Former KU target Josh Green picks Arizona

By Matt Tait     Oct 4, 2018

article image
Kansas University basketball recruiting

To almost no one’s surprised, five-star Class of 2019 guard Josh Green on Thursday orally committed to the University of Arizona via one of those social media videos that have become oh so popular.

Green, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from IMG Academy and the No. 11 overall prospect in the 2019 class per Rivals.com, chose Arizona over a final six that included North Carolina, Kansas, USC, Villanova and UNLV.

In reality, though, this was a decision that came down to Arizona and North Carolina, as Kansas had been unofficially eliminated several weeks ago.

With his size, length and serious athletic ability, Green would have been a nice addition for any roster. But the Jayhawks already have added two guards in the 2019 class — 6-f5 Christian Braun and 6-1 Issac McBride — and still are in serious pursuit of four-star freak Cassius Stanley, the No. 31-ranked player on Rivals’ board.

Long ago, there was some talk about Green exploring a reclassification and moving into the 2018 class — at least considering it has become the in thing these days — but it never came to fruition. Had he, that might have put him higher on KU’s priority list given the fact that the Jayhawks are currently operating with one open scholarship in the wake of Sam Cunliffe’s decision to transfer.

It’s a moot point now. And just because they had space does not mean Green would’ve have become a Jayhawk. He’s a Wildcat now and the Jayhawks will continue their pursuit of Stanley as the premiere shooting guard they want in the 2019 class.

PREV POST

KU volleyball rallies back to top WVU in 5 sets

NEXT POST

52545Former KU target Josh Green picks Arizona

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.