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Kansas Basketball: Jayhawks land crucial commitment of Jamari McDowell

By Tristan Freeman

LAWRENCE, KS - FEBRUARY 05: Ochai Agbaji #30 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates making a shot against the Baylor Bears during the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on February 5, 2022 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KS - FEBRUARY 05: Ochai Agbaji #30 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates making a shot against the Baylor Bears during the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on February 5, 2022 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images) /
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It wasn’t clear who would ultimately land four-star guard prospect Jamari McDowell among the finalists. Turns out, Kansas Basketball wins yet again.

Among the flurry of class of 2023 prospects making a decision in this month is Jamari McDowell, a consensus top-100 overall recruit and a four-star player. He’s a 6’4 shooting guard known for his scoring ability at all three levels and ability to create his own offense.

The native of Mandel, Texas has risen up the recruiting rankings, with 247sports having him ranked in the top 50 currently. McDowell has long-term potential as an NBA prospect and should be a double-digit scorer at the power conference level.

And that’s who was most aggressive in trying to land the four-star recruit, with four teams making the final cut. They were Kansas, Wake Forest, Xavier, and Texas A&M, with the Musketeers seeming to fall off the radar after landing their own set of 2023 prospects. Among the other three, there were times when each of them looked like real threats to land him. In the end, McDowell could only choose one.

McDowell makes it commitment No. 2 for Bill Self and Kansas Basketball, joining four-star combo guard Chris Johnson. The shooting guard position is likely to be occupied by Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar mainly this upcoming season, along with five-star freshman MJ Rice. Both players have a good chance of leaving and Bobby Pettiford is still unproven in a Jayhawks uniform.

There’s a real chance that both Johnson and now McDowell could be part of the rotation as freshmen a year from now, although the team is still after other class of 2023 prospects. One includes top-30 point guard Elmarko Jackson, who has Kansas among his final seven.

Next. Preseason top-25 power rankings for 2022-23. dark

Who knows the true ceiling of Jamari McDowell once he joins Kansas but at the same time, no one thought Ochai Agbaji would go from a three-star recruit to the Big 12 Player of the Year and All-American player and eventual NBA Draft lottery pick. The development of the Jayhawks makes anything possible and could and should do wonders for him.

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