On Friday, 2025 four-star forward, Badara Diakite shared with Hawkeye Beacon that he has decommitted from Iowa following the recent coaching change. Diakite committed to Iowa under Fran McCaffery in November.
Diakite is the third 2025 Iowa commit to rescind their pledge following the hiring of Ben McCollum. Four-star wing Joshua Lewis and three-star power forward, Dezmon Briscoe have also decommitted.
Diakite, who officially visited Iowa in mid-October, said seeing practice was a big deal for him when he made it to campus.
"Seeing those practices and how they were playing and stuff like that, and how Coach Fran was coaching them -- yeah, that was definitely something that stuck out," Diakite said. "They were just going up and down, and just the movement of the ball, it was so fast."
He believed his style of play matches up well with the way Iowa operated under the previous coaching staff.
"[Play style] is important," he said. "The system, how they play, and stuff like that."
“Badara is an extremely talented, versatile player with a great feel for the game,” McCaffery said in a statement when Diakite signed with the Hawkeyes. “He can stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting, he can guard any position one through five and he is an even better person. We’re thrilled to have him as part of the Hawkeye family.”
Diakite ultimately chose the Hawkeyes over a final three that included Boston College and Washington. He took official visits to all three campuses, with his OV to Iowa City coming in early October. The trip allowed him to get to know McCaffery, assistant coach Courtney Eldridge and the Iowa basketball program on a deeper level.
"I definitely like talking to them, especially when I went there," Diakite said after the visit. "I had a lot of fun with Coach Fran. He showed me around and we had a lot of good conversations. He's definitely a good guy."
McCaffery's experience and decisiveness in the recruiting process stood out to Diakite, who moved to America in 2020.
“I chose the University of Iowa because of the coaches’ communication in the recruiting process and because of Coach McCaffery," Diakite said. "I feel he understands me as a person and sees my basketball talents to be used in ways I can grow my game while helping the team win.”
