Ray Kasongo to visit Kansas this weekend

Thought Bill Self was done adding players to his roster? Think again.

Ray Kasongo, a 6-foot-9 power forward, will visit the Kansas campus this weekend before making another college decision. Kasongo was recently denied admission to the University of Oregon after not qualifying.

Despite Oregon denying his admission, he appears to be in good shape academically to qualify at other schools, including Kansas. Kasongo wasn’t told the reason why his admission was denied.

The Scarborough, Canada native could fill out the final scholarship spot at Kansas and is considering Kansas, California and Memphis. Kasongo will visit Cal and Memphis next week, according to ZagsBlog.com. Before he chose Oregon last October, Kasongo considered LSU, DePaul, USC, Florida State and UConn in addition to some other schools.

“I’m supposed to go there (KU) this Friday and visit with my parents,” Kasongo told Zagsblog.com on Tuesday. “Making it to the NBA is a big goal for me and they send a lot of bigs out there. I’m looking forward to visiting the school this weekend.”

Kasongo is not ranked by any recruiting service but is a three-star on Rivals.com’s website, as well as some of the other recruiting sites. 247sports lists Kansas as the favorite to land the power forward.

“It’s unfortunate. I was really looking forward to going to Oregon but the administration denied my application there. I’m not really too sure (why),” Kasongo told Zagsblog.com.

Kasongo finished his high school career at Oak Hill Academy, which has produced quite a bit of NBA talent including Ben McLemore, Rajon Rondo, and Carmelo Anthony. Michael Beasley and Kevin Durant also once played for Oak Hill.

Additionally, he is a friend of Andrew Wiggins, which is probably why he is considering Kansas. Like Wiggins, Kasongo is Canadian.

Here are some more quotes from ZagsBlog.com on Kasongo:

“If he gets the right culture and the right development, the sky’s the limit for this guy, I’m telling you,” Michael Duncan, the director of Ohio Basketball Club, Kasongo’s former AAU team, told Zagsblog.com.

“He runs the floor like a deer, jumps out the gym crazy. When he came he was just raw. He’s gotta develop some post moves, gotta get a go-to move. If he ever gets the right coaching, it’s a wrap. He’s gonna be unbelievable. He’s just so super-strong and athletic.”

Kasongo could make an immediate impact at KU in the frontcourt as Cliff Alexander and Perry Ellis are the only locks for minutes. Jamari Traylor, Landen Lucas and Hunter Mickelson round out the other frontcourt players at Kansas.

Kasongo would solidify an already outstanding recruiting class for Bill Self. Cliff Alexander, Kelly Oubre, Devonté Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk are the four incoming freshman in the class of 2014. Redshirt junior Hunter Mickelson is another newcomer for Self’s squad. Mickelson sat out the 2013-2014 season because of his transfer from Arkansas.

If Kasongo doesn’t come to Kansas, Self will most likely award one of the walk-ons with a scholarship. Redshirt senior Christian Garrett appears to be the prime candidate for that scholarship.