It looks like Kentucky is still in the running for Hamidou Diallo.
The five-star shooting guard is wrapping up an official visit to UConn this weekend. It looked like he may commit and enroll for the second semester with the Huskies soon after, but it looks like that scenario is in play for UK as well.
According to Adam Zagoria, Diallo is planning to take official visits to UK and Arizona in January. Rivals.com’s William Paxton is also reporting Diallo plans to visit UK.
Zagoria adds that all three of these schools still have an open scholarship for the second semester, which means Diallo could join one of these teams in the coming weeks.
If Diallo can just get away from UConn’s campus and make it to Lexington, UK has a good chance of landing the talented guard. They’ve been viewed as the favorite for awhile now, but the situation with UConn put them in position to steal him away.
The Huskies have been a mess this year amid a 5-6 start, which includes an overtime loss to Auburn on Friday with Diallo watching on his visit. He could go there, get immediate playing time, and then go through NBA Draft workouts before making a decision to stay in the draft or come back for what would actually be his sophomore season.
UConn is willing to let him come to campus for a few months and enter the draft if he pleases. It’s unclear if UK and/or Arizona are also willing to allow that, though it’s hard to see John Calipari saying no being the players-first coach he is.
Be sure to read Ricky O’Donnell’s write-up of Diallo at the mothership.