Kentucky Basketball: Predicting John Calipari’s double-figure scorers
John Calipari pleaded for balanced scoring from his Kentucky Wildcats in the 2018-19 season. Where is that going to come from?
If bringing in a top-ranked recruiting class year after year wasn’t enough, John Calipari wants more. He wants a team that performs on a different level than their predecessors.
In a conference call this week, Calipari wished for six or seven double-digit scorers to balance out his roster in 2018-19.
Never mind the fact that, according to ESPN, no team in the past two decades has had seven double-digit scorers (that being said, there have been 14 teams to put forward six).
Calipari seems to believe balance is the key to a title run in 2018-19. Who are we to argue with one of the best college basketball coaches of modern time?
We’re better off helping him decide who those double-digit scorers are going to be.
Start with the obvious: Reid Travis won’t sit on the bench and twiddle his thumbs. He finished First Team All-Pac 12 last year, averaging 19.5 points per game. He should be the best player on the team and will definitely average in the double-digits.
Returnee PJ Washington should be another. The forward averaged 10.8 points per game as a freshman last year, there’s no reason to expect regression during his sophomore season.
Guard Quade Green wasn’t far off. He averaged 9.3 points per game during his freshman campaign, averaging over one three-point make per game. He’s a solid bet to improve upon that mark.
Then, there are the incoming freshmen, always factors on a John Calipari Kentucky team.
Keldon Johnson was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia and a Top 20 recruit in the country – he’ll score. E.J. Montgomery is a Top 10 recruit in the country, a big man with the ability to fly around opponents – he’ll score too.
The key to Calipari’s dream rests with the point guard position. Immanuel Quickley is another top recruit, but he’ll suddenly have to compete for minutes with Ashton Hagans, who recently reclassified. Depending on the allocation of the minutes, both, one, or neither will hit double-figures in scoring.
Next: Top breakout players in 2018-19
John Calipari’s goal for the 2018-19 season is ambitious as it is unreachable. But it’s the summer – it’s time to dream big.