4-Star Center David McCormack Commits to Kansas over Duke, Xavier and More

Four-star center recruit David McCormack announced his intention to attend Kansas on Sunday, choosing the Jayhawks over the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Duke Blue Devils.McCormack confirmed his decision on WAVY-TV in Portsmouth, Virginia. The Kansas City Star's Jesse Newell showed McCormack wearing a Kansas shirt:McCormack, who stars at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, is 247Sports' No. 39 overall prospect and third-ranked center. He's rated as the state of Virginia's second-best player.Listed at 6'9" and 290 pounds, McCormack is a big-bodied, traditional center. He uses his size and body control to finish through contact near the rim and has dominated inside against high school competition."I want to make sure the college program fits me and the coaching style fits me," McCormack said in June, per Jim Halley of USA Today. "Playing back to basketthat's my bread-and-butter, but I also need to work on my face-up game, the mid-range shot, the pick and pop and stuff like that to help my game."McCormack's biggest challenge may be maintaining his weight. He came in at over 300 pounds early in his junior season, which kept his minutes down. While the 280-pound weight is more manageable, he'll probably have to get even leaner if he hopes to impress NBA scouts who have come to cherish versatility."He needed to get his body right, lose some weight, so he could play above the rim instead of below it," Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said of McCormack's weight loss. "He's a lot more agile. He needed to get in shape so he could run the court every possession. He's done a great job of doing what we ask him."Kansas head coach Bill Self will have to continue to harp on McCormack to keep his weight down because he has a real chance to be a difference-maker if he does. Bully ball inside is increasingly rare at all levels of college basketball, and McCormack could take advantage of other bigs incapable of defending the paint.McCormack is the second member of the Jayhawks' 2018 recruiting class, joining 4-star power forward Silvio De Sousa, who's the No. 31 player overall. Kansas currently ranks 17th among all teams in 247Sports' 2018 rankings.
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