KU hoops notes: Ex-Georgetown forward has KU on list of possible destinations

Former Georgetown forward Isaac Copeland, an AAU and prep school teammate of Kansas guard Devonté Graham, has Kansas on his list of possible transfer destinations.

Copeland, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound junior who recently announced plans to leave the Big East school, has a list of KU, Arizona, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Illinois, North Carolina State, Nebraska, Texas, and UConn, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and fanragsports.com.

Copeland, who was ranked No. 23 in the recruiting Class of 2014 by Rivals.com, averaged 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds while logging 19.6 minutes a game in seven games for the Hoyas this season. As a sophomore, he averaged 11.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.

Copeland, who like KU junior Graham hails from Raleigh, N.C., teamed with Graham at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire as well as the Garner Road Club AAU program in Raleigh.

Rothstein says Copeland plans on applying for a medical redshirt for the 2016-17 season, meaning he could have two years of eligibility remaining at his new school. He has a back injury that will require surgery and keep him sidelined two to three months, Rothstein wrote at fanragsports.com.

Copeland told The Star in an instant message on Twitter he has not yet set a date for a visit to KU.

Cunliffe sets Georgetown visit date

Former Arizona State shooting guard Sam Cunliffe, who recently announced plans to leave the Pac-12 school after one semester, will visit Georgetown on Dec. 30, according to Scout.com.

Cunliffe recently announced plans to attend the Kansas-Kansas State game on Jan. 3 as part of an official recruiting visit to KU.

The 6-foot-6 Seattle native also has Seattle University on his list of schools. Cunliffe, a former Seattle Rainier Beach High player, averaged 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds a game in 10 games in this, his freshman season. He hit 35 percent of his shots, including 41 percent of his threes. Cunliffe averaged 25 minutes a game.

Cunliffe was ranked No 36 in the recruiting Class of 2016 by Rivals.com. He is planning on enrolling at a school in time for the start of second semester classes.

Diallo visiting Kentucky

Hamidou Diallo, a 6-4 shooting guard from Putnam (Conn.) Science Academy, started an official visit to Kentucky on Monday, according to aseaofblue.com. He made an official visit to UConn on Thursday and Friday and is slated to visit Arizona in early January, according to Zagsblog.com. He also has KU, Indiana and Syracuse on his list.

Diallo, who has already graduated from high school, is in his postgraduate year at Putnam. He is eligible for the 2017 NBA Draft but insists he will attend college one year before heading to the pros. In an interesting twist, he could join a college program at semester and become eligible immediately.

It’s been rumored that UConn and Kentucky are leaders for Rivals.com’s No 10-rated player in the recruiting Class of 2017.

KU recruiting sophomore Barrett

R.J. Barrett, a 6-6 sophomore forward from Montverde (Fla.) Academy, who is ranked No 2 in the recruiting Class of 2019 by Rivals.com, tells Zagsblog.com he’s heard from KU, Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, Indiana, Oregon, Texas, Michigan, Villanova, Stanford, Baylor, California, Florida State and Virginia.

“Barrett is the best player in high school basketball right now,” Montverde coach Kevin Boyle told News-Press.com as reported by Zagsblog.com. “I think he’s the best, period. He can do everything.”

Barrett scored 30 points with nine rebounds and four assists in Montverde’s victory over IMG Academy in the City of Palms tourney semifinals. Barrett, who is from Canada, trained last summer with the Canadian Senior National Team. He is a friend of former KU guard Andrew Wiggins.

“He’s R.J. Barrett, he’s not Andrew Wiggins,” Roy Rana, the Canadian youth national team coach, told Zagsblog.com. “It’s like Kevin Pangos wasn’t Steve Nash. We often make those mistakes about trying to compare players at a young age. I think we’re doing a better job in Canada just letting them breathe and be who they are.”

Barrett is the son of Rowan Barrett, executive vice president and assistant general manager of Canada Basketball.

“Once the season’s over, we’ll start to evaluate what’s going on and whether we want to start taking some unofficial visits,” Rowan Barrett told Zagsblog.com. “We’re so far away.”

KU recruiting junior forward Reid

Nazreon Reid, a 6-9 junior forward from Roselle Catholic High in Asbury Park, N.J., tells madehoops.com he is being recruited by KU, Louisville, California, Kentucky, Seton Hall, UConn, Maryland, Syracuse, Rutgers and others.

“I’m going to cut things down most likely in the summer. Being that I have this whole school year left I still have to think about who is coming to watch me before I cut things down,” he told madehoops.com.

Buford working for Bulls

Former Kansas basketball walk-on guard Chase Buford works for the Chicago Bulls as coordinator of player development.

“Chase came in as an intern last year and he blew me away with his work ethic and his understanding of the game, his IQ,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told the Chicago Tribune. “Coming from the Spurs system (where dad R.C. has been general manager since 2002), being around those guys a lot, really gave us some good ideas. He’s a great worker.”

According to the Tribune, Buford, 28, breaks down film, works with individual players and sometimes even scrimmages with the team.

Of his three seasons at KU, including the 2008 national title season, Buford said: “(Coach Bill Self) was awesome. From 1-15, I don’t think I had one teammate who didn’t love him. Playing for a guy who is passionate and emotional, fun and funny, the swagger we got to play with in college was a direct reflection of his personality.”

Buford’s dad earned an NCAA title ring with KU in 1988. He was an assistant coach on Larry Brown’s Jayhawk staff. Gregg Popovich, who worked as a volunteer assistant for Brown during the 1985-86 season, hired Buford to be the San Antonio Spurs’ head scout in 1994. He was promoted to GM several years later.

“My dad was always great about when we signed guys, especially foreign guys, to take them out to dinner and get them acclimated to the city,” Chase Buford told the Tribune. “When Tony (Parker) came to the States (from France), he was 19 and I was about 13. There were a lot of family dinners — and I was addicted to soccer. I love Tony, Manu (Ginobili) and obviously Tim (Duncan) was the god.”

This story was originally published December 26, 2016 at 8:06 PM with the headline "KU hoops notes: Ex-Georgetown forward has KU on list of possible destinations."