Hamidou Diallo out of Queens, New York is one of the highest rated recruits in the high school Class of 2017.
Undoubtedly one of the Kentucky Wildcats' more prioritized recruits, the product of Putnam Science Academy has a highlight-reel type of game full of posterizing dunks. Diallo's a long and athletic player, with an exceptional ability to get to the rim at will.
When he gets there, he's either finishing on top of you or through you. Diallo is relentless around the rim, and can beat you with his mid-range jumper too. During the Nike EYBL regular season, Diallo averaged 18.6 points per game, and recently put up 21.5 during the Nike Peach Jam.
Joining Kentucky in the Diallo recruiting hunt are the likes of UCONN, Syracuse, Arizona, Duke, Indiana, Iowa State, Louisville and many more. The stock continues to rise for Diallo's talents, but there's a chance he may not pick any of these schools to play for. In fact, he may not pick any college at all.
When asked by SNY.tv about potentially taking a route similar to that of Thon Maker by declaring for the NBA Draft and forgoing a season of college basketball, Diallo immediately responded with one word, "Possibly."
He would add in more, "I wouldn't be able to answer that question for you because I'm honestly just thinking about college right now. I want to go to college for sure."
Maybe a bit of a contradicting statement, but merely is just Diallo's way of not ruling out other options. His situation is similar to Thon Maker's, who was drafted 10th overall in this year's draft by the Bucks.
Diallo has already graduated from Putnam Science Academy, and just plans on doing a post-graduate program there this year. It is also worth adding that Diallo will be 19 years old by the time of the draft; age being a big factor in Thon's decision.
In terms of Diallo's NBA draft stock, that particular decision may not be the best for him. One of many scouts at the event Under Armour Elite 24 event that Diallo participated in claims that he thinks Diallo wouldn't be worth more than a second-round pick at this stage.
Another went on to say that an improved three point shot could have Diallo flirting as a lottery pick, "But he's not a Malik Beasley or Dwayne Bacon right now."
Diallo's head coach at Putnam also had this to say concerning this topic.
"I believe he will go to college," he told SNY.tv. "Before college, I believe this is a huge year for him. I've seen him mature from two years ago to last year, and I strongly believe he will continue to grow into this post-grad year."
Diallo is certainly a talented kid, and would make for an excellent college basketball player. If Diallo did decide to turn pro early, that would be a decision that only he could make. With a full senior season of high school basketball left to play, we will see just how much Diallo's game improves up to that point.