Today is the day that Hamidou Diallo makes his decision. The college basketball world is intrigued by Diallo's situation, because he could be in college for just one semester, or he could stay a year and a half. Also, he might not even play at all this season, forcing him to either head to the NBA with no college experience, or stick around another year to get any playing time at all. Currently, it seems more likely that he will stay in college for another year following this semester. Diallo is a top-10 recruit, and a player who is highly sought after; he averaged 19.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in the Nike EYBL. Kentucky is the heavy favorite to land Diallo, who will announce his decision at 5 p.m. ET. It'll give us all something to talk about before Kentucky-Arkansas tips, right? (Hopefully something good to talk about).
Tweet of the day
My wife said if I get 25k Retweets, we can name our first child DeMarcus Cousins. Lets make it happen. #NBAVote
— Ivan Jauregui (@ivanj14) January 6, 2017
Even if this doesn't get to 25,000 retweets, you can still help get DeMarcus Cousins into the All-Star game by retweeting!
Your quickies
Top 10 recruit Hamidou Diallo expected to commit to UK on Saturday | Lexington Herald-Leader
Five-star shooting guard Hamidou Diallo will announce his college decision Saturday at 5 p.m. in his hometown of Queens. The promising basketball recruit is expected to commit to Kentucky, which hosted him for an official visit last month. John Calipari has visited Diallo many times, and UK still needs guards in its 2017 recruiting class. UConn is the Cats’ top competition.
Kentucky Adds Merideth Jewell for 2017 | UK Wildcats News
The Kentucky volleyball team welcomed Merideth Jewell to the program, head coach Craig Skinner announced on Thursday. Jewell comes to UK from Morehead State.
Kentucky basketball vs. Arkansas, game preview Lexington Herald-Leader
Freshman Malik Monk’s decision to play for Kentucky caused a lot of negative feedback in his home state of Arkansas. With UK playing the Razorbacks, Coach John Calipari said Monk plays best when he controls his emotions.
Remember that time an Arkansas radio host trashed Malik Monk for picking UK? | Kentucky Sports Radio
Mike Irwin, known as the dean of Arkansas sportscasters, went on a Northwest Arkansas radio show and gave a perfect, flawless, grumpy-old-man rant about Malik Monk leaving the state to go to Kentucky.
No. 24 Kentucky Continues Home Stretch vs. Texas A&M | UK Wildcats News
After earning its first SEC win of the season Thursday against Missouri, the Kentucky women’s basketball team looks for more of the same Sunday when it plays host to Texas A&M at 2 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum.
Humphries ‘very positive’ despite facing a season of adversity | Lexington Herald-Leader
Before the season, UK Coach John Calipari said Isaac Humphries’ improvement would cause fans to exclaim, "My goodness." That hasn’t happened, but Humphries is optimistic about better days ahead this season.
What impact would Hamidou Diallo’s commitment make on this team and beyond? | Kentucky Sports Radio
Nearly every recruiting analyst is predicting Kentucky to land high-flying 5-star guard Hamidou Diallo. What would his impact be on the program now and hopefully next season?
Will Hamidou Diallo actually play college basketball? | SI.com
Diallo is considered a potential first-round NBA draft prospect, and he may not play in a live game with the team he chooses.
Darius Garland wants to decide "soon" - Scout
Five-star junior point guard Darius Garland went for 26 points in a battle with a loaded Hamilton Heights team on Wednesday. Following the game, he mentioned that he's closing in on making his college decision, though there was no mention of Kentucky. It looks like Duke will be the pick here.
Findlay Prep (Nev.) moves to No. 1 in Super 25 boys basketball rankings | | USA Today
P.J. Washington and his Findlay Prep team is the new No. 1 in the Super 25 Computer rankings for boys basketball. The Pilots moved up from No. 2 thanks in part to its 78-62 victory against Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) in the finals of the ‘Iolani Classic in Hawaii before Christmas.
Steve Smith's retirement letter is so Steve Smith - NBC Sports
Only Smith would leave with parting shots at opposing cornerbacks. The former Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver was a spirited competitor (and trash talker) to the very end.
The AP All-Pro NFL team is released - ESPN
MVP contender Matt Ryan and rookie sensation Ezekiel Elliot highlight the team, and they're joined by other NFL stars like Antonio Brown and Chris Harris Jr.
The Cowboys apparently want another shot at the Giants - Fox Sports
That's according to Giants cornerback Eli Apple. Good luck with that; the Giants are pretty good at upsetting powerhouse teams in the postseason (see: the New England Patriots).
Royals trade Jarrod Dyson for pitching help - Fox Sports
The speedy Dyson is headed to the Seattle Mariners, who are giving Kansas City Nathan Karns in return.