Former General All-American, Moustapha Diarra Signs Professional Contract in France

(Pau-France) – Former Sheridan College General All-American, Moustapha Diarra has signed a professional contract to play basketball for the Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez in his native France. After two years on the court for the Sheridan Generals, Diarra went on to become a two-year letter-winner for the University of San Francisco. While at San Francisco, Diarra helped lead the Dons to the quarterfinals of the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament in his final season.

During his first season at Sheridan, Diarra garnered his first All-Region IX Defensive Player of the Year honor, as well as an all-league selection while averaging 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per contest. His sophomore season showed his growth and improvement as his production increased to 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. During his sophomore season Diarra was awarded with a Junior College All-American honor, in addition to a second selection All-Region IX Defensive Player of the year and all-league honors. Diarra shot a remarkable .596 (252-423) from the field in final season, ranking No. 48 nationally among NJCAA leaders.

“Moustapha had a tremendous two-year career at Sheridan before moving on to the University of San Francisco,” Sheridan College head coach Steve Smiley said. “He was a blessing for our program as we transitioned into a new coaching staff between his freshman & sophomore years. Moustapha helped lead us through that transition and had a great sophomore year, being named as an NJCAA All-American and helping to lead his team to a 26-win season and a spot in the Region 9 Final Four. We’re very proud of his accomplishments at the University of San Francisco and now as he gets an opportunity to play basketball at the highest level. Moose is not only a great basketball player, but is also a great person, and will hopefully play for many years in the professional ranks.”

Diarra turned in a strong senior campaign for the USF Dons, averaging 7.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. An excellent low post scorer, Diarra ranked seventh among West Coast Conference field goal percentage leaders converting on .498 (111-223) from the field.

“I have really enjoyed playing in the United States,” Diarra said. “It was a really good experience to be in another country on my own; I learned a lot of things during my 4 years in America. The time playing at Sheridan has really prepared me well to play professionally, I learned to play the game harder and have endured many tough challenges along the way.”

Pau-Orthez is one of the top clubs in France and plays in Pro A (top division). The club owns a league-best seven Pro A Championships. The Pro A season starts in September and runs through May. Some other notable NBA players that have competed with Pau-Orthez Club are Boris Diaw, Mickael Pietrus, Mustafa Shakur, and Gheorghe Mureşan.

Las Vegas Guard Joins General Nation

Sheridan College Head Coach Steve Smiley has announced today the signing of Las Vegas guard Victor Bermudez to a national letter of intent. Bermudez, a 6’4 175 pound guard played last season at University Park Academy Prep last year in Houston. During his high school playing days at Cheyenne High School in Las Vegas, Bermudez showed his sharp shooting ability by raining in 50% from the field, 88% from the line, and an impressive 48% from beyond the arc. Bermudez joins a highly touted freshman class that is expected to contribute immediately after losing standout guards Matt Glover (signed at Penn State), Omar McDade (signed at Fort Hays State) and Kendrick Morse (signed at Fort Hays State).

Coach Smiley had this to say about Victor: “We’re very excited to get a player of Victor’s caliber this late in the recruiting process. Over the past several days, we realized that we might need to sign one more player and that is exactly when Victor became available. Victor is a good-sized, athletic guard with a high skill level that can play anywhere from the 1-3 guard positions. We saw Victor during the Las Vegas AAU Tournament in July when he played for 24-7 Hoops, and Head Coach Pat Amico. He has a chance to be a special player here at Sheridan and at the next level, as well. We’re excited to get him out here and start working with him right away.”

Cadot Shines In FIBA Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championship

Current Texas Christian University Horned Frog, and 2010 Sheridan College All-American, JR Cadot finished out his summer by participating in the FIBA Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championship Tournament for his home country of the Bahamas. Cadot and his squad battled Jamaica in an overtime win in the semi-final game of the tournament for a chance to face the U.S. Virgin Islands in the championship game. Cadot finished the game with a double-double, tallying 13 points and 12 rebounds, ensuring the Bahamian team a spot in the upcoming Centrobasket Tournament. The Centrobasket Tournament invites teams from the Caribbean, Latin American, and Mexico to compete for an opportunity to play in the upcoming FIBA Americans Championship, and ultimately the Olympic Games.

The U.S. Virgin Islands squeaked past the Bahamas in the championship game, defeating Cadot and his team by the slimmest of margins, 91-89. Cadot fueled a second-half comeback as the Bahamas faced a 20 point deficit going into halftime. Cadot led his team in scoring with 22 points, while going 4-6 (66.7%) from deep, and grabbing 7 rebounds. A Silver Medal for the Bahamas is the highest finish that the team has earned in the tournament since they won Gold in 1995.

For the tournament Cadot impressed by showing his consistency averaging 10.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per contest, garnering him a spot on the All-Tournament Team. When asked about his experience, Cadot said that, “playing for the Bahamas national basketball team sparked a fire in me to not only dominate this year for my Senior season in college, but to do the little things that I have to as a Senior in order to finally bring a Mountain West Basketball Championship to TCU”