KU, KSU, Wichita State, many others offer scholarships to this Georgia hoops player
Langston Wilson, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound sophomore basketball small forward from Georgia Highlands College in Rome, Georgia, last week was offered a scholarship from the University of Kansas, he reported on Twitter.
Wilson — he’s stockpiled offers from more than 40 schools — averaged 10.1 points and 7.6 rebounds a game his freshman season at (24-8) Georgia Highlands. He hit 54% of his shots including 30.8% of his threes (8 of 26). He made 44 of 84 free throws for 52.4%.
Wilson — he is originally from the Philadelphia area — reported the KU offer on Thursday. Other schools on his list that have offered include Kansas State, Wichita State, Maryland, Memphis, Oregon, Texas A&M, Arizona State, West Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Penn State, Tulsa and Mississippi.
Wilson, whose dad Ron played center at Villanova in the 1990s, then for the Harlem Globetrotters, is a major college recruit despite not playing basketball in high school.
“That surprises a lot of people when I tell them that,” Wilson said of not playing high school hoops in an interview with Zagsblog.com. “A coach saw me at an open gym (after he moved from Pennsylvania to Georgia in March of 2019) and put me in touch with coach J.J. (Merritt, Georgia Highlands). It was a twist of fate, more or less. The rest is history,” Wilson added.
Wilson explained to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal he had a medical condition in high school. He told the paper he received clearance to play in March of 2019.
Of KU, he told Jacob Polacheck of Zagsblog.com: “I know a lot about them. I’ve watched them on TV plenty of times. They play a really good brand of basketball and I respect it. I had great conversations with coach (Jerrance) Howard, the assistant coach and coach (Bill) Self as well.
“They’re really more down to earth than a lot of people would expect them to be. For them to be in the position that they’re in, having a great program, winning the Big 12 for so many years, getting to the tournament and attaining a No. 1 overall ranking in the country on multiple occasions over multiple years, sending multiple people to the NBA, that’s huge.
“A few guys are from my area, the Morris twins, who went there and did well under them and were able to get to the NBA. I’m pretty familiar with Kansas. A lot of people are.”
The 20-year-old Wilson told Zagsblog.com playing time will be a factor in choosing a school.
“You didn’t go to juco and go through all of that just to go to a school and be stuck on the bench,” Wilson said. “I just feel as though when you’re going through the decision process, a lot of things that may have wowed a 17-year-old kid aren’t going to wow me as a 19 to 20-year-old man.”
Huntley-Hatfield down to eight schools
Kansas is one of eight schools in the running for Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound junior power forward from Scotland Campus High School in Scotland, Pennsylvania.
Huntley-Hatfield, the No. 5-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2022 by Rivals.com, told Rivals.com on Friday he’s sliced his list of colleges to Kansas, Auburn, Georgia, Louisville, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
Huntley-Hatfield — he said he will announce his college choice on his sister’s birthday, Jan. 21 — cut Kentucky Baylor, Georgetown and Howard from his previous list of schools.
“Many believed that Huntley-Hatfield was due to end up at Kentucky but with the Wildcats not making his final eight, things are much more open than previously believed,” wrote Corey Evans of Rivals.com. “Ole Miss has already brought him to campus in the official variety as the Tennessee B-Maze product will continue to keep is recruitment alive until a potential decision in January.”
Huntley-Hatfield, who is originally from Clarksville, Tennessee, has left open the possibility he may switch to the recruiting Class of 2021.
“Huntley-Hatfield is a tremendous prospect that possesses the requisite talent, size, and upside that will make him a promising target beyond the college level,” wrote Evans. “For now, the Tennessee native must continue to refine various portions of his game but he is someone that can score inside and out, is an above average athlete, and with the appropriate attention, develop into an excellent, multi-positional defender in the halfcourt setting.”
Kok Yat reveals list of 10
Kok Yat, a 6-9, 170-pound senior small forward from Norcross (Georgia) High School, on Saturday announced a final list of 10 schools. They are: Kansas, South Carolina, TCU, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Western Kentucky, DePaul, Mississippi State and New Mexico.
He eliminated Boston College, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Miami (Florida) and others.
“Kansas, New Mexico, South Carolina, and DePaul have been pushing hard for me. Kansas is one of the main schools I want to visit. I was on the phone with coach Self a couple of weeks ago and that went really well. He was just telling me how he wants to coach me,” Yat told Jayhawkslant.com in a recent interview.
His high school coach, Jesse McMillan, wrote on Twitter: “Kok Yat has a game that immediately translates to NCAA play — long, stretch wing that can start the break and space. Alters shots all over the floor on the other end. 2020-2021 is going to be a BIG year for him.”
Texan entertaining many offers
Daimion Collins, a 6-9, 205-pound senior power forward from Atlanta (Texas) High School, tells kentucky.rivals.com he has received scholarship offers from KU, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Arkansas, Houston, Texas Tech, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Hampton.
“With Paolo Banchero and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield no longer in play, Collins is the only post that currently has a Kentucky offer,” wrote David Sisk of kentucky.rivals.com. “Oklahoma and Texas have been considered the leaders in that order, and Corey Evans (of Rivals.com) recently wrote that this could be the first Wildcats/Sooners battle for a prospect since Trae Young.”
Collins is a good friend of KJ Adams, a 6-7, 220-pound senior power forward from Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, who recently committed to KU.
“I don’t have a list right now, because most of the schools right now are recruiting me pretty hard. It’s pretty hard just to pick one out of all of them,” Collins told kentucky.rivals.com.
He wants to play, “somewhere where I get to come in and make an impact, and how they have a great family atmosphere, and of course academics.”
