Jayhawks offer hoops scholarships to three prep point guards; Thompson selects number
Rising high school senior point guards J.D. Davison, Rahsool Diggins and Nolan Hickman have been offered scholarships by coach Bill Self and the University of Kansas men’s basketball team, each reported via Twitter.
Davison, 6-3 out of Calhoun High in Letohatchee, Alabama, is ranked No, 26 in the recruiting class of 2021 by Rivals.com. Diggins, 6-2 out of Archbishop Wood Catholic in Warminster, Pennsylvania, is ranked No. 43. Hickman, 6-1 out of Eastside Catholic in the Seattle suburb of Sammamish, Washington, is ranked No. 81.
Davison, according to Zagsblog.com, has a list of KU, Auburn, Iowa State, UNLV, Alabama, Memphis and others. Diggins is considering KU, Penn State, Miami, Rutgers, Florida, Xavier, UConn, Seton Hall and others. Hickman is considering KU, Washington, Gonzaga, Washington State, Arizona, Oklahoma, Memphis, California, USC and others.
Davison was named Gatorade player of the year in Alabama after averaging 30.4 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists a game his junior season. He scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 64-61 Class 2A state-title victory over Barbour County. His three-pointer at the buzzer gave his team the victory.
“It seems like he’s won almost every award this year, and he’s certainly deserving,” Calhoun coach Ervin Starr told al.com. “He’s a very well-rounded player, a very intelligent player. A lot of people see the athleticism, but they don’t understand his basketball IQ is phenomenal. He makes it look easy, but he puts a lot of work into learning his craft.”
Diggins was recently named MVP of the Philadelphia Catholic League after averaging 20.2 points a game in 2019-20.
“The big thing with him this season is him being the leader and knowing that he doesn’t have to do everything for us to win,” Archbishop Wood coach John Mosco told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The best thing is yet to come in that he’s still learning. He’s going to continue to get more people involved and I think he’s going to get more offers as it goes through.”
Of his ability to take the ball to the hoop, Diggins told 247sports.com: “I’ve never been the biggest kid strength- or height-wise, so I have always had to find a way to craft my dribble to get a shot off, and that’s how that happened.”
Hickman averaged 17.6 points and 3.4 assists per game for Eastside Catholic last season. He led his team to a third-place finish in the state tournament.
Hickman is described by endlessmotor.net as “a lead guard with good perimeter shot-making ability, excellent change of speed off the dribble and solid vision/passing skills. We really like Hickman as a scoring guard with some playmaking ability. Nolan can slide to either guard spot based on his ability to create shots off the dribble and his smooth stroke from distance. He may very well be the most undervalued prospect in the nation right now, but that isn’t likely to be the case for long.”
Forwards net KU offers
KU has also extended scholarship offers to junior-to-be power forwards Sadraque Nganga and Kijani Wright, they reported via Twitter.
Nganga, 6-9 and 205 pounds from Compass Prep in Phoenix, Arizona, is considering KU, Arizona, Arizona State, Alabama, Auburn, Maryland, Oklahoma, TCU and others, according to Zagsblog.com. He is ranked No. 15 in the recruiting class of 2022 according to Rivals.com.
Wright, 6-8 and 210 from Windward High in Los Angeles, in considering KU, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Stanford, UCLA, UNLV and Vanderbilt, among others. He is ranked No. 11 nationally in the Class of 2022 according to Rivals.com.
Foster to switch classes?
Michael Foster, a 6-10, 220-pound senior-to-be power forward from Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, is considering a switch to the recruiting class of 2020 from the class of 2021, according to Zagsblog.com. KU, which is recruiting Foster, has scholarships available for 2021 but not 2020.
Foster, the No. 9-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2021 according to Rivals.com, will soon have a Zoom recruiting call with coaches from KU and Illinois, Zagsblog.com reports.
He’s considering KU, Illinois, Baylor, Georgia, Florida State, Michigan and others, his mentor, Chianti Clay, coach of the Hillcrest Prep national team, told Zagsblog.com. Foster averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks a game last season.
Thompson picks KU jersey number
Incoming KU freshman Bryce Thompson, a 6-4 combo guard from Booker T. Washington High in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will wear jersey No. 24 at Kansas.
Thompson, wore No. 3 in high school.
“I chose No. 24 to honor Kobe (Bryant) and the Mamba mentality — reminding myself that every time I step on the court to give it my all and nothing else,” Thompson, whom Rivals lists as the No. 19-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2020, told KUathletics.com.
As a high school senior, Thompson averaged 24.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists in leading Booker T. Washington to a 20-5 record. The team reached the Oklahoma Class 6A state semifinals before coronavirus ended the Oklahoma preps seasons. As a junior, he averaged 19.6 points, 5.2 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in leading Washington to a state title. He won Oklahoma’s Gatorade player of the year award after his junior and senior campaigns.
This story was originally published May 3, 2020 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Jayhawks offer hoops scholarships to three prep point guards; Thompson selects number."
