Diogu Like Corliss

Diogu makes a name, too-Paul gets notice among rookies, but 6-8 Warrior plays big from Detroit News

Toronto's Charlie Villanueva and New York's Channing Frye are having major impacts on their teams, but the unsung hero of this draft class has to be Golden State's Ike Diogu.At 6-feet-8, he has wrested the starting center job away from $40 million man Adonal Foyle. The Pistons certainly had their fill of him a couple of weeks ago, when he hit them for a career-best 27 points, hitting 13 of 15 shots.'If you can play basketball, you can play basketball,' Diogu said, dismissing any height disadvantage. 'I consider myself to be a basketball player. I'm a low-post player. I've been playing against NBA players for a real long time -- even though this is my first year in the league -- in the summer time with guys like Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. I'm pretty confident that when I get the ball down there, I'm able to score.'He's a young version of Corliss Williamson, with perhaps a better outside shooting touch. Like Williamson, he uses his ample backside to create space against the bigger defenders. He's still a bit of a liability on the defensive end, but even with that, he's an upgrade on Foyle.