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Calipari: 'I will retire' if Diallo is a lottery pick

John Calipari is the undisputed king of the "one and done" talent that spends a single year in college before heading to the NBA, producing 18 such players in his time at Kentucky.

That number is set to rise this year with Malik Monk, De'Aaron Fox, and Bam Adebayo all likely first-round picks. While those three may steal the headlines in this year's draft, it's a player who never saw the court for the legendary coach that's even more intriguing.

Hamidou Diallo was one of the top-ranked players in the class of 2018, but opted to enroll early at Kentucky and spent the second semester practicing full-time with the team and sitting on the bench. He immediately declared for the draft, and could hear his name called fairly early in the proceedings if he opts against a return to college.

"If someone takes him in the lottery I will retire," Calipari told Adam Zagoria of the New York Times. "Four months, doesn't play, lottery pick, I'm done. I'm stopping."

Thon Maker found a loophole around the NCAA mandated rule that players can't go straight from high school to the NBA by playing a year of prep school in Canada. He was selected 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in last year's NBA draft.

Diallo played prep basketball for Putnam Science for a semester before heading to Kentucky, fulfilling the one-year time span from his high school graduation that the NBA requires.

Despite the fact that Diallo didn't play in games for Kentucky, Calipari isn't surprised he's receiving draft interest.

"They all like you without watching you," he said. "The more you don't play, the more they like you, the more they're impressed."

Diallo certainly isn't hurting his chances by turning in incredible results in the testing period. His potential is enough to have scouts falling all over themselves to demand team executives look at him in the draft.

The deadline for players to decide whether to return to school or remain in the draft is Wednesday, with the draft a month away, so it won't be long until we find out if Calipari is retiring or not.

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