It continues to look more and more like Hamidou Diallo will soon be a Wildcat.
The five-star shooting guard is expected to make a college decision sometime this week, and UK continues to look like the favorite. not only is Diallo committing to a school, but he’s also expected to enroll and join said team for the second semester of classes.
247 recruiting director Jerry Meyer told the Lexington Herald-Leader that UK continues to look like the likeliest destination for Diallo, who could decide any day now.
“That’s what the intel is saying,” Meyer said. “Connecticut was the team trying to make (early enrollment) happen, and then once Kentucky started to make it happen, that made Kentucky the school.”
It shouldn’t be a surprise that UK appears to be where Diallo is going. UK has been viewed as the favorite in this recruitment for almost a full year, though that was with the expectation of Diallo committing as a 2017 prospect, not joining a team midway through the 2016-17 season.
“All along, the word has been that Hamidou was high on Kentucky. That’s been his spot,” Meyer said. “Basically, I think Kentucky is selling, ‘Why not a year and a half to get yourself ready?’ Plus, this year’s draft is going to be so strong, and the intel I’m getting is that Hamidou thinks a year and a half at Kentucky makes the most sense for him.”
Elsewhere, Scout.com recruiting director Evan Daniels also thinks UK is the likeliest destination, but doesn’t think Diallo plays at all this season. Adam Zagoria is hearing the same, so don’t expect Diallo to contribute to this year’s Wildcats squad.
Wherever Diallo goes be likely won't play until 2017-18, per multiple sources. Will train and practice this semester.
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) January 4, 2017
However, Daniels thinks Diallo would be one of the 30 best prospects if he does enter the 2017 NBA Draft. That would make this summer very interesting when college players go through the draft process and gauge their stock.
Diallo is the kind of guy who should light up the athletic testing drills and various individual workouts, so if he goes into them projected as a fringe first-rounder, he may come out projected safely in the first round.
If that ends up being the case, it’s hard to tell Diallo to pass on the money and come to college, even in a draft that’s expected to be as loaded as 2017 is. Then again, it’s hard to see John Calipari letting Diallo come to UK just to practice with the team and leave after a semester.
We shall see. In the meantime, here are some fresh highlights of Diallo in action.