APRIL 16th, 4:30pm: Diallo has officially declared for the draft and intends to hire an agent, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets.
APRIL 13, 12:55pm: Kentucky guard Hamidou Diallo is expected to sign with an agent and enter his name in the 2018 NBA draft pool, multiple sources tell Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports. According to Rothstein, an official announcement is expected to happen soon.
Diallo, who tested the draft waters a year ago after enrolling early at Kentucky, returned to school and played his freshman season in 2017/18. The 6’5″ shooting guard averaged 10.0 PPG and 3.6 RPG with a .428/.338/.616 shooting line in 37 games for the Wildcats.
Despite his modest stat line as a freshman, Diallo still ranks as the No. 34 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com, making him a strong candidate to be drafted — perhaps even in the first round. Diallo was the 35th player off the board in Givony’s most recent mock draft.
Diallo would be the fourth Kentucky underclassman to declare for the draft, joining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Knox, and PJ Washington. Gilgeous-Alexander and Knox are hiring agents, while Washington is testing the waters for now.
Diallo is not ready. He is the next Doron Lamb or Archie Goodwin. It’s a shame because he really looks like he could have turned into a great player.
Take the money while you can. I think all of the UK players going pro are a few years away from helping the pro team anyways. Knox maybe contributes year 1.
It’s not like the money will disappear if he waits until 2019 or 2020. It will still be there. And it will probably be bigger, because he got better as the season went along. It is only natural to believe that he would improve his selection with another season or two in Lexington. So it’s a question of taking low 1st/high 2nd money this year or possibly getting low lottery money next year. I know what I’d do.
Exactly, it’s smart for him to go
Pretty sure Diallo will be gone before 34. He will get NBA PT by swiping rebounds from opponents.
This kid needs to work on his jumpshot relentlessly, he is raw on the offensive end. He has a knack for getting to the basket and finishing at the rim but needs to work on his jumper.