Warriors Like Ike to Uplift Low Post

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Mike Montgomery remembers what it was like coaching against Ike Diogu -- and it wasn't pleasant.

Diogu was a virtual one-man wrecking crew during his three years at Arizona State. Montgomery, who was coaching at Stanford when Diogu was a freshman and sophomore, had to double-team Diogu in an attempt to slow him down.

Though Stanford would always beat Arizona State, Diogu usually did plenty of damage. Now, as coach of the Golden State Warriors, Montgomery looks forward to having the 6-foot-8-inch power forward on his side. Trying to acquire some inside size and toughness, Golden State drafted Diogu with the ninth overall pick last month.

"He's a good fit for us," Montgomery said Monday at Cox Pavilion, where the Warriors (0-3) lost to Washington 88-79 in the Vegas Summer League. "He has a physical presence inside and he was an extremely effective low-post player at ASU. He had a real knack for finishing around the rim."

Diogu was a bit too physical against the Wizards (2-2), picking up two fouls in the opening 3:55 and finishing with more personals (10) than points (nine). But Diogu, who has played well here, averaging 13.3 points and 7.7 rebounds, chalked it up to experience.

"Every day I learn something that will help me," said Diogu, the 2005 Pac-10 player of the year after leading the league in scoring (22.6), rebounds (9.8) and blocked shots (2.3). "Today I learned that I have to watch my fouls. There were a couple of questionable calls, but I need to learn to play through the fouls and still be aggressive."

The Warriors are hoping Diogu will be able to stay on the floor and crash the boards while providing them some inside scoring. Team president Chris Mullin said he envisions the Warriors having some versatility with Diogu playing alongside 6-10 Adonal Foyle and 6-11 Troy Murphy.

"We have the ability to use Ike in different ways with different guys," Mullin said. "We can play Ike down low and use Murph outside or we can have Ike work off of Adonal.

"Ike has toughness, which is something we need. But his overall basketball ability is very impressive. He does everything well."

Diogu said he's not worried about having to face larger opponents in the NBA despite that at 6-8 he's going to be one of the smaller power forwards in the league.

"I faced bigger guys in college and I think I did all right," he said. "I know there are adjustments to make at this level. But that's why this is a good experience for me to be playing here. I can get used to playing at this level. I'm trying to adjust to the pace of the game and try not to be in such a rush. And I'm enjoying competing against so many different players." </div>

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