Iowa basketball among programs on hand for dominant performance from top 2026 center
As the college basketball recruiting grind continues throughout the summer months, Iowa basketball was among a lengthy list of high-profile programs in attendance to see 2026 four-star center Arafan Diane play for Iowa United Prep on Friday during his two games played in the MADE Hoops Augusta Live showcase in Georgia.
The 7-foot-1, 260-pound native of Guinea in West Africa, has played the past year with Iowa United Prep in West Des Moines where he is listed as the No. 1 prospect in the state, the No. 1 center, and No. 15 overall recruit in the 2026 class, per 247Sports.
Along with Iowa, the talented center currently holds offers from 19 other premier programs, including Purdue, Indiana, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Houston, Oregon, and Florida.
In one of the Friday contests, Diane was downright unstoppable, scoring 30 points and grabbing 12 boards.
Diane, who doesn't turn 18 until Nov. 19, previously played for the Dynastie Sports Institute in Montreal before joining Iowa United before the 2024-25 season.
Diane also played for the West African country of Guinea's national team in the U17 2024 World Cup, where he averaged 19.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.4 blocked shots and 1.4 assists through seven games, per FIBA basketball. During the tournament, Diane shot 33% from 3-point range, 55% from the field overall, and 74% from the free throw line.
While Diane's skillset has attracted significant attention from some of the top programs nationwide, a potential commitment to the Hawkeyes from the big man would almost immediately catapult the program's expectations to heights long dreamed of by fans.
The heavily-recruited in-state prospect has yet to schedule any official visits, but Diane will be a name that Hawkeye fans will want to keep an eye on.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Reese Shaw Commits To Lake Superior State
Former Des Moines Buccaneers forward Reese Shaw has committed to Lake Superior State, it was announced earlier this week.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Iowa football 2025 schedule preview: Week 7 vs Wisconsin
Coming off a bye in week 6, Iowa will head on the road for its second trophy game of the season: a matchup with the Wisconsin Badgers for the Heartland Trophy. Traditionally, whenever the Hawkeyes and Badgers got together on the gridiron, you could expect a hard-nosed, physical battle where whoever won the line of scrimmage won the game. However, it's a new era in Madison, and Wisconsin has changed the way it plays football drastically over the past few years. After the departure of Paul Chryst during the 2022 season, the Badgers hired former Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell to run their program. Fickell had a lot of success with the Bearcats, including leading them to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021. Fickell brought a winning culture and a new brand of offense with him to Madison: the Air Raid. Gone are the days of Jonathan Taylor, Melvin Gordon, and Montee Ball running for 2000 yards in a season. The Air Raid aims to spread out opposing defenses and put a lot of pressure on them through the passing game. It works great if you have the quarterback and receivers to play in that system, which the Badgers haven't had the past few years. The Badgers' starting QBs the past two seasons have a combined 4002 passing yards with a 22/14 TD to INT ratio. The failure of the Air Raid offense has led to a couple of middling seasons under Fickell, going 7-6 with a bowl game loss in 2023 and 5-7 in 2024. The defense wasn't much better, forcing just eight turnovers last season. Now entering year three and with another new QB in town, the pressure is on for Fickell to win. Another bad season could result in major changes for the program. With all that being said, let's take a deep dive into Wisconsin in 2025 by talking about some key returners and exciting newcomers for the Badgers. Who are some of the key returners for Wisconsin? Who are some exciting newcomers for the Badgers? History between Iowa and Wisconsin Wisconsin leads the all-time series against Iowa 49-47-2. The Hawkeyes have won the last three in a row and four of the last five against the Badgers this decade. Before that run, Wisconsin had won seven of eight against Iowa in the 2010s. And before that, Iowa had won six out of eight in the 2000s. This series has been a pendulum, with both sides enjoying an extended run of success against the other. The Hawkeyes will look to keep their momentum against Wisconsin with another win. The Hawkeys won the last meeting in Madison 15-6 back in 2023. Before that victory, their last win in Madison was back in 2015, when they won 10-6 en route to a 12-0 regular season. This is a big game for Iowa, sandwiched between matchups with playoff teams from last season in Indiana and Penn State. Going on the road to Madison is tough, and Wisconsin will look to improve a lot this season. The Hawkeyes will need to play their best road game to come away with the Heartland Trophy for a fourth straight season. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Iowa football 2025 schedule preview: Week 7 vs Wisconsin
Coming off a bye in week 6, Iowa will head on the road for its second trophy game of the season: a matchup with the Wisconsin Badgers for the Heartland Trophy. Traditionally, whenever the Hawkeyes and Badgers got together on the gridiron, you could expect a hard-nosed, physical battle where whoever won the line of scrimmage won the game. However, it's a new era in Madison, and Wisconsin has changed the way it plays football drastically over the past few years. After the departure of Paul Chryst during the 2022 season, the Badgers hired former Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell to run their program. Fickell had a lot of success with the Bearcats, including leading them to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021. Fickell brought a winning culture and a new brand of offense with him to Madison: the Air Raid. Gone are the days of Jonathan Taylor, Melvin Gordon, and Montee Ball running for 2000 yards in a season. The Air Raid aims to spread out opposing defenses and put a lot of pressure on them through the passing game. It works great if you have the quarterback and receivers to play in that system, which the Badgers haven't had the past few years. The Badgers' starting QBs the past two seasons have a combined 4002 passing yards with a 22/14 TD to INT ratio. The failure of the Air Raid offense has led to a couple of middling seasons under Fickell, going 7-6 with a bowl game loss in 2023 and 5-7 in 2024. The defense wasn't much better, forcing just eight turnovers last season. Now entering year three and with another new QB in town, the pressure is on for Fickell to win. Another bad season could result in major changes for the program. With all that being said, let's take a deep dive into Wisconsin in 2025 by talking about some key returners and exciting newcomers for the Badgers. Who are some of the key returners for Wisconsin? Sophomore RB Darrion Dupree: 79 carries, 317 yards, one TD as a backup in 2024. Three-star recruit. Senior WR Vinny Anthony II: 39 receptions, 672 yards, four TDs in 2024. Graduate S Preston Zachman: 58 tackles, four passes defended, two INTs in 2024. Senior S Austin Brown: 51 tackles, one sack, three passes defended, one forced fumble in 2024. Redshirt junior LB Sebastian Cheeks: 12 tackles, two sacks in 2024. Who are some exciting newcomers for the Badgers? Senior QB Billy Edwards Jr: Transfer from Maryland. 2881 passing yards, 15 TD, nine INT, 65% completion percentage in 2024. Senior WR Dekel Crowdus: Transfer from Hawaii. 16 receptions, 402 yards, four TDs in 2024. Senior TE Tanner Koziol: Transfer from Ball State. 94 receptions, 839 yards, eight TDs in 2024. Senior DL Jay'Viar Suggs: Transfer from LSU. 10 tackles, three tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks in 2024. Senior DL Parker Peterson: Transfer from Tulane. 21 tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks in 2024. History between Iowa and Wisconsin Wisconsin leads the all-time series against Iowa 49-47-2. The Hawkeyes have won the last three in a row and four of the last five against the Badgers this decade. Before that run, Wisconsin had won seven of eight against Iowa in the 2010s. And before that, Iowa had won six out of eight in the 2000s. This series has been a pendulum, with both sides enjoying an extended run of success against the other. The Hawkeyes will look to keep their momentum against Wisconsin with another win. The Hawkeys won the last meeting in Madison 15-6 back in 2023. Before that victory, their last win in Madison was back in 2015, when they won 10-6 en route to a 12-0 regular season. This is a big game for Iowa, sandwiched between matchups with playoff teams from last season in Indiana and Penn State. Going on the road to Madison is tough, and Wisconsin will look to improve a lot this season. The Hawkeyes will need to play their best road game to come away with the Heartland Trophy for a fourth straight season. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football 2025 schedule preview: Week 7 vs Wisconsin
