JPJ will bid farewell to Diakite and Key in huge Louisville battle this afternoon
Posted on Saturday, Mar. 7, 2020, 6:00 am
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By Jerry Ratcliffe
Braxton Key and Mamadi Diakite celebrate a shot in the first half during the Duke game last weekend (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images).
When golden-domed Mamadi Diakite and compadre Braxton Key grace the court for the last time at John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday afternoon, we will remember.
Every Wahoo — baby to old codger — have stored away their own favorite highlight reels of the Cavalier duo’s deeds, particularly their momentous contributions en route to a Virginia national championship a year ago.
Moments frozen in time, indelibly stamped into the memory: Diakite’s unforgettable catch-and-shoot on the other end of Kihei Clark’s laser pass, sending the Purdue game into overtime and Virginia into the Final Four for the first time in 36 years. Key’s key block of Texas Tech sharpshooter Jarrett Culver in the final seconds of the national championship, also sending that game into overtime.
If nothing else, those two plays have carved Diakite and Key a special place in our hearts and into Virginia basketball lore.
But there’s so much more.
Yes, they are terrific basketball players. It doesn’t end there, though, as Tony Bennett will readily tell anyone within an earshot.
“They are good young men that have impacted this program on the court,” the UVA coach said. “But they’re really good teammates and really good people that goes beyond basketball.”
Diakite, with a ready smile, is a free spirit with athletic ability off the charts. He’s been around for five years, patiently working hard to learn a game that was unfamiliar to him growing up in Guinea.
Everyone in the program knew that if his knowledge ever caught up to his athleticism, Diakite would be dangerous. It did, late last season, as he blossomed into an almost monstrous exhibition of basketball in the postseason, and carried it over into this year. His leadership helped a young team develop into one of the ACC’s best products by season’s end.
While Diakite arrived in Charlottesville long ago, right out of nearby Blue Ridge School, Key is a relative newcomer. A nephew of legendary Cavalier Ralph Sampson, Key transferred after two years at Alabama, and at the urging of former UVA star Kyle Guy, showed up on Grounds last year.
He had applied for a special waiver that would allow him to easily transition from Bama to UVA without having to sit out the usual transfer year. The decision came in so late that most Wahoo fans had given up on the possibility of him playing last season.
It was late October of 2018 and Key was still waiting for an answer from the NCAA. Then one day, he was sitting in Greek Art History class when he received a text from Bennett and Key’s heart began to pound in anticipation.
Bennett asked him to call him when class was over and soon he was celebrating the decision that cleared him to play.
Both Diakite’s and Key’s impact on Virginia basketball has been invaluable as they head into Saturday’s Senior Day celebration.
Diakite said this week that with all the hoopla surrounding his final game at JPJ, he will not lose focus on the prize and will concentrate all his efforts on beating Louisville, which would fulfill the team goal of “winning out,” set after their loss at Louisville on Feb. 8.
“I’m thinking about the end result, and that’s getting a trophy on the way out,” Diakite said. “Not just one trophy. We can get all of them with the way that this team is doing.”
Virginia has won seven games in a row.
“I’m not looking at is as our last game, but one of our most important games, and I have to give it my all,” Diakite said. “There are more exciting things coming up later, the ACC Tournament and March Madness.”
Bennett will surely look back on the careers of his two seniors (Diakite is actually competing as a graduate player), when he hands them their framed Virginia jerseys.
“Braxton, we thought he was probably going to have to redshirt,” the coach said. “His patience last year (with the NCAA’s decision), and the moment that he got to play. His value in the national championship game, on the biggest stage — he was so good with his rebounding and defense. This year, he has gained more consistent time. He plays the 3 and the 4, and does whatever is required. He’s always been a good rebounder. I’m so glad how it worked out with his transfer.”
And, Diakite.
“When I think of Mamadi and his five years, I think of his redshirt [year],” Bennett said. “When I first saw him he was at Blue Ridge School and wasn’t speaking English that well.
“He’s a joyful spirit always. I think about all the key plays he’s been involved with over the years. He wants his team to do well. He’s made so many big plays for us down the stretch this year. I’m proud of him for that.”
Teammate Sam Hauser, the Marquette transfer who is sitting out this season, but who practices against both seniors every day, is proud to have worked with them this year.
“Mamadi’s impact on this team kind of goes unnoticed at times because he does a lot of things that don’t gain all the attention,” Hauser said. “His help-defense is really good and he covers up for a lot of things on defense. His offense has made a big jump from last year. He just has to continue being himself and do what he does, and we’ll be in good shape.
“He’s a fun-loving guy, but he gets serious when he needs to.”
Like last year in the Elite Eight battle versus Oregon, when Diakite got nose-to-nose in a death-stare with one of the Ducks’ starters — another everlasting memory of his toughness, his dedication, his unyielding desire to win and to never back down.
“Both will be missed from next year’s team,” Hauser said. “The impact of both on defense is so great. Braxton often guards the best scorer on the other team, especially if it’s a wing. He knows his strengths and plays to his strengths.”
Key, at 6-foot-8, can be a matchup nightmare because he is quick enough to guard even opposing guards such as Miami’s 5-foot-7 Chris Lykes. For example, at Miami last Wednesday, Lykes had most of the Hurricanes’ points in the first half. Bennett put Key on Lykes for the second half and Lykes struggled to shoot over the taller Cavalier, and couldn’t get past him either.
Then, if Key moves to the power-forward spot, he’s a different kind of matchup problem because he has a distinct quickness advantage over a larger, less-mobile big man.
Both will always be remembered for huge plays, being in the right place at just the right time and finishing the job.
Diakite, with a flair for the dramatic, including his golden-dyed hair, became an overnight sensation in the basketball world last year for his part in “The Play,” or “The Shot” — the buzzer-beating jumper that knotted the Purdue game at the end of regulation.
Veteran CBS commentator Jim Nantz, who has called countless basketball tournaments, said then-freshman Clark’s assist to Diakite might just have been the best in tournament history.
Wouldn’t have been if Diakite had finished it.
Days later, Diakite proudly noted how he had become a celebrity back home in Guinea. Heck, he was a celebrity back home in Virginia as well, getting stopped in shopping malls, restaurants and around Grounds for photographs and autographs.
For all their contributions, Bennett is perhaps more proud of what kind of people they’ve become.
That may be the greatest compliment the coach can share. Unforgettable moments. Unforgettable people. Saturday, we will remember.
