Tired, relieved and elated, Mamadou Diakhate couldn’t help but smile.
Some would smirk because of the 13-point effort that many considered to be his best game all season.
Others would be overjoyed for nailing a game-tying shot in the game’s final moments despite suffering from flu-like symptoms.
As if that wasn’t enough, the blaring “MA-MA-DOU!” chant from the student cheering section would surely get him.
Yet none of those matched his explanation.
“Well I feel good now … after the win,” he claimed with a laugh.
That shot – and a gritty 28 minutes off the bench from Diakhate – led to their third consecutive victory. The streak now stands at seven consecutive wins, the highest in the past 21 years.
That particular game against Iona had not come easy; the Stags were down by three with a mere 24 seconds left after playing from behind for most of the game. An anxious Gaels bench was ecstatic, cheering and jumping up and down at the thought that their first win of the season was imminent.
That was until Diakhate picked a most opportune moment to make the first three-point shot of his Fairfield career with three seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime.
Diakhate normally aided the Stags by playing great defense and providing intangibles.
On that day, he added his shooting touch.
That game seemed indicative of the winning trend that has developed for Fairfield lately.
A bruising, competitive sixth man, Diakhate’s reemergence as a presence on and off the court is a significant reason why the Stags now find themselves in the fourth place tie and on the cusp of the MAAC elite with a 8-5 conference record.
As if that wasn’t enough, that record puts them in a possible position for a first round bye.
It didn’t seem too long ago that Diakhate seemed to be stuck on the bench with no sign of hope, not too much unlike his team.
After a preseason concussion cost him the first six games of the season, Diakhate had played sparingly throughout the majority of the early portion of the season. He would commonly check in for defensive purposes, but consistent playing time seemed like an uncertainty.
Through Fairfield’s first 12 games, Diakhate had played a total of 52 minutes, with his season-high stuck at 12.
After the team’s winter recess, Diakhate had topped five minutes in only one of the team’s six contests. The Stags were winless over that span.
But the lack of playing time never really hurt his spirit.
“I never complain about play time,” said Diakhate. “Even if I sit the whole year, I’ll never complain. I’m [always] ready.”
His watershed moment came in the Stags’ first battle against Canisius at Harbor Yard, a game in which the Stags’ found themselves down by as many as 19 in the first half.
An irate Head Coach Ed Cooley pulled nearly all of his starters to send a message.
A charge, a steal and a few shots later, Diakhate had helped changed the momentum of the game.
More importantly, the Stags came back and won, which went a long way towards helping Diakhate become a Cooley favorite.
An old adage says coaches love players who do “the little things”.
Cooley is no different.
“A leader is definitely being born before our eyes,” said Cooley. “I like Mamadou’s tenacity. He’s able to do the small things, and in basketball the small things really help teams win.”
And winning is exactly what the Stags have been doing lately.
Their recent success is a product of a myriad of things: improved defensive play, strong bench contributions and tremendous sharpshooting from senior captain Michael Van Schaick.
However, it’s no coincidence that their recent stride has paralleled with the playing time and intangible contributions, both obvious and subtle, that Diakhate has provided.
And while there has been a change in the Stags’ fortunes and Diakhate’s playing time of late, it hasn’t done a thing to change the man.
“That’s just his personality,” said senior Michael Van Schaick. “I remember last year he didn’t play a couple of games and I still think he was the same person he is today.”
As long as Diakhate is his intense and bruising self, the recent string may continue.
His play could go a long way toward helping the Stags for the rest of the regular season and beyond.
And because of that, Diakhate is all smiles.
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