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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Sunday / October 6.
  • One day after visiting Louisville, Class of 2019 stars Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis visited Kentucky along with teammate Alex Klatsky.

    The 6-foot-5 Lewis is ranked No. 13 on the 2019 ESPN 25, while the 6-4 Antoine is No. 14.

    Kentucky coach John Calipari was not present for the visit but assistants Tony Barbee and Joel Justus were on hand.

    Their message, Antoine said, was “That Coach Cal clearly breeds NBA-caliber type players and that he gets them ready for the NBA.

    All the basketball fans and NBA personnel who were looking forward to watching Hamidou Diallo play 5-on-5 this week at the NBA Draft Combine can forget about that.

    The 6-foot-6 Diallo — one of four Kentucky guys expected to attend the Combine this week in Chicago — won’t participate in 5-on-5, a source told ZAGSBLOG. DraftExpress.com — which has Diallo projected at No. 36 in the upcoming Draft — was the first to report the development.

    The move left some NBA personnel mystified.

    “Him not playing isn’t going to help us figure him out,” one NBA scout said.

    Scottie Lewis and Bryan Antoine, the two Class of 2019 stars from the Ranney (N.J.) School and Team Rio, visited Louisville on Sunday after enjoying the Kerby Derby a day before.

    The 6-foot-5 Lewis is ranked No. 13 on the 2019 ESPN 25, while the 6-4 Antoine is No. 14. Their teammate, Alex Klatsky, also visited with Team Rio director Brian Klatsky.

    “The key message that came out of it was that Coach [Rick] Pitino is all about player development and what he can do to get these guys ready for the next level,” Brian Klatsky said. “And really making sure that they vet their players, that they bring in guys that wanna do the hard work, that wanna get better, that are there to really be a part of that. It’s about out-working everybody else and they gotta make sure the guys they bring in fit that mold.”

    Jordan Tucker, one of the top remaining uncommitted players in the class of 2017, will take an official visit to Duke on Wednesday after receiving a scholarship offer.

    After visiting Georgia Tech and canceling a visit to Oregon, Duke’s offer comes to Tucker as the No. 40 ranked player by ESPN as he nears a college decision.

    Following Kevin Knox‘s decision to commit to Kentucky on Saturday, Duke is left looking for another wing option.

    Andrew Slater, of 247Sports, previously mentioned the possibility of this on the 4 Quarters Podcast.

    With Kevin Knox now off the board, Trevon Duval could be next.

    The 6-foot-3 Class of 2017 point guard says he will make an announcement about his impending decision soon.

    “I’ll be letting everyone know when I’ll be announcing in the next couple of days,” Duval told Krysten Peek Rivals.com at the BallisLife All-American Game in Torrance, Calif. “It’s a huge weight off my shoulders to be coming close to the end of the process.”

    Asked what he’s looking for in a school, he said, “Just knowing where I want to go and having that right feeling about the school.” 

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