KU offers men’s hoops scholarship to Texas combo guard ranked 16th in Class of 2022
Anthony Black, a 6-foot-6, 185-pound senior combo guard from Coppell (Texas) High School, has been offered a men’s basketball scholarship by Kansas, he reported Wednesday on Twitter.
Black is ranked No. 16 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by 247sports.com, No. 27 by ESPN.com and No. 80 by Rivals.com.
He has taken official visits to Texas, Iowa State and Oklahoma State. He also is being pursued by KU, Baylor, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Duke, Memphis, Alabama, Creighton, Arizona, Georgia and others. Coaches from several of those schools, including KU, watched Black compete last weekend at an AAU event in Duncanville, Texas.
“While he may not be one of the most productive players in the class right now, Black possesses a tremendous amount of long-term upside,” wrote Travis Branham of 247sports.com.
“He stands 6-6 with long arms and given his special talent to pass, he is one of the more intriguing prospects who has a chance at becoming a point guard who impacts the game in a variety of ways. Black is a naturally unselfish player in whose hands the ball does not stick. He’s an effective playmaker off the bounce and an effective scorer who can make shots from beyond the stripe. Black is also a positional rebounder and versatile defender,” Branham added.
Jeremiah Johnson visits KU on Wednesday
Jeremiah Johnson, a 6-4, 160-pound junior point guard from Norman (Oklahoma) North High School, made an unofficial recruiting visit to Kansas on Wednesday.
Johnson — he is ranked No. 17 in the recruiting Class of 2023 by 247sports.com and unranked by Rivals.com at this time — has received scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Illinois, Texas and Tulsa.
According to his dad, Jeremy Johnson, he also is being recruited by KU, Missouri, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Iowa, Purdue, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.
“Great unofficial visit with my son up in Lawrence today. Jayhawk nation stand up!! #Rockchalk #BeDifferent #UNO @coachcase10,” Jeremy Johnson wrote on Twitter.
Jeremiah Johnson told Zagsblog.com: “The deciding factors down the line are what school fits the best for me and what school I think I can play my game at and win. I also want a coaching staff that’s going to push me and help me become a better basketball player and person.”
“He’s skilled, has a great feel for scoring around the rim and competes,” wrote recruiting analyst Eric Bossi of 247sports.com.
KU entertains 15 visitors in June
Johnson was the 15th high school player to visit KU in the month of June.
On Wednesday, four players concluded campus visits: Vincent Iwuchukwu, a 7-foot, 220-pound, senior, center, from Montverde Academy in LaPorte, Florida, ranked No. 22 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by ESPN.com; Dariq Whitehead, 6-6, 190, senior, forward, Montverde (Florida) Academy, ranked No. 4 in the Class of 2022 by ESPN.com; Jayden Epps, 6-1, 170, senior, point guard, King’s Fork High School, Suffolk, Virginia, ranked No. 68 by Rivals.com and AJ Storr, 6-6, 200, senior, shooting guard, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida, ranked No. 147 in the Class of 2022 by 247sports.com.
Whitehead was the fifth Top 10-ranked player (by ESPN.com or Rivals.com) to visit KU this month.
The others: No. 5-ranked (by ESPN.com) Keyonte George, 6-5, 190, senior, shooting guard, iSchool Entrepreneurial Academy, Lewisville, Texas; No. 6 (ESPN.com) Chris Livingston, 6-6, 190, senior, shooting guard, Buchtel High School, Akron, Ohio; No. 8 (Rivals.com) Mark Mitchell, 6-7, 190, senior, forward, Sunrise Christian Academy, Bel Aire, Kansas and the No. 8 (ESPN.com)-ranked player in the Class of 2023, Omaha Biliew, 6-8, junior, forward, Montverde (Florida) Academy. Biliew is ranked No. 2 by Rivals.com.
KU also has been visited by No. 11-ranked (by ESPN.com) MJ Rice, 6-5, 200, senior, forward, Prolific Prep, Windsor, California; No. 18 (ESPN,com) Gradey Dick, 6-7, 195, senior, forward, Sunrise Christian Academy, Bel Aire, Kansas (who has committed to KU); No. 44 (ESPN.com) Aidan Shaw, 6-8, 190, senior, forward, Link Academy, Branson, Missouri; No. 39 (Rivals.com) Nick Smith, 6-5, 175, senior, point guard, Sylvan Hills High School, Sherwood, Arkansas: and No. 58 (Rivals.com) Zuby Ejiofor. 6-8, 220, senior, forward, Garland (Texas) High School. The country’s No. 16-ranked junior (Rivals.com), Bryson Warren, also has visited. He’s 6-2, 160, originally from Little Rock, Arkansas.
More on Zuby Ejiofor
Ejiofor, who visited KU last week, also has made recruiting trips to Oklahoma and TCU. He has upcoming visits scheduled to Texas and Arkansas.
“From the start of my trip all the way until the very end, there was a high sense of respect from the (KU) coaches to me and vice versa,” Ejiofor told Jayhawkslant.com. “I think the one thing that stood out to me was the calmness and maturity of the coaching staff. They really seemed to respect me and the hard work it took me to get to that point. Overall, it was a great atmosphere with the people running the KU basketball program. KU is definitely one of my top choices so far.”
Ejiofor scored 36 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Houston Hoops in a recent AAU game against 3D Empire.
Ejiofor was born in the United States, but moved to Nigeria with his parents when he was very young. He moved back to the U.S. in sixth grade and started playing basketball for the first time in eighth grade. His dad currently lives in Nigeria and his mom goes back and forth between the U.S. and Nigeria.
