Chris Zerbe, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound sophomore forward from Hutchinson Community College is ticketed for a walk-on spot at KU.
Zerbe, who attended Andover High, averaged 16 points and seven rebounds a game last year at Hutchinson CC. In high school, he was all-Chisholm Trail League his junior and senior years.
“He is a blue collar player. If he was 6-8, everybody in the Big 12 would be knocking his door down offering him a scholarship,” Hutch coach Tim Duryea said, noting Zerbe had scholarship offers from Stephen F. Austin, Centenary and Wisconsin-Green Bay, and Illinois State had started recruiting him.
“Wichita State envisioned having him as a key reserve. They do some of the same things Kansas dos. Chris is a very good shooter. He does a good job trailing the break and knocking down the jumper. He does a good job of making contact with the defender and sticking with him.”
Zerbe hit 53 percent of his shots last year and 43 percent of his threes.
It is also highly possible Hutch CC point guard Brett Ballard will join the Jayhawks as a walk-on.
“We were told there’s a favorable opportunity for him to walk on. He’s a tremendous worker, tremendous kid and someday wants to be a coach,” Duryea said of the 5-11 point guard out of Hutchinson. “He’s a local kid. A flat-out warrior.”
