Future Kansas Jayhawk Marcus Adams Jr. scores 44 points in high school all-star game

Incoming Kansas freshman small forward Marcus Adams Jr. hit eight three-pointers and scored 44 points en route to winning MVP honors at the 10th-annual Ballislife All-America high school all-star basketball game on Saturday at Cerritos College in Norwalk, California.

Adams, a 6-foot-8, 205-pound player from Nathaniel Narbonne High School in Torrance, California, set the game’s all-time scoring record in his Team Elite’s 157-154 loss to Team Future. The old record was 39 points, set by Stanley Johnson in 2014.

Other top performances Saturday: Justin Edwards, Kentucky, 29 points; Wesley Yates, Washington, 24; Coen Carr, Michigan State, 23. Mike Price, an unsigned player out of Centennial High in Corona, California, had 21 points.

Adams, ranked No, 45 in the Class of 2023 by 247sports.com and No. 59 by Rivals.com, averaged 28.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game for Narbonne High in 2022-23. He scored 40 or more points three times, including a 50-point, 21-rebound game. Adams won the 2023 John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year Award for the L.A. City Section Open Division.

Known as a proficient scorer from both beyond the arc and on drives, Adams was originally entered in the recruiting Class of 2024. He reclassified for the 2023 class and will be a freshman at KU for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

“We started recruiting Marcus very late in the process,” KU coach Bill Self said in mid-April. “Coach (Kurtis) Townsend was the point recruiter with Marcus. When we had Marcus and his family in on an official visit, we just really connected. He certainly fills a need. He’s a tall wing. He’s 6-8 and can shoot the basketball. He had two games this year, one in which he made 11 threes and the other which he made 13 threes. He’s good with the ball in his hands and can make plays for others as well. We think he is very underrated and a youngster that can find immediate minutes with the departure of our tall wings from last year.”

Three other freshmen have signed with KU. They are: McDonald’s All-American Elmarko Jackson, a 6-3 guard from South Kent School in Connecticut; Chris Johnson, a 6-4 guard from Montverde Academy in Florida and Jamari McDowell, a 6-4 guard from Manvel (Texas) High.

Mgbako sets up visit to Louisville

Mackenzie Mgbako, a 6-8, 210-pound senior forward from Roselle Catholic High in New Jersey who has visited Kansas, St. John’s and Indiana since asking out of his Duke letter-of-intent on April 21, will make a final visit to Louisville Friday through Sunday, Zagsblog.com reported Monday.

Mgbako, a McDonald’s All-American ranked No 9 in the recruiting Class of 2023 by ESPN.com, is giving serious consideration to his four finalists.

“Coach (Bill) Self has done a great job recruiting Mackenzie since he reopened his commitment,” Roselle Catholic coach Dave Boff told Zagsblog.com. “They have presented a good plan of how he can impact their program this upcoming season and also develop him for the future.”

Mgbako averaged 16.3 points and 9.2 rebounds in 16 games his senior season at Roselle Catholic, the top-ranked team in New Jersey. He earned first-team all-state honors.

SI.com has reported that Louisville assistant coach Nolan Smith helped recruit Mgbako to Duke before joining Kenny Payne’s staff at Louisville last offseason.

According to SI.com, “Mgbako’s AAU team, the New Jersey Scholars, also has a Louisville tie. Former Cardinals legend Pervis Ellison serves as the team’s program director, and is also very close friends with head coach Kenny Payne, stemming from their time as U of L teammates in the late 1980’s.”

No. 2-ranked player to visit KU

Tre Johnson, the No. 1-rated player in the recruiting Class of 2024, visited KU last weekend. On Friday, KU is expected to play host to Flory Bidunga. He’s the No. 2-rated player in the Class of 2024, according to Rivals.com, and is rated No. 4 by ESPN.com.

Jayhawkslant.com reports Bidunga, a 6-9, 220-pound junior from Kokomo (Indiana) High School, is slated to visit on Friday. Bidunga is from Democratic Republic of the Congo, arriving in the United States two years ago. He plays for Indiana Elite AAU.

Bidunga recently told thedailyhoosier.com he’s heard from coaches from Indiana, KU, Auburn, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Florida, Michigan. Michigan State and others.

Former KU forward Zuby Ejiofor sets up visits

Former Kansas forward Zuby Ejiofor, who entered the NCAA transfer portal on Friday, will visit both Villanova and Providence this week, Ejiofor’s mentor, Andy Philachack, told The Star on Monday.

Ejiofor, a 6-9 freshman from Garland, Texas, plans on making unofficial visits to Texas, Texas A&M and TCU next week, Philachack indicated.

As of Monday morning, Ejiofor had been contacted by more than 30 schools, his mentor told The Star.

Ejiofor averaged 5.1 minutes a game in 25 games his freshman year at KU. He scored 31 points and grabbed 43 rebounds and blocked 15 shots as a Jayhawk.

Ejiofor — he did not start playing basketball until eighth grade — averaged 21.7 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.9 blocked shots and 1.9 steals per game for Garland High in 2021-22. He averaged 21.0 points and 13.0 rebounds for Garland as a junior in 2020-21. He arrived at KU ranked No. 44 in the class of 2022 by Rivals.com.

Where the roster stands

KU still has two scholarships to award in recruiting after losing seven players and gaining three via the transfer portal.

Of the seven lost, five have already picked new schools. The five are: Bobby Pettiford (East Carolina), Cam Martin (Boise State), Zach Clemence (Santa Barbara), Joseph Yesufu (Washington State) and MJ Rice (North Carolina State). Kyle Cuffe Jr. has not announced a destination yet.

KU has added three players from the portal thus far. They are: Hunter Dickinson (Michigan), Nicolas Timberlake (Towson) and Arterio Morris (Texas). KU returns three players from last year’s team (Dajuan Harris, Ernest Udeh, KJ Adams) and also has the four incoming freshmen.