Work on the 2001 Kansas basketball recruiting class began a long time ago.
“This past season I saw DeShawn Stevenson play — he was the only senior in the entire nation I went to see play,” KU coach Roy Williams said, noting he was out assessing junior players.
“That does not mean there was not a senior at some of those games, but they were not the reason for me going and I saw as many high school games this year than I ever did.
“We targeted several juniors and tried to do as much as we could to get ahead of some schools with respect of recruiting some of those underclassmen. I think that’s hopefully going to turn into a big year for us this coming year.”
KU has already filled one of its six scholarship slots. In April, KU received a verbal commitment from 6-foot-8 Wayne Simien of Leavenworth.
The Jayhawks’ wish list is believed to include: point guard Aaron Miles of Portland, Ore.; shooting guard Josh Childress of Lakewood, Calif., power forward Dennis Latimore of Halstead and center Jamal Sampson of Santa Ana, Calif.
Childress, in fact, visited KU last season for the Missouri game. He’s expected to make an unofficial visit to Stanford this June. He’s also visited Arizona and is considering UCLA, Duke and North Carolina, too.
Of Kansas, Childress told the Rivals network, “They are a good program that seem to put a lot of players in the NBA that are very successful in the league. They are solid and are not a flash in the pan program.”
Of Arizona, he said: “Arizona seems like a real good guard school to me. It seems like if you go there, unless you screw up, you are automatic for the NBA.”
Childress has qualified academically.
One recruit considering KU is 6-8 David Lee of St. Louis, who will make an unofficial visit to KU’s campus on June 6. Lee told Atlantic East Hoops he’s also making the drive to Lexington, Ky., to visit UK’s campus on Memorial Day weekend.
Lee will make June stops at North Carolina and Duke and is also heavily considering Missouri, Florida, Illinois and “a few others. Duke is believed to be the heavy early favorite.
“I want to go to a school which combines academics with a great basketball program,” Lee noted.
Lee, a lefty, is known for his spin move on the baseline, a la Raef LaFrentz.
Here’s a list of upcoming summer camp events. KU’s Williams will be on the road 24 days in July, the summer evaluation period.
June 21-25: Atlanta Celtics Basketball Classic, Atlanta, Ga. 23-25: Future Stars Camp, Pella, Iowa. 28-July 4: 16-under Junior Boys AAU Nationals in Auburn Hills, Mich.
July 1-7: Five-Star, Coraopolis, Pa. 1-8: 15-under Junior Boys AAU Nationals, Kingsport, Tenn. 5-10: Nike All-America, Indianapolis; adidas ABCD, Teaneck, N.J. 11-13: Rim Rattler, Long Beach, Calif. 12-18: Five-Star, Coraopolis, Pa. 15-20: Nike Peach Jam, Augusta, Ga. 15-19: adidas Big Time, Las Vegas. 19-23: FutureStars, Pella, Iowa. 19-25: Five Star, Coraopolis, Pa. 19-21: Charlie Weber Summer Invitational, Penn State University. 20-25: Long Beach Slam & Jam, Long Beach, Cal. 20-24: Pump Best of the Summer, Carson, Calif. 22-25: Nike Super Showcase, Orlando, Fla. 23-27: Prep Stars, Charlotte, N.C. 24-30: 17-under Junior Boys AAU Nationals, Orlando, Fla. July 26-Aug. 1: Five-Star, Coraopolis, Pa. 27-31: Las Vegas Grand Finale, Las Vegas, Nev. 27-31: BCI Invitational, Colorado Springs, Colo. 28-30 : EA Sports Invitational, Redwood City, Calif.
