Hamidou Diallo Documentary

[Thirty Three]

 

[BUConn10]

I love this kid's game and attitude, he really seems like he's on his way to becoming a superstar. The way he says "I'm just here to get buckets", he's an aggressive player and we could really use him next year. Unfortunately, it's stuff like this video that only strengthens my belief that he is ultimately UK bound, I really hope I'm wrong.

 

[UCFan1513]

I love this kid's game and attitude, he really seems like he's on his way to becoming a superstar. The way he says "I'm just here to get buckets", he's an aggressive player and we could really use him next year. Unfortunately, it's stuff like this video that only strengthens my belief that he is ultimately UK bound, I really hope I'm wrong.

Didn't watch the video yet. Are you thinking it hints at him going to UK because of just the magnitude of his publicity and superstar status already?

 

[BUConn10]

Didn't watch the video yet. Are you thinking it hints at him going to UK because of just the magnitude of his publicity and superstar status already?

Well the fact that he even has a half hour mockumentary made about him with this level of production shows he is clearly interested in marketing himself for the next level. Also if you watch it he goes in depth multiple times about how he comes from a poor neighborhood and his dream is to change his family's life financially. Both of these details really fit well into UK's strengths, Cal can push the insane contract money and draft status his players are achieving year after year. Then again Ollie can also take the angle that he came up in a similar situation growing up and ultimately succeeding in the NBA, who knows.

 

[Kembacity]

We all know that there are a hundred colleges the kid could go to that would have no problems showing his potential and getting him drafted in the lottery. Bottom line is we have no idea if the existence of this video means he's a likely UK lean or not. I admit the first thing I thought when I saw it was "Next!" but maybe he comes to UConn and uses this sort of thing as what gets him to that UK level of exposure.

by the way, I'm joking about UK exposure, while I feel like he wouldn't get good exposure on Canisius, if he were at any high major program, the NBA will know his name. Every team has guys whose job it is to know the kids coming out, for these kids to pretend Calipari gets them an instant boost to draft number is Trump-level insanity.

 

[BUConn10]

We all know that there are a hundred colleges the kid could go to that would have no problems showing his potential and getting him drafted in the lottery. Bottom line is we have no idea if the existence of this video means he's a likely UK lean or not. I admit the first thing I thought when I saw it was "Next!" but maybe he comes to UConn and uses this sort of thing as what gets him to that UK level of exposure.

by the way, I'm joking about UK exposure, while I feel like he wouldn't get good exposure on Canisius, if he were at any high major program, the NBA will know his name. Every team has guys whose job it is to know the kids coming out, for these kids to pretend Calipari gets them an instant boost to draft number is Trump-level insanity.

I think there's credibility to the "Cal will boost your stock" thing your talking about. The way Cal stacks talent on rosters these days, his team's are essentially semi-pro squads of pro bodies going up against regular college players. When there's that much talent on a team, it hides a lot of a guy's flaws and doesn't force the entire team to depend on his ability to carry them, like a lot of these guys would end up having to do elsewhere where they are the leader.

Come draft time their resumes look great because they have the physical tools, played well in Cal's system, and show endless "potential" since they are all 18. Add in the fact that they've been on ESPN all season long and the casual fan will typically be easier sold on a UK guy vs a guy at Iowa State like you were trying to argue.

If Diallo comes to UConn, he will likely be forced to carry a larger load as a freshman than he would at UK but if we chose to ease him into our system like we typically do, it'd come at the cost of Diallo not being a one and done and losing valuable time he could be making money.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I like this video if he chooses Uconn! I really do get the feeling that he will end up at UK though. Let's just see how this pans out

 

[AntG168]

I'm the furthest thing from an "insider" I'm just a 21 year old dude haha. But me and hami share a couple friends. And I've been told it's a done deal to UCONN for a couple months now. Dont known if that makes you guys feel better or not haha

 

[CalsNeighbor]

I feel that Mamadou Diarra will be a huge factor for Uconn in our recruitment of Diallo. Diallo has said multiple times that Diarra is practically his brother. They have played together for long time, I just have this gut feeling they want one more year to play with each other. He also is quoted as saying that Ollie has told him he would be the man from day 1 which he wouldn't be at Kentucky, he would start there obviously but he would be competing with far more ego's (whoever is there) which I'm not convinced he wants to do.

 

[tjc1888]

I feel that Mamadou Diarra will be a huge factor for Ucon in our recruitment of Diallo. Diallo has said multiple times that Diarra is practically his brother. They have played together for long time, I just have this gut feeling they want one more year to play with each other. He also is quoted as saying that Ollie has told him he would be the man from day 1 which he wouldn't be at Kentucky, he would start there obviously but he would be competing with far more ego's (whoever is there) which I'm not convinced he wants to do.

Do you have a link for this quote? Doesn't seem like Ollie has ever said that to a recruit and doesn't come across as something he would ever say. But if you have a link....I believe you. Also hard to imagine he would be "the" guy on a team that could possibly have a junior JA, RS Junior TL, and soph AG. Could even see a scenario where he doesn't even start from day 1.

 

[KemBuckets21]

I'm the furthest thing from an "insider" I'm just a 21 year old dude haha. But me and hami share a couple friends. And I've been told it's a done deal to UCONN for a couple months now. Dont known if that makes you guys feel better or not haha

Don't put yourself out there on this site, brother.

think a hulk hogan tone when you read that ^^^

 

[AntG168]

Don't put yourself out there on this site, brother.

think a hulk hogan tone when you read that ^^^

Im not scared lol. I've said it before in a couple of other threads. I think it's legit because 3 guys have told me the exact same thing at diff times. And that's that hami will be a husky. Cal is still going so hard because he believes he can change hami's mind. We will see if Cal confidence is well waranted or if the good guys hold on

 

[Thirty Three]

I like the fact that he said going to PSA was a huge positive for him because it put him in a small town away from friends, and the the distractions and trouble you can find in the city. He likes that it gives him the opportunity to focus strictly on academics and basketball, which sounds a lot like what UConn can offer him.

 

[CalsNeighbor]

Do you have a link for this quote? Doesn't seem like Ollie has ever said that to a recruit and doesn't come across as something he would ever say. But if you have a link....I believe you. Also hard to imagine he would be "the" guy on a team that could possibly have a junior JA, RS Junior TL, and soph AG. Could even see a scenario where he doesn't even start from day 1.

Yes I do
Hamidou Diallo talks on latest with his recruitment | Kentucky, Duke, UConn and more involved

 

[superjohn]

Confident Diallo will be a Husky.

 

[djct1999]

I feel that Mamadou Diarra will be a huge factor for Uconn in our recruitment of Diallo. Diallo has said multiple times that Diarra is practically his brother. They have played together for long time, I just have this gut feeling they want one more year to play with each other. He also is quoted as saying that Ollie has told him he would be the man from day 1 which he wouldn't be at Kentucky, he would start there obviously but he would be competing with far more ego's (whoever is there) which I'm not convinced he wants to do.

Plus he is from NYC. UConn is NYC.

 

[Kemba'sYogurt]

Confident Diallo will be a Husky.

Why? Gut feeling? Talk to Hamidou?

 

[superjohn]

Why? Gut feeling? Talk to Hamidou?

Mostly gut and heard we are in a good place. Also his relationship with Ollie, Diarra, UConn compliance has been following him on Twitter for a long time and Oz on TOS has always said Hamidou is coming here. Ozzie seems to be the closest board poster to Ollie and has been right several times in the past on recruits.

 

[80shusky]

I think there's credibility to the "Cal will boost your stock" thing your talking about. The way Cal stacks talent on rosters these days, his team's are essentially semi-pro squads of pro bodies going up against regular college players. When there's that much talent on a team, it hides a lot of a guy's flaws and doesn't force the entire team to depend on his ability to carry them, like a lot of these guys would end up having to do elsewhere where they are the leader.

Come draft time their resumes look great because they have the physical tools, played well in Cal's system, and show endless "potential" since they are all 18. Add in the fact that they've been on ESPN all season long and the casual fan will typically be easier sold on a UK guy vs a guy at Iowa State like you were trying to argue.

If Diallo comes to UConn, he will likely be forced to carry a larger load as a freshman than he would at UK but if we chose to ease him into our system like we typically do, it'd come at the cost of Diallo not being a one and done and losing valuable time he could be making money.

It seems the media likes the "Cal will boost your stock" thing too. During the NBA draft, as the first round was waning they showed Cal alone with Skal. Cal was on the phone and I believe someone inferred during the broadcast that he was working the phones to get his guy drafted. Cal may have been ordering room service, or talking to his mom. But no, he was apparently on the phone with multiple NBA GMs chastising them for not taking his guy. Skal gets drafted soon after and the legend continues...

 

[Tenspro2002]

Also hard to imagine he would be "the" guy on a team that could possibly have a junior JA, RS Junior TL, and soph AG. Could even see a scenario where he doesn't even start from day 1.

He wouldn't be "the guy" (that would be junior AA candidate PG Jalen Adams), but he would certainly start.

Adams (Jr.)
Gilbert (So.)
Diallo (Fr.)
Larrier (RS-Jr.)
Enoch (Jr.)

MAL and Vital back up the 1/2; Diarra and Durham back up the 4/5, with Larrier spending a little time at the 3. We'd probably add a SF and a C in the same freshman class.

 

[champs99and04]

All of the smoke signals that you look for in a recruitment indicate that he's going to UConn. As John said, Oz is the most plugged in 'insider' within the program and he's maintained for a while now that he's UConn bound - as far as I know, that guy bats .1000 or close to it, so when he says something you listen. Second...the official MBB twitter account for UConn follows him and they only follow commits/players. Add that to all the lower level street chatter like we've seen in this thread (he's not alone) or even votes of confidence from his friend Diarra, and if you're sitting there putting the map together, it seems obvious.

Now, nothing is obvious when Cal is involved. That much we know. But I'm not sure I buy the idea that a kid focused on his 'brand' is necessarily more likely to choose Kentucky...seems like kids like that are more apt to go the Whitehead route and choose a local school closer to their roots.

 

[BUConn10]

All of the smoke signals that you look for in a recruitment indicate that he's going to UConn. As John said, Oz is the most plugged in 'insider' within the program and he's maintained for a while now that he's UConn bound - as far as I know, that guy bats .1000 or close to it, so when he says something you listen. Second...the official MBB twitter account for UConn follows him and they only follow commits/players. Add that to all the lower level street chatter like we've seen in this thread (he's not alone) or even votes of confidence from his friend Diarra, and if you're sitting there putting the map together, it seems obvious.

Now, nothing is obvious when Cal is involved. That much we know. But I'm not sure I buy the idea that a kid focused on his 'brand' is necessarily more likely to choose Kentucky...seems like kids like that are more apt to go the Whitehead route and choose a local school closer to their roots.

Kids who do the whole "announcement live on ESPN" typically lean far more towards UK than they do UConn historically, and this video mimics that similar idea/mentality.

 

[champs99and04]

Kids who do the whole "announcement live on ESPN" typically lean far more towards UK than they do UConn historically, and this video mimics that similar idea/mentality.

Have we ever gotten a kid who has made an announcement? I'll agree with you there that that might be a bad omen.

But the other stuff seems tough to qualify, and a high profile recruitment doesn't necessarily guarantee a high profile announcement. My larger point, though, is that the extent to which kids want to brand themselves can be dictated by an impulse to be different as much as a desire to be the same. UK provides a bigger stage but it also strikes me that a kid with a chip on his shoulder is as likely to be put off by the 'this is where you're supposed to go' pitch as he is enticed by it.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

That's the thing that leaves me thinking be could just as easily choose uconn. He is so confident that he might choose us just to be different. Like he doesn't need UK to get drafted high. Honestly I think he would do better somewhere that he doesn't have to defer to other top picks all the time.

This kids swagger really reminds me of Kobe. I'm not convinced that he won't just go straight to the NBA next year and bypass college. He has that option right?

 

[mauconnfan]

Hope he becomes a Huksy and puts the uni on. Having said that I hope they are 110% sure that NBA spew doesn't come into fruition because you will have wasted a bunch of good players who want to be here for 2-4 years and I honestly prefer them to any one and done. Nothing against Hami, he looks to be really good, but maintaining team chemistry and learning to be a Husky for more than 1 year is what I like in our kids.

But whatever works.

This place will be nuts with the rumors over next summer though, watch.