On the basis of three workouts and an exhibition game against the Chinese team, Seth Davis from the U19 trials in Dallas:

“[Darrell] Arthur looked more serious, poised and confident than at any point during his freshman season at Kansas. During 5-on-5 play, Arthur did most of his damage on the block, but he showed impressive shooting range during drills. I expect him to be an All-American next season at Kansas before becoming an NBA lottery pick.”

Davis also comments on future Kansas State Wildcat Michael Beasley:

“Though Beasley is strong for his age and has some impressive moves around the basket, his effort level and body language was not very good during the three workouts I watched in Dallas. As evidenced by his play against China, Beasley usually turns on the burners when game time comes, but to succeed in college he will need to develop a more professional approach overall.”

and Texas A&M’s incoming freshman DeAndre Jordan:

“DeAndre Jordan is listed at 6-10, 215 pounds, but with his wide shoulders and long arms he looks even bigger on the court. He runs the floor well and is a strong finisher, and, in the half-court, he moves with an awkward gracefulness (or a graceful awkwardness, take your pick). He suffers a bit from stone hands and his shooting range is limited at this point. But there was no one in Dallas with more upside than Jordan.”

The U19 World Championship begins July 12th in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Jason Tomassini of CollegeHoops.Net names Darrell Arthur as the #5 rookie in the nation this season based on games played so far…

5. Darrell Arthur, Kansas - Despite playing only 16 minutes against Florida he was the player of the game with 19 points and more aggressive play than anyone else on the court. I didn’t really know anything about him before that game but that’s arguably the best performance by a freshman in a big game this season. Since then he’s struggled a bit but Bill Self has to get him off the bench, he’s only averaging 21 minutes per game. I always thought you want to play your leading scorer as much as possible but then again, I’m not a coach.

Stats- 14.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.2 apg, 2.1 bpg, 1.2 spg, 1.6 TO, 62.2 FG%, 79.4 FT% Freshman perk- His roommates switched his toothpaste to Crest so he wouldn’t be reminded of the Jayhawks embarrassing loss to Oral Roberts earlier this season.

Kevin Durant (Texas), Chase Buddinger (AZ), Greg Oden (Ohio State) and Javaris Crittenton (GA Tech) head up the list.

Andy Katz’s nice profile of Brandon Rush leads ESPN.com’s college basketball coverage today. Personally, I’d be surprised if Rush was Kansas’s best player this year. His perimeter shooting, defending, and defensive rebounding will be crucial but I expect Mario Chalmers, Julian Wright, and (later in the season) Sherron Collins to initiate most of the offense.

Behind the Insider wall, Katz suggests that Darrell Arthur will probably start the year behind at least Wright and Kaun in the rotation but figures to take on a bigger role in the second-half of the season.

Also, Bill Self compares the last two NCAA Tournament games Kansas has played.

“Bucknell had two or three guys who could have started for us, they were well coached and it was a scary game.”

“But we played to our age against Bradley. We weren’t under duress. We didn’t play with pressure, since we weren’t hunted all year. Last year’s team was better equipped to go longer in the tournament, but it still didn’t surprise me how it ended. We were so loose at shootaround that day, but by 9 p.m., we went out for warmups and I said, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ I had a totally different feel.”

Sherron Collins didn’t play because he was back in Chi-cago, but Arthur wowed the camp-kids in a scrimmage yesterday:

Arthur, Kansas University’s highly acclaimed freshman forward from Dallas, also swished a 15-foot jump shot from the corner, an 18-footer from the side and a breakaway layup off his own steal, highlighting the Jayhawks’ intrasquad scrimmage Wednesday.

Link to story.

I’m pretty darn impressed by this. Notable is the fact that Jayhawk Sherron Collins hopped over UNC recruit Tywon Lawson. Darrell Arthur also makes it into the top 10.

Congrats to Self and Co. for yet another amazing recruiting class.

CLASS OF 2006 FINAL TOP 100

1. Greg Oden, 7-0 C, Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence North- OHIO STATE
2. Kevin Durant, 6-10 WF, Rockville (MD) Montrose Christian- TEXAS
3. Thaddeus Young, 6-8 WF, Memphis (TN) Mitchell- GEORGIA TECH
4. Chase Budinger, 6-8 WF, Carlsbad (CA) La Costa Canyon- ARIZONA
5. Brandan Wright, 6-9 BF, Brentwood (TN) Academy- NORTH CAROLINA
6. Spencer Hawes, 6-11 C/BF, Seattle (WA) Prep- WASHINGTON
7. Gerald Henderson, 6-5 WG, Merion Station (PA) Episcopal- DUKE
8. Sherron Collins, 5-11 PG, Chicago (IL) Crane- KANSAS
9. Tywon Lawson, 5-11 PG, Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill- NORTH CAROLINA
10. Darrell Arthur, 6-9 BF, Dallas (TX) South Oak Cliff- KANSAS

Link to top 100 from Eric Bossi.

Before this week, KU’s recruiting class was really too small to be ranked. But with the addition of Darrell Arthur, that has changed. I’ll let Dave Telep tell you about that:

Typically, it’s extremely difficult to create a Top 25 recruiting class during the spring signing period. When it happens, the circumstances tend to be extraordinary and that’s what took place in Lawrence, Kan., this week.

During the fall period, the Jayhawks signed all-american point guard Sherron Collins. They also bolstered their backcourt with the addition of post-graduate Brady Morningstar, a Top 25 prep school player whose father attended KU.

On Tuesday, the Jayhawks hit the homerun in the form of 6-foot-9 post Darrell Arthur. The Dallas (Tex.) South Oak Cliff two-time state champion picked KU and in the process gave Bill Self a pair of elite players. Arthur is ranked by Scout.com as the No. 2 power forward in American and Collins trails only UNC recruit Tywon Lawson in the point guard rankings.

Add up the 3-man class and you have what appears to be America’s 4th most powerful recruiting haul

Over the last 4 years, KU has had the 3rd, 4th, 1st and now 4th best recruiting classes, respectively. We should make some noise based on that fact alone this year.

Thanks to a hawkeyed poster over at phog.net for finding this.

Link

It’s really very neat. Welcome to the future.

Details later.

Link to confirmation from the Dallas Morning News.

Hot Damn Bill Self is a heck of a recruiter.

Darrell Arthur’s long, eventful recruitment is finally over.

The South Oak Cliff star said Tuesday that he will play college basketball at Kansas.

Arthur, who had narrowed his list to Kansas, Baylor and LSU, made the long-awaited announcement at his grandparents’ home in Oak Cliff.

According to the LJW’s sources, Darrell Arthur appears headed to Baylor or LSU.

Barring an unforeseen last-minute kick, Kansas University isn’t likely to be Arthur’s choice, based on a scenario laid out by a source close to the situation who believed as of Monday night that LSU and Baylor University were the primary schools between which Arthur was waffling.

Mark it down. It’s LSU. Sorry Grandmama.

Unless Bill can pull a 6′10″ rabbit out of his hat today, expect Darrell to be a Tiger.

I’m hearing that the press conference will be delayed, probably until tomorrow.

Take that for what it’s worth, but do not be surprised if we do not have a DA decision today.

A worthy twist to an already pretzly tale.

UPDATE: Evidently, 810 is now confirming this to be the case. They’re projecting a Tuesday conference now.

While you’re waiting, enjoy Dick Vitale’s six diaper dandies for next year:

Dick’s Super Six Diaper Dandies

Sherron Collins, G, 5-11, Crane Technical (Ill.), Kansas
Kevin Durant, F, 6-10, Montrose Christ. (Md.), Texas
Gerald Henderson, G-F, 6-5, Episcopal Acad. (Pa.), Duke
Ty Lawson, G, 6-0, Oak Hill Acad. (Va.), North Carolina
Greg Oden, C, 7-1, Lawrence North (Ind.), Ohio State
Brandan Wright, F, 6-9, Brentwood Acad. (Tn.), North Carolina

UPDATE 2:

Tom Keegan at the LJW has put pen to paper and confirmed, with a quote:

“I am still trying to figure out what is going on,” Mays told Rivals.com. “Darrell was supposed to announce his decision at 12:30 today, but it doesn’t sound like that is going to happen. I don’t exactly know what the problem is, but the press conference will not happen today. I believe that Darrell will definitely make his decision at a press conference tomorrow (Tuesday).”

Based on DallasPreps.com’s comments last week, we would appear to be benefitting by any delay, but who knows any more?

12:30 today folks.

The Darrell Arthur recruitment has been the most blogged about in the short history of the Phog Blog, so we’re going to soak it in today. I’ve talked to a number of people in recent days about the ever elusive Arthur, and most seem to have come to the conclusion that they’re uncertain. It turns out Darrell himself may not have yet made a decision. At least, he hadn’t as of last week, when he scheduled the press conference for today:

[Mays] said that although a news conference - slated for 12:30 p.m. today - was scheduled days ago, Arthur didn’t 100-percent decide on a school at that time.

“It was a deadline for him and his folks,” Mays told the Journal-World. “Whether he’s ready or not, he’s going to do something (today) at 12:30.”

I think he’ll end up at LSU, and I think that KU is his number 2. Could be the other way around though. I’ll be surprised if it’s not one of those two schools

Yes that’s Latin you just read. It means that whatever DA decides to do, I will not be surprised. Here’s a quote to bunch up your knickers:

Of teams’ chances to land the McDonald’s All-American, Rodney Johnson of Dallaspreps.com wrote that LSU is “on fire,” while Arizona and Baylor are “hot,” Kansas is “warm” and Texas is “cold.”

Ok. That’s interesting. We’ve had our suspicions about LSU. But here’s where the wierd turns PRO:

“That’s how everything looks right now,” Johnson said Wednesday night. “But if it doesn’t happen this week or in the early part of next week, LSU is going to be out.”

Does that sound weird to anybody else? Why would LSU be out because of time? I really won’t be surprised if KU ends up landing Arthur, but I have to say that all of this weirdness dampens the excitement of a top recruit if we do.