Every Saturday, Arafan Diane knows he is getting a phone call. And every Saturday, it’s Kelvin Sampson and on the other end of the line. Diane is the No. 1-ranked center nationally in the class of 2026 according to Rivals and 247 and is set to take an unofficial visit to Houston today.
Despite never having been on the UH campus, Diane — who received an offer from the Cougars on his 17th birthday — has already experienced UH’s family atmosphere during his weekly Saturday phone calls with Sampson. During these calls, Diane said that Sampson always makes it a point to ask him questions about his family, like “What is your mom doing?” Simple gestures like these have gone a long way with Diane.
“If you were to write a playbook on how to build a relationship with a prospect, I think (UH) has hit it right on the nail,” said Iowa United president Alexandre Victor. “They’ve shown they care. They’ve shown themselves in person. They were at every game they could. If Coach (K.C.) Beard or Coach Sampson couldn’t make it, they would send an assistant and make sure we knew he was there. They’ve made Arafan feel like he’s a priority.”
Sampson values wingspan and athleticism more than height in his bigs. With an 87-inch wingspan, Diane certainly checks that box, but he also brings the size element — standing at 7-feet-1-inch tall and possessing a 285-pound frame — that recent UH bigs have lacked.
Diane dominates both scoring and on the glass, but he also stretches the floor relatively well for his size. He has excellent court vision and the ability to shoot from range.
“He sees the floor. He sees the cutters. He sees the open man on the other side. He has that patience. You can’t really rush him,” Victor said. “I think it’s a combination (of) the strength, the shooting, and the passing that he has at a high, high level is what makes him unique.”
Originally from the West African country of Guinea, Diane first came to North America at 14 to train with Victor’s Institut de Sport Dynastie, a prep school near Montreal focused on players from French-speaking countries (Ced Lath also attended Dynastie for two seasons). The program typically doesn’t take kids until age 16, but Diane was an exceptional talent. Souleymane Kassé, an assistant coach for the Guinean Men’s National Team who randomly discovered Diane when he saw him buying a soccer ball at a local market when he was 12 years old, insisted that Victor get Diane to Canada as quickly as possible. Diane arrived in Canada at 14 and immediately impressed Victor.
“The first time we got him on the court, you could see his competitiveness,” Victor said. “He wasn’t great at everything he did, but he wanted to compete at everything he did.”
Despite having footwork and touch well advanced of his age, Dynastie didn’t have a team for Diane’s age group, so he played for a MADE Hoops team where he competed against top prospects, including five-stars AJ Dybantsa (2025) and Paul Osaruyi (2027). Once he was old enough, Diane played with Dynastie until Victor took a job as president of Iowa United and moved his program to Des Moines in September 2024. Diane followed Victor to Des Moines, where he continued to make great progress in his all-around game.
“The most impressive (thing) about Arafan is that he’s never plateaued,” Victor said. “Every year, he makes a huge step.”
Victor, Kassé, and Saliou Telly — the first Malian in the NCAA player who has served as a mentor to Diane — are all accompanying the prized prospect on his unofficial visit to UH.
Diane told me that he plans to take a deep look at everything from the facilities to the way the team practices during his visit, with a specific emphasis on learning how UH works with its bigs.
Victor believes the Cougars’ defensive prowess, along with their elite strength and conditioning program, could make UH a place that maximizes Diane’s skillset and helps him reach his full potential.
“I think (UH) could be an environment that helps him get over that edge defensively in terms of defensive toughness, in terms of fitness, just (with) the way their strength and conditioning coach works,” Victor said.
Diane plans to have his list narrowed down to his top four or five schools by the first weekend in September, and take official visits to those schools later in the month with the goal of announcing his commitment before the start of November. Sampson wants to get him on campus a few times before his official visit, and by that time, UH feels like home.
Diane has plenty of suitors, including SMU, which he will visit Saturday. All signs point to UH having an excellent shot at landing him. While Diane will weigh many factors before making his decision, he says winning is the thing he values most.
“He doesn’t have that sense of entitlement. He doesn’t play for his own personal stats. He plays for the team and for the team to win,” Victor said. “He takes a lot of pride in being a winner.”
With only a national championship left to check off of Sampson’s Hall of Fame-worthy coaching career, Victor believes Diane could be the piece that finally helps the Cougars reach the mountain top.
“He never takes a possession off,” Victor said. “I think that (UH) will be able to play through him, but even if they don’t, he’ll be able to fit in. He’s not the type of kid that if you don’t go through him, he doesn’t produce. He’ll produce regardless. I feel he’s a fit plus he adds the extra that maybe is what could get Houston over the hump to get a national championship.”
