College Basketball

Syracuse Basketball Recruiting Update: Hamidou Diallo

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:01 p.m. ET

Fansided, Neil Adler/FanSided via Inside the Loud House

Can the Syracuse basketball team change their fortunes by landing the heralded Hamidou Diallo? Well we have a recruiting update for you right here.

The Hamidou Diallo sweepstakes are coming to a conclusion.

The five-star wing will reveal his college choice at 5 pm on Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Our Lady of the Angelus Church in Rego Park, N.Y., Diallo said via Twitter.

The 6-5 Diallo, one of the top undeclared prospects in the 2017 class, still lists the Orange among his six finalists, along with Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky.

However, there’s virtually no chance he ever suits up for the ‘Cuse. Recruiting analysts say Diallo, who hails from Queens, N.Y., is really down to Kentucky and UConn, with the Wildcats the heavy front-runner.

Last month, 247Sports reported it “quite likely” that he would join Connecticut for the second half of this season.

Now, 247Sports and other media outlets are reporting that Diallo does intend to enroll in college for this semester, but he won’t actually play in games until the 2017-18 season.

The uber-athletic shooting guard from Putnam Science Academy in Putnam, Conn., recently

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visited the Kentucky and UConn campuses, but has yet to check out the remaining four schools in-person.

Diallo has already graduated and is eligible for this year’s NBA Draft.

According to 247Sports’ Jerry Meyer, “Kentucky is believed to have convinced Diallo while on his official visit that being part of the Kentucky program for a season and a half and entering the 2018 NBA Draft is wiser than only playing this semester and entering the 2017 NBA Draft.”

The 247Sports Composite slots Diallo as No. 10 in the 2017 class, while ESPN.com places him at No. 11.

Over the past few months, Syracuse did seem to have at least a small shot at landing Diallo, who reportedly wants to play alongside five-star point guard Quade Green.

However, once the Orange missed out on Green, who spurned the ‘Cuse for Kentucky, the likelihood of SU nabbing Diallo literally – and figuratively – got crushed.

As always, we’ll provide an update on Diallo following his announcement.