It’s Monday, which means we’re taking a look back at the weekend and any Kansas basketball news and rumors we missed. We’ve got a few recruiting rumors, news on the incoming class, and more!
2016 Freshman Class Arriving
The freshman are mostly in town, from what we’ve heard, with Josh Jackson set to arrive today in Lawrence.
Udoka Azubuike, Mitch Lightfoot, and Evan Maxwell are all expected to play in the annual scrimmages over the next two weeks at Bill Self’s Basketball Camps. We would think Jackson will play too, of course, but his participation this week is likely dependent on everything going as scheduled for his arrival on campus.
Also, former Jayhawks Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, and Thomas Robinson are currently in town, so there is a chance they end up joining this week’s scrimmage.
Recruiting Rumors:
Jarrett Allen’s commitment to Texas is no longer a rumor, as he officially signed scholarship papers with Head Coach Shaka Smart’s program late last week. We had said in our previous write-ups about Allen that we were hearing Texas for quite a while. Allen is a talented kid, but he is a bit of an odd personality – and we heard that he just didn’t want to be that far away from home.
Malik Newman is the hot topic of the week, as he is expected to make visits to Kansas and North Carolina State very soon. The current rumor floating around is that Newman really wants to play for Kansas. Purdue has reached out to Newman, but one of their writers has said he is hearing Newman wants to go to Kansas. In the story, he quotes Robby Donoho, a sports director for WCBI-TV in Mississippi:
"A lot of people close to him have told me he wants to go to Kansas."
If the Jayhawks are going to take questionable transfers, they might as well gamble on one with talent like Newman. While he was disappointing in his first year of college ball – and that is likely because he ended up very overrated as a prep prospect – Newman certainly has high end skills for a guard at the college level. The biggest concern would have to be his academics, as there were rumors floating that they were poor at Mississippi State. If Kansas can keep him eligible through his one year away from basketball, it could end up a positive transfer for the Jayhawks.
Derryck Thornton, on the other hand, is still quiet, though there have been a few small hints that he could have a decision soon. From what we’ve been hearing, it looks likely that Thornton will end up at Washington, as they look to lock up a top-flight point guard to go with eventual 2017 commit Michael Porter, Jr.
More from Through the Phog
- Kansas basketball: Esteemed recruit Jalil Bethea to announce college decision tomorrow
- Kansas football: Lassiter brothers exchange good-natured banter on social media
- Kansas basketball: Liam McNeeley cuts list to two, includes Jayhawks and Indiana
- Kansas football: Reviewing Jayhawks PFF grades, snap counts from win over Nevada
- Kansas football: JB Brown emerging as star for Jayhawks defense
The plan for the 2017 class for Kansas is still a bit murky, especially since Porter, Jr. came off the board. Coach Self is still prioritizing Trae Young and Deandre Ayton, but beyond that is anyone’s guess right now. Last weekend at Nike EYBL we hoped to get a somewhat clearer picture of who the Kansas staff was targeting, but even our more connected sources were a bit unsure who the main targets are.
Kansas made the cut for a few lists – Billy Preston, Andre Rafus, and Chuck O’Bannon. With Preston, who is now headed to Oak Hill for his final year of prep ball, we have a good source telling us that Kansas isn’t all that involved anymore. If Billy Preston can get eligible for college – and we’re hearing it’s a pretty big if – USC and Arizona are well out front for him.
O’Bannon listed Kansas, and we’ve heard they like him a lot. He’s an excellent shooter with a big frame for a wing. The word at EYBL was that O’Bannon likely to end up at Texas, and I heard no mention of Kansas’ involvement from the people I talked to. His teammate, Troy Brown, is probably going to be a higher priority target after the Porter, Jr. decision. Brown has played well in the EYBL this summer and is a big, versatile wing that could play anywhere in the backcourt under Coach Self.
Rafus’ recruitment is harder to narrow down, but he has visited the Jayhawks once already. His list stands at 15 schools, so it’s safe to say there is a long way to go yet with him. The word we’ve received on him is that he might have the Jayhawks higher on his list than they currently have him, so this might be one to monitor if it goes well into spring next year.