Moments ago, Cliff Alexander, the No. 4-ranked recruit in the Class of 2014, announced that he would play his college ball at Kansas University, giving the Jayhawks the fourth and 12th-ranked (Kelly Oubre) prospects in the class.
Alexander, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound power forward from Chicago’s Curie High, chose Kansas over Illinois, DePaul and Memphis. He has been compared, by some, to former Jayhawk Thomas Robinson, and, averaged 21.3 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks per game as a junior.
I haven’t watched a ton of film on him yet, but I have checked it out and it looks, to me, like he’s not quite as explosive as T-Rob but definitely is as powerful.
I’m sure with the development he’ll get at KU and from working with Andrea Hudy, his explosiveness will take off and, when you combine that with his raw size and power, you’re looking at a player who could make a major impact in a hurry.
One thing I noticed on film that really stood out was the touch on his jumper. I’m sure he won’t be asked to shoot jumpers too often at Kansas, but it’s nice to see that the framework is there for them to develop that if needed.
Those of you who have followed this thing throughout probably already know that Alexander’s girlfriend (Caelynn Manning-Allen) is on the KU women’s basketball team and that he was in town for an official visit just last weekend.
Now that Cliff’s officially in the fold, though, I know you guys probably want to know a lot more. So here ya go. Below is a collection of stories and video links regarding the latest prep star from Chicago to pick Kansas.
Alexander instantly fits into any lineup:
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2013-11-14/cliff-alexander-decision-recruiting-2014-kansas-memphis-illinois-pick
Alexander spent last summer working to improve his jumper:
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2013-07-12/cliff-alexander-recruiting-update-humblekid11-peach-jam-dunks-kentucky-louisvill
In August, Alexander’s AAU coach explained why he liked KU:
http://kansas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1541855
Here’s DraftExpress.com’s player profile on Alexander:
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Cliff-Alexander-7138/
Alexander workout video:
Alexander breaks backboard at age 16:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cliff+alexander+breaks+backboard&sm=1
This one’s called “Beware of Cliff Alexander:
This one calls Cliff Alexander the class’ most powerful dunker:
