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Carlton Bragg is off the board as Kansas’ first commit in the Class of 2015.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Cleveland (OH) Villa Angela-St. Joseph also considered Kentucky and Illinois before making his announcement Thursday.
He slipped on a red, white and blue Kansas hat as he accidentally blurted out that he was headed to “Kentucky” before correcting himself and saying “Kansas, I’m sorry.”
Bragg took an official visit to Kansas for Late Night in the Phog last fall and also had a home visit that went well.
“When I went to Late Night in the Phog, that’s when everything changed,” Bragg said. “It was a great experience.”
Bragg could be a nice replacement for Kansas freshman big man Cliff Alexander, who is projected as a lottery pick and who actually counseled Bragg on his decision.
“He told me to go with my gut,” Bragg said.
Michael Graves, Bragg’s mentor, told SNY.tv following the home visit last fall that they liked Kansas a lot.
“We were really impressed with the presentation, tradition and the present and future of the Kansas program,” he said. “They showed Carlton clips of past Jayhawks and the way [coach Bill Self] likes to use his power forwards.
“They also talked about the academics of Kansas and we were really impressed with the virtual tour we got to see. The 39-room state of the art dorm for the men’s basketball program is groundbreaking in two weeks.
“They love Carlton’s skillset and said he might be the most skilled big man in the 2015 class.”
Bragg is also working on a possible package deal with 2015 stars Jaylen Brown out of Marietta (GA) High and Brandon Ingram from Kinston (N.C.) High, and both players are considering Kansas, among others.
“We talk like every other day,” Bragg recently told SNY.tv.. “See how practice is going and stuff. Give each other tips.”
When asked about a package deal, Bragg confirmed that a deal is possible, but it’s not something they discuss often.
“Not very often because we don’t want to look into the future,” he said. “We want to focus on high school basketball.”
