Kansas University basketball coach Roy Williams received oral commitments from a pair of high school juniors last April.

Meanwhile, Duke and North Carolina landed pledges the past two weeks from players who recently completed their sophomore year of high school.

No question men’s basketball recruiting is getting younger and younger.

“We spent more money this spring than we’ve ever spent in recruiting,” Williams said Monday during a break in the action at his basketball camp for youths at KU’s Horejsi Center.

The Jayhawks took advantage of a new NCAA rule that allowed prospects to make official visits during April and May of their junior years of high school. KU gained commitments from Oklahomans J.R. Giddens and Jeremy Case and also brought to town Minnesota junior Kris Humphries  who has committed to Duke  plus David Padgett of Reno, Nev., and Omar Wilkes of Los Angeles, who remain uncommitted.

“I’m going to have to wait a year or so to go through the whole cycle to see if we accomplished what the rules were trying to accomplish, and see if I even like that we have a difference in the rules,” Williams said.

“I know it made my spring very unusual, the whole month of May for sure.”

It’ll get even wackier during the 2002-03 school year when prospects may make official campus visits beginning in January of their junior years of high school.

As far as the upcoming July evaluation period, Williams says he’ll mainly be looking at seniors-to-be at places like the Nike and adidas camps.

“The majority of our time in the summer has always been spent on kids who were rising seniors,” Williams said. “We still have three more guys (seniors) we want to get.

“I’ll enjoy watching a couple of guys play who have said some awfully nice things about us,” he added, ostensibly referring to Case and Giddens. Williams cannot comment about specific prospects until they sign in November.

“We still feel it’s going to be a big, big recruiting year for us. A huge majority of our time will be spent on those guys who are seniors.”

The Jayhawks have filled two of their five openings for the recruiting class of 2003.

Sophomores and juniors who commit can change their minds. It’s made some wonder whether college coaches will continue to recruit those who have made non-binding verbal commitments.

“I’m not trying to upset football people, but basketball has been so much more honorable,” Williams said. “In the past a kid in football would commit and everybody says, ‘That doesn’t mean anything,’ until the day before (signing day).

“For the most part when underclassmen commit to a school in basketball, a huge majority of the other schools wish him good luck, say, ‘Congratulations’ and move on.”

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Three-point experiment: The three-point line will be moved from 19-feet, 9-inches to 20-feet, 8-inches during next year’s exempt games.

“We’ll play with it in the Preseason NIT,” Williams said. “I don’t think it’s that big a difference myself, but I like the line where it is.

“If you don’t want people shooting threes against you, then do a better job of guarding. We didn’t do as good a job of guarding it last year. I don’t want to say we have to change a rule just because we didn’t do something well.

“It’s good experimentation,” he added. “I don’t think we should make any very significant rules changes without experimentation so I’m happy we’re doing it for these exempt games for sure.”

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Not heading to Big Apple: Williams won’t be attending next Wednesday’s NBA draft in New York where Williams says former Jayhawk Drew Gooden likely will be chosen in the “top four.”

“Drew and I talked about it. That is the place for a young man’s family,” Williams said. “I said this, if I were there, somebody (in the media) would want to ask me questions. I don’t want to do that. I’d want to go there and sit back as a family member and just smile. The people won’t allow me to do that. We’ll be here figuring out a way to watch it with players on our team and perhaps with the campers.”

Williams has his annual camp scheduled for this week and next.

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No comment on Bohl: Williams was asked if he was concerned about KU athletic director Al Bohl being accused of concealing the truth about Fresno State athletic department finances during the Kansas AD’s reign at FSU.

“I don’t know enough about it to go there,” Williams said simply.

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Collison on USA team: Williams says he’s “ecstatic” that USA Basketball has added Nick Collison to its World championship team as an alternate/practice player.

Collison will work out with NBA players Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and others for 12 days leading up to the world tournament in late August in Indianapolis.

“It says people have a great deal of respect for Nick’s ability. The people at USA Basketball know Nick as a person. He’s played for them so many times. The respect people have for Nick and his game is pretty doggone high to say the least. It’ll be a great experience for him. They feel he can fit this role better than any player out there.”