Kansas Jayhawks assistant visits high school point guard Mikey Williams in California
Kansas assistant men’s basketball coach Kurtis Townsend traveled to San Ysidro High School in California on Wednesday to visit Mikey Williams, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior point guard ranked No. 22 in the recruiting Class of 2023 by 247sports.com, No. 26 by Rivals.com and No. 30 by ESPN.com.
Williams — he made an official visit to KU on June 27-29 and unofficial visit to USC in February — also is considering Memphis, San Diego State and Arizona State plus HBCUs Tennessee State, Alabama State, North Carolina Central, Texas Southern and Hampton. He could be considering others as he has not yet reported a list of finalists.
“Thank you national champions @KUHoops coach Townsend for coming to check on @619Presidential (Williams Twitter handle),” read a Twitter post of BorderBoyz. Included on the Twitter post Wednesday was a picture of Williams, Townsend and a San Ysidro coach standing in the high school gym in San Diego.
College coaches are allowed to hit the road recruiting during this open period which runs from Sept. 9 to Nov. 6.
KU coach Bill Self confirmed to The Star he and his KU assistants (Townsend, Norm Roberts, Jeremy Case) will all be out on the road recruiting this period.
Self and assistant coach Townsend did not attend any AAU recruiting events this summer, including tournaments on the Nike, Adidas and Under Armour circuits. Self and Townsend’s absence during the open evaluation periods (June 17-19 and 24-26; July 6-10 and 20-24) was self-imposed, not anything mandated by the NCAA, which is investigating KU, Self and Townsend for five alleged Level I violations related to recruiting.
It has been speculated that keeping coaches off the road during the summer conceivably could lessen any penalties that might be assessed once the NCAA-formed Independent Accountability Resolution Process (which was created following the 2017 FBI investigation into college basketball) decides the case, which has been ongoing for several years.
Self had no comment on the case, only confirming the staff would be out recruiting. Self has said he will not comment on specific aspects of the ongoing NCAA investigation until it is complete. The NCAA will not comment on ongoing investigations.
Williams is considered one of the top players on the West Coast.
According to 247sports.com’s Eric Bossi, Williams has over 3.6 million followers on Instagram. In November, he signed a multi-year footwear and apparel endorsement deal with Puma. He became the first U.S. high school basketball player to sign with a global footwear company.
“I am excited to join the Puma family this early in my basketball journey,” Williams said as quoted by ESPN.com. “Puma really understands how to mix hoops and culture, two things I am passionate about.”
Adam Petrick of Puma told ESPN.com at the time the deal was announced: “His talent on the court and his ability to connect with young athletes and fans alike will help drive hoops culture forward and inspire the next generation of athletes.”
ESPN indicated that Williams’ NIL representative is Excel Sports VP and agent Matt Davis. Davis has negotiated marketing deals for NBA players John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and others.
“This one is special because it’s the first of its kind, and no other high school basketball athlete has a shoe deal with a global footwear brand,” Davis told ESPN.com. “When Mikey signed with Excel, we approached the marketplace just as we would for a professional athlete, and that has paved the way for Mikey and other NIL athletes.”
Williams’ dad, Mahlon Williams, told Bossi of 247sports.com that his son definitely plans on attending college rather than turning pro right out of high school. Williams by the way has also played at Charlotte (N.C.) Vertical Academy. For his senior year he’ll return to San Ysidro High School where he played his freshman season before moving to North Carolina.
Junior guard Trentyn Flowers may visit Kansas
Trentyn Flowers, a 6-8, 190-pound junior shooting guard from Combine Academy in Lincolnton, North Carolina, told On3.com this week he may make an official recruiting visit to Kansas in coming months.
Flowers is ranked No. 14 in the Class of 2024 by Rivals.com, No. 19 by 247sports.com and No. 24 by ESPN.com.
Flowers will visit Memphis on Oct. 6 and Georgia State on Oct. 28. He has already made an unofficial visit to Virginia Tech.
He is considering those three schools plus KU, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, Kentucky, Duke and the NBA G League.
Dink Pate has KU on his list
Dink Pate, a 6-8, 185-pound junior shooting guard from Dallas’ Pinkston High, has KU on his list of prospective schools, according to Stockrisers.com. Pate is ranked No. 21 in the recruiting Class of 2024 by Rivals.com and No. 66 by 247sports.com
.He has a long list that includes KU, Georgetown, Houston, Auburn, Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas, Indiana, Texas A&M, UCF, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, TCU, SMU, LSU and others. He also could head straight to the NBA;’s G League.
Elijah Gertrude picks Virginia over KU, others
Elijah Gertrude, a 6-4, 180-pound senior shooting guard from Hudson Catholic in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Wednesday announced his commitment to Virginia.
He chose the Cavaliers over Kansas, St. John’s, Rutgers and Seton Hall.
Gertrude recently canceled his official visit to KU which had been scheduled for Sept 23-25.
He is ranked No. 108 in the basketball recruiting class of 2023 by On3.com, No. 112 by Rivals.com and No. 136 by 247sports.com.
