Elite big men on campus this weekend

By Gary Bedore     Sep 15, 2015

Kansas University basketball recruiting.

A pair of elite high school basketball big men will be making official recruiting visits to Kansas University this weekend.

Udoka Azubuike, a 6-foot-11, 260-pound senior center from Potter’s House in Jacksonville, Florida, who is ranked No. 27 nationally by Rivals.com, will join No. 118-rated Mitch Lightfoot, a 6-8 senior power forward from Gilbert (Arizona) Christian High.

Azubuike’s mentor, Harry Coxsome, told Zagsblog.com, that he and Udoka have heard from coaches from KU, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Cal, Auburn, Florida and Florida State.

“We don’t have a list. He’s wide open in his recruitment now. The only visit we have planned right now is Kansas,” Coxsome told SNY.tv.

Of KU, Coxsome said: “The offense that they run, they do run it through their big men. We’ve had numerous conversations with coach (Bill) Self and coach (Norm) Roberts, so we feel like that is a definite great staff, not to say we’re going to commit or anything, just to say that we definitely think highly of Kansas.”

Lightfoot has visited Stanford and Utah and will visit St. John’s on Oct. 2 and Arizona on Oct. 10 before reaching a final decision.

Lightfoot and his family members hosted Self, Roberts and Kurtis Townsend on Sunday. He told Jayhawk slant the in-home visit was “freaking amazing. Coach Self is so awesome and he cleared up a lot of stuff for me during our visit together. It was just an awesome visit.”

Lightfoot wrote on Twitter: “Great in home visit with coach Self and Kansas. I’ll be in Lawrence on Thursday night — Rock Chalk Jayhawk.”

Happy birthday to Ellis: KU senior forward Perry Ellis on Monday celebrated his 22nd birthday.

Late Night facts: KU’s 31st annual Late Night in the Phog will run from 6:30 until 9:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9, KU officials announced Monday.

Admission is free. Fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items, which KU Athletics will donate to “Just Food” of Douglas County. Seating is first come, first served. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Doors will open to the general public at 5 p.m. Students for the first time will be allowed to enter about 4:30 through their customary separate entrance on the northeast side of the fieldhouse. Because of construction, the best way for students to access their entrance is to approach from the west side of the parking garage.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve how we do things. We thought this was a logical step to make it run like all men’s home games run. It’s just like a men’s game in terms of how many are in the building,” associate AD Jim Marchiony said.

Indeed, students enter the fieldhouse a half-hour earlier than the rest of the fans for all home games. For instance, for a 7 p.m. tip, doors open at the student entrance at 5 p.m., for the general public at 5:30.

KU Athletics said it will use Wham City Lights, integrated into the official Kansas Athletics App, for “Late Night Lights” for added effect during the proceedings. KU fans will be able to participate in the activities if they bring a smart phone. By downloading the Kansas Athletics App, fans can take part in a hand-held light show.

Time Warner Cable SportsChannel will oversee the television production of Late Night, which will be seen live on the Jayhawk TV Network, including ESPN3. It also will be aired on the Jayhawk radio network.

Late Night will feature skits by the men’s and women’s basketball teams, videos and scrimmages by both hoops teams. For more information go to http://kuathletics.com/news/2015/9/14/MBB_0914151337.aspx

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