TRANSFER PORTAL & OTHER RECRUITING FOR KANSAS UPDATED 2023-06-20 2:00 PM CT

A quote of a JayhawkSlant post by Seved, a Jayhawk living in tu territory…

“ I live in Austin, and I can tell you this one really stings UT. Morris had a good first year on a very deep and veteran team. He has extraordinary defensive talent, much like McCullers. He gave Jalen all he wanted in the Big 12 Tourney. IMO, his offensive game will surprise some---his outside shot improved as the year went on. Under the best coach in basketball, I think that he has a real chance to excel, and to round out his game. To note: I heard nothing about him being anything but a good teammate at UT. Again IMO, this is a big get for the Hawks, and he will slide ride into a substantial role at KU next year.”

Fingers crossed!

Everyone in the game for Hunter Dickinson is waiting for his Villanova visit this weekend to come to an end and then hopefully he will announce his decision early next week. No promises on next week, but that sure is the hope! The suspense is murderous!

In the interim the thoughts of JayhawkSlant poster ravenman10 bear consideration by KANSAS fans...

HD isn’t going to Kentucky guys. It was a very short trip, and he was basically begged by Cal to come. The NiL money intrigued him so he gave it a shot.

Nova is who I would be more worried about. But again, he’s smarter than thinking that team can win it all. Playing with Moore* is getting them a visit.

At the end of the day, Kansas is his best fit and he understands that. Expect HD to be a Jayhawk

And , if for some reason he isn’t……we will be the best defensive team in the country with Udeh holding down the paint.
*Villanova guard and Dickinson's AAU teammate and friend Justin Moore.



I'd have to agree with the above, especially given the KU history of developing big men. Both Udeh and Ejiofor should make big jumps in performance going from their freshman to sophomore years.

Still, I would LOVE to see HD at KANSAS! Oh, yeah!

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Primo Spears is expected to announce his decision tonight at 9:30 ET.
With Morris now committed to KANSAS, the gurus are picking Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles to get another quality guard tonight.

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One last note for this post -- the visit date for former Duke small forward signee (and consensus Top Ten 5* HS recruit) Mackenzie Mgbako is expected to be sometime next week, maybe as early as Monday. He is currently visiting St. John's and and its new HC Rick Pitino. On Friday Shay Wildeboor reported "I was originally told that the visit will take place on Monday and was then told that the staff wants to get Mgbako, the No. 8 ranked player in the 2023 class, on campus ASAP. From what I've gathered, Mgbako plans to visit Kansas, St. John's, Indiana, and Louisville. I've reached out to Mom and hope to have a complete update here in the near future, but I have been told that his interest in Kansas is very real."

The only question would be if HD says yes to KU where does the extra ride for Mgbako come from?

For that matter, if HD says yes and later in May Kevin McCullar Jr decides he wants another shot at an NC with KU, where does THAT ride come from?

Things that make you go hmmm...

ROCK CHALK!

P.S. - thanks, replay!

As expected after Arterio Morris committed to KANSAS yesterday, tonight Primo Spears committed to Florida State. Best wishes for the youngster!

The following was posted Sunday AM by Shay Wlldeboor on JayhawkSlant. ..
"I just had a talk with Daphney Mgbako, the mother of Mackenzie Mgbako, the 6-foot-8, 195-pound small forward from Roselle (NJ) Catholic High School. Mackenzie, the No. 8 ranked player in the 2023 class, will in fact take an official visit to Kansas this week. She wanted to make it clear that her son hasn't narrowed his list of schools and isn't sure where the visit list that was reported on Twitter this weekend came from. Daphney said they are in the process of conducting Zoom calls, taking virtual tours, and going through the entire process the second time around."

Also... as of 10:00 AM CT: all quiet on the Dickinson front... standing by...

❤????

Mackenzie Mgbako arrives tonight for his KU visit.

Talk (no official word as yet) is that Hunter Dickinson announces his decision tomorrow, May 2.
Maryland thinks they are getting him..
Shay at Rivals and
Mike Vernon @kuhearings both feel good about him picking Kansas.

Jaylon Tyson finished his KU visit Sunday evening.
No commitment, but the following comment…
“The amount of history there is crazy. The love for basketball is unmatched and Lawrence, Kansas is definitely a place I could see myself being.”- Jaylon Tyson

Less than an hour before this posting date/time stamp, Shay Wildeboor (JayhawkSlant) reported a trusted, close-to-KU-program source that Rivals #8 ranked Mackenzie Mgbako is loving his Kansas visit and that KU looks to be the team to beat for the one-time Duke signee.

Shay normally does not post such info based on just one source, which tells us just how comfortable Shay is with this source and the info.

Here’s a scouting report on Mgbako from another website:

”His shot-making from behind the arc is his best asset. He can also make the types of shots that translate to the next level - pick-and-pop threes, slipping out of ball screens to make shots on the move, or creating space with a series of side-step or step-back shots. The mid-post has long been a staple of his individual offense, but now he’s getting some easy points by moving without the ball more freely. Physically, Mgbako appears to be in the best shape of his career to date and was also productive enough on the glass to hold his own at the four. His swing skills are his defensive versatility and shot-creation abilities, both of which are rooted in his mobility, footspeed, and ability to play low to the ground when necessary. If those two areas develop, both his versatility and overall projection will go to new levels.”

Reading all that, if the young man wants to come to KU I say wrap him up now if at all possible. Worry about space for Hunter Dickinson later… and to be honest if Bill does NOT get HD? I really believe we will see huge gains in the games of Ernest and Zuby that will offset that miss.

BTW, in case you are reading the Jeff Erman stuff (U of Maryland writer), I offer the following track record re: KU v MD targets which was pointed out on Slant today: "He was wrong about Silvio. He was wrong about Dotson. He might be wrong about Dickinson.".

Also, both Mike Swain (247Sports) and Shay WIldeboor (Rivals), fairly conservative fellows in their analyses and projections, are "feeling good" about HD & KU.

Just need some commitment news, guys!

Come on, Mackenzie and Hunter! Come to KANSAS (where's the rides? I don't know) and win the Big 12 season title, the Big 12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament in 2024!

Rock Chalk, baybee!

Per Shay @ Rivals JayhawkSlant about 40 minutes ago — there will be no Dickinson decision today. On Marty Mush’s* @roundballpod podcast this afternoon Dickinson said he hasn’t decided yet.

He agreed to make his announcement on Mush’s Instagram page… but no announcement date was set.

All this time and HD truly hasn’t decided yet?
Hmmm…

Has me hoping Self gets a Mgbako commitment before Mackenzie M leaves, and then Kevin McCullar opts to return. I’d be quite happy with that team shooting for all the marbles.

Let’s go, Dajuan & Mac & Mac!
Lead a Jayhawk track attack!
Run & gun and don’t look back
Until 3 trophies have been packed!

Ernest, Zuby and KJ
Elmarko, Chris, Jamari (Hey!)
Arterio, Marcus, Chris and Nic
These Jayhawks will not miss a trick.

Bill Self always builds the team,
The team then builds the KU Dream.
The fans cheer to the very end
With hopes that end ‘s spelled CHAMPION!

Dang, I’m getting excited here!

How long until Late Night?

(With a tip of the hat to and a fond remembrance of Mr. Late Night Countdown Clock himself, Mr. Charles Gruber, may he rest in Jayhawk Heaven.)

*Marty Mush?
Don’t ask, I have no clue.

Here’s what HD had to say about KU and making a decision, according to Shay…

"Kansas was really cool. Just going there and to Kentucky, it's just so different than being at Michigan because at Michigan obviously everything is focused around football. But walking by the facilities and stuff, just how much basketball is so dominant there. And it was really just cool to see the facilities, the dorms. Then talking with coach Self for a while and meeting the whole staff and the players, it was really cool. And then going to [Allen Fieldhouse], the fieldhouse was crazy. It just looks like it's going to be loud as hell there.

"Bill Self is a really cool guy. A really cool and down to earth guy."

Here’s what he had to say about making a final decision.

“I do hate how people think I’m trying to just drag this along. If I knew where I was going, I would’ve happily made the decision sooner. I really am struggling trying to pick a school. The good thing about all of this is, all my options, I feel like if I went there I would succeed. But it’s just trying to figure out which one out of them is the best and the one I’m most comfortable at. I know I’ll succeed at any four of them, but it’s kind of just where I feel the most comfortable.”

Zach Clemence to UC Santa Barbara

Good luck to him!

JayhawkSlant's Shay Wildeboor noting this morning at 9:02 AM CT: "Just talked to Scott Greene, who runs the Maryland site on Rivals.com. His source is telling him that this is a Kansas/Villanova battle and Kentucky/Maryland are out. I’m still reaching out to sources, but wanted to pass this along. Again, just passing along what I was just told."

(Pay no attention to that other Maryland writer Ermann, he has been all over the place this past week.)

Also note that Nova is competitive with KU on these factors:
On the East coast (near family, roughly 2 hour drive from his hometown HS to Nova)
Good friend and HS teammate Justin Moore on roster, along with Hakim Hart and TJ Bamba (both of whom KU was interested) on the roster, Dickinson makes them VERY competitive next season.

One other note -- word is Jay Wright has been heavily involved in fixing their NIL program, result they are now extremely competitive in NIL with the likes of Duke, Kansas, Arkansas and Kentucky.

Talk on the net from places like Lexington is that KU is acting as if they have HD and are matching anyone and everyone's NIL offers.

To summarize, I think in the end it's going to come down to these three factors...
* link to Kyle Neptune Wikipedia page
The huge question is how much weight will Dickinson place on the Family & Friends factor compared to the others, especially if he considers the others as close?

I would not be at all surprised to see him end up at Nova... and I am really hoping Mackenzie Mgbako wants to be a Jayhawk. Yeah, the freshman v senior factor mentioned earlier by Corpus is a big one, but I'm thinking Mac attack...

No announcement date yet for either Mgbako or Dickinson.

Best I can tell there is only one ride left open (assuming Kevin Mc gone and Kyle Cuffe Jr stays), but who knows what else Self is working on?

KYLE CUFFE JR has entered the transfer portal, 2023-05-03.

Fare thee well, lad, we ne'er knew ye...

If McCullar stays in the NBA Draft, Self has 2 rides to offer.
If McCullar returns for one more shot at that NC, just 1.

KMc has NLT May 31 to decide.
Depending on what he and Self are saying in their talks, it may be sooner than that.

KUAthletics.com: Self officially announces Timberlake and Morris

Two to go!

First, Hunter Dickinson announces today. Not seen a time, just that today is the day per HD himself.

Second, Bill Self on the Arterio Morris situation:

“We are aware of the charge that Arterio is facing in the State of Texas. In addition to working with our athletic department and campus administrators, we have also spoken at length with Arterio, his family, his former institution's University Student Affairs office and his former institution's Department of Athletics' Compliance and Administration offices. Based on these discussions, we are comfortable welcoming Arterio to the University of Kansas, and he is well-aware of the high standards and expectations that come with being a member of the Kansas Men's Basketball program. We fully expect him to meet those daily.” – Coach Bill Self

You should post more often, AZhawk87!

Now to see how the Mac & Mc saga plays out...

ROCK CHALK!