Kansas Basketball: Final 2016 Recruiting Rankings

The class of 2016 is coming to a close, which means all of the rankings sites are updating their Top 100 lists. We’ll take a look at where the Kansas basketball commitments ended up.

Josh Jackson leads the way across the board as the unanimous #1 player at Rivals, 247Sports, and Scout. Jackson is regarded as one of the top prospects in the past decade, and one of the top shooting guard prospect since Kobe Bryant.

Back in April of last year, 247Sports’ Kevin Flaherty ran a great article highlighting the best prospects that 247’s Director of Scouting Jerry Meyer has scouted. Meyer listed Jackson alongside the likes of Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose as some of the best prospects he has ever seen in his time as scout.

"“Honestly, he has everything you would ever look for in a shooting guard,” Meyer said. “He has that size at maybe 6-8 and that electric athleticism. I haven’t gone this far, but some have compared it to Andrew Wiggins, just so you have some reference. He handles the ball like a yo-yo and he’s a dynamic scorer.”"

Beyond that, Meyer also said that Jackson has drawn comparisons to Kobe Bryant – and they aren’t terribly far-fetched.

"“The comparison of Kobe Bryant has come up with him,” Meyer said. “Obviously, you hate to throw out names like that for a high school player. But he has Kobe’s size, electric scoring and athleticism. Now, we’ll see if he even comes close to doing what Kobe did.”"

So it’s no surprise that Jackson ended up atop the rankings at the major scouting sites.

Udoka Azubuike saw the biggest rise in his stock over the past year or so, as he went from being ranked in the 50s and 60s earlier in his career to being ranked consistently in the top 40.

Rivals ranked him at #31, Scout has him at #34, while 247Sports lists him at #39 overall. The 247Sports Composite, which takes into account all of the available ranking services, has Udoka at #35.

After making the McDonald’s All-American game, much will be expected of Azubuike in his first season in Lawrence. However, we urged patience in our scouting report of him last month.

Related Story: Udoka Azubuike Scouting Report

Azubuike’s combination of size, athleticism, and raw power make him a fantastic project and prospect for Head Coach Bill Self and his staff – and we figure we’ll see plenty on social media of his work with Kansas’ head of S&C Andrea Hudy – but it could take a year or two for his skill level and understanding of the game to catch up to his physical attributes.

Mitch Lightfoot held steady just outside the Top 100 in the rankings for 2016. Considered a long-term prospect, Lightfoot will need to gain weight and add strength in his time at Kansas.

Lightfoot is not ranked in the Scout Top 100, but is listed as the #30 PF. Rivals placed him at #108, while 247Sports put him at #109. The 247Sports composite ended up with Lightfoot checking in at #116. Lightfoot did finish as the #1 player in Arizona by most rankings, and he was picked to take part in the BallIsLife.com All-American Game.

Lightfoot won’t be expected to contribute much right away unless the Jayhawks face injury problems next season. There is a good road map already in place, as Jayhawks fans will hope Lightfoot follows the Landen Lucas path to playing time, as Lucas was a similarly regarded prospect coming out of high school.