The story of new BYU basketball player Dominique Diamonde’s life, which hits the 20-year mark later this month, is spelled out for the world to see on the 6-foot-7 forward’s massive left shoulder and arm.
The tattoos are a tribute to his late father, Seydi, who died two years ago at the age of 58 due to cancer, and serve to motivate the native of Paris as he continues to work toward realizing his dream of playing professional basketball in the NBA.
“Here is a wolf, because my dad called me a big wolf when I was younger,” Diamonde says, pointing to one of several well-done tattoos. “And here are the lyrics to his favorite music, ‘Do for Love,’ by Tupac. I remember him always saying, ‘You tried everything, but you don’t give up.’”
“My story is my dad, and who he was. He taught me so many things in life. Everything I do now, when I try to make a decision, I think about him. I think about God, and I try to make the best decision for my life.”
— BYU forward Dominique Diamonde
Diamonde has been in Provo for about a month, transferring to BYU in early May after spending the last half of the 2024-25 season with Washington, where he didn’t see any action and redshirted.
The Frenchman said the most important thing BYU fans should know about him is that he has dedicated his life to enhancing the memory of his late father, and won’t do anything that brings disrespect to his family.
“My story is my dad, and who he was,” Diamonde said. “He taught me so many things in life. Everything I do now, when I try to make a decision, I think about him. I think about God, and I try to make the best decision for my life.”
Seydi Diamonde was born in Cote d’Ivoire — a country in West Africa known to many as the Ivory Coast — and moved his family to Paris, where Dominique and his sister, who is now a doctor, were raised until they moved two hours south to a town called Tours.
Diomande’s mother, Christina, is from Italy, and so the basketball star speaks Italian as well as French and English.
“Everybody here is trying to be the best player, the best version of himself, and that’s good,” Diomande said. “But I think the most important thing is to be the best human being. My dad was a great human being.”
Before signing with Washington and former Utah State coach Danny Sprinkle, Diamonde was a professional basketball player, appearing in 26 games during the 2023-24 season for ADA Blois of the France-ProA Under 21 league. He averaged 16 points, six rebounds and two assists and shot nearly 52% from the field.
Diamonde represented the Ivory Coast in international play at the youth and senior levels, and averaged 21.2 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in five games at the 2021 FIBA African U16 Championships. He played with former BYU basketball star Charles Abouo on the Ivory Coast national team for two years, and against him as a professional.
Abouo was a graduate assistant coach on Kevin Young’s staff in 2024-25.
“Charles also played a role in getting me here,” Diamonde said.
How Dominique Diamonde got to BYU
When he decided to leave France a year ago and pursue an education and college basketball career in the United States, Diamonde’s best option was BYU, he said, and he was recruited by one of Young’s first hires in Provo, assistant coach Tim Fanning.
Fanning had an extensive career coaching overseas before spending three seasons coaching at Overtime Elite, a league for 16- to 20-year-olds.
But Diamonde had “a ton of problems” with the NCAA regarding his eligibility, having obviously played professionally, and he also had some issues with his math grades dating back to high school.
“So with BYU it was tougher to come here. Washington pushed it through with the NCAA and I enrolled there,” he said. “But my first choice was always BYU.”
While at Washington, Diamonde followed what Fanning and Young were doing at BYU — taking the Cougars to a tie for third place in the Big 12 and to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 — and decided to enter the transfer portal in hopes that the Cougars would still be interested.
Obviously, they were.
Diamde was BYU’s first addition of the offseason, committing on March 29, and has since been joined out of the portal by Baylor’s Rob Wright III, Idaho’s Tyler Mrus, UC Riverside’s Nate Pickens and Kennard Davis of Southern Illinois.
Those five will join freshmen AJ Dybantsa and Xavion Staton and returners Richie Saunders, Keba Keita, Dawson Baker, Mihailo Boskovic, Brody Kozlowski and Khadim Mboup in giving BYU one of its most talented rosters ever.
“We have had a longstanding relationship with Dom,” Young said Thursday. “He was somebody we were on last year quite a bit, and it didn’t work out. We have known a lot about him for a while. He is doing really well, man.
“Physically, he is impressive. For as athletic and fast as he is, he is filled out pretty good. He already has an NBA type body,” Young continued. “Now it is about refining the process of trying to get him to slow down some, get some mechanical stuff worked out with his shooting, and have him understand how we want to play, and the shots we would like to get, and so forth. And then defensively, that is where he really excels. Just watching him and AJ (Dybantsa) battle has been pretty impressive.”
BYU welcomes another Muslim to faith-based school
Diamonde said he is Muslim, an adherent to Islam, and that many of his beliefs in terms of lifestyle are “pretty similar to what the Mormons believe.” He said because of that he won’t have any problems adhering to BYU’s honor code, which forbids premarital sex and the consumption of alcohol, among other things.
BYU is supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the faith are colloquially referred to as Mormons.
“The honor code is pretty much already applied in my life,” he said.
The Cougars have had several Muslims on their roster the past few years, including Fousseyni Traore, Aly Khalifa and Atiki Ally Atiki. Mory Bamba, a cornerback on BYU’s football team, is also Muslim.
Diamonde said he will be observing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which next year runs from Feb. 17 to March 18 — right in the middle of the basketball season. Muslims fast from dawn to sunset during Ramadan, which Khalifa did two seasons ago at BYU before transferring to Louisville.
Diamonde said he’s not worried about it, citing BYU’s history of dealing with it and the nutritionists on the staff who have steered athletes through it before.
“I think it is a perfect fit to get to the next level, because of all the stuff here. They have many coaches who came from the league (NBA), five or six, and I think it is a perfect fit. Even like the city, there is not much going on. You just go to class, go to practice, and that is it.”
— BYU forward Dominique Diamonde
“I will be fine,” he said. “I’ve done it (played basketball while going without food or drink for many hours) before.”
Having been in Provo for about a month, Diamonde likes what he’s experienced.
“I think it is a perfect fit to get to the next level, because of all the stuff here. They have many coaches who came from the league (NBA), five or six, and I think it is a perfect fit. Even like the city, there is not much going on. You just go to class, go to practice, and that is it. There are no distractions,” he said. “I see at a lot of schools there is a lot of partying, all that stuff. There is nothing here. You just have to stay focused on basketball, and religious things.”
Diamonde’s role on a star-studded roster
It is early, but we’ve projected BYU’s starting five this season as Wright and Davis on the guard line, Dybantsa and Saunders on the wings, and Keita at the post. Where does Diamonde fit in?
He’s a small forward, the same position that all-Big 12 honoree Saunders plays, and isn’t at the senior’s offensive level. But he is a standout defender, and will use that as his calling card as he develops offensively.
“I am going to have a role like Mawot (Mag) had last year,” Diamonde said. “I want to guard the other team’s best player. … I am really focused on my defensive role, so far. I am not worried about being good offensively. I know it is going to come if I keep focusing on the defensive end.”
For his part, Young says Diamonde is a big-time athlete who has a strong first step, outstanding leaping ability and is as fast as anyone on the team.
“Obviously, we have some guys that, it is unquestioned that they are going to have some big roles,” Young said. “Going into it, I am even more open-minded than I was last year as far as roles are concerned. We will have a really competitive camp, and I think there are going to be some internal battles that will be good. I think everyone is going to have a fair shake to see where they net out.”
Diamonde said he has already bonded with Dybantsa, having known the nation’s No. 1 recruit from some international competitions. He said Saunders has also been really helpful with his early development, even though they play similar positions.
“There are more talented players right here than there were (at Washington),” he said. “Even the Big Ten is not the same level, really, as the Big 12. The shape of the team here is more like a professional team. Like, those I am used to competing against back in France. The guys here are taller, stronger, have more speed.”
