I'm with you I don't think initially this was his strategy: come out high school early, sit with UK for four months then enter the draft. If thats the case he couldve finished up high school a little earlier and go over seas to make a few coins then enter the draft. I really do believe his intentions were good-get his feet wet earlier so that by time summer conditioning over with going into the fall he's in a groove. Entering the draft just a test that could become reality based on feedback.
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In retrospect, I think EVERYONE (including yours truly) has taken it a little far in their lack of consideration for just how dang intimidating it is for a 18 year old man to just pick up, move 5 thousand miles from anything even remotely connected to their "home," surround themselves in a culture they have NO communication skills with, and function as an isolated adult.
It just CANNOT be that easy. Sure, sure, there are many who will will point their honorable service in the military, and how that's just what they did, but that isn't even remotely the same. I grew up an army brat, to afather who served 35 years, and I'm well aware. A soldier getting deployed to a base, in a foreign land, with other American citizens, and under American bosses/leaders, is just a world away from moving your entire life, surrounded by foods, cultures, laws, and people foreign to you, and under the command of foreign bosses.
Despite the attraction of money, that's an enormous commitment for someone who still has acne.
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I'm sorry but I feel like he used UK and Coach Cal to the max. He and his family knew going in that Cal had strong ties to the NBA executives and Cal would be very honest with people about Diallo. I've read that he and his family asked for him to sit the bench and practice with the team. All I can think of on that is to avoid injury but yet get the spotlight and by not playing in games was nothing but a way of hiding his flaws. If one team says they are strongly considering him as their first round pick then he's gone plain and simple.Comment
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He may have used Cal and UK, but I have to think Coach Cal had reason to think he would be on the team next year or he would have passed on him.John 3:3
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If Diallo comes back, some posters in this thread are gonna look real silly.Comment
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As are/were SKJ and Gabriel and Humphries and a lot of guys who aren't on NBA radars.
But aside from that: Calipari recruited him to UK. A coach who has gone on the record as saying everybody on the team can and should test the waters.
Remember the whole thing from last year where he said even the walk-ons would test? Remember Cal arguing for years that the NCAA should loosen up the restrictions and let everybody test?
Cal championed the very rule that Hamidou Diallo is using now. You can't champion that rule, bring a kid in halfway through the season...and then claim that you've been used. I guarantee Calipari doesn't think he's been used; that's a sentiment held by only a small portion of UK fans.Comment
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Interestingly, Diallo will compete in the five-on-five portion of the combine. Good news for those of us hoping he comes back.
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Cal recruiting him put him on the radar more so than if he had went to other schools. I am not one of those on here that is stressed out about his decision no matter how it plays out. I firmly believe that his being at UK has garnered more attention for him than if he had enrolled at U Conn. The unknown about Diallo has piqued the interest of NBA teams as much as anything.Comment
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This is true. And if he doesn't come back, Cal deserves every bit of criticism he takes for it. He essentially hinged the success of next year's team on a kid who bolted before the season started.
But, I tend to believe he's coming back - it's hard to see the NBA take a first round pick on a kid who hasn't played a competitive game above the high school level.Comment
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Did he even play his senior year?Comment
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