Rankings have KU Jayhawks’ Gradey Dick contending for Big 12’s top incoming freshman

Gary Bedore, KC Star

The Big 12 Conference, which has produced the last two NCAA men’s basketball champions in Kansas and Baylor — and would have had the overall No. 1 seed in the 2020 tournament in KU had COVID-19 not canceled the postseason — has been a popular place for high school recruits the past several seasons.

As the start of the 2022-23 academic year at KU approaches Monday, On3.com’s Jamie Shaw has ranked his choices for the top five incoming freshmen in the league. KU has a stellar freshman class of Gradey Dick, MJ Rice, Ernest Udeh and Zuby Ejiofor, who enter college ranked Nos. 28, 29, 33 and 46 by recruiting service Rivals.com.

It’s possible KU’s Dick and/or Baylor’s Keyonte George emerge as Big 12 preseason freshman of the year or co-preseason freshmen of the year.

Here are the top freshmen in the league according to analyst Shaw:

1. George, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, is ranked No. 9 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by Rivals.com.

2. Dick, a 6-8 shooting guard from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, like George has experience playing for USA Basketball squads in the past.

“Dick became a big-time sniper last season. Synergy charted 26 of his games as he was 63-for-137 (46% from three) on the season,” wrote Shaw of On3.com, “In 17 games on the Under Armour Association Next Circuit in the summer of 2021, the KC Run GMC wing was 37-for-87 (42.5%) from three. Dick has always been an explosive athlete who moved well laterally. Last year his stock rose drastically because of the shooting. With Christian Braun getting drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft, a floor spacer is needed in the Jayhawks lineup. Expect some adjustments, but Dick should have every opportunity to fill this void,” Shaw added.

3. Texas’ Dillon Mitchell, a 6-8 small forward from Montverde (Florida) Academy, is ranked No. 4 in the Class of 2022 by Rivals.com.

4. Rice, a 6-5 shooting guard from Prolific Prep in Napa, California, is originally from Durham, North Carolina.

“While Kansas returns Jalen Wilson, it lost its top-two scorers in wings Ochai Agbaji and Braun. Someone will need to step up, and Rice has just the alpha mentality to be that person,” wrote Shaw.

5. Oklahoma’s Milos Uzan, a 6-4 point guard from Dream City Christian High in Glendale, Arizona, has a No. 106 national ranking by Rivals.com.

Other freshmen to watch as listed in Shaw’s article: KU’s Udeh (6-11, Dr. Phillips High, Orlando, Florida), plus Texas Tech’s Elijah Fisher (6-7 guard, Crestwood High, North York, Ontario Canada ranked No, 32 by Rivals.com), TCU’s PJ Haggerty (6-3 guard, Crosby, Texas, High, unranked by Rivals.com); West Virginia’s James Okonkwo (6-9 forward, Beckley, West Virginia, Prep School, unranked by Rivals.com) and Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey (6-2 point guard, Ames, Iowa High School, unranked by Rivals.com).

Highly acclaimed freshmen not mentioned in Shaw’s article: Texas’ Arterio Morris, a 6-3 combo guard from Kimball High in Dallas ranked No. 15 by Rivals.com; and Baylor’s Langston Love. Love is a 6-5 combo guard from Montverde (Florida) Academy, who missed all of last season at BU because of a torn ACL. Love was ranked No. 57 in the Class of 2021 by Rivals.com.

Andy Katz lists his top frosh, too

NCAA.com’s Andy Katz in June put out his list of college basketball’s “12 most important incoming freshmen to potential NCAA Tournament teams.”

They are in order: Dereck Lively, Duke; Dariq Whitehead, Duke; Nick Smith, Arkansas; Cason Wallace, Kentucky; Dick, Kansas; Chris Livingston, Kentucky; George, Baylor; Jalen Hood-Schifino, Indiana; Skyy Clark, Illinois; Jarace Walker, Houston; Mitchell, Texas and Brandon Miller, Alabama.

Katz wrote of KU’s Dick: “I could have gone with MJ Rice in this spot, but Dick is a shooting specialist and that’s exactly what Kansas needs to complement Dajuan Harris, Jalen Wilson, Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar, Joseph Yesufu and Bobby Pettiford.”

Kevin Flaherty of 247sports.com wrote this in response to Katz’s selection of Dick at No. 5 overall: “Kansas won the 2022 national championship by deploying a point guard alongside three big wings who could all take the ball off the defensive glass and start the break. One of those wings is coming back in Wilson, and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar seems likely to fill in one of the two vacated spots. That leaves Dick and Rice as the two likely candidates for the final spot, with Katz giving Dick a leg up because of his ability to shoot. The 6-7 wing has the best shooting resume of any player in the 2022 class.”

Big 12 looks strong ... again

Basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy lists the Big 12 Conference as the strongest in the country heading into the 2022-23 season.

The Big 12 is No. 1 followed by SEC, Big Ten, Big East, ACC, Pac 12, Mountain West, American Athletic, West Coast and Atlantic 10.

LeBron’s son favoring Oregon?

KU does not appear to be one of the schools in the running for Bronny James, the son of LeBron James who is ranked No 57 in the recruiting Class of 2023 by Rivals.com.

James, a 6-3 point guard out of Sierra Canyon High in California, reportedly is being pursued by Oregon, Ohio State and USC. On3.com believes Oregon is the leader.

“Speaking with sources close to the situation, the ties to Oregon are deep,” wrote On3.com’s Shaw. “We are told there is comfort with the situation, the circumstances and the program.

“We are told James is going to go through the (recruiting) process. At this point, the plan is to take virtual visits, Zooms and in-person visits to go through the whole experience. Sources tell us that at this point, Oregon has a lead and that James is looking like he will end up in Eugene.”

Other schools mentioned thus far as possibly recruiting James are Michigan and USC.

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