Austin, Texas power forward K.J. Adams chooses KU. He’s ranked No. 83 by Rivals.com
K.J. Adams, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound senior power forward from Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, has verbally committed to play basketball at the University of Kansas, he announced Friday night.
Adams, the No. 83-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2021 according to Rivals.com and No. 54-rated player according to ESPN.com, chose KU over finalists Baylor, Texas, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Georgetown, Iona, Iowa, Oklahoma and Central Florida.
He announced his commitment on KVUE-TV in Austin.
“I’m blessed and excited (to report) I’m committing to the University of Kansas,” he said at 6:20 p.m., Friday. “Just the foundation they have there, the history. Coach Bill Self has made a big contribution to that. I know I’ll be OK and they’ll push me to the limit where I want to go.”
He added: “Everybody has been telling me I need to do what I need to do, with the University of Texas in my hometown, to follow my heart. That’s what I did when I committed.”
Of Adams, Brian Snow of 247sports.com wrote: “A forward who can play inside and out, Adams is known for his toughness and ability to rebound at his size while being productive. Adams averaged 22.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game his junior season at Westlake High. He hit 61.3% of his shots for the Chaparrals, who went 33-2 and won a fifth straight district title.
Adams was voted unanimously to the Austin American-Statesman All-Central Texas Team.
“Despite not being the tallest or most athletic player in the country, Adams has been a very consistent producer. He shows that he will compete against anybody, and was a key part of the Team Griffin AAU program (in Texas). He is someone who is more than capable of being a strong four-year producer at the college level,” Snow added.
Noted Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi: “The hope is that if you get a kid like K.J., you can work with him and turn him into a kind of player that is similar to what Kristian Doolittle has been at Oklahoma. Kind of a mismatch combo-forward who is strong and can eventually be an impact on the glass and expand his perimeter game.”
Bossi says he’ll fit in well at KU.
“He is going to a place where the staff has a pretty good proven track record of getting guys to play a role that benefits them and the team,” Bossi said.
Westlake coach Robert Lucero told the Austin American-Statesman that Adams is “very cognizant of getting his teammates involved in the game.”
His mom, Yvonne, a former Texas A&M player who works as director of equity and inclusion at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, told the paper: “If he gets two points and no rebounds, he’ll be happy as long as the team wins. He won’t be happy with 30 and 18 if they lose.”
Adams has been working out with a strength coach since the end of his junior season.
“I have always felt like I had to work a little bit harder to reach the point I’m at,” he told spectrumlocalnews.com.
Adams — wo was offered a scholarship by Texas coach Shaka Smart after his freshman at St. Andrew’s High in Austin — for a time was said to be considering Baylor. However the Bears recently landed a similar player in 6-8 power forward Jeremy Sochan as well as 6-4 shooting guard Langston Love and 6-6 small forward Kendall Brown.
Adams joins Zach Clemence in KU’s recruiting class of 2021. Clemence, a 6-10 senior-to-be from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, committed to KU on May 11. He’s ranked No, 29 in the recruiting class of 2021 by Rivals.com. KU also has an incoming walk-on in football signee Keon Coleman, a 6-4 guard from Opelousas (Louisiana) High School.
The Jayhawks have three scholarships to award in 2021, more if players turn pro or leave the program.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Austin, Texas power forward K.J. Adams chooses KU. He’s ranked No. 83 by Rivals.com."
