Cole Anthony cuts KU basketball from his list; Stanley, Wiseman recap campus visits

Cole Anthony, the son of former NBA player Greg Anthony who is ranked No. 3 in the recruiting Class of 2019 by Rivals.com, has cut Kansas from his list of prospective colleges.

Anthony, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior point guard from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., will attend either North Carolina, Georgetown, Oregon, Miami, Wake Forest or Notre Dame, he announced on Twitter on Monday night.

Anthony sliced KU, Duke, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Villanova and Louisville from his original list of 12 schools.

Anthony averaged 14.3 points and 4.2 assists a game for USA Basketball’s Under-18 team, which won the gold medal at the FIBA U18 Americas tournament in June in Canada. KU coach Bill Self coached that team. The Jayhawks, however, were never considered more than a long shot to land Anthony, who averaged 26.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists for the PSA Cardinals during the Nike EYBL AAU season.

Anthony, according to Zagsblog.com, has made official campus visits to Oregon, Notre Dame and North Carolina and unofficial visits to Wake Forest and Miami.

Stanley has one more visit

Cassius Stanley, a 6-5 senior shooting guard from Sierra Canyon High in North Hollywood, Calif., who is ranked No. 31 in the recruiting Class of 2019 by Rivals.com, completed his second of three visits last weekend — to UCLA.

Stanley — he visited Kansas for the Sept. 28 Late Night in the Phog — will travel to Oregon this weekend. It’s possible he could select a school during the Nov. 14-21 early signing period.

“We would like to not be in the perpetual decision mode,” Stanley’s dad, Jerome, told Zagsblog.com. “I don’t know if our decision with correspond with the November signing period. I can you tell it will not be a prolonged, extended thing.”

Of UCLA, Jerome Stanley told Zagsblog.com: “It is extremely close to home — 15 minutes. It’s just something that you look at and then you move on to go up to the Pacific Northwest and then deal with those Ducks.”

Of KU, Jerome stated: “I don’t think anybody’s visit can top what Kansas’ visit was. They’re so thoughtful in providing you the tools you need to make a decision, whether it’s where you live or your academics or the role in going forward in the NBA transition or how you’ll be used that year. Coach Self is just a beautiful dude. Coach Self is a special dude.”

Jerome Stanley said the FBI’s investigation into college basketball recruiting and recent court case in New York, which has involved KU, “does not factor into our decision.”

Rivals.com’s Dan McDonald sees UCLA as the leader.

“I’ve always thought Cassius Stanley would eventually end up at UCLA, so that’s my pick here,” McDonald writes at Rivals.com. “A lot of the talk around him has been that he’ll likely stay in California, particularly Los Angeles. With USC out of the way, I like UCLA’s chances to keep Stanley home.”

Wiseman finishes visits

James Wiseman, the No. 1 player in the recruiting Class of 2019 according to ESPN.com and 247sports.com and No. 2 player according to Rivals.com, made his fifth and final visit — to Memphis — last weekend.

Wiseman, a 7-0, 210-pound senior center from Memphis East High School, is expected to choose between Kansas, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Florida State and Memphis “near the end of the year” according to a report in the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

The Commercial Appeal noted that a crowd of 6,373 in Memphis’ FedExForum chanted, “We Want Wiseman!” during a nine-minute stoppage of play (caused by a clock malfunction) in Thursday’s 120-66 exhibition win over LeMoyne-Owen.

The Commercial Appeal website ran a photo Monday of Wiseman visiting with Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo and Sacramento Kings forward Zach Randolph on Sunday. Moneybagg Yo performed at Memphis Madness on Oct. 4, while Randolph played eight years for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

D.J. Jeffries, a 6-7 senior from Olive Branch (Miss.) High School, who is ranked No. 48 nationally by Rivals.com, committed to Memphis while making his official visit the same days as Wiseman.

“This has been a dead heat between (Kentucky’s) John Calipari and his former program (Memphis) for months with no one blinking. It should be noted though, Florida State, Kansas and Vanderbilt actually do have a chance with Wiseman,” writes Corey Evans of Rivals.com. “Now, do I see any of the three landing Wiseman? No, but I also would not discount the trio of schools, especially the Seminoles where, if there is a major dark horse, it is FSU as one should never bet against Leonard Hamilton on the recruiting trail. At the end of the day though, I foresee Wiseman staying home and bang the catalyst for a Memphis uprising in the FedEx Forum.”

Grimes No. 6 on top frosh list

KU’s Quentin Grimes ranks sixth on CBSsports.com’s list of 20 of “the most important freshmen for the season ahead.” He was the only Jayhawk to make the list.

Duke’s R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson were ranked Nos. 1 and 2.

Of Grimes, reporter Matt Norlander writes: “No worries about the reigning player of the year for the state of Texas. He’ll produce heartily in year one for Bill Self. Grimes is a fantastic guard with terrific length, B-plus athleticism and doesn’t shy on confidence. Kansas has been good just about every year since the Eisenhower administration, but under Self the best KU teams have had guards who attack like starving cheetahs. Grimes fits that mold. We’ll be watching him score between 13 and 16 per game this season as he does it from all three ranges on the floor: at the rim, from the elbow/soft mid-range, from beyond the arc. Plus, he embraces rebounding. All of this led to Grimes earning MVP at the 2018 FIBA U18s (where he was coached by Self). Grimes also won a 6A title in Texas and averaged 30/9/5 while doing so. Trust me, he is the goods.”

KU hoops a ‘frontrunner’ for crown

CBSsports.com lists KU one of five “frontrunners” to win the national title. Kansas State is mentioned as one of three “dark horse candidates.” The other frontrunners: Gonzaga, Nevada, Kentucky and Duke. The other dark horses: Syracuse and Auburn.

Of KU, Norlander writes: “The Jayhawks have 10 guaranteed or potential matchups during the regular season against teams that are reasonably projected to finish first or second in their conference: Michigan State, Vermont, Louisiana, Tennessee, Marquette, Wofford, New Mexico State, Villanova, South Dakota and Kentucky. And this doesn’t even include the road game against Arizona State.”

Of KSU, Norlander writes: “It might be hard to reconcile K-State as a contender for the national title, but this is the dark horse category. By its nature it’s hard to envision. Still, there’s enough on that roster to make this team a threat to win four, five or six games in March and April. Very much will be about the matchups with these Wildcats. Between (Dean) Wade, (Barry) Brown and (Xavier) Sneed, Kansas State returns 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and nearly five steals per game.”

Transfer list led by Lawsons

Dedric Lawson and K.J. Lawson top SI.com’s list of the “top impact transfers for the upcoming season.”

“Plenty of college basketball fans don’t remember Dedric Lawson’s otherworldly 2016-17 season—in which he nearly averaged 20 and 10 — simply because he did it for Memphis,” writes Will Ragatz of SI.com. “Now he, like (Reid) Travis (of Kentucky), has a chance to see his NBA draft stock skyrocket if he has a big year at one of the nation’s elite programs. A 6-9 power forward, Dedric is a polished offensive player who can back his man down or take him off the dribble. He made just 27 percent of his 111 three-point attempts as a sophomore, so it will be interesting to see if Self allows him to let it fly from deep. His brother K.J. is no slouch either, but may have to come off the bench on a team that returns Udoka Azubuike and Lagerald Vick and also adds Cal transfer Charlie Moore and five-star freshmen Quentin Grimes and Devon Dotson.”

Texas Tech’s Matt Mooney, a former South Dakota player, ranks No. 5 on the transfer list; Iowa State’s Marial Shayok, a former Virginia player, No. 7 and Baylor’s Mario Kegler, formerly of Mississippi State, No. 10.

Gary Bedore

Gary Bedore covers University of Kansas athletics for The Star.