KU extends hoops scholarship offer to ‘underrated’ point guard from Washington, D.C.

Rowan Brumbaugh, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound senior point guard from Northfield Mount Hermon School in Gill, Mass., has been offered a men’s basketball scholarship by Kansas, he reported Monday on Twitter.

Brumbaugh, who is ranked No. 139 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by 247sports.com and unrated by Rivals.com, is being recruited by KU, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Syracuse, Marquette, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Xavier, DePaul, Georgia Tech, Princeton and others.

A native of Washington, D.C., Brumbaugh “is one of the most underrated players in the Class of 2022,” wrote Jeff Goodman of Stadium.

Brumbaugh, who plays for Prospect U AAU, has had some big games on the spring and summer AAU circuit. He scored 29 points and dished 12 assists in a game in the recent Hoop Group Summer Jam Fest. In another game, he exploded for 42 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

“The kid’s IQ and guard skills have high-major star stamped all over him. Add that to his top-shelf character and he is worthy of recruitment by any school in the country,” wrote Steve Keller of National Recruiting report. “He showed his skill level by dropping dimes to all level teammates. The kid sees the floor like an eagle and threads needles. Handle gets him wherever he wants to go and all those high major offers make a lot of sense.”

Brumbaugh’s Mount Hermon team did not play a game during the 2020-21 season because of the pandemic,

“Rowan is a great point guard, manager of tempo, and players. His high IQ allows him to see the opportunities in the game that other players miss. He knows what calls to make, who needs touches and wants to make the winning plays for the team,” Mount Hermon coach John Carroll told Zagsblog.com.

Matt Belz of buckys5thquarter.com wrote: “Brumbaugh has smooth, balanced handles and is a strong shooter. His best skill set though is probably his vision and passing capabilities as a floor general. Brumbaugh is fairly quick for his size and does a great job of distributing the basketball to his teammates while also displaying the ability to score as well.”

Brumbaugh described his game to casualhoya.com: “I’m a true point guard who is a winner and makes winning plays. I know who to get the ball to, what call to make and if we need a bucket I can get one.”

He noted in an interview with Rivals.com: “I’m kind of like a John Stockton. I am going to be in your face all game, picking up full court playing as hard as possible, but I want to get my teammates involved first and foremost.”

George, Rice battle in Iowa

Keyonte George and MJ Rice, who both have Kansas on their list of prospective schools, were matched against each other Saturday night at the Adidas 3 Stripes Select Basketball championships in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

George, a 6-5 senior combo guard from iSchool Entrepreneurial Academy in Lewisville, Texas, scored 27 points to lift his Southern Assault AAU team to a victory over Rice’s Team Loaded squad. Rice, a 6-5 senior guard/forward from Prolific Prep in Napa, California, scored 29 points.

George is ranked No. 5 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by Rivals.com and Rice No. 28 by Rivals.com. George has visited Kansas, Baylor Oklahoma State and Texas. Some analysts say Texas is the leader. Rice has visited KU and Oklahoma State. Some analysts have said North Carolina State is the leader.

“Rice was simply a monster and showed a much improved jumper. Rice was relentless on the glass and stayed in attack mode all night,” Travis Branham of 247sports.com wrote of Rice after Saturday’s game. “He’s a mismatch given his athleticism, physicality, motor and skillset. He is able to take slower bigs off the bounce and bully wings in the paint. He made several jumpers from mid-range out to three as well both off the catch and pull, a nice addition to his game.”

Of George, Branham wrote: “He was highly effective and efficient playing off the ball making a handful of jumpers beyond the arc from three and then utilizing that threat to create off the bounce. George connected on five threes, four of which came in the second half and finished with 27 points in a comeback win over the Team Loaded North Carolina squad.”

Midwestern schools pursue Reed

Recruiting analyst Eric Bossi on Tarris Reed of Mokan Elite, who has helped his team to a 5-2 record thus far at Peach Jam in South Carolina:

“More and more, it is looking like St. Louis native Tarris Reed won’t be venturing out of the Midwest. It is just a matter of which school gets him as Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Ohio State and hometown Saint Louis are among those pursuing him the hardest,” Bossi wrote of Reed, a 6-10, 230-pound senior power forward out of Link Year Prep in Branson, Missouri.

He is ranked No. 84 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by 247sports.com and No. 90 by Rivals.com.

“A tough and rugged low-post scorer and rebounder who also shows some potential shooting the ball from 12-15 feet,” Bossi continued, “Reed projects well as a college center who has more than enough size, skill and strength to be a major contributor early in his career.

“Taking things a step further, I ultimately see him ending up in the Big Ten and if I had to wager a bet on where he ends up at this point I’d say that Michigan and Ohio State are the two programs I feel have the best shot at landing him,” Bossi added. At one point, Reed had KU on his list of schools.”