Sunrise Christian hoops forward Bobi Klintman includes Kansas on list of six schools
Bobi Klintman, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound senior small forward from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, on Sunday narrowed his list of colleges to Kansas and five others.
Klintman, who is ranked No. 47 in the recruiting Class of 2022 according to 247sports.com and unranked by Rivals.com, revealed a final group of KU, Texas A&M, Virginia, Maryland, Rutgers and Loyola on Twitter.
“It is a big basketball school and they produce NBA players. So that’s always a good thing for a program,” Klintman said of KU to 247sports.com.
Of Klintman, Eric Bossi of 247sports.com wrote: “Last week, 247Sports had a chance to watch the skilled and nearly 6-foot-9 forward work out at Sunrise Christian and he made quite an impression with his combination of skill, size and athleticism. Though he’s in a new city and country for his senior year, Klintman has been able to watch a pretty good amount of the programs he’s considering. Also, while he could go play professionally in Europe, he’s set on playing college ball and the visits will be important as he figures out his next step.”
Klintman is originally from Sweden.
“I’ve been studying the teams,” he told 247sports.com. “I want to go on the visits and see the facilities and how the team practices to see if I feel like I can develop and be a better player there. I also want to see how the school looks because that is important because when the ball stops bouncing you have to have something for a plan B. Then I will just talk to the coach and see if he is honest with me and if I can get a good feel for the environment.
“College is the route I want to take because I’m trying to get to the League (NBA) and I think that’s the best way for me to do it.”
KU has secured a commitment from Gradey Dick, a teammate of Klintman at Sunrise Christian. Dick is a 6-7, 195-pound senior small forward ranked No. 37 in the recruiting Class of 2022 according to Rivals.com.
Matas Buzelis visits Kansas
Matas Buzelis, a 6-9, 182-pound junior small forward from Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, recently made an unofficial visit to Kansas when in the state for the Crossroads Elite camp (Aug. 27-29 in Andover).
Buzelis, the No. 10-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2023 according to ESPN.com, No, 27 by Rivals.com and No, 43 by 247sports.com, has also has visited Wake Forest, Purdue, UConn and DePaul and has set a visit for Florida State at the end of September.
He’s also heard from coaches from Syracuse, Illinois, Gonzaga, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Butler, George Washington, Northwestern, Creighton, Indiana and others.
“That was really good. I talked with (KU’s Bill Self) and they showed me all around. It was a good overall experience. The facilities were awesome,” Buzelis said of his visit in an interview with 247sports.com.
Buzelis’ parents are from Lithuania. He was born in Illinois.
“I’m going to take my time and see what my family thinks about all of the options,” said Buzelis. “There’s no rush to do anything.”
Buzilis burst onto the scene at the Pangos All-America camp in June in Las Vegas.
“Buzelis is a very energetic forward. He displayed great body language (in Vegas) and has a tall and skinny type of body which leads to creating an advantage when defending drives and driving himself to the basket. This frame is not ideal when handling a bigger body on the post,” wrote Reinaldo Bessa of eurohopes.com.
“He loves to penetrate when he has to play in one-on-one situations but when he is off the ball, he is actively looking for a screen to shoot a jumper or to free himself. His jumper is still inconsistent mostly due to his unorthodox form but he was never afraid of the contact even when facing bigger bodies, slashing against them with a change of speed. In the Top 60 (Pangos) game,” Bessa added, “he was a solid contributor for his team always following the correct lane on offense and allowing his positioning to do most of the work. On defense, he showed a really solid performance.”
Of his performance at the event in Andover, Eric Bossi of 247sports.com wrote: “Buzelis was straight up spectacular and clearly the top performer of the event. His ability to handle the ball, shoot and create had me thinking that he was like some type of young, new age Toni Kukoc,. Currently a four-star prospect, Buzelis will be a five-star when we update 2023 rankings and he’s pushing for the top 10, maybe even top five nationally.”
McCain offered scholarship by KU
Jared McCain, a 6-2, 175-pound junior combo guard from Centennial High in Corona, California, has been offered a scholarship by KU, according to Stockrisers.com.
McCain has a list of KU, Louisville, USC, Loyola Marymount, Texas Tech, Washington, Gonzaga, Virginia, Stanford, Villanova, San Diego State, New Mexico, Texas A&M and Houston.
Raked No. 16 in the recruiting Class of 2023 according to Rivals.com, McCain emerged as MVP of Peach Jam. He averaged 20.0 points and 5.0 assists per game. He hit 50% of his shots and 40% of his threes. He led Team Why Not to a Peach Jam Championship, scoring 23 in the title game.
“McCain is a lethal prospect. The word sniper would best describe his ability to shoot the three-ball, and even at Peach Jam, McCain always feels as if he could improve his shooting ability. But he’s more than just a shooter, as he impacts the game in so many ways and it’s exactly why he will leap recruiting rankings all year round,” wrote Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com.
“McCain has so much skill but combines it with high basketball IQ. He has great court vision, can get his teammates involved and make them more successful,” Weingarten added.
Jayhawks are recruiting Papa Kante
KU has offered a scholarship to Papa Kante, a 6-10 junior forward from South Kent (Connecticut) High School, according to Zagsblog.com.
The unranked player from Senegal also is being recruited by Providence, Tennessee, TCU, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, UMass, Georgetown, Georgia, West Virginia, Ohio State, Rutgers and others.
“Papa is a 6-10 power forward/center with versatility,” South Kent coach Raphael Chillious told SI.com. “He can score in the post but also has a nice turn and face up game. He prides himself on toughness, playing hard and communicating at a high level. He’s only played organized basketball for just under three years, so he’s just scratching the surface of what he will be prior to entering college in two years.”
