Kansas men’s basketball adds three guards as early signing period begins

Blue-chip combo guards Elmarko Jackson, Chris Johnson and Jamari McDowell have signed national letters-of-intent to play basketball at Kansas, coach Bill Self announced Wednesday, the first day of the week-long early signing period.

Jackson, 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, out of South Kent (Connecticut) High School is ranked No. 18 in the recruiting class of 2023 by 247Sports.com, No. 28 by ESPN.com and No. 63 by Rivals.com. A native of Marlton, New Jersey, he committed to KU on Oct. 13 over Texas, Villanova, Miami and Notre Dame.

Johnson, 6-4, 180 out of Montverde Academy in Florida is ranked No. 32 in the class of 2023 according to ESPN.com, No. 49 by 247Sports.com and No. 55 by Rivals.com. The Fort Bend, Texas native committed to KU on Aug. 2 over Arkansas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Texas, UConn, Auburn, TCU, Houston, Tennessee, UCLA, Creighton, Georgia and others.

McDowell, 6-4, 180, from Manvel (Texas) High School, is ranked No. 42 by 247Sports.com and No. 113 by Rivals.com. He committed to KU on Sept. 24 over Texas A&M, Xavier and Wake Forest.

“I feel like all three together give us probably about as good a trio that we have signed on the perimeter since maybe a Frank (Mason), Wayne Selden (and) Brannen Greene or a Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush and Micah Downs,” Self said Wednesday. “To me these three could fit in the same type of category as far as what their potential will be at KU.”

Jackson began his prep career at St. Augustine Prep in Richland, New Jersey. He then transferred to Academy of the New Church in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. He earned all-state and all-league honors in 2021-22 after averaging 17.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Jackson will be playing his senior season at South Kent School in Connecticut.

“People may not know he’s only played organized basketball for three years and his skill level is well beyond his experience,” Self said, “He’s a 6-3 athlete that can make plays with the ball and can play above the rim. He is extremely explosive and a guy that has been well drilled, well taught in a short amount of time to put him in a position to potentially be a McDonald’s All American. He’ll be one of those versatile guards that can play the point, but also can play anywhere off the ball as well. Coach (Norm) Roberts did a great job recruiting Elmarko and his family and we feel he will be an immediate impact player for us and potentially one of the best guards we’ve had in our program.”

Johnson transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida for his senior season after earning all-greater Houston honors at Elkin High School in Texas. He averaged 19.5 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds for Elkin in 2021-22. His team went 30-6.

Johnson played AAU basketball for the Houston Defenders along with fellow signee Jamari McDowell.

“Chris is a very good high school player out of Houston who transferred his senior year to be at Montverde. In the short amount of time he’s been there, we understand his game has just grown tremendously. He was MVP of the big preseason tournament out in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago with many of the top high school prospects in America participating,” Self said.

“He’s 6-4 and much like Elmarko, very versatile, can score, get his own shot but at the same time be a distributor. The thing that people rave about with him is that he could be an elite collegiate defender. Coach (Jeremy) Case did a great job recruiting Chris and his family and he and Elmarko and Jamari will all complement each other so well because they’re all similar but they’re so different because of their versatility.”

In his junior season, McDowell averaged 21.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 4.5 steals per game for 19-5 Manvel High.

“Jamari is the best shooter of the three. He can make a shot with range,” Self said. “He’s got point guard skills and actually plays point guard for his respective high school team. At 6-4 he’s got great size for his skill set and is a guy that I kind of see like as an Ochai (Agbaji) that you can throw lobs to and he’s a terrific three-point shooter. Coach Case recruited Jamari and his family as well.”

KU is not expected to sign any additional prospects during the early period.

KU will have at least two scholarships to give after losing seniors Cam Martin and Kevin McCullar following this season. Additionally, it’s possible some non-seniors could turn pro after the 2022-23 campaign.

As a self-imposed sanction stemming from the NCAA’s three-year investigation into KU hoops, KU is also cutting one scholarship per year over the next three years. It’s unknown at this time how that will play out in the class of 2023.