Miami's Diaz may be better than Felton AND Paul...

[jones32]

Diaz may be a better fit for the ATL than the smaller Chris Paul or Raymond Felton...

Over the last couple of years, I have seen guards who may not seem great, but it is something about their game that can easily transition to the NBA: Players like Amare Stoudamire, Dewayne Wade , LeBron James and Allen Iverson..

This guy is sort of a mix between Allen Iverson and DeWayne Wade, and has more upside than Felton, in my opinion.. and would be a better fit for the Atlanta style of play...

Dwayne Wade wasn't getting a whole lot of pub, but you can see the maturity and confidence in his game..

''Diaz is a once-in-a-lifetime type player. He has courage and confidence to go along with his unusual ball-handling skills and athleticism. He uses finesse when he has to, and explosiveness to create shots for himself and his teammates. He has a confident air about him, never gets rattled, and takes on all challenges. That is a rare set of tools, and people are going to be surprised when they get a chance to play him to see how special he is.'' -- Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton.[/

Stats from Diaz (Feb.4)

MIN PTS REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF FG% FT% 3P%

33.9 18.4 4.5 2.5 2.1 1.2/1 1.6 0.4 1.6 .470 .692 .398

Stats from Felton (as of Feb. 4)

MIN PTS REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF FG% FT% 3P%

29.4 11.2 3.9 7.4 3.8 1.9/1 1.9 0.5 1.8 .490 .679 .458

Stats from Chris Paul (as of Feb. 4)

MIN PTS REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF FG% FT% 3P%

33.1 15.7 4.4 6.5 2.7 2.4/1 2.1 0.0 2.3 .468 .835 .550

Diaz rises to top of ACC crop

BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN

mkaufman@herald.com

Guillermo Diaz, at first glance, looks like a lot of other speedy college basketball guards, slicing and spinning his way through defenders, eyes darting around the court, bouncing the ball like a yo-yo, head bobbing as if to say, ''Yeah, I got the ball, and I've got big plans . . .''

. . . And then, his feet leave the ground. And they soar. And soar. To heights that seem impossible for a sophomore who stands barely 6-2. At times, you would swear he is leaping off a trampoline, not a hardwood floor.

It is at that moment, when he becomes airborne, that it's clear this is not just another speedy guard.

This is a fearless guy with a 41-inch vertical leap, a human pogo stick who once starred on the Puerto Rican junior national volleyball team, a freak of nature who spent his teen years winning bets by grabbing dollar bills off the top of the backboard.

And it is this kid from Miami Christian High, not an All-American from Duke or Wake Forest, who leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring after four games with 24.5 points per game -- 27 against Georgia Tech, 26 against N.C. State, 26 against Virginia, and 19 against Florida State, including the game-winner with less than 10 seconds to go.

Fourth-ranked Duke (13-0, 3-0) is in town tonight for a sold-out, nationally televised game against the upstart Hurricanes (12-3, 3-1), and you can bet Diaz's name is highlighted all over the scouting report. The ACC is finding out what Diaz's teammates and diehard Hurricane fans have known for about a year now -- this guy is unique.

''If I had to pick one word, it would be unbelievable,'' teammate Will Frisby said. 'The kid is a prodigy. He does things that make your jaw drop. There isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't do something that makes me say, 'How'd he do that?' It's not human what he does. That shot he took against Georgia Tech [shaking his head], that was unbelievable. We see him do that all the time. It's just that was the first time ESPN took notice.''

The shot Frisby describes is a twisting, airborne behind-the-back flip-in that brought the UM bench to its feet and earned a spot on ESPN's plays of the day.

TERRIFIC TRIO

All three of UM's starting guards have played well this year, and their collective success is a big reason the Hurricanes are tied for third in the ACC. Versatile Rob Hite averages 19 points per game, and point guard Anthony Harris, with 12.4 points and 4.7 assists, is proving he probably was worthy of more playing time last season, when he spent all but 74 minutes on the bench. But it is Diaz who has leaped -- literally -- onto the ACC radar screen.

• ''Diaz is terrific. He was maybe the best nonpublicized player I've seen. He's really, really good. I don't know how much notoriety he had before the season, but I can assure you everyone knows who he is now.'' -- N.C. State coach Herb Sendek.

• ''Diaz is a once-in-a-lifetime type player. He has courage and confidence to go along with his unusual ball-handling skills and athleticism. He uses finesse when he has to, and explosiveness to create shots for himself and his teammates. He has a confident air about him, never gets rattled, and takes on all challenges. That is a rare set of tools, and people are going to be surprised when they get a chance to play him to see how special he is.'' -- Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton.

• ''Diaz is an offense onto himself. He makes hard plays look easy. He is freakish athletically, has terrific range and tremendous confidence. He can get over you in the lane with his athleticism, a terrific player. He has got to be a focal point of your scouting report. We tried to recruit him at USF [south Florida]. You watch him work out one day, see his armpit at the rim, and you knew this kid had special athleticism.'' -- Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg.

• ''I haven't seen him the past few weeks, but some guys are saying he's the best guard in the ACC, and that includes [Chris] Paul and [Jarrett] Jack.'' -- NBA scout.

BRANCHING OUT

Diaz, who is much more shy off the court than on, smiles and shrugs at the compliments. He is just doing what it takes to win, he says. It's easy when you have two other guards beside you like Hite and Harris, he insists. The only difference from last year is his level of confidence.

''Last year, I was behind Darius Rice and Rob, but this year, I feel like one of the leaders, and I'm playing with a lot more confidence,'' he said. ''It's normal for a freshman to be a little timid, which I was at times. But now, I'm calm and feeling like I belong out there.''

He also is feeling more comfortable off the court. He took intensive English classes last summer to help him communicate better on the court and the classroom. And, his new girlfriend, UM basketball player Katie Hayek, has been a calming influence, as well.

NBA scouts are beginning to take note of Diaz, but he said the only thing on his mind right now is Duke and helping his team reach the postseason. ''Every player dreams of the NBA, and if that offer comes, of course I'd take it, but it is way too early to be talking like that,'' Diaz said. ''Right now, we want to prove we can play with the best teams. I can't wait for Duke.''

[Packfill]

Diaz is not a point guard.

[Vafan]

This guy got serious game. If we get the first pick, I say trade down to the 5-10 pick and hopefully steal this guy. With our second pick in the middle of the first, draft a big guy.

[Employee8]

Quote:

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Diaz is not a point guard.

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Diaz isn't a point guard but i'd sure as hell want to get him if Bogut isn't there when we pick

Diaz sounds like Allen Iverson with STRENGTH....Not Bad.

[jones32]

Critics tried to pick at Wade's game, but Wade is versatile as one or two guard...

... And I believe Diaz is from that same mold.. That guy is a player...

[TnDawg]

"Diaz isn't a point guard but i'd sure as hell want to get him if Bogut isn't there when we pick"

Exactly,

I would hate for us to pass on a true scorer which we need( hopefully he gets his points from outside ala Reddick), just to pick up a point guard. While I acknowledge that the 1&5 spots are our biggest areas of need, I would rather pick up a pure outside threat like Reddick or maybe this guy and draft a PG with a later 1st round pick (ala trade). Then hopefully we get can sign Dalembert, Swift, or Brown to improve our inside defense.

[falc82]

I still want Felton, Felton is a good defender but is also like Nash in his ability to set up his team mates and really make them better. Diaz averages 2 apg...that's not what we need in our PG. We should draft Bogut or Felton with the 1st, and then in the 2nd pick up either Wayne Simien, Nate Robinson, or Andray Blatche. With the Knicks 2nd rounder we pick up Luther Head, Julius Hodge, Sean Banks, or Lawerence Roberts. With the Spurs 2nd rounder we should pick up someone like BJ Elder, Quemont Greer, or Chris Thomas.

We have the opportunity to add talent at everyone of our picks even with the SA pick, which is very rare. I don't know if BJ Elder will last to the SA pick, but it all depends on how he bounces back from his injury. He could be the outside threat we need off the bench.

Another player to keep an eye out should him come out is Daniel Gibson, who is the freshmen PG for Texas who is playing very well. If we are to trade Walker for a 1st (15-20 range) then we should draft maybe Bogut with our own pick and get Jack/Gibson with the added pick.

[hotboyj]

Diaz may be bettter than Felton and Paul, but he isn't the best Peruvian in NCAA basketball. I was reading on Inside Hoops and they ran a story on Jose Juan Barea. They compared him to Steve Nash. I decided to look at his stats. He is averaging 22.4 ppg, and 6.8 apg. I don't know about you, but it is sounding alot like Steve Nash. He may not be as atletic as Diaz, but I am sure he is a true point guard. If we can get him in the second round this year we better, since next year we might have to use a first on him. And he is shooting freethrows and 82%, which is something this team could really use. I mean Chilldress is our best freethrow shooter. As said before if there was ever a year to get a good point guard, then this is the year to get one.

[jones32]

I just feel Guillermo Diaz will have the most impact.. Felton may be good (it would be nice to have BOTH!!!)