Columbia Hickman point guard Jimmy Whitt picks Arkansas over Mizzou
Columbia Hickman senior point guard Jimmy Whitt has chosen Arkansas over Missouri, announcing his verbal commitment Tuesday at the school.
Whitt, a four-star recruit who is ranked No. 52 nationally in the class of 2015 by Rivals.com, set visits with five schools — Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Southern Methodist and Marquette — earlier in the month.
However, Whitt, who plays AAU basketball for Kansas City-based Run GMC, decided to verbally commit to the Razorbacks after a weekend visit to Fayetteville, Ark., according to PowerMizzou.com.
As a junior, Whitt averaged 22.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 4.4 steals per game last season for the Kewpies, who finished 27-3 and reached the Missouri Class 5 championship game.
Whitt has known former Missouri coach Mike Anderson, who is entering his fourth season at Arkansas, for nearly a decade.
Missouri’s focus is expected to turn toward Huntington Prep (W. Va.) center Thomas Bryant, Blue Springs South forward Kevin Puryear, Waynesville (Mo.) forward Juwan Morgan and Oak Ridge (Fla.) guard Antonio Blakeney.
The Tigers are expected to have three scholarships available for the 2015 recruiting class.
To reach Tod Palmer, call 816-234-4389 or send email to tpalmer@kcstar.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/todpalmer.
This story was originally published August 19, 2014 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Columbia Hickman point guard Jimmy Whitt picks Arkansas over Mizzou."