Kansas' Diallo to remain in NBA draft

Kansas' Cheick Diallo confirmed his intention to sign with an agent and stay in the 2016 NBA Draft on Friday, telling ESPN's Jeff Goodman, "This is the time for me to go to the next level."

Diallo arrived at Kansas with much fanfare as the nation's seventh-ranked prospect in the 2015 recruiting class. It took five games before the NCAA declared the 6-foot-9, 218-pound forward eligible, and his season with the Jayhawks was a major disappointment. Diallo only averaged three points and 2.5 rebounds per game, and didn't accumulate any stats in the program's final three games of the NCAA tournament.

"My time at Kansas was hard; the beginning was really hard," Diallo told ESPN. "The NCAA stuff made it difficult for me, but even though I didn't always play a lot, I loved being at Kansas and loved supporting my teammates."

"It's not Coach's fault I wasn't playing," Diallo said of Jayhawks head coach Bill Self. "I'm not blaming anyone. I was hoping I'd play more time at Kansas, but it didn't work the way I wanted."

The Malian-born prospect hopes to show NBA teams he can be an asset at the next level, and still believes he can be a first-round pick come June 23.