Zoom Diallo on picking Washington Huskies basketball: 'No better feeling'

TACOMA, Wash. - Over the past few weeks, Zoom Diallo's basketball recruitment essentially became a game of musical chairs.

And as the music played, he imagined he could permanently sit down at any of the four chairs - Arizona, Gonzaga, USC, Washington - representing his future.

But in the end, there was only one comfortable seat that remained.

It happened to be the closest one to home.

The five-star point guard out of Curtis High School and Prolific Prep (Calif.) announced Saturday at the downtown Rhodes Center that he would sign with coach Mike Hopkins and the Huskies.

"Man, it’s been stressful," said Diallo, noticeably relieved the process was over and done with. "I was going back and forth with many schools. This is something I slept on … and gave it some time. I had people in my circle telling me, ‘Whatever you feel is right.’ ... Nobody was pressuring me in this decision. This was really me making this decision on my own."

Diallo said it was earlier this week when he felt like the Huskies were the team that kept sticking in his mind.

He had felt this way about other schools, but never settled.

This time was different. He knew. So, he called ex-Curtis teammate Devin Whitten first and said he was sure.

"Man, (Whitten) was all over the place (guessing the school) - Arizona, Gonzaga, USC," Diallo said. "When I told him, he was proud of me."

As far as Gonzaga - the school many thought was the favorite to land the top-25 national recruit - Diallo admitted he was "close to going somewhere else - very close."

"I stayed with my gut, stayed with my work and trusted myself," Diallo said.

It was a big moment for the 6-foot-4 guard, who settled in with his parents by his side - and lots of friends, family and former teammates in attendance.

When it was time to reveal the decision, Diallo picked up his infant nephew, unzipped the toddler's jacket to show a UW shirt.

Then, Diallo stood up and revealed the T-shirt he was wearing - UW.

"You can go far and go somewhere else, but why not stay home and represent the place you’ve been at the majority of your life ..." Diallo said.

"There's no better feeling.

Last month, the list shrunk to the four remaining finalists for Diallo, SBLive WA's all-state player of the year for 2022-23 after leading Curtis to back-to-back Class 4A championships last March before transferring out of state.

The last NCAA Division I-bound point guard to come out of Curtis also played for the Huskies - Isaiah Thomas (2008-11), one of Diallo's childhood idols who was just recently inducted into the university's athletic hall of fame.

Diallo said he consulted Thomas about the recruiting process, but at no time did the former NBA player ever push him toward his alma mater.