Hamidou Diallo is the 5-star recruit who could enter the NBA draft or play college basketball right now

The NBA opened up a world of possibilities for basketball’s best young talents when it allowed Thon Maker to enter the draft in June as a prep-school player one year removed from high school graduation. The consequences of that decision could be a game-changer for both college basketball and the NBA, and they’re already being felt six months later.

Hamidou Diallo, a 6’6 wing from New York, will likely to be eligible for the 2017 NBA draft under the same loophole that allowed Maker to become the No. 10 overall pick. Diallo has maintained that he’s 100 percent committed to going to college, but Kentucky, UConn, and the other power programs chasing him are well aware he could never step foot on campus.

Diallo had a lot to consider even before a new wrinkle this week changed everything. Diallo was cleared by the NCAA after the first semester, meaning he’d be able to play college basketball right now, this season.

Forget the one-and-done. Diallo could be set to introduce the half-and-done.

Kevin Ollie and UConn have been in tight with him since the beginning. Diallo is taking an official visit to UConn on Thursday and some, like Jerry Meyer of 247 Sports, believe the path is there for him to commit and play for the Huskies this season.

The question of what’s best for Diallo and his draft stock has now become a lot more complicated. Should Diallo play at UConn (or somewhere else) right now, or should he remain in the high school ranks and enter the draft with less visibility? It’s a complex question with no easy answer.

Diallo has the potential to be a first-round draft pick off physical tools alone. He has elite athleticism in a 6’6, 190-pound frame with a 6’10 wingspan. The NBA is in dire need of wings who defend and run the floor, and Diallo has the ability to grow into that type of player.

It’s just that Diallo, like any 18-year-old, is far from a finished product. His jumper is spotty, his handle needs to improve, and he’ll have to get a lot stronger. At the FIBA U18 Americas Championship this summer, Diallo was just Team USA’s sixth-leading scorer by averaging 7.6 points per game.

Granted, his otherworldly athletic ability was often on display:

The concern for Diallo is that it’s easier for a player to hide his weaknesses at the high school level than it is in big-time college basketball. The mystery man act worked wonders for Maker, who was drafted in the lottery mostly off the strength of a tape measure and some YouTube highlights.

From the moment Diallo enrolls in college, he’ll be under a harsh microscope. In a deep draft class, he’ll have to weigh whether the benefit that comes with playing two months of college basketball is worth the scrutiny.

Let’s be clear about one thing: While Diallo could be a late first-round pick out of prep school, there’s certainly no guarantee of it. The 2017 NBA draft has been noted for being particularly deep. He could easily slip to the second round and spend the next few years in the D-League fighting for a small number of NBA roster spots hundreds of players covet.

Want to improve your draft stock? Going to college and thriving is the best way to do it.

Let’s say Diallo chooses UConn. The Huskies have plenty of playing time available. UConn has been decimated by injuries during a 5-5 start to the season, but adding Diallo now could give Ollie’s team enough time to gel before trying to make a run in the AAC tournament.

Diallo is going to be bigger and faster than anyone he matches up against in the American. He’s a safe bet to make a few SportsCenter appearances with highlight-reel dunks. If he flashes the ability to be a shutdown defender, that alone could get him drafted in the first round despite the shooting concerns.

Diallo’s moment feels like a tipping point for both college basketball and the NBA. It may come off as a unique situation, but don’t be surprised if it becomes the new wave.

The one-and-done rule is staying in the NBA’s new CBA and our Tom Ziller wrote about why it’s unlikely to change before 2023. Meanwhile, elite recruits are always going to be looking for a way to cash in as soon as possible. Top talents have been going to prep school for more than a decade and the Maker decision opened the door for those players to reach the NBA without the hassle of going through the motions in college.

From a college perspective, there was a five-star recruit in the class of 2017 to start playing college basketball in the second semester of this season just last week. That’s Auburn center Austin Wiley, who graduated high school at the end of first semester and joined Auburn days later. Wiley, a hulking center from Alabama, put up nine points in 15 minutes against Mercer in his debut.

Wiley can’t go to the NBA until 2018 at the earliest, but Auburn coach Bruce Pearl now has him for at least 1.5 seasons. The high-pressure world of youth basketball is changing dramatically, through organized AAU leagues like Nike’s EYBL circuit, through prep schools that play national schedules and now through an NBA loophole.

College coaches have to adapt and NBA does, too. For now, everyone sits patiently waiting for what Hamidou Diallo will do next.