Kansas basketball signees Keith Langford and Jeff Hawkins will be the local headliners at this weekend’s Jayhawk Invitational basketball tournament at Allen Fieldhouse, Horejsi Center and Sport2Sport.
Langford (6-5, Crowley, Texas) and Hawkins (5-11, Kansas City) will play for the Sport2Sport Jayhawks, who will debut with a first-round game at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Other members of the Sport2Sport team: Lawrence High’s Stephen Vinson and Matt Dunkin, Mill Valley’s Cody Ptacek, Tonganoxie’s Brian Gurss, plus four Topeka players.
Langford and Hawkins will also take the court at 9:30 a.m. and noon Saturday at Sport2Sport and Allen Fieldhouse respectively. The tourney finals in the 17&under division are set for 2 p.m. Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse.
“That’s a nice little team,” tournament director Roger Morningstar said of Sport2Sport. “Those local kids went to AAU nationals last year. Add Langford and Hawkins and that’s a strong team. I’d think they’d do very well.”
Eighteen teams will compete in the 17&under division. There also will be 16&under and 15&under divisions with games contested Friday through Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse, Horejsi Center and Sport2Sport.
Westchester, N.Y., which won last week’s Boo Williams tournament in Virginia, heads the 17&under field.
The East Coast team boasts major college prospects in Akin Akingbala (6-8, Brunswick School, Connecticut), Rashard Turner (5-11, Peeksgill, N.Y.) and Alexei Korolev (7-0, Europe).
The Texas Blue Chips I team has major college recruits in Deron Williams (6-4, The Colony, Texas), Chris Bosh (6-10, Dallas) and Ike Diogu (6-9, Garland).
P.J. Hatcher (6-4, Lewisville, Texas) of the Fort Worth Lions; Brian Randle (6-7, Peoria, Ill.) of the St. Louis Eagles and Roy Enright (6-9, Omaha, Neb.) of the Nebraska Bison also will participate.
“I’m very pleased with the kids coming in this year. Next year it’ll be off the wall,” Morningstar said. “We’re in the same situation as the University of Virginia was last year. They had about 30 teams come in, including a lot of local teams. This year in their second year they had 64 teams and had to cut off entries.
“We’ve run into some problems with proms and formals (dances) this weekend. Next year we’ll have it about this time, but may push it back or move it up a week.
“We have a tournament that is very attractive to club teams. Kids want to play in Allen Fieldhouse because of all the tradition. Also, many of the teams on the East coast and West coast don’t get to the Midwest often. This gives them a chance to compete against some new faces. That is a real enticement.”
Morningstar, a former KU player, has worked with the Hoop Group and recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons in putting on this tournament. Similar tourneys are held annually in the backyards of Duke and North Carolina universities, plus Purdue University.
“This provides a great opportunity for our local kids to go against kids 6-8, 6-9, 6-10 and see what is out there,” Morningstar said. “It gives exposure to our local Div. I prospects like Stephen Vinson.
“Also kids from across the country get a chance to see what Kansas is really like, how beautiful a campus this is. You never know … KU might not get one (future hoops player) this year or next, but somewhere down the line they might. It’s something Duke and others have taken advantage of.”
NCAA rules do not prohibit the prep players from touring KU’s basketball facilities and even talking to KU coaches after their games are completed.
Notes: Admission will be $5 Friday, $7 Saturday and $5 Sunday. A pass for all weekend sessions is $10. Students and seniors admission cost is $3 per day, $5 for a weekend pass. Tickets are available at each of the sites. … Tourney officials learned Wednesday that 6-foot-10 Raleigh, N.C., native Shavlik Randolph will not be able to attend because of injury.
