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We've all known that 2015 power forward Cheick Diallo has been on Pitt's radar for some time now. His recruitment includes a strange twist as former Pitt assistant Barry Rohrssen is now on Kentucky's staff. As expected, the Wildcats are in pursuit of him as well with Rohrssen on board and formally offered him recently.
But Pitt is still heavily chasing Diallo and the big man said that of the schools chasing him, Pitt is one of the programs coming the hardest after him:
Diallo said Kentucky, Kansas, St. John’s, Pittsburgh and Iowa State are working the hardest for his services, and he plans to visit those schools in the coming weeks.
That's not too much of a surprise but at least it's a good thing that Diallo is apparently still hearing from them quite a bit. He recently visited Kentucky and the Wildcats are probably the biggest competitor for his services. One thing that probably goes against Pitt is that Diallo very clearly sees himself as a one and done player:
When asked if he sees himself as a one-and-done, Diallo, who has been compared to Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder, said, "Of course, yes. That’s what I’m looking for."
Let's face it - Kentucky is the primary landing spot for one-year players. That doesn't mean that Pitt has no shot to land him and they recently had one of their own players stay for only a year in NBA Draft lottery pick Steven Adams. But Pitt obviously can't compare with the number of one-and-done guys that Kentucky has churned out.
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