Ohio State Basketball: Bates-Diop on a roll, wins national award

Well deserved award for the Ohio State forward.

Keita Bates Diop is having an outstanding season and has been on a roll of late. Now he has been recognized as the Oscar Robertson National player of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association after his performances in the Ohio State wins over Iowa and Michigan State.

Bates-Diop scored 27 points and pulled down 13 rebounds versus the Hawkeyes. Against the Spartans, his stat line was 32 points and 7 boards.

What made his performance against Michigan State special was that it was against the then No. 1 ranked team in the country with future NBA players on the floor.

The Ohio State forward has had a terrific stretch the last five games. During that time his total production, points scored combined with rebounds, have exceeded his minutes played.

In the last five games Bates-Diop has scored 121 points (24.2 ppg) and pulled down 38 rebounds (7.5 rpg). He has been on the floor a total of 151 minutes, averaging 30.2 minutes of playing time per game.

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For the season his combined points and rebounds isn’t far behind his minutes played. Bates-Diop is averaging 20 ppg and 8.8 rpg while playing 31.8 minutes per game.

All three of those marks lead the team. He is also the team leader in blocks per game (1.6) and steals (1.2).

The most impressive thing about the stats the Ohio State forward is putting up is that they have come in the normal flow of a team concept. He rarely forces the issue on the offensive end unless the team needs a bucket to stop a run or at another crucial point of the game. Then he is perfectly fine with taking matters into his own hands.

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If Keita Bates-Diop continues his stellar play, expect him to earn All-Big Ten honors at the end of the season, and possibly All-American honors as well. Then with his athleticism, and all around skill set, he will be off to the NBA.