Class of 2023 forward Scotty Middleton recently included Kansas on his list of five finalists.
The 6-foot-6, 180-pound small forward from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, also has Ohio State, Seton Hall, Texas A&M and UConn in his final five.
The rankings for Middleton are all over the place, with ESPN.com putting him at No. 19 overall and Rivals.com listing him as the No. 97-ranked prospect in the 2023 class. On3.com ranks him 23rd and 247Sports has him listed in the No. 42 spot.
Middleton has only officially visited one of his five finalists — Ohio State. He took an unofficial visit to KU for the KU-Kentucky game in January.
Meanwhile, four-star point guard Layden Blocker, also of Sunrise Christian Academy, recently narrowed his list to seven schools, with KU being one of them.
The No. 47-ranked player in the 2023 class per Rivals also has Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Gonzaga, Memphis and Oklahoma State on his list of finalists.
The 6-2, 168-pound guard told Shay Wildeboor of JayhawkSlant.com that he plans to visit all seven schools.
**Top 2024 prospect off the market?**
Five-star small forward Naasir Cunningham, the No. 1-ranked player in the 2024 class according to both ESPN.com and Rivals.com, recently announced that he was signing with upstart league Overtime Elite.
Cunningham holds offers from several major college programs, including Kansas, and his move to sign with Overtime Elite does not necessarily close the door on him playing college ball.
The reason? According to reports, he has chosen not to take a salary, which preserves his college eligibility. He still has the potential to earn name, image and likeness money throughout the remainder of his high school career at Gill St. Bernard’s School in Gladstone, New Jersey.
**CB Day**
In case winning a national title and declaring for the NBA draft were not big enough milestones, Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog recently decided that KU junior Christian Braun deserved more.
In a proclamation at a recent Overland Park City Council meeting, Skoog declared Tuesday, April 19, 2022 as “Christian Braun Day” in Overland Park.
The proclamation celebrated Braun’s decision to play college ball close to home and also praised his energetic playing style and his 12 points and 12 rebounds in the national championship victory over North Carolina.
Braun, who attended Blue Valley Northwest High in Overland Park, also had a day named for him at his old high school. April 4, 2022 was declared Christian Braun Day at BVNW.
**Enaruna on the move**
Two years after leaving Kansas for a different opportunity elsewhere, former Jayhawk Tristan Enaruna is on the move again.
After spending the 2021-22 season with the Iowa State Cyclones, Enaruna entered the transfer portal this offseason and announced recently that he was headed to Cleveland State.
CSU recently named former Iowa State assistant coach Daniyal Robinson as its new head coach. Robinson replaces Dennis Gates, who was hired by Missouri in late March.
A 6-foot-8, 200-pound senior-to-be from Almere, Netherlands, Enaruna averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game during his junior season at Iowa State. He started 26 of 33 games and shot 54.5% for the season.
In his two seasons with the Jayhawks, Enaruna averaged 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game as a freshman and 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds during his sophomore season.
