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Woolridge
LAWRENCE | It appears that Kansas coach Bill Self wasn’t satisfied in putting the finishing touches on his 2008 recruiting class earlier this week.
Within two days of securing an oral commitment from Jersey City (N.J.) point guard Tyshawn Taylor, Self received word that Phoenix shooting guard Royce Woolridge has chosen to join the Jayhawks in the fall of 2010. Woolridge is only a sophomore at Sunnyslope High, but he saw enough during KU’s run to the national championship to end his recruitment.
“Royce told me (Wednesday) night,” said Dan Mannix, Woolridge’s high school coach. “I think there are a few factors. Obviously, Kansas has a great program, one he really admires. He had talked about a few schools that really stood out — if you could play for them, he’d like to, and that was one of them.”
Woolridge’s commitment to KU is an unprecedented one, according to Shay Wildeboor of Rivals.com. While some schools have gotten commitments from players even younger than Woolridge — Kentucky received an oral commitment from eighth-grader Michael Avery on Thursday, according to CatsPause.com — Kansas has not locked up a player this early.
Woolridge has not even visited the campus.
“I can’t remember a time a kid committed this early,” Wildeboor said.
While KU doesn’t yet have a commitment for the Class of 2009, the Jayhawks already have one for the following year. The 6-foot-2 Woolridge chose KU over UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, California and Georgetown.
“He’s a scorer,” Mannix said. “That’s the best way I could describe him right now. He has really deep range for a young guy. You can’t teach 23-foot range, and he has that. He would probably be more of a combo guard. He can break people down off the dribble.”
Mannix expects Woolridge to grow a couple of more inches before he comes to KU. After all, Woolridge’s father, Orlando, was 6 feet 9 and played 13 seasons in the NBA.
The question now, of course, is whether Woolridge will change his mind during the next two years. Wildeboor says it’s easier for kids to keep a long-term commitment in basketball than football.
“I expect it to stick,” Wildeboor said. “Normally in basketball, if you give a commitment, the other schools back off. In football, everyone likes to stick their teeth in and get one last chance.”
•AAU TOURNAMENT TO BEGIN IN LAWRENCE: Some of the top prep basketball talent in the country will be on display this weekend in Lawrence at the Jayhawk Invitational, which will tip off tonight with some marquee games at Allen Fieldhouse.
Among the KU targets in the 2009 recruiting class that will playing in tonight’s games are Indiana Elite power forward Stephan Van Treese, LA Pump N’ Run Elite guard Elijah Johnson, Atlanta Celtics power forward Derrick Favors, Atlanta Celtics guard Lance Stephenson and KC Pump N’ Run guard Michael Dixon of Lee’s Summit West.
A tripleheader featuring all of those players and many more will begin at 7:15 p.m.
•KU TO VISIT THE WHITE HOUSE: Kansas announced Thursday that the 2008 national champion Jayhawks will visit the White House and meet President Bush on June 3.
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