OT: Kentucky “none-and-done” Hamidou Diallo will likely go up against Wednesday’s deadline before dec

[BUConn10]

Just got the Yahoo sports breaking news notification about Diallo. Yay! National coverage!

 

[Kembacity]

Hope he sucks!

 

[UconnFanNVa]

If he had a realistic shot at being a 1st round pick (which I really think he did) he's stupid for going to Kentucky. If he spends the season bricking jumpshots his stock is going to plummet. And you dont want to be a sophomore at UK with other one and dones coming for your PT (especially if you aspire for an NBA career). He better be working on his jumpshot.

 

[nyhuskies13]

"Diallo wouldn't have sniffed the lottery this year, though, and reports are that no team gave him a guarantee that he would be selected in the first round. " - CBS Sports

my source's sources allegedly heard reports

hope he works on that awful jumper... when you're 6'5 w/ a 44inch vertical and a 7ft wingspan, you can dunk at will on a 6'2, 17yr old power forward in scholastic hoops

that doesnt fly in college, and certainly wont turn into an NBA career

 

[pj]

His handlers were stupid. He should have enrolled in college last September, gotten a year of experience. This wasted year essentially delayed his NBA earnings by a year. His effort to avoid competition has also left a permanent black mark on his reputation.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Yes, his handlers really ducked this up.

I figured there was a 0% chance he would play in college after what they did with him the past year and a 1/2. I cannot believe he is actually coming back to Kensucky.

If there was any chance he was going to play college next year, he should have been on the court this past year. He/they really screwed this one up.

It may work out for him, but I have sneaking suspicion that this is going to be a cautionary tale for how not to handle the HS/prep/college/NBA path for top recruits going forward.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

This will be Calipari's youngest team possibly ever:

4: Gabriel (soph), Washington (fresh), Killeya-Jones (soph)

3: Knox (fresh), Vanderbilt (fresh)

5: Richards (fresh), Wynyard (soph)

2: Diallo (fresh), Baker (fresh)

1: Green (fresh), Gilgeous-Alexander (fresh)

 

[pj]

This just plays up what a lousy recruiting job Ollie and Miller did. A coach has to become a little bit of a father to a player, has to love him, prove that he has the player's best interests at heart, and be able to give him sound guidance. They should have made a major push last summer to persuade him that an August enrollment was best for his future.

 

[boog204]

"Diallo wouldn't have sniffed the lottery this year, though, and reports are that no team gave him a guarantee that he would be selected in the first round. " - CBS Sports

my source's sources allegedly heard reports

hope he works on that awful jumper... when you're 6'5 w/ a 44inch vertical and a 7ft wingspan, you can dunk at will on a 6'2, 17yr old power forward in scholastic hoops

that doesnt fly in college, and certainly wont turn into an NBA career

Yup, this is the concern... At his size, I really do not think it matters how athletic you are if you do not have the skills. If he was 2-3 inches taller, than he can get away with it. But everything I've heard is that he's not just a poor shooter, but as your "source" claimed, an awful one. His summer shooting stats from deep were consistently under 20% on far too many attempts.

I would never wish ill on any kid, but man, I think he should have stayed in to hope he gets that guaranteed $$ by being a late first rounder. I think his lack of two-guard skills is really going to be exposed.

 

[FartMan69]

This just plays up what a lousy recruiting job Ollie and Miller did. A coach has to become a little bit of a father to a player, has to love him, prove that he has the player's best interests at heart, and be able to give him sound guidance. They should have made a major push last summer to persuade him that an August enrollment was best for his future.

This players best interest is to get as much exposure as possible and get paid. What can UConn offer him that would beat Kentucky's pitch? Diallo rose to the level where he could be a lottery pick after 1 season and the main focus was exposure at which point he was already wearing Kentucky blue. I don't put not getting Diallo on Ollie, I might agree he should have seen the writing on the wall and not prioritized him over other potential recruits but he's not inside the players head so I can't really blame him on that either.

 

[pj]

This players best interest is to get as much exposure as possible and get paid. What can UConn offer him that would beat Kentucky's pitch? Diallo rose to the level where he could be a lottery pick after 1 season and the main focus was exposure at which point he was already wearing Kentucky blue. I don't put not getting Diallo on Ollie, I might agree he should have seen the writing on the wall and not prioritized him over other potential recruits but he's not inside the players head so I can't really blame him on that either.

If he had enrolled for September 2016 with the intention to play in 2016-17, he would have enrolled at UConn because he wouldn't have played behind Kentucky's players. And that was what was in his best interest.

Exposure is not what he needed, everybody knew about him, he needed playing experience and development, and that's what UConn would have provided and should have been pitching him on.

 

[UCweCONN]

This sucks. My dream scenario was he'd hire an agent and somehow go undrafted. Now we have to hear what a stud he is and see him play next season. I was hoping he'd end up in Europe or Asia never to be heard from on this board again.

 

[LStudfellow]

While you're not wrong, HD is not just some athletic dude. He's preternaturally athletic. It's not like there's guys like this in every draft.

Intlzncster - As it turns out, your take was right and mine was wrong (as we debated in the previous thread on Hami about a month ago). I figured Hami had it planned out that he was going right to the pros all along. I was definitely surprised by his decision to play at Kentucky for a year, particularly since his combine workout created even more positive buzz for him than was expected.

I will raise a glass to you sir at the end of my work day. Excellent read by you, not by me. A good reminder for me that you really do not know what kids are going to do, and often times they do not either, right up until they make the actual decision.

And as with everyone else, I wish the best for him (more in the NBA than at Kentucky, of course).

 

[intlzncster]

Intlzncster - As it turns out, your take was right and mine was wrong (as we debated in the previous thread on Hami about a month ago). I figured Hami had it planned out that he was going right to the pros all along. I was definitely surprised by his decision to play at Kentucky for a year, particularly since his combine workout created even more positive buzz for him than was expected.

I will raise a glass to you sir at the end of my work day. Excellent read by you, not by me. A good reminder for me that you really do not know what kids are going to do, and often times they do not either, right up until they make the actual decision.

And as with everyone else, I wish the best for him (more in the NBA than at Kentucky, of course).

Ha, I don't even remember the discussion man. But I'll take a glass being raised in my honor 100 times out of 100. Need all the positive brain waves I can get!

 

[Stainmaster]

His effort to avoid competition has also left a permanent black mark on his reputation.

Once again, I am not seeing this sentiment anywhere outside of bitter UConn fans. Are there anonymous quotes from front office personal floating out there that corroborate this, or something like that? I'm afraid that you are one of the few people who believes this.

 

[boog204]

Once again, I am not seeing this sentiment anywhere outside of bitter UConn fans. Are there anonymous quotes from front office personal floating out there that corroborate this, or something like that? I'm afraid that you are one of the few people who believes this.

Yup, definitely some jilted UConn fans... He did not come here; the best thing for him to do for his career was to go to Kentucky. The husky shaped glasses cloud some of our perceptions.

 

[intlzncster]

Once again, I am not seeing this sentiment anywhere outside of bitter UConn fans. Are there anonymous quotes from front office personal floating out there that corroborate this, or something like that? I'm afraid that you are one of the few people who believes this.

I do remember seeing a scout say that. I'm not gonna try to find it though, because I don't care that much about the argument.

 

[FartMan69]

If he had enrolled for September 2016 with the intention to play in 2016-17, he would have enrolled at UConn because he wouldn't have played behind Kentucky's players. And that was what was in his best interest.

Exposure is not what he needed, everybody knew about him, he needed playing experience and development, and that's what UConn would have provided and should have been pitching him on.

What example can Ollie use to convince him? What blue chip stud has he taken on for a year and made a lottery pick? Um you think Diallo would come play an AAC schedule on what is basically blind faith? Cal has more experience with that...obviously.

 

[intlzncster]

What example can Ollie use to convince him? What blue chip stud has he taken on for a year and made a lottery pick? Um you think Diallo would come play an AAC schedule on what is basically blind faith? Cal has more experience with that...obviously.

Do you really need an example for a Blue Chip though? Those type of kids know that if they go to East Bumbscrew U, they are likely going lottery. Unless they're not the confident type I suppose.

Cal can outsell anybody in the country, that's just what we're dealing with here.

 

[FartMan69]

Do you really need an example for a Blue Chip though? Those type of kids know that if they go to East Bumbscrew U, they are likely going lottery. Unless they're not the confident type I suppose.

Cal can outsell anybody in the country, that's just what we're dealing with here.

It can't hurt. I mean Kentucky is in all essence an NBA farm system in a basketball centric atmosphere. Hate Cal all you want but to deny he isn't the best at what he does is hogwash. He takes the best of the best, showcases them, strokes their egos and gets them far in the tourney more times than not.

 

[pj]

What example can Ollie use to convince him? What blue chip stud has he taken on for a year and made a lottery pick? Um you think Diallo would come play an AAC schedule on what is basically blind faith? Cal has more experience with that...obviously.

We're talking 2016-17. Kentucky would have been out because they had other one and dones ahead of him. His goal was to be a 1st rounder in the 2017 draft, so he would want to play. (On the hypothetical that he is not trying to avoid competition.)

So, if he wasn't going to Kentucky, wanted a place with open minutes, who else was recruiting him that was more attractive than UConn?

 

[FartMan69]

We're talking 2016-17. Kentucky would have been out because they had other one and dones ahead of him. His goal was to be a 1st rounder in the 2017 draft, so he would want to play. (On the hypothetical that he is not trying to avoid competition.)

So, if he wasn't going to Kentucky, wanted a place with open minutes, who else was recruiting him that was more attractive than UConn?

He was never going to be c/o 2016 to come to UConn because HE DIDNT WANT TO COME TO UCONN. He is a fringe 1st rounder already without playing anywhere and you're really going to question his decision despite knowing 0% of what is in his head.

 

[BUConn10]

If you are still arguing over why Diallo went to UK over UConn you are either a fool or ignorant. He chose UK, at that time it was a no brainer, it still is get over it, this isn't 2009, or 2011, or even 2014, those opportunities to capitalize on recruiting came and passed.

 

[gtcam]

If you are still arguing over why Diallo went to UK over UConn you are either a fool or ignorant. He chose UK, at that time it was a no brainer, it still is get over it, this isn't 2009, or 2011, or even 2014, those opportunities to capitalize on recruiting came and passed.

Why are those who feel that UConn would have been a better opportunity for Ham are either fools or ignorant? This is their opinion. It was far from a no brainer
I could care less where this kid went/goes.
Because someone sees something from another angle than you doesn't qualify that person for the looney bin nor does it make your argument correct

 

[mauconnfan]

It worked out for both, we didn't know it at the time and obviously neither did KO/staff. Move on let the kid do what he wants but if I'm him and there's a team willing to take me 1st round, take the money and run. He may only prove he needs to stay in college by playing there next year!

 

[BUConn10]

Why are those who feel that UConn would have been a better opportunity for Ham are either fools or ignorant? This is their opinion. It was far from a no brainer
I could care less where this kid went/goes.
Because someone sees something from another angle than you doesn't qualify that person for the looney bin nor does it make your argument correct

This post reeks of someone who doesn't understand what Hamidou wants and why he chose the school that he did. For someone whose eyes are on the league he made the right choice, and yes I am more qualified than an emotional old man child to make that assessment, your posting history tells me you are not.

 

[pj]

This post reeks of someone who doesn't understand what Hamidou wants and why he chose the school that he did. For someone whose eyes are on the league he made the right choice, and yes I am more qualified than an emotional old man child to make that assessment, your posting history tells me you are not.

KO has to prove to skeptics like you that he's just as good as Calipari at getting guys to the league. I don't think Hamidou made the right choice, but I can see why the easy inference is: Calipari has had a lot of players who went to the league, ergo he's the best at getting guys to the league. Logically it doesn't follow, but the glamor of Kentucky and Calipari's salesmanship makes it appear true. Meanwhile until KO has more time and more talent to coach, you can't tell how good he is at player development.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Meanwhile until KO has more time and more talent to coach, you can't tell how good he is at player development.

And you still think Diallo made the wrong choice despite typing what you just typed?

I don't know, maybe when Kentucky has all twelve players on their roster in the lottery people will move on from this argument that every kid that goes there is fooled by smoke and mirrors.

 

[BUConn10]

KO has to prove to skeptics like you that he's just as good as Calipari at getting guys to the league. I don't think Hamidou made the right choice, but I can see why the easy inference is: Calipari has had a lot of players who went to the league, ergo he's the best at getting guys to the league. Logically it doesn't follow, but the glamor of Kentucky and Calipari's salesmanship makes it appear true. Meanwhile until KO has more time and more talent to coach, you can't tell how good he is at player development.

What?

I can't understand a single point you are trying to make here?

 

[pj]

And you still think Diallo made the wrong choice despite typing what you just typed?

I don't know, maybe when Kentucky has all twelve players on their roster in the lottery people will move on from this argument that every kid that goes there is fooled by smoke and mirrors.

I've explained why earlier in this thread. At UConn he could have enrolled in September 2016 and gotten on-court playing experience this year, potentially enabling him to be a first round draft choice in 2017. By skipping a year in order to attend Kentucky, he delayed his NBA start to 2018, costing him millions.

In another thread months ago, I compared player development histories over Calipari's and KO's entire career. Calipari rates as an average player developer, his players on average get drafted about 1.8x their high school rank (i.e. a player rated #10 out of high school gets drafted around #18), which is what you'd expect for average development. KO has too small a sample size to judge, but including DHam, Shabazz, Deandre, is slightly outperforming high school ranks. Calhoun was far better than either.

We'll just have to see after KO has built up his history. But yes, if KO is just an average developer of guards, then I think Diallo clearly made a faulty choice.