Sophomore basketball standouts Ford, Anderson offered scholarships by KU hoops
Derrian Ford, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound sophomore combo guard from Magnolia (Arkansas) High School, has been offered a men’s basketball scholarship by Kansas, Rivals.com has reported.
Ford, who averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists his sophomore season, is the No. 39-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2022 by Rivals.com.
He is being recruited by KU, Arkansas, TCU, Florida, Auburn, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Alabama, Vanderbilt and others.
Ford was recently named first-team all state by Arkansasvarsity.com.
He scored 21 points in Magnolia’s 69-55 Class 4A state quarterfinal victory against Blytheville. He had 36 points in a 63-56 double-overtime win over Brookland. in the semifinals. The state title game against Little Rock Mills High School was called off because of COVID-19 coronavirus concerns.
KU offers Anderson
Dylan Anderson, a 6-10, 200-pound sophomore forward from Perry High in Gilbert, Arizona, has been offered a scholarship by KU, Rivals.com reports. He is ranked No. 65 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by Rivals.com.
Anderson was offered a scholarship by Northern Arizona when he was in eighth grade. He’s also been offered by Arizona, Arizona State and others.
Anderson and 6-10 junior Duke Brennan combine for an imposing frontcourt for Perry High.
“Right now I’m more of a four trying to change it to a three,” Anderson told USA Today. “I like running more than just standing in the post. I want to play both positions, like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) but with a jump shot.”
Anderson is comfortable playing both on the wing and in the paint.
“I probably break people off the drive more but when I get in I try to work on my guard skills so I can pass. I drive, pull up, I really have the option,” Anderson told USA Today. “But I usually give it to Duke so he can go to work.”
Garrett says KU would have won it all
KU junior Marcus Garrett has been back home in Dallas since the second week of March. He’s had time to ponder what might have happened had there been a 2020 NCAA Tournament.
“I definitely think we would have won a national championship,” Garrett said, speaking as a guest on Andy Katz’s March Madness 365 podcast.
“I feel like we were rolling. I felt it would have had to be one of the best efforts of the year to beat us just the way we were playing and connecting on and off the court. I felt we probably had the best shot at winning the national championship,” he added of the 28-3 Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks were expected to land the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAAs on Selection Sunday. Because of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak there was no Selection Sunday.
The end of the season sent the Jayhawks to their hometowns. They hope to return for summer workouts and classes in early June. There’s a good chance, however, there will be no summer school, thus no Jayhawks in town.
“Just kind of staying safe, going in the garage trying to get a little workout in here and there, trying to stay in shape as much as I can,” Garrett said of his current routine. “It’s different, but kind of the same. At school I don’t have as many groceries as I have at home. It’s usually like I’m eating out every day at school. Here I eat a home-cooked meal, my parents cooking every night, he told Katz.
He speaks with members of the team regularly.
“We have a little group chat we talk in. We get to laughing and text the coaches through the day, make sure everyone is safe and still healthy,” Garrett said.
Of recently being named Naismith defensive player of the year, he said: “It meant a lot. I felt I was starting to get the recognition early in the season. It really started to get bigger late. Once I found out I was a finalist I was definitely happy. I definitely thought I had a chance the whole time to win it.”
KU No. 7 in Katz poll
Katz has ranked KU No. 7 in his first preseason poll for the 2020-21 preseason, he reported on his first NCAA March Madness podcast of the preseason.
Gonzaga is No. 1, followed by Baylor, Villanova, Creighton, Iowa, Wisconsin, KU, Michigan, Kentucky and Virginia.
