Kansas basketball and two other teams remain on transfer list of TJ Holyfield

TJ Holyfield, a 6-foot-8, 227-pound graduate transfer out of Stephen F. Austin, has narrowed his list of schools to Kansas, Texas Tech and Illinois, he said in an instant message to The Star on Monday.

Holyfield, who is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, eliminated Oregon and Miami. He said he will be making a final official visit — to Illinois — starting Wednesday. He’s visited both KU and Tech.

“Texas Tech and Kansas went great,” Holyfield told The Star, referring to recent visits. “I narrowed down my list to those two and Illinois. I’ll be heading to Illinois Wednesday to see my former head coach (Brad Underwood) and see what their program is about. I’ll make a decision soon after that.”

Holyfield missed last season because of a dislocated shoulder after averaging 12.9 points (on 54.8% shooting, including 28 of 68 from three for 41.2%) and 6.4 rebounds a game during the 2016-17 campaign. As a junior, he shot 54.8% from the field and 41.2% from three.

Current Illinois coach Underwood is the coach who signed Holyfield at SFA. The Lumberjacks are currently coached by Kyle Keller, who spent three seasons as a member of Bill Self’s basketball administrative staff at KU.

“He is a caring, loving young man,” Keller said of Holyfield last season as reported by KTRE.com. “To me he is on the Mount Rushmore of SFA Basketball. I am happy to see how his life unfolds. He is graduating with a business degree. He will be a great father and is a great teammate and son. I would love for my son to emulate him one day.”

Holyfield, SFA’s career leader in blocked shots, averaged 17.0 points and 7.0 rebounds as a senior at Elev8 Sports Institute in Delray Beach, Florida. He chose SFA over Southern Miss, Florida Atlantic, Boston College and Pittsburgh.

KU offers Karim Mane

KU has offered a scholarship to Karim Mane, a 6-5 junior point guard from Vanier High School in Montreal, according to Rivals.com. He’s also been offered by Arizona State, Wake Forest, Maryland, Oregon, Oklahoma, Xavier, Texas, Illinois, Texas A&M, and Seton Hall according to stockrisers.com. Michigan and Minnesota also have expressed interest in Mane, who plays for Canada Elite AAU.

This story was originally published April 29, 2019 at 12:29 PM.