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Cheick Diallo, Fred Hoiberg's and Iowa State's most coveted hoops target for 2015, has set a date for his official visit to the university, according to Adam Zagoria.
Diallo, New York's top prospect and No. 5 overall in next year's class, will take in Ames on Sep. 26.
And yes, this is indeed the weekend we play Baylor so... sorry, pal. Bop on over to Hickory Park and see how many of the dinner platters you can eat in one sitting instead. I don't know. You'll figure it out.
Diallo, a Mali native, has an unparalleled 28 -- twenty-eight! -- schools seeking his services but has claimed on multiple occasions that ISU is one of five programs after him the hardest. In the least shocking news you'll hear this offseason, Kansas and Kentucky (who hosted Diallo on June 26) headline that exclusive club. Pittsburgh and local favorite St. John's are in the mix as well.
The Johnnies will host Diallo on Oct. 18 and a visit to Kansas is expected to follow, though a date hasn't been set. He has also made two unofficial stops at Pitt since last fall.
We live in an age of sports journalism driven by predictions, projections and being the "first to call it" -- so say what you will about the Crystal Ball -- but 247 currently has UK and KU split at a 42% chance to land Diallo. Pittsburgh falls in line next at 8%, while St. John's and Iowa State are split at 4%. These numbers will fluctuate at alarming rates, especially as basketball season gets underway, so don't read a lot into what you see in late July.
Diallo just wrapped up the EYBL Peach Jam in South Carolina (typically the summer's most notable AAU hoops event), where he averaged 16 & 8 and did all this awesome shit. He reminds me a lot of former Jayhawk, Thomas Robinson.
It's nothing more than mumblings from a few weeks ago, but Diallo could have a final decision made by December. Lest we forget, he would join a frontcourt for the 2015-16 Cyclones that will already have the services of Georges Niang, Jameel McKay, Darien Williams and the Greek God of Hoop (it's fewer characters than his actual name, I swear).
Carry on with your Big 12 Media Days.