Kentucky Basketball: Projecting Wildcats’ starters and bench for 2017-18
By Taylor Sturm
Shooting Guard
Those who will be competing for the starting shooting guard position are incoming freshmen Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is a four-star combo guard out of Chattanooga, Jemari Baker, who is a four-star recruit out of California, and Hamidou Diallo, who is a five-star recruit that isn’t technically an incoming freshman but will be playing his first season with the Wildcats.
Two other shooting guards on the roster, Dillon Pulliam and Johnny Davis, both averaged less than two minutes per game last season and should see around that same number in 2017-18. I think there will be a few more blowouts this upcoming season, though, so they might end up averaging somewhere around three minutes per game.
Like I said earlier, the point guard depth on this squad is lacking, so we could see moments in games where Baker, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Diallo spend some time at the one in order to give Quade Green some rest.
Because of Gilgeous-Alexander’s history as a combo-guard, I expect him to see a little more floor time than Baker due to his versatility. However, I fully expect Diallo to be the clear starter at shooting guard on this team.
Do not be surprised if Calipari experiments a bit with Gilgeous-Alexander, Baker, and Diallo all on the floor at the same time against guard heavy lineups in the SEC — like Ole Miss, for example.