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The Kentucky Wildcats are in good shape on the perimeter next season thanks to Kevin Knox’s pledge.
However, UK could use one more experienced player in its backcourt, which could come in Pittsburgh grad transfer Cam Johnson. The sharpshooter had a nice visit with UK two weeks ago, but he’s taken a visit to Arizona since then, and now he’s off to UCLA.
Pitt grad transfer Cameron Johnson is expected to visit UCLA on Tuesday, per a source. Arizona, Kentucky, and Oregon in mix. #BBN
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 8, 2017
The Bruins, like UK, are losing nearly their entire roster from last season. The difference is UK has shown it can reload each season under John Calipari, whereas UCLA has struggled to be relevant without Lonzo Ball.
I wouldn’t expect them to be a real threat, but that’s not the case with Arizona. Johnson visited those other Wildcats this past weekend, though he hasn’t given them a pledge to this point. That’s great news for UK since the visit came right around Knox committing to UK, which may take them out of the running for Johnson.
If Johnson wants to find a program that gives him the best chance to contend for a title that he can have a big role with, it’s Arizona or UK. Arizona has a nice roster for next, good enough that some consider them the early preseason No. 1 team, but they’ll have a major need in their backcourt if Rawle Alkins remains in the NBA Draft.
That’s also true of UK if Hamidou Diallo remains in the NBA Draft, though UK is in better shape since Knox is in the fold. Waiting to see what Diallo and Alkins do is probably what Johnson is doing while he takes visits to these other schools, so don’t expect a decision before May 24th, the deadline to withdraw from the draft.