No. 18-ranked prep player De Sousa arrives for KU visit Friday

Devon Dotson isn’t the only blue-chip basketball prospect in the Class of 2018 making an official recruiting trip to Kansas this weekend.

Silvio De Sousa, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound senior power forward from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., who is ranked No. 18 nationally by Rivals.com, posted video Friday on Snapchat of his drive from Kansas City International Airport to Lawrence and video of KU’s locker room. Like Dotson, a 6-1 senior guard from Providence Day High School in Charlotte, N.C., De Sousa will be on campus until Sunday.

A native of Angola who started playing basketball at age 9, De Sousa is reportedly considering KU, Maryland, Florida, Louisville, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Syracuse and others.

De Sousa moved to the United States in January of 2015. He first attended Montverde Academy in Florida then transferred to IMG last season.

“De Sousa is as powerful and explosive as they come, allowing him a plethora of brute force in his game,” reads ESPN.com’s scouting report on the frontcourt player. “He’s often times a man among boys, not just inside the lane, but also in the open floor. His shoulders pop off his huge frame and yet he also owns the mobility to move his feet fairly well. He slices right through contact to finish above the rim, is an impressive rebounder, and can even get downhill at times with the basketball in the open floor.

“While his physical dominance is the DNA of his game, he’s consistently expanded his skill and understanding of the game as well. He has a clean stroke and is a consistent shooting threat to 18 feet, is generally unselfish, and learning to pass off the post against double teams.”

Under the category of weaknesses, the ESPN.com scouting report read: “For as talented and physically imposing as he is, De Sousa doesn’t always impact the game as much as he should. He’s got to learn to impose his will on both ends of the floor, and simultaneously continue to develop his understanding of some of the game’s more subtle points. Offensively, he’d also do well to add a jump hook or a basic move he could go-to with his back to the basket.”

The bottom line, ESPN says: “He’s as physically dominant a prospect as you’ll find in the national class but given that he is likely maxed out in that category, he needs to continue to develop his skills, understanding of the game, and overall consistency until his impact matches his natural tools.”

KU is also recruiting De Sousa’s IMG teammate, Emmitt Williams, a 6-7 senior forward who is ranked No. 17 nationally.

It has been confirmed that No. 33-ranked Dotson arrived for his KU campus visit on Friday. The three main contenders for Dotson are KU, Maryland and Florida, according to Rivals.com. He has visited Maryland and Florida unofficially, but has not yet set up official visits to either school.

This story was originally published August 25, 2017 at 5:15 PM with the headline "No. 18-ranked prep player De Sousa arrives for KU visit Friday."