Three Class of 2023 men’s basketball recruits schedule visits with Kansas Jayhawks

Jamari McDowell, a 6-foot-5, 180-pound senior combo guard from Manvel (Texas) High School, will make an official men’s basketball recruiting visit to Kansas this upcoming weekend, Jayhawkslant.com reported Monday.

McDowell, the No. 141-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2023 according to 247sports.com and No. 143-ranked player according to Rivals.com, recently narrowed his list of prospective colleges to Kansas, Texas A&M, Xavier and Wake Forest.

Earlier he had also considered Kansas State, TCU, Minnesota, Alabama, Mississippi State, Georgetown, Drake, Mississippi and others.

He has made campus visits to all of his finalists except KU.

McDowell averaged 11.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0-assists a game in helping the Houston Defenders AAU team win the Under Armour UAA Circuit Championship. This summer he emerged as one of the better defenders on the Under Armour circuit.

McDowell has said he plans on choosing a school in the near future.

“I’ll be committing soon,” McDowell told On3.com. “I want to play for a good coach. I’m looking closely at the school’s resources, NIL and where they see me fitting in on the team.”

Of Kansas, McDowell told 247sports.com: “They got into the mix a little late but they’re good people. I speak with coach (Bill) Self and coach (Jeremy) Case and they say there’s opportunity to come in, play as a freshman and get big minutes. Also It’s Kansas, so they have resources and it’s a basketball school so you know they’re going to invest into the team.”

Cooper, Gertrude updates

The Jayhawks also have set visit dates for high school senior prospects Kaden Cooper and Elijah Gertrude, Jayhawkslant.com reports.

Cooper, a 6-5, 180-pound senior small forward from Skill Factory Prep School in Atlanta, will visit KU on Sept. 2-4.

He recently narrowed his list of prospective colleges to 10. They are: Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Gonzaga, LSU, Alabama, Memphis, and Georgia Tech.

Cooper — he is originally from Ada, Oklahoma — at one time had also been considering Missouri, UCLA, Iowa, UConn, Houston and others.

Cooper is ranked No. 36 in the recruiting Class of 2023 according to Rivals.com, No. 38 by On3.com and No. 45 by 247sports.com. He told On3.com he’s also planning on visiting LSU and Texas. He’s already visited Gonzaga and Oklahoma.

“They love my play style and they would feature me as more of a 1 and 3. They also play hard and it would be exciting to see what someone like Kansas could bring to the table,” Cooper told On3.com.

Gertrude, a 6-4, 180-pound senior shooting guard from Hudson Catholic in Jersey City, New Jersey, will visit KU Sept 23-25, Jayhawkslant.com reports. He recently announced a final five of Kansas, St. John’s, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Virginia.

Gertrude — he is ranked No. 108 in Class of 2023 by On3.com, No. 136 by 247sports.com and unranked at this time by ESPN.com and Rivals.com — also was recruited at one time by Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Iona, Saint Peter’s, DePaul, St. Bonaventure and others.

Gertrude — he has said he is hoping to decide on a school in September — averaged 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game for City Rocks AAU (New York) on the spring and summer EYBL Circuit.

He hit 55% of his shots including 43% of his threes.

“Kansas ... the relationship is developing. They’re saying the same thing: defense, defense, defense, so they feel they can help me develop my defense,” Gertrude told Zagsblog.com. He told 247sports.com: “Kansas came in and was recruiting hard right away. I’ve talked with (assistant) coach Norm Roberts a lot and they’ve shown that they’re really interested in me.”

Jayhawks have one commitment so far

KU on Aug. 2 received an oral commitment from Chris Johnson, a 6-5, 180-pound senior point guard/shooting guard from Montverde (Florida) Academy. Johnson chose KU over Arkansas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Texas, UConn, Auburn, TCU, Houston, Tennessee, UCLA, Creighton, Georgia and others.

Johnson is the No. 24-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2023 according to ESPN.com, No. 32 by 247sports.com and No. 58 by Rivals.com. Johnson — he is originally from Missouri City, Texas — plays for the Houston Defenders AAU team, which this summer won the Under Armour Circuit championship.

KU has at least two scholarships to give in recruiting. Cam Martin and Kevin McCullar are seniors on the 2022-23 squad. Additional scholarships would be available if any non-seniors turn pro or enter the portal.