The Kansas Jayhawks have been a bit of a disappointment over the past couple of years. That is strange to say for a program that has won 11 consecutive Big 12 regular season titles but the Jayhawks have been bounced from the NCAA Tournament early in each of the past two seasons. Kansas has the number five recruiting class in the nation coming in for the 2015-16 season to join some already established players like Perry Ellis, Frank Mason and Wayne Selden so they have some high expectations for next season.
Those high expectations might take a huge hit though as Cheick Diallo, one of their highly touted incoming recruits has yet to be declared eligible by the NCAA according to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star.
Diallo, a Mali native, attended high school at Our Savior New American School which is a private school in Centereach on Long Island, New York. The reported problem with Diallo's eligibility is that the NCAA may not accept some of the classes he took at that high school which would mean he doesn't have enough credits to play college basketball. Kansas head coach Bill Self doesn't see an end to this eligibility issue anytime soon. "I don't anticipate this being cleared up in the near future," Self said.
Our Savior New American is known for their basketball program as they have had a lot of international players that eventually go play Division 1 basketball. Because the school is known for their basketball program their academics are reportedly shady according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
Just because Diallo hasn't been cleared yet doesn't mean he won't as the NCAA has waited until September or even October in the past to clear players. Self said that Diallo has done everything he has been told to do but it's out of his hands at this point.
Diallo is a 6 foot-8 power forward that ESPN ranks as the third best power forward in the 2015 class and the seventh best player overall. Diallo is said to have a terrific motor and a ton of athletic ability. He is a raw prospect that needs to get better at low-post offense and free throw shooting but his potential is virtually limitless. If Diallo doesn't get cleared for the 2015-16 season it would be a huge loss for Kansas as he is the golden goose of their incoming recruiting class.
