Washington made a major recruiting splash on Saturday when it landed a commitment from five-star point guard Zoom Diallo. Diallo chose the Huskies over Arizona, Gonzaga and USC. He is originally from Tacoma, Washington and is ranked the No. 1 point guard in the Class of 2024, according to 247Sports.
The 6-foot-4 Diallo is wrapping up his high school career at Prolific Prep in Napa, California. He is considered the No. 19 overall prospect in the class and is Washington’s second commitment of the 2024 cycle. When explaining his decision to 247Sports, Diallo cited the influence of Washington assistants Will Conroy and Quincy Pondexter in. Both played at Washington and enjoyed long professional playing careers before joining Mike Hopkins’ staff at UW.
“Man this journey has been long and stressful but filled with joy,” Diallo told 247Sports. “I am very excited to stay close to home in front of family and friends with Washington on my back representing my state.”
Here is the scouting report on Diallo’s game from 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein:
He already understands how to play pick-and-roll basketball at a high-level, making multiple reads and finds. He uses his body and is a threat with his pull-up, although not yet as reliable a shooter from behind the arc, despite making steady strides over the years. He’s also an especially dangerous passer in drive-and-kick action, the open floor, and when teammates cut off the ball for him. Diallo has very good dexterity when in attack mode as he is just as potent a playmaker and passer when going to his left. Physically, he’s more powerful than he is naturally explosive. He doesn’t have elite speed or burst, but is showing more pop in his legs mid-way through his senior season than he did over the summer, when he was trying to play through nagging lower body injuries and struggling to create much separation as a result. He’s also probably closer to being maxed out physically than most guards at this stage.
Landing a prospect of Diallo’s caliber marks a big victory for Hopkins, who is seeking to reclaim momentum for a program that last reached the NCAA Tournament in 2019. Hopkins’ tenure began with consecutive 20-win seasons before Washington’s recent slide. The Huskies are off to an 8-3 start in the 2023-24 campaign with a win over Gonzaga highlighting its resume.
