About 30 NBA personnel expected for Kentucky-UCLA, North Carolina-Ohio State

This year’s Kentucky-UCLA matchup won’t feature the cachet of De’Aaron Fox against Lonzo Ball, but some 30 NBA personnel are expected for the CBS Sports Classic in New Orleans anyway.

Ohio State takes on North Carolina at 1:30 ET, followed by UCLA facing Kentucky at 4 p.m.

Per the latest ESPN Mock Draft, Kentucky’s Kevin Knox is the projected No. 10 pick, with Hamidou Diallo at No. 20, Nick Richards at 26 and P.J. Washington at 37.

UCLA junior Aaron Holiday is at No. 31, while Ohio State junior Keita Bates-Diop is 56.

North Carolina has no one on the mock.

Including North Carolina’s national championship last season, collectively the four programs have won 26 NCAA titles. The quartet boasts 178 NCAA Tournament appearances and are among college basketball’s all-time winningest programs, combining for more than 7,900 victories.

Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.