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Diallo takes big gamble by returning to Kentucky

Justin Ford / USA TODAY Sports

Considering how long Hamidou Diallo waited to withdraw from the 2017 NBA Draft, there's no doubt he was agonizing over the decision.

Finally, only 10 minutes before the deadline, Diallo made the call to return to Kentucky and a loaded roster to try to better his draft stock for 2018. Diallo is a five-star guard that didn't take the floor for the Wildcats last season, meaning there's a good chance, given his immense talent, he'll be a star for John Calipari and company in 2017-18.

But he's also taking a big gamble.

Kentucky is bringing in five other five-star players and all were ranked in the top 25 of the 2017 recruiting class. Now Diallo has been practicing with the team since last season, likely giving him an edge on the other freshmen coming into the program. In fact, if you listen to former teammate and likely lottery pick De'Aaron Fox, Diallo is more than ready to make a major impact.

"When he was defending us - like when people ask me what was harder, the practices or games, practices for me were a lot tougher than games," Fox told Kyle Tucker of SEC Country at the combine. "He’s a great defender."

Be that as it may, there's no guarantee Diallo will make a seamless transition to the college game, and if he struggles, Calipari will have no shortage of talent to turn to.

Skal Labissiere is an example of someone who was supposed to take the college basketball world by storm as the No. 2 overall recruit, but ended up underwhelming in his lone season in Lexington. Diallo had much of the same hype, only the benefit of not having to show all his cards. Teams were clearly interested even though they haven't seen him play collegiately and someone would have likely made him a decent first-round pick.

By returning to school, though, Diallo's flaws could be exposed, his hype could evaporate, others could outshine him, and there's a chance he could get injured.

And ultimately, he could regret his decision a year from now.

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