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Bryan Fonseca says Diallo is staying

Geez, would that be great? Already PG U and should be big man U. To be SF U?

Cal waits to get 7 SF's in one season while James Young and Briscoe held down the position until now...

If the small forward position has represented Cal's "last western frontier" on a recruiting level, consider this class the Louisiana Purchase when it comes to gathering multiple wings; and Cal not only just bought the whole damn thing, but he also just crossed the Mississippi River for the first time and likes what he sees.

Recruiting Manifest Destiny style comes next...
 
Look, all I can say is as a fan I'm not going to pretend to love this situation if I don't.

I've always supported the Cal way of bringing in elite talent over the product Tubby and Billy G were putting on the floor several years prior, and he is without question the right fit for this program. The day he leaves will be a sad day for UK athletics. At the same time, I'm going to give my honest opinion as a UK fan and sometimes it's not going to be in line with an approach that Cal's taking. I WANT to be wrong about this because I want UK to have as much elite talent as possible and Diallo is an elite talent, but I still won't like situations like this even if he does come back because I just don't like the idea of the program receiving the mocking label of "none and done". I don't like the idea that UK could potentially be used as a glorified practice facility without a player putting in minutes for us in actual games (non-Kanter situation). Some fans are okay with that, that's fine, we just have a difference of opinion is all.

And if he decides NOT to come back, I can guarantee you I won't be pulling up old posts laughing at everyone that said he would come back and he was just testing the waters to get feedback. I'll be too busy being upset that my favorite team just lost a really important piece for next season.
I am sure Cal is glad you support his way of bringing in elite talent.
 
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It's going to be a long night waiting for the announcement tomorrow.I'm hopeful but just the one guy has said it so who knows?
 
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someone mentioned there's some "ignore" feature or button or something. How's that work? Anyone use it?
 
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Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria


Teams considering Kentucky's @Diallo1Hamidou via source:

Nets
Bulls
Bucks
Heat
Pacers
Jazz

Zagoria also noted that the Bulls are one of four teams (including the Boston Celtics, who aren’t listed here) that have held a pre-draft workout with Diallo already. The Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, a division rival of the Bulls, are the other two teams.

Diallo is already one of the draft’s most intriguing prospects in the class, but one with arguably the biggest question marks. He hasn’t played in quite a while and without any game footage to look at with Kentucky, he remains one of the bigger mysteries in the draft, along with Terrance Ferguson, who the Bulls are also rumored to be interested in.

If those teams have "interest" only in Diallo, their interest is significant. If he is one of many they are interested in, he probably drops to the second round.
 
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I really hope he comes back and work hard on his game and RETURNS for a sophomore season like Rawle Akin and Mikes Bridges. Let's start a new trend.
 
Couldn't have said it better myself.

If you reading this. Please come back hami. We can be best friends forever. NBA career doesn't last forever but a good friend does. Think bout it. I'll even let you have a swing at my gf.


He might take a swing and hit a grand slam junior. You better hold on to that one, you are already hitting above your weight class with her, not sure you could do it again...
 
sounds wonderful
but won't get my hopes up
I'm one of those who always thought he'd be back, even while understanding the allure to go. To be honest, the confidence in his return has cracked a little.
 
Diallo spent the entire semester working on his shot and it's still that bad?
 
The Nets have worked out a lot of guards. Josh Hart and Tyler Dorsey were there the same day as Diallo, and they also had Rawle Alkins, Melo Trimble and a couple others in after that. Alkins announced he was coming back to Arizona yesterday. If I had to guess, Diallo didn't fare well against the veteran guards, didn't get any kind of guarantee from the Nets, and is now coming back to Kentucky. Utah would seem like the only other likely destination since they also have two late first-round picks, but he didn't workout with them.

This Bucks blogger thinks they might pull the trigger on him. Check out the quote from the scout. Ouch. I think he's coming back to UK, though.

"Diallo also measured at 6-3¾ without shoes but had an eye-popping 6-11 wingspan, yet another measurable Hammond and Co. look at closely. Throw in Diallo’s three-quarter sprint time of 3.11 seconds and you have perhaps the most athletic player in the draft.

That is, of course, if Diallo decides to remain in the draft. The scuttlebutt is he is still considering going back to Kentucky. League sources have told me that Diallo will stay in the draft only if he receives a “guarantee’’ from a team that it will select him in the first round.

Some NBA officials claim they wouldn’t do that. Said a longtime Western Conference scout of Diallo: “He’s very athletic and long. But he has no game. None. I see him as a second-round pick. I hope, for his sake, he goes back to college.’’

Yet, there was that same type of “He’s too young and not ready for the NBA’’ sentiment before the draft surrounding Antetokounmpo, who played against low-level competition in Greece before being chosen by the Bucks with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft, and with Maker who had played in relative anonymity in Australia and whom many teams regarded as a mid-to-late first-round selection before Hammond surprisingly tabbed him with the 10th overall pick.

The Bucks obviously are intrigued by Diallo or they wouldn’t have worked him out recently. Two individuals familiar with the workout agreed Diallo was clearly rough around the edges but clearly a superior athlete.

They also concurred it wouldn’t shock them one bit if they took Diallo with their first pick in the June 22 draft."
 
Diallo spent the entire semester working on his shot and it's still that bad?

Briscoe (presumably) spent two years on his and he's still a terrible shooter. Some guys go their entire careers in the NBA and don't improve their shooting all that much.
 
He might take a swing and hit a grand slam junior. You better hold on to that one, you are already hitting above your weight class with her, not sure you could do it again...
lol i guarantee I'd lose my girl if that happened she ain't a gold digger but she ain't stupid either, thatd be the most heartbreaking way to turn in my fancard ever. Couldn't imagine. I bet there are die hard UK fans who have their girls stolen by UK players all the time. I feel for those people. Grow up a die hard fan then bam. They steal your girl. Huh, I've always wondered how a UL fan becomes a UL fan. I guess that's how UL fans are made.
 
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To add to my last post...I just noticed that Bucks GM John Hammond left today to join the Orlando Magic front office. He would've been the type of GM that could've rolled the dice on Diallo with Milwaukee's No. 17 pick. Giannis, Maker...he liked taking gambles with raw guys with potential. If the Bucks and Nets are out, Diallo's first-round prospects don't look very good barring a big surprise.
 
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Is he the last undecided player still in the draft? He seems to want to go so bad that he is going to wait until the very last second to decide. Reminds me of a convict on death row believing the Governor will call and holding onto hope that it happens while being strapped into the chair.

I don't think anyone else is calling him and if he hasn't got the news he wants by now then he likely isn't going to. It's time to just decide if you want to be a fringe late first round pick that could slip into the 2nd round or come back and work on being a lottery pick next year.
 
Briscoe (presumably) spent two years on his and he's still a terrible shooter. Some guys go their entire careers in the NBA and don't improve their shooting all that much.

Briscoe's shooting actually looked to be substantially improved for the first half or so of the season. His Free Throw Percentage was in the 70's, and at one point he was even the highest percentage 3-Point shooter off of a low volume of shots. Then at some point he just seemed to regress, unfortunately. Heard some people say it seemed like he reverted back to his old release.
 
The Nets have worked out a lot of guards. Josh Hart and Tyler Dorsey were there the same day as Diallo, and they also had Rawle Alkins, Melo Trimble and a couple others in after that. Alkins announced he was coming back to Arizona yesterday. If I had to guess, Diallo didn't fare well against the veteran guards, didn't get any kind of guarantee from the Nets, and is now coming back to Kentucky. Utah would seem like the only other likely destination since they also have two late first-round picks, but he didn't workout with them.

This Bucks blogger thinks they might pull the trigger on him. Check out the quote from the scout. Ouch. I think he's coming back to UK, though.

"Diallo also measured at 6-3¾ without shoes but had an eye-popping 6-11 wingspan, yet another measurable Hammond and Co. look at closely. Throw in Diallo’s three-quarter sprint time of 3.11 seconds and you have perhaps the most athletic player in the draft.

That is, of course, if Diallo decides to remain in the draft. The scuttlebutt is he is still considering going back to Kentucky. League sources have told me that Diallo will stay in the draft only if he receives a “guarantee’’ from a team that it will select him in the first round.

Some NBA officials claim they wouldn’t do that. Said a longtime Western Conference scout of Diallo: “He’s very athletic and long. But he has no game. None. I see him as a second-round pick. I hope, for his sake, he goes back to college.’’

Yet, there was that same type of “He’s too young and not ready for the NBA’’ sentiment before the draft surrounding Antetokounmpo, who played against low-level competition in Greece before being chosen by the Bucks with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft, and with Maker who had played in relative anonymity in Australia and whom many teams regarded as a mid-to-late first-round selection before Hammond surprisingly tabbed him with the 10th overall pick.

The Bucks obviously are intrigued by Diallo or they wouldn’t have worked him out recently. Two individuals familiar with the workout agreed Diallo was clearly rough around the edges but clearly a superior athlete.

They also concurred it wouldn’t shock them one bit if they took Diallo with their first pick in the June 22 draft."

I support the young an either way. One can't fault Diallo for obtaining as much information as possible. That said, I'd be pleasantly surprised if he returns. Not shocked, mind you, just surprised. I think if he's truly 50/50 as of today, the prospect of helping his family might be enough to push him all the way to that 51/49 camp by midnight tonight.

I hope I'm wrong, but the kid has my support regardless.
 
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guessing he probably practiced more defense than offense
but who knows

It's really hard to know anything about him because mum is the word. What we do know - about his game and athleticism - is enough to the get the hair standing up on the back of our necks from excitement.

If this young man elects to stay with UK, UK will feature one of it's most athletic wing trios ever. Diallo/Knox/Vanderbilt would give UK nearly unlimited matchup advantages at the 2/3.
 
If he comes back Diallo, Knox, Vanderbilt and Washington 2-5. Positionless basketball at it's finest. That lineup can switch without missing a beat.
 
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Oh absolutely. 100% there will be "fans" who do that very thing. A sad existence

Certain people on this board will find something to be miserable about either way. If he stays in the draft "He's a selfish punk who used Kentucky." if he returns, the same people will be going "Great, a SG who can't shoot." and making countless threads about how they wish we would of gotten Johnson instead every time he misses a 3.
 
Not seeing any other reports of him returning. Has anyone else reported it?
 
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