photo by: Journal-World Illustration

University of Kansas basketball recruiting

Even if their squad is on it, it’s hard for a college coaching staff to get too excited when a prospect they covet trims his list to a final 12.

So many teams remain, so much work still to do, the finish line is still so far away.

But in the case of a player like Class of 2019 point guard Cole Anthony, who did just that late Monday, there’s plenty of reason to be pumped up.

Anthony, who is ranked No. 2 overall in the 2019 class by Rivals.com, revealed on Twitter on Monday the identity of the 12 schools still in the running for his services next season.

As expected, Kansas was included among them and the Jayhawks certainly are in the running for the 6-foot-2, 180-pound point guard and son of former UNLV and NBA standout Greg Anthony.

Joining the Jayhawks in the chase for Anthony are some of the biggest and baddest college hoops programs in the country. Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Villanova all join KU on the list, with Louisville, Oregon, Wake Forest, Pitt, Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame and Georgetown rounding out his current list.

If there’s one area where Kansas might — might — have an advantage in the battle for Anthony, it comes from the fact that Kansas coach Bill Self spent a few weeks working closely with him back in June while leading the United States U17 squad to gold at the FIBA Americas in Canada.

Including training camp and six games in Canada, Anthony and Self spent a lot of time together this summer, working on basketball and bonding off the court, as well.

During the experience, Anthony talked about his time with Self with Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com.

“You learn a lot from him,” Anthony told ZagsBlog. “He’s clearly a Hall of Fame coach. He knows his stuff and I’m just going to try to absorb all the knowledge I can from him. It’s just awesome to get that knowledge.”

Whether those three weeks and whatever visits may or may not lie ahead are enough to give Self and Kansas the edge remains to be seen and certainly should not be considered a given.

Just this month, Anthony, who hails from New York and has played his first three prep seasons at Archbishop Molloy in the Big Apple, has made unofficial visits to three of his final 12 – Miami, North Carolina and Wake Forest.

Anthony, who won EYBL MVP and first-team Peach Jam honors in recent months, announced earlier this summer that he will spend his senior season at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, where he will face elite competition and team with some of the top players in the 2019 class.

Some analysts have pegged Duke and Kentucky as the early favorites for Anthony’s services, but based on his list of 12 and the date on the calendar, it’s clear that there is still a long way to go in the point guard’s recruitment.

Anthony has said he plans to sign in the spring and, therefore, will have the next several months to take visits, talk to coaches and trim down his list even more as he zeroes in on a decision.

#FINAL12 pic.twitter.com/OTgI5NewtT

— Cole Anthony (@The_ColeAnthony) August 28, 2018