Kansas basketball: Impact of losing Tamar Bates to Texas
Kansas basketball has lost out on another prospect, this time four-star guard and Kansas native Tamar Bates.
Kansas basketball has been struggling to land that third recruit in the 2021 class. The Jayhawks lost out on five-star small forward Kendall Brown to Baylor, and Kansas just lost four-star combo guard Tamar Bates to Texas. The worst part of both of these recruiting losses is that both were Kansas natives, and both seemed to be leaning toward Kansas at one point or another.
Bates, a Kansas City native just announced his commitment to the Longhorns this morning. He’s a big pick up for Shaka Smart, who’s 2021 class now ranks No. 9 in the nation according to Rivals. The worst part about Bates choosing Kansas is that he seemed like the kind of guard that would have done well at Kansas.
Eric Bossi of Rivals said it best:
"“Bates is a great fit for the Jayhawks. They’ve done really well developing highly ranked — but not too highly ranked — players like Devonte’ Graham, Frank Mason and Marcus Garrett in the past and Bates shares traits with many of them.”"
Without Bates, Kansas basketball still has a few high-level targets they can land.
Despite the loss of Bates, the Jayhawks still have options. Kansas recently made five-star point guard JD Davison‘s top six schools. He’d be an incredible get for the Jayhawks, but based on his other five choices, Davison probably wants to play in the south.
Hunter Sallis is another five-star prospect that could realistically commit to the Jayhawks. He included them in his top 12 schools, so keep an eye on Sallis as he either cuts his list again or announces a commitment date.
Finally, Kansas recently offered small forward Langston Wilson, a JUCO prospect. He currently holds offers from schools like Maryland, Oregon, Arizona State, West Virginia, Seton Hall, and many others. He’s definitely a prospect to watch, considering Kansas is his only offer from a blue blood program.
light. check it out. All-time Bill Self era Jayhawks team
Losing Bates hurts, but there are still prospects out there that Kansas can land. They still have a top 15 recruiting class in the country, and just one more high-level prospect would easily boost them into the top 10.