Members of the Kansas basketball staff made their way to Hyattsville, Maryland Thursday evening to visit with class of 2011 PF Mikael Hopkins (Hyattsville, MD/DeMatha video, pics). TheShiver.com spoke with Mikael’s AAU coach (Team Takeover DC) Keith Stevens about the visit.
“It was very, very good,” said Stevens who was present for the visit on Thursday. “They (KU coaches) had a great presentation. His mother, Mikael and his high school coach were all impressed,” added Stevens.
The Kansas coaches covered many topics about the University of Kansas during the visit, but their ability to discuss how they could help Hopkins reach his long-term goals really stood out.
“They did a great job talking about how they could help him (Mikael) reach his long term goals from an athletic and academic standpoint,”said Stevens. “They can challenge him to be the best he can be on and off the court,” Stevens added.
The Jayhawks are one of seven schools that Hopkins is currently considering. Ohio State, Georgetown, Miami, West Virginia, Texas and Virginia Tech round out his list. Hopkins, who is visiting Ohio State this weekend, will officially visit Kansas during the weekend of September 24th.
Each of the remaining seven schools on his list have things that make each of them standout from the others. Tradition is just one thing that stands out about Kansas.
“The success and tradition of the program,”said Stevens about what stands out about Kansas. “The coaches are dedicated to the kids,” he added.
Hopkins has marked November 1st as the date he will announce his college decision. However, Stevens says it could be earlier than November 1st.
“He was a timetable of November 1st right now, but it could be earlier,” said Stevens. “It won’t be later, but he could decided earlier,” he added.
