Latrell Jossell commits to KU; plans to sign on Friday
With the start of the early signing period underway, the University of Kansas men’s basketball program received signed paperwork from five-star combo-guard Bryce Thompson, four-star big man Gethro Muscadin, and four-star guard Tyon Grant-Foster.
However, KU’s 2020 recruiting grew by one on Thursday night, as Latrell Jossell, the 6-foot-0, 165-pound guard from Central High School in Keller, Texas verbally committed to Bill Self and Kansas.
“Yes, I’ve committed to Kansas,” Latrell Jossell told JayhawkSlant.com on Thursday night. “KU has been my dream school since like middle school. Me and my friend, I don’t know if you know him, DJ Graham, who is going to OU for football, we used to talk about each other’s favorite school.
“He would always say OU and I would always say Kansas. It’s crazy now, because both of us are seniors, and he’s going to OU and I’m going to Kansas.
For Jossell, a three-star prospect, signing a National Letter-of-Intent with Kansas, which he plans to do tomorrow morning, didn’t become a realistic option until the last couple of days. Despite taking a visit to Kansas for Late Night in the Phog, and despite the coaching staff making several visits to Central High School to get a closer look at Jossell, he didn’t actually receive a scholarship offer from Kansas until Wednesday.
Once the scholarship offer from Bill Self and his staff came through, saying no simply wasn’t an option for Jossell. Once the scholarship offer came through, Jossell knew that it was time to fulfill his dream of playing basketball at Kansas.
“I just can’t wait to get to Kansas and get started,” said Jossell. “Coach Self had told me the plan, like the third time he visited me at my school. He let me know that he really wanted me and he just had to figure some things out.
“The morning Bryce Thompson committed to Kansas, they called me right after that. Coach (Jerrance) Howard called me and let me know the news (of the scholarship offer). I was pretty sure at that point that I was going to commit to Kansas.”
In all, Longwood, Georgia State, South Dakota State, Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, New Mexico, Southern Illinois, and Louisiana Tech are just a few of the programs that expressed serious interest in Jossell. However, when the scholarship offer from Kansas came through, he was ready to put an end to his recruitment.
On the court, Jossell is the type of player that might remind some Kansas fans of some previous under-recruited guards that ended up having quite a bit of success in Lawrence.
“I’m a guy that brings a lot of energy,” he said. “I play with a lot of heart. Once the game gets going and I’m into it, there is only one thing on my mind, and that’s winning. Winning is a big part of my game. I kind of do have a similar game to Frank Mason and I see where people are coming from when they say that.
“Especially with the undersized thing and being under-recruited. Oh, I am a shooter at heart. I can shoot that thang.”
When Jossell does make his way to campus, he’ll do so with a familiar face by his side. It just so happens that Jossell and Gethro Muscadin play for the same AAU team and, not surprisingly, are good friends.
“Oh yes, that’s my boy,” he said with a laugh. “Yes, he is a baller for sure. I think that’s why we ended up winning the national championship this year. There was really no other big man that could stay with him, because he moves so fluid and he isn’t slow. We won the ADIDAS Gauntlet National Championship this year. We won the whole thing.”
Earlier in the week, Rivals.com National Basketball Recruiting Analyst Eric Bossi had this to say about Latrell Jossell
“I just watched Jossell over the weekend and he's not the typical high-end prospect you usually see Kansas involved with,” said Bossi. “He is a very good athlete, can shoot a bit from deep and plays really hard. Currently, I think he's maybe more of a combo guard and might be more prepared to help out at a little bit lower level right out of the chute. But Bill Self has shown he can find under the radar guards and develop them. Does that mean he's on the same path as say a Devonte Graham or Frank Mason
who were once under the radar?
“No. It's unreasonable to say or even remotely expect he turns into a National Player of the Year candidate. But, guys like him with heart and a chip on his shoulder can often surprise after a few years in a good program with other good players around them.”
