KU recruiting targets Cassius Stanley, Matthew Hurt receive postseason accolades

Cassius Stanley and Matthew Hurt, two of Kansas’ top remaining basketball recruiting targets who are scheduled to announce their college choices on April 17 and 19 respectively, have been showered with postseason awards the past several days.

Stanley, a 6-foot-5 senior combo guard from Sierra Canyon High in Chatsworth, California, recently was chosen Open Division boys basketball player of the year by the Los Angeles Times and Southern California player of the year by the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News.

On Tuesday, Stanley was chosen third-team all-USA boys basketball by USA Today.

Stanley, the No. 33-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2019 by Rivals.com, averaged 17.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for Sierra Canyon (32-3), which won its second straight state title.

Stanley — he has a final list of KU, UCLA and Oregon — scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 76-52 championship game victory over Sacramento Sheldon.

Meanwhile, Hurt, a 6-9 senior forward from John Marshall High in Rochester, Minnesota, on Monday was chosen Minnesota’s Associated Press basketball player of the year and Tuesday was voted second-team all-USA boys basketball by USA Today.

Hurt, who averaged 36.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game this past season, has a final list of KU, Duke, Kentucky, Memphis, Minnesota and North Carolina. His brother, Michael Hurt, is a senior-to-be at Minnesota.

Hurt, ranked No. 7 nationally by Rivals.com and No. 10 by ESPN.com, was chosen a 2019 McDonald’s All-American while Stanley, who is rated as high as No. 27 nationally by ESPN.com, was not.

Stanley will compete in the Ballislife All-America game on May 4 in Long Beach, California.

“I still remember my first day of high school basketball practice the summer before my freshman season at Harvard-Westlake (his first high school),” Stanley told the LA Daily News. “I thought to myself, ‘Whoa, this is going to be a big adjustment.’ But now, four years later, I’ve finished my career with back-to-back Open Division state titles. Can’t do much better than that.”

The college that lands Stanley will be bringing in one of the top athletes in the country. He hasn’t commented much on recruiting amid rumors other schools have been trying to get involved in his recruitment.

“When Cassius wants to be, he can do anything he wants in the game of basketball,” Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier told the LA Daily News. “If he wants to be the best defender, he can do that. If he wants to be the best shooter, he can do that, too.”

Of his improved shooting, Stanley said: “It was a mission of mine to work on my jump shot. I’ve spent hours and hours in the gym on my own, with shooting coaches, everything, to polish my shot. I’m still working on it.”

ESPN.com had this to say about Stanley in its scouting report: “Cassius Stanley might be the most explosive athlete to come out of Southern California in over 20 years and he has all the tools to be not only an electrifying athlete but also an established winning basketball player. Ultimately, he can be as good as he wants to be and his work ethic, focus, and passion will play a key role.”

The scouting report noted that, “Stanley is the most gifted athlete Southern California has seen since Corey Benjamin of Fontana (1996). His explosiveness is at the very highest level and he loves to display his incredible bounce in both transition and the half-court. He catches lobs, throws back tip-dunks, and can literally go over-top of contesting defenders with enough momentum at his back. He also owns an element of power to match his leaping ability which makes him a truly elite above-the-rim finisher.”

Hurt averaged 14.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for Team USA in the FIBA Americas tournament last summer. KU coach Bill Self was head coach of that team.

In late December, Hurt told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “My goal is to make it to the NBA. I’m trying to get with the right coaches who can lead me in that direction.

“I just try to take one player from each team and what I can see myself in their system and how they run things,” Hurt, the leading scorer in Minnesota prep basketball history (3,819 points including 1,072 points his senior season) added to the Star-Tribune. “Making my decision, I’m just trying to make the best decision for myself: culture, winning and how I fit in the system are key factors.”

More USA Today honorees

KU recruiting targets R.J. Hampton and Precious Achiuwa also made USA Today’s All-America team. Hampton, a 6-5 junior ranked No. 5 in the recruiting Class of 2020 by Rivals.com, was first team all-USA boys basketball after averaging 32.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists last season for Little Elm (Texas) High School. He topped the 50-point mark twice. Hampton has KU, Kentucky, Duke, TCU and Memphis on his list of schools. He has talked about possibly reclassifying to the Class of 2019.

Achiuwa, a 6-9 senior forward from Montverde (Florida) Academy who is ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2019 by Rivals.com, made the third team. Achiuwa, who is originally from Mali, is considering KU, North Carolina, Memphis, Georgia and others. He will play for the World team in the Nike Hoop Summit on April 12 in Portland, Oregon.

USA Today’s first-team All-America squad: Hampton, plus Cole Anthony, Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia; Anthony Edwards, Holy Spirit Prep, Atlanta; Isaiah Stewart, La Lumiere School, La Porte, Indiana; and James Wiseman, Memphis East.

USA Today’s second team: Hurt, plus Vernon Carey, Duke; Jalen Green, San Joaquin Memorial, Fresno, California; Nico Mannion, Pinnacle High, Phoenix; and Trendon Watford, Mountain Brook (Alabama) High School.

USA Today’s third team: Achiuwa and Stanley, plus Greg Brown, Vandergrift High, Austin, Texas; Joe Girard, Glens Falls (New York) High; Josh Green, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida.

Enaruna in no hurry

KU recruiting target Tristan Enaruna, a 6-7 senior forward from Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, who is ranked No. 105 in the recruiting Class of 2019 according to Rivals.com, will likely choose a college in May, Rivals.com reports.

Enaruna told Corey Evans of Rivals.com he has not set visit dates for trips to KU, Miami and Creighton.

“Enaruna told Rivals.com that he wants to get by the next few weeks in seeing how certain rosters shake out and which coaches go where before solidifying his visits,” Corey Evans of Rivals.com wrote Tuesday. “Expect other suitors to enter the picture with visits beginning by the end of the month and a decision likely to come in May. Enaruna, a native of the Netherlands, had been back home for the past two weeks for spring break which put his recruitment on the backburner some.”

Kentucky reportedly has shown some interest as well as Texas Tech and Illinois.

“Today’s game is about skill and versatility and Enaruna has proven to have both,” writes Eric Bossi of Rivals.com. “He can play as a big wing or you can play him as a face-up 4-man in a smaller lineup. He didn’t come to the United States from the Netherlands until midyear last season and added exposure has helped his cause quite a bit.”