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Kansas Basketball: Liberty’s Evan Maxwell transferring to KU

By Ryan Noel

Dec 29, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Liberty Flames center Evan Maxwell (15) shoots over Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Zach Auguste (30) in the first half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Liberty Flames center Evan Maxwell (15) shoots over Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Zach Auguste (30) in the first half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Kansas basketball program has added its first transfer of the offseason – and it’s not one of the high profile ones that everyone has been tracking.

6’10” transfer center Evan Maxwell, a sophomore at Liberty University this past season, will be transferring to Kansas on a scholarship. Maxwell has two years of eligibility, but will have to sit out the upcoming season due to NCAA rules.

Last season, Maxwell averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds a game while shooting 60%+ from the field. He put up good numbers against Notre Dame – 15 points, 8 rebounds – and Princeton – 22 points and 8 rebounds – last season.

With Kansas looking to fill 3 scholarships right now, the feeling is that Maxwell is a filler player. Prior to going to Liberty, the only other Division 1 school recruiting Maxwell was Monmouth – who is more known for their bench celebrations than their basketball. In talking to a few scouting friends that saw Maxwell a lot in high school, they felt that Liberty had found a bit of a steal for their level. Coming out of Abington Heights (PA), they felt Maxwell had good polish to his game for a high school player.

The transfer brings a bit of disbelief, though, among those same people I talked to. Maxwell offers virtually no defensive presence, even at Liberty’s level he only blocked 6 shots this season. For reference, Landen Lucas – much maligned for his poor shot-blocking – had 5 blocks in the NCAA tournament alone. Or, for even better perspective – Frank Mason blocked 3 and Devonte Graham blocked 5.

At this point, we believe this is just a way for Coach Self to fill scholarships, as he’s known to loathe open ones, and get a big-man practice body for the next few years. Maxwell is the third big man to transfer to Kansas in the past few years, following Hunter Mickelson and Dwight Coleby.

The Kansas staff, from what we’ve heard, is still feeling great about their chances with Duke transfer Derryck Thornton. They’re also chasing McDonald’s All-American big man Jarrett Allen, who is down to Houston, Kansas, and Texas.

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