Per Alpha Diallo’s Instagram, the Providence Junior is entering his name into the NBA Draft for 2019 and will be taking part in the upcoming process and workouts.
Much like Rodney Bullock did before his Senior year, Diallo is going to take part in the process and that is exactly what he should be doing. Not only will Diallo get a familiarity with the process and see where he stacks up against the top players looking to get drafted this year, he gets feedback from scouts and player development personal on what he needs to work on going into next season to improve the areas that they may consider lacking or that may carve him out a role to play professionally.
Even more promising for any Friar fan that got a little nervous about the possibility of leaving this year, he came out with this quote about declaring for the draft:
“I am declaring for the NBA Draft. I am excited to go through the workout process. I will be staying in school this spring and finishing my junior year. I believe this process will help me grow as a player. I enjoy being at Providence College and playing for the Friars. The Friars have a strong group of players returning next season and I believe the team could compete for the conference championship.”
Last year, Diallo led the Friars in basically every stat that you can think of.
Alpha led the team in minutes (35.5 mpg) by almost 10 minutes per game, points (16.0 ppg), rebounds (8.1 rpg), assists (3.1 apg), and steals (1.6 spg). Amongst Big Eats players, Diallo ranked 1st in double-doubles (tied) 2nd in rebounds and 9th in points per game and was named to the All-Big East 2nd Team. Diallo currently sits at 33rd on the All-Time scoring list for Providence College with 1,155 career points.
Coach Ed Cooley is in total and complete support of Alpha and his decision to take part in the process this year, and I’m sure that they’ve talked extensively about the benefits of him doing so.
“We support Alpha and as he goes through this process. This process will enable him to gain knowledge and experience about the potential for his future in professional basketball. Alpha has always had a goal of playing basketball at the highest level and this is one of the steps towards his goal.”
Diallo has until May 29th to withdraw his name from the NBA Draft. Per the new rules, he can enter into an agreement with an NCAA Certified agent and maintain his eligibility for next season, a very helpful tweak to the draft process for non-Seniors.
Alpha Diallo is nobody’s fool. He’s a bright Big East student athlete that will test the NBA waters and gain an action plan to give himself the best chance for a successful pro career in Spring 2020.
— Steve Hartnett (@stevehartnett92) April 16, 2019
The Morning Hangover 