OT - Hamidou Diallo testing Draft Waters

[Walker11]

No it got passed when the CBA passed in late December/early January. DeMar Derozan shot 17% from 3 at USC, and has never shot over 30% in the NBA and he's already like 26/27. 3x all-star and plays for Team USA. At best this kid is DeMar at worst he is Gerald Green/Shannon Brown. The D league would be a great option for him if his only goal is to make the NBA. More guys making the league from it than ever. And who knows someone could take a flyer on him in the first and then he's got guaranteed money.

DeRozan also has one of the best mid range off the dribble games in the NBA and the best footwork since Kobe. Diallo....jumps really high.

 

[Chief00]

He deserves every ounce of salt he gets from UConn fans. The game he played with us was dirty

What game did he play with us?

 

[HooperScooper]

I wanted Diallo as much as the next guy but I'm very happy we didn't have to deal with this. We have enough problems without having to deal with all the uncertainty with Diallo. Get some players who want to work hard and play at UConn.

 

[UCweCONN]

Eh, there's a real chance he spent more time in our facilities than in theirs. He was playing games.


D League pay scale increases to 50-75k next year, along with 2 extra "two-way" player roster spots.

Regardless, that's still a huge pay cut from what he's getting paid at Kentucky.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

I actually want him to play at Kentucky, and that we play them in the National Championship.
Then maybe Eric Cobb can punch him in the face and I'll be satisfied.

 

[champs99and04]

I don't think he played games with us. There was enough smoke there where I think he was genuine in wanting to be a Husky. He changed his mind during a season where we gave him plenty of reason to do so. I can understand that.

But the way he's gone about this whole process has been bizarre. Between opting not to play college ball this year, red-shirting at Kentucky, and hearing what his high school coach had to say about him, he's painting a bleak picture for anybody who wants to draft him.

It's a bit of a paradox, almost. Dodging college ball to preserve your stock sounds good in theory, but then the fact that you would actually go ahead and do it makes me question you as a competitor. I feel the same way about a lot of transfers - it's just hard to look at some of the best players in the NBA and imagine them consciously choosing not to play basketball for a year.

 

[ctchamps]

I don't think he played games with us. There was enough smoke there where I think he was genuine in wanting to be a Husky. He changed his mind during a season where we gave him plenty of reason to do so. I can understand that.

But the way he's gone about this whole process has been bizarre. Between opting not to play college ball this year, red-shirting at Kentucky, and hearing what his high school coach had to say about him, he's painting a bleak picture for anybody who wants to draft him.

It's a bit of a paradox, almost. Dodging college ball to preserve your stock sounds good in theory, but then the fact that you would actually go ahead and do it makes me question you as a competitor. I feel the same way about a lot of transfers - it's just hard to look at some of the best players in the NBA and imagine them consciously choosing not to play basketball for a year.

I'm sure teams are looking at it the same way you are looking at it and will scrutinize him at camps more critically than players whom they watched play this season.

So the kid will find out if his gambit paid off or not.

Could we have used Diallo this season. Absolutely. He didn't want to be part of a sinking ship. Did his recruitment hurt UConn. Absolutely.

 

[temery]

Great title: Kentucky's First None and Done.

Hamidou Diallo declares for draft before playing his first game for Kentucky

 

[willie99]

he has as many credits as most players at UK

 

[80shusky]

Oh I NEVER saw this coming.

 

[mauconnfan]

he has as many credits as most players at UK

LOL, and more than any UNC player deserves.

 

[FASTEDDY]

I desperately want him in this year's draft.
He is NBA ready, in more ways than one.

 

[Yankees32123]

I desperately want him in this year's draft.
He is NBA ready, in more ways than one.

No he's not. Just a few months ago he was sharply criticized for being below-average in the half court. If you're 6'5-6'6 in the NBA, you need to be able to hit shots and break down a defense in the half court. He is NBA-ready in a lot of ways: open court/fastbreak, athleticism, size (although he needs to get stronger) and attitude. But the kid has to be able to make shots and break down a defense in the half court.

 

[ctchamps]

I actually want him to play at Kentucky, and that we play them in the National Championship.
Then maybe Eric Cobb can punch him in the face and I'll be satisfied.

I laughed really hard when I read this the first time and laughed again on the second read. Nice one.

 

[FASTEDDY]

No he's not. Just a few months ago he was sharply criticized for being below-average in the half court. If you're 6'5-6'6 in the NBA, you need to be able to hit shots and break down a defense in the half court. He is NBA-ready in a lot of ways: open court/fastbreak, athleticism, size (although he needs to get stronger) and attitude. But the kid has to be able to make shots and break down a defense in the half court.

Perhaps my prior post wasnt clear but the emoticon meant that what i said was in jest and not serious.

I agree. Kid has much work to do on his game.

 

[Danzz]

A poor shooting small forward so the experts say. Not sure which NBA teams will be lining up for him but I guess we'll see.

 

[LStudfellow]

I'm sure teams are looking at it the same way you are looking at it and will scrutinize him at camps more critically than players whom they watched play this season.

So the kid will find out if his gambit paid off or not.

Could we have used Diallo this season. Absolutely. He didn't want to be part of a sinking ship. Did his recruitment hurt UConn. Absolutely.

You all do realize that for all the hand-wringing and suicidal thoughts that were thrown about on this board for the last 3 months since his commitment to Kentucky... not to mention the literal castigation some of you wanted of both Glen Miller and Kevin Ollie for losing out to Calipari on him - this latest part of his plan being set in motion proves that getting him to commit here would have been a net negative. A BIG net negative. And that once Kentucky offered him a scholarship there was almost zero chance he was coming here.

Fleudslipcon, let me start this by saying you are one of the most consistently rational people on here - in fact you just made a great point on the "Enoch Commits to Louisville" thread that everyone's premature speculation on Steve's new career at Louisville is just that, wild speculation.

So I am disappointed to see you join the ranks of the speculators and the know-it-alls (who know nothing) when it comes to Hamidou Diallo. How can you or anyone else now honestly speculate that Hami Diallo's decision had anything to do with how our season was going or ended up by the end of this year?

Sorry, but this one is easy - he is proving he does NOT want to have to play in college at all before getting drafted, as Methodology points out. He is betting that some team will be stupid enough to take him in the first round - a.k.a. GUARANTEED MONEY, without having to step on a court in college. Ok, he is a great athlete with some basketball skills. But his game will get totally exposed if he actually plays at this level. He is obviously scared sh$!less of that exact thing happening. There is no school in college basketball today that provides a vehicle for this exact type of plan to be executed better than Kentucky.

The fact is that he was picking Kentucky even if we were 11-0 and in the top 10 going into that Auburn game that he attended. Saying "He didn't want to be part of a sinking ship" is a total disconnect from the reality of what his plan has been all along, and which school could help him the best to execute that plan.

I wish Hami nothing but the best - but this proves that not only would he not have been some great player here... he would have been a DISASTER for us. Think Andre Drummond's one year, but significantly worse. At least Andre tried to fit into the team concept. Hami is proving he wants nothing to do with putting any team over his own desires. Didn't we have enough of that with the cast on hand already this year? And how exactly would he have made this year's team better, other than providing another warm body? A ME FIRST guy whose biggest weakness (has no jump shot) was also one of our two biggest weaknesses as a team. Other than a few highlight dunks, we would have all been complaining about his crappy outside shooting, his lousy defense (got called out for that at PSA on at least one occasion) and his perceived dis-interest at playing team first basketball.

And now we would be dealing with him putting his name in for the draft? Just another huge distraction for this team that needs no more of them. Frankly, I am mystified by some of the false narratives that posters put on here and then stick to as if their lives depended upon it. Sorry Fleudslipcon, I should not be calling you out because as I said, unlike some posters on here you actually make sense and offer well-thought out opinions most of the time. I am really surprised you think having Diallo on the team this year would have been good for us - and that he picked Kentucky because of the bad year we were having.

Here is one thing that should make practically everyone on this board happy - it looks like he is doing a masterful job of using Calipari and Kentucky without giving them anything in return. The "master" is getting used and abused. Funny how no one has pointed to that aspect of this story yet.

 

[Conquistador]

You all do realize that for all the hand-wringing and suicidal thoughts that were thrown about on this board for the last 3 months since his commitment to Kentucky... not to mention the literal castigation some of you wanted of both Glen Miller and Kevin Ollie for losing out to Calipari on him - this latest part of his plan being set in motion proves that getting him to commit here would have been a net negative. A BIG net negative. And that once Kentucky offered him a scholarship there was almost zero chance he was coming here.

Fleudslipcon, let me start this by saying you are one of the most consistently rational people on here - in fact you just made a great point on the "Enoch Commits to Louisville" thread that everyone's premature speculation on Steve's new career at Louisville is just that, wild speculation.

So I am disappointed to see you join the ranks of the speculators and the know-it-alls (who know nothing) when it comes to Hamidou Diallo. How can you or anyone else now honestly speculate that Hami Diallo's decision had anything to do with how our season was going or ended up by the end of this year?

Sorry, but this one is easy - he is proving he does NOT want to have to play in college at all before getting drafted, as Methodology points out. He is betting that some team will be stupid enough to take him in the first round - a.k.a. GUARANTEED MONEY, without having to step on a court in college. Ok, he is a great athlete with some basketball skills. But his game will get totally exposed if he actually plays at this level. He is obviously scared sh$!less of that exact thing happening. There is no school in college basketball today that provides a vehicle for this exact type of plan to be executed better than Kentucky.

The fact is that he was picking Kentucky even if we were 11-0 and in the top 10 going into that Auburn game that he attended. Saying "He didn't want to be part of a sinking ship" is a total disconnect from the reality of what his plan has been all along, and which school could help him the best to execute that plan.

I wish Hami nothing but the best - but this proves that not only would he not have been some great player here... he would have been a DISASTER for us. Think Andre Drummond's one year, but significantly worse. At least Andre tried to fit into the team concept. Hami is proving he wants nothing to do with putting any team over his own desires. Didn't we have enough of that with the cast on hand already this year? And how exactly would he have made this year's team better, other than providing another warm body? A ME FIRST guy whose biggest weakness (has no jump shot) was also one of our two biggest weaknesses as a team. Other than a few highlight dunks, we would have all been complaining about his crappy outside shooting, his lousy defense (got called out for that at PSA on at least one occasion) and his perceived dis-interest at playing team first basketball.

And now we would be dealing with him putting his name in for the draft? Just another huge distraction for this team that needs no more of them. Frankly, I am mystified by some of the false narratives that posters put on here and then stick to as if their lives depended upon it. Sorry Fleudslipcon, I should not be calling you out because as I said, unlike some posters on here you actually make sense and offer well-thought out opinions most of the time. I am really surprised you think having Diallo on the team this year would have been good for us - and that he picked Kentucky because of the bad year we were having.

Here is one thing that should make practically everyone on this board happy - it looks like he is doing a masterful job of using Calipari and Kentucky without giving them anything in return. The "master" is getting used and abused. Funny how no one has pointed to that aspect of this story yet.

Best post I've read in years.

 

[James]

First round draft pick. Late probably , and will most likely see some run in the dleague. But I don't think derrick jones is better than him and he started a bunch of games for the tanking Suns.

 

[Jerry1714]

Stay in the draft... Lenny Cooke 2.0

Except Lenny Cooke went undrafted and Diallo will be a fringe lottery pick. But other than that you nailed it!

 

[KingAG]

First round draft pick. Late probably , and will most likely see some run in the dleague. But I don't think derrick jones is better than him and he started a bunch of games for the tanking Suns.

A team like the knicks would absolutely take a chance on him bottom of the first round

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

"My game has grown so much at UK"

 

[ctchamps]

You all do realize that for all the hand-wringing and suicidal thoughts that were thrown about on this board for the last 3 months since his commitment to Kentucky... not to mention the literal castigation some of you wanted of both Glen Miller and Kevin Ollie for losing out to Calipari on him - this latest part of his plan being set in motion proves that getting him to commit here would have been a net negative. A BIG net negative. And that once Kentucky offered him a scholarship there was almost zero chance he was coming here.

Fleudslipcon, let me start this by saying you are one of the most consistently rational people on here - in fact you just made a great point on the "Enoch Commits to Louisville" thread that everyone's premature speculation on Steve's new career at Louisville is just that, wild speculation.

So I am disappointed to see you join the ranks of the speculators and the know-it-alls (who know nothing) when it comes to Hamidou Diallo. How can you or anyone else now honestly speculate that Hami Diallo's decision had anything to do with how our season was going or ended up by the end of this year?

Sorry, but this one is easy - he is proving he does NOT want to have to play in college at all before getting drafted, as Methodology points out. He is betting that some team will be stupid enough to take him in the first round - a.k.a. GUARANTEED MONEY, without having to step on a court in college. Ok, he is a great athlete with some basketball skills. But his game will get totally exposed if he actually plays at this level. He is obviously scared sh$!less of that exact thing happening. There is no school in college basketball today that provides a vehicle for this exact type of plan to be executed better than Kentucky.

The fact is that he was picking Kentucky even if we were 11-0 and in the top 10 going into that Auburn game that he attended. Saying "He didn't want to be part of a sinking ship" is a total disconnect from the reality of what his plan has been all along, and which school could help him the best to execute that plan.

I wish Hami nothing but the best - but this proves that not only would he not have been some great player here... he would have been a DISASTER for us. Think Andre Drummond's one year, but significantly worse. At least Andre tried to fit into the team concept. Hami is proving he wants nothing to do with putting any team over his own desires. Didn't we have enough of that with the cast on hand already this year? And how exactly would he have made this year's team better, other than providing another warm body? A ME FIRST guy whose biggest weakness (has no jump shot) was also one of our two biggest weaknesses as a team. Other than a few highlight dunks, we would have all been complaining about his crappy outside shooting, his lousy defense (got called out for that at PSA on at least one occasion) and his perceived dis-interest at playing team first basketball.

And now we would be dealing with him putting his name in for the draft? Just another huge distraction for this team that needs no more of them. Frankly, I am mystified by some of the false narratives that posters put on here and then stick to as if their lives depended upon it. Sorry Fleudslipcon, I should not be calling you out because as I said, unlike some posters on here you actually make sense and offer well-thought out opinions most of the time. I am really surprised you think having Diallo on the team this year would have been good for us - and that he picked Kentucky because of the bad year we were having.

Here is one thing that should make practically everyone on this board happy - it looks like he is doing a masterful job of using Calipari and Kentucky without giving them anything in return. The "master" is getting used and abused. Funny how no one has pointed to that aspect of this story yet.

First of all thanks for the complement about rationality. To be clear however I'm making a deliberate choice of looking at things in multiple ways and sometimes I'm allowing myself to be "stupid", or irrational, or angry, or silly, or a counterweight. So my habit of the past, to stay above the fray, has changed because I've decided to allow myself the some guilty pleasures that are derived from acting like an idiot.

As to the post you've made a reference to, it was, imo, a rational post that I chose not to explore all the possibilities but offered up a singular possibility.

You're scenario is a plausible scenario and if events played out the way you describe them it could have been even more devastating to the program than what is already taking place. To sum it up, if hypothetically Diallo came to UConn, played meh or poorly, the season ends the same as without him, he declares for the draft and gets rejected and then transfers that would have been the worst case scenario by far. However, if he came, did well, the season ends up still being dismal, he enters the draft, goes first round, that scenario would mitigate a lot of the negativity currently surrounding the program. And of course if he came to UConn, lord knows we needed bodies that were not the walking dead, and the season ended up with at least an NIT bid and a long run or an NCAA bid, he enters the draft and goes first round, that scenario would have been the best possible. As much as I want to hate on Diallo for any possibility in his role of screwing UConn, I can't let my hate miss this or any other possibilities.

Even if I wanted to stay above the fray, and make posts like the one you observed on Steve, or hopefully this particular post, I would choose as I did in the past to limit the over view type posts that would touch on all the possibilities for two reasons. First is that most people reject lectures. Second is people learn better by exploring possibilities on their own. Currently we are in a very charged environment so rational debate is limited. In better times you would see these very intelligent people, and believe me, these argumentative souls who are currently acting immaturely imo, are very bright and have offered insights to discussions in the past with the sum total of all the posts in those threads ended up covering the topic in its entirety without much if any charge. I felt those threads were special. They were the NC's of the Boneyard history.

You could call me out all you want. I couldn't stop you even if I wanted to and I don't want or need to stop anyone. One of the challenges I set for myself, but certainly not the primary, is knowing that when I act stupidly people are more likely to call me out and frequently not as politely as you have done. It's predictable. The challenge for me is to see if I can avoid taking angry reactions personally. I'm not setting out to do this. It's a natural reaction when one chooses not to predicate and deliberate on a topic and one engages with others in the charged tactics they apply.

The only people we can fix is ourselves. I don't have any illusions now or in the past that I can fix anyone other than myself. I absolutely know I can't fix KO or the players given that I don't have any contact with them. When people in this forum insist we should join a position about circumstances or how we should fix things with the program, I can't decide whether I should laugh or cry about the absurdity that takes place over a meaningless endeavor. That is to say I know it is not meaningless to the people engaged in this process, but expressing opinions that don't create any change to the issue those expressions are targeting is an act of futilely outside the value of venting. But venting ends if people are stuck in obsessing on things they can't control. So I present my point, try to limit my arguing unless I choose to make it a sport, and move on.

However with regards to my fellow Boneyarders, and yes I consider this forum, excuse the gender ladies, a Brotherhood, I do have contact with, and if any of my attempts to prod people to start introspecting as opposed to making the world change to accommodate their less than perfect approaches to life, I've served a purpose. But as I've mentioned above, I've taken a step back from constantly doing it because I owe myself something I've deliberately chosen to avoid in the past. Which I'm sure has and will confuse people.

 

[August_West]

This has always been his end game. Have a feeling his stock was taking a hit playing as his weaknesses were being exposed. I think what happened was UConn wanted to him to enroll and play and he didn't want to play so he could hide and not get exposed more at the college level.

Cal probably sold him that he could enroll and not play and just practice against all his blue chippers so he wouldn't have to worry about hurting his stock and thus he became a wildcat where if circumstances were different he might have been a husky

This would make sense except for the fact there are more nba scouts at Kentucky practices than uconn games. If there is exposure to be had it can happen at practice too.

 

[Jerry1714]

A team like the knicks would absolutely take a chance on him bottom of the first round

He is projected 14th and 22nd in two mocks in 2018. Entering the draft a year younger will only help him. 2017 is a deeper class so I would bet he goes around the late teens early 20s.

 

[Matrim55]

A team like the knicks would absolutely take a chance on him bottom of the first round

Nets – they have a couple of picks in the 20s and need to swing for the fences for lottery talent.

 

[intlzncster]

So I am disappointed to see you join the ranks of the speculators and the know-it-alls (who know nothing) when it comes to Hamidou Diallo. How can you or anyone else now honestly speculate that Hami Diallo's decision had anything to do with how our season was going or ended up by the end of this year?......
The fact is that he was picking Kentucky even if we were 11-0 and in the top 10 going into that Auburn game that he attended. Saying "He didn't want to be part of a sinking ship" is a total disconnect from the reality of what his plan has been all along, and which school could help him the best to execute that plan.

You rip fleud for speculating, and then go and do the same thing.

Think Andre Drummond's one year, but significantly worse. At least Andre tried to fit into the team concept. Hami is proving he wants nothing to do with putting any team over his own desires. Didn't we have enough of that with the cast on hand already this year? And how exactly would he have made this year's team better, other than providing another warm body? A ME FIRST guy whose biggest weakness (has no jump shot) was also one of our two biggest weaknesses as a team. Other than a few highlight dunks, we would have all been complaining about his crappy outside shooting, his lousy defense (got called out for that at PSA on at least one occasion) and his perceived dis-interest at playing team first basketball.

Drummond was a net positive for us as far as brand goes. Number 2 recruit came to UCONN. And he's one of the few studs keeping UCONN's name alive in the NBA right now.

 

[Rocktheworld]

First of all thanks for the complement about rationality. To be clear however I'm making a deliberate choice of looking at things in multiple ways and sometimes I'm allowing myself to be "stupid", or irrational, or angry, or silly, or a counterweight. So my habit of the past, to stay above the fray, has changed because I've decided to allow myself the some guilty pleasures that are derived from acting like an idiot.

As to the post you've made a reference to, it was, imo, a rational post that I chose not to explore all the possibilities but offered up a singular possibility.

You're scenario is a plausible scenario and if events played out the way you describe them it could have been even more devastating to the program than what is already taking place. To sum it up, if hypothetically Diallo came to UConn, played meh or poorly, the season ends the same as without him, he declares for the draft and gets rejected and then transfers that would have been the worst case scenario by far. However, if he came, did well, the season ends up still being dismal, he enters the draft, goes first round, that scenario would mitigate a lot of the negativity currently surrounding the program. And of course if he came to UConn, lord knows we needed bodies that were not the walking dead, and the season ended up with at least an NIT bid and a long run or an NCAA bid, he enters the draft and goes first round, that scenario would have been the best possible. As much as I want to hate on Diallo for any possibility in his role of screwing UConn, I can't let my hate miss this or any other possibilities.

Even if I wanted to stay above the fray, and make posts like the one you observed on Steve, or hopefully this particular post, I would choose as I did in the past to limit the over view type posts that would touch on all the possibilities for two reasons. First is that most people reject lectures. Second is people learn better by exploring possibilities on their own. Currently we are in a very charged environment so rational debate is limited. In better times you would see these very intelligent people, and believe me, these argumentative souls who are currently acting immaturely imo, are very bright and have offered insights to discussions in the past with the sum total of all the posts in those threads ended up covering the topic in its entirety without much if any charge. I felt those threads were special. They were the NC's of the Boneyard history.

You could call me out all you want. I couldn't stop you even if I wanted to and I don't want or need to stop anyone. One of the challenges I set for myself, but certainly not the primary, is knowing that when I act stupidly people are more likely to call me out and frequently not as politely as you have done. It's predictable. The challenge for me is to see if I can avoid taking angry reactions personally. I'm not setting out to do this. It's a natural reaction when one chooses not to predicate and deliberate on a topic and one engages with others in the charged tactics they apply.

The only people we can fix is ourselves. I don't have any illusions now or in the past that I can fix anyone other than myself. I absolutely know I can't fix KO or the players given that I don't have any contact with them. When people in this forum insist we should join a position about circumstances or how we should fix things with the program, I can't decide whether I should laugh or cry about the absurdity that takes place over a meaningless endeavor. That is to say I know it is not meaningless to the people engaged in this process, but expressing opinions that don't create any change to the issue those expressions are targeting is an act of futilely outside the value of venting. But venting ends if people are stuck in obsessing on things they can't control. So I present my point, try to limit my arguing unless I choose to make it a sport, and move on.

However with regards to my fellow Boneyarders, and yes I consider this forum, excuse the gender ladies, a Brotherhood, I do have contact with, and if any of my attempts to prod people to start introspecting as opposed to making the world change to accommodate their less than perfect approaches to life, I've served a purpose. But as I've mentioned above, I've taken a step back from constantly doing it because I owe myself something I've deliberately chosen to avoid in the past. Which I'm sure has and will confuse people.

I am grossly uncomfortable with this conversation being conducted in the fashion in which it is currently unfolding. I don't think either of you has insulted the other's intelligence once.

 

[ctchamps]

I am grossly uncomfortable with this conversation being conducted in the fashion in which it is currently unfolding. I don't think either of you has insulted the other's intelligence once.

Eat crow you vegan!

 

[intlzncster]

Eat crow you vegan!

Woulda been better if you went with "eat a dick you vegan". But that's not really your style.