Hailing from the same school that produced NBA All-Star Larry Johnson and Indiana Pacers small forward C.J. Miles, Kansas signee Marcus Garrett is looking to stand alone.
Garrett is working on bringing Dallas Skyline High its first-ever state championship, leading the Raiders to a No. 1 ranking in Texas and a 31-1 record into the regional quarterfinals.
“All the time when I go to local barber shops, they say ‘Can you bring us a state championship?'” Garrett told the Dallas Morning News. “They say they’ve had some great players, but nobody’s been able to bring a state championship home.”
The 6-foot-5, 180-pound Garrett, who signed with the Jayhawks in the November signing period, is averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists per game.
Ranked 37th in the country by Rivals, Garrett is among the area leaders in all three categories.
“We feel Marcus is extremely talented and so versatile with his size,” Self said in a press release in November. “At 6-foot-5, he can play any position on the perimeter. Anyone can play with him and he can play with anyone.”
But most of all, Garrett prides himself on the defensive end. Under Skyline coach Paul Graham, who was an assistant coach at Oklahoma State alongside KU coach Bill Self in the early 1990s, there’s a culture of playing defensive basketball.
“I tell them every day, if you don’t defend, you will not play at Skyline,” said Graham, a former head coach at Washington State. “I don’t care about your sweet jump shot.”
Garrett added: “If you don’t play defense, you won’t be on the floor. That’s the No. 1 thing.”
Don’t sleep on #kubball bound Marcus Garrett. He’s been doing things this season @ImMarcusGarrett pic.twitter.com/AsAGxxswbT
— Matt Scott (@KUTheShiver) February 27, 2017
*Quick tidbits on other KU recruits:*
**Billy Preston, Oak Hill, 2017 commit -** There’s been plenty of attention on UCLA sensational point guard Lonzo Ball’s younger brothers, LaMelo and LiAngelo, throughout the high school season. LaMelo, a sophomore, scored 92 points in a game this year. But the first team to beat Chino Hills (Calif.) was Preston’s Oak Hill (Va.) in early February. Preston had 16 points and 21 rebounds in a five-point win.
The 6-10, 230-pound Preston, ranked eighth by Rivals, has led Oak Hill to a 32-4 record, playing alongside two future Big 12 opponents, guards Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State) and Matt Coleman (Texas).
“Oak Hill is really just about books and basketball,” Preston told USA Today. “No cellphones, no reception, my mom who I’ve been around every day my whole life isn’t around, nothing. It’s just woods and mountains and the gym. It’s made me grow up a lot.”
**Markese Jacobs, Uplift High, 2019 commit -** His sophomore season ended last week with a seven-point loss in the postseason to another Chicago Public League school. Jacobs wasn’t available in the game, sitting out the final two games of the season because of disciplinary reasons, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“It’s a discipline thing,” Uplift coach David Taylor told the Sun-Times. “Some things went on at the end of the Farragut game that can’t go on in the team process. He had to serve a suspension.”
Chicago Uplift Guard @markese_24 Throws It Down w/ POWER! ???????? Jacobs is UP NEXT for @KUAthletics #MarsReel pic.twitter.com/Wj3ZdCzVg0
— Mars Reel (@marsreel) February 16, 2017
**Trevon Duval, IMG Academy, 2017 target -** After taking an official visit to Kansas at the beginning of the month, Duval has followed with visits to Duke and Arizona. He is expected to visit Baylor and Seton Hall in the future.
A couple of comments from his KU and Duke visits are below from [his USA Today blog][1]:
On Kansas: “The game was crazy! Really crazy! … I don’t think I’ve ever been in an atmosphere that loud before in my life. I think they’re the loudest fans in the country! I loved it…. My family and I got the chance to talk to Coach (Bill) Self to clear up any questions we had and just to get on the same page about what they want and need out of me…. They had this machine that records all of the players’ weaknesses and things like that. I’d never seen anything like that, but it was cool.”
On Duke: “My parents and I talked to Coach K and Coach Capel and all of the coaches and they really broke down how I would fit in there and their plans for me. I could tell that they were genuine and they meant what they were saying. It’s attractive when I have Coach K telling me that I’m gonna have the keys in my hand…. Just to be in that environment was big for me. It definitely lived up to the hype. The whole bottom section of fans is all students. They stood up the whole time and they were really creative.”
[1]: http://usatodayhss.com/2017/the-trevon-duval-blog-duke-and-kansas-visits-dicks-nationals-and-more
