Hamidou Diallo left his Queens home 3 ¹/₂ years ago to pursue his dream, believing it was the right path to making basketball his career. It was a difficult decision, moving out on his own and attending prep powerhouse Putnam (Conn.) Science Academy.
He returned on Saturday, playing his first organized basketball game in the city since leaving, and showed friends and family how much he has grown, and what a wise decision it was for him to go away in the first place.
In his Madison Square Garden debut, the 6-foot-5 wing had a homecoming he couldn’t have scripted any better. Diallo poured in a career-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting in front of up to 25 family members and friends, as No. 8 Kentucky hammered Monmouth, 93-76, in the Citi Hoops Classic, improving to 8-1 with its sixth straight win.
“I mean, it’s just a blessing,” Diallo said. “This is my first time playing at the Garden, so coming from New York City, that’s every kid’s dream.
“It’s just great, coming out there playing in front of a crowd I haven’t played in front of for a long time, and just seeing my family again.”
Deion Hammond led Monmouth (3-7) with 19 points and Micah Seaborn had 18 for the Hawks, who lost their third straight.
Diallo scored in a variety of ways, on baby jumpers, drives to the hoop, and even a few perimeter shots. He sank a 3-pointer, just his sixth of the season in 19 attempts. The jump shot is the big knock on his game, the question mark about the athletically gifted wing’s future at the next level.
“Of course it motivates me,” Diallo said. “That’s fuel to my fire.”
At the NBA Combine in May, he notched the second highest vertical leap in the event’s history, at 44.5 inches. A projected late first-round pick, Diallo considered leaving for the NBA — he graduated from Putnam Science Academy in the spring of 2016, making him eligible for the draft — but opted to return to school to play at least one season for Kentucky, hoping he could boost his stock by improving that jumper.
Diallo hears about his shot frequently, and acknowledges he has to work on improving it. He also feels it’s getting better. He has worked the most on keeping his follow through, which Kentucky coach John Calipari has emphasized since he arrived in Lexington last January.
“You got to get into a habit, every shot I take I hold my follow through, then it becomes the same shot, then you can become more consistent,” Calipari said. “He’s trying to do what we’ve asked him to do. He’s getting better defensively. But this is hard.
“You come to Kentucky to get better, that’s why you come here,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “Hami did it for that reason, and he’s getting better.”
And, on Saturday, he was able to show his closest friends and family how far he has come.