KU commitment Marcus Garrett finalizes plans to visit campus

By Matt Tait     Aug 12, 2016

Kansas University basketball recruiting

Marcus Garrett, the four-star, 6-foot-5 versatile guard from Dallas who recently became the first member of the Class of 2017 to orally commit to the Kansas basketball program, has set up a couple of campus visits.

According to Rivals.com, the first, which will be of the unofficial variety, will take place Labor Day weekend, when Garrett and his uncle/AAU coach Matthew Watts will come to town for KU’s football opener against Rhode Island on Sept. 3.

The second trip will come four weeks later, when Garrett makes his official visit for Late Night in the Phog (Oct. 1) the weekend of Sept. 30.

Garrett, the No. 44 ranked prospect in the 2017 class according to Rivals.com, committed to the Jayhawks in early August, picking KU over offers from Baylor, UConn, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Texas, among others.

As the recruiting process for Garrett went on, he grew more and more worn down by the whole process. That, along with the overwhelming feeling that KU was the place for him, led to Garrett making his decision public earlier this month.

“I think he handled it excellent,” Watts said of the recruiting process. “For him, it’s always been about the team. It’s never been about him. He doesn’t want the spotlight on him. He’s a pretty quiet kid for the most part. As the process went on, he was getting calls every day and he was feeling like he was not able to be a kid and still do the things that kids can enjoy.”

Now, with the hard part out of the way, Garrett can kick back and enjoy his upcoming visits to KU, something which Watts said would be figured to be more enjoyable with the weight of the decision off of his shoulders.

SG Chaundee Brown on KU

Four-star 2017 prospect Chaundee Brown recently talked to Rivals.com’s Dan McDonald about his four finalists, Kansas, Florida, Maryland and Wake Forest.

Here’s what Brown had to say about each school still in the hunt for the 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Orlando.

On Kansas: “Kansas has always been good. They have great tradition. They play on TV a lot and they always make it to the Sweet 16. They always have guards make it to the NBA.”

On Florida: “I just like their playing style with their guard play. Coach (Mike) White can help me a lot. He said he needs another great shooter like me. He watched me play a lot this summer and he feels like I’ll fit in well with their system the way they push the ball.”

On Maryland: “They always win in their conference. They are in the Big Ten now. They are always one of the better teams and get the other team’s best. They said they really need another wing that can push the ball and be versatile.”

On Wake Forest: “Just Coach (Danny) Manning, he knows a lot. He played in the NBA and won a ring with Kansas. He has connections and they need a wing that can step in and be the missing piece.”

PREV POST

KU women improve to 2-0 overseas

NEXT POST

49277KU commitment Marcus Garrett finalizes plans to visit campus

Author Photo

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.