photo by: Journal-World illustration

University of Kansas basketball recruiting

Kansas target TyTy Washington revealed Tuesday that he plans to announce his list of five finalists sometime this weekend.

A 6-foot-4, 180-pound point guard who originally committed to Creighton last November — from a list of 10 finalists — opened his recruitment back up in early March shortly after Creighton coach Greg McDermott caught heat and was suspended over insensitive comments he made following a Creighton game.

Since then, things have blown up for the Compass Prep guard on the recruiting trail.

Kansas first expressed interest in the talented guard before the NCAA Tournament began. And the list of suitors has only grown from there.

Today, Max Preps’ Arizona Player of the Year has a list of potential finalists that includes KU, reigning national champion Baylor, Texas, Kentucky, UCLA, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Texas Tech and more.

The 4-star prospect per Rivals.com, is currently ranked No. 32 overall in the Class of 2021. That’s up 54 spots from his previous ranking in the Rivals data base, and leaves him as just one of six 2021 prospects in the top 40 who have yet to commit to a program.

There has been some speculation out there that jumping to the G League is also an option for Washington, who, at this point, figures to make an immediate impact wherever he lands.

If it’s Kansas, he would almost certainly be slotted as the heavy favorite to be KU’s starting point guard from Day 1.

Known as a high-level scorer with incredible potential on the defensive end because of his size and length (he reportedly has a 6-foot-9-inch wing span), Washington has the look of a prototypical Bill Self guard.

“This year, to really showcase his team, he had to score a lot, so a lot of folks get caught up in that,” his father, Tyrone Sr., who also is a basketball coach, recently told David Sisk of Rivals site CatsIllustrated.com. “He sacrifices, takes charges, makes the extra pass and hustles. He’s the ultimate winner. He’s a respectful kid. As far as the game plan, if you take the scoring away he’ll kill you with 10 or 11 assists. You take that away and he can get 30 points.”

Washington recently led his team to the final four at GEICO Nationals and the national stage allowed him to showcase his game even more.

Plenty of schools were interested before that, but a handful of others made contact after the event in Fort Myers, Fla.

According to his father, Washington has been open-minded about every program that has contacted him, which is what makes this weekend’s trimming of his list such a big deal.

“That number has been crazy,” Tyrone Sr., told Sisk of the number of schools who have reached out recently. “He actually sits there and takes the phone calls and really hears coaches out. That’s from the mid-majors to the high D1’s. He takes time and hears coaches out.”

There remains no known timeline for Washington’s final decision, but things should become at least a little clearer when he cuts his list this weekend.