By DENNIS CHAMBERS & ADAM ZAGORIA
PHILADELPHIA — Now that Quade Green is headed to Kentucky, he wants to bring his friends with him.
After committing to the Wildcats on Saturday night at Neumann Goretti High School, Green said he now has his sights set on adding Mohamed Bamba, Hamidou Diallo and Kevin Knox to another emerging star-studded class at Kentucky.
In what proved to be a very shrewd move (that other schools apparently did not take advantage of) Kentucky left tickets on Tuesday for the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden for Green, Bamba and other recruits.
Green and Bamba, teammates on the PSA Cardinals AAU squad, sat next to one another.
“Now it’s my time to recruit him now,” Green said of the 7-foot Bamba. Hopefully.”
Bamba, the projected No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, is considering Kentucky, Duke, Texas and Harvard, among others. He’s expected to sign in the spring.
Bamba isn’t the only one on Green’s Christmas wish list.
“There’s a bunch of guys I want to get there to play with me, Diallo, Kevin Knox, a bunch of ’em,” he said.
The 6-6 Diallo is weighing whether to declare for the 2017 NBA Draft or go to college for a year. He has indicated his desire to attend college, but more than 30 NBA scouts watched him this weekend at the National Prep Showcase in New Haven, Conn. He’s projected as the No. 11 pick in the 20188 Draft by DraftExpress.com.
He’s considering Kentucky, UConn, Syracuse, Arizona, Kansas and Indiana.
Kentucky assistant Tony Barbee saw Diallo Friday night, while Syracuse head man Jim Boeheim was in the building on Saturday night.
The 6-8 Knox out of Tampa (FL) Catholic is down to Duke, Kentucky, UNC and Florida State, and hopes to commit in February or March.
Kentucky coach John Calipari has said he plans to sign “five or six” players for the upcoming class.
Asked then how Kentucky could fit all of these recruits under the scholarship limit, Green said with a laugh: “They’re clearing out over there. “I think De’Aaron [Fox], Malik [Monk], and Isaiah [Briscoe] are all going to the draft.”
Fox and Monk are projected as first-round picks in 2017, while DraftExpress.com has Briscoe listed as a second-rounder in 2018.
Meantime, Green now joins a class that currently includes forwards P.J. Washington and Nick Richards and combo guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“P.J. called my phone 20 times today, ‘Where you goin? where you goin? Where you goin?'” Green said. “They really wanted me to play with them to get them to the next level.”
