Kansas was the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament, so naturally the Jayhawks felt they had a great shot to win the national championship. Those hopes were ruined on Saturday night when they lost a close game to the Villanova Wildcats.
The book on Kansas this season has been that it is a very good team but lacks a true star player. Bill Self and the Jayhawks are trying to remedy that for next season as they are still going hard on the recruiting trail. So far Kansas has gotten commitments from two four-star players, but neither project to be stars; they hope to change that in the near future though.
Right now if you are a Jayhawks fan things probably seem pretty bleak considering how well the team played all year only to be eliminated before the Final Four. But if you look ahead to the future you can be comforted by the fact that Kansas is the heavy favorite to land top recruit Josh Jackson when he finally makes his decision.
The rankings on Jackson differ a little bit, but he is a consensus top three player in the 2016 class, and he will be a game changer at whatever school he chooses. As for when that decision is coming, the McDonald's All-American says that should be within a week.
Of course Kansas is not the only school Jackson is considering as both Michigan State and Arizona made his final list. Arizona seems to be fading in the race for Jackson, but Michigan State is trending up and has a lot going for it. The Spartans have a top-five class for next year already, and one of those commits happens to be Jackson's good friend Mile Bridges who has been recruiting him hard. Jackson also happens to be a Detroit native, so while Kansas is considered the heavy favorite the Spartans cannot be ruled out.
Just purely based on class rankings, Kansas needs Jackson much more than Michigan State does. Kansas' 2016 class currently ranks 42nd in the nation with both Mitch Lightfoot and Udoka Aubuike having already committed. Getting Jackson on board would bring that 42nd ranked class way up, but without Jackson the Jayhawks could be in a lot of trouble especially when you consider they have a bunch of guys that could declare for the NBA draft.
