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After defeating Boston University on Saturday, 99-77, assistant coach Gerry McNamara hit the recruiting trail to watch prized five-star prospect Hamidou Diallo.
Diallo’s Putnam Science Academy defeated Westtown, 76-47, where he took home MVP honors. He finished with 29 points and nine rebounds. Westtown five-star Mohamed Bamba did not play in the game, but 2018 five-star Cameron Reddish and former SU target Brandon Randolph did.
Diallo is down to six schools: Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona, Syracuse, UConn and Indiana. He hasn’t taken any official visits yet.
“Syracuse, I’ve been up there a couple times,” Diallo told Adam Zagoria on Saturday. “My family is up there. I love the fans up there. The fans are great.”
Putnam head coach Tom Espinosa chimed in on his recruitment, saying, “I think he’s ready to move on and make a decision. He hasn’t made any official visits yet, so I don’t think it will happen until the spring, but enough is enough. His phone blows up every second with brand names, coaches, reporters. I get tons of calls. I think it’s time. He needs to focus on basketball and school.”
Zagoria points out that Kentucky may be the favorite to land Diallo, although that’s just speculation.
“Picking the right school first and I’m just big on player development,” the 6-foot-6 star said. “Just trying to make it to the next level, not only make it but have a great career.”