Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
By ADAM ZAGORIAJalen Wilson, the 6-foot-8 wing guard from Guyer (TX), committed to Kansas on Wednesday.
A onetime Michigan commit, Wilson chose the Jayhawks over Michigan and North Carolina. He visited Kansas May 30.
“I’m going to KU,” Wilson told 247Sports.com. “I just picked them because I feel like there’s a really big need for me and what I can do to help the team. It’s going to be a great team and a national contender. Top to bottom of their roster it’s a really good team and I have a great relationship with the coaches and I’m excited.”
Rated No. 47 in Rivals.com’s Class of 2019, Wilson played on the No. 2 team in Texas’ District 6A at John H. Guyer High School.
“I’m very excited about Jalen’s commitment to us,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “He’s been a Kansas fan for the vast majority of his young life and is certainly a guy who is used to winning after being a part of a great high school program at John H. Guyer High School. He will bring great size, skill and versatility playing both as a big and a small, but more importantly he’ll bring incredible toughness.
“We missed out on the opportunity to sign Jalen the first time around when he committed to Michigan,” Self said. “He’d been up here to campus and was a guy we were very interested in but he made another decision. When Coach (John) Beilein left for the NBA and they asked for the release, that opened up the opportunity for us to try again and to get it right, even though it was the second time around.”
Wilson averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists last season on the way to Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Class 6A all-state and all-regional honors in 2018-19. He helped the Wildcats to a 32-5 record and a regional championship game in the Texas state playoffs.
A four-year varsity player at Guyer, Wilson was a part of three District 6A championship teams. He averaged 16.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a junior in 2018, which earned TABC Class 6A all-state, all-regional and District 6A co-MVP honors. As a sophomore he averaged 16.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists and guided Guyer to a 25-6 record and a trip to the Bi-District final. As a freshman, he posted 15.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game as Guyer went 30-3 and advanced to the District 6A Area final.
Wilson also played on the Gauntlet AAU circuit in the spring of 2018, averaging 19.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
Wilson joins point guard Isaac McBride, shooting guard Christian Braun and small forward Tristan Enaruna in Kansas’ 2019 class, now ranked No. 15 nationally by 247Sports. Kansas also picked Iowa grad transfer Isaiah Moss on Tuesday.
Kansas also returns a strong core led by point guard Devon Dotson and bigs Udoka Azubuike and Silvio de Sousa to a potential Final Four team.
“I believe I can shoot, defend, dribble and I think I’m a versatile player,” Wilson told 247. “With my size and ability to stretch the floor, they can play big or small ball with me. I’m an all-around guy that they need and I think it’s the best place I can play my game.”
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
