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Tyran Stokes, men’s basketball’s No. 1 recruit for next season, announced his commitment to Kansas on Tuesday, ending a long, drawn-out recruitment that hinged on everything from who his coach would be to what sneakers he would wear.
Stokes made the announcement during “Inside the NBA” on ESPN.
The 6-foot-7 forward from Ranier Beach High School in Seattle has long been considered the top prospect in his class. Blessed with an uncanny ability to get to the basket, Stokes scored 63 points in a game against West Seattle last season, and he was a McDonald’s All-American star, scoring 12 points and nine rebounds to lead the West team to victory.
“Honestly it’s been a long process, ever since I got my first offer I’ve been thinking about going to high school,” he said. “Since then, college coaches have been talking to me, I’ve had good relationships with different coaches. It takes a lot.”
Stokes had narrowed his list to Oregon, Kansas and Kentucky, but the Ducks recently dropped out of contention, leaving the race for the likely one-time prospect a showdown between two college basketball blue bloods.
“Rock chalk, man. Rock chalk,” Stokes said.
The Jayhawks, who landed the nation’s top-ranked recruit a year ago in Darryn Peterson, had been considered the favorite since Stokes visited campus about a year ago. But one of the questions was whether Stokes, who signed a multi-year NIL contract with Nike last year, would play for one of the flagship schools of its biggest rival, Adidas.
There was also a question of whether Jayhawks coach Bill Self would return for another season amid several health issues in recent years. The Hall of Famer put that aside when he announced earlier this month that he would be back for his 24th season.
Kentucky, a top Nike school, recently welcomed Stokes to campus for another unofficial visit, raising hopes that coach Mark Pope could make a difference. Pope even reportedly offered former NBA player Jamal Crawford, who had been an assistant on Stokes’ high school team, a position on his own staff for the upcoming season.
The Jayhawks certainly needed Stokes in the lineup.
Not only did they lose Peterson to the NBA, as expected, but they also saw big men Flory Bidunga (Louisville) and Bryson Tiller (Missouri) leave via the transfer portal along with guards Elmarko Jackson (Georgetown) and Jamari McDowell (Wake Forest).
They strengthened part of the roster by landing Utah forward Keanu Dawes, Toledo guard Leroy Blyden Jr. and 7-foot-2 center Christian Reeves from Charleston. They also have one of the best high school classes in the country, led by five-star point guard Taylen Kinney and four-star prospects Davion Adkins, Trent Perry and Luke Barnett.
Still, the Jayhawks lacked the kind of punch that Stokes could provide to their revamped roster.
Kentucky has also been busy rebuilding its roster, adding Washington transfer Zoom Diallo, Furman’s Alex Wilkins and international prospect Ousmane N’Diaye to go along with prep recruits Mason Williams and Zyon Hawthorne.
But like the Jayhawks, the Wildcats hoped Stokes could make up for what they lost. This includes leader Denzel Aberdeen (Florida), Andrija Jelavic (Ohio State), Mouhamed Dioubaté (LSU) and Brandon Garrison (Alabama), among others.
Associated Press reporting.
