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Kansas Basketball: Jayhawks struggling to collect a talented 2019 recruiting class

By Drew Dinnhaupt

WICHITA, KS - MARCH 17: Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks communicates with the team as they take on the Seton Hall Pirates in the first half during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at INTRUST Bank Arena on March 17, 2018 in Wichita, Kansas. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
WICHITA, KS - MARCH 17: Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks communicates with the team as they take on the Seton Hall Pirates in the first half during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at INTRUST Bank Arena on March 17, 2018 in Wichita, Kansas. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /
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Is there a possibility that Kansas Basketball enters next season without a top-100 high school recruit? So far, the Jayhawks have struggled with landing a top-tier player.

Kansas basketball is undoubtedly a recruiting powerhouse. It’s a program that’s brought in a five-star prospect in each of the last six seasons and reeled in multiple five-stars on four occasions in that span. When it doesn’t land multiple top-50 prospects, the college basketball world is stunned.

What if it were to fail to sign a top-100 high school senior?

It’s what Bill Self is looking at right now: a recruiting class with two committed prospects that are both outside of the top-100 players nationally, according to 247Sports. 4-star combo guard Isaac McBride and 3-star small forward Christian Braun are the lone signees for Bill Self at the moment. The pair give Kansas the nation’s #51 recruiting class that is just the eighth-best in the Big 12. The Jayhawks have brought in a top-2 recruiting class in the Big 12 for six straight seasons.

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The pieces Bill Self has landed thus far are talented; McBride is truly one of the best scorers in the country and Braun’s skillset is incredibly underrated by analysts. But for Kansas’ standards, there’s very few occasions where its recruiting class is as weak as it currently is.

Granted, Kansas isn’t yet done recruiting, but it only has a few months to make final pushes for players. At the moment, the Jayhawks have a high chance to land 5-star power forward Matthew Hurt, the nation’s No. 7 prospect. 83 percent of analysts predict that he will ultimately commit to Kansas, according to 247Sports. But here’s the concern: the Rochester, Minnesota native has already officially visited Kentucky and plans to visit Kentucky and North Carolina in the winter. He has not yet scheduled a visit to Kansas or Minnesota, the latter being the school his brother, Michael, plays.

What if Hurt decides to play elsewhere? It’s a scenario that must scare the coaching staff and fanbase, as Kansas is not the favorite to land any other prospect in the country at this time.

Sure, Kansas is in the running for several five-star prospects including shooting guard Cassius Stanley and forwards Trendon Watford and Precious Achiuwa, but a miracle is needed for Bill Self to land even one of those high-profile recruits.

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Kansas basketball won’t be ruined in the event the Jayhawks enter next season without a top-100 recruit. It is, however, an issue that will keep Kansas out of the AP Top 25 conversation next season, and one that could put an NCAA Tournament berth in jeopardy in the worst-case scenario. One thing is for sure: without one immediate-impact recruit for the next season, Kansas will struggle greatly to continue its streak of 14 straight Big 12 titles.

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