Kansas, Missouri express interest in Duke transfer Semi Ojeleye

Kansas and Missouri have already expressed interest in Duke transfer Semi Ojeleye.

Ojeleye, a sophomore forward from Ottawa, was granted a full release from his basketball scholarship Sunday, allowing him to transfer from Duke to a school of his choosing. As a former touted recruit, and the leading scorer in Kansas high school history, Ojeleye predictably received heavy interest from college basketball coaches Monday.

Matt Suther, Ojeleye’s former AAU basketball coach with Mokan Elite, said his phone was ringing all day.

“Too many to count,” Suther said when asked how many schools had contacted him and Ojeleye. “Hearing from a ton of schools all over the country.”

Suther said Kansas and Missouri were among the prominent regional basketball programs to call.

Ojeleye’s older brother, Victor, played at Kansas State as a walk-on, but Suther said the Wildcats had not contacted Ojeleye’s camp.

All three schools recruited Ojeleye out of high school, with Missouri and K-State offering scholarships. None of them made Ojeleye’s final list, which included Indiana, Oregon and Stanford. He also considered Arizona, Illinois, UCLA and Wisconsin.

Ojeleye told Scout.com that he will take a handful of visits and hopefully choose a transfer destination shortly after the spring semester begins. He said he has also heard from Wisconsin.

“Obviously I want to play, but I want to go where I have a chance to learn and a chance to go to the NCAA tournament,” Ojeleye told the website. “If they have a good coaching staff, a good locker room and my family is all on the same page, that school has a good chance with me going there.”

Ojeleye is a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward. He averaged three points and 2.3 rebounds in six games for the Blue Devils.

This story was originally published December 15, 2014 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Kansas, Missouri express interest in Duke transfer Semi Ojeleye."