KU cracks top 10 for 5-star wing Kendall Brown

photo by: Journal-World illustration

University of Kansas basketball recruiting

The Kansas men’s basketball program made the first cut for class of 2021 small forward Kendall Brown over the weekend.

Brown, a senior-to-be at Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, is a five-star prospect and the No. 14-ranked player in the 2021 class, according to Rivals.com.

He’s also a teammate of recent KU commitment Zach Clemence, a 6-foot-10, 205-pound forward who announced Kansas as his college of choice last week.

Brown’s list features a wide range of options, from KU as the lone blue blood program on the list, all the way to Minnesota, which has the advantage of being located in Brown’s home state.

The 6-foot-7, 200-pound wing who transferred to Sunrise last summer originally hails from East Ridge High in Woodbury, Minn., southeast of the Twin Cities.

The other eight programs that made his top 10 are: Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Illinois, Maryland, Marquette, Ohio State and Virginia.

Brown picked up a scholarship offer from the Jayhawks shortly after announcing his decision to transfer to Sunrise for his junior season. He averaged 17 points per game for nationally ranked Sunrise this season and has had an eye on Kansas for much longer than the past year.

“I like the gym and the school,” he told Jacob Polacheck, of Zagsblog.com, shortly after picking up his KU offer last summer. “I went there for a tournament back in elementary school and just fell in love with it ever since.”

Known as an elite two-way player with great athleticism and bounce, Brown has showcased his rapid development throughout his high school career. And the KU coaching staff clearly likes what it has seen.

“They say that I’m a very versatile player, with my size and ball handling skills, and that I can be an elite defender with my length,” Brown told Polacheck of the feedback he received from the Kansas coaches. “They’ve said that they really like my defense and I can make a living off of it.”

I’ve only watched a few highlight videos, but there are shades of Brandon Rush in his game and, more recently, he also reminds me of a cross between Quentin Grimes and Ochai Agbaji.

It is not yet known how many scholarships the Kansas coaching staff will have to use on players in the 2021 class. But the number figures to be at least three. Marcus Garrett, Mitch Lightfoot and Silvio De Sousa will all be seniors on the 2020-21 Kansas roster.

And the number of available scholarships could grow if any of KU’s underclassmen deliver seasons that inspire them to turn pro early.

Brown is rated by Rivals as the No. 50 overall player in the country, regardless of class, and is also a top-20 prospect among the 2021 talent according to both ESPN (19) and 247Sports (17).

247Sports recruiting expert Jerry Meyer calls Brown “a finesse slasher type player” who has the ability to finish tough shots.

Meyer said Brown is not known for his long-range shooting ability at this point in his career, but he has good handles and vision and is solid as a secondary ball handler.