New Sunrise Christian Academy point guard hears from KU, MU, K-State in recruiting
Layden Blocker, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound junior-to-be point guard from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, has received a men’s basketball scholarship offer from Kansas, he announced this week on Twitter.
Blocker — he averaged 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists a game as a sophomore at Little Rock (Arkansas) Christian High School this past season — is ranked No. 33 in the recruiting Class of 2023 by Rivals.com and No. 57 by 247sports.com.
He’s being recruited by KU, Missouri, Kansas State, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Baylor, Memphis, Gonzaga, Auburn, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, TCU, Tennessee, Mississippi, Stanford, Creighton, Virginia Tech, and others.
“I know that it (KU) is a very successful program. They have very high-level coaches and players. They send players to the NBA,” Blocker told Zagsblog.com.
Luke Barnwell, coach at Sunrise Christian Academy, told Zagsblog.com: “Layden has a gear that’s different than everyone else. He has a bright future at Sunrise. I am excited to work with him.”
Blocker, according to Rob Cassidy of Rivals.com, “is an explosive prospect with a knack for getting to the rack and finishing through contact.”
Added Brandon Jenkins of 247sports.com: “An athletic scoring guard, Layden Blocker has a great feel for the game and matching instincts. The 6-2 guard has a knack for getting in the paint and scoring. He has fairly long arms and is a quality athlete with great burst. On the defensive end, he has potential as a bulldog guarding the ball by utilizing his length and lateral quickness to get stops.”
At Sunrise, Blocker will be a teammate of 6-7 senior forward Gradey Dick, who has committed to KU and 6-7 senior forward Mark Mitchell, who has KU, Missouri and Kansas State and others on his list of schools. Mitchell is ranked No. 8 and Dick No. 37 in the Class of 2022 according to Rivals.com. Mitchell has made recent visits to KU, MU and UCLA. Dick visited KU last weekend.
