Two prized basketball recruits wanted by Kansas to announce decisions soon

Kansas coach Bill Self has spent the last month courting a slew of top-20 prospects in the 2015 recruiting class. Will any of those remaining targets wind up in Lawrence? The KU staff will soon have an answer on two of those players.

Malik Newman, a 6-foot-3 combo guard from Jackson, Miss., announced Tuesday that he will reveal his college choice at noon Friday in a private ceremony that will be live-streamed on the website of the Clarion Ledger newspaper.

Newman, who is ranked as the nation’s No. 3 overall prospect by Rivals, is still considering a list that includes Kansas, Kentucky, Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State and N.C. State.

For the moment, Mississippi State and Kentucky are thought to be the favorites to land Newman, who never took an official visit to KU.

Meanwhile, Brandon Ingram, a 6-foot-9 wing from Kinston, N.C., is set to announce his college decision Monday. Ingram, a top 20 recruit, is choosing from a list that features Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Carolina State and UCLA. Self reportedly conducted a home visit with Ingram last Saturday, though Ingram has long been pegged to be staying in the state of North Carolina.

The Jayhawks, meanwhile, still appear to be an option for Thon Maker, a 7-foot prospect who is in the process of reclassifying from the 2016 class to the 2015 class. According to Scout.com recruiting analyst Evan Daniels, Maker is looking to enroll at a school this fall and be eligible to play the second semester. Maker is rated as the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2015 class, according to Rivals.

“It’s shaping up like it’s going to be midyear,” Ed Smith, Maker’s mentor, told Scout.com. “It’s looking more and more like it’ll be that. He has his core done. That’ll be done on June 23. He’s fine in his core. It’s just getting the work done.”

Smith told Scout that Maker was still considering four schools — Arizona State, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky.

The Jayhawks are also still targeting power forward Cheick Diallo, a native of Mali who played his high school basketball in Long Island, N.Y., and swingman Jaylen Brown, a consensus top-two player in the 2015 class. Diallo is still considering the following schools: Kansas, Kentucky, Iowa State, Pitt and St. John’s.

In terms of need, Diallo would appear to be a priority for Kansas. Self said earlier this month that he wanted to sign another big man. Last week, the Jayhawks lost out on high school center Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV) and Charlotte graduate transfer Mike Thorne Jr. (Illinois). Self also visited with Diallo following the Jordan Brand Classic game in Brooklyn.

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Two prized basketball recruits wanted by Kansas to announce decisions soon."