Through the Phog
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Kansas basketball: 5 biggest recruiting busts during the Bill Self era

By Andrew Falkner

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - APRIL 02: Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts on the sideline in the second half of the game against the Villanova Wildcats during the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal at Caesars Superdome on April 02, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - APRIL 02: Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts on the sideline in the second half of the game against the Villanova Wildcats during the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal at Caesars Superdome on April 02, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Cheick Diallo #13 of the Kansas Jayhawks (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Cheick Diallo #13 of the Kansas Jayhawks (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) /

2. Cheick Diallo (2015-2016, No. 7 ranked recruit in Class of 2015)

It’s hard to call Diallo a bust in the NBA, as he did not have the highest expectations coming into the league. However, a top-10 recruit who did not eclipse 100 NCAA points can definitely be considered a college bust.

Diallo played 27 games for the Jayhawks and only came in for unimportant minutes. He was overshadowed by Perry Ellis and Landen Lucas. Cheick started one game vs. Oklahoma State, struggled mightily, and after that experiment ended, he started to see DNPs and even fewer minutes.

He ended up playing one season with at Kansas, although he was still drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Clippers due to him being highly touted out of high school.Diallo has been a role player off the bench at best in the NBA, and it has been a very underwhelming career for someone who had such a bright career ahead of him. However, entering the draft was probably best for him, as scouts still thought he had the potential to bud into a good player. If he stayed at Kansas another year and did not perform well, Diallo might have never seen an NBA floor.

He has been with three teams in five years during his NBA career, but he hasn’t found a way to work himself into a consistent role yet. The most minutes he played per game during a season was 14.0 during the 2018-19 season with the New Orleans Pelicans. Diallo’s time at Kansas was immensely disappointing.

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