4-star KU target Ernest Udeh Jr., down to Kansas and UCLA; will announce choice on Oct. 20

By Matt Tait     Oct 13, 2021
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Kansas University basketball recruiting

Fresh off of a weekend visit to Lawrence, Class of 2022 big man Ernest Udeh Jr., narrowed his list of finalists to two — Kansas and UCLA.

Udeh announced the final pairing on social media Wednesday evening, with a photo edit of him hovering above the KU and UCLA logos.

He also shared the date that he planned to make his decision public, telling Joe Tipton, of On3.com, that he would make reveal his choice at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20.

Ranked No. 29 overall in the 2022 class by Rivals.com, Udeh, who is originally from Nigeria and plays at Dr. Phillips High in Orlando, is also the fifth-ranked center in his class.

At 6-foot-10, 232 pounds, he’s known as a ferocious presence in the paint, both as a defender around the rim and a player who tries to dunk everything as hard as his possibly can on offense.

After returning home from his official visit to KU, Udeh told Shay Wildeboor, of JayhawkSlant.com, that he had “nothing negative to say” about his visit to KU.

During the visit, the talented center got to meet the entire team, including most of KU’s coaching staff, and he spent the most time with KU senior Ochai Agbaji and sophomore Joseph Yesufu, whose families also have Nigerian roots, along with third-year sophomore Jalen Wilson.

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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.