Kansas is one of several schools recruiting highly regarded center Ernest Udeh Jr., a 6-foot-10, 230-pound senior-to-be from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida.
“I haven’t set up a visit with KU. They haven’t offered, but I’ve been in contact with (assistant) coach Norm Roberts,” Udeh told The Star on Thursday night in a text message.
Udeh, the No. 115-ranked high school boys basketball player in the recruiting Class of 2022 by Rivals.com, also has heard from coaches from Florida, Tennessee, Iowa, Miami, Seton Hall, Georgia, Stanford, Notre Dame, Mississippi, Western Kentucky, Temple and others.
“He is one of the more underrated bigs in the entire class of 2022. The development from when I watched him in 2020 until now has been drastic and his upside is through the roof,” wrote Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com.
“He is a dynamic two-way prospect. Can be a physical and dominant paint beast on the offensive end and then he reciprocates it on the other end as he blocks a high amount of shots. In addition, he is a really confident prospect and one of those guys that backs up his talk. His recruitment? Will grow,” Weingarten added.
Dr. Phillips High School coach Ben Witherspoon told Bullsinsider.com: “There aren’t many kids like Ernest. He’s a great student, works extremely hard, is very coachable, and is a great, unselfish teammate. On the floor, he’s a fluid athlete with great hands and feet and has put a lot of muscle mass on in the last year. Ernest is a high motor kid and an elite shot blocker/defender and rebounder right now. He’ll be extremely valuable at the next level because of his rim protection and ability to switch and guard the ball in ball screens. He is working really hard right now to add onto his offensive skill set and has an incredibly high ceiling.”
About KU, Udeh said to Stockrisers.com: “I spoke to Kansas which was big to me because Udoka (Azubuike) went there, and he was one of the toughest bigs I’ve seen. Also, him being from Nigeria speaks volumes for me.” Udeh’s mom was born in Nigeria.
Richard Isaacs considering KU
Richard Isaacs, a 6-2, 180-pound senior-to-be point guard from Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, has the KU men’s basketball team on his list, he told 247sports.com.
Isaacs, the No, 38-rated player in the Class of 2022 according to Rivals.com, is planning on making official visits to Oklahoma State (June 1), Iowa (June 14), Arizona State (June 21) and Arkansas (June 30) with an unofficial visit planned for UNLV (June 4), 247sports.com reported.
Others vying for visits: KU, Creighton, Florida State, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, St. Mary’s, Mississippi, Stanford and others. He is originally from Las Vegas.
MJ Rice being recruited by KU
MJ Rice, a 6-5, 220-pound senior-to-be guard/forward who played his junior season at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, is being recruited by KU, Duke, Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Pittsburgh, North Carolina State and others according to 247sports.com and SI.com.
Rice, the No. 28-rated player in the Class of 2022 according to Rivals.com — he’s leaving Oak Hill for a yet-to-be-determined school — told 247sports.com his relationship with KU “has been growing. They just recently got into the mix but I should be taking a visit there soon. They have great staff, alumni, great players, and I feel like I’d fit in with them and any school. Kansas definitely has my playing style though because they’re fast, and like to get out and run.”
Corhen has KU on his list of schools
KU has reached out to Cameron Corhen, a 6-9, 210-pound senior-to-be center from Pope John Paul II High School in Plano, Texas, Stockrisers.com reports.
Corhen, who is currently unranked in the recruiting Class of 2022, told Stockrisers.com he’s set up visits to Houston and Virginia Tech. He’s also considering KU, Illinois, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M and others.
KU nets top three ranking
Kansas, which added a pair of veteran guards to its roster in Remy Martin and Jalen Coleman-Lands last week, has moved up six spots and now is ranked No, 3 in the country in CBSsports.com’s latest Top 25 Plus One preseason team rankings for the 2021-22 season.
Gonzaga is No. 1, followed by UCLA, Kansas, Villanova, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Duke, Baylor, Arkansas, Purdue, Houston, Maryland, Kentucky, Florida State, Tennessee, North Carolina, UConn, Michigan State, St. Bonaventure, Texas Oregon, Virginia, Auburn,, USC and Virginia Tech.
“The Jayhawks are expected to return four of the top five scorers from a team that beat Baylor in February and finished second in the Big 12,” wrote Gary Parrish of CBSsports.com. “The addition of high-level transfers Remy Martin (Arizona State) and Joseph Yesufu (Drake) should make Kansas the favorite to win what would be the 20th conference championship of Bill Self’s career.”
KU’s recruiting Class of 2021 consists of high schoolers KJ Adams, Zach Clemence, Kyle Cuffe, Jr., and Bobby Pettiford; college transfers Martin, Coleman-Lands, Cam Martin and Joseph Yesufu, as well as walk-on Dillon Wilhite. Returning scholarship players include Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, Dajuan Harris, Mitch Lightfoot, David McCormack and Jalen Wilson. Wilson and Agbaji as well as Remy Martin have put their names in the 2021 NBA Draft. They must withdraw from the draft by July 7 if they wish to retain collegiate eligibility.
Rothstein has KU fourth in country
KU has jumped four spots — from No. 8 to No. 4 — in the preseason Top 45 team rankings of Jon Rothstein of collegehoopstoday.com.
Gonzaga is No. 1 followed by UCLA, Villanova, Kansas, Ohio State, Purdue, Baylor, Michigan, Auburn, Maryland, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Houston, Florida State, Duke, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, St. Bonaventure, Texas, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, UConn, USC, Virginia, Syracuse, Loyola, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Indiana, LSU, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, Xavier, Nevada, Belmont, Colorado State, Arizona, Memphis, Wichita State, Louisville, Notre Dame and Texas Tech.
KU to play in Bahamas in 2022
The Kansas men will participate in the 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, Rothstein of collegehoopstoday.com reported Thursday.
KU will be joined by Tennessee, USC, Wisconsin, Dayton, North Carolina State, BYU and Butler in the tourney, set for Nov. 23-25, 2022 in Nassau, Bahamas.
The field for this year’s Battle 4 Atlantis (Nov. 24-26 in Nassau): Baylor, Michigan State, Auburn, UConn, Syracuse, Arizona State, VCU, and Loyola.
The Jayhawks have competed once before in the Battle 4 Atlantis. In 2013, KU defeated Wake Forest in the first round, lost to Villanova in the semifinals then defeated UTEP in the third-place game.