Two blue-chip Californian basketball prospects have said thanks but no thanks to scholarship offers from Kansas University.
Josh Childress, a 6-foot-5 guard from Lakewood, Calif., has orally committed to Stanford, choosing the Cardinal over runner-up KU.
And Jamal Sampson, 6-10 from Santa Ana, Calif., who, like Childress, attended Late Night With Roy Williams, says he’ll choose either Saint Louis or Cal-Berkeley by Wednesday.
He eliminated the Jayhawks after hearing that Childress had chosen the Pac-10 school.
“It’s too far to come out there by myself,” said Sampson, who says he “probably” would have come to Kansas if Childress had tapped KU. “Kansas was my best trip by far. I like everything about Kansas, but I can’t see going there alone.”
Childress agonized over his decision. KU has recruited him for a couple of years now. However, Stanford is closer to home.
“I loved my visit to Kansas. I thought the fan support was great. It’s a great basketball program. I really struggled with this decision,” said Childress, an honor student who scored over 1,200 on his SAT. “Coach Williams was a little bit disappointed. I wish I could have played for both schools.”
Childress admitted his family was happy with the decision.
So, the Jayhawks have lost two of the four recruits who attended Late Night. KU has received a commitment from Michael Lee, a 6-2 guard from Portland, Ore. The Jayhawks are favorites to land Lee’s teammate, 6-foot Aaron Miles.
KU also immediately positioned itself to possibly land a replacement for Childress. Keith Langford, 6-4 of Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday scheduled a recruiting visit to KU for the Emporia State exhibition game on Nov. 4. He will choose either Oklahoma, KU or possibly Cincinnati after that visit.
Baylor has recruited Langford heavily, but he said Monday the Bears are probably out of the picture.
“Right now, Kansas I really like Kansas,” Langford said. “Oklahoma is good, too, but Kansas is Kansas. If I visit (KU) and everything is the way I expect it to be, I’ll most likely be going there.”
Langford, who averaged 19 points a game last year, committed to Mississippi last spring. He recently reneged on the commitment, saying he’d rather play closer to home.
“Kansas’ program has everything a player would want. I’m looking forward to the visit,” Langford said.
Of Langford, recruiting analyst Greg Swaim of fastbreakrecruiting.com said: “Langford is a top 40 or 50 guy at least. He’s one of the top five or six guys in Texas. He’d be a great perimeter player who can handle the ball. He can fit a lot of needs for Kansas. He’s a nice shooter, athletic, bigger than most two guards.”
Meanwhile, Aaron Miles’ mother said her son would definitely visit Arizona this weekend.
He’s down to Kansas and Arizona as his college finalists.
She said her son would make a decision in early November, a week before the start of the week-long early signing period.
As reported earlier, Chuck Hayes, 6-6 of Modesto, Calif., chose Kentucky over KU over the weekend.
“He enjoyed the time he spent with coach Smith, and he just felt like it was a good down-home environment there,” Modesto Christian High coach Gary Porter told the Louisville Courier. “The biggest thing was the mystique of the Kentucky program. He had a hard time choosing between Kansas and Kentucky. I think he just felt comfortable around coach Smith.”
Hayes visited KU in September and Kentucky for UK’s Midnight Madness. It’s not known whether KU made an official offer to Hayes, as the Jayhawks were waiting on an offer made to Childress.
