Three TU men's basketball recruits remain solid on commmitment
BY ERIC BAILEY World Sports Writer
Friday, March 30, 2012
3/30/12 at 7:59 PM
Tulsa men's basketball incoming recruiting class — Zeldric King, James Woodard and D’Andre Wright — will honor their commitments to join the program next season.
None of the players has yet to speak with Golden Hurricane coach Danny Manning, but all said they will attend TU.
The trio is excited about the new leader.
“Coach Manning will be a good coach, especially coming from Kansas,” said Woodard, a 6-foot-4, 170-pound guard from Edmond Memorial. “Obviously, he has a lot of experience and it will be exciting to play under him.”
“He’s put big men in the NBA and he played in the NBA,” said Zeldric King, a 6-7, 245-pound forward who played at Dallas Cedar Hill High School. “That makes me feel real good and confident in the coach.”
D’Andre Wright, a 6-9, 215-pound forward from Lawton MacArthur, agreed with King.
“I’ve heard great things about him,” Wright said. “He’s done a good job of develop big men at Kansas. It’s an exciting thing, especially for me being a post player.”
It was a tough being patient during the 18-day search for a coach. King said many asked him if he was going to ask out of his letter of intent.
“A lot of different people asked me if I was going to stay or leave, but I always told everyone I was going to stay at Tulsa no matter what happened,” King said.
The player to watch during this process is junior-to-be Jordan Clarkson. The all-conference guard’s family members said they would monitor TU’s hire while exploring all options, which would consider a possible transfer.
ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb, earlier this month, said any new coach would have to make re-recruiting Clarkson a priority.
“The first thing you do when you hit the ground is you fly to San Antonio and meet with his parents,” Gottlieb said. “There’s no rush (for Clarkson) to make a decision (to transfer or not) ... You have to see who is hired.”
Manning is expected to meet the team following the conclusion of Kansas’ season. The Jayhawks play Ohio State in a Saturday national semifinal contest.
