Kansas could well end up having the No. 1 and 2 picks in the NBA Draft in the form of Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins, but the cupboard will hardly be bare at Kansas next season.
Enter Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre.
The Kansas-bound duo put on a show on Monday at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., especially the 6-foot-8 Alexander who went for 30 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks as Chicago Curie stunned the No. 1 team in the nation, Montverde (FL) Academy, 73-69.
Projected as the No. 3 pick in the 2015 Draft by DraftExpress.com, Alexander dominated Montverde with a series of jaw-dropping dunks, including the left-handed putback slam pictured above. He scored 13 points in the final 4 minutes, 30 seconds.
“We’ve been waiting on this day since the season started,” Alexander told MassLive.com. “We know that they were the No. 1 team in the country and we came out and beat them. Right now, can’t nobody beat us.”
Longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski sat courtside and said Alexander was probably the most impressive player of the weekend — quite a statement considering how much talent was on hand for the event.
“Cliff Alexander was a man [on Monday], in the second half in particular,” Konchalski said. “He’s so strong, so athletic and he played so hard. He totally took over the game against Montverde.”
He added: “He shot 8-for-8 from the foul line. Now that is a critical statistic for a guy like Alexander, because as strong and as physical as he is, he’s going to get to the foul line a great deal. Seven of his 12 rebounds were offensive rebounds. And if you can get offensive rebounds, you’re much more likely to be fouled. If you can transfer those offensive rebounds into points on the scoreboard, you’re really a blue-chip stock.”
Kansas will likely lose the 7-foot Embiid, widely considered the No. 1 pick at this point, and while Alexander is not Embiid, he is going to bring a powerful frontcourt force to the Jayhawks.
“He has a terrific motor and he just played so hard,” Konchalski said of Alexander. “He took over the game. He imposed his body and his will on the game in the second half against the No. 1 team in the country, and that’s what they’re going to get. And to this day, will is more important than skill. You want to have both but if you can only have one give me the guy who’s going to be engaged in every play, who’s never going to take a play off.”
Alexander said he chose Kansas over Michigan State, Memphis, Illinois and DePaul because coach Bill Self has a history of developing big men like Cole Aldrich, the Morris twins, Thomas Robinson and now Embiid.
“Bill Self, the way he’s been developing his guys to the pros, like Thomas Robinson, the twins (Marcus and Markeiff Morris), Jo Jo (Joel Embid) –they turned him into a killer right now,” Alexander told MassLive.com.
The 6-6 Oubre watched his future teammate’s performance after he scored a team-high 23 points to lead Findlay Prep to a 73-44 victory over Wesleyan Christian (N.C.).
With Wiggins headed to the NBA, Oubre, who chose Kansas over Kentucky just like Wiggins did, can slide in and play the wing position for Kansas in 2014-15.
“Kelly Oubre is another guy with a great motor,” Konchalski said. “He’s always in attack mode….He’s another guy that’s a great open-court player, runs the court extremely hard. The strength of his game is his quickness, his effort and his athleticism.”
Like Alexander, Oubre is projected as a one-and-done, with DraftExpress.com listing him as the No. 12 pick in the 2015 Draft.
Both players were also named on Monday to the 10-man USA Nike Hoops Summit roster.
Konchalski said Kansas is getting two “winners” in Alexander and Oubre, and guys who may actually play harder than Embiid and Wiggins.
“[Kansas] loses sexier players, but they get guys who are going to get in the trenches, fight for every loose ball and get 75 percent of every 50/50 ball,” he said. “That’s how you win games.”
Meantime, Alexander said he’s not done recruiting for Kansas and is working on bringing his friend JaQuan Lyle in, too.
The Huntington Prep guard plans to visit Kansas, but told SNY.tv Oklahoma State is now in hot pursuit, along with Oregon, West Virginia and others.
“We [Oubre and Alexander] talk almost every day,” Alexander told MassLive.com. “We’re trying to get JaQuan Lyle to commit with us. He’s a good friend of mine.”
Photo: Jonathan Wasserman
