Kansas Basketball: Recruiting News From Nike EYBL
By Ryan Noel
Houston Hoops – Texas, Louisiana
Top Target: Jarred Vanderbilt, 2017
Vanderbilt is a long and excessively athletic small forward that can defend anyone on the floor. He uses his length to great effect, both in grabbing rebounds (6th overall in EYBL play at 10.8 rebounds per game) and steals (Top 20 at 1.6 steals per game). He smothers smaller guards and is able to defend big men in the post just as well.
Offensively, though, Vanderbilt still needs work. He’s a poor shooter, both from 3 (where he’s 4-21 in EYBL) and the free throw line (32-83), and that hinders his scoring as he can’t take advantage of the fouls he draws. He gets to the rim because of his athletic advantage, but his ballhandling still needs work to be effective at the college level. Right now, he appears to be more of a forward hybrid and would probably work best as a big man in a system like the one Coach Bill Self runs.
Kansas has offered, but for a long while Kentucky has been considered the heavy favorite. I think this one could end up changing quite a bit before Vanderbilt commits, however. We will know just what Kansas thinks of their chances by how much they watch him in July.
Name to Monitor: Billy Preston, 2017
I get asked about Preston a lot, so I felt like he should get a mention here. Preston is an athletic, 6’9 forward with some wing skills. He’s a decent shooter, a good passer (though he tends to be very selfish with the ball), and a pretty solid athlete.
With Preston, though, I would caution Kansas fans against investing too much in hoping he comes to Kansas. At this point, it is highly, highly unlikely that would happen. From what we’ve heard, there’s not a great chance that he’ll ever play in college and if he does, it will likely be for USC or Arizona. I expect him to list Kansas to the end, as they made his Top 4, but I think this is one Kansas fans can safely cross off their wishlist.