Arizona remains the heavy favorite to land Halstead High senior basketball power forward Dennis Latimore.
But in recruiting it’s not over ’til it’s over and Kansas remains in the hunt for the 6-foot-9, 230-pound power forward, who had an in-home visit with Kansas coach Roy Williams and assistant Joe Holladay on Monday night.
“I stayed to talk to Dennis and his mother after the coaches left. Dennis said he’s 75 to 80 percent (in favor of Arizona),” Halstead High coach Mark Fox said.
“I played devil’s advocate a bit. I said, ‘If that’s the case would it be in the best interest of you and the schools involved to verbally commit?’ I know the schools want to get on with recruiting and you also want to pick a school.’
“He thought about it and said he still wanted to make both visits (to UA and KU). I said, ‘The window is still open. If you are not completely sure, you owe it to yourself to take both visits.”‘
Latimore has scheduled a campus visit for KU for Colorado football weekend on Oct. 20. He’s visiting Arizona for the Wildcats’ Midnight Madness on Oct. 13. His dad lives in Arizona; his mom in Halstead.
Sources close to the Arizona program indicate the Wildcats want Latimore to switch his visit to KU to Oct. 6-7 Kansas State football weekend. Rumor has it the Wildcats want to make sure they are the final school to make an impression on Latimore.
“They wanted a decision yesterday,” Fox quipped of the Wildcats.
Latimore visited UCLA last weekend and is scheduled to visit Stanford this weekend. Recently Latimore eliminated Florida from his list of schools.
“He had a good visit to UCLA but my personal feeling is it’s still second team,” Fox said. “It’s KU second and UCLA third now. KU had a great visit. Coach Williams is so professional, honest. Everything you read about coach Williams in the recruiting process is true.
“He’s straightforward. His presentation is polished. He knows what he wants to say and says it. I personally think he does a great job. The biggest selling point may be the kids he brings to KU. If Dennis can get around those kids on a visit and see you are family once you step on campus until the day you die, that may make an impression. Wearing ‘Kansas’ across your chest means something.”
Recruiting wackiness: Aaron Miles, a 6-foot point guard from Portland, Ore., is scheduled to visit the University of Oregon Saturday on an official recruiting visit.
Yet Miles’ dad, Mark, told Arizona Cat Tracks on Tuesday his son has narrowed his choices to Kansas, Arizona and UCLA.
UCLA coach Steve Lavin had an in-home visit with Miles on Tuesday night. On Monday, Miles’ AAU coach said Miles would likely visit KU’s campus for the Jayhawks’ exhibition game against Emporia State on Nov. 4.
Miles hasn’t made a decision and said he might change his mind several times before making the final choice. But he says Arizona is a slight leader at this time.
“Right now it’s 45 percent Arizona, 30 percent Kansas and 25 percent UCLA,” Miles told Cat Tracks. “But if you talk to me tomorrow it might be entirely different.”
Boschee hurts thumb: KU junior guard Jeff Boschee suffered a mild sprain of his left thumb during last Saturday’s pick-up game. X-rays proved negative.
Clinic: Williams will hold his annual basketball clinic on Saturday Oct. 21 in Allen Fieldhouse. The clinic begins with registration at 7:30 a.m., and continues throughout the day with lectures and demonstrations leading up to the KU-Colorado football game. The clinic will conclude approximately 6 p.m. Clinic costs are $45 by pre-registration or $50 at the gate, and applications are now available. For information contact the KU basketball office at 864-3056.
