Gary Bedore’s KU basketball notebook

KU on Cheek’s list

Tyshawn Taylor, a 6-foot-3 senior guard from St. Anthony High in Jersey City, N.J., today completes his campus visit to Kansas University. The Jayhawks also are recruiting his backcourt partner, 6-5 junior Dominic Cheek.

Cheek tells Rivals.com he’s considering KU, UConn, Florida, Georgetown, Miami, North Carolina, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and Tennessee. He’s the No. 12-ranked prospect in the Class of 2009.

Taylor is ranked No. 77 in Rivals’ final rankings. KU signee Marcus Morris is ranked No. 29, Markieff Morris 50, Travis Releford 70 and Quintrell Thomas 150.

Big men update

KU apparently is out of the running for Ater Majok, a 6-10 forward (in the Class of 2008) from Sudan, who is on UConn’s campus for an unofficial visit. Majok told Rivals.com he is considering UConn, UCLA, Baylor and Kentucky. Stephan Van Treese, a 6-9, 225-pound junior from Indianapolis, tells Rivals he has a final six of KU, Indiana, Louisville, UCLA, Ohio State and Florida. Van Treese, the No. 52-rated player in the Class of ’09, will compete at the ninth-annual Jayhawk Invitational, which starts May 2 at Allen Fieldhouse and Horejsi Center.

Driver to honor champs

NASCAR’s Scott Lagasse Jr., will race with the Jayhawk logo on his truck in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 race, set for 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Kansas Speedway.

Lagasse’s truck will feature the KU national championship logo on both sides and most prominently on the bed of the No. 20 Nicholson Group Ford F-150. Additionally, “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” will appear on both sides of the logo on the bed and on the tailgate of the truck.

Draftexpress speaks

KU junior Mario Chalmers is listed as the No. 5 pick in the second round (Portland) of the 2008 NBA Draft, according to the latest projections of draftexpress.com. Darrell Arthur is listed as the No. 22 pick of the first round (Orlando) and Brandon Rush the No. 25 pick of the first round (San Antonio).