Kansas basketball officially inks prep guard Bobby Pettiford Jr.

By Matt Tait     Apr 16, 2021

Photo courtesy of Kansas Athletics
New Kansas basketball signee Bobby Pettiford Jr., soars through the air for a bucket during his playing days at South Granville High.

The Kansas men’s basketball backcourt became a little more explosive on Friday, when prep guard Bobby Pettiford Jr., signed a financial aid agreement to officially join the Jayhawks.

Originally a Louisville signee, Pettiford Jr., reopened his recruitment after a coaching change at Louisville and committed to Kansas a few weeks ago after a second round of recruiting.

“He became a priority immediately,” KU coach Bill Self said in a release announcing Pettiford’s signing.

A 6-foot-1, 175-pound guard out of South Granville High, Pettiford Jr., helped lead his school to a 12-4 record last season, averaging 19.8 points, 6.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game.

His performance earned him N.C. Basketball Coaches Association All-State honors and he was also named to the North Carolina roster for the 2021 Carolinas Classic All-Star Game, which was eventually canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were very fortunate when Bobby opened up his recruitment last month,” Self said in the release. “We feel Bobby has a tremendous future, great upside and will make an immediate impact for us. His work ethic and drive are something I think every program hopes every player has.”

Pettiford is South Granville’s all-time leader in scoring with 1,944 career points. He also is the school’s all-time leader in assists (615) and steals (288), and, in 2019-20, he set the school’s single season records in points (677), assists (230) and steals (95).

While at South Granville, Pettiford was part of two conference championships, two conference tournament titles, two conference player of the year awards and a school-record 79 wins.

Kansas Men’s Basketball Signees

(as of April 16, 2021)

• KJ Adams (Fr., 6-7, 200, F, Austin, Texas, Westlake HS)

• Zach Clemence (Fr., 6-10, 215, F, San Antonio, Texas, Sunrise Christian Academy [Kan.])

• Kyle Cuffe Jr. (6-2, 180, G, Toms River, N.J., Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J.)

• Sydney Curry (Jr., 6-8, 260, F, Fort Wayne, Ind., Northrop HS, John A. Logan College)

• Cam Martin (Sr., 6-9, 240, F, Yukon, Okla., Yukon HS, Missouri Southern)

• Bobby Pettiford Jr. (6-1, 175, PG, Fr, Durham, N.C., South Granville HS)

• Joseph Yesufu (6-0, 180, G, Bolingbrook, Ill., Bolingbrook HS, Drake)

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.