[thetruth87Participant]

Class of 2017 Top 10 recruit Hamidou Diallo, who graduated high school in 2016 and committed to Kentucky early and has been practicing with the team this year, has declared for the draft without hiring an agent. He was mocked as the 14th pick in the 2018 draft on this site. If he stays in the draft where is his range in the 2017 draft? I would think he probably is at least a first round pick right? Seems like he could be a real wild card in this draft if he opts to stay in.

 

  http://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/kentuckys-hamidou-diallo-declares-for-nba-draft-without-ever-playing-in-college/

 

 

 

 

[BallerScriptParticipant]

 I remember reading something about him having very little interest in entering this year and I imagine he is declaring in hopes of seeing where his stock is at and getting advice from NBA scouts and trainers.

[Anton123Participant]

Every SG in this draft has so many question marks around him that Hamidou Diallo seems to fit right in. Might be the only SG prospect with elite-level potential alongside Malik Monk, some teams will give him looks in the late lottery. 

If he does stay in, Kentucky loses 3 starting guards (Fox, Monk, Briscoe), 2 backup guards (Hawkins, Mulder), and the best incoming freshman guard (Diallo), the team will basically be all forwards and big men.

[BallerScriptParticipant]

 Jarred Vanderbilt at PG? God that would be hard to watch but also hard to look away from. Remember they do have Quade Green and Shai Alexandar coming too.

[Anton123Participant]

 A guard rotation of Green, Gilgeous-Alexander, Baker, and Calipari sounds terrible though. Even star freshmen guards often struggle early (Mulder and Briscoe were important for Kentucky early on last season), I’m guessing it won’t be all smooth sailing having these guys run the show.

[SubZeroParticipant]

No chance Brad Calipari is in the rotation next season, probably ever. He wasn’t better than Jonny David and the other guys at the end of the bench, he just got time because Cal’s training him to be a coach. I’d love to be proven wrong and see him become a contributor, but can’t see that ever happening really

[SubZeroParticipant]

Man I hope he stays. I’ll support him regardless cause he’s officially BBN but we really need him next year. Our team without him will basically be either point guards or big men and not much in between

[wonzi_bellsParticipant]

If he enters, Coach Cal better get Cam Johnson from Pittsburgh, the best grad transfer in the nation for next season. I think he’s down to Kentucky and his former coach, Jamie Dixon’s TCU but Diallo leaving would probably nudge him to the Wildcats.

Anyways, he didn’t hire an agent, so I don’t think there’s much to really worry about for BBN.

 

[holefillers1Participant]

 Quade green will be a Ullis type PG.  And he will not be the problem with Kentucky next year.

[OhCanada-Participant]

 I completely agree Green is being slept on. Hes like a bigger Tyler Ulis. Not because he may be there a few years but from a leadership and poise standpoint. Hes gonna be a well rounded jack of all trades PG that gets the job done. Reminds me of Mike Conley. 

[ChewyParticipant]

 was the first none and done after NCAA grounded him. Ended up never playing for UK.

Also Quade is no where near the level of Ulis. Tyler was POY and DPOY as a 5’8 PG! Now, if your point was that Green would be in Lexington for multiple years, then yes, on that I agree with you. 

 

[wonzi_bellsParticipant]

 He’s a slight poor man’s version. Same type of elite vision and above average shooting but Ulis was much quicker and a better leaper and better point-of-attack defender. Green has a better frame though but their the same archetype.

And Ulis really broke out and the shackles taken off his second year and had the benefit of being eased into his role with Andrew Harrison commanding the team his freshman year, something that Green won’t have the benefit of.

[Bob BallParticipant]

Ricky Ledo did something similar to this at Providence. He had to redshirt his freshman year for eligibility issues ended up entering the draft with out ever suiting up for Providence. He was highly rated recruit in his own right but probably not as much potential as Hammie. 

[HobbyOGParticipant]

 This a tough one, article says he’s a lock for a first round pick. He’s athletic but has no jumper, he might comeback to UK next year and get exposed with the lack of jumper and his stock could drop. 

[Dev44Participant]

 I think he should go back to school. It’s nothing wrong with testing the waters but realistically that jumper needs to improve. I believe staying in school especially at UK can only help his stock. But then again if you guys were locks for the firstborn round as a 19 year old would you stay in school? 

[MopgrassParticipant]

 I see the types of moves he makes: he’s not a street-baller, he’s a studied player. That makes a jump easier. 

I’d shocked if he wasn’t a lottery pick. Maybe even top10. Despite his athleticism, he can’t drive that well: his first step is under average and his handles aren’t great yet. He needs space to get going. But he’s pretty darn good at everything else. His jumper looks great from 3 and mid-range. He’s got floaters, he can post up. He gets a little out of control on drives, but he gets his head at the rim… plus he’s got that 6’10" wingspan. 

[JDB12Participant]

 If Diallo leaves, it would have been nice to hold onto Matthews.

[ChewyParticipant]

 I saw him go from a strong, high scoring confident top 100 player to a scared role player in his one year at UK. Calipari has set up this NBA spotlight that attracts so many top players. But that intense microscope has hurt other players who arn’t one and dones and need time to develop behind the scenes, rather than in the spot light. Matthews was like that. He needed to leave for his own development. Ryan Harrow is another that comes to mind.

Many players thrive under what Cal has set up, but there are players who need more sheltering from coaches and administration to grow. I think Matthews will end up being 1st or 2nd team all-B10 by his senior year. Beilien knows how to develop guards and has had a string of 4 or 5 of them make it to the NBA over the last 7 years or so. That’s a great run for a school like Michigan.

 

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