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Kansas Basketball Recruiting: The Wings – 2017

By Ryan Noel

Jan 10, 2015; Lawrence, KS, USA; A general view of basketballs on a rack before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2015; Lawrence, KS, USA; A general view of basketballs on a rack before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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BROOKLYN, NY - APRIL 17: Nike EYBL. Session 1. Hamidou Diallo #3 of The Rens dribbles. (Photo by Jon Lopez)
BROOKLYN, NY – APRIL 17: Nike EYBL. Session 1. Hamidou Diallo #3 of The Rens dribbles. (Photo by Jon Lopez) /

Hamidou Diallo – Shooting Guard – New York Rens

We caught Diallo (no, he’s not related to Cheick) last year for the first time in the Under Armour Association Finals in Atlanta, where he was nothing short of electric. The 6’4 guard is an explosive player that is known for dunking on nearly anyone that challenges him at the rim.

Diallo is currently ranked as the #8 overall prospect by 247sports, and is being courted by the top programs in the country. This year he has switched over from the Under Armour Association (where he played with the New York Jayhawks) to the Nike EYBL and is playing with the New York Rens.

Last year, in our viewings of Diallo, he became one our favorite players to watch. He is a fearless attacker that has a nasty streak to him. He gets to the rim against anyone with ease, as his first step is near-unguardable at that level. His jumpshot isn’t great yet, but it’s certainly not broken either. He can hit pull-ups in the midrange and does show signs of hitting threes – he’s just not able to do any of that consistently just yet. Diallo is particularly effective on straight-line drives from the top of the key, where he can get around a screen and use his first step and explosiveness to elevate in the lane for dunks and lay-ins. His overall skill level, however, is still a bit lacking as he is not a great ballhandler yet (most of his drives are one or two dribbles at most) and has not shown much in the way of passing ability.

Defensively, Diallo’s athleticism and quickness should help him transition into being a college defender, but he doesn’t appear to have any great instincts on this end just yet. Good defensive coaches, like Bill Self and John Calipari, should be able to help in that regard though. While he doesn’t have great length or size, we do expect his overall athletic ability to mitigate those issues going forward.

Tier 1

Diallo is clearly one of the elite prospects in the class, and Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts is his lead recruiter. Given Roberts’ track record, especially in the New York area, we have Diallo listed in the top tier with Michael Porter, Jr. However, right now we’ve heard that Kansas is behind Kentucky and Duke in this race (you can see we picked Kentucky back in October in his 247 crystal ball).

Next: Brandon Randolph's Huge Spring

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