Devonte’ Graham picks Kansas

Devonte’ Graham, a 6-foot-2 point guard from Brewster Academy, has chosen to go to Kansas.

Graham, ranked No. 36 by Rivals, was the highest ranked uncommitted player in the Class of 2014 until Friday. Graham rounds out Bill Self’s 2014 recruiting class that includes two top ten recruits in Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre.

Graham is self-described as a “true point guard,” who can make plays by himself and for his teammates by passing and running the offense.

Devonte’ Graham originally committed to Appalachian State but was released from his letter of intent in March after the head coach was fired.

Graham’s decision comes a day after Naadir Tharpe transferred from Kansas. Graham joins Tharpe and Thomas Robinson as Jayhawks who played at the University of Kansas.

Graham will compete with sophomores Frank Mason and Conner Frankamp for the starting point guard position for Kansas in the 2014-2015 season. The Jayhawks’ starting lineup will be young once again next season as Christian Garrett is the only senior on the Kansas roster now that Tharpe has left the program.

“When he (Devonte) first contacted me last spring, when he made up his mind that he wasn’t going to App State, I saw video and talked to people and they said it was a no-brainer. Those people told me that he was a guard that could play at the highest level. From coaching Devonte all year, that is very evident,” Jason Smith, Brewster Academy’s head coach, told JayhawkSlant.com.

“He’s as good as any point guard we’ve had during my tenure at Brewster,” Smith said of Graham. “He’s kind of a combination of a few different guys. He’s explosive like Semaj Christon (Xavier). He runs the team and makes decisions well. He guards like Dogus Balbay, who played at Texas, so I knew once Devonte received his release, he’d be recruited by the highest level programs.”

“He’s a little bit of both (point guard/shooting guard). Devonte can score if you need him to score, but he really shoots the ball well and he can defend. He was our leading scorer this year, but he still shot over 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from behind the arc and nearly 80 percent from the foul line.”