MANHATTAN, Kan. — It is too early to tell if Cartier Diarra will return to Kansas State for his final season of college basketball, but one thing appears certain about his future: He will declare for the NBA Draft as an early entrant and test the pro waters this spring.
“Yeah, I would anticipate that,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said in a phone interview. “I think, like Xavier (Sneed) did, he will put his name in. You have got to go through the process. I talked to him the other day. Like a lot of kids, that is something he definitely wants to look at.”
Diarra is expected to audition for a pro career over the next few months after averaging 13.3 points, 4.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds as a junior this past season.
He was K-State’s second-leading scorer and the team’s top distributor while playing in all 32 games.
Though Diarra is unlikely to be chosen in the upcoming NBA Draft, he could prove himself worthy of a G-League contract or a spot on a professional team’s roster overseas. Any of those options may be appealing enough for Diarra to forgo his final season of college basketball, as he is a redshirt junior who has already spent four years in Manhattan.
“Some guys that think that is a good step,” Weber said. “His first step will be to go through the advisory board. We will see what kind of grade he gets back with that and go from there.”
Weber warned that the pre-draft process may take longer than usual as all sports across the country have been suspended or canceled in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Diarra will have until April 26 to declare for the NBA Draft. Assuming he does so, he will then have nearly two months to impress pro scouts before making a decision on his future.
All early entrants can withdraw their names from the draft process by June 15 and retain their college eligibility, even if they sign with an agent.
Several K-State players have gone through the process in recent years and elected to return to school, including Kamau Stokes, Barry Brown and Sneed.
Those players declared mostly for exploratory reasons, making it clear they intended to return to the Wildcats from the beginning of the process. Diarra may be more open to turning pro.
For that reason, Weber and his coaching staff are actively recruiting guards in case they end up with an extra roster spot.
The top name to watch is Donovan Williams, a four-star guard from Lincoln, Neb., but the Wildcats also recently offered junior college wing Keon Ellis.
“I would say we are looking for a versatile guard,” Weber said. “Depending on what happens, that would be the next position that we need.”
It was a turbulent season for Diarra as he made the adjustment from role player to major contributor. He was in and out of the starting lineup as the season progressed, shooting 41.2% from the field and averaging a team-high 3.2 turnovers per game.
