Kansas basketball is one of three schools Jalil Bethea will be choosing from when he makes his college decision tomorrow.
One of the most significant recruiting priorities for the Kansas Jayhawks is less than 24 hours away from determining where he will play his freshman season of college basketball.
Jalil Bethea is one of the most sought-after players in the Class of 2024. The ESPN 100 ranks him the 7th best player in the country, while 247 Sports Composite rankings list him 9th. He is the purest scorer at the guard position in the upcoming graduating class.
He attends Archbishop Wood in Pennsylvania, leading the Philadelphia Catholic League in points scored (649) and 3-pointers (85) made as a junior. After hardly cracking the top 100 rankings a year ago, he has skyrocketed to the top 10 on most major recruiting sites.
Tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 20) at 2:00 p.m. CT, Bethea will announce his commitment live on the 247 Sports channel. His three options are Kansas, Villanova, and Miami (FL). Syracuse and Alabama were previously in the mix, but he’s cut them out of the picture.
A Jalil Bethea commitment would be surprising for Kansas basketball
Following his official visit to KU’s campus, things were looking pretty good for his stance with Bill Self and the Jayhawks. They were initially considered the favorite to land the highly touted guard — that is, until he took a trip to Miami a week later.
According to anonymous college basketball insider Trilly Donovan and other sources close to the situation, Bethea committed to Miami on his official visit. Several recruiting analysts on 247 Sports put crystal balls in for the Canes and Jim Larrañaga days after.
Despite the rumors, there is still a sliver of hope for Kansas to secure a commitment from him. If there is one thing only one program in the country can offer, it is the best head coach in the game, Bill Self. We’ve seen him time and time again surprise the nation on the recruiting trail.
When asked what he likes about Kansas basketball program, he responded: “Bill Self is a great coach and he basically told me if I play for him then I would start right away. The play-style is really good, they play up and down.”
Bethea would be the perfect complement to KU’s big man commit, Flory Bidunga. If he does decide to take his talents to Lawrence, the Jayhawks will immediately have one of the best recruiting classes Coach Self has ever put together.
2024 five-star guard and Miami target Jalil Bethea will be announcing his college commitment on Wednesday at 3 p.m., per Bethea’s Instagram story (@jalilbetheaa). pic.twitter.com/JzVWfw5cRQ
— Luke Chaney (@lukechaney247) September 18, 2023