Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Recruiting Review
The Kansas Jayhawks basketball team will be stocked with more talented next season, as Bill Self has added five recruits for the Kansas team. Rivals.com ranked the Jayhawks recruiting class as the tenth in the nation, with 24th-ranked power forward Perry Ellis leading the way.
The Wichita native was the top recruit in the state, and the five-star recruit spent his high school career dominating every foe he faced.
Ellis is strong, and his ability to run the floor is a great asset to have with his immense strength. He is a solid rebounder, can make plays in transition, and he has a great arsenal of moves down low. Ellis fits what this team does on offense, and he’s the type of recruit to build a class around.
Kansas ended up with three top 100 recruits, with small forward Andrew White being one of them. You can view more on the sharp-shooting, versatile swingman here. He is one of the best 40 recruits in the country and has great athleticism. White’s best asset is his spot-up shooting, and he creates an interesting, opposite combination with the next recruit on the list.
Shooting guard Anrio Adams is a talented combo guard who just cracks the top 100 and slashes his way to the rim without a pause. Adams is the kind of physical guard who drives at the hoop that Self was looking for, and there is no doubt that he fits in with Kansas. Adams is long and athletic, and he has a great combination of speed and strength. He plays with a lot of heart, and this is evidence in the way he drives- another great transition player in this recruiting class- and he compliments Ellis perfectly. His style allows himself to draw fouls at a high pace.
Top 150 recruit Zach Peters is another power forward in this recruiting class, and he is a rugged big man who will provide some good defensive depth off the bench. He isn’t a big name, but Peters looks like another guy who is exactly what Kansas is looking for.
The 6’9″, Plano, Texas native is strong, gets the gritty rebounds, and he has great range. Peters can make it rain with hook shots or mid-range jumpers and is equally adept at scoring from further away from the basket and at the low block. Peters is an underrated recruit who, again, fits the system well.
The last recruit and third big man in the class is center Landen Lucas, who is also a strong, physical player. The Portland, Oregon recruit is a player ESPN is higher on than Rivals, and they rate him as the 20th best PF (Rivals views him as a center) in the nation.
Lucas is long and is starting to add to his already well-built frame with some more strength. He is a smart big who understands the importance of fundamentals and will slot in comfortably as a good presence off the bench. Whether the top recruit out of Oregon will play PF or C remains to be decided, but, either way, he’s a quality recruit.
Bill Self added a handful of recruits who all fit his system, are unselfish, and play physical basketball. This was a terrific, quality-depth type recruiting class with players who can slot in and perform minor duties before, hopefully, flourishing later on. Perry Ellis is the headliner, but guys like Zach Peters and Landen Lucas are also names to keep an eye on. Everyone in this recruiting class is talented and credit Coach Self and the rest of the staff for another great haul of recruits who will carry on the winning tradition in Lawrence.