Four-star SF Marcus Adams was nearing UCLA commitment. Then, KU coach Bill Self called

Marcus Adams Jr. thought he had made up his mind.

The four-star recruit told The Star he was planning to be a UCLA Bruin … then he heard the phone ring on Tuesday afternoon — his announcement day.

On the other end of the line? KU men’s basketball coach Bill Self and his staff.

According to Adams, the staff told him how badly they wanted him to join KU; they felt he had the potential to be great and sought the chance to coach him. The conversation forced Adams to reconsider his choice, he said.

Adams, the No. 29-rated player in the Class of 2024 (per 247Sports), told The Star he is committing to the Jayhawks. He announced the news publicly Tuesday evening.

The 6-foot-8, 205-pound junior small forward from Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California, can’t wait to be a Jayhawk.

“Coach Self, (assistant) coach (Kurtis) Townsend were really great people,” Adams told The Star. “They helped me out (with) a lot of things during the visit (Feb 24-26) and answered all my questions without a problem. I love the fan base over there.

“I love the people on social media telling me they really need me and they really want me. I felt like that’s a good place for me to go and I fit in really good.”

How did the KU coaching staff react when Adams told them he was committing to Kansas?

“They were super excited,” Adams said. “They thought they weren’t going to get me, so they were really excited. Coach Self was jumping up and screaming, stuff like that. … All the coaches were really happy. Self was the most happy, he was jumping up and down.”

Adams’ final three schools were KU, Syracuse, and UCLA, but he had many offers before he cut his list of schools to three.

Adams choose Kansas over offers from, according to his 247Sports recruiting page, Oregon, Syracuse, UCLA, Texas, Mississippi State, USC, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas State, Tennessee, Xavier, Nebraska, Washington State and others.

Adams is a late riser in the Class of 2024. He didn’t receive most of his offers until recently. That included the one from Kansas.

As he ate a burger inside The Habit (a burger chain in California), he received a call from Townsend in mid-February. Townsend offered him a scholarship and Adams was shocked.

“I thought I would never play (for Kansas),” Adams said. “I thought I would never play for a blue blood school. It’s shocking that they even reached out to me and offered me. Now, I am about commit there.”

Roughly two weeks later, Adams visited KU from February 24-26. He sat behind the KU bench during the Jayhawks’ 76-74 victory over West Virginia at Allen Fieldhouse.

Adams felt the atmosphere inside Allen Fieldhouse was amazing.

According to Adams, the best visit out of the three he took (KU, Syracuse and UCLA) was to Lawrence. KU guard Gradey Dick was initially Adams’ host, but then Kyle Cuffe Jr. took over.

“They are all good guys and I really loved the visit out there,” Adams said. “I definitely felt like I should come here and make an impact. I felt like I was at home.”

The 2024 recruit isn’t sure if he is reclassifying, but he believes he will help alleviate some of the scoring concerns with multiple players departing at the end of this season.

It’s a sentiment he says the KU coaches share.

“Since Jalen Wilson, Kevin McCullar, and Gradey (Dick, potentially) are leaving, the coaches are like, ‘We need you to score,’” Adams said. “‘We need a guy like you to score, bring rebounds, buckets, threes to the team and you’re going to make a big impact here.’

“That’s what I am here to do — to be a three-level scorer and just score.”

Adams hopes to be one-and-done but has high hopes for his tenure in Lawrence. He wants to win a National Championship and Big 12 title before he decides on his future.

After all, Adams is just happy to don the crimson and blue someday.

“It’s great,” Adams said. “We are going to have greatness, especially (at) Kansas, because Self is a great coach with super great history. ... I’m glad to be part of it.”

The forward has one last message for Jayhawk fans.

“I’m a really friendly guy,” Adams said. “I am looking to make a really good impact for the school and play in front of them. Really excited to be there. If (fans) ever want to reach out or like ask for pictures and stuff, I’d gladly do it. I’d have no problems with that.

“You know, I’ll be saying this lot more often, ‘Rock Chalk.’”