-- A few days ago, I said that Kansas really needed to do whatever it could to land Hunter Dickinson, the No. 1 ranked player in the transfer portal, along with Nicholas Timberlake, the No. 16 ranked player in the transfer portal. Well, on Wednesday afternoon, the first major domino dropped when Timberlake, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound shooting guard from Towson verbally committed to Kansas.
During the postseason banquet a few weeks ago, Bill Self made it clear that he knew what he was looking for in the portal, so it’s no surprise that Timberlake was at the top of his priority list. He became the first player from the portal to visit and, on Wednesday, became the first player from the portal to commit.
This past season, Timberlake averaged 17.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2,4 assists, and one steal per game. Offensively, he shot 45.5 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from behind the arc, and 84.5 percent from the free-throw line. Timberlake, during the 2022-23 season, had scoring games of 27, 23, 26, 21, 24, 20, 24, 32, 31, 29, 26, and 34. He scored in double-figures 27 times and scored between 10 and 19 points 15 times.
Additionally, on the offensive side of the ball, Timberlake four or more shots from behind the arc eight times and, in all, had outings from behind the arc where he went 4-7, 4-7, 3-8, 2-2, 2-7, 2-5, 2-4, 3-7, 2-6, 3-6, 3-7, 5-9, 3-5, 3-7, 7-11, 6-10, 2-4, 7-10, 6-11, 6-11, and 3-5.
On Wednesday night, I spoke to Jeff Timberlake, the father of Nicolas Timberlake, he was as fired up as a father could be about the decision. Mr. Timberlake talked about his not just getting the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament, but also compete for a National Championship.
Jeff Timberlake told me that his son actually made the decision on Tuesday night and couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play for “a hall-of-fame” coach and the “best coach” in college basketball.
At one point it looked like UNC might be the team, but then the visit to Kansas took place. Playing for the defending National Championship, UCONN was also appealing, but at the end of the day, Kansas was the clearcut winner for Nicholas Timberlake.
-- Yes, today is the day that Hunter Dickinson, the 7-foot-1, 260-pound big man from Hyattsville, Md., arrives for his official visit to Kansas. There are so many questions being asked about Dickinson, the No. 1 player in the transfer portal, but not a lot of answers at this time. Dickinson, without question, has done a great job of keeping this quiet during this round of his recruitment.
Here’s what I know when it comes to Dickinson: He’s visiting Kansas Thursday-Saturday and I expect Bill Self and his staff to throw the kitchen sink at him. I’ve been told time and time again that Dickinson wants to compete for and win a National Championship.
Obviously, NIL is also important, and the people I’ve talked to don’t believe that Michigan or Maryland can compete when Kansas when it comes to NIL opportunities, and neither is going to allow Dickinson to compete for a National Championship next season. At least I don’t believe that to be the case.
Now, I’ve been that Dickinson plans to visit Kentucky Sunday-Tuesday, as Cal tries to force Oscar’s hand in making a decision or taking a step closer to making a decision. Regardless of whether that visit takes place or not, I love where Kansas stands here with the elite big man.
The one thing Jeff Timberlake said about Self is he is genuine and made everybody feel comfortable and made everyone feel like family. Never once did Timberlake feel that Self was being dishonest or just telling the family what they wanted to hear.
Timberlake looked at the roster and wants the opportunity to come in and play a major role, which he will do. Kansas has been involved with Dickinson from the very beginning. I know that he’s very much looking forward to this visit and, heading into the visit, I’m not sure that Kansas could be in a better position.
-- I got word last night that Arterio Morris, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard is having an amazing time on his visit to Kansas. I received a picture last night from someone and immediately posted it on the board. Morris, who was the No. 15 ranked player in the 2022 class, recently decided to transfer from Texas and Kansas decided to immediately get involved.
So, as most of you know, there are certain situations that I simply try to avoid here. For instance, when Self had his health scare at the end of the season, I really didn’t say much and I certainly didn’t speculate about anything. When I release when sent out, I shared it with all of you. There are events in life that are quite serious and deserve to be treated so, at least that’s how I feel.
As most of you know, Morris was involved in an incident with a female and has a court date coming, I believe, in June. I know that Coach Self and his staff will handle this exactly the way they feel is best.
Here’s what I will say: If Kansas makes a strong push for Morris, and I hear he was loving that uniform he put on last night for his picture, I’m not sure he can turn down Kansas a second time. Coming out of Kimball High School in Dallas, Texas, Kansas was very involved in his recruitment, but he ultimately decided to attend Texas.
In hitting the transfer portal, Kansas made sure to get Morris on campus first visit. There are no guarantees in life, but for whatever reason, I just have a feeling about Morris.
Currently, Harrison Ingram, the No. 26 ranked player in the transfer portal, is officially visiting North Carolina. Following his visit to North Carolina, he’ll make his way to Kansas on Sunday. There was some talk that the 6-foot-7, 230-pound small forward was going to visit Kentucky, but from what I’ve gathered, that visit will no longer take place.
Kansas, as I mentioned above, got off to an amazing start in the portal with the addition of Nicholas Timberlake. The staff needs to close the deal on Hunter Dickinson and Arterio Morris is about to wrap up his visit to Kansas.
I really felt good about Ingram when he had originally scheduled his official visit to Kansas for earlier in the week but began to wonder if something might have changed after he rescheduled. The bottom line is this: Kansas can’t take everybody and there are some amazingly talented players in the portal and more to come.
However, I still have a good feeling about Kansas and Harrison Ingram, assuming the staff doesn’t ultimately decide to look in a different direction. Again, from what I’ve been told, winning and the opportunity to compete for Championships is very important to Ingram.
During the postseason banquet a few weeks ago, Bill Self made it clear that he knew what he was looking for in the portal, so it’s no surprise that Timberlake was at the top of his priority list. He became the first player from the portal to visit and, on Wednesday, became the first player from the portal to commit.
This past season, Timberlake averaged 17.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2,4 assists, and one steal per game. Offensively, he shot 45.5 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from behind the arc, and 84.5 percent from the free-throw line. Timberlake, during the 2022-23 season, had scoring games of 27, 23, 26, 21, 24, 20, 24, 32, 31, 29, 26, and 34. He scored in double-figures 27 times and scored between 10 and 19 points 15 times.
Additionally, on the offensive side of the ball, Timberlake four or more shots from behind the arc eight times and, in all, had outings from behind the arc where he went 4-7, 4-7, 3-8, 2-2, 2-7, 2-5, 2-4, 3-7, 2-6, 3-6, 3-7, 5-9, 3-5, 3-7, 7-11, 6-10, 2-4, 7-10, 6-11, 6-11, and 3-5.
On Wednesday night, I spoke to Jeff Timberlake, the father of Nicolas Timberlake, he was as fired up as a father could be about the decision. Mr. Timberlake talked about his not just getting the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament, but also compete for a National Championship.
Jeff Timberlake told me that his son actually made the decision on Tuesday night and couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play for “a hall-of-fame” coach and the “best coach” in college basketball.
At one point it looked like UNC might be the team, but then the visit to Kansas took place. Playing for the defending National Championship, UCONN was also appealing, but at the end of the day, Kansas was the clearcut winner for Nicholas Timberlake.
-- Yes, today is the day that Hunter Dickinson, the 7-foot-1, 260-pound big man from Hyattsville, Md., arrives for his official visit to Kansas. There are so many questions being asked about Dickinson, the No. 1 player in the transfer portal, but not a lot of answers at this time. Dickinson, without question, has done a great job of keeping this quiet during this round of his recruitment.
Here’s what I know when it comes to Dickinson: He’s visiting Kansas Thursday-Saturday and I expect Bill Self and his staff to throw the kitchen sink at him. I’ve been told time and time again that Dickinson wants to compete for and win a National Championship.
Obviously, NIL is also important, and the people I’ve talked to don’t believe that Michigan or Maryland can compete when Kansas when it comes to NIL opportunities, and neither is going to allow Dickinson to compete for a National Championship next season. At least I don’t believe that to be the case.
Now, I’ve been that Dickinson plans to visit Kentucky Sunday-Tuesday, as Cal tries to force Oscar’s hand in making a decision or taking a step closer to making a decision. Regardless of whether that visit takes place or not, I love where Kansas stands here with the elite big man.
The one thing Jeff Timberlake said about Self is he is genuine and made everybody feel comfortable and made everyone feel like family. Never once did Timberlake feel that Self was being dishonest or just telling the family what they wanted to hear.
Timberlake looked at the roster and wants the opportunity to come in and play a major role, which he will do. Kansas has been involved with Dickinson from the very beginning. I know that he’s very much looking forward to this visit and, heading into the visit, I’m not sure that Kansas could be in a better position.
-- I got word last night that Arterio Morris, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard is having an amazing time on his visit to Kansas. I received a picture last night from someone and immediately posted it on the board. Morris, who was the No. 15 ranked player in the 2022 class, recently decided to transfer from Texas and Kansas decided to immediately get involved.
So, as most of you know, there are certain situations that I simply try to avoid here. For instance, when Self had his health scare at the end of the season, I really didn’t say much and I certainly didn’t speculate about anything. When I release when sent out, I shared it with all of you. There are events in life that are quite serious and deserve to be treated so, at least that’s how I feel.
As most of you know, Morris was involved in an incident with a female and has a court date coming, I believe, in June. I know that Coach Self and his staff will handle this exactly the way they feel is best.
Here’s what I will say: If Kansas makes a strong push for Morris, and I hear he was loving that uniform he put on last night for his picture, I’m not sure he can turn down Kansas a second time. Coming out of Kimball High School in Dallas, Texas, Kansas was very involved in his recruitment, but he ultimately decided to attend Texas.
In hitting the transfer portal, Kansas made sure to get Morris on campus first visit. There are no guarantees in life, but for whatever reason, I just have a feeling about Morris.
Currently, Harrison Ingram, the No. 26 ranked player in the transfer portal, is officially visiting North Carolina. Following his visit to North Carolina, he’ll make his way to Kansas on Sunday. There was some talk that the 6-foot-7, 230-pound small forward was going to visit Kentucky, but from what I’ve gathered, that visit will no longer take place.
Kansas, as I mentioned above, got off to an amazing start in the portal with the addition of Nicholas Timberlake. The staff needs to close the deal on Hunter Dickinson and Arterio Morris is about to wrap up his visit to Kansas.
I really felt good about Ingram when he had originally scheduled his official visit to Kansas for earlier in the week but began to wonder if something might have changed after he rescheduled. The bottom line is this: Kansas can’t take everybody and there are some amazingly talented players in the portal and more to come.
However, I still have a good feeling about Kansas and Harrison Ingram, assuming the staff doesn’t ultimately decide to look in a different direction. Again, from what I’ve been told, winning and the opportunity to compete for Championships is very important to Ingram.
