Kentucky Basketball is reloading from last season’s Elite Eight team. With the departures of nearly every player that contributed in 2016-17, a new flock of stars are headed to Lexington.
Speculation is an action that all sports fans will eventually take part in. For Kentucky Basketball fans, speculating about next year’s team will be commonplace among family reunions and work places. Will they land Mohamed Bamba? Will Cam Johnson commit to Kentucky? Those questions will remain to be unanswered for some time. But, for now, let’s have some fun and try and put together a starting lineup with the team members that we know for sure will be suiting up in the blue and white next season.
There will be possibly eight freshman that will suit up for the Kentucky Basketball program next season. Also, it remains to be determined if that squad will include Hamidou Diallo. Diallo is participating in the NBA Combine this week. Fans will learn the fate of his NBA/College career in just a few days. But, for now, let’s imagine that a team will take a chance on him in the first 25 picks of the draft leading him to make the decision to stay in the Draft.
The Starting 5
The starting five is an interesting thing to think about. A lot of variables can change this lineup but in this moment in time, here is the starters for your 2017-18 Kentucky Basketball program.
- PG- Quade Green 6-1, 177 lbs.
- SG- Kevin Knox 6-9, 206 lbs.
- SF- PJ Washington 6-8, 230 lbs.
- PF- Jarred Vanderbilt 6-9, 213 lbs.
- C- Nick Richards 7-0, 240 lbs.
John Calipari has his work cut out for him when it comes to finding floor time for a few of the top names on his team. Some things that Kentucky Fans should watch out for are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stepping into the Shooting guard role as a ball handler and scorer. Ultimately that would push Kevin Knox to the wing and knock PJ Washington out of the starting lineup.
Jemarl Baker could have something to say to Quade Green about the starting Point Guard roles as well. Baker is a scorer and has the skill set to run the team. As an underrated player out of high school, he has something to prove. Nothing is more dangerous than a desperate player trying to fight his way to the top. His mentality on the court rivals some of the biggest competitors in the game.
Situational Lineups
If John Calipari would like to use a small ball lineup, things could get pretty interesting. Green and Baker would be the primary ball handlers in the backcourt. Vanderbilt and Washington could man the post similarly to what Bam Adebayo was able to do. Along with Sacha Killeya-Jones and Wenyen Gabriel, there are plenty of options inside on a smaller lineup squad. To be quite honest, there aren’t many options for a small lineup on this current roster as there will be eight players standing 6-foot-8 or taller.
Next: 3 reasons Mohamed Bamba picks Kentucky
With the length of the current signees and commitments as well as the key pieces still left on the roster, expect Kentucky to be able to compete at a high level on the defensive end. No matter who is on the floor, length, athleticism and a will to win will be something the opposition will have to deal with.