Big man Bona sets visit date to KU; Arkansas prep guard Smith to pass on pros for now
Adem Bona, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound senior power forward and teammate of future Kansas guard/forward MJ Rice at Prolific Prep in Napa, California, will visit KU on Sept. 17-19, he told on3.com on Monday.
Bona not only set a date for a KU visit but also included KU on his new list of seven schools: Kansas, Arizona State, Baylor, Kentucky, Miami, UCLA, and USC. He also will consider playing in Australia’s pro league as an alternative to college.
A native of Nigeria, Bona will visit Baylor on Sept. 24-26, Kentucky on Oct. 1-3 and UCLA on Oct. 22-24. He also likely will visit Miami and Arizona State according to on3.com.
Bona, the No. 7-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2022 according to 247sports.com, No. 13 by ESPN.com and No. 33 by Rivals.com, has eliminated Missouri, Creighton, BYU, Notre Dame, Arkansas, Marquette, Illinois and others from his previous list of schools.
Rice, 6-5, 200 originally from Durham, North Carolina, who committed to Kansas on Aug. 10, is ranked No. 15 nationally by ESPN.com, No. 23 by Rivals.com and No. 26 by 247sports.com.
Bona — he ranked first in rebounds per game in the EYBL AAU league this summer (11.0) and was in second in blocks per contest (4.0) for Team Why Not — averaged 12.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks while hitting 25 of 32 shots (78..1%) at the prestigious Peach Jam in South Carolina.
Bona scored 15 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked eight shots in a 71-69 loss to Nightrydas at Peach Jam.
“Kansas has been one of the top colleges for the past years in the NCAA. They’ve put so many bigs in the league like Joel Embiid and Udoka Azubuike. They are bigs just like me. They started basketball late. They played high school, went to Kansas and improved their basketball skills. And I feel like Kansas is going to prepare me well for the pros,” Bona told Zagsblog.com.
Of Bona, Gerry Hamilton of On3.com wrote: “Absolutely the best in the 2022 class of bigs running the floor. Will win foot races up and down the floor. A high-level rebounder that shows the reactive quickness and hands to rebound outside his area. Plays well above the rim on both ends. High-level rim protector. Will attack off the bounce offensively. Needs to develop a go-to move and more consistency in the mid-range. Future NBA player.”
Bona was born in Nigeria, homeland of KU grad/Utah Jazz center Udoka Azubuike, then moved to Turkey when he was 14.
Bona has long been a fan of former Kentucky big man Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat. However, Kentucky also is recruiting center Dereck Lively, a 6-11, 200-pound senior center from Westtown (Pennsylvania) School ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2022 by Rivals.com.
Nick Smith will attend college
Nick Smith, a 6-4 senior combo guard out of North Little Rock (Arkansas) High School, on Monday told On3.com that he would no longer consider turning pro right out of high school and definitely would be headed to college for the 2022-23 season.
He provided a list of KU, Kentucky, Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Memphis and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He eliminated the Overtime Elite League and Australia’s pro league from his list of possibilities.
Smith made an official visit to KU in June. He also has visited Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He will visit Kentucky, Arkansas and Oklahoma in September then will announce his college choice on Nov. 20.
Yohan Traore has eliminated KU
Yohan Traore, a 6-11, 225-pound senior forward from Dream City Christian High in Glendale, Arizona, who is ranked No. 4 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by Rivals.com, has eliminated KU from his list of schools.
He now lists Louisville, LSU, Memphis, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas Tech, UCLA, Utah, and the pro league in Australia.
“I chose those schools because of the relationships and the development they were pitching to me,” Traore, who is from France, told 247sports.com. “They will let me show my talent and are talking to me about playing the stretch four position.”
According to Brandon Jenkins of 247sports.com: “Traore is a skilled, efficient, and productive big man with a good natural frame. His efficiency comes in how he generally plays within himself offensively and does what is asked of him on the floor. Traore displays a natural shooting touch not only inside but out to 15 feet and he always looks to dunk everything he possibly can while operating inside or in the dunker spot. He also has great hands, is a solid rebounder, and runs the floor with purpose. Traore has the size, mobility, and skill as a big man that high major guards would love to play with.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 6:28 AM with the headline "Big man Bona sets visit date to KU; Arkansas prep guard Smith to pass on pros for now."
