Background
Diallo was born on September 13, 1996 and brought up in Kayes, Mali.
Diallo was born on September 13, 1996 and brought up in Kayes, Mali.
Diallo is a five-star recruit and is widely considered one of the top players in the Class of 2015. He was named Most Valuable Player of the 2015 McDonald"s All-American Boys Game. Diallo generally plays the power forward position.
lieutenant took approximately 15 hours to drive from his hometown to Bamako, the country"s capital city.
He was the youngest in his family and had five brothers. Diallo arrived in the John F. Kennedy International Airport in the United States on February 14, 2012 in pursuit of a basketball career.
He was not fluent in the English language at the time. He recalled the time, "lieutenant was so tough.
At first, I was thinking, I just want to go back.
But one day I said, "Number, not yet. I want to stay and work hard here before I go back to Mali."" Diallo began playing basketball in 2010. Through its international program, Diallo began attending Our Savior New American School in Centereach, New New York
He played with Chris Obekpa in his freshman season and, at first, was dominated by the fellow African big manitoba
Diallo said, "I didn"t know what I was doing. I couldn"t make a point. blocked me every time." In later seasons, he became more effective for his team and attracted attention through his shot-blocking, rebounding, and versatility.
Diallo was invited to the NBPA Top 100 camp in 2013 and went on to become its first Most Valuable Player from Africa.