And breathe, Kansas hoops fans. Moments ago, the Jayhawks just took a massive step forward ahead of next season, as the nation’s No. 1 high school prospect, Tyran Stokes, just announced his commitment to Bill Self and the Jayhawks.
This was anything but an open-and-shut case. The Jayhawks had to viciously fight against Kentucky and Oregon for the signature of Stokes.
From coaching relationships with Jamal Crawford and Kurtis Townsend, to Mark Pope attempting to pip Crawford and join the UK staff, this had drama written all over it.
Combine that with the ever-present brand battle between Stokes being a Nike athlete and Kansas being an Adidas school, and you can begin to see why the drama around this race for Stokes ramped up so quickly. However, while on ESPN's "NBA Tip-Off", Stokes gave Kansas fans the news they've been begging for.
Tyran Stokes committing to Kansas is a major get for Bill Self
Of the Top 50 high school recruits in the class of 2026 according to 247Sports, Stokes and No. 42 overall player Quincy Wadley were the only two who, heading into today, had not committed to a university, stressing how odd a situation this is for someone of Stokes’ caliber.
247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein broke down what Kansas fans can expect from Stokes, calling Stokes, “the most talented prospect in the national class.” He added to the excitement by saying that the Rainier Beach product, “has more sheer talent than anyone in the country.”
Stokes will automatically push himself into the small forward position. Kansas’ frontcourt is now filled out with Stokes on the wing, Utah transfer Keanu Dawes at power forward, and College of Charleston transfer Christian Reeves at center.
All three of these players offer heights of at least 6-foot-7, with Dawes standing at 6-foot-9 and Reeves at 7-foot-2. Last season, one of the pitfalls of Kansas was their lack of stature with Tre White at small forward, allowing teams with bigger players to attack White and oftentimes dominate the low block, which saw White and former power forward Bryson Tiller outmuscled.
While Stokes will more than likely be a one-and-done player for KU, his offensive ability is bound to improve an offense that finished last season as the 161st-ranked unit in the nation, as the Jayhawks notched an average of just 75.1 points per game, oftentimes ridding their strong defensive work.
Add us as a preferred source on Google