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Kentucky Basketball Preview: Who will be the Wildcats’ leading scorer this season?

By Frank Spencer

Jan 21, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Catholic forward Kevin Knox (23) drives to the basket against Montverde Academy during the ARS Rescue Rooter National Hoopfest at Berkeley Preparatory School. Montverde Academy defeated Tampa Catholic 94-59. Mandatory Credit: Matt Stamey-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Catholic forward Kevin Knox (23) drives to the basket against Montverde Academy during the ARS Rescue Rooter National Hoopfest at Berkeley Preparatory School. Montverde Academy defeated Tampa Catholic 94-59. Mandatory Credit: Matt Stamey-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kentucky Basketball fans are getting amped up for another run at the NCAA Championship. With the group of Wildcats already at work, ambitions and expectations are at an all-time high.

John Calipari is currently tending to his USA U19 World Cup team. Fortunately, two future Kentucky Basketball players made the team. Fans will get a good look at them on the floor on a big stage very soon. July 1-9 to be exact. PJ Washington and Hamidou Diallo are both going to star for the USA U19 team in Cairo, Egypt.

Throughout the last week and a half, Calipari has trimmed his USA team into what he sees as a gold winning team. With two Wildcats on the squad, Diallo and Washington will get a leg up on the rest of the team. Kevin Knox would have made the team if it weren’t for precautionary injury prevention. He left training camp just before final cuts due to a minor hamstring injury.

With that being said, Kentucky Basketball fans are anxious to see these new recruits in action. Most notably, they are eager to find out who will be the top scorer on the team.

Who’s it going to be?

There are only two candidates that come to mind when considering the leading scorer for next season’s Kentucky team. Hamidou Diallo and Kevin Knox are at another level. PJ Washington and others like Jarred Vanderbilt will have great scoring averages as well. But, Diallo and Knox are two on their own.

What makes these two individuals deadly is the fact that they can score at all three levels of the court. Both can shoot from outside. Either candidate can also pull up off the dribble and knock down the mid-range jumper. Diallo and Knox can absolutely fly to the rim as seen in the USA Camp footage below.

"Hamidou DialloUSA Basketball380 ViewsVisit Overtime"

"Kevin KnoxUSA Basketball265 ViewsVisit Overtime"

And the winner is?

Hamidou Diallo will definitely be the leader of the team this season. Hamidou has exceptional athleticism and extremely skilled with the basketball in his hands. Diallo is my pick to lead the Kentucky Basketball team to wherever they want to go. He is poised to be the top scorer on the team. Additionally, I would like to say that I think it will be extremely competitive to watch both Diallo and Knox exchange favors to the opposition by throwing down hammers in transition.

Next: Building the perfect 2018 recruiting class

Either way, whether it’s Diallo, Knox, or Washington/Vanderbilt leading the way, this team should be as skilled as any other team in the Calipari era. This class covers all of the bases and John Calipari is hoping to hit a grand slam.

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