Hamidou Diallo Graduates

[Chief00]

AD is the 18th highest paid player in the NBA this year and will probably be in top 15 next year, he is the highest paid Piston ever.
He is being paid nearly $27MM per year and will be for next 5
I think he made up for it

Agree - if AD screwed-up I would like to mess up the same way - @ $27 M per year for the next 5 years

 

[UConnTrumbull]

If he is only planning to play 1/2 a season, just pass. Let him go to Kentucky.

That's like saying you won't hook up with a 10 because she won't commit to being your girlfriend. Let her have the better looking guy who gets all the tail he wants.

 

[CTBasketball]

That's like saying you won't hook up with a 10 because she won't commit to being your girlfriend. Let her have the better looking guy who gets all the tail he wants.

Soft.

 

[businesslawyer]

So the story is coming together. He planned to go from his post-grad year to the NBA. The scouts told him he's not ready for the league. The only way to salvage that immediately is to play the second semester and see if the scouts change their mind. If not, you play 1.5 seasons and then move on.

However, coming into a program now requires that a team has a scholarship available now, has playing time available now almost no matter what you do and doesn't have team chemistry that is set and they're worrying about you interfering with. Then, since you may be there for a second year, you also hope that it's one of the schools you would have liked to play for anyway.

That makes us an obvious fit and probably the only fit. If he shows up not ready to contribute at a big time level, he's not getting on the court at U of A until he is ready. Here, he is certain to get material minutes from day one, which gives him time to play his way into being a serious factor.

It all makes too much sense.

 

[Kenny11]

Jeff Jacobs is already trying to sabotage this to maintain academic integrity. Quiet, Jeffy.

 

[Gurleyman]

The Diallo Gamble: Would He Stay More Than A Year?

Nothing groundbreaking except for the fact that Jeff Jacobs produced an offspring that can do more than walk and chew gum.

Really not a gamble. Circumstances are unique with only 8 players. Half a season of Diallo, playing at less than his peak capacity due to joining mid season, can still help this year's team maybe make the NCAA Tourney, and once you get in, who knows? If he doesn't help much, we end up in the NIT (or nowhere) and he leaves, no real harm done to either party. I think scouts would understand if he looked a bit off his game trying to adjust to college hoops on the fly - as long as he showed flashes of his athletic potential (Wiggins didn't have a great season at KU, and they lost to Stanford in the second round, but he showed enough flashes that he still went 1). Vital and Jackson lose some minutes, but probably not so much that their growth is stunted. We'd still need all hands on deck with 9 guys.

The only sacrifice UConn makes is maybe losing out on a late commit on a wing not wanting to compete with Diallo and Larrier next year. But spring commits tend to be less impactful these days than they used to be. There's absolutely no hit to our image or our perception - adding a top 10 recruit when down to 8 guys is a no-brainier and not the sort of thing that will happen often. And our APR has been stable for a while now.

The tricky part maybe will be convincing Diallo that he won't be hurting his stock much if he struggles to score while getting his feet wet. Wiggins and maybe Zach Lavine (meh college season but freakish athleticism) are good case studies to hold up, and they were there for the entire year.

 

[businesslawyer]

Really not a gamble. Circumstances are unique with only 8 players. Half a season of Diallo, playing at less than his peak capacity due to joining mid season, can still help this year's team maybe make the NCAA Tourney, and once you get in, who knows? If he doesn't help much, we end up in the NIT (or nowhere) and he leaves, no real harm done to either party. I think scouts would understand if he looked a bit off his game trying to adjust to college hoops on the fly - as long as he showed flashes of his athletic potential (Wiggins didn't have a great season at KU, and they lost to Stanford in the second round, but he showed enough flashes that he still went 1). Vital and Jackson lose some minutes, but probably not so much that their growth is stunted. We'd still need all hands on deck with 9 guys.

The only sacrifice UConn makes is maybe losing out on a late commit on a wing not wanting to compete with Diallo and Larrier next year. But spring commits tend to be less impactful these days than they used to be. There's absolutely no hit to our image or our perception - adding a top 10 recruit when down to 8 guys is a no-brainier and not the sort of thing that will happen often. And our APR has been stable for a while now.

The tricky part maybe will be convincing Diallo that he won't be hurting his stock much if he struggles to score while getting his feet wet. Wiggins and maybe Zach Lavine (meh college season but freakish athleticism) are good case studies to hold up, and they were there for the entire year.

I doubt KO needs to convince him of the last part. My guess is he only decided to start taking officials now, during the season, because he and his team have already made that determination.

 

[UCweCONN]

I can't stress this enough to all of you posters saying if he's only here for the Spring, you don't want him. Reality check: We NEED him this Spring and he NEEDS us. We are short players and with him we make the NCAA tourney. For his side, it helps his draft stock to step in and turn our season around. We all knew he was a one and done anyway. We need him this season much more than next. Win-win for both sides. I normally don't like one and dones, but this is a definite exception.

 

[businesslawyer]

I can't stress this enough to all of you posters saying if he's only here for the Spring, you don't want him. Reality check: We NEED him this Spring and he NEEDS us. We are short players and with him we make the NCAA tourney. For his side, it helps his draft stock to step in and turn our season around. We all knew he was a one and done anyway. We need him this season much more than next. Win-win for both sides. I normally don't like one and dones, but this is a definite exception.

Is he giving us a choice between this season and next? If that is the case I pick next, but he's not giving us the choice.

You are correct, there is no debate here. The only answer to the question "would we like a really athletic highly rated swing man for the remainder of the season" is yes. We have 7.5 bodies to play hopefully three more months. I can't imagine there is a low division 1 level player whom we wouldn't want at the moment to help us through the second semester.

 

[gwhuskyfan]

To Jeff's point on academics, can one semester really tank a team's APR? I just can't see it having that big of an impact -- but I'm not 100% sure how it is all calculated.

 

[The Viking]

Reading these recent articles - both Jacobs and Zags, its more likely he's 1.5 and done, not 0.5 and done.
Jacobs sources are telling him thru 2018 and the Zags article has some pretty damning wording from NBA scouts.

 

[lange10]

I can't stress this enough to all of you posters saying if he's only here for the Spring, you don't want him. Reality check: We NEED him this Spring and he NEEDS us. We are short players and with him we make the NCAA tourney. For his side, it helps his draft stock to step in and turn our season around. We all knew he was a one and done anyway. We need him this season much more than next. Win-win for both sides. I normally don't like one and dones, but this is a definite exception.

Wouldn't be so sure of this. Even with hamidou I'd expect this team to finish with 10-13 losses. Still looking at having to win 3/4 games in a row in Hartford come March to get into the dance. Hope I'm wrong and he's the savior, but I'll be reasonable until then.

 

[UCweCONN]

To Jeff's point on academics, can one semester really tank a team's APR? I just can't see it having that big of an impact -- but I'm not 100% sure how it is all calculated.

The impact on our APR (if any) will be a heck of a lot less damaging than a .500 season and missing the NCAA tourney again....

 

[UCweCONN]

Wouldn't be so sure of this. Even with hamidou I'd expect this team to finish with 10-13 losses. Still looking at having to win 3/4 games in a row in Hartford come March to get into the dance. Hope I'm wrong and he's the savior, but I'll be reasonable until then.

That's how we'll get in. I wasn't expecting it based on the regular season and the teams we have left. With him we win the AAC Tourney. Lock it up.

 

[Pudge]

So the story is coming together. He planned to go from his post-grad year to the NBA. The scouts told him he's not ready for the league. The only way to salvage that immediately is to play the second semester and see if the scouts change their mind. If not, you play 1.5 seasons and then move on.

However, coming into a program now requires that a team has a scholarship available now, has playing time available now almost no matter what you do and doesn't have team chemistry that is set and they're worrying about you interfering with. Then, since you may be there for a second year, you also hope that it's one of the schools you would have liked to play for anyway.

That makes us an obvious fit and probably the only fit. If he shows up not ready to contribute at a big time level, he's not getting on the court at U of A until he is ready. Here, he is certain to get material minutes from day one, which gives him time to play his way into being a serious factor.

It all makes too much sense.

And shows that Hamidou Diallo and advisers are using their heads.

 

[Pudge]

The Diallo Gamble: Would He Stay More Than A Year?

Nothing groundbreaking except for the fact that Jeff Jacobs produced an offspring that can do more than walk and chew gum.

I am frankly tired of Jeff Jacobs "Pollyanna'ish" opinion. These kids are mercenaries. They do serve for the greater riches of the University. However, if a kid can quickly rise to a Payday, he absolutely should take advantage of the platform. As if he was signing with Google or Pratt & Whitney. And ... how often do we see Jacobs add a touch of personalization to his stories.

 

[HooperScooper]

www.zagsblog.com/2016/12/23/official-visit-hamidou-diallo-takes-shots-uconn-practice-will-attend-auburn-game/


The article starts out with what we know, but then talks about NBA scouts and the NBA scouts want him to attend college. Probably this one of the reasons for him suiting up 2nd semester.

"
At that event, most NBA scouts said they thought Diallo wasn’t yet ready for the NBA and should attend college.
“Based on what I saw tonight and this summer he should attend college and continue to develop his game,” one NBA scout said. “He’s athletic and flashes some skill but has a ways to go from being NBA ready. I think someone would draft him for his talent but it’s not about making the league, it’s about giving yourself the best chance to stick.”

“[The NBA scouts] were disappointed by the lack of urgency that he showed,” Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com said. “He was kind of going through the motions and coasting. His jump shot still needs a lot of work. His body needs a lot of work. If Hamidou is not going to play hard, then he’s just not that interesting a prospect. He’s 6-5, 190 pounds without a great jumper. You can find that a dime a dozen.

“What I loved about Hamidou before that with USA Basketball, on the AAU circuit, Adidas Nations, every time I’ve seen him play, he was always playing harder than everybody else. He was a monster defensively. He seems to kind of have backed off of that a little bit and that’s not a good sign for him. I think he’s a much better prospect than what he showed, but when NBA guys come to evaluate you and you turn in that kind of performances, they might not come back. So he has to be thinking strongly about college at this point.”

Uh oh, husky99 is going to yell at you for cutting and pasting some of a Zagsblog article. May God have mercy on your soul!

I wonder if he's just bored of high school basketball and that's why he is contemplating going to college now.

 

[Devland]

As a UConn fan I hope he would commit immediately. That being said, as a parent I would advise him to go through the entire process and try and guide him through the decision making process. Visit other schools, talk to other coaches. Even if the coaches are sleezeballs (Calipari). It would be more valuable to expose him to and have him identify people that would use him than it would be to shield him from these people. There is something to be said about learning how to weigh all your options and make decisions. He will need these skills later in life. Maybe as soon as the end of his first NBA contract. This can be a learning experience for him.

 

[Kembacity]

F all that, sign up now so I can see the news on my cell phone before the Auburn game and get good and drunk in celebration of that, regardless of how we do in the game

 

[mauconnfan]

F all that, sign up now so I can see the news on my cell phone before the Auburn game and get good and drunk in celebration of that, regardless of how we do in the game

Now that's the ticket!!!

 

[upstater]

To Jeff's point on academics, can one semester really tank a team's APR? I just can't see it having that big of an impact -- but I'm not 100% sure how it is all calculated.

No, it can't. You get a chance for a point each semester. So by missing the fall, we go 0-0. If he gets less than a 2.0 in the spring, then he counts as an 0 for 1.

The loss of one point out of 1 isn't going to kill UConn.

 

[upstater]

As a UConn fan I hope he would commit immediately. That being said, as a parent I would advise him to go through the entire process and try and guide him through the decision making process. Visit other schools, talk to other coaches. Even if the coaches are sleezeballs (Calipari). It would be more valuable to expose him to and have him identify people that would use him than it would be to shield him from these people. There is something to be said about learning how to weigh all your options and make decisions. He will need these skills later in life. Maybe as soon as the end of his first NBA contract. This can be a learning experience for him.

Presumably, he will have already done a lot more of this vetting than kids in his cohort who already committed long ago.

 

[JSM1970]

If leaves after today w/o a commitment I don't like it; yes, stating the obvious

He'll get immediate PT and quickly be the best player on the team and if he stays for next year the team is loaded, even w/o a new big, potential top 10 or even top 5

JA
AG
HD
TL
SE

And key contributors MAL, VJ (?), Durham, CV

 

[Danzz]

So the story is coming together. He planned to go from his post-grad year to the NBA. The scouts told him he's not ready for the league. The only way to salvage that immediately is to play the second semester and see if the scouts change their mind. If not, you play 1.5 seasons and then move on.

However, coming into a program now requires that a team has a scholarship available now, has playing time available now almost no matter what you do and doesn't have team chemistry that is set and they're worrying about you interfering with. Then, since you may be there for a second year, you also hope that it's one of the schools you would have liked to play for anyway.

That makes us an obvious fit and probably the only fit. If he shows up not ready to contribute at a big time level, he's not getting on the court at U of A until he is ready. Here, he is certain to get material minutes from day one, which gives him time to play his way into being a serious factor.

It all makes too much sense.

Actually this makes the most sense. I see him staying 1.5 years unless his shot improves a lot. At 6'5" he is going to have to be able to score from the outside or defenders will play off him. He won't be making a living penetrating against NBA trees. UConn fits his needs.

 

[upstater]

If leaves after today w/o a commitment I don't like it; yes, stating the obvious

What if he wants to go home for Christmas?

And, commitment? There is no commitment at this stage. It's either enroll or don't.