Highly rated 2018 center who made visit to KU will announce college choice Sunday

David McCormack, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound senior center from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., who made an unofficial visit to Kansas on Aug. 22, will announce his college choice on Sunday, his mom, Janine has announced on Facebook.

The decision will be revealed at 5 p.m., Central time, on Virginia’s WAVY TV Channel 10 news, it was reported on the Tabernacle of Prayer Church Facebook page. It also was announced on the Team Loaded AAU Twitter site.

McCormack, the No. 33-rated player in the recruiting Class of 2018 according to Rivals.com, narrowed his list of schools to six in late August: Kansas, Duke, Oklahoma State, Xavier, UCLA and North Carolina State.

A teammate of KU freshman forward Billy Preston last season at Oak Hill, McCormack has officially visited Xavier and N.C. State. He is scheduled to attend the Sept. 30 Late Night in the Phog as part of an official visit and recently set up a visit with Oklahoma State the second week of October.

At one point, Oklahoma State was considered the heavy favorite for Norfolk, Va., native McCormack because he’s close to first-year Cowboys assistant coach David Kontaxis, who has ties to McCormack’s Team Loaded Virginia AAU program.

However, as of late KU, N.C. State and Xavier have all been mentioned as possible destinations. Rivals.com on Friday listed KU, N.C. State, Oklahoma State, Xavier and Duke as the finalists, with UCLA not listed.

Other schools besides his finalists involved at one point: Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and VCU.

“It’s a great environment. I really enjoyed myself there (KU),” McCormack told D1vision.com after his visit to KU. “They told me how they’re likely losing their top six guys. Billy (Preston) will be gone, Devonté (Graham) will be gone, so I’ll be able to play inside and out. They’ll be able to take advantage of what I can do.”

Adding McCormack, who averaged 10.6 points and 8.6 rebounds a game as a junior at Oak Hill and 14.8 points (on 60 percent shooting) and 9.8 rebounds for Team Loaded AAU on the Adidas circuit this past spring and summer, would give KU a stellar frontcourt on paper next season. Preston and Udoka Azubuike are expected to enter the 2018 NBA Draft, however the Jayhawks would have McCormack, Memphis transfer Dedric Lawson (6-9, 230) and current sophomore Mitch Lightfoot (6-8, 210) on hand to go with recent KU commit Silvio De Sousa, a 6-9, 220-pound senior from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. De Sousa is ranked No. 25 nationally by Rivals.com.

McCormack has lost a lot of weight while playing for Steve Smith at Oak Hill.

“He was about 295 last year, he’s 255 now,” Smith told Zagsblog.com. “He’s got a great body now, that has helped him tremendously. He’s more mobile now, he plays above the rim instead of below the rim. His shot has improved to 17 feet. He’s inside presence on both sides of the floor. He’s going to be a really, really good college player. I gotta give him credit because he lost weight but he’s the guy who changed his diet and lost the weight and it’ changed him into a much better player.”

As to what he’s looking for in a school, McCormack told The Star this summer: “I really want to make sure the program fits me. Make sure the coaching style fits me and how they develop big men. Playing with my back to the basket is my bread and butter.”

Meanwhile, point guard Immanuel Quickley will announce at 5:30 p.m. Friday on the Uninterrupted Facebook page whether he’s picking KU, Kentucky or Miami.

He had said Thursday that the announcement would be at 5 p.m.

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Highly rated 2018 center who made visit to KU will announce college choice Sunday."