McLemore and Anderson Sign to Play Basketball at Kansas

April 13, 2011

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self announced Wednesday that guard Ben McLemore and forward Braeden Anderson have signed to play basketball at KU for the 2011-12 season.

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Ben McLemore (photo via Rivals.com)

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A 6-5, 185-pound, St. Louis, Mo., native, McLemore is a five-star recruit who is ranked No. 17 nationally by Rivals.com and the No. 4 shooting guard. McLemore, who signed a national letter of intent to play at Kansas, came on his official visit to KU during the 2010 Late Night in the Phog last October.

“Ben is a guy we identified a couple of years ago being a player that would a priority for us,” Self said. “Very rarely do you find guys that are as athletic as Ben is with the shooting skill that he has. He’s going to become even a better shooter as we move forward. He has a chance to be an outstanding player.”

Described as an elite shooting guard, McLemore played for Wellston High School in St. Louis in 2009-10. When the school closed following the 2009-10 academic year, he then went to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., and later transferred to Christian Life Center in Humble, Texas. In his six games at Christian Life Center he averaged 16 points and seven rebounds for the Jackrabbits.

“It’s not easy for a kid growing up in St. Louis to choose the University of Kansas,” Self said. “We’ve been so pleased with his loyalty. Ben has told us all along that he wanted to be a Jayhawk and we let process play out and he certainly held true to that. I’m very excited about him. I think Ben has a chance to be not a good player but a really, really good player for us in the immediate future.”

McLemore was an all-metro selection by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as a junior at Wellston where he averaged 28.3 points, 12.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocked shots in 2009-10. The 2010 he led the Trojans to a third-place finish in the Class 2 state tournament.

McLemore, who verbally committed to Kansas earlier this month, chose KU over Missouri.

Anderson (6-8, 215) is from Okotoks, Alberta, Canada. In 2009-10, his junior season, he played at Christian Faith Center near Raleigh, N.C. This past season he played at Wilbraham and Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Mass., where he averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds per game.

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Braeden Anderson (photo via espn.com)

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“Braeden is a guy we identified late,” Self said. “When we felt like the (Morris) twins would probably be leaving, we looked for the best available big guy there was in the country. Although we are still recruiting a couple more, Braeden Anderson was on everybody’s list. He is a guy with a great skill set, great bounce, and great body and is just a short time away from a chance to be a really good player for us.”

Described at a workaholic who plays power forward, Anderson, who signed a financial aid agreement to attend KU, originally committed to DePaul and chose Kansas over Kentucky, Arizona, Florida, Missouri and Memphis.

“We’re excited to have the entire McLemore and Anderson families join our family here at KU,” Self said.

McLemore and Anderson join KU fall signee Naadir Tharpe from Worcester, Mass. Tharpe is a point guard who averaged 14.5 points and 6.0 assists for Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H. Tharpe guided his team to a 31-3 record this past season and spot in the national prep school semifinals. He was named the Class AAA Player of the Year by the coaches in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.