NBA Comparison: Iman Shumpert/Archie Goodwin

Strengths: Has the physical tools to play primarily at the 2-guard position at the next level … Good size at 6’5”, 200 pounds with a 6’11” wingspan … Broad shoulders and a frame that looks like it can add a lot of muscle … Super athletic, possesses great length (long arms), explosive and bouncy … Plays with a high motor … Run-and-jump athlete extraordinaire. Great vertical leaping ability … Measured a 44’ inch vertical at last year’s NBA Combine … Aggressive on both ends on the court … A dangerous scoring threat in transition … Looks to throw it down on the fast break … Fills the wings correctly when he doesn’t have the ball on the break … Plays above the rim … His athleticism, bounce, knack for finding the ball, and high energy allows him to be a good a rebounder at his position … A threat to crash the offensive boards for putbacks and tip-ins … Explodes off the floor quicker than most of his opponents … In the half court, he does a good job of attacking the rim off the bounce and overpowering his defenders on his way to the bucket … Excels at scoring off the move … Has a knack for getting behind the defense and rising up for alley-oop slams … Can gain separation/space from his defenders with a quick first step … Can get his defender off balance … Has the ability to adjust his body in the air to score around rim protectors … Can finish through contact … Isn’t afraid of contact and drawing fouls … Very hard to stop when he has a full head of steam in space in the halfcourt and in transition … Can hit rhythm pull jumpers and 3-pointers when his feet are set … Has good elevation on his shot … Defensively, he has the potential to be great at the next level … Can be a lockdown defender if he commits to that end of the floor … Plays with a tenacity on that ends of the floor … Harasses the opposition when he’s engaged as an on-ball defender … Moves with great lateral quickness … Great footwork on defense … Plays the passing lanes … Good defensive instincts … Blocks shots …

Weaknesses: Still a bit raw offensively … Feel for the game … Relies too much on his athletic ability at this point … He’s not a consistent threat as an offensive option from game-to-game … Has potential as a shooter, but needs to improve his shooting consistency from all areas of the court, including free throws … Needs to tweak his shooting mechanics … Low release on his shot … Not a threat to shoot off the dribble … Overall shot selection needs improvement … Needs to play more controlled and less reckless in the half court … Is sometimes prone to overdriving and getting caught in the lane … Has a tendency to throw up wild floaters and shots in and around the lane … Ball handling has room for improvement (needs to be tightened) … He isn’t a natural passer/playmaker … Will need to work on his playmaking ability for his teammates and overall decision-making … Needs to limit turnovers … Tends to have lapses on defense sometimes … Can get lost when playing off-the-ball defense … Doesn’t react well to opponent movement on-the-ball, and gets lost or lazy off-the-ball … Low steal and block rates despite physical tools … Closeouts are iffy at times … Doesn’t consistently stay in front and when he does he lacks the strength in his 195-pound frame to contain dribble penetration …

Overall: Hamidou Diallo sat out last year after enrolling at Kentucky in January 2017 … He tested the waters before the 2017 NBA Draft … After receiving mixed reviews and no promise of being selected in the first round from numerous NBA team officials and scouts, he made the decision to return to Kentucky to play a full year under Calipari … While he athleticism and physical tools are undeniable and will always make him an intriguing prospect, he is nowhere near a finished product … Diallo has to make great strides and improvement in his shooting, decision making, and awareness to become a two-way NBA player … He has considerable upside and his overall outlook greatly depends upon how much he improves shooting the basketball …

Tajh Jenkins 3/30/18
 

Strengths: A 6’5 incredibly explosive scoring guard loaded with natural talent … Possesses great length with a 6’10 wingspan … Great speed and vertical leap. Quick off the ground … Good offensive player in transition as well as the half court. Handles the ball pretty well, an area of his game that is improving … Can create space and offense for himself. Gets to the rim with a quick first step … Reacts well to the defense as well as help defenders, drives to the basket are not predetermined. Good ambidexterity … Good body control. Crashes offensive boards and can tip-slam rebounds out of his area … Great competitor. Plays with high energy, aggression, and confidence … Attacks the defense fearlessly. Isn’t afraid of contact and draws a lot of fouls … Defends well. Has the tools, athleticism, and tenacity to be a lockdown on ball defender. Great lateral quickness … Harasses opposing ball handlers … Plays passing lanes. Quick to the ball. Blocks shots well for a guard … Also rebounds very well for a guard …

Weaknesses: Can create jump shots but struggles to connect with consistency … Needs to improve in all areas as a shooter; free throws, midrange, and three point. Shot 16.7% from three over the Nike EYBL … Still has room to tighten up his ball handling ability … Can be reckless taking the ball to the basket … Relies upon outjumping defenders at the rim … Can improve his post-game when matched up with smaller guards but does show confidence and willingness to take defenders into the post … Although he can find opportunities to find alley-oops and gaps when cutting backdoor, he can improve moving without the ball especially on the perimeter. Relies on his first step to beat his man after he has the ball … Has room to add upper body strength … Shows some playmaking ability but is strictly a scoring guard at this stage, doesn’t have the combo guard skills yet. Finished with 33 assists to 41 turnovers over the Nike EYBL …

Outlook: Diallo may be the top athlete in high school basketball. His ball skills aren’t quite up to par with his natural ability yet but with some work and time, he can develop into a big time player at the highest levels.

Notes: Measued 6’3.75 without shoes, 6’10.5 wingspan, 179 lbs and a 8’4.5 standing reach in the summer of 2015 … Measured 6’4 without shoes, 6’5 with shoes, 199 lbs, with a 6’11 wingspan and 8’5.5 standing reach at the June 2017 USA U19 tryouts

Evan Tomes 9/1/16