About 70 NBA personnel expected at Champions Classic

By ADAM ZAGORIA

Approximately 70 NBA personnel are expected on Tuesday for the Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, a source close to the event told ZAGSBLOG.

Kansas, No. 1 in the AP Preseason Poll, faces No. 10 Michigan State at 7 p.m. ET, followed by No. 2 Kentucky against No. 4 Duke. Both games will air live on ESPN.

The event features five of the Top 10 projected picks on the 2019 ESPN Mock Draft — No. 1 R.J. Barrett (Duke), No. 3 Zion Williamson (Duke), No. 5 Cam Reddish (Duke), No. 7 Quentin Grimes (Kansas) and No. 8 Keldon Johson (Kentucky).

Barrett and Williamson recently combined for 52 points in an exhibition game for Duke.

Other projected picks in the event include No. 21 P.J. Washington (Kentucky) and No. 53 Udoka Azubuike (Kansas).

For more on what NBA scouts think of the top Duke and Kentucky guys, read this.

Coach K tells @DukeMBB a story from coaching @kobebryant on @usabasketball … Classic Kobe ending.

All-access episodes of “Earn Everything,” now exclusively on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/wraIIdI96y

— ESPN (@espn) October 31, 2018

Photo: Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press/AP Photo