Diallo, Curtis zoom past Gonzaga Prep in 4A quarterfinal, 67-55
Zoom Diallo figured the nerves might catch up to him on Thursday night. It was his first time ever playing in the Tacoma Dome, after all. Sure, he had grown up going to Curtis games, watching his older brother play for the Vikings, so he was no stranger to the venue. But watching and playing are two different things.
If he was nervous, it sure didn’t show. Diallo, Curtis’ super sophomore who is quickly becoming a highly-coveted Division-I recruiting prospect, was brilliant in his Tacoma Dome debut, pouring in 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field in Curtis’ 67-55 win over Gonzaga Prep in Thursday night’s Class 4A state basketball tournament quarterfinal matchup.
“It was exciting,” Diallo said. “I thought I was gonna have nerves, but I was in the locker room and I put myself in a calm state, just block out the noises and stuff. I wasn’t nervous. It was real exciting to see all the fans come watch us play, old people that coached me. It meant a lot.”
Curtis coach Tim Kelly, who has coached plenty of talented players over his high school coaching career, has never coached someone quite like Diallo.
“He played great again,” Kelly said. “He doesn’t get rattled. He plays with the same pace, doesn’t really force too much. He can get shots when he wants. What I liked about him tonight is he was really thinking a possession ahead, asking what we should run the next time down and stuff like that. He’s become a real leader and hit a couple 3’s in the first half that were big shots on the perimeter. They extended on him and then he can get to the rim on anybody.”
Tyce Paulsen scored 15 points for Curtis, Cinque Maxwell scored nine and Trent Williams eight. Gonzaga Prep was paced by Oregon State commit Jayden Stevens, who scored a game-high 26 points.
“I thought our guys battled (Stevens),” Kelly said. “That guy’s good. We didn’t really have an answer for him. We made him work but we were trying to keep the others from not, and I think we did a really good job of that.”
Curtis has a young roster, but the Vikings are playing beyond their years, reaching the semifinal round for the first time since the 2019 season, when the Vikings fell to Mount Si.
“We’re just locked in,” Diallo said. “We know the main goal, which is to win. Take it one game at a time, we just come in, tell each other to be focused and then we just mature. Come together as a group and just play hard.”
Curtis will face Union in the semifinal round on Friday at 9 p.m. The Vikings played the Titans once already this season, in the District 3/4 semifinal game. Curtis jumped out to a big early lead, but Union stormed back before Curtis ultimately hung on for the win.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Kelly said. “We both know each other. Same scouting report, we won’t have to do any new stuff. Gonna be a heck of a game. Who’s going to play best and execute their game plan?”
