Hamidou Diallo to Test Waters (UPDATE: DIALLO TO RETURN TO UK)

[George]

No, because it's a small sample size.

Miller has had three, maybe four very good teams. Was knocked out twice by those tremendous Wisconsin teams.

Weird things happen in the NCAA Tournament, as we've seen with Cal. With coaches who haven't been around a long time, and/or with coaches who spent most of their career at mid-majors like Cal, I don't throw a whole lot of weight into it. It's one game. At some point Miller will break through if he keeps getting to the door.

Is it, though? Eleven tournament appearances (seven at Arizona) and he still hasn't made it passed the Elite Eight.

But, Bill Self has 19 appearances to his credit and has only made it beyond the Elite Eight twice*. So, you could be right.

*Anyone on Cal's jock for not winning enough in the tournament should look at this stat every time they want to make that argument.

[Joneslab]

The number isn't tournament appearances but how many teams were built to win a title. When you look at that number you're looking at just a handful of teams. Maybe as few as three.

Miller's two best teams ran up against Bo Ryan's two best. We know at Kentucky how tough those guys were.

[DA#23]

Bleacher Report is not a good Mock Draft resource at all...but they have Diallo at #10 to the Kings

[Joneslab]

Bleacher Report is not a good Mock Draft resource at all...but they have Diallo at #10 to the Kings

Somebody on another board pointed out that another Bleacher Report mock from earlier today didn't have him in the first round.

Givony still has him at #36...but I doubt any mock is going to be useful when it comes to him. If he goes it'll likely be a guarantee from one team and the guys who run these mocks won't be privy to that info.

[J.Jennings]

He's the new Billy Donovan (until the 06-07 teams, at least).

All that talent and no tournament success to speak of.

Same could be said for Calipari. Top classes year in and year out, 1 Championship. What's the magic formula to seal the deal more times than not....


Oh well, in Cal we trust....

[J.Jennings]

Interesting comparison in terms of the mystery surrounding both players, but Maker is 7'1". Can't imagine a 6'6" swingman would generate nearly as much attention unless he's just an otherworldly freak athletically and/or can blow people away in workouts.

The whole comparison to Maker was not the size, but the untapped future potential and the chance to steal a player at low cost. I for one thought the Cetlics should have gambled on Maker before the draft but who am i? I liked his size and the more i read about all his skillsets, i was sold on him.

As for Diallo, yes 6'6 comes a dime a dozen but if he's a no brainer top pick for next years draft, why not steal him cheap in this years draft?

He's gone no matter what, his camp will get sold by some NBA team in the process and he won't be back whether he's ready or not....

[Joneslab]

Cal's been to multiple Final Fours and has a title though. No comparison to Miller in that regard.

Even Donovan had the championship game appearance before the back-to-back titles. I'd say Miller is more like Bill Self early in his career. Went to nine NCAA Tournaments before making a Final Four and had had a hard time getting out of the Elite Eight.

[J.Jennings]

Bleacher Report is not a good Mock Draft resource at all...but they have Diallo at #10 to the Kings

I doubt that he goes that high to the Kings, they have Buddy Hield and Ben McLemore at the 2 spots already, they need a wing with Rudy Gay leaving in FA.

[J.Jennings]

Cal's been to multiple Final Fours and has a title though. No comparison to Miller in that regard.

Even Donovan had the championship game appearance before the back-to-back titles. I'd say Miller is more like Bill Self early in his career. Went to nine NCAA Tournaments before making a Final Four and had had a hard time getting out of the Elite Eight.

If i had to pick one coach, it would be B. Stephens above all but with his success, Boston is not letting him leave anytime soon.

To coach at Kentucky now, here are the qualifications as follows:

1. You have to be able to recruit and have swag
2. You must be able to coach AAU basketball
3. You,must be a social media expert
4. You must have NBA and Hollywood ties
5. You must be a relative of some Italian mafia
6.Your wife or girlfriend must be able to make cakes and cookies for the players over the holidays


Laying all jokes aside, Coaching Kentucky is a tough job and when Cal falls short in some areas such as X's and O's, lineups, schemes, etc,, he excels on the mentorship part of getting his players to believe in him and his system.

[Dwight Schrute]

Same could be said for Calipari. Top classes year in and year out, 1 Championship. What's the magic formula to seal the deal more times than not....


Oh well, in Cal we trust....

You ignored the 4 final fours...

[George]

You ignored the 4 final fours...

As people so often do, these days.

[J.Jennings]

You ignored the 4 final fours...

I don't give a rats "figure it out yourself" about a Final Four. Since when did the fans base at Kentucky become happy just to make it? Nobody is going to remember the Final Four teams in 20 or 30 years from now, no victory in finishing second, 3rd, 4th, etc. With all this talent we get, i just feel we are not taking advantage of the situation, it's not always going to be like this talent wise....

[Joneslab]

I don't give a rats "figure it out yourself" about a Final Four. Since when did the fans base at Kentucky become happy just to make it? Nobody is going to remember the Final Four teams in 20 or 30 years from now, no victory in finishing second, 3rd, 4th, etc.

Then you must have adored the last few years of the Tubby Smith era.

[Dwight Schrute]

I don't give a rats "figure it out yourself" about a Final Four. Since when did the fans base at Kentucky become happy just to make it? Nobody is going to remember the Final Four teams in 20 or 30 years from now, no victory in finishing second, 3rd, 4th, etc.

No offense, but that's a ridiculous statement to make. Final Fours have ALWAYS been a standard of celebration. Championships are to be celebrated, but they're exceedingly rare. No coach except Rupp has won more than 1 here, and his were in a 10 year span over a 40 year career.

If 4 final fours in 8 years is not enough for you (that's a better record than ANY coach except Rupp), then I don't know what it takes to make you happy.

[J.Jennings]

Then you must have adored the last few years of the Tubby Smith era.

Really?????????

Tubby Smith was your boy, not mine. In fact, i almost got banned from here because i hated Tubby's dribble x5000 take a bad shot with 1 second left on the clock offense he was running......