Recruiting update - Spring signing period et al.

Thursday April 12 is the first day of the spring signing period. KU recruit Marcus Adams is expected to sign as soon as Friday but NLT early next week per his communications with Shay Wildeboor of Rivals’ JayhawkSlant.

Michigan C Hunter Dickinson, one of the top players to hit the transfer portal, is visiting KU next weekend starting next Thursday.

Best I can tell Kevin McCullar has yet to declare for the NBA draft (deadline is APR 23). Shay W reports Self is apparently pushing Kevin to stay and try for the Ochai/Jalen draft upgrade next season.

Also lots of non-program talk about what Kyle Cuffe’s plans may be. Portal is expected, and he has until May 1 to enter it and still be able to play next fall. No info out of the program at this point.

Here’s a repeat of the upcoming important dates from the pinned AY2022-23 Recruiting thread.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
ACADEMIC YEAR 2022-23 SIGNING PERIODS FOR D1 MEN'S BASKETBALL
Early Signing Period window: .... 2022-11-09 thru 11-16
Regular Signing Period window: 2023-04-12 thru 05-17
Source: NLI Future Signing Dates Prospective Student-Athletes Signing AY2022-23 and Enrolling AY2023-24

OTHER IMPORTANT DATES
SUNDAY 2023-04-23, 11:59 PM ET: NBA deadline to declare for 2023-06-22 draft (60 days out)
SUNDAY 2023-05-01, 11:59 PM ET: NCAA deadline for Fall and Winter sport athletes to enter the Transfer Portal and be eligible to play immediately next season. (Until further notice date is always May 1).
WEDNESDAY 2023-05-31, 11:59 PM ET: NCAA deadline to withdraw from draft and retain eligibility assuming no agent is hired or an NCAA certified agent is hired.*
Date is ten days after the final day of the annual NBA Draft Combine, scheduled for May 15-21, 2023. Note this date is NOT the same as the NBA's draft withdrawal deadline (5:00 PM ET 2023-06-12, 10 days before the NBA draft is held on 2023-06-22).
*With the new NCAA rules approved in August 2018, effective with the 2019 NBA Draft players can hire an NCAA certified agent and still return to school.

Sources:
NBA.com: Key Dates
InsideHigherEd.com: 'Committed Change' for Men's Basketball.

Nothing locked in yet, but …

Today Shay Wildeboor (Rivals JayhawkSlant hoops guru) came 99% of the way to booking Stanford portal prospect Harrison Ingram as a Jayhawk next season. Self & Co know Ingram — and he and his family know KU — very well, having recruited Ingram hard out of HS. Shay wrote…

…the entire coaching staff is extremely familiar with Ingram and his family, and vice versa. Kansas spent a ton of time recruiting Ingram in high school and Self and his staff knows exactly what he's capable of on the hardwood. I actually think this would be a good fit for Ingram, as he'd be surrounded by a ton of talent and wouldn't necessarily be forced to be "the man" at Kansas. He would have a ton of freedom on both ends of the court and I think you would potentially see a much different player.”

Today Shay also confirmed that Michigan C Hunter Dickinson, one of the top players to hit the transfer portal, is visiting KU next weekend starting on Thursday.

He reported on JayhawkSlant today…

Dickinson ”averaged 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds this past season. So, I spent the majority of last night talking to a few people that covered Dickinson at Michigan or people that know him, and I can tell you that Kansas, without question, is a very legitimate option for the 7-foot-1, 260-pound big man from Hyattsville, Md. Obviously… NIL is going to be a huge deal for Dickinson no matter where he goes, especially at a school like Kansas…

Also, and this is also important, I've been told that he wants to play for a winning program that has an opportunity to compete for championships. He will have every opportunity to do so at Kansas, especially while playing for the best coach in college basketball. Bill Self absolutely wants to land Hunter Dickinson, and he's made that clear to the elite big man. I've also been told that he's got two years remaining and he could very well use the remainder of those two years and not make the move to the NBA a year from now.

Hunter Dickinson is an absolute game-changer and the coaching staff knows that, and there's no doubt about that. Self and his staff will do everything they can to close this deal late next week. However, and I've said this many times, Michigan will be given the last opportunity to bring him back before he makes a final decision…
…

Just talked to a source and here's how the call ended.

"Hunter Dickinson is 100% serious about Kansas. He's got two years left to compete for championships and there are huge NIL opportunities. He's very serious about Kansas."

============
I’m definitely keeping all the fingers crossed that Bill gets Dickinson to Lawrence!

Per Michael Swain
247Sports.com
2023-04-16 

“I wouldn't rule out Kansas for Towson transfer Nick Timberlake just yet. He's set to finish up his official visit to UConn today but as of last night, I heard there is still confidence on KU's side of things that they can get it over the line. It's expected that Timberlake will enter decision-making mode after this visit and pick from KU/UConn/UNC at some point in the not-too-distant future.

My opinion is that it's too close to call right now, but it sounds like there's still optimism around the KU program when it comes to Timberlake.”

#21 in 247Sports.com MBB Transfer portal. (If only KU transfers show up at link, select SCHOOL from the drop down menu and choose ALL to see the complete listing.)

ESPN.com: Nicholas Timberlake, Towson Tigers

Would be a fantastic get for KU.
Hoping he and #1 Dickinson choose C&B and the best coach in MBB today for the next phase of their hoops careers.

From Twitter:

24/7 High School Hoops
@247HSHoops
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Georgetown guard Primo Spears will take an official visit to Kansas and Bill Self beginning on April 25th, a source tells me.

Spears also has a visit planned to TCU starting on Tuesday and also has interest from Florida State, Mississippi State and Arkansas amongst others.…

ESPN.com: Primo Spears

Spears FG % stink, but the “offense” Ewing ran was consensus horrible, and Spears would do much better with Self. A scorer, able to create his own shot (which Timberlake doesn’t do), and a huge plus on D, which Timberlake isn’t.

That’s all 4 of KU’s HS recruits on board for next fall.

KU press release—

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Marcus Adams Jr. has signed to play basketball at Kansas, KU head coach Bill Self announced Monday. Originally a class of 2024 recruit, Adams (6-foot-8, 205 pounds) reclassified for the 2023 class and will be a freshman at KU for the 2023-24 season.

“We started recruiting Marcus very late in the process,” Self said. “Coach (Kurtis) Townsend was the point recruiter with Marcus. When we had Marcus and his family in on an official visit, we just really connected. He certainly fills a need. He’s a tall wing. He’s 6-foot-8 and can shoot the basketball. He had two games this year, one in which he made 11 threes and the other which he made 13 threes. He’s good with the ball in his hands and can make plays for others as well. We think he is very underrated and a youngster that can find immediate minutes with the departure of our tall wings from last year.”

From Torrance, California, Adams played prep basketball at Nathaniel Narbonne High School where he averaged 28.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in 2022-23 for coach Kumase Demesma. He had three 40-point performances, including a 50-point, 21-rebound game. Adams was the recipient of the 2023 John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year Award for the L.A. City Section Open Division.

A four-star recruit at the wing position, Adams is ranked No. 36 by 247Sports.com.

Adams is the fourth signee for Kansas for the 2023-24 season. The other three signed with KU in November and include 2023 McDonald’s All-American Elmarko Jackson (G, 6-3, 185, Marlton, New Jersey, South Kent School [Conn.]), Chris Johnson (G, 6-4, 180, Fort Bend, Texas, Montverde Academy [Fla.]) and Jamari McDowell (G, 6-4, 180, Manvel, Texas, Manvel High School).