lead to 40-35. Bates-Diop then converted a rare four-point play, hitting a 3-pointer while being fouled and making the free throw, to draw U High within 40-39 with 24.2 seconds left.

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season is over
 
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U High?s Bates-Diop named Pantagraph Player of the Year
By Randy Kindred | [email protected]

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CARLOS T. MIRANDA
University High's Keita Bates-Diop dunks during a game against Prairie Central, Jan. 18, 2013, in Normal. An Associated Press all-stater who has committed to Ohio State, Bates-Diop averaged 18.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for the Pioneers and has been named Pantagraph Player of the Year. (Pantagraph/CARLOS T. MIRANDA)

NORMAL ? Keita Bates-Diop has committed to a big-time college basketball program. He has been a first-team Associated Press all-stater in back-to-back years.

For some, that would be reason to relax and revel in the accomplishments. Bates-Diop has no time for either.

Embracing one?s situation requires that both hands be free, and Bates-Diop typically has a basketball in one or both of his. The 6-foot-7 University High School forward strives to enhance skills that already have him ranked among the top 25 juniors in the country.

It?s why he allowed himself only a week off following a season in which he led U High to a 22-6 record and a second straight unbeaten Corn Belt Conference championship.

An easy choice for Pantagraph Player of the Year, Bates-Diop has begun practicing with his summer team, the Chicago-based Illinois Wolves, and is frequently in a gym. He also plans to hit the weights.

?If you want to get better, you have to put in time in the offseason,? he said. ?It?s working on both aspects ? the skill part and the strength part.?

Bates-Diop has seen what such work can do.

Two summers ago, it put him on the major-college radar following a freshman season in which he played sparingly. Last summer, he emerged as a top national recruit and committed to Ohio State on the eve of this year?s season opener.

?That?s motivation to keep doing it,? he said.

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http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/hi...cle_0f80edb2-974f-11e2-a0e0-001a4bcf887a.html
 
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