Juco big man Sydney Curry announces de-commitment from Kansas

By Matt Tait     May 26, 2021

Kansas University basketball recruiting

Junior college prospect and University of Kansas basketball signee Sydney Curry announced Wednesday that he was reopening his recruitment.

Curry, who committed to KU last November, just hours before the Jayhawks tipped off the season against top-ranked Gonzaga on Thanksgiving, said on social media that his decision boiled down to making sure he “made the best decision for me and my future.”

He added: “I want to thank coach (Bill) Self and Kansas for this great opportunity and asking me to be part of it. I truly want to make sure I’m doing what is best by taking some more time to consider all my options.”

“We enjoyed recruiting Sydney, getting to know him and his family, but also respect this decision and wish him well moving forward,” Self said in a statement announcing Curry’s departure and the official addition of transfer guards Remy Martin and Jalen Coleman-Lands.

A 6-foot-8, 260-pound athletic forward from Logan Community College in Carterville, Ill., Curry averaged 13.1 points and 8.2 rebounds in 19 games on 69% shooting during the 2020-21 regular season.

Former KU assistant Jerrance Howard was the lead recruiter for Curry, who hails from Fort Wayne, Ind.

His departure from KU’s 2021 recruiting class delivers both good and bad news for the Jayhawks. At the time he signed, Self called Curry a player who would bring “size, strength and athleticism to our front court, giving us another rim protector.”

The Jayhawks now will move forward with returning big man David McCormack as by far their most explosive big body. He will be joined by fellow-returner Mitch Lightfoot, Division II transfer Cam Martin and big wings KJ Adams and Jalen Wilson, provided Wilson returns to school after exploring his options in the NBA draft.

Therein lies the good news for Kansas. With Curry still in the mix, the Jayhawks were one scholarship over the limit of 13 if Wilson, Ochai Agbaji and Arizona State transfer Remy Martin all elected to play at KU in 2021-22 instead of staying in the NBA draft.

Now, KU has room for the return of all three of those players, who have until July 7 to make the decision to stay in the draft or pull their names out.

Curry’s decision is the latest movement in a wild offseason for the KU basketball program, sparked by the rise in popularity of the transfer portal.

The Jayhawks added 10 newcomers — now nine without Curry — and said goodbye to six members of last year’s roster, five who chose to find another place to play and one (Marcus Garrett) to graduation.

In Wednesday’s statement announcing the latest KU roster moves, Self pointed to the experience of Martin and Coleman-Lands as positives for the program after the addition of so many new faces.

“Not since Brady Morningstar have I coached a young man that is 24-years-old and will graduate at 25,” he said of Coleman-Lands. “But I think that maturity and experience will bode well with so many newcomers next season.”

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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.