Class of 2018 big man David McCormack picks Kansas

By Matt Tait     Sep 24, 2017
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The Kansas men’s basketball program picked up another big time commitment in the Class of 2018 on Sunday evening when four-star center David McCormack (6-foot-9, 260 pounds) chose the Jayhawks.

McCormack officially announced his decision during a live appearance on a local news broadcast in Virginia. With UCLA, NC State and Duke hats sitting on the table in front him, McCormack went for the shock-the-world approach by unbuttoning his dress shirt to reveal a Kansas basketball T-Shirt when it came time to make his pick.

“Kids dream of (this moment) all their childhood,” McCormack said on WAVY 10’s live broadcast. “I’ve been waiting on this moment, I’ve been blessed to be in this moment. I’m excited, kind of nervous and looking forward to a bright future.”

With that, the elite center began to unbutton his shirt and said simply, “Next year, I decided I will attend Kansas University.”

Asked why he chose KU, McCormack pointed to KU’s coaching staff and strong tradition.

“Coach (Bill) Self is an amazing coach. He’s great as far as player development, relationships, he’s a winning coach, there’s a lot of history behind Kansas… (I’m) looking forward to making more championships and more memories at Kansas.”

McCormack also gave KU assistant coach Jerrance Howard some serious credit for helping him reach Sunday’s decision.

“He was a great guy,” McCormack said of Howard. “He made it an easy decision. He was very trustworthy.”

McCormack, who made an unofficial visit to KU a month ago and has scheduled an official visit to Lawrence for next weekend’s Late Night in the Phog, chose KU over finalists Duke, NC State, Oklahoma State, Xavier and UCLA.

McCormack joins five-star forward Silvio De Sousa (6-9, 245) in representing the starting point for KU’s 2018 recruiting class, a group that Kansas coach Bill Self repeatedly has said could be one of the most important he has had at KU given the potential for as many as five or six players from the 2017-18 roster to leave KU after the upcoming season.

McCormack is the No. 26-ranked player in the 2018 class, according to 247 Sports and the No. 2-ranked center, who recruiting guru Jerry Meyer called “a beast down low.”

Stay tuned for much more on McCormack’s commitment.

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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.