Kansas University basketball recruiting

Class of 2019 forward Tristan Enaruna wasted no time making his commitment to Kansas official, signing his national letter of intent on Wednesday, barely 12 hours after announcing his decision to join the Jayhawks.

The 4-star prospect from Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, chose KU over Creighton and Miami (Fla.) and said his desire to join a big time college program ultimately won out.

But Enaruna was not the only one overjoyed by his decision to join the Jayhawks.

“We have been recruiting Tristan the entire year and have always been impressed with his IQ, skill set and tremendous athletic ability,” KU coach Bill Self said in a news release Wednesday.

A 17-year-old, 4-star prospect who jumped 61 spots in the most recent Rivals.com rankings — from No. 105 to 44 — Self called Enaruna “young for his class,” but lauded his newest player’s versatility and all-around game.

“He would remind KU fans of a Kelly Oubre and Andrew Wiggins-type from his size, athletic ability and skill set,” Self said in the release. “He is still time away from having the impact that those two players had and strength will be very important in his development. We feel like Tristan’s ceiling is one that he could be one of the most complete offensive players that we’ve had here at Kansas over the last several years.”

Enaruna said Tuesday night during a phone interview with the Journal-World that his recent visit to Lawrence helped cement his desire to join Self’s Jayhawks.

“The guys, the teammates, we had a good time,” he said. “Obviously, the fans are amazing. I’ve always dreamed of playing on a big stage like this. I’m excited about that.”

Originally from Almere, Flevoland, Netherlands, the 6-foot-9, 205-pound Enaruna moved to the United States during his junior year of high school. During his senior season at Wasatch Academy, Enaruna averaged 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while leading his team to the GEICO National Tournament in New York, where Enaruna’s sixth-seeded squad fell to No. 3 seed Oak Hill Academy.

“He had a great year,” Self said. “Tristan has been very well drilled and very well coached. He has been in the United States the last two years which should allow his transition into college to be a fairly seamless one.”

Enaruna officially becomes the third player in the 2019 class to sign with Kansas, joining 4-star guards Christian Braun of nearby Blue Valley Northwest and Issac McBride of Little Rock, Ark. Both of those players signed with Kansas in November and Self and his staff remain on the prowl for additional bodies to add to the 2019-20 roster.

Depending on what comes of KU’s four players who have declared for the 2019 NBA Draft, the Jayhawks figure to have at least two or three more scholarships available to hand out to players in the 2019 recruiting class.

Three members of the 2018-19 roster who declared for the draft — Devon Dotson, Quentin Grimes and Dedric Lawson — officially appeared on the NBA’s list of 66 invitees to next week’s predraft combine in Chicago.