One of the top college football teams on the West Coast will be in town this weekend.
Coincidentally, so will one of the top college basketball prospects in California Hassan Adams, a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Los Angeles Westchester High who will make an official recruiting visit to Kansas University today through Sunday with power forward deluxe Brad Buckman of Austin, Texas.
The two will tour campus and attend Saturday’s KU-UCLA football game at Memorial Stadium.
“Adams is a major player,” notes analyst David Benezra of Recruiting USA. “He is a well-built 6-3 or 6-4 a strong kid. He gets more dunks per game than any guard in the class I’ve seen. He’s active, gets a lot of stuff around the basket.”
Adams he averaged 20.1 points and 6.9 rebounds last year for 31-2 Westchester High also can drift outside.
“He can do everything,” says Marlin Morton, assistant coach at Westchester High. “He shoots well, can handle the ball. He can play the 1, 2 or 3. He defends well. Last year we played in four tournaments. He was MVP in two of them and all-tournament in all four.”
“Hassan can shoot the long three, but is more apt to go for mid-range,” notes analyst Mark Mayamura, also of Recruiting USA, which is based in California. “He’s aggressive, plays hard. He has good quickness, speed and verticality, a very good player.”
Adams he is considering KU, UCLA, California and Arizona, plus Boston College, Oregon and Tennessee has turned heads of major college coaches because of his desire on defense. He shut down highly touted Texas prep Bracey Wright on a couple of occasions during the summer AAU season.
“I like to play hard, aggressive defense,” Adams told analyst Doug Carr of Cat Tracks.
He’s also a strong student. “Academics, strong academics,” he said of what he’s looking for in a school. “My mom really stressed that. I don’t have any problems academic-wise.”
Just like Adams, Buckman, a 6-foot-8, 230-pounder, had a breakout summer season. He’s blossomed into one of the country’s top inside players and has a final list of KU, UCLA, North Carolina and Texas.
“My specialty right now is my inside game,” Buckman told recruiting analyst Clint Jackson of Inside Carolina. “I can step out and shoot the three, but I don’t try to go beyond the free throw line too much and I stay in the paint. I think my post game is pretty good and I take it to the hole pretty well.”
Of Buckman, Jackson says: “Few big men in the country have the combination of athleticism, shooting touch and post moves Buckman has.”
He averaged 19.8 points, 10.4 boards and 4.3 blocks last year for Westlake High.
“I like good coaches,” Buckman told Inside Carolina. “I like to score and I like a big school. I want to go somewhere where the team really gets along. I want to meet a lot of people and I like big crowds at the games.
“I also really want to go somewhere with a good academic program so I’ll have something to fall back on in case I don’t make it in basketball,” added Buckman, who figures to major in business.