Kentucky basketball: 5 Rushed reactions vs Missouri 2.0

2. Hamidou Diallo, let’s go!!!

While still nowhere near a lottery pick this summer, Hami showed major strides in improvement tonight. Calipari has been very vocal in his support of Hami and how much this team needs him to play well. Calipari’s patience paid off tonight as Hami had his best of 2018, and arguably his best game of the season.

The biggest area of improvement, and BBN knows this, was his three-point shooting tonight. Diallo knocked down multiple three-point shots and showed bursts of consistency. Hami also attacked in transition when he could and took far less forced and ill-advised shots tonight.

Diallo has clearly been frustrated these last few weeks. Even with the frustration, he’s continued to support his teammates and to cheer from the bench. Through his bad play and frustration, Diallo showed mental toughness and fortitude. It’s this mental toughness that allowed him to have a “bounce back” performance tonight. Rupp Arena could sense it too, as the Kentucky fans exploded when Hami would knock down perimeter shots.

Looking at tonight’s result, Calipari is 100% right about this team needing Hami to play well. He can score in transition, score from the perimeter and score by attacking the rim. Diallo can rebound and he can really guard when he wants to. BBN hopes and prays that tonight’s version of Hami is the version that will continue showing up in March.