Hamidou Diallo left home following his sophomore year of high school for a day like this, to be able to play among the best the country has to offer.
And it doesn’t get any better than Kentucky.
The Queens guard announced his commitment to John Calipari’s powerhouse program early Saturday night at a press conference at Our Lady of Angelus Catholic Academy in Rego Park, where he got his start playing CYO basketball.
The gifted 6-foot-6 prospect, the consensus No. 1 shooting guard in the country, picked the Wildcats over UConn, Arizona, Kansas, Syracuse and Indiana. He joins a star-studded 2016 recruiting class that also includes Queens native Nick Richards of The Patrick School (N.J.), a six-man class that boasts a handful of five-star recruits.
Calipari has enjoyed success with Queens shooting guards before, developing Doron Lamb into a second-round NBA draft pick. Lamb was a key contributor to the Wildcats’ 2011-12 national championship run, Calipari’s only title.
“They just had the right plan for me going forward, for getting me to the next level,” Diallo told reporters at the press conference. “I’m just relieved and blessed. I can’t wait to get on campus.”
Diallo will arrive in Lexington next week and begin taking classes. The plan is to practice with the team, but not play until next season, sources said. Because he graduated from Putnam Science Academy (Conn.) last year, Diallo is eligible for this June’s NBA draft, but he is expected to play for Kentucky next year. All along, Diallo has stated his intention was to attend college rather than jump right to the NBA.
After two seasons at John Bowne high school, Diallo left for Putnam Science Academy, where he developed into an elite prospect and is the program’s all-time leading scorer. He became a national star on the AAU circuit, first with the NYC Jayhawks and last summer with the powerhouse Rens.