Recovered from shin fracture, future KU center Gethro Muscadin working on body, game
It’s difficult for Gethro Muscadin to participate in organized basketball and conditioning workouts in Louisville, Kentucky during these days of COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown.
So the 6-foot-10, 215-pound incoming Kansas freshman center from Aspire Academy has been doing the best he can to stay active. He isn’t likely to arrive at KU until the start of summer classes in June, if there are summer classes in June.
“I’ve been working out at home to keep the body in good shape, run in the neighborhood,” Muscadin said Wednesday in a podcast with reporter Zach Schumaker titled “Schuz Views” on YouTube.
“I was ready for the (high school) season to be over, to have time to work on my game, work on my body,” noted Muscadin, who missed several games during the 2019-20 campaign because of a shin fracture.
“The virus came up. I can’t go to the gym. They closed everything,” he added. “Even (private fitness center) is closed. The school gym is closed shut down, everything. All I can do basically is online classes. Sometimes I do situps, pushups, stuff like that. My life has been really boring.”
Muscadin — he signed a letter-of-intent with KU on Nov. 14, choosing the Jayhawks over Memphis, Louisville, Kansas State, Minnesota and Texas Tech — would like to add 20 or so pounds by the start of the 2020-21 college hoops season.
“I still feel I”m underrated, have got a lot of work to put in,” said Muscadin, the No. 134-rated player in the recruiting Class of 2020 by Rivals.com. “I got hurt in the middle of the season. I’m just now coming back. I’m called second best (prospect in state of Kentucky behind junior Zion Harmon). I’ve got a lot to prove.”
To earn meaningful minutes as a KU freshman, Muscadin said he needs to get bigger and stronger, plus, “work on my moves, my jump shot, my post game, back-to-the basket, work on that a lot.
“I need to be more explosive than I am now and work on my footwork. I think if I improve at those things I will be able to make it at the next level.”
He likes his chances considering how far he’s come already.
When he was 15 in his native Haiti, “I couldn’t dribble at all,” he said. “A little kid could steal the ball from me. They just told me to block shots and rebound, then I learned to run the floor and shoot the ball and pass. I really like to pass.”
Muscadin has emerged as a top recruit in a relatively short period of time. He started playing basketball when he was 15 and moved to the United States at 16. He spent his freshman year at Life Prep Academy in Wichita, then spent the next two seasons at Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas before heading to Aspire for his senior season.
He became a top recruit last summer, playing for the YGC36 AAU program based out of Texas. He said he was thrilled to hear from KU’s coaches, who liked his size, emerging skills and upside.
“That was big,” he said of KU coach Bill Self showing up at his events to recruit him. “I was, ‘Man I’m doing something good. What I’m doing is good.’ Coach Self … he wins the Big 12 almost every year. He won the tournament (2008), goes to the Final Four. He’s got everything a coach could dream of.
“He’s coached a lot of guys in the league. He flew out to see me. I was, ‘This is crazy. This is big time, big.’ I’m still grateful for that. I said, ‘They’ve got guys in the league. If I continue doing the same work I’m doing …. that can be me in a the next couple years, too. I can be the next Joel Embiid, too, the next (Cheick) Diallo, the next Kelly Oubre, Josh Jackson.”
Depending on how he adjusts to major college basketball, Muscadin could be in line to land some minutes in 2020-21 alongside fellow frontcourt players David McCormack and Mitch Lightfoot and possibly Silvio De Sousa, if he does not turn pro.
KU will have to replace Big 12 player of the year Udoka Azubuike.
“I don’t feel any pressure at all. I can take it,” Muscadin said of trying to do his part to make up for the loss of the 7-foot Azubuike. “I will do anything to be on the floor. I’ll do my best to be the next one.”
He said he’s confident he will receive great big-man instruction at KU.
“When you see Kansas, it’s a perfect school for my game,” Muscadin said. “Inside they get a lot of touches, high/low and stuff. I can be inside and out. They spread the floor, move the ball well. If we spread the floor I’ll get the ball. If I set screens I can get the ball. If I go on the block I can get the ball. That’s something I looked at. The bigs get minutes.
“Some schools have bigs that just rebound and block shots and set screens. Kansas is totally the opposite. It’s everything I was looking for. After I visited (week before Late Night in Phog), I was, ‘Man why not take the opportunity?’ At Kansas I have a big shot to make it where I want to go. That’s why I chose Kansas.”
KU coach Self is happy to add him to the big man mix.
“He’s a runner. He’s a jumper. He’s a shot blocker,” Self said. “His activity level is very high. We feel like he is a guy that could develop into one of the better big men in this class.”
Muscadin also figures to fit in well because of his outgoing personality.
“We all loved Gethro on his visit,” Self said. “Kurtis’ (Townsend, assistant) relationship with him and his family played a big role in him coming to Kansas. We could tell he felt at home and seemed so happy. His personality along with his talent will make him a fan favorite from day one at Kansas.”
Muscadin already knows some of the Jayhawks.
“Jalen Wilson … we played AAU together when I was a sophomore and he was a junior,” Muscadin said of the KU freshman from Denton, Texas. “That’s my guy, too. I met the whole team on my visit. I think we’re going to have fun. I think we’re going to do good things.”
Bryce Thompson, a combo guard out of Booker T. Washington High in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who is ranked No. 19 nationally, leads the 2020 recruiting class along with juco standout wing Tyon Grant-Foster.
“I haven’t met Bryce in person yet,” Muscadin said. “We talked once. He’s really good. I’ve played with Latrell (Jossell, incoming guard from Dallas) before, too. I’m excited to be there with these guys for two, three, four years.”
He hopes to make the folks back in Republic of Haiti proud.
“I grew up without a father,” he said. “My mom was with me every day. Growing up without a dad, only having mom, it was really hard. Thinking about her makes me want to push harder. I feel I’m here for a reason now: to be the best I can be.”
“I am humble, friendly, open to anybody, grateful for this opportunity. I hope to be able to grow even more as a person and a player in coming years and represent everybody well.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Recovered from shin fracture, future KU center Gethro Muscadin working on body, game."
