2065 - BREAKING NEWS: Cheick Diallo Cleared!

  • Lawrence, KS. October 20, 2065

    On the 50th Anniversary of the signing of then-star basketball recruit, Cheick Diallo, the NCAA has given an “honorary clearance” for the 70-yr-old Diallo to play basketball at Kansas. The news was relayed to Diallo, who is now living at the Jonestown Retirement Center, located in Kansas City, Kansas.

    Diallo was not available for comment, but did release a statement, where he thanked the NCAA for taking their sweet time and helping direct him to a different career than playing basketball. Diallo felt the injustice of his situation and turned to law for his occupation as an attorney helping inmates on death row receive proper DNA testing. His career has offered him the personal satisfaction of having 38 prisoners released from prison for being wrongly convicted.


  • @drgnslayr

    May have to make a new category.


    Hall of Fame of PHOF posts!

    I know. Its bracket creep and award inflation.

    But, really, this is the new best!

  • @jaybate-1.0

    Notice he just received an “honorary clearance” and not the real clearance, even if it was half a century too late!

  • This sucks!

  • Bill and Cin celebrate Cheick’s “honorary” clearance by taking their dog Sheahon for a walk…

    Bill Cin.jpg

  • Skal has been cleared, Diallo has not.

    No surprise here…

  • @BeddieKU23

    That is based on just one report by Yahoo Sports’s Shams Charania, all the reports quote him and no other source has verified the information. As of a one week ago, the NCCA was still investigating him…

    …on the other hand maybe the UK check finally cleared… 😃

  • The story with Skal is crazy and the fact that he was cleared is truly absurd. I have a feeling that Diallo isn’t going to be. NCAA is a joke.

  • I hate this thread!

  • @Crimsonorblue22

    I’m totally disgusted with all of this.

  • I am sorry, I know this is frustrating but I don’t understand why is the NCAA to blame. They review the information provided to them and make a determination based on it. It is the responsibility of the student to submit all the required documents; if he does not turn in a complete set or if the information is not verifiable then the NCAA requires more information and it is up to the student to make sure it get to them. Why is it that we do not commend the NCAA for the over 100,000 properly and completed submitted applications that clear every year and concentrate on one, obviously incomplete application and blame it on the NCAA? We need to assign blame on the responsible party or parties and not blindly blame the NCAA.

    I used to have sign on my office door that probably applies in this case…

    Lack of planning.jpg

  • @JayHawkFanToo cause we don’t want to blame KU! Or diallo!

  • @Crimsonorblue22

    I really don’t believe there is much KU can do since all the paperwork predates KU. I am sorry, but Diallo has been in this country and has been a prospect long enough to know the paperwork required by the NCAA and if he did not have it ready or cvomplete he has no one to blame. Just my opinion.

  • @JayHawkFanToo Because there is something wrong with the standards they have created if the scenario Skal has been approved for is more acceptable than the situation that Diallo has.

  • More payback from the NCAA because of the Cliff situation. Just my opinion. They are still pissed that they couldn’t punish us. That the reason we were placed in “That” Bracket last year. Oh well. Sooner or later they have to clear him. Again, just my opinion on a truly tired subject.

  • @KansasComet I agree

  • @JayHawkFanToo

    The NCAA is easy to blame because their reputation is crap.

    It’s easy to say that Diallo is to blame for not having all this information sent. You could infer that Diallo is naive, he’s been in the states what a few years & the American Culture/Language is all an adjustment period for him. It could very well be that Cheick just didn’t know what was required of him. Do you think all 17-18 immature kids know exactly what is expected of them? I don’t think you can make that judgement. Those around him, especially his advisors, families etc should have been more on point with all this, but if I remember correctly Self has pointed out that Diallo has done nothing wrong.

    KU cleared him, they had to have looked at his body of work & it was acceptable. But now the NCAA has taken over what 4 months to decide? That is ludicrous, regardless of the exact details of how and when information was submitted & additional info was needed. What exactly takes 4 months to decide on…

    Do you not agree that this whole situation has taken way more time than its supposed to have.

    Without all the details of what’s going on, and all we’ve gotten is bits & pieces here and there, its hard to have a positive view of the NCAA when you have the season fast approaching. It’s created a frustrating position & well if KU & Diallo are not to blame who’s left? The NCAA? The system itself?

  • Diallo is not to blame. He is a Freshman in College. This is all based on what happened when he was in High School. The only responsibility that High School Students have is to get there rear ends to school, don’t cheat on their assignments/homework, make decent grades, and be respectful to fellow students and faculty. Thats it, along with showing up and taking the PSAT or ACT Exam. It appears Cheick Diallo has done those things. He was selected as an High School All American and was allowed to participate in McDonalds All American and Jordan Brand Classic Games. As a matter of fact, there was not any issues until he decided to attend the University of Kansas. I am pretty sure that if he had chosen Duke, he would already have been cleared. Can’t think off hand of anytime that Duke had an athlete on their mens basketball team with eligibility issues? Now a player on a “Home School” team is eligible before Diallo? You have got to be kidding? This is a bogus as bogus can get. We have grumpy old men getting paid 6 an 7 figures with the power to determine the fate of these young student athletes that they depend on to pay their salaries. This is quite sad.

  • @BeddieKU23 @KansasComet

    Why is it that the rules are not a problem for 99.99% of the student-athletes that apply for clearance and when there are problems why is the NCAA blamed? Coach Self himself has implied that there was information missing from Diallo’s application.

    Kids that want to play Division I basketball, particularity those that are high prospects know exactly what is required, even more so the ones that attend schools designed to prepare student athletes for the next level. I have several friends whose kids were Div I prospects in different sports and I know a little about the information they needed and it was readily avail;able from the NCAA and from their own coaches and ADs at their schools. One of my nephews is on a full Lacrosse scholarship at an East Cost School (he was All-Conference last season) and I am familiar of the paperwork my brother had to help collect to submit to the NCAA to get cleared. Most every graduate from a public school or a reputable and accredited private school and with the minimum requirements sails though the process without any problem. Those who attend dubious schools or have to get overseas transcripts know that they might have problems and they need to make sure the package they submit has all the required information, if they don’t, they will not get cleared until they do and they cannot really blame the NCAA for doing the job they were asked to do by the member schools. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

    As a matter of fact I do think that a 18 year old kid that has been preparing for years to move to the next level and in another year making millions of $ should know what is expected of him to get there…it is not really that complicated or rocket science. Have a minimum GPA, have a minimum ACT score, have the required core course and have valid transcript for your 4 years in HS…that is all.

    All student athletes play in the Summer AAU circuit and they talk to each other and know exactly what is going on, Diallo has been in this country 3 years and should know better.

    As far as Admission to KU and clearance to play basketball, these are completely different and unrelated issues. KU is free to admit any one it wants and although a HS diploma and a minimum GPA is normally required, KU can waive both requirements and admit whoever it wants, private schools have even less accountability. The NCAA rules were put in place so there is an even playing field for NCAA sponsored sports and schools freely subscribe to these rules. The NCAA cannot prevent KU or any school from admitting any student it wants but it does not have to clear him to play NCAA sponsored sports if he does not meet the rules approved by the member schools.

    Again, the NCAA rules were and are drafted by committees comprised by individuals from the various member schools. If the school want different rules, they can get together and change them…its is done all the time.

    I completed part my high school education in Europe and South America and I know first hand what is involved in getting overseas transcripts and documentation and you have to make sure that you do it in advance so you don’t get caught like Diallo apparently did.

  • @JayHawkFanToo I get what you are saying, Diallo should know what to expect, right? I agree with you to a point. Help me understand why your brother had to get involved with collecting paperwork? Shouldn’t your nephew had known what to expect? I place blame on the adults more than a child. School administrators are required to keep records. Records of students get forwarded all the time by adults that get paid to ensure all student records are up to date. Each state has different requirements. It is possible for a child to transfer to a different state for their senior year and be told that they already have enough credits to graduate. Witnessed that one first hand. It is also possible to walk right into a foreign school, present identification and pick up a copy of your transcript on the spot. A minimal fee may apply. Witnessed that one as well.

    Yes, Diallo more than likely will have millions of dollars in his future. However, the adults in his life should have had a more active role in making sure his paperwork is well prepared, just like your brother did with your nephew. Thanks for all the points you made. Even though I didn’t agree with it all, I did gain some knowledge.

  • Just as in the Cliff Alexander situation, there is probably more to this Diallo dilemma than Bill Self or any other Powers What Be will ever reveal to the frantic fandom. Just another waiting game. In my not too humble opinion, Diallo himself might be better off sitting out this season (IF ALLOWED TO PRACTICE), then passing up the 2016 NBA draft to play as a Jayhawk superstar from the getgo in 2016-17. Even Tyler Self recently indicated that Cheick really has lots to learn about the game. Of course, if the NBA lures him into the 2016 June draft as a definite top 7 or 8 lottery pick, then we most likely would never see his Kansas scholarship pay collegiate dividends for the program or the hungry fan base. His late signing sounds more and more like a program gamble. At this stage I tend to reflect on the wisdom of HEM: THINK MICKELSON!

  • @RockkChalkk Im actually pissed that Skal was cleared before Diallo. Skal’s handler, coach, representative, whatever, those ties are questionable at best. It reeks of corruption and bribery.

  • I love a good conspiracy theory as well as the next guy or gal. However, I have to resist the urge to say conspiracy whenever something goes on against KU.

    Conspiracies we’ve heard over the years.

    The Diallo situation, Skal gets cleared proving there’s a conspiracy. We don’t know the facts folks, just some of the facts. @JayHawkFanToo did a good job of raising this.

    Ineligibilities of BMac and …whomever else sat that year. Same thing.

    Seeding of the NCAA tournament to always favor Duke or screw KU.

    Officiating favoring Duke, and believe me, I’ve banged the drum on this one for a long time, but officials for 30 years have to a person kept silent about orders to favor Duke? (I’m still going to believe it on the KU-Duke game in '86, the KU-Duke Maui final a few years back, and of course last years travesty in the finals with the Badgers! So keeping some conspiracy theories will keep me happier!)

    Biased announcers against KU. I mean some people get irate at what the announcers say! I’ve got an idea, let’s make the final four again and then we can have our own personal telecast like the NCAA has been doing the last couple of years. Then we can’t cry about what the announcers say! Except listen to Billy Packer in the 2008 title game, grrrr…!

    It was a good post @drgnslayr and I’m certainly not criticizing your post. It was quite funny and actually got my hopes up for a second when I saw “Cheick Diallo Cleared”. The first thing I do when I get to our favorite chat site is look for that very headline, 3 0r 4 times a day now.

    Of course on the other hand as I ramble on here is that maybe Cheick isn’t even a difference maker for us to start with. Last year we were pretty sure we had the winning combination with Cliff. The year before, well we all know, I guess we were just too young, but draft picks 1 and 3 led to the highest loss total of the Bill Self era. Our young guns just haven’t made that big of a difference, so here’s hoping the old fellers can lead this team with or without Cheick!

  • @RockkChalkk Ohhhhh man. I said this earlier. Its outrageous that Skal got cleared under such suspicious circumstances. It reeks of corruption and bribery. Im near apoplectic at this point and will be blown way over that sentiment if Diallo doesn’t get cleared. ( I still hope he will ) If he doesnt, I hope that Coach Self fights it with all he’s got. Double lawyer up and go to battle. I hope someone else like maybe Bilas gets involved too. If that doesnt work and Diallo still has to sit then maybe it would give some sort of national exposure to the fact that Kentucky is crooked, Cal is crooked and the NCAA shows blatant favoritism to those crooked schools.

  • @wissoxfan83 Ineligibilities of BMac and …whomever else sat that year. That would be Jamari, I’m sure you knew?

  • I still don’t understand how his handler was able to create a temporary basketball league for him to play in?

    How can that be?

    How can it be anything besides an AAU squad or a HS team? Anything else screams of illegal activities. Who paid for their uniforms and shoes? Who drove them to games? Those are benefits. Those are benefit PAID to an amateur player, making him no longer amateur.

    Unless a league is sanctioned as being legit by the NCAA it should disqualify players from D1.

  • @KansasComet


    You are kidding, right? Every responsible parent that I know is involved in his/her kids education and he/she is legally responsible for the kid until he turns 18 even when the kid requires very little help, particularly if he is responsible. I knew exactly what courses my kids were taking and what their grades were when they were in HS.

    Every school has extensive services a to assist kids move to the next level. Student-athletes have additional resources from the AD department and coaches. The rules have been in place for a long time and in fact, they have been lessened recently, such as allowing ACT scores compensate for lower GPAs. Frankly, a high level recruit, or any student athlete for that matter, that says he does not know the rules is the equivalent of a long time smoker saying he did not know it causes cancer…it just does not pass the straight face or laugh test.

    When the time came to go to college I sat down with my kids and went over the options, although both were were very well informed thought their school’s guidance counselors…it is what responsible parents do.

    As far as picking up a transcript from foreign school, it is not at all how you described. The transcript has to be certified in front of local Notary Public, then the signature of the notary public has to be certified by an official of the state.province/department with jurisdiction over that notary public, then that signature of that official has to certified by the country’s Department of State or equivalent…then , that signature has to be verified by the American Consulate in that country and then, you finally have a valid document that meets the NCAA criteria or any other legal requirement in this country; The reverse process is also true if you want to use an American document in a foreign country…trust me, I have to go through this process 4 times per year to get documents certified and it is PITA…and sending the document via certified mail takes roughly one month to and from South America and probably longer to and from Africa.

    Hopefully we will eventually find out what the snag was with Diallo’s paperwork but we should not pre-emptively accuse the NCAA of incompetence when they are only doing the job they were tasked to do by the member schools. Labissiere and Diallo issues are completely different and should not be used for comparison.

    In any case, it has been an interesting discussion.

  • @JayHawkFanToo As far as picking up a transcript from a foreign school, it was exactly how I described it. That was a situation that I dealt with personally. What you are describing comes after you have obtained the transcript. The first thing that must happen after obtaining a foreign transcript is to get it translated and notarized again. It appears you forgot that step, while attempting to prove me wrong. The first step depends on the country and school that you are requesting the transcript from. They are all different. I feel like you were on Diallo, saying he should know better, then you said your brother had to put things together for your nephew. That sounds like a contradiction to me. That’s really the only reason I said something.

  • @Crimsonorblue22 A lot of names come and go. Didn’t we lose one the same year, maybe braeden anderson?

  • @wissoxfan83 said:



    There is only cooperation resulting in legal asymmetries.

    You are too smart to talk about conspiracies, even casually, as you have just done above.

    You are a teacher of our children if I recall correctly.

    Its scary to think that you may be talking to your students about conspiracy theories and dismissing them as put out by kooks, when the conspiracy theories and the kooks (often spooks) that spread them, are so irrelevant.

    Conspiracies are largely for suckers and the last thing I want is some teacher teaching kids that conspiracy theories are prevalent and usually bogus. I don’t know if they are mostly bogus, or not, because real conspiracy theories are mostly about illegal activities and I don’t know much about, nor want to know much about, illegal activities. Teaching kids about conspiracy theories would be like teachers wasting valuable teaching time teaching kids that the sky is not green. Everyone can look up and know its not green. Kids don’t need to be taught that. The question is why is the sky blue? Common sense should tell most kids and adults that conspiracy theories are mostly irrelevant to what goes on in daily life, especially in big important stuff.

    IMHO conspiracies drive almost nothing that happens in a big dollar value way in our culture, and so they are a huge waste of time to talk about, and an insult to persons’ intelligences also. The law enforcement authorities are among those most qualified to talk about conspiracies and its worth noting that many of them couldn’t even see a conspiracy in John Kennedy’s head being blown back and to the left by a documented ex Marine Corp radio eavesdropper and documented participant in a fake defector program run by the CIA firing at him from behind.

    IMHO, asymmetric legalities are what drive 99% of the big dollar unfairness in the world and I believe that even as I am able to concede begrudgingly after all these years, that, well, yes, my beloved President Kennedy, once a member of ONI, got whacked in a cross fire in Dallas by some folks that hoped to sew dissension in our government because they understood the deep divisions created by JFKs steps to defrock the CIA, sharply reduce commitment to South Vietnam, build a special operations capability (a Praetorian guard if you will) reporting directly to JKF (not the JCS) and became the first President since Lincoln to print a competing currency to the Federal Resere Note (Silver Certificates).

    I didn’t always think conspiracies were so marginal. I got seduced by the whole conspiracy smear game for awhile. But once you dig in a little and do your homework, its just another spinfluence technique that got over used for several decades, especially when the XTReme Wacko Right was going after Clinton, but then went on steroids during the naught decade when the national security state began flexing its psy-ops and propaganda muscles big time after 9-11. It was like the public relations, media spin managers, psy-ops types, and propagandists, engaged in public dumping of the “c” word and there was no countervailing force in media to counteract them. It wasn’t a conspiracy either. It was just a media management strategy; that’s all. But in one of the great ironies of propaganda, or maybe not, the “conspiracy” word then got picked up as a popular phrase by many socio-economic and professional classes of America. It became this new contemporary variation on saying someone was “full of shit.” But the beauty of it as a smear word was that it also implied something about someone being crazy; that’s the most sadly hilarious part of the whole episode. Instead of telling persons one disagreed with one was full of shit, one said, awwwww, you’re a conspiracy nut, or a conspiracy theorist. It was wild to watch it unfold, as someone that suspected it was bull shit from the beginning. But now here we are and people still pull it up and use it frequently long after the professional spinfluencers have moved on from it.

    Let’s go down memory lane, or should I say the memory hole, again.

    The massive wealth redistribution since Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980? All legal. No conspiracy. All done with huge amounts of monies invested legally in lobbying and getting legislation enabling the legislation. Carefully planned out. All the conservative and neoconservative organizations involved? All legal. All operating legally the vast majority of the time. These organizations have been openly and proudly orchestrated by persons taking enormous credit for–ever hear of Grover Norquist–and pride in having shifted the wealth upwards where they think it belongs. They don’t believe poor people should do better. They didn’t believe the middle class was necessary after the Cold War ended. Unions as a bulwark against communism after communism fell? Fugggeddabout’em. Greed was good. Universal health care? Who cares if 40 million fellow citizens can’t see a doctor until they are convulsing and hauled into an emergency room and denied care, or under treated? Make money. Take it from medical care by cutting services to more and more Americans. Making money by taking it from the middle class was good. Taxing the middle class to pay for moving their firms and jobs abroad was good. And legal. Oh man was it ever legal. And fun!!! Talking about conspiracies is how you distract those suffering from the vicious asymmetries of designed wealth redistribution upwards, not how you remedy the egregious abuse.

    Conspiracy is for suckers.

    In wealth redistribution and in basketball and in most every other form of high buck activity probably, and college basketball now qualifies as a high buck, not mega buck, but high buck activity IMHO.

    The Standard Oil Trust was never illegal until long after it had profitted so greatly from its overtly collusive activities that it then reputedly among some colluded with government itself to legislate the Sherman Anti-Trust Act precisely to make sure no other petroleum organization could use trust organization as a means of eclipsing The Standard. Rockefeller himself could not have asked for better legislation to protect his fortune than the Sherman Anti Trust Act which enabled him to restructure his Trust into an oligopoly woven together by interlocking directorates and strategic incentives for oligopolistic cooperation. Same with the Federal Income Tax Act of 1914 that promises preferred distribution of the Federal Income taxes first to pay the debts of the Federal Reserve created by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 shepherded into law in the Senate by John D. Rockefellers father in law–Senator Aldrich. All legal. All above board. All known about and debated about and intensely criticized as selling out our Republic in the Congressional record.

    There are no conspiracies of real consequence in America.

    Oh, maybe the JFK, RFK, MLK assassinations. But, well, exceptions prove rules, sometimes. And who knows? Maybe somewhere down in the bowels of the National Security Act and the National Security Council archives and the body of legislation related to the National Security State it could be argued by some lawyer that those hits were necessary for national security. I am just a citizen basketball fan. I don’t know what lawyers arguing under a seal of national security could argue and get away with. I only know that calling torture enhanced interrogation and running a USA torture prison archipelago was considered okay.

    I believe it maybe one of the things that distinguishes America from so many other places.

    The founders just embraced the idea that less government is better government and that the more legal grey areas you have (and later create) the more room entrepreneurial citizens have room to move, and the more life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness can occur, albeit with a goodly share of abuses.

    Conspiracies are for crooks and small time suckers and the occasional murder that has to be committed to perpetuate some kind of complex in a legal grey that is about to be out maneuvered by some other complex in a legal grey area.

    Otherwise, did I say, conspiracy is for suckers?

    Let’s keep skipping down memory lane.

    The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was no conspiracy. It was all above board. It was all legal. It was perhaps misnamed. It perhaps should have been called The Sherman Oligopoly Act, or the Sherman Pull Up the Trust Ladder So No One Else Can Do to John D. Rockefeller What John D. Rockefeller Did to Hundreds, or Thousands of Others. Same as the Income Tax Act was perhaps misnamed. It perhaps should have been called the Pull up the No Tax Ladder So No One Else Can Do to John D. Rockefeller what John D. Rockefeller Did to Hundreds, or Thousands of Others.

    Do you see why John D. Rockefeller might well have privately supported both the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Income Tax Act, while publicly complaining about them? Both converged to make sure no one could repeat his trick and so eclipse him. Imagine how much harder it would be to corner the oil refining bidness if you couldn’t openly monopolize through a trust shell AND had to pay taxes the John D. never had to pay.

    This appears to be how the game is played at a high level.

    Do unto others, before they can do to you, then clear the wake and institute so that others cannot later do unto you what you just did.

    Conspiracies are for suckers and for those so lacking in imagination, skill, power and influence that they have to break the law instead of use it and get it rewritten.

    Cooperation in grey areas and rewriting laws/regs as feasible are how things get done in a big way.

    Cooperation in grey areas that are not yet highly specified by law is how things get done.

    There is nothing I can infer that is illegal, or paranoid, about the apparent Nike/UK/Cal/Westley/Rose/CAA/SEC/ESPN/NCAA complex. Its just there incompletely understood as a complex, because, if it were there, there would be little, or no, incentive for them to explain how they are doing what they are doing in order to make the big bucks rain. Does your plumber like to tell you how to sweat pipes, so you can do it yourself and not pay him? Does investment manager like to explain exactly how he picks the best stocks and exactly who he gets the information from, and how to get it yourself, so you can DIY and quit giving him a fee? No.

    So: please reconsider this conspiracy theory allegation stuff fer Chrisssakes, fer Yahweh’s sakes, and for Allah’s sakes, and for Buddha’s sakes, okay?

    Complexes are apparently mostly how asymmetric exploitation of grey areas are enabled.

    The apparent complex members may not be running around clapping their hands and saying look at what we are doing, but that is normal for all businesses, once they get highly successful and haven’t yet figured a way out to keep others from entering in and competing.

    I don’t recall a single successful business man giving all the keys to his business to anyone outside it, so that another could start up and do what he did and so take a cut of his action; that’s not human nature.

    We’re not talking about Anti-Castro Cubans here.

    We’re talking about serious business men here and coaches and university presidents, and CEOs, network execs, and Talent agents, etc.

    It may not fair, but its probably mostly legal, or at least in a grey area that these individuals believe their lawyers could credibly argue was legal and likely win.

    We are talking about Multinational Shoe corporations, a major state university, a high profile basketball coach making multi millions of dollars per year, a former shoe salesmen become coach’s agent and entertainment agent/consultant, a major entertainment agent, probably the biggest entertainment agency firm, a Big Five Power conference, perhaps the largest sports network in the USA, and the largest oversight and TV contracting entity for college sports in the USA. And I’m not even including Big Gaming in the complex, but logically could.

    Please, please, please, don’t spray the squid ink of conspiracy into public discourse, when it is so obviously apparently irrelevant.

    If you must, doubt the probability of asymmetric legalities.

    Though to be frank, I don’t see how you possibly could so with a straight face in todays republic, and today’s college game, but at least talk about the 900 pound gorilla in the room, instead of the tit mouse under the floor board.

    Rock Chalk!

  • @jaybate-1.0 Regarding asymmetric legalities, Bill Self might just be on top of his game in the matter of Diallo’s clearance. In essence, he has recruited a topflight recruit who might fit better into his 2016-17 squad than his current team. Why not hold off a spell in filing necessary NCAA paperwork until he watches Diallo adjust to the college game to determine if this is the best season to usher Cheick into the midst of experienced Ellis/Mickelson/Lucas/Traylor. We know that the Bill Self SYSTEM customarily leans upon 2 steady factors: experienced players + a rotation of 8 primary players, max. This current experienced squad portends a definite stretching of that rotation, even without Diallo. But a year from now, after departures of Ellis, Mickelson, Traylor…O MY! Of course, much depends upon the disposition of Cheick Diallo and his inclinations toward gaining valuable experience while showcasing development of his game. And, of course, the June NBA draft which might slam a meat cleaver into the overall procedure.

  • @REHawk

    Wily old coach sees through wily young coach!


  • @REHawk

    Good thoughts.

    My guess is that he Self would have to have Diallo’s iron clad guarantee that he will return for another year in his pocket before he would consider such an approach with the NCAA.

    And even then I think Coach knows that this could be a magical year and would want Diallo available this year if at all possible for a deep tournament run.

    Wonder if our friend @statmachine has any insight for us…at last “Cheick” he was predicting a 50/50 chance and drama that could stretch in to December.

    As for me, I want Diallo to play for KU this year…and next year too…just sayin’!

  • Diallo will be fully eligible for the NBA at the end of the season…so was Mclemore after his red shirt season…worked out well for Ben to stay the extra year, even when his family had serious financial issues, and it might work well for Diallo as well, although Diallo was/is a much higher ranked player and I am not aware of any financial issues. Let’s face it, for foreign players, the potential of a NCAA title does not have the same allure that it does for American players that grew up dreaming of playing for a NCAA Championship team.

  • @JayHawkFanToo

    I fully expect that if Diallo is ruled ineligible, he will go pro at the end of the year. If his stock is still lottery after sitting, there’s little reward to not getting paid.

    Coming back to KU for his red-shirt year if he’s rules ineligible is a big risk for him. There’s always that question of whether he would get hurt which would hurt his stock.

    Could it help him coming back, no doubt we saw how Mclemore turned from a Top 50 kid to a Top 10 pick in the draft after waiting his turn. So coming back could possibly turn his lottery hype now, into Top 10, Top 5 after next year.

    The thing is, Diallo needs to play basketball & keep developing skill which practice is only going to do so much of that. Whether its the NBA or College where he gets that chance, the kid just needs to play…

  • Cheick also, as any freshman, could really use a solid year of building his body with the help of Andrea Hudy and Co. Two years with her assistance could mold that fledgling bird into an NBA eagle. In retrospect, Joel Embiid might have escaped a pair of back and foot injuries if his body had spent a second year in the Hudy program (although, as he was eligible from the getgo, those injuries would probably have occurred anyway). For a body and appetite like Embiid’s, sitting out with a red shirt for a season at KU might have paid huge personal dividends. He might not have reaped professional millions so quickly, but in the long run his career and bank account probably would have benefited significantly. My point is, Cheick, even if eventually cleared to play this season, might give serious thought to spending a second year in Lawrence. A damn shame that the lure of NBA millions might not allow for his development at the collegiate level. (HA! I overuse the word MIGHT.)

  • @REHawk

    We thought maybe possibly might cliff or kelly would stay but that ship sank. The guys that are obvious picks for the NBA go pro. That has been the trend at KU. I think he’s as good a candidate to leave as any of the top rated kids. I uses to think 2 years because of his skill needing work. He’s not a sure thing on offense but he always used his motor and athleticism to dominate. The NCAA may force his hand if they rule him ineligible. I certainly want him to stay as long as possible, I don’t watch the NBA other than keeping up with fellow hawks. Reality is it seems slim he will be around…

  • Cheick has to leave after this season regardless. When you’re a lotto, it wouldn’t be a smart business decision to leave. Look at Embiid, his heart said he wanted to stay but the smart move was to go pro. Now he has his guaranteed millions but might not truly play a game. If he stays, he falls off the draft boards because of his injury and loses a ton of paychecks.

    Bmac was a different situation. He might have been drafted in the second round without a guaranteed contract. The smart business decision was for him to stay another year. You can’t compare the two.

  • @JhawkAlum

    That is the conventional wisdom.

    But… might things have worked out better for Embiid had he stayed?

    The more I think about it, the more I wonder. JoJo would have redshirted a year, and then, if necessary, couldn’t he receive a medical redshirt for another year?

    I know he would still be at zero with a paycheck, but he would have plenty of eligibility to fight his way back on the radar of NBA scouts. Sure, it would have taken longer for him to buy a fancy car and house. I do think it might have worked for him to stay. He would have more time and a great support crew to help him get his game back. Now… if there is no chance he can ever play a game again, then he definitely made the right choice.

    How many young players today can’t play any longer after an injury? I’m sure many have a hard time fighting back to the level of play they were playing before they went down.

    I’m still thinking conventional and agreeing he left at the right time, but a small part of my brain continues to question it.

  • Are we all resigning ourselves to the increasingly distinct possibility that Cheick wont see the court for KU this season? We are days away from the first game with no official word. What the heck is going on?

    I mean, I seriously thought we would have an answer by now, for or against.

  • @Lulufulu



    I think if another month goes by and we haven’t heard news, then I’ll think his chances are reduced.

    I’m of the opinion we will learn something within the next couple of weeks.

    It is just frustrating having to wait.

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