Are ‘immediate minutes’ a possibility for KU Jayhawks hoops newcomer Marcus Adams?

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self believes the team’s latest high school addition — small forward Marcus Adams — is capable of making an impact in games as a freshman.

“We think he is very underrated and a youngster that can find immediate minutes with the departure of our tall wings from last year,” Self said Monday after KU’s compliance office processed the 6-foot-8, 205-pound Torrance, California native’s national letter-of-intent.

Adams averaged 28.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in 2022-23 for Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California.

“We started recruiting Marcus very late in the process,” Self said Monday. “Coach (Kurtis) Townsend was the point recruiter with Marcus. When we had Marcus and his family in on an official visit, we just really connected. He certainly fills a need. He’s a tall wing. He’s 6-8 and can shoot the basketball. He had two games this year, one in which he made 11 threes and the other which he made 13 threes. He’s good with the ball in his hands and can make plays for others as well.”

Adams — he is ranked No. 36 in the Class of 2023 by 247sports.com — committed to KU on March 3, a few days after his late-February official visit to Lawrence. He chose the Jayhawks over UCLA and Syracuse. He also received offers from Kansas State, Oregon, USC, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee and others.

Adams scored 40 or more points in three games last season, including a 50-point, 21-rebound game. Adams won the 2023 John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year Award for the L.A. City Section open division.

Adams joins a 2023 KU recruiting class that includes three other freshmen. Here’s a quick look at the other three signees who filed their paperwork with KU in November.

Elmarko Jackson, 6-3 combo guard

• Elmarko Jackson, a 6-3, 185-pound senior combo guard out of South Kent (Connecticut) School, recently played in the McDonald’s All-America game. He is ranked No. 22 in the recruiting Class of 2023 according to 247sports.com and ESPN.com and No. 27 by Rivals.com.

A native of Marlton, New Jersey, he averaged 19.0 points and 6.0 assists a game his senior season for South Kent High.

Jackson committed to KU on Oct. 13 over Texas, Villanova, Miami and Notre Dame.

“He’s a 6-3 athlete that can make plays with the ball and can play above the rim. He is extremely explosive and a guy that has been well-drilled, well-taught in a short amount of time,” Self said of Jackson.

“He’ll be one of those versatile guards that can play the point, but also can play anywhere off the ball as well. Coach (Norm) Roberts did a great job recruiting Elmarko and his family and we feel he will be an immediate impact player for us and potentially one of the best guards we’ve had in our program,” Self added.

Chris Johnson, 6-4 combo guard

• Chris Johnson, a 6-4, 180-pound combo guard out of Montverde, Academy in Florida, originally from Fort Bend, Texas, chose KU over Arkansas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Texas, UConn, Auburn, TCU, Houston, Tennessee, UCLA, Creighton, Georgia and others.

Johnson transferred to Montverde Academy for his senior season after earning all-greater Houston honors at Elkin (Texas) High School. He averaged 19.5 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds for Elkin in 2021-22. His stats are not available for this past season.

Johnson is ranked No. 34 in the recruiting Class of 2023 by Rivals.com, No. 35 by ESPN.com and No. 42 by 247sports.com. He played AAU basketball for the Houston Defenders along with fellow KU signee Jamari McDowell.

“He’s 6-4 and much like Elmarko, very versatile, can score, get his own shot but at the same time be a distributor,” Self said. “The thing that people rave about with him is that he could be an elite collegiate defender. Coach (Jeremy) Case did a great job recruiting Chris and his family and he and Elmarko and Jamari (McDowell) will all complement each other so well because they’re all similar but they’re so different because of their versatility.”

Jamari McDowell, 6-4 combo guard

• Jamari McDowell, a 6-4, 180, senior combo guard out of Manvel High in Texas, averaged 21.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 4.5 steals per game in 2022-23.

McDowell is ranked No. 73 by 247Sports.com He chose Kansas over Texas A&M, Xavier and Wake Forest among others.

“Jamari is the best shooter of the three. He can make a shot with range,” Self said. “He’s got point guard skills and actually plays point guard for his respective high school team. At 6-4 he’s got great size for his skill set and is a guy that I kind of see like as an Ochai (Agbaji) that you can throw lobs to and he’s a terrific three-point shooter. Coach Case recruited Jamari and his family as well.”

Of the three November signees, Self has said: “I feel like all three together give us probably about as good a trio that we have signed on the perimeter since maybe a Frank (Mason), Wayne Selden, Brannen Greene or a Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush and Micah Downs. To me these three could fit in the same type of category as far as what their potential will be at KU.”

More visitors on tap at KU

• Jayhawkslant.com reports that former Stanford Cardinal Harrison Ingram, a 6-7, 230 sophomore small forward who entered the transfer portal on April 4, has postponed his KU visit from Tuesday until April 27 because of academic responsibilities. He’s also considering North Carolina and others.

Ingram averaged 10.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game last season. He hit 40.8% of his shots and was 31.9% from three.

• Jayhawkslant.com reports that former Texas reserve point guard Arterio Morris, 6-3, 190 freshman from Dallas, will begin a visit to KU on Tuesday. Morris averaged 4.7 points and 1.4 rebounds a game his freshman season at Texas. He hit 41.4% of his shots and was 32.5% from three. He was 78.6% from the line.

MJ Rice visits N.C. State

Former KU wing MJ Rice, who entered the transfer portal on March 29, visited North Carolina State last weekend. Rice, 6-5, 215 from Durham, North Carolina, also is planning on visiting Pitt. No other schools have yet been mentioned as possibilities for the former McDonald’s All-American.

Rice — he played sparingly in 23 games for KU last season — is originally from Creedmoor, North Carolina, which is about 50 miles from the N.C. State campus. In high school he chose KU over N.C. State, Pitt, Oklahoma State and the G-League. He had nagging injuries and ailments that may have negatively impacted his progress his freshman season at KU.