Diamond Stone, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound freshman from Whitefish Bay Dominican, is one of the top players in the Midwest in the Class of 2015. He has drawn early interest from many of the top programs in the area, including Minnesota. Minnesota assistant coach Vince Taylor has watched Stone at practice and game earlier this season. GopherHole.com recently caught up with Stone to get an early look at his recruitment.
Stone has helped lead Dominican to a 17-1 start and a No. 1 ranking in Wisconsin’s Division 4. Their lone loss was to Germantown, the top team in Division 1, Wisconsin’s biggest class. They are 14-0 in the Midwest Classic North Division and face defending Division III champion La Crosse Aquinas Saturday.
Stone is averaging 13.1 for the Knights that also have two Division I caliber players in Jamall Taylor (20.4) and Duane Wilson (18.6). Wilson has drawn some recruiting interest from Minnesota and will be featured in an upcoming story on GopherHole.com.
Gopher Hole: I know that it is early, being only a freshman, but you are hearing from schools. What schools are you hearing from right now?
Diamond Stone: Wisconsin, Marquette, Minnesota and Tennessee. My trainer is a close friend to an assistant coach at Duke, so a little bit of them. Hopefully, I’ll get some during my high school career. (I am sure that he will)
Gopher Hole: Have you had a chance to go to any college games this winter?
Diamond Stone: Yes, my first cousin (Ryan Evans) plays for Wisconsin. I went there for their game against Michigan State. I visited their and Marquette. I go to Marquette a lot.
Gopher Hole: What things are you working on to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Diamond Stone: My footwork. I feel that if I keep working on my footwork, my footwork will be good. My jump shot, jump hook, rebounding, my endurance, run the floor and passing.
Gopher Hole: I know that you are so young, but your name has started to get out. Do you like to read what people are saying about you or do you try not to read it?
Diamond Stone: Sometimes I read it, but sometimes I try not to worry about that. I just block it out of my mind and focus on what I have to do.
Gopher Hole: You lost to Germantown, which is a really, really good team, but you are playing extremely well. You have to be very pleased with how well you are playing right now.
Diamond Stone: Coach (Paul) Wollersheim is a good coach. We have good coaching staff. We have a good group of players. Good system. We feel that we have a team that can win state.
Gopher Hole: You are likely going to be the big favorite in your Division (the second smallest in the state). Do you like that everyone is going to give you their best game?
Diamond Stone: Hopefully, since were D4, we can hopefully keep winning and be state champions. Hopefully, when I am a senior we can go D1 because I know that if we win state, a lot of kids will want to go to Dominican because we are winning state, so hopefully the team keeps winning and make progress, so we can get there.
Gopher Hole: You mentioned that you have a cousin at Wisconsin. Do you have any other members of your family that also play basketball?
Diamond Stone: My cousin, Arike Ogunbowale, is at Divine Savior Holy Angels. She is doing pretty good there. She is a freshman and is averaging 20 points per game (She already has a Marquette offer). My cousin Dare Ogunbowale goes to Marquette University High. He is doing good. He is a senior, averaging six points a game.
Gopher Hole: Do you play any other sports or do you just play basketball?
Diamond Stone: Basketball and volleyball.
Gopher Hole: Do you play playing volleyball helps in you with basketball since some of the skills are similar.
Diamond Stone: It helps with quickness. It makes me move a lot. Focus on one thing, the ball.
Gopher Hole: Did you have a favorite team growing up?
Diamond Stone: I always liked Duke. Duke and North Carolina. I liked those two.
Gopher Hole: Are you from Wisconsin originally?
Diamond Stone: Yes. My mom is from Troy, Ohio and my dad is from Flint, Michigan.
Gopher Hole: Did your dad play basketball, too?
Diamond Stone: My dad (Bob Stone) played at Whitewater. (Stone is fifth in all-time rebounding with 746 rebounds; 9.7 per game from 1971-74 and was a two-time WIAC All-Conference selection and was honorable mention as a senior).