The calendar may still read 2017, but, with all of its scholarships now officially spoken for, the Kansas basketball team can and has moved forward, full speed ahead in its recruitment of the Class of 2018.
Because the Jayhawks are in on almost all of the elite talent in the 2018 class (what’s new, right?), many of the names are ones which you probably already have heard.
And while there still may be a long way to go before anything is closed to finalized with any of those players, the Jayhawks are off to a good start in their pursuit of the next crop of Kansas basketball players.
Here’s a quick look at some recent news from a couple of KU’s key targets in the class:
• Immanuel Quickley – 5-star point guard, ranked No. 15 by Rivals.com
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The 6-foot-4, 180-pound lead guard from John Carroll High in Bel Air, Md., recently made news by narrowing his list down to a final four. Along with Kentucky, Maryland and Miami (Fla.), the Jayhawks made that cut and appear to be in as good of shape as anybody in the pursuit of Quickley, who actually already has made an unofficial visit to Lawrence.
“I think those four schools fit me the most as a person and as a player,” [Quickley recently told Scout.com’s Evan Daniels.][1] “I think off and on the court those schools fit me the best.”
As for his specific stance on the Jayhawks, Quickley had this to say: “Coach Bill Self is great on and off the floor. I really liked the feel of Allen Fieldhiuse when I visited. The feel there was cool to see.”
Quickley told Daniels that he was now in the process of scheduling official visits to his final four and that he would like to make a decision before he begins his senior year of high school.
• Marvin Bagley Jr. — 5-star forward, ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com
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The 6-foot-10 big man from Sierra Canyon High in Chatsworth, Calif., has narrowed his list to a final six full of some of college basketball’s biggest power players.
Kansas is on that list, along with Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, UCLA and USC.
Through the first few sessions of the Nike EYBL tournament, Bagley has backed up his Rivals ranking, averaging 25 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks in 30 minutes per game.
There has been some talk of whether Bagley might want to reclassify and join the 2017 class, but [the athletic big man told Zagsblog over the weekend][2] that he was not worried about reclassifying and would let his future play out however it was supposed to.
As for his specific thoughts on each of his finalists, Bagley delivered similar thoughts on each of them while talking to Zagsblog.
“They’re all great schools,” he said. “I could say the same thing about each of the schools. They’re all great. They speak for themselves. They’re in the tournament. They play in big time tournaments and games every year on ESPN…. I’m looking for somewhere I could go and get better. That’s my main focus. That’s what I tell everybody. It’s not about the name. It’s not about all the news and the hype. It’s about where I can go and get better. Wherever that place may be out of my list is where I’ll go.”
• Quentin Grimes, 5-star combo guard, ranked No. 12 by Rivals
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Andrew Slater, of 247 Sports, recently caught up with the 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard from College Park High in The Woodlands, Texas, for an update on the current status of his list.
Grimes is the rare top tier prospect to not have at least two of the three or four top college programs on his offer list. That’s not to say he’s being ignored. Far from it. But, according to the Rivals data base, Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina all are absent from his offer list, leaving Kansas as the biggest blue blood program pursuing him, with Arizona, Florida and five other Big 12 schools also in pursuit.
Grimes recently told Slater that he was in the process of narrowing his list down to eight and then would like to get it down to a final five in the next couple of weeks.
[In his lengthy interview with Grimes,][3] Slater points out that Duke has made contact during recent weeks but it’s clear that Arizona and KU have stood out as much as anyone.
“Coach Self called and said I’m a top priority and that he plays a lot of guards and sees me bringing in something different than the other guards because of my size,” Grimes told Slater. “He said they’re known now for their guards, but that I would be unique because of being able to play point guard at that size.”
Grimes said he views himself as a scoring point guard and is looking forward to surrounding himself with lots of talent in college so he can showcase both his scoring and passing skills.
[1]: http://www.scout.com/college/basketball/recruiting/story/1781305-5-star-pg-immanuel-quickley-cuts-list-four
[2]: http://www.zagsblog.com/2017/05/28/marvin-bagley-iii-talks-top-six-schools-possibility-reclassifying/
[3]: http://247sports.com/Article/Five-Star-Quentin-Grimes-Getting-Ready-To-Cut-Down-On-His-List-K-52916805?Notification.Success=You+have+successfully+logged+in!
