KU Basketball: Top 50 recruit to announce college decision on Wednesday
Top 50 ranked high school recruit Jalen Wilson announced he will be making his college decision this Wednesday, June 12 at 2 P.M., per his Twitter page.
Jalen Wilson, a 6-foot-8 small forward from Denton, Texas, is expected to choose between Kansas and North Carolina on Wednesday.
https://twitter.com/thejalenwilson/status/1137123597141651458
Michigan — the school he originally committed too — is still a contender for Wilson’s commitment, but taking into consideration that Kansas and North Carolina are the only schools he visited, they are believed to be the overwhelming favorites.
If that belief holds true, one of these blue blood schools will move one step closer to increasing their national title aspirations.
Between the two, the Jayhawks are assumed to have the upper hand on their old friend Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels.
In an interview with Tipton Edits on Instagram Live, Wilson revealed that he grew up a Jayhawk fan.
“Growing up I loved the Morris twins, they were really big role models. I just loved Kansas basketball,” said Wilson.
He also added, “The tradition they have there, they have a lot of successful guards and wings. Just the basketball atmosphere there, the crowds, the alumni, the college itself is so alive, it never dies.”
Another reason Kansas is favored over North Carolina is depth at Wilson’s position.
The Tar Heels landed two highly coveted grad transfers in Justin Pierce and Christian Keeling. Both Pierce and Keeling have the ability to be major scorers next season and could very well start.
In addition, incoming four-star guard Anthony Harris and returning senior Brandon Robinson will also compete for minutes at the position.
For the Jayhawks, Wilson is just what the doctor ordered.
The basketball gods have shined down upon Lawrence, Kansas as freshman point guard Devon Dotson, junior center Udoka Azubuike, sophomore forward Silvio De Sousa and four other key players will all be returning for another season.
Kansas holds almost all the characteristics of a Final Four team: size, depth, athleticism and experience. But there is one missing characteristic keeping the Jayhawks from being a national title favorite: consistent three-point shooting.
College basketball is only three years removed from having a national championship team that utilized only one true shooter. Who was that team? Who else but North Carolina in 2017.
The Tar Heels proved that even in this rapid uptick in three-point shooting in all levels of basketball, great size and rebounding can win championships.
However, as we saw with teams such as the 2018-19 Jayhawks, pounding the ball inside every possession against a red hot three-point shooting team doesn’t always work. More times than not, fighting three’s with two’s will most likely lead to a plane ticket home instead of the next round of the tournament.
In the aforementioned interview with Tipton Edits, Wilson made it very clear that he wants to be a starter on a team. And with freshman guard Quentin Grimes deciding to transfer from Kansas, the opportunity to join Dotson and freshman guard Ochai Agbaji in the starting backcourt will be available.
Junior guard Marcus Garrett and incoming freshman Tristan Enaruna would also be in contention for the spot. Nevertheless, Wilson’s size and shooting ability will undoubtedly earn him a major amount of minutes.
Wilson committing to Kansas would be a cherry on top of an already supremely talented roster.
He could serve as the final piece to a very beautiful puzzle if you’re a fan of coach Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks.
In my humble opinion, all signs would point to Jalen Wilson committing to Kansas.
He had a great relationship with Self when originally recruited, Kansas desperately needs a shooter and he is clearly a huge fan of the program.
Many college basketball recruiting experts predicted Wilson to Kansas almost immediately after he decommitted from Michigan.
In fact, Kansas is the favorite according to 18 predictions from 247Sports’ recruiting analysts.
Stay tuned to Twitter this Wednesday at 2 P.M. to find out Wilson’s commitment.