KU notebook: Blue-chip point guard Immanuel Quickley lists Kentucky as current favorite in recruiting

Immanuel Quickley, a 6-foot-4 senior point guard from John Carroll High School in Bel Air, Md., who has been training with Kentucky coach John Calipari’s USA Basketball World Cup team the past couple weeks, now says Kentucky is his current favorite in recruiting.

Quickley, who is ranked No. 15 in the recruiting Class of 2018 by Rivals.com, recently revealed a list of four finalists: Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and Miami.

Quickley, however, told Evan Daniels of Scout.com on Wednesday on Kentucky Sports Radio that Calipari’s Wildcats lead for his services.

“I think right now, Kentucky is definitely a favorite,” Quickley said. “They’re getting an advantage because I’m getting to know coach Calipari pretty well right now, but I’m still a long way from reaching my decision. I still want to take all my visits and see every school before I make my decision.”

Quickley told the Baltimore Sun he’s enjoying the recruiting process with just four schools remaining in the hunt.

“I think it (recruiting) has gotten a little easier. I get to take a break and play basketball, honestly,” Quickley said. “It’s still fun.”

Quickley, who attended last year’s Late Night in the Phog at Allen Fieldhouse on an unofficial campus visit, did praise Kansas in his interview with Daniels.

“Player development has been a big thing with them,” Quickley said of Bill Self’s Jayhawks. “They don’t always get the McDonald’s All-American, but they develop them. For example, Frank Mason … what they have done with him and how they got him to the NBA at his size, speaks a lot about them and their player development.”

Quickley insists he will make official visits to all four finalists.

“(I will) finish up the summer, I have gotten to know the four pretty closely so just finish up the summer then take all of my visits pretty soon and then make a decision in the fall before the high school season,” Quickley said.

The U.S. World Cup team begins play in the international tourney on Saturday in Egypt.

Jayhawks in 2018 draft?

Several KU players are expected to be selected in the 2018 NBA Draft, various Websites have predicted a week after the conclusion of the ’17 draft.

NBAdraft.net lists Lagerald Vick as the 25th pick of the first round. The Website projects second-round selections in Malik Newman (33 overall), Billy Preston (35), Svi Mykhailiuk (43) and Devonté Graham (48).

Draftexpress.com lists Mykhailiuk the 29th pick and Graham the 33rd overall selection.

CBSsports.com has senior guard Mykhailiuk listed at No. 24 overall — solidly in the first round.

“Remember that Svi was the college youngest player when he began his career at Kansas, so he’s really a sophomore-aged player. While he hasn’t lived up to sky-high projections, Svi is still a big, smooth wing who can shoot it,” wrote Reid Forgrave of CBSsports.com.　　

Lucas officially on roster

Former Jayhawk’ Landen Lucas and ex-Ottawa High/SMU forward Semi Ojeleye are two of the 15 players on the Boston Celtics’ summer league roster, the Celtics announced Thursday.

Former Iowa State forward Abdel Nader also will play for the Celtics, who will play three games in the Utah Jazz Summer League July 3-6 in Salt Lake City, then head to Las Vegas for July 7-17 summer-league action.

“Lucas is mobile and moves fluidly around the court, using his 7-foot wingspan to protect the paint and challenge shots at the rim,” writes Keith Smith of celticsblog.com. “He has a fairly limited offensive game, where he sticks to scoring inside, but is known for being a solid screener and having a high basketball IQ.

“With a strong performance in Summer League, Lucas could land a training camp contract for a Celtics team that currently projects to be short on size up front. In addition, he could score himself a spot on the Maine Red Claws in the NBA Gatorade League (formerly the D-League).”

Other bigs on the Celtics’ summer roster: Rosco Allen, Stanford and Trevor Thompson, Ohio State, as well as Croatia’s Ante Zizic.

In addition to Boston, Lucas also worked out for Atlanta, Detroit, Minnesota, Denver, Utah, Milwaukee, Sacramento and Oklahoma City in the weeks prior to the draft. He was not selected in the two-round draft.

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 9:03 PM with the headline "KU notebook: Blue-chip point guard Immanuel Quickley lists Kentucky as current favorite in recruiting."