Boost Mobile Elite 24: Jayhawks galore?

Harlem, NY - On Friday, August 21st, two dozen high school hoopsters will showcase their skills at New York's famed Rucker Park. The glorified scrimmage will be televised on tape delay, on August 22nd at 6:00pm (ESPNU). Kansas will have several scholarships up for grabs, so it's time to reload. Here's my take for each of the prospects on the Jayhawk radar:

Harrison Barnes (center left)

Class: 2010

Position: Small forward

Height: 6'7"

Weight: 206

Hometown: Ames, IA

The Skinny: It's no secret that Barnes is the Jayhawks' #1 target. If you're going to land one, it better be the talented Ames, IA native. As the #1 overall prospect according to Scout.com and ESPN.com, his game is already polished. With a great head on his shoulders, Barnes oozes class. When it comes time for Barnes to make his decision, he will represent whichever school he chooses extremely well. It appears to be a four-horse race for Barnes' services: Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and Stanford.

Josh Selby (top middle)

Class: 2010

Position: Point guard

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 180

Hometown: Baltimore, MD

The Skinny: Selby decommitted from the Tennessee Volunteers on July 19th. There are many rumors surrounding his supposed "wide open" recruitment. Some say his links to William Wesley will push him to 'Nike' schools like Kentucky or Oregon. Others think he will join his cousin Will Barton, at Memphis. Regardless of the speculation, many of the top programs in the nation have tossed their hat in the ring for this explosive point guard.

Cory Joseph (bottom middle)

Class: 2010

Position: Point guard

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 175

Hometown: Henderson, NV

The Skinny: Though Joseph hasn't been officially offered a scholarship from Bill Self yet, assistant coach Danny Manning has been heavily involved in his recruitment. From my observation, Joseph is quite comparable to former Bill Self recruit Deron Williams. The point guard from Canada recently "trimmed" his list to a whopping 16 schools. As of right now, he appears to be favoring Memphis, but it's only a matter of time before his remaining options starting turning up the heat.

Terrence Jones (not pictured above)

Class: 2010

Position: Power forward

Height: 6'8"

Weight: 220

Hometown: Portland, OR

The Skinny: The wildly talented Jones hails from Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon. That should sound familar, as former Jayhawk guards Aaron Miles and Michael Lee played their high school ball there as well. He's already led his team to back-to-back Class 5A championships. His point forward skill-set resembles another former Jayhawk, Julian Wright. So Jones will be a similar matchup nightmare in college. Kansas just recently offered Jones a scholarship, and it appears the coaching staff is making him a priority. Let's face it, he's far too talented for the Jayhawks to pass up.

Joe Jackson (middle left)

Class: 2010

Position: Point guard

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 150

Hometown: Memphis, TN

The Skinny: As one of the better scoring point guard prospects, Jackson is an ideal floor general. Despite a frail 150-pound frame, he can get to the rim with ease. Though he may need to improve his strength if he plans on playing with the same aggressiveness at the next level. Jackson clearly feels a lot of pressure to commit to the local Memphis Tigers, but has insisted he will wait until next spring to make his final decision. We'll see just how many schools are willing to wait on this "mighty mouse".

Doron Lamb (top right)

Class: 2010

Position: Shooting guard
Height: 6'4"

Weight: 175

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

The Skinny: A transplant from the Big Apple, Lamb will finish out his high school career at vaunted Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. Though Kentucky is rumored to be a heavy favorite for Lamb, his head coach Steve Smith insisted visits to Oklahoma and Kansas are in the works before pulling the trigger. Despite his desire to play point guard in college, Bill Self could easily suggest Lamb take a Chalmers-esque route to the NBA. We'll see if Kansas can re-open a New York recruiting pipeline and eventually land the obvious favorite of the partisan Rucker Park crowd on August 21st.

Roscoe Smith (bottom left)

Class: 2010

Position: Small forward

Height: 6'8"

Weight: 180

Hometown: Baltimore, MD

The Skinny: The other half of Oak Hill Academy's dynamic duo is a star in the making. Another blue-chipper from the recruiting hotbed of Baltimore, Roscoe Smith has a laundry list of schools after him. Though he hasn't given a thought to his recruitment up to this point, Smith said he felt honored to be offered scholarships from so many high-profile programs, including Duke. It will be interesting to see if Smith ends up being a package deal with either Doron Lamb (high school teammate) or Josh Selby (fellow Baltimore prospect).

Anthony Wroten Jr. (top left)
Class: 2011

Position: Point guard

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 180

Hometown: Seattle, WA

The Skinny: An elite prospect for the class of 2011, Wroten has a world of potential. But with nearly every Big East school offering an early scholarship (not to mention the entire Pac10) do the Jayhawks have a realistic shot landing Wroten? First, the biggest obstacle to landing kids from the West Coast is convincing them to leave home and come to the Midwest. Given his interest in schools across the country, Wroten is clearly not attached to the Pacific locale (check). Second, three years down the road, the only guard assured to be on the squad will be then-sophomore and incoming 2010 recruit Royce Woolridge. It is not that far-fetched that Kansas could lose Tyshawn Taylor, Elijah Johnson and C.J. Henry by the time Wroten stepped on campus. I know I'm looking way ahead, but this could be the first time in his Kansas tenure that Bill Self could dangle legitimate "playing time" to a point guard prospect. Hopefully by then, Self can flash two shiny rings to help seal the deal... Checkmate?

Perry Ellis (bottom right)

Class: 2012

Position: Small forward

Height: 6'8"

Weight: 210

Hometown: Wichita, KS

The Skinny: This is a no-brainer... Lawrence bound. It's not very often that the #1 overall prospect hails from the state of Kansas. But that will be just the case when Ellis finishes his high school career. The kid from Wichita has been dreaming of donning crimson and blue his entire life. After being selected the Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year as a freshman, Ellis will continue to rake in the scholarship offers. It would certainly help if Kansas could get an early commitment from Ellis, though verbals haven't meant anything over the past couple years. I know his recruitment has only just begun, but the longer it drags out, the more our chances dwindle. I have confidence that Self won't let him out of the backyard, but if there was ever such a thing as a five star "shoe-in", it would have to be Ellis, right?