Five-star center Udoka Azubuike will attend Kansas, he announced on ESPNU's Recruiting Nation show Thursday evening. The No. 22 player in the ESPN 100 for 2016, Azubuike picked the Jayhawks over North Carolina and Florida State.
"This was a very tough decision, but I fell in love with the team when I saw them play," Azubuike told ESPN. "I was very comfortable with coach Bill Self, assistant coach Norm Roberts and the entire coaching staff on my visit."
Azubuike, a 6-foot-11, 280-pound native of the Delta State in southern Nigeria, plays high school basketball at Potter's House Christian in Jacksonville, Florida. He is averaging 18.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game for the 2015-16 season.
Earlier this month, Azubuike was named the first McDonald's All-American in Potter House Christian's history.
Azubuike is the second ESPN 100 player for the Jayhawks in the 2016 class, joining four-star power forward Mitchell Lightfoot (No. 64) out of Gilbert, Arizona. Both are expected to be immediate frontcourt contributors for Kansas, which will lose senior power forward Perry Ellis as well as role players Hunter Mickelson and Jamari Traylor from the paint. Freshman Cheick Diallo, currently evaluated as a late-first-round pick by ESPN's Chad Ford, could also exit Lawrence.
The Azubuike commitment moves Kansas, which was previously unranked in the ESPN class rankings, into the top 40 at No. 14.
Bill Self and Co. could move up further. The Jayhawks remain in the mix for ESPN 100 players Josh Jackson (No. 3), Jarrett Allen (No. 19), Marques Bolden (No. 20) and Deshawn Corprew (No. 98), as well as five-star center Thon Maker.
