Ernest Udeh, Jr., commits to Kansas
Ernest Udeh, Jr., the 6-foot-10, 232-pound center from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Fla., is officially off the board. Down to Kansas and UCLA, Udeh, the No. 29 ranked player in the 2022 class, verbally committed to Bill Self and the Jayhawks on CBS Sports HQ just moments ago.
Udeh, the No. 5 ranked center in the 2022 class, was one of the most impressive prospects throughout the spring and summer AAU Circuit. In fact, Udeh, a four-star prospect, went from unranked to the No. 115 ranked player in the class and, most recently, he was bumped all the way up to the No. 29 ranked prospect in the entire class.
In all, Udeh received scholarship offers from the likes of Kansas, UCLA, Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Cincinnati, Creighton, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Memphis, Miami (FL), Michigan, Mississippi, Mississippi State. Seton Hall, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and others.
However, following his visit to Kansas, Udeh narrowed his list of schools down to just Kansas and UCLA. On Wednesday evening, Udeh became the fourth player from the 2022 class to verbally commit to Kansas.
KU's 2022 class now consists of Udeh, who averaged 10.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game as a junior, MJ Rice, Gradey Dick, and Zuny Ejiofor.
Recently, JayhawkSlant.com caught up with Udeh to get an update on his visit to Kansas (10/8/21).
“I arrived for my visit on Friday and my whole family came with me,” Ernest Udeh told JayhawkSlant.com on Sunday evening. “I spent the most time with Ochai (Agbaji), Jalen (Wilson), and Joseph (Yesufu) on my visit, but I just met and spoke to different guys throughout the visit. The visit was really good.
“You can tell that their fan base really loves the players,” he added. “I mean highlights honestly were the great conversations that I had with the team over meals and just when we were hanging out. Getting back home and reviewing everything and deciding how I want to move forward with my recruitment process is all I’m doing as of this moment.”
For Udeh, his official visit to Kansas was, without question, a big one when it comes to his recruitment. With over 38 scholarship offers on the table, and just two options being considered, the visit process, not surprisingly, is extremely important to Udeh and his family.
While Udeh enjoyed his time with the current players, he also took the opportunity to watch how Bill Self and his staff operate during practice. The elite big man also provided his own thoughts on his view of the Kansas basketball program.
“I did watch the team practice, it was really great watching a practice at the next level,” said Udeh. “No, I didn’t scrimmage with the team. Honestly, Kansas is just a basketball place. Of course, it’s where the game was invented, but the culture that is there because of that is great.
During his time on campus, and before leaving for Florida, Udeh was able to spend some quality time with Coach Self and his staff. Not surprisingly, Self, Kurtis Townsend, Norm Roberts, Jeremy Case, and company left a lasting impression on one of KU’s top prospects in the 2022 class.
“I talked with basically everyone on the staff,” he said. “Coach Self is an awesome standup guy, very genuine, and has a great personality. The visit was really good. Nothing negative to say about it, I enjoyed my stay there.”
JayhawkSlant.com will have much more on Ernest Udeh tonight and tomorrow.