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PUTNAM— It’s never an easy pill to swallow when your dream is abruptly taken away from you. You don’t expect it and there’s no way to really prepare for it. One day you’re leading your team to victory and the next day you’re told from a doctor that you can no longer play the sport you love. That was indeed the case for former Putnam Science Academy Mustang Mamadou Diarra as the 21-year-old, who committed to UConn a few years ago, battled through multiple knee injuries before being told he can no longer play at the college level or beyond.
Chronic knee issues have haunted Diarra since he joined the Huskies from Putnam Science Academy. Mamadou was a Top 100 recruit coming out of PSA and would commit to UConn in May of 2015 but due to knee discomfort, he had to sit out his freshmen season.
The 6-foot, 7-inch forward then entered his sophomore year in 2017-2018 where he played 10 minutes per game averaging over 2.5 points and rebounds per game. Things were looking up for Diarra until later that summer when the former PSA Mustang tore his meniscus in his left knee and needed surgery. Following the surgery, Diarra was only able to play in 2 games that season.
In a recent interview with Dave Borges of the New Haven Register, Mamadou said: “I felt I could still play at this point, but doctors told me long-term, it’s not in my best health interests. A couple of years down the line, I don’t know how much my knees could hold up, It’s almost to the point of bone-on-bone right now.”
Diarra’s playing career may be over but he will remain with the UConn program as a student assistant coach. Diarra was granted a medical disqualification which occurs when a student-athlete is injured to the point where it is not in his best interest to continue to play. With this disqualification, Diarra was able to keep his athletic scholarship while also allowing UConn another available scholarship slot.
Mamadou told the New Haven Register: “I decided to make the decision now, where I had the opportunity to start a new career path and stay with a program I love. After reviewing the situation with my doctors and family, I thought it was the best opportunity for me, I’m pretty content with my decision.” Lastly Diarra added, “I’ve been around a lot of great coaches and players, and I get to stay with the program I’ve been with and start a new career, hopefully. “I always thought about (coaching), but didn’t think of how soon I’d be looking into that career path. Everybody has their own story.”
Head Coach at Putnam Science Academy Tom Espinosa said: “Mamadou is very special to me, he was here for 3 years and we moved from a pretty good program to one of the top programs while he was here. (Diarra’s) one of the best power forwards to ever suit up at Putnam Science Academy.” Espinosa also spoke about how difficult it must have been to get that unfortunate news from the team doctors at UConn saying, “Hearing when you’re a 21 year old that your dreams of playing Division 1 basketball and even beyond to try and make a career out of basketball, that its now over that’s tough to hear at that age. I know it was really difficult for Mamadou but there’s no doubt in my mind that he will be successful with this next step in his life, it all comes back to how great of a kid he is and how respected he is by his peers.”
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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