Top basketball recruit Tyran Stokes commits to Bill Self and Kansas over fellow blueblood Kentucky

The 6-foot-7 forward from Ranier Beach High School in Seattle has long been consider the top prospect in his class. With an uncanny ability to drive to the basket, Stokes scored 63 points in a game against West Seattle this past season, and he was one of the stars of the McDonald's All-American, putting up 12 points and nine boards in leading the West team to victory.

“Honestly it's been a long process, ever since I got my first offer, I think going into high school,” he said. “Ever since then it's been having like, college coaches talking to me, having good relationships with different coaches. It takes a lot.”

Stokes had trimmed his list to Oregon, Kansas and Kentucky, but the Ducks recently dropped out of the running, leaving the race for the likely one-and-done prospect a showdown between two of college basketball's bluebloods.

“Rock chalk, man. Rock Chalk," Stokes said.

The Jayhawks, who landed the nation's top-ranked recruit a year ago in Darryn Peterson, had been considered the favorite ever since Stokes visited campus about a year ago. But one of the questions was whether Stokes, who signed a multi-year NIL deal with Nike last year, would play for one of the flagship schools of its biggest rival, adidas.

There also was the question of whether Jayhawks coach Bill Self would return for another season amid several health issues in recent years. The Hall of Famer put that to rest when he announced earlier this month that he would be back for his 24th season.

Kentucky, a high-profile Nike school, recently had Stokes back on campus for another unofficial visit, raising hopes that coach Mark Pope could land the difference-maker. Pope even reportedly offered ex-NBA player Jamal Crawford, who had served as an assistant on Stokes’ high school team, a position on his own staff for the upcoming season.

The Jayhawks certainly needed Stokes in the lineup.

Not only did they lose Peterson to the NBA, as expected, they also watched top big men Flory Bidunga (Louisville) and Bryson Tiller (Missouri) leave through the transfer portal along with guards Elmarko Jackson (Georgetown) and Jamari McDowell (Wake Forest).

They shored up some of the roster by landing Utah forward Keanu Dawes, Toledo guard Leroy Blyden Jr. and 7-foot-2 center Christian Reeves of Charleston. They also have one of the nation's top high school classes in the fold, headlined by five-star point guard Taylen Kinney and four-star prospects Davion Adkins, Trent Perry and Luke Barnett.

Still, the Jayhawks were missing the kind of scoring punch that Stokes could provide their reshaped roster.

Kentucky also has been busy rebuilding its roster, adding Washington transfer Zoom Diallo, Furman's Alex Wilkins and international prospect Ousmane N'Diaye to go with prep recruits Mason Williams and Zyon Hawthorne.

But like the Jayhawks, the Wildcats had hoped Stokes could make up for what they've lost. That includes floor leader Denzel Aberdeen (Florida), Andrija Jelavic (Ohio State), Mouhamed Dioubate (LSU) and Brandon Garrison (Alabama), among others.

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball