2011 Basketball Recruiting Roundup

The dust has settled and most of all the transfers have transferred and it appears the 2011 recruiting season is finally coming to its long awaited end.  Couldn’t come soon enough really for most KU fans.  Going after the most high profile recruits in the country, who are often a fickle bunch, the KU fan base is used to some disappointment.  Losing the likes of John Wall, and Brandon Knight in years past has only slightly been made up for with the less than impressive performances of Xavier Henry in 2009-2010 and Josh Selby in 2010-2011.  If some things fell their way the Jayhawks were looking to take an impressive haul when they signed at-the-time 5-star recruit Ben McLemore and having the inside track on Deandre Daniels and Trevor Lacey.  However, McLemore has since been downgraded to a 4-Star, Daniels signed with UCONN and Lacy with Alabama leaving the Jayhawks flapping in the wind, so to speak.

Even with those unfortunate events, KU did grab some new recruits that will factor largely in the teams future:

Ben McLemore – 6’5”, 185, SG, ST. Louis MO – The prize of the class was the aforementioned McLemore who was wrestled away from St. Louis and his MU loving parents.  Bill Self and company may have spent too much effort on the overrated McLemore and not enough time on the likes of Daniels or Lacey, but either way, he was a marked man and they got him.  There were some eligibility issues (grades) but those seem to have figured themselves out and don’t appear to be a problem going forward.

Naadir Tharpe – 5’11”, 170, PG, Wolfeboro, NH – Naadir Tharpe was the first commit out of the class, deciding he wanted to be a Jayhawk way back in October of 2010.  This will most likely endear himself nicely to the fan base as nothing is more appreciated among the Rock Chalk faithful than loyalty and pride in the program.  It will tough for Tharpe to get a lot of minutes with Tyshawn Taylor being a senior and Elijah Johnson improving in the second half of last year so much.  However, having a year in the system will definitely help when he either take over the PG role or get crucial minutes off the bench to spell EJ after Taylor is gone.

Braeden Anderson – 6’8”, 215, PF, Wilbraham, MA – Braeden Anderson was a late signing but one that was looked at as a good piece to this class.  Danny Manning has shown himself to be one of the best coaches in the country at turning big men into solid performers.  The laundry list of Darnell Jackson, Darrell Arthur, and the Morris Twins speaks for itself.  Manning will be able to turn Anderson into a solid player.

Jamari Traylor – 6’7”, 212, PF, Bradenton, FL – Traylor comes from the fabled IMG academy and was thought to possibly be bringing his teammate Deandre Daniels with him.  That didn’t work out, but he was a solid get nonetheless.  As with Anderson, Manning will have a lot of raw talent here that he can mold into a refined big man.

Mervyn Lindsay – 6’6”, 180, Moreno Valley, CA – Lindsay was a late recruit and is simply looking for a chance to prove himself at an elite program.  Many Jayhawkers questioned this recruit asking why exactly it was needed with two other big men signed, and Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey already on the roster.  Maybe KU wouldn’t have recruited him if things had fallen differently but I still trust the coaching staff’s judgment enough to know that they saw something that could be valuable to this team and I look forward to seeing what that may be.  This might be an indictment on Jeff Withey more than anything else, but it also might be a project for the future.  Either way, I still don’t imagine Lindsay getting much PT next year.

All in all this class ranks 28^th according to Rivals.com team rankings.  KU may have gotten a bump due to it’s reputation as there is nothing really special about this class.  However, there is a lot of raw talent here and with, likely, no one and dones in this class could be a good foundation for the future of the program.  One thing that has been abundantly clear over the last 8 years, Bill Self and Danny Manning know what they are doing and will be able to coach these guys up.  It might actually be refreshing to not have a hot-dogging one-and-done type like Henry or Selby running around.  It will definitely be an interesting season in 2011-2012.