Top Target: Why Collin Sexton is a Must-Get for Kansas

October 21, 2016 Daniel Cunningham

The Kansas Jayhawks’ top target right now in the class of 2017 is none other than No. 10 overall recruit Collin Sexton. Considering the expected exodus of talent from KU following the 2016-17 season, Sexton’s services would be hugely welcomed in Lawrence.

Collin Sexton, a 6’3″ point guard from Georgia, is one of the most dynamic players in the class of 2017. Sexton is a guy who stands out on any basketball court that he’s on. He is freakishly quick, which allows him to break people down off the dribble, and he causes nightmares on the other side of the ball. Defensively, he is very similar to current Jayhawk guard Devonte’ Graham. Last year, Graham took a big step forward on the defensive end. His quick hands allowed him constantly to pick his defenders or get in the way of passes.

Sexton also possesses these qualities. He is a guy that can seem to score at will. The only knock on his offensive game at this point is his jump shot. While his jumper has improved quite a bit over the last couple of years, he can still be a little streaky with it. Despite the streaky outside game, Sexton still finds ways to dominate games. He shoots extremely well from the line, which is good because he finds himself there a lot. He is a slasher who is a nightmare to guard one-on-one. He has the “alpha dog” mentality that Bill Self loves to see in his players. Sexton can be prone to turnovers, but with the right pieces around him, he will stand out as one of the best overall guards in the entire country.

His recruitment seems to be boiling down to two schools. At this point, Kansas and Alabama seem to have separated themselves from the pack. In my opinion, this recruitment will come down to one question: will Collin Sexton leave the south? He has stated that he loves Crimson Tide head coach Avery Johnson and the energy he would bring to Alabama. The University of Alabama is only a few hours away from his home in Mableton (20 minutes outside of Atlanta), which also gives the Crimson Tide a big advantage.

However, there has been some recent momentum building on the side of the Jayhawks. Sexton was blown away on his visit to Lawrence for KU’s Late Night in the Phog on October 1. Sexton raved about his visit and talked about his relationship with Bill Self. He talked about how HCBS mainly talked about how he could improve him in order to get him to where he needs to be (the NBA).

Simply put, Collin Sexton is the full package. He is a scorer, a defender, a playmaker, and an alpha dog. Sexton would slide nicely into the starting five next season with the loss of Frank Mason and possibly Devonte’ Graham. The real question is whether or not he will leave the south. I think he ends up leaving the south to play his college basketball in Lawrence, Kansas. I think the recruitment will be close, but in the end, Sexton ends up playing for one of the premier basketball schools in the country in Kansas.