In this Hearings newsletter:

1. A major Hearings dump for the transfer portal

2. What you need to know about new commit Nick Timberlake

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EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.

All of the Portal Hearings

I've got transfer portal Hearings to share. I'm excited to bring this info to you, but I want to note how fluid this situation is. I've had two drafts that I had to delete because the information already needed to be updated.

Here is the very latest:

Summary (I will explain who all these people are in the following sections, in case you don't know)

• Nick Timberlake could play a huge role in helping KU land Hunter Dickinson

• Arterio Morris' visit went well. I like where KU stands

• An update on 4-star Chris Johnson and KU's scholarship situation

• There is a concern right now with Harrison Ingram

• Kansas is in contact with five-star Mackenzie Mgbako. There's a chance he visits

• I thought KU may be out with Jaylon Tyson, but that's no longer the case. There's a chance he visits

First, what we know:

• Former Towson guard Nick Timberlake committed to Kansas on Wednesday afternoon. Landing Timberlake is a significant win for the Jayhawks, and I'll get to his commitment later in the newsletter.

• Hunter Dickinson starts his visit to Kansas this evening. He'll be in Lawrence until Sunday. He also just scheduled a visit to Kentucky right after the visit to KU. I will share more on this shortly as well.

  • This is KU's biggest recruiting trip since it hosted Andrew Wiggins. The visit feels bigger than everything else. It’s like Tiger Woods teeing off at Augusta, the Beatles walking into Shea Stadium, Todd Reesing stepping into The Hawk. All legends in their rightful home.

• Kansas just completed its visit with PG Arterio Morris. The former five-star played one year at Texas before entering the portal.

The Hearings:

• I'm Hearing Dickinson and Timberlake have been in contact. I believe they spoke before Timberlake committed. There's some hope that this is a good sign, but it's impossible to say it's anything more.

  • Kansas can now offer an elite point guard in Dajuan Harris and a veteran in Timberlake who can space the floor. The Jayhawks pummeled other teams with as much pick-and-roll as anyone in the country last year. Running that offense with Harris and Dickinson as your first two options with Timberlake as your third is lethal.

    • Dickinson knows it, too. Here’s what he said on a Barstool Sports podcast about Dajuan: “Harris is one of the best guards in the country, bro. I love his game. He’s the perfect point guard; he’s a floor general out there. I love his game.”

• Dickinson's visit to Kentucky is a massive wildcard in the recruitment. Before the visit, I liked KU's chances. I still do, but it's hard to say where Kentucky stands if they are genuinely "all-in" with Dickinson.

• I'm Hearing Arterio Morris' visit went well for Kansas. If he wants to come, I’d expect Kansas to take the transfer. I like KU’s spot here.

  • I'm not saying Morris will commit, but if it does happen, it leaves Kansas one open scholarship with Hunter Dickinson outstanding. There is belief KU will figure it out if they want to take more players.

  • There's been speculation around four-star commit Chris Johnson potentially re-opening his recruitment after he removed his commitment post from his Instagram. While KU could use the extra scholarship, I'm hearing his status is currently unchanged. However, he's closely watching what KU does in the portal. I'm guessing this is where the fourth scholarship spot could come for KU. Just a guess.

• Former 5-star wing Harrison Ingram is expected to visit Kansas next week. He's currently visiting North Carolina. While Ingram has primarily been considered a favorite to land at KU, I'm Hearing there has been some concern about his athleticism as a roster fit. There is also emerging thought that he could commit to UNC on the visit. The information here hasn’t been consistent at all.

• Kansas remains in contact with Texas Tech transfer Jaylon Tyson. There's a chance the 6’7” sharp-shooting wing could visit. There are also some concerns about him as a fit playing for Bill Self after dealing with a difficult coach in Mark Adams.

  • I think KU would currently take Tyson over Ingram if it needed to choose.

• The Jayhawks are also in contact with Mackenzie Mgbako, a five-star power-forward type who recently was released from his letter of intent to play for Duke. I don't know how serious these conversations are. There's a chance Mgbako visits as well.

What you need to know about Nick Timberlake

I’ve been Hearing all offseason how Kansas was adamant about landing a three-point shooter — and now the problem has been solved.

Landing Nick Timberlake is a massive — and frankly unexpected — win for the Jayhawks. The 6’4” guard is known as a tough player who won’t shy away from tough competition or coaching. Kansas landed Timberlake over UConn, a program just 90 minutes from his hometown in New England.

Timberlake will be in his SIXTH SEASON of college basketball next year. He averaged 17.7 points and shot over 40% from three the last two years for Towson.

The Numbers:

*These numbers are from Synergy, a premium analytics tool used by most D1 programs. Here is how Timberlake ranked on there in percentiles of college basketball players*

• He’s ranked in the top 91% for half-court offense in Division 1

• 93rd% in “long three pointers”

• 96th% in scoring coming off a screen

• 77th% in shooting off the pick-and-roll as the primary ball handler

• 90th% in “catch and shoot” jumpers

• 89th% in guarded jumpers

• He also had 13 dunks, which will definitely get Allen Fieldhouse rockin’

Summary: Yeah, he can shoot.

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