Update on Diallo....

[Jkwo]

He must be the real deal then. If he's drafted without playing a minute of organized basketball since high school then he must be legit.

Unless of course scouts and front office people got feedback from someone who saw him in practice everyday for a semester. That, along with his measurables, would be the only thing they have to go by. Would Cal sell Diallo to NBA execs? Really? "Don't miss on this kid. I saw him every day in practice and he's ready right now".

Would Roy do that? Probably not. But hell, Roy wins titles (plural). I know I know, the fans should care about the players first. Our fan hood lies in the success of the players.

Since Cal has been at a blue blood, they've each won 1 title. You guys love holding Cal to a different standard than every other coach, but there may be no better example than comparing what Cal did at UMASS and Memphis to Roy coaching at Kansas and UNC.

Again, start from when they were both at blue bloods, and then -

You're clowning the guy who has won one title + the most regular season and tournament games with the best behaved kids of any major program.

You're praising the guy who has won one title, and done worse in every other facet, with a bunch of players who drive around in leased cars with weed and guns, who rent out houses connected to boosters, and who struggle mightily to finish Hop on Pop.

 

[GoCatsForever2k15]

The only reason you would not play five on five as a guy who has not played an organized game in years, is to hide from being exposed. It's why he didn't play in college as well.

If he's got a current strong guarantee that he likes, him not playing in the 5 on 5 doesn't mean he's "scared" of being "exposed"; it's just smart strategy. He'd have very little, if anything, to gain. On the other hand, he plays one bad game and that guarantee might slip away.

 

[HoldMyBeer]

Off the top of my head, Monta Ellis was a second round pick out of HS who has done very well for himself.

Lou Williams is another.

Ellis is a good one.

 

[KingOfBBN]

If he's got a current strong guarantee that he likes, him not playing in the 5 on 5 doesn't mean he's "scared" of being "exposed"; it's just smart strategy. He'd have very little, if anything, to gain. On the other hand, he plays one bad game and that guarantee might slip away.

Doesn't that prove exactly what I said? He's afraid of being exposed and not getting drafted at a spot he'd want?

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

Doesn't that prove exactly what I said? He's afraid of being exposed and not getting drafted at a spot he'd want?

Are all the players not playing "scared" of being exposed? I want Diallo to come back now just so you will stop acting like you know everything and everyone else is an idiot.

 

[GoCatsForever2k15]

Doesn't that prove exactly what I said? He's afraid of being exposed and not getting drafted at a spot he'd want?

No, it doesn't. "Being exposed" makes it sound like he's a shitty player who's managed to hide his shittiness; think it's more likely that he's a really solid player with a guarantee right around the lowest he'd be willing to stay in the draft, and doesn't want to jeopardize that by playing in one setting, having one bad game, and then losing the guaranteed spot that he liked.

 

[Aike]

Let me throw out another scenario that is pure conjecture on my part.

If the Lakers keep their top 3 pick this year, Orlando gets the Lakers' second rounder.

That would give Orlando picks at 33 and 35.

If the Lakers lose their top 3 pick, Orlando picks only at 35.

What if Orlando has told Diallo they will definitely pick him and give him a Ulis type deal if they have two picks?

This is just one example of the kind of quirky things that can go on behind the scenes with the draft, and why he could be waiting to make his intentions known for not so obvious reasons.

 

[UKEE]

Let me throw out another scenario that is pure conjecture on my part.

If the Lakers keep their top 3 pick this year, Orlando gets the Lakers' second rounder.

That would give Orlando picks at 33 and 35.

If the Lakers lose their top 3 pick, Orlando picks only at 35.

What if Orlando has told Diallo they will definitely pick him and give him a Ulis type deal if they have two picks?

This is just one example of the kind of quirky things that can go on behind the scenes with the draft, and why he could be waiting to make his intentions known for not so obvious reasons.

Certainly possible and reasonable guess with the May 16th lottery date coming up.

 

[kghighroller]

What worries me about diallo is an agent or someone else getting in his ear or possibly giving him something and then diallo decides to come back.

 

[BlueRunner11]

So many folks are delusional on here. They can't stand reality. Eveything is rainbows and unicorns. "All a part of the master plan." Haha

Diallo was never going to play. I doubt very much he's coming back. If he was testing the waters and wanting feedback then why would you not play in this and get feedback?

This is to yet again, hide himself in hopes of getting drafted and not have his game exposed in some capacity. That's the only explanation.

Let me clarify...I said the same thing making a case to those who believed he had every intention of playing at UK next year. I was not one of those people. My point was...if he's going to play here next year then what wouldve it hurt to not be out there playing this year.

 

[caneintally]

This. IMO he wants to be top twenty. If he plays, and does poorly...no way. If he sits and "hopes", it could happen.
He doesn't get "the shame" of playing and getting thought of a second rounder that went back to school. Plus ... some GM could think "no way from second round to lotto pick"
Once HD opened this Pandora's box...

I agree with all this but I think anyone who reads too much into this one way or another is being silly. He is going to hope someone promises him a 1st round pick but if he can't get it he will return. I will be shocked if we don't have either Diallo or Johnson on the roster though. I would put more money on Johnson though.

 

[caneintally]

I think he's staying in the draft. Cal told Knox this which clinched his commitment. Knox will play the 2. I'll gladly take that trade.

LOL .That is not what happened. Diallo has zero to do with Knox . In fact Knox would be way more likely to come to UK to play because Diallo is here.

 

[docholiday51]

LOL .That is not what happened. Diallo has zero to do with Knox . In fact Knox would be way more likely to come to UK to play because Diallo is here.

The last 24 hours should tell us that we have little to no clue on what effect any player has on any other player.We are in a better position today than we were yesterday.I hope we add Bamba anyone beyond that is icing on a big blue cake.

 

[JwUKFan11]

I think he's staying in the draft. Cal told Knox this which clinched his commitment. Knox will play the 2. I'll gladly take that trade.

Knox will not play the 2. He's really a 4 that's transitioned to a 3.

 

[Blueaz]

I agree with all this but I think anyone who reads too much into this one way or another is being silly. He is going to hope someone promises him a 1st round pick but if he can't get it he will return. I will be shocked if we don't have either Diallo or Johnson on the roster though. I would put more money on Johnson though.

I hope your are right, and I personally would like Johnson more than HD. However, I think Johnson is going elsewhere...he wants minutes to prove himself. It would be a risk in competing for those minutes here...
Cal can (and will) say it a million times about AD being the fourth scorer, and how great the practices are; but it is hard to make these guys understand that.

 

[Mojocat]

Agree with what qwes and Aike have said: my guess is someone has told his camp they will draft him, his spot is secured, no reason to play. IOW, gone.

 

[BoxterS]

Are all the players not playing "scared" of being exposed? I want Diallo to come back now just so you will stop acting like you know everything and everyone else is an idiot.

There's an interesting bit of info that we all witnessed just a year ago that I believe Cal is using as advisement to Diallo.

Does anyone remember how highly touted Skal was coming out of the AAU circuit? He was a projected top 10 draft pick. Look it up if you don't believe me. Early mock drafts, before the college season, had him in the top 10. Had he sat out the year at UK and never played, he more than likely would have been drafted in the top 10 on potential alone. Remember his "measurables"? Everyone loved the length and touch away from the rim. Hell, we as fans were all fired up about him. Scouts were drooling.

Then what happened? He played. His weaknesses were put on full display. And he dropped. You all ever listen to Cal? "I can't hide you here". He played Skal and couldn't hide him and Skal dropped.

Don't think Cal learned something? The NBA draft is all about "measurables" and "potential". Cal knows that kids get exposed the more they play. Don't think he is offering Diallo this advice? It's like the old saying "better to have someone think you a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt". Well it's better to have people think you are full of potential than to play and have them see that maybe you're not worth it. Cal knows this first hand.

No, I'm pretty sure Cal has his fingerprints all over this. The kid is gone and Cal is "players first" once again.

 

[brianpoe]

What you have to lose by NOT playing is a chance to convince scouts that despite not being in a meaningful game since you were a junior in high school you are ready to be in the NBA.

I really don't see NBA scouts recommending a team draft him without game action to base that on. Not playing suggests to me that he realizes he's not ready to be on the court with nine guys on the cusp of the NBA.

He has zero high-level game time for scouts to evaluate. When players like Monk, Fox, and Fultz skip, what you're saying makes sense. But what stock does he have to protect? His wingspan and vertical jump? Sheesh. Mychal Mulder ought to be a lottery pick.

The last real games he played in front of scouts ended with these quotes:

“Most of the scouts that I talked to over there said (college is) definitely the route he needs to be looking at,” said Givony. “He’s not a surefire thing in this draft, or even (2018’s) draft. So he needs to go somewhere where he’s really going to be pushed. He has a lot of things he needs to work on.”


“He looked like he was just kind of out there coasting,” DraftExpress.com analyst Jonathan Givony told the Herald-Leader. “He knew that there were dozens of NBA scouts watching him, and for him to just kind of go through the motions, that kind of told me everything that I needed to know. That was the word anyway — that he’s really leaning toward the college route. I would think that this kind of sealed it.”


"They said he wasn't skilled enough and at times, he didn't play hard enough," Espinosa said. "People say he was bored or whatever the reason, that was the knock that I heard. And then, in the half court he struggled a little bit. His style is more suited for up and down in the open floor."




Who knows...?

 

[shaudyshaud]

There's an interesting bit of info that we all witnessed just a year ago that I believe Cal is using as advisement to Diallo.

Does anyone remember how highly touted Skal was coming out of the AAU circuit? He was a projected top 10 draft pick. Look it up if you don't believe me. Early mock drafts, before the college season, had him in the top 10. Had he sat out the year at UK and never played, he more than likely would have been drafted in the top 10 on potential alone. Remember his "measurables"? Everyone loved the length and touch away from the rim. Hell, we as fans were all fired up about him. Scouts were drooling.

Then what happened? He played. His weaknesses were put on full display. And he dropped. You all ever listen to Cal? "I can't hide you here". He played Skal and couldn't hide him and Skal dropped.

Don't think Cal learned something? The NBA draft is all about "measurables" and "potential". Cal knows that kids get exposed the more they play. Don't think he is offering Diallo this advice? It's like the old saying "better to have someone think you a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt". Well it's better to have people think you are full of potential than to play and have them see that maybe you're not worth it. Cal knows this first hand.

No, I'm pretty sure Cal has his fingerprints all over this. The kid is gone and Cal is "players first" once again.

Skal being a top 10 and his stock dropping at Kentucky is not the same as Diallo who stock currently seems to be no better than late first

 

[BoxterS]

Skal being a top 10 and his stock dropping at Kentucky is not the same as Diallo who stock currently seems to be no better than late first

The point is, Diallo stock is high because of his measurables and potential. Playing risks him being exposed.

 

[Aike]

Agree with what qwes and Aike have said: my guess is someone has told his camp they will draft him, his spot is secured, no reason to play. IOW, gone.

I would bet he has a guarantee something like what I said. Wouldn't be surprised if he tries to workout with select teams to improve on that guarantee.

Then he still has to decide if that's good enough. I still won't believe he's gone until he signs with an agent.

 

[shaudyshaud]

The point is, Diallo stock is high because of his measurables and potential. Playing risks him being exposed.

While true if he's as good as he think he is then he should go to school and try to be a lottery pick . Life in the NBA for someone who goes late in the first is pretty tough opportunity wise

 

[BlueSince92]

Curiouser and curiouser.

 

[Stonewall12]

He is not going to be on the roster for next year.










Until he says he is.

Would be easier if everyone thought this way

 

[IndyCat1995]

I think he's staying in the draft. Cal told Knox this which clinched his commitment. Knox will play the 2. I'll gladly take that trade.

How do you know this? Did you talk to Cal?

 

[uky8unc5]

My spin: don't watch Diallo. Watch Cal.
When he said "Not done yet...2 more", Cal was tipping that Diallo is gone.

 

[JerseyCat84]

My spin: don't watch Diallo. Watch Cal.
When he said "Not done yet...2 more", Cal was tipping that Diallo is gone.

Well Diallo is already committed, so I don't think he would've said 3 more.

 

[anon_9qtxg60vqzy0y]

The point is, Diallo stock is high because of his measurables and potential. Playing risks him being exposed.

The point is NBA scouts already knew his "measurables and potential" before he even declared for the draft.

 

[_NWO_Reloaded_]

Knox is a 3, Diallo will be back, and we'll get Bamba. Get ready for a great, unstoppable team who can beat the opponent and the refs at the same time. A long, athletic, great defensive and offensive team who will kick your ass and take your shoes and hat. A team that has so much talent it'd be crazy to think we wouldn't average 90pts a game. We'll have literally everything you need and more and we'll be a mismatch against everyone. A team with this much talent, with this much size will not lose come march.

Green
Diallo
Knox
Washington
Bamba

Alexander
Baker
Vanderbilt
Gabriel
Richards
SKJ
Wynyard

 

[uky8unc5]

Well Diallo is already committed, so I don't think he would've said 3 more.

I meant that I think Cal needed only ONE if Diallo returned.

 

[Jbapp1978]

Like everyone else, obviously I hope that he returns. It would be fun watching a poor-man’s freshmen duo of Anderson/Mercer again, only this time in the form of Diallo/Knox.

Plus, having three guys who can play the 2/3 who are as athletic as Diallo/Knox/Vanderbilt is something very few programs have featured in the last few decades. In fact, I can’t think of many teams that featured that type of athleticism on the wing. Maybe the ’99 Duke team and the ’96 Kentucky team?

i dont agree they would be a poor man to any player just because mercer was not ready as a freshman. I know he scored against cuse, i just think kids today are way more ready with alot more exposure. But its just an opinion till we see them play.

 

[Jbapp1978]

Knox is a 3, Diallo will be back, and we'll get Bamba. Get ready for a great, unstoppable team who can beat the opponent and the refs at the same time. A long, athletic, great defensive and offensive team who will kick your ass and take your shoes and hat. A team that has so much talent it'd be crazy to think we wouldn't average 90pts a game. We'll have literally everything you need and more and we'll be a mismatch against everyone. A team with this much talent, with this much size will not lose come march.

Green
Diallo
Knox
Washington
Bamba

Alexander
Baker
Vanderbilt
Gabriel
Richards
SKJ
Wynyard

I want us to lose a couple games in the season and win when it counts.

 

[51stFan]

I think he has more to lose by playing than he does by not. The only tape they have on him is against high school kids. Why go up against a gym full of borderline NBA talent? If he dominates, yes it helps. If he doesn't play the next time they see him it will be at UK playing against a majority of players that won't ever get an invite to play in this combine. If he plays and does bad it hurts his stock next year if he decides to come back.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

i dont agree they would be a poor man to any player just because mercer was not ready as a freshman. I know he scored against cuse, i just think kids today are way more ready with alot more exposure. But its just an opinion till we see them play.

Obviously I was referring to the ’97 Team, where both Anderson and Mercer were playing like 1st Team All-Americans before Anderson went down with a torn ACL. Mercer still ended up with the 1st Teamer nod. If Knox/Diallo are that good next year, I’m pretty confident UK wins #9, which is fine by me.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

I meant that I think Cal needed only ONE if Diallo returned.

Why does his statement there mean more than his multiple statements where Cal said UK would lose eight. UK has already lost eight (not counting Diallo). Did Cal not factor Diallo into those plans? I doubt it.

 

[KingOfBBN]

Let me clarify...I said the same thing making a case to those who believed he had every intention of playing at UK next year. I was not one of those people. My point was...if he's going to play here next year then what wouldve it hurt to not be out there playing this year.

Agree. If he was coming back, he'd take the tips and use it for next season. He's not coming back though. I'm pretty confident in saying that.

He's gone and I don't think anyone should ever view this guy as a Wildcat.

 

[Jbapp1978]

Obviously I was referring to the ’97 Team, where both Anderson and Mercer were playing like 1st Team All-Americans before Anderson went down with a torn ACL. Mercer still ended up with the 1st Teamer nod. If Knox/Diallo are that good next year, I’m pretty confident UK wins #9, which is fine by me.

Didnt catch your meaning, i do now i agree.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

How do you know this? Did you talk to Cal?

Quade Green knows a helluva lot more than UK message board fans when it comes to Diallo’s mindset and he has stated all along that UK would feature Diallo next year; not emphatically, mind you, but with enough confidence to give us an inkling at to the Diallo/Green conversations.

Even Diallo has spoken about the possibility of playing with Knox/Bamba as recently as late March. Essentially, some of our fans have been implying that Diallo has been misleading UK fans for a few months. There’s no way Hamidou didn’t know his stock/value while he was practicing at UK, or even before. Anything he’s heard recently from scouts would essentially be the same things he’s heard as late as last fall.

 

[Aike]

Agree. If he was coming back, he'd take the tips and use it for next season. He's not coming back though. I'm pretty confident in saying that.

He's gone and I don't think anyone should ever view this guy as a Wildcat.

Did you change your username? Says you've been around for a few years, but it's hard to believe I would have forgotten someone this negative.

Of course you hide your content so people can't view your old posts. Which is bizarre.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

I think he has more to lose by playing than he does by not. The only tape they have on him is against high school kids. Why go up against a gym full of borderline NBA talent? If he dominates, yes it helps. If he doesn't play the next time they see him it will be at UK playing against a majority of players that won't ever get an invite to play in this combine. If he plays and does bad it hurts his stock next year if he decides to come back.

If they land Bamba, UK will feature a team next year that will have no less than ten legit NBA prospects: Green, Alexander, Diallo, Knox, Vanderbilt, Washington, Gabriel, SKJ, Richards, Bamba.

Why wouldn’t those guys get an invite to the combine? I’m pretty certain at least eight of them will hear their name called on draft night within the next two NBA drafts.

Diallo would be going up against bona fide 1st round talent every day in practice. If he was a standout player on that type of roster, he’d likely be a surefire top 20 pick, given the insane raw athleticism he already possesses.