Men's, women's hoops teams lure impressive recruits in early signing

Photo by Jeff Jacobson

November's early signing period proved bountiful for KU basketball's future. Men's coach Roy Williams announced the signing of four highly touted recruits — Jeremy Case, J.R. Giddens, David Padgett and Omar Wilkes — to national letters of intent, and women's coach Marian Washington welcomed Sharita Smith, who also signed a letter of intent.

Case, a 6-0 guard from McAlester, Okla., scored 25.7 points per game last year at McAlester High. Case's father, Win, is a former Oklahoma State standout and is now the head coach at Oklahoma City University.

"Jeremy Case is a youngster who can really shoot the basketball and knows how to play the game," Coach Roy Williams said. "I think those are two things that are really important to us and the way we play. It's another scenario where we have a son of a coach, and I like that. He's going to get bigger and stronger and I think he'll be very dedicated to improving his game throughout his career. He's looking forward to having a great senior year and we're really happy to have him to say the least. …He'll be a good addition to our family."

Roy Williams

Giddens, a 6-5 guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., is rated as the 17th-best prep player in the nation by ESPN.com. He averaged 25 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season at John Marshall High School.

"J.R. is an athletic youngster with great enthusiasm," Williams said. "Basketball-wise, he has a big-time flare for the game; he is a runner, jumper and has great athleticism. He can get way up in the air and works very hard to get his shot. He is developing into a better shooter each time we see him play."

Padgett, a 6-11 center from Reno, Nev., is ranked as the 15th-best high school player in the nation by ESPN.com. He scored 22.4 points and grabbed 14.3 rebounds per game last year at Reno High.

"David Padgett is the kind of kid we really felt like we needed to add in this class with the post players since we're losing Nick Collison and lost Drew (Gooden) last year," Williams said. "We really felt like we needed a high-quality post player. He can run like crazy for a big guy. He's got good hands, he's got good touch and he rebounds. There will be some guys that will have a flashier game, but not any more consistent game or fundamentally sound game than he has, and it's another one of those scenarios where his dad was his high school coach. He's a great, great kid and has a great family."

Wilkes,a 6-4 guard from Los Angeles, tallied 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals per game last season at Loyola High School. He is the son of former UCLA and Los Angeles Lakers standout Jamaal Wilkes.

"Omar Wilkes is a 6-4 true guard," Williams said. "He can handle the ball, he can pass the ball, he can shoot the ball, he can defend, he can drive. ... The best thing I can say about Omar is that every time I watch him play, his team does a lot better when he's in the game. He provides a great deal of stability and leadership for what's going on and he's all about winning. He's another youngster that will work extremely hard and try to do the best that he can with his game. He's got basketball in his family as well, but we're interested in seeing how Omar's going to do. He's a great, great youngster and we're very pleased. … I think he's got a lot of versatility which reminds me of Steve Woodberry. He's not quite as skinny as Steve was for sure, but he's a kid we're really happy about."

Marian Washington

On the women's team, Sharita Smith is a 5-8 guard from Dallas Lincoln High School in Dallas. She was named a Street & Smith Preseason All-American and is rated 37th by All Star Girls Report and 35th by Blue Star.

As a junior, Smith averaged 16 points, six assists and four rebounds as she helped Lincoln reach the Class 4A state championship game the past two years.

Smith has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career both on the local and national levels including Showtime Nationals All-America (2002), Street & Smith All-America Honorable Mention (2002), Texas Sports Writers Association and Texas Girls Coaches Association 4A All-State Second Team.

"Sharita is the kind of player who can come in and impact our program immediately, she is that caliber of a guard," Washington said. "She has impressive quickness, can score and creates for her teammates. She strengthens the depth we have at the guard position, which is something we've needed. What attracted us to her is that she is the 'total package' as a player. With her scoring, quickness and ability to create for teammates, she could become one of the top guards in the country."

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