2017 PF Deng Gak picks Miami over Kansas

By Matt Tait     Oct 25, 2016

Kansas University basketball recruiting

Evidently, Class of 2017 power forward Deng Gak’s recent visit to Kansas was not impressive enough to lure the big man to Lawrence.

Eric Bossi, of Rivals.com, on Tuesday morning Tweeted that Gak, a 6-foot-9, four-star forward from Blairstown, New Jersey, had committed to Miami.

Gak, the No. 91-ranked player in the class according to Rivals.com, was in town last weekend with five-star point guard Trae Young.

Gak first landed on the Kansas radar in the days following No. 1 prospect DeAndre Ayton’s decision to commit to Arizona. Although the Jayhawks lost out on Ayton, the belief held by some recruiting analysts was that Gak was a raw, under-the-radar type player who could wind up being a steal if the Jayhawks were able to land him as a sort of Plan B.

Despite the KU coaching staff spending time in New Jersey recruiting and watching Gak and getting him on campus for a visit, the big man chose to stay out east.

His decision leaves the Jayhawks still in search of a big man in the 2017 class, after Late Night visitor Cody Riley committed to UCLA and Gak now headed to Miami.

KU’s 2017 recruiting class (which already has 6-5 Dallas combo guard Marcus Garrett in the fold) figures to be guard heavy, but there’s no doubt that the coaching staff would like to add at least one big to round out both the class and the roster, with Kansas likely to lose projected starters Carlton Bragg Jr. and Landen Lucas following the 2016-17 season.

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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.