St. Louis guard Ben McLemore commits to Kansas Jayhawks
St. Louis shooting guard Ben McLemore grew up a Missouri fan, and his mother, Sonya, still roots for the Tigers. If there was ever a time for MU to sign a five-star recruit who was also being pursued by the Kansas Jayhawks, this appeared to be it.
McLemore and his mother had some pretty heated arguments during the last year. She wanted him to stay closer to home and play for her Tigers, but, the more McLemore learned about KU, the more he wanted to be in Lawrence.
On Sunday, after McLemore played in the NeXt All-American Classic in suburban Chicago, he scored a victory that will resonate with rebellious teenage boys everywhere when he announced that he will play for Kansas next season.
“Rock Chalk, Jayhawk,” McLemore said.
Sitting to his left, Sonya appeared to be OK with the decision.
“We talked, and he was like, ‘This is where I want to go,’ ” Sonya said. “So, as a mom, I’ll support him.”
The 6-foot-5, 185-pound McLemore, the No. 17 overall player in the 2011 class according to Rivals.com, said that Sunday was one of the happiest days of his life. And there’s no doubt that his decision will make KU coach Bill Self a happy man, too. Self said last week that the Jayhawks needed to sign two, three or four prospects this spring, and the hope is that McLemore is only the first domino to fall.
“When Kansas came to the table, I knew they were a good program, but the decision was still back and forth,” McLemore said. “We decided it was the best place for me.”
McLemore, an athletic wing player with range, said that it was KU’s style of play that sold him. Of course, because Missouri still does not have a head coach after the departure of Mike Anderson to Arkansas, the Tigers do not have a style of play. In an era when most players choose to play for a head coach instead of a program, it would have been a shocker for McLemore to choose MU on Sunday.
McLemore knows what he’s getting with KU, which could have plenty of playing time to offer him next season – depending on which of the Jayhawks’ underclassmen decide to enter the NBA draft. Kansas will already lose wing players Brady Morningstar, Tyrel Reed and Mario Little to graduation.
As of now, KU has six guards on scholarship: Tyshawn Taylor, Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford, Josh Selby, Royce Woolridge and former walk-on Conner Teahan. McLemore will join Brewster (N.H.) Academy point guard Naadir Tharpe, who signed with KU in the fall, in bringing that total to eight. It remains to be seen whether Taylor and Selby will be back in the fall.
No matter what, McLemore knows he will have to compete to earn a spot. He says he needs to work on his ball-handling and that he’ll also be putting in time in the weight room.
“Ben is one of the most humble and unselfish kids I ever had the pleasure to coach in my life,” said McLemore’s AAU coach, Darius Cobb, who also attended the announcement. “Whatever Bill wants him to do, he’ll do. If he needs 30 a night, he’ll give him 30 a night. If he needs 15 assists, he’ll give him that. If he needs 40 minutes of defense, he’ll do that. Ben is a team player.”
After leading Wellston (Mo.) High to a third-place finish at the Class 2 state tournament during his junior year, McLemore transferred to prep school Oak Hill Academy in Virginia for his senior year. But McLemore was dismissed from the school in February for violating an unspecified team rule, according to reports. McLemore now attends another prep school, Christian Life Center Academy in Humble, Texas.
This story was originally published April 3, 2011 at 8:13 PM with the headline "St. Louis guard Ben McLemore commits to Kansas Jayhawks."