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Kentucky Basketball: Cal Making Push to Sign 5-Star Diallo
Kentucky Basketball: Head coach John Calipari is making a last-minute push for highly-touted recruit Hamidou Diallo, who could join the team this season
Nov 13, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari gives instructions to his team during the game against the Canisius Golden Griffins in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Canisius 93-69. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Kentucky Basketball head coach John Calipari is meeting with five-star prospect Hamidou Diallo, according to a report posted earlier today by Kentucky Sports Radio’s Tyler Thompson.
“We’ve gone over this before, but if Diallo picks Kentucky over UConn and Arizona — and it appears Calipari is putting on the full court press — he will likely be here for a year and a half,” Thompson wrote. “Diallo can either play next semester or sit out and practice with the team and use the semester to develop his body and learn from Kentucky’s trio of guards. Diallo has already graduated high school and is eligible for the 2017 NBA Draft, and if he comes to Kentucky and really wants to go in this summer’s draft, you know Calipari won’t stop him; however, Calipari appears to be selling him on a year and a half stay in Lexington.”
Diallo, a 6-5, 188-pound shooting guard out of Queens, NY, is the third-rated guard in the 2017 class according to ESPN. He’s drawn the eye of top-tier programs such as Syracuse, Kansas, Arizona, UConn and Indiana, as well as Kentucky.
Because he has already graduated, Diallo could feasibly join the Wildcats this season, with classes at UK not starting back up for several days still. In pure basketball terms, its hard to imagine the young guard not playing next season if he does, in fact, pick Kentucky over the pack.
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The fact that Calipari is visiting with the young man today, just a couple of days after Diallo’s official visit to Lexington, is encouraging. And if anyone can seal the deal with a high-profile recruit, it’s our man Cal.
Stay tuned.
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