The pipeline from Chicago to Lawrence, Kan., produced another Jayhawk on Sunday.
Uplift’s Markese Jacobs, a 5-foot-11 sophomore guard, committed to Kansas after attending the team’s “Late Night in the Phog” event this weekend.
“Playing for Kansas is the opportunity of a lifetime and I didn’t want to waste it,” Jacobs said. “Not many people get a chance like this, and I didn’t want to wait or overthink it.”
Assuming Jacobs’ commitment holds, he will become the sixth player from the Chicago area to play for Bill Self at Kansas. The Jayhawks coach is entering his 14th year at KU after spending the previous three years at Illinois.
“(Self) will push you to be a better player,” Jacobs said. “Wherever you are right now, you’ll be way ahead of that when you get done playing for him.”
Jacobs will follow Julian’s Jamari Traylor, Curie’s Cliff Alexander, Washington’s Mario Little, Crane’s Sherron Collins and Homewood-Flossmoor’s Julian Wright as Chicagoland players to make Lawrence their college home during Self’s tenure.
“It’s becoming like a tradition, Chicago guys going to Kansas,” Jacobs said. “The coaches there compared me to Sherron Collins, and I feel we have the same game. Chicago has the best guards in the country and I feel I can continue that.”
Jacobs still has three seasons of high-school ball to play. He averaged 18 points per game for Uplift as a freshman. His recruitment had yet to really heat up, with his other scholarship offers coming from Illinois, DePaul, Loyola, Southern Illinois and UIC.
The Titans won a regional title last year after winning the Class 2A state title in 2015. Jacobs’ brother Demarius is a 6-foot-2 senior guard at Uplift who has offers from Southern Illinois, Drake and Green Bay, among others.
“I feel like we have a team that can win state and win city,” Jacobs said. “We’re a very strong team. I’m going to bring the dog out of my brother this year, and when that happens we’re going to be hard to beat.”
More Top Picks Best Nugget Ice Makers For Home
Twitter @Larkin_Will