Araphan Diane - New 'baby Shaq' rolling the numbers for Guinea
Standing at 2.03m (6ft 8in), tall, Araphan Diane - who looks like a new 'Baby Shaq' - has taken the 2023 FIBA U16 African Championship by a storm.
MONASTIR (Tunisia) - Guinea center Araphan Diane comes with a very imposing personality. At just 15, his body mass on the court is intimidating.
Standing at 2.03m (6ft 8in), tall, Araphan Diane - who looks like a new 'Baby Shaq' - has taken the 2023 FIBA U16 African Championship by a storm.
Ahead of the Final against Egypt, Diane recorded a tournament-high of six double-doubles, that is one double in each game Guinea played in Monastir.
Starting from his first game, Araphane scored 16, points and 20 rebounds against Morocco to announce his presence.
In his second game, the 15-year-old had16 points and 10 rebounds as Guinea beat frontrunners Egypt 83-78.
In the team's third game against Chad, Araphan stepped up the tempo with another double-double of 18 points and 24 rebounds and in the last last game of the Group Stage against Uganda, he contributed 25 points and 15 rebounds.
Araphan Diane
Moving to the Quarter-Finals Stage against Cote d'Ivoire, Araphan didn't slow down as he had 21 points and 23 rebounds and in the Semi-Final against Angola, he was 12 points and 18 rebounds for an accumulated 108 points and 110 rebounds in six games in 184 minutes on the court.
His average per game in this championship is 18 points, and 18.3 rebounds.
Aside his high numbers on the court which has also gotten him extra attention, Araphan admits that he had often times been a victim of body shaming while in the United States and Canada making him feel unwelcome and unwanted.
However, his visit to his home country Guinea changed all of that and now he feels at home among his brothers and friends in the Guinea national U16 team.
Araphan Diane
In a session with him at the Salle Mohamed Mzali, venue of the FIBA U16 African Championship in Monastir, the powerful rebounder told FIBA.basketball of his desire to take Guinea basketball to a higher level.
"I came to this championship with the same mind set like my teammates and that is to win . On the court, I give percent to help me achieve my aim for the team. Personally, I am looking forward to representing Guinea at other levels after this to see that the country's basketball get to greater heights."
Speaking on his set objective for Guinea basketball, Araphane Diane said that his aim is to help Guinea win the U16 championship trophy.
"Guinea has never won a trophy and I want to be part of those that will make it happen. This is so because I admire players like Giannis Antetokounmpo for his style of play," he said.
FIBA