Kansas basketball: UCF transfer Ithiel Horton to visit KU this week

Kansas basketball might not be finished with its roster construction, as sharpshooting transfer Ithiel Horton will make his way onto campus this week for a visit.

It might be the beginning of July, but Bill Self is still searching for pieces to add to the 2023-24 Kansas Jayhawks squad. Transfer guard Ithiel Horton — who’s spent time at Delaware, Pitt, and most recently UCF — will visit the campus later this week.

The New Jersey native, who attended former Kansas recruiting target Mackenzie Mgbako’s high school, is one of the most highly coveted players left on the market. He’s a 6-foot-3, 200-pound combo guard with a lifetime 37.6 percent three-point percentage. Kansas certainly doesn’t have a shortage of guard talent, but there is nothing wrong with adding more.

Horton is a graduate transfer, meaning he’d immediately be eligible to play for Kansas. It will be his sixth and final year in college basketball, so he would only be able to spend one season in Lawrence.

In 2022-23 with the Golden Knights, Horton averaged 12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. He can get hot in a hurry, as he dropped 30 points vs. Memphis last season.

Adding Horton would mean Kansas basketball has 12 scholarship players on the roster. The staff must play it safe with the self-imposed scholarship limit, as the Jayhawks could be adding a player who sees very little playing time. With the additions of Arterio Morris, Elmarko Jackson, and Nick Timberlake at the guard position, one might wonder how Horton would see the floor consistently.

It remains to be seen if Kansas has real interest in Horton, but he could very well be the guy who rounds out this roster. Bill Self did imply last month in a media availability that he was eager to add another scholarship player.

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