Kansas Basketball: Recruiting update, grad transfers, and predictions

The 2020 offseason is in full swing. Here’s which grad transfers Kansas basketball is targeting and recruits to keep an eye on.

While most college basketball fans have spent the last few weeks grieving the loss of March Madness, the NCAA’s free agency, or better yet known as the Transfer Portal has begun to fill teams’ rosters across the nation.

Seth Towns commits to Ohio State University

Seth Towns, the number one ranked graduate transfer announced last night on ESPN around 10:15 pm Central time that he would be leaving Harvard to head back to his home town and suit up for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Towns gained interest from many top programs before trimming his list to only Duke and Ohio State the day before his announcement.

Towns received interest from Kansas basketball, but without any announcements from the current players on the Jayhawk roster, Towns chose to speed up his recruitment and waste no time committing to his home state team.

Bryce Aiken receiving interest from around the nation

Bryce Aiken, the second-ranked graduate transfer available this spring has received a significant amount of interest including Kansas, Michigan, Seton Hall, and Iowa State.

Due to the fact that Duke missed out on Aiken’s former teammate, Seth Towns, you can expect Duke to come calling for the talented guard.

Although Aiken will have plenty of top programs to pick from, I believe he is leaning towards Seton Hall right now which is only twenty-five minutes from Aiken’s hometown in Randolph, New Jersey.

Prediction – Seton Hall

Jordan Bruner receiving interest from Kansas and Duke

Jordan Bruner, the third-ranked graduate transfer available this offseason will be looking at the possibility of joining a top-flight program or declaring for the draft.

Bruner almost averaged a double-double last year at Yale, while also making the Ivy League first team.

The talented big man has heard from Baylor, Maryland, Duke, Kansas, and many others according to Shay Wildeboor.

Bruner would be a good fit for the Jayhawks’ roster if Silvio De Sousa decides to transfer from Kansas. Bruner described his plans for the future in an interview with 247sports.

"“I’d like to keep my options open and hear what NBA scouts and other people think I’m capable of and what they think about me. I don’t want to get stuck in a place where I can’t play in college if I want to.”"

Bruner also noted that the coronavirus will affect the 2020 NBA Draft overall, but also the combine and testing leading up to the draft.

"“I think I’m very much capable of playing pro, but with the situation with the virus and everything going on, I think everybody is pretty unsure of what’s going to happen in the coming months and over the course of next year.”"

It is still very early on in the big man’s recruitment and too early to tell where he will be next fall, whether that is playing for a top-notch college program or for an NBA team.

Prediction – NA

Jayhawks extend offer to five-star 2022 guard

Jaden Bradley, a top ten guard in the class of 2022 was offered by Kansas recently.

Kansas basketball was the first “blue blood” school to offer the 6’3 170-pound guard from Concord, North Carolina. Once one blueblood offers, usually one or two will follow shortly after.

It is still way too early to predict where this five-star will land, but Rivals’ FanFutureCast has him predicted to commit to the Tennessee Volunteers.

Kansas Transfers and NBA pledges

So far, no one on the Kansas basketball roster has announced that they are intending on transferring or testing the waters for the NBA combine.

You can expect Devon Dotson and Ochai Agbaji to announce soon that they will be declaring for the NBA draft, or at least attending the combine to receive feedback from pro scouts. Abaji will likely be back for his junior season, but Dotson will probably head for the NBA.

Silvio De Sousa still seems to be the most likely to transfer, while Tristan Enaruna is still a possible candidate, but seems unlikely.