Kevin Bookout had such a good time on his campus visit to Kansas he didn’t even mind leaving the KU-Oklahoma football game at halftime.
A native of Stroud, Okla., the KU basketball and track recruit is a fan of the defending national football champions.
“It was OK with me,” Bookout said of exiting Memorial Stadium with the Sooners up 17-3 en route to a 38-10 victory.
“We went to eat at Don’s Steakhouse,” explained Bookout, who has a hearty appetite at a stout 6-foot-8, 250-pounds. “I had a great time over the weekend.”
Bookout said he will visit Arkansas in the near future he has not yet set a firm date then choose either Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, KU or Arkansas as his college destination.
“I liked coach Reynolds (Doug, KU track throws coach). He’s a good guy. It was my first chance to meet him. I (also) liked all the basketball players. Midnight Madness was fun. All the tradition and fan support is impressive.”
Also … “I like the way Kansas plays,” Bookout said. “Coach (Roy) Williams uses the high/low and secondary break.”
Bookout, who is national high school record holder in the discus (215-0), at one time considered Tennessee, which has a stellar track program. The events of Sept. 11, however, have him extremely wary of flying and he’s now eliminated UT from his list.
Bookout was one of three hoops prospects in town for Late Night With Roy Williams. He was joined by Jeff Graves, a 6-9 forward from Iowa Western CC and Moulaye Niang, a 6-9 high school senior from El Cajon, Calif.
“Everything was an A-plus. Jeff said it was exciting and the atmosphere at Late Night was great,” said Trent Lovewell, assistant coach at Iowa Western. “He got along great with the players. He didn’t tell me anything negative.”
As of Sunday, Lee’s Summit, Mo., native Graves was undecided whether he’d make a final recruiting visit to Louisville. He’s also considering Illinois and Long Beach State.
“Louisville is always a possibility after coach Pitino came into the home,” Lovewell said, referring to Louisville coach Rick Pitino’s trip to Lee’s Summit to visit with Graves’ mother two weeks ago. “As of now it’s an option.”
Meanwhile, Niang also had what he termed a “great visit.”
“It was really, really cool,” he told analyst Jon Kirby of Alliance Sports. “I wasn’t expecting it to be that much fun. The fans there love basketball. They are loyal fans.”
Niang has visited San Diego State and may take a trip to Connecticut.
“I don’t know just yet. I need to talk with people about my experience,” Niang said. “I will tell them what I liked and what I saw. After that we will go from there. I really enjoyed my visit to Kansas. I told coach Dougherty (Neil, KU assistant) I wish I could take a second visit.
“Kansas is definitely in my top three. I liked it before I went there and I like it more after. I talked with coach Williams this morning. I believe in him and trust him.”
Meanwhile, former KU recruit Brad Buckman (6-8, Austin Texas) is torn between North Carolina and Texas. He visited Carolina for a second time last weekend.
“My heart is saying Texas. My mind is saying North Carolina,” Buckman told Mike Sullivan of rivalshoops.com. “I have an idea on where I want to go but I need some more time.”
About 30 hopefuls participated in the first day of Kansas basketball walk-on tryouts Sunday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“We put them through a tough two-hour workout from defensive stations to group work, keep-away game and scrimmaging,” KU assistant coach Ben Miller said. “The guys worked very hard. The conditioning part was tough on some of them. I was pleased with the effort.”
Last year Todd Kappelmann and Lewis Harrison survived walk-on tryouts. This year it will be difficult for anybody to make the squad because KU already has 15 players. The hopefuls will practice again today and Tuesday.
“We make it similar to what our practices are like,” Miller said. “In the event we were to keep somebody we want to see if they are coachable, can they listen, things like that.”
