SerpApi.Org
Adan Diggs was one of the top performers at the Nike Peach Jam last week in North Augusta, SC. Kentucky was watching his Vegas Elite squad, which also features top 10 recruit DeMarcus Henry, regularly throughout the event.
After reclassifying from 2028 to 2027 in May, Diggs is now considered the second-best rising senior in the entire country by the Rivals Industry Ranking. Kentucky actually extended him a scholarship a day before news of his reclass broke. Diggs’ impressive showing at the Nike EYBL Session II in Memphis put him on the Wildcats’ radar.
Ever since then, he’s been hearing regularly from head coach Mark Pope and assistant coach Mo Williams.
“Coach Pope decided to step in, talk to me, and since then I’ve built a really good relationship with him,” Diggs told KSR last week at Peach Jam.
“Mo Williams is my guy,” he added. “He’s always keeping in contact with me. I love Mo. Great dude. Always making sure I’m good, making sure I’m locked in before games.”
Pope and Williams both stopped by Vegas Elite games last week to watch Diggs and Henry (who also holds a UK offer) in action. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard made it worth their time, too. Diggs averaged 19.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, two steals, and 1.2 blocks across five games at Peach Jam on shooting splits of 46.1/29.2/76.9 while only averaging 1.6 turnovers. He saved his best game for last: 29 points and 11 rebounds on 11-16 shooting on Friday.
A former wide receiver on the gridiron, Diggs shifted his full attention to basketball when he was around 12 years old. He had actually reclassed down a grade early in middle school before jumping back up to his original class of 2027 just a couple of months ago. His game has quickly developed in recent years, to the point where he’s a consensus top five player in the nation.
Diggs used to be more of a defender than an offensive player. His football background helped him be a chaos-creator on defense — always flying around and playing passing lanes — but he’s fine-tuned his game to turn himself into a two-way threat.
“Over the past couple of years, I really developed my offensive game,” Diggs said. “Personally, I feel like I’m the best scorer in the country. I feel like that’s been my biggest leap.”
To no surprise, all of that skill has made him a top priority for several big-time college programs. Kentucky is one of them. Diggs also mentioned Southern California, North Carolina, Duke, BYU, Virginia, Houston, and Kansas as schools he hears from consistently. He plans to begin scheduling visits now that Peach Jam is over. UK has talked with him about a visit to Lexington soon.
There’s also his friendship with Kentucky commit Ryan Hampton, a four-star shooting guard ranked No. 18 nationally who is on the Nike EYBL circuit, as well. The two have gotten to know each other a bit over the years by being in the same gyms together. They’d certainly form an impressive two-man scoring punch in the Wildcats’ backcourt.
“My guy Ryan Hampton just got there. It’ll be cool if next year we end up at the same school,” Diggs said of Hampton. “So who knows.”
