photo by: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams controls the ball during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament game against Arkansas, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in San Francisco.

The Kansas men’s basketball team’s ongoing quest to find another star to pair with highly touted guard Darryn Peterson was dealt a significant blow on Thursday evening when Texas Tech transfer forward Darrion Williams committed to N.C. State.

Given that earlier in the day, what had seemed like a foregone conclusion became a reality — former FC Barcelona wing and Italian national Dame Sarr committed to Duke — the day, in total, saw two recent visitors to Lawrence for whom KU had long appeared the leader pick other programs.

Making matters worse, the Jayhawks will face off against each of them this season, Sarr when KU takes on Duke at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 18 and Williams when the Jayhawks travel to Raleigh, North Carolina to face the Wolfpack, in a game expected to take place on Dec. 13.

Williams had been linked to KU throughout the offseason, but speculation about his future ties to the Jayhawks reached a fever pitch when he reportedly visited KU on Tuesday, the same day he withdrew from the 2025 NBA Draft following a lackluster showing at the combine.

A 6-foot-6 forward from Sacramento, California, Williams was a first-team All-Big 12 selection for the Red Raiders following the 2024-25 season, in which he averaged 15.1 points and 5.5 rebounds and helped lead Tech to the Elite Eight.

KU and its head coach Bill Self became well acquainted with Williams as he did massive amounts of damage to the Jayhawks each of the two times they faced him.

First, in Lubbock, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2024, in a blowout 79-50 victory for the Red Raiders, Williams scored 30 points on a perfect 12-for-12 shooting from the field and added 11 rebounds. A year later, KU repeatedly threw post double-teams at Williams in an attempt to slow him down, but he was able to pass out of traps repeatedly to set up many of Tech’s 43 3-point attempts on the day. With KU and Tech tied at 73 and less than two minutes remaining, he hit a crucial 3 of his own as the Red Raiders went on to win 78-73.

Throughout the offseason, KU frequently came up along with N.C. State and Ohio State as top contenders in Williams’ recruitment.

As for Sarr, whose family is originally from Senegal and has lived in the Italian province of Treviso, he left FC Barcelona in pursuit of a collegiate career in the United States.

In 15 EuroLeague games this season, he averaged just 1.8 points in 5.7 minutes. His action had been more robust in the domestic league, where he averaged 5.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game with shooting percentages of 59.3% overall and 42.9% from deep. Some of Sarr’s best work came in his final month of action before leaving Barcelona, including a 21-point showing in 24 minutes against Rio Breogan on March 2.

The 6-foot-7.5 wing was originally linked to Duke and Illinois early in his recruitment before KU and Oregon emerged as leaders later on.

However, after a variety of experts had projected KU to land Sarr and as another Duke wing commitment, Cedric Coward, picked up steam in predraft workouts, Duke came surging back into the race, got Sarr to visit and eventually earned his official pledge on Thursday.

After missing out on both prominent players, KU is left with three roster spots to fill and still in need of a wing and a backup post player. The Jayhawks have added transfers Jayden Dawson (Loyola-Chicago), Tre White (Illinois) and Melvin Council Jr. (St. Bonaventure). Their roster also features returnees Flory Bidunga, Elmarko Jackson, Jamari McDowell, Noah Shelby and Bryson Tiller along with incoming freshmen Corbin Allen, Samis Calderon and Peterson.