Kansas received word yesterday that five-star prospect Cheick Diallo will be eligible to play college basketball beginning December 1. Diallo, the nation’s fifth-ranked prospect, according to Rivals, had been under investigation for his time at Our Savior New American High School as well as possible benefits violations. His high school’s academic credentials have been questioned by the NCAA’s Eligibility Center on more than one occasion — Alabama lost 2015 recruit and Our Savior New American graduate, Kobie Eubanks, because he failed to academically qualify. Eubanks, however, appears to have had additional academic issues that prevented him from playing. Diallo’s case was bolstered by an independent investigation into his course history and nearly six figures of funding from Kansas.
The Kansas compliance department was deliberate in its approach to Diallo’s eligibility and the recently-crowned Maui Invitational champions should now be able to reap the rewards of that patience. The freshman really impressed his head coach during summer workouts, and is likely to force his way into the starting lineup at some point. “We’ve never had a big guy that could run like this,” Self told reporters. “It’d be nice to have a mindset to play at a much faster tempo than we have in the past. […] Cheick forces a pace that nobody has ever forced here. He can create pace better than any point guard we’ve ever had here. Just because the dude from rim to rim is as good as I’ve seen. I didn’t say the best offensive player, but running rim to rim I think he’ll drag everybody along with him.” Given that sort of evaluation, it appears that Diallo’s presence on the floor is likely to push Kansas to play at one of the fastest paces a Self team has ever maintained (Kansas is already playing the 37th-fastest tempo nationally).
Diallo will likely do for Kansas what Jameel McKay does for Iowa State. McKay, a senior energizer bunny in the post, is a more refined product, but the Jayhawks’ big man has equally great potential to become a game-changer at the collegiate level. The 6’9″ Mali native has an endless motor that translates into aggressiveness on the boards and will make him a fantastic finisher at the rim. He closed out his senior season by winning MVP at both the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic — two events that feature the best incoming freshmen the country has to offer. Kansas would have been pegged as the Big 12 favorite with or without Diallo because of Self’s history of success in the league, but the freshman represents a key piece of the puzzle that can turn the Jayhawks from nice collection of parts into a legitimate national title contender.