Prep hoops forward torn between Memphis, KU

Thomas Robinson, who made official basketball recruiting visits to Kansas University and Memphis two of the past three weekends, now faces the task of choosing between the two schools.

“Right now, it is even,” Robinson, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound senior power forward from Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., said Sunday night after completing his trip to Memphis.

“I’d say I like both. I’m just going to sit back and think about what school is best for me,” added Robinson, who visited KU on Sept. 19-20.

Robinson – he said he may need up to two weeks to finalize his decision – said he won’t be making any more campus visits. He had talked about visiting Southern California on Oct. 17-18 and in the past considered Texas, Miami, Maryland, Louisville, Georgetown, Seton Hall and others.

“It’s Kansas and Memphis,” said Robinson, who is Rivals.com’s No. 18-rated player nationally. “Kansas made a strong impression on me. I felt very comfortable there, the same with Memphis.

“Memphis was a different area of the country. Outside that, there were not too many differences. The gyms are different. Memphis shares its with the Grizzlies,” Robinson added of FedExForum, home of both college and NBA basketball. “Kansas’ (Allen Fieldhouse) has a lot of history.”

Robinson visited Memphis on the same weekend as Xavier Henry, a 6-foot-6 senior from Putnam City (Okla.) High, who will visit KU for the Oct. 17 Late Night in the Phog, then pick between the schools.

Memphis and KU are also in the running for point guard John Wall, a 6-4 senior from Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C.

Wall visited KU the same weekend as Robinson. He has yet to set dates for visits to Memphis, Oregon and Baylor. He’s also considering North Carolina State.

“It would be fun to play with them in college. I will not base my decision on the schools they go to,” Robinson said.

¢ Henry update: Henry was interviewed by a batch of Memphis media members during his trip to the Conference USA school.

“It’s been a good visit. I got to see my brother a lot,” he said in an interview aired on Memphis Fox 13 TV. “I’m glad he’s here and has an opportunity to play again. That’s not going to influence my decision,” he added of guard C.J. Henry enrolling at Memphis last month after his minor-league baseball season ended.

“I’d like to play with my brother, but it’s nice to get out on your own, too. I want to play with him, and I don’t. Either way, it’s the same.”

Henry said he hopes to choose a school “hopefully a week or two after both my visits, as quickly as possible.”

Which school leads? “Nothing has changed,” Henry told the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper. “It’s still Memphis and Kansas. It’s the same as it was last year and the year before that.”

¢ Stephenson update: Lance Stephenson, a 6-5 guard from Lincoln High in Brooklyn, N.Y., who will wait until the spring to sign, will visit KU for the Oct. 17 Late Night in the Phog. Zagsblog.net reports that Stephenson also hopes to visit Memphis, Southern California and UCLA. He already has visited St. John’s.