Kansas Basketball Recruiting: Joel Embiid Set to Announce This Week

Bill Self and the Kansas basketball program have already put together a solid recruiting class for the 2013 recruiting season and they have a chance to add to that group this week. Joel Embiid is a seven foot prospect out of Gainesville Florida and he is set to announce sometime this week between his final three of Kansas, Florida and Texas.

Embiid is a recruit who has gained significant momentum in recent months and could end up ranked somewhere in the 25 to 40 range after just two years of competitive basketball in the United States. Embiid is a native of Cameroon and throughout the recruiting process he has received guidance from one of his mentors, a fellow Cameroon native, Luc Mbah a Moute. Kansas fans will remember Mbah a Moute from days at UCLA.

Embiid is described as an athletic seven footer who runs the floor well, attacks the glass and changes the game with his shot blocking ability. Obviously that is happening at the high school level and there is always a transition to the college level, but one would have to think that Kansas knows a thing or two about developing a seven footer into a game changer defensively.

Embiid has a signing ceremony scheduled at his school on Thursday but he has been quoted as saying that he might announce his intentions prior to that date. After visits to Texas, Kansas, Florida, Marquette and Virginia Embiid has a final three of Texas, Kansas and Florida. Following his visit to late night Embiid called Kansas his leader, but Florida is in his backyard and Texas is making a late push.

This would be the Jayhawks fifth commitment in the 2013 class. Embiid would provide a much needed cornerstone in the middle for this class and give the group a solid corps of talent. Bill Self would still have several very high profile players on the list for a potential sixth addition should Kansas have the opportunity.