Kansas forward Landen Lucas dunks past Stanford forward Stefan Nastic during the second half on Sunday, March 23, 2014 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

Basketball notebook. …

Kansas University sophomore forward Landen Lucas scored eight points and grabbed 13 rebounds in Athletes In Action’s 108-99 victory over the Barons, a Latvian professional team, on Wednesday in Riga, Latvia.

Lucas, 6-10 from Portland, Oregon, hit two of eight shots and four of eight free throws. He also had two steals and an assist. Lucas averaged 10.5 points off 43.3 percent shooting and 12.5 rebounds a game on (3-1) AIA’s Baltic tour.

On Monday, Lucas tweeted: “We’ve got Jayhawks everywhere! Had one show me around Latvia today during our day off!”

On Tuesday, he tweeted: “Sleep schedule is all messed up out here. Still haven’t adjusted. Over here wide awake sitting in the dark like …” He added a picture of Joel Embiid on draft night as a little joke.

KU ranked third in poll: KU is ranked No. 3 in the country in Bleacherreport.com’s updated preseason basketball poll as announced Wednesday. Kentucky is No. 1 and Wisconsin No. 2.

Of KU, Bleacher Report’s Jason King writes: “The Jayhawks lost the No. 1 and No. 3 overall draft picks (Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid) along with their starting point guard (Naadir Tharpe). And they could actually be better. Forward Perry Ellis and wing Wayne Selden both return along with rotation players Frank Mason and Jamari Traylor. Creating even more offseason buzz, however, is the arrival of four newcomers who could play huge factors in Kansas’ success.

“Power forward Cliff Alexander and wing Kelly Oubre are both projected as lottery picks in next summer’s NBA draft. Point guard Devonte’ Graham will compete with Mason for starting point guard duties. And Ukrainian forward Svi Mykhailiuk has been tabbed as the best foreign-born player since Ricky Rubio. If KU’s newcomers adapt, the Jayhawks should win their 11th straight Big 12 title and compete for a berth in the Final Four.”

From the Big 12, Texas is ranked No. 11, Iowa State 13, Oklahoma 15 and Kansas State 18. Former KU coach Roy Williams’ North Carolina team is No. 5. Former KU coach Larry Brown’s SMU team is No. 16. Wichita State is No. 8.

Recruiting 2015: ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman says the recruiting Class of 2015 is quite balanced with very little separating the players in the Top 25 player rankings. The class to watch, he says, is 2016.

“The Class of 2016 is the best I’ve seen in a while — even better than the Class of 2013, which included Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Julius Randle. It’s so loaded at the top that ultra-skilled 6-9 power forward Harry Giles may be only the fifth-best player in the country, behind Thon Maker, Josh Jackson, Jayson Tatum and Malik Monk. All of these guys have incredible upside to be stars in college and the NBA,” Goodman writes of players who all have Kansas on their lists.

“Maker is a skilled and versatile 7-footer, Jackson is a long and athletic wing, Tatum is a long, skilled, smart and versatile wing and Monk is a 6-4 2-guard who can get to the basket virtually whenever he wants. Giles is still working his way back to 100 percent after missing all of last season because of a major knee injury. As mediocre as the top of the Class of 2015 is, that’s how special the elite players in the Class of 2016 have a chance to be. Memo to NBA general managers: Start negotiating trades for first-round picks in 2017 draft now.”

UK is strong: KU will face a stern test in its second game of the 2014-15 season — versus Kentucky on Nov. 18 in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis.

ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman wrote this about the Wildcats, who are on a summer trip to the Bahamas:

“This Wildcats team is the deepest I’ve seen in the past decade. It’s not just ordinary depth, either — it’s quality, insane depth. Marcus Lee, who showed glimpses of what he could do in the NCAA tourney last year, may not find his way into the rotation.”