KU, MU included on hoops recruiting list of high school small forward from Nashville
Braeden Moore, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound junior small forward from Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, has received scholarship offers from Kansas and Missouri, he reported recently on Twitter.
Moore has a list of KU, Mizzou, Tennessee, Memphis, Arkansas, TCU, SMU, Auburn, Georgetown, West Virginia, Houston, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Vanderbilt, St. John’s, USC, Ohio State, Rutgers, Boston College, Nebraska, Arizona State and others. Moore is ranked No. 125 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by Rivals.com.
“I was born in SoCal (Southern California) and moved to Nashville in sixth grade. My grandfather was born and raised in Kansas City and I have more family in the KC area than anywhere in the country and visit regularly,” he told The Star in a direct Twitter message.
Moore is averaging 20.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 13 games for Christ Presbyterian this season.
“Moore is an elite spot-up shooter with great size. He’s even shown he can shoot off a curl from deep and seemingly has unlimited range. He can hit contested shots regularly and calmly and his shooting form is fundamentally sound, though could be sped up a bit,” wrote Jackson Collier of arkansas.rivals.com.
“Moore has pretty decent ballhandling skills for his size and age and can drive with ease against his competition. His body control and finishing through contact are next level. Moore has enough touch to score at the midrange level, but mainly score around the rim or behind the three-point line.
“He has a knack for being in the right position on defense, both in help-side and on-ball, and draws a lot of charges because of it. He also has great instincts on both ends of the floor, particularly in floating to open spots on offense, and has a high basketball IQ. All in all, Moore seems to be a hidden gem in the 2022 class who is drawing attention from larger programs later in the recruiting process,” Collier added.
Traudt emerges as KU target
Isaac Traudt, a 6-9, 200-pound junior guard/forward from Grand Island (Nebraska) High School, has been offered a scholarship by Kansas, Traudt reported on Twitter.
Traudt — he is ranked No. 66 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by Rivals.com — received the offer after scoring 34 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a recent game against Bellevue West High School.
He’s also considering Missouri, Kansas State, Nebraska, Creighton, Iowa, Stanford, Oklahoma, Virginia, Michigan State, Purdue, North Carolina, Duke, Louisville and others according to Stockrisers.com.
“My coach gives me 100% freedom. I’m actually our team’s point guard,” Traudt told 247sports.com. “I initiate the offense and then we try to get me a second touch sometimes in the post, sometimes coming off a screen for three or really wherever, maybe isolation as well. So he (coach) just uses me as much as he can, and just lets everyone around me make plays off my playmaking abilities.”
Traudt projects as a small forward or power forward in college.
“The goal, entering the summer, was to put on tons of muscle and really just work on his body and how he could adjust his game off that,” wrote Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com. “Traudt added 30-35 pounds this summer and it was very beneficial to the development of his game and ultimately led to his breakout summer. He saw tons of growth on the court and it led to the outpouring of interest across America from high-major programs.”
Arkansas native cuts list
Nick Smith, a 6-4 junior combo guard from Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, Arkansas, who is ranked No. 29 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by Rivals.com, has cut his list of schools to 10, including Kansas.
Smith — he was offered a scholarship by KU on Dec. 21 — has reported on Twitter a list of KU, Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Baylor, Mississippi, Florida, Auburn, Georgetown and Oral Roberts.
Of KU, Smith told 247sports.com: “Coach Roberts (Norm, KU assistant) and I have been talking ever since the first day people started recruiting and he and I have had some real good conversations. They’re really good right now, but I feel like one more guard can make them unstoppable.”
KU on list of Jai Smith
Jai Smith, a 6-10, 235-pound junior power forward from Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, has a list of KU, Baylor, Texas, Alabama, Houston, Georgetown, Michigan State, Memphis, Marquette, Indiana, Ohio State, Houston, Illinois, West Virginia, Maryland, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Georgia, and others, he told stockrisers.com.
He said KU is “a blueblood that always has one and done players. They have a tremendous ability to send players to the pros at a high rate. I also have a good relationship with coach Norm Roberts.”
Smith, who reported on Twitter he was offered a scholarship by KU on Dec. 10, is ranked No. 116 in the recruiting Class of 2022 according to Rivals.com. He told stockrisers.com he’s considering a move to the Class of 2021.
“Smith fits the modern-day build that we see all around the game of basketball,” wrote Jake Weingarten of stockrisers.com. “Standing at 6-9, he’s a long-athletic and dynamic forward that can run the floor extremely well. My favorite aspect of his game is his ability to defend and rebound the ball. He’s a hard-nosed prospect with tons of upside.”
