KU’s David McCormack completes 6-0 trip: ‘He embraced his temporary teammates’
Kansas freshman David McCormack’s Global Sports Academy Select Team has completed its week-long overseas trip with a perfect 6-0 record.
The college all-star squad, which was directed by former Santa Clara head coach Kerry Keating — and led on the court by 6-foot-10, 265-pound KU power forward McCormack — defeated Ostend 92-64 on Thursday in Belgium to complete its undefeated run against teams from Belgium, Germany and Holland.
Former Oak Hill Academy standout McCormack scored seven points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Thursday’s final.
Overall, he averaged 10.5 points and 8.8 boards in the six contests.
“He’s got a ways to go. That said, the best thing heading into the season is he is running the floor very well,” Global Sports coach Keating told The Star in a text message Thursday night, responding to a request to assess McCormack’s performance.
“For a guy that’s lost what, 50 pounds (since junior year at Oak Hill Academy), that bodes well. He’s got to understand his size, get a pace on his catches and how to slow down — no different than any other freshman really, regardless of position, letting the game slow down.
“Some of the FIBA rules caught up with him, with the physicality, posting up and not being able to battle back as an offensive player,” Keating added, “but we didn’t concern ourselves with that — fouls and such. Rebounding his area is already a strong suit. We would’ve liked to see him use some touch 3-feet-and-in on offensive boards, but he’s still ingrained to try to bulldoze anyone in his way. That will change as we know come next month.
“He was a willing passer when the opportunity presented itself and really did a great job setting pindowns and the first of any staggers we ran for our wings.”
Keating said he enjoyed spending a week with McCormack.
“Off the court he embraced his temporary teammates and was very much a part of the trip,” Keating said. “It’s a big development year for him in my opinion if all (of KU’s bigs) are healthy and with a year of coaching and Hudy (Andrea, strength coach), he could be a monster. His free-throw shot looks good enough to be in the 70s (percentage) with reps, a good sign as well. Great kid!”
Keating, the son of KU special assistant to the athletic director Larry Keating, said overall, “It was a good group, a fun trip. They actually made an effort to defend and rebound and really shared the ball. All are coachable. We were able to get some good ATO (after time out) actions in for each of them.”
Global Sports used a 32-8 fourth-quarter run to assure victory in the final contest Thursday.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group going 6-0 this week — 92-64 win tonight with a 32-8 fourth-quarter closeout means they each had their best in the last five minutes they each played,” Keating wrote after the game on Twitter.
Members of the U.S. squad: McCormack, plus Nicholas Muszynski, Grayson Murphy, Belmont; Dylan Painter, Jermaine Samuels, Villanova; Makhtar Gueye, UAB; Tyere Marshall, Steven Jordan, Rider; William Douglas, Ethan Chargois, SMU and Frank Rokins, West Chester University.
Former Jayhawks headed overseas
Former KU guard Keith Langford will be playing for Panathinaikos, a EuroLeague team based in Greece during the 2018-19 season. The team recently announced his signing to a one-year contract.
Langford, 34, played last season in both China (for Shenzhen Leopards) and Israel (for Maccabi Rishon).
“This was not about money. This is about redemption and embracing playing for one of the top clubs in European history. I’m ready!” Langford told Eurohoops.com. “The motivation is huge on both sides. Pao (Panathinaikos) hasn’t been (to EuroLeague Final Four) for six years and in my career, it’s the only thing I’m missing. I’ve been all-EuroLeague and won scoring trophies and been to the playoffs, but no Final Four. This is a huge opportunity,” he added.
The 6-4 Langford was an All-EuroLeague first team selection in 2014 and has won the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague top-scorer trophy twice. He’s also played for teams in Italy and Russia.
Former KU guard Travis Releford will be playing for AEK Larnaca in Cyprus this season, according to Eurobasket.com. Last year, he competed for Limburg United in Belgium.
And former Wichita State and KU guard Conner Frankamp will play in Bulgaria for BC Beroe, the Wichita Eagle reports. Frankamp, who averaged 10.6 points and 2.3 assists per game his senior season at WSU, is expected to start for Beroe.
SLAM game on Saturday
Several top high school players will be competing in the SLAM Summer Classic, set for 7 p.m., Central time, Saturday in New York City. Players who have had KU on their recruiting lists who are expected to play include Jalen Green, the No. 1 rated player in the class of 2020 according to Rivals.com, plus James Wiseman (No. 3 in class of 2019), R.J. Hampton (No. 4 in class of ‘20) and Cassius Stanley (No. 33 in class of ’19). The game will be shown live at Facebook.com/SLAMTV.
Todd updates recruiting in blog
Isaiah Todd, a 6-9 junior forward from Trinity High in Raleigh, N.C., who is ranked No. 8 in the recruiting class of 2020, is considering KU, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Villanova and others, USA Today reports.
“On the recruiting side, Kentucky has been reaching out consistently. Maryland has too. Oklahoma State reaches out consistently. Texas, Florida offered recently and I’ve had a lot of other schools reaching out,” Todd wrote in his own blog at USA Today.
“I’m really liking getting to know the coaches. I just like having conversations with them and I really like being able to tell them that I’m in the gym working out when they call or text.”