Kirk Hinrich to be a Jayhawk

Oct. 9, 1998

Journal World Articles

Kirk Hinrich a winner in Sioux City

Hinrich picks KU

Wichita Eagle Article

Williams pulls in another Iowa star

Jayhawk fans can thank Phil Jackson, former coach of the Chicago Bulls, for Kirk ending up a Jayhawk. Hinrich had committed to Iowa St. last year and he was set to play for Tim Floyd. Then Jackson resigned as the Bulls coach, the Bulls hired Floyd and Hinrich withdrew his commitment to ISU. Hinrich selected KU over Oklahoma and Iowa St.

Hinrich is a combo guard who, when he arrives next year, should be able to play at both the point guard position, where he will share playing time with freshman Jeff Boschee, and shooting guard, where he will compete for playing time with Kenny Gregory, John Crider and Marlon London.

By all reports, Hinrich is a very versatile player with a well rounded game. Hoop Scoop ranks him as the #41 high school player in the country and describes him as having "excellent shooting range, great ball handling skills, and good defensive skills."

Here is how the various recruiting services have ranked Kirk:

Bob Gibbons - #85
Brick Oettinger - #22 PG
FastBreak (ESPN) - #10 PG
HoopScoop - #41
Midwest Basketball - #28
Recruiting USA - #80
Stephen Wacaser - #46

Hinrich averaged 18.3 points per game as a junior last season, hitting 56.1% of his shots from the floor. He hit 47 percent of his three-pointers and 87 percent of his free throws. He led his league in steals (45) and assists (94) and was named All-Iowa 4A by the Iowa Newspaper Association. He averaged 6.5 assists per game setting his schools record for assists both in a season and in a career.

Hinrich was a member of the 1998 USA Basketball Men's World Youth Games Team that captured the gold medal with an unblemished 6-0 record. He averaged 11.0 ppg., 3.2 rpg., 5.0 apg. and 3.5 spg.

Hinrich played on the same AAU team this past summer as Nick Collison, who committed to KU two weeks ago, and they are reportedly good friends. Next season, KU will have more scholarship players from Iowa than from Kansas, and their presence should continue to make KU road games to Ames interesting. Raef LaFrentz, another Iowa Jayhawk, was routinely booed in Ames.

The commitment of Hinrich completes one of Roy Williams most successful recruiting seasons. KU has already received commitments from Andrew Gooden, a 6-10 forward from California, and Nick Collison, a 6-9 forward from Iowa. Both Collison and Gooden are top-5 power forwards and rated in the top-20 by many analysts.

It appears that Gooden, Collison and Hinrich were KU's top recruiting targets. Having them in the fold before the start of practice marks a pleasant departure from the last several years, when KU recruiting continued well into the spring.

It is possible that KU will have another scholarship available if Lester Earl isn't given another year of eligibility. It seems unlikely, though, that KU would use that scholarship this year.

There are many reasons why Williams is so successful in recruiting. An example of one of them is reflected in the following quote from Kirk Hinrich from Today's Sioux City Journal:

"When I told my grandma I was going to Kansas ... I can't remember the last time I've seen her so happy. Coach Williams is great. She fell in love with him right away."

When Paul and Raef left, some wondered if the glory days of KU basketball might be leaving with them. This recruiting class shows that the potential of the talent entering the program continues to keep pace with the talent graduating and that there should be many more glorious seasons in the near future.