LAWRENCE — Kansas’ pursuit of one of the best high school guards in the country continued on Friday, when Anthony “Cat” Barber began an official visit.

Barber, 6 feet 2 and 165 pounds, is the No. 9 overall ranked player in the Class of 2013, according to Rivals.com. And for now, all signs point to KU targeting point-guard skills as a definite need for the Class of 2013.  

KU will lose senior guard Elijah Johnson to graduation after this coming season, leaving Naadir Tharpe and Rio Adams as the only true ballhandlers on the roster. KU will have at least five open scholarships for their upcoming recruiting class. They currently have commitments from Wichita guard Conner Frankamp and Georgia swingman Brannen Greene. In the latest Rivals rankings, Greene was ranked No. 22 overall in the country, while Frankamp was slotted at 28th.

-- Dallas center Karviar Shepherd (No. 43 in the latest Rivals rankings) is considering KU in his final list of five schools, according to the Rivals site JayhawkSlant.com. Shepherd, 6 feet 10 and 225 pounds, is also looking at Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and TCU.

-- Kansas basketball players will appear Saturday in the Hawk Zone area near Memorial Stadium before the football team’s season opener against South Dakota State. Players are scheduled to sign autographs from 4:30 to 5:30.