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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Saturday / November 23.

By JACK LeGWIN

TAMPA, Fla. — While Tampa Catholic’s game was postponed two minutes into the third quarter against Tampa Jesuit because of a slippery floor, it didn’t stop Kevin Knox from putting up 18 points in 17 minutes.

Right after the game was halted, Knox said that he was planning on heading to Tallahassee immediately for an official visit to see the Seminoles play Virginia Tech Saturday night.

“That’s the plan,” Knox said. “We are planning on leaving [Friday night], going back to the house to get my stuff then heading up there later tonight.”

As for what Knox expects from the visit, he said he’s not expecting it to be much different than any other visit he’s gone on.

“Just pretty much the same as the last visit I went on really,” Knox said, referring to his November official to Duke. “They’re going to take me around, go to the coach’s house. Say some things to try to convince me to go there. Every school does that, though. It’s going to be great, though, I’m going to the Virginia Tech game, so it’s going to be a great experience and a good game.”

NEW YORK — Moses Brown’s thunderous dunk late in the game Friday night brought the standing-room only crowd at Archbishop Molloy High School to its feet amid a chorus of oohs and aahs.

But it was Khalid Moore’s splendid drive and pass that set up the flush.

The 6-foot-6 junior wing enjoyed the best game of his career with 21 points and 9 rebounds as Molloy beat Christ the King, 78-67, amid a highly-charged atmosphere that saw school officials turning away fans, and at least one college coach, at the doors before the game on the orders of fire marshals.

“Yeah, I think it was one of my breakout games,” Moore, who entered averaging 9.3 points, told me afterward. “I was struggling before, but I just came out with the intensity, I played aggressive and I think I did very good.”

Two Pac-12 players — Washington freshman guard Markelle Fultz and UCLA freshman guard Lonzo Ball — are the projected top two picks in the latest 2017 NBA Mock Draft from DraftExpress.com.

Kentucky (4) and Duke (3) have seven combined players in the mock.

Following Fultz and Ball, the site has N.C. State point guard Dennis Smith Jr., at No. 3, Kansas wing Josh Jackson at No. 4, Duke small forward Jayson Tatum at No. 5, Kentucky shooting guard Malik Monk at No. 6, Florida State small forward Jonathan Isaac at No. 7, Arizona power forward Lauri Markkanen at No. 8, Indiana small forward OG Anunoby at No. 9 and Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox at No. 10.

All but Anunoby would be one-and-done.

NEW YORK — Only one school was smart enough to offer a scholarship to Justin Patton out of Omaha (NE) North High School: Creighton.

Now the 7-foot, 230-pound redshirt freshman is a potential NBA lottery pick.

DraftExpress.com ranks Patton as the No. 33 prospect in 2017, ahead of names like N.C. State’s Omer Yurtseven and Duke’s Marques Bolden. He’s currently projected as the No. 12 pick in the 2018 Draft.

“He’s getting better every day,” one NBA scout said of Patton. “He’s only a freshman whose body needs to improve.”

“The sky is the limit, he has tremendous upside,” a second scout said.

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