2018 NBA Draft: Hamidou Diallo is boosting his stock early

Hamidou Diallo is off to a hot start for the Kentucky Wildcats, and is upping his 2018 NBA Draft stock in the process.

We almost saw Hamidou Diallo in the NBA this year. He attended the 2017 NBA Draft Combine, where his high school credentials and impressive athletic testing could have launched him onto the first round radar for some teams.

However, after redshirting his first semester last spring and practicing under John Calipari at Kentucky, Diallo decided to return for a slightly-delayed freshman run — joining a Wildcats team that’s loaded with high-end recruits.

Calipari has rolled out an all-freshman starting group in both of the team’s first two games, a level of youth that even Kentucky seldom reaches. They’re all five-star recruits — and there are some talented sophomores off the bench — but the struggles that typically come with having a young team have persisted nonetheless.

More from NBA Draft

• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Grading every NBA team’s highest draft pick in the last five years
• Meet Matas Buzelis, the NBA’s next great point-forward
• Predicting the top 5 rookies heading into the 2023–24 NBA season
• NBA Draft: Grading every first-round pick after rookie year

None of Kentucky’s starters, outside of some exhibition matches or camps, have played together. It’s a completely new experience for guys that are used to being the bell cows for their respective high school or AAU squads.

That might explain Diallo’s hot start, and why he has been far and away the best player on the court for the Cats thus far. He has experience in Calipari’s system, and at least spent a semester getting a feel for the ebbs and flows of college basketball.

Diallo is averaging 17 points per game in early going, leading Kentucky in scoring while hitting on three of his first six attempts from deep — an area of concern coming into the season.

It’s always risky to put significant stock into early season performances, and that’s especially true with teams like Kentucky. The ‘Cats played Utah Valley and Vermont in their first two games, neither of which are teams who have athletically-comparable players to defend Diallo. He’s producing almost entirely in mismatches, and that can swing things in his favor.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t show improvement, and Diallo is showing growth in areas that aren’t solely related to competition level. His shot looks good, and the more polish he shows as an isolation scorer, the more willing teams will be to consider him as a late lottery or mid-first round gamble.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

There have always been and still are some serious holes in Diallo’s offensive repertoire. Even with a workable shot, his lack of creativity off the dribble and somewhat erratic nature on drives can limit his effectiveness. He’s still looking to add that next gear as a creator to match his innate physical gifts.

It’s that upside, though, that’ll keep teams drawn to him. Somebody with Diallo’s explosiveness and frame is already built to thrive in transition, while working on his defensive fundamentals could give him a solid two-way floor to build off of.

Being able to consistently knock down shots within the flow of the offense is the next step, while working on that isolation and mid-range game is what could eventually max out his ceiling. It’s a gradual progression, and being able to knock down shots from the perimeter is a big part of that.

Even after redshirting his first semester, Diallo is just 19 years old. There are always growing pains with freshmen, and that’s especially the case when it comes to physical freaks of Diallo’s nature. There’s a lot left to mold — and he can’t power through collegiate defenses on athleticism alone like he did in high school — but the tools are all there.

Next: 5 best juniors in the 2018 NBA Draft

Right now, he’s giving us a feel for what those tools could lead to in the future.