Eight top preps visit for Late Night

A horde of blue-chip high school boys basketball players from all over the globe will be in Lawrence on recruiting visits for tonight’s Late Night in the Phog at Allen Fieldhouse.

Here’s the list, topped by three prep seniors who have committed orally to attend KU.

Mario Chalmers, 6-foot-1, point guard, Bartlett High, Anchorage, Ala: Rivals.com’s No. 12-rated player nationally and No. 1 point-guard prospect chose the Jayhawks over Arizona, North Carolina, Wake Forest and others.
Micah Downs, 6-8, shooting guard, Juanita High, Bothell, Wash: Rivals.com’s No. 14-rated player chose the Jayhawks over Duke and Gonzaga. Downs and his dad, Steve, sat in the stands Thursday watching Media Day activities in the fieldhouse.
Julian Wright, 6-8, small forward, Homewood Flossmoor High, Flossmoor, Ill.: Rivals.com’s No. 10-rated player chose the Jayhawks over Arizona, Illinois and DePaul without even making a campus visit to Mt. Oread. He’s the top prospect in Illinois.
Martynas Pocius, 6-5, senior shooting guard, The Holderness School, Plymouth, N.H.: A native of Lithuania, Pocius is not ranked by rivals.com mainly because he played basketball overseas last summer. Pocius is slated to visit KU this weekend and Duke next weekend, then make his college choice. Other schools interested are Arizona, North Carolina, Texas and Utah.
C.J. Henry, 6-3, senior shooting guard, Putnam City High School, Oklahoma City: Rivals.com’s 142nd-best player is one of the country’s top baseball players and is expected to be taken in the first round of the 2005 baseball draft. If Henry chooses to play college basketball, it likely would be at KU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Kentucky or UConn.
Matt Bouldin, 6-5, junior forward, Thunder Ridge High, Denver: Rivals.com’s No. 53-ranked player in the Class of 2006 so far has a list of KU, Colorado, Stanford, UCLA, Gonzaga, Cal, UConn, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Oregon and many others.
Jerry Smith, 6-2 junior point guard, East High, Wauwatosa, Wis.: Rivals.com’s No. 27-ranked player in the Class of 2006 is considering KU, Wisconsin, Iowa, Marquette and many others.
Cole Aldrich, 6-10, sophomore center, Bloomington, Minn.: Ranked as the No. 6 player in the Class of 2007, Aldrich likes KU, Minnesota, Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and others.

It’s believed to be the most prospects on campus for one weekend in KU hoops recruiting history.

“It’s amazing to think you have three of the top 15 seniors in the country already committed to KU and here for Late Night. That right there is the cream of the crop,” said rivals.com analyst Shay Wildeboor. “The juniors and sophomore are getting an early look seeing what Kansas is all about, a live setting of 16,300 fans and pandemonium.”