Carl Henry reiterated Saturday that his sons are in a holding pattern and won’t make any college decisions until after the Jordan Brand Classic in New York April 18.
Xavier Henry, a 6-6 shooting guard, recently got his release from Memphis and could wind up at Kansas, Kentucky or back at Memphis. C.J. Henry, Xavier’s older brother and a Memphis walk-on, would have to obtain an NCAA waiver to transfer from Memphis and play immediately at Kansas or Kentucky.
“Xavier is in Portland [at the Nike Hoop Summit]. C.J. is in Memphis [at school],” Carl said Saturday morning by phone. “We haven’t gotten together.”
Carl, who played ball at Kansas, told Tulsa TV station KOTV that “it would be the dream to have them play at Kansas, but if they choose something different, they choose it, not me.”
“I always thought about how special it would be for Xavier and C.J. to play college basketball together,” he said. “I always thought how great it would be to have them on the same team. I just never thought it would happen because the difference in age. I never thought it was a possibility.”
Carl said no visit to Kentucky had been planned. Kentucky coach John Calipari has reached out to Carl about coaching both sons, whom he recruited to Memphis.
Meantime, Kansas coach Bill Self flew in to visit Brooklyn’s Lance Stephenson on Friday at his home in Coney Island. The 6-5 Stephenson is currently on an official visit at St. John’s that included a trip to head coach Norm Roberts’ Dix Hills, N.Y. home.
The visit ends Sunday a source close to the family said a decision was coming soon.
It seems unlikely that Kansas would take both Henry and Stephenson. Carl Henry said he knew nothing about Stephenson’s plans.
“I don’t know nothing about it,” he said. “Everything is up to him. If he’s waiting he’s waiting. My son is waiting, too.”
WEEKEND VISITORS
Sherrod Wright of Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High is visiting Central Florida this weekend. He previously took an official to George Mason…Lamont Jones of Oak Hill Academy (pictured) is at Southern Cal, according to Oak Hill coach Steve Smith.
Several USC players have declared for the NBA Draft, including freshman forward Demar Derozan and junior guard Daniell Hackett. Junior forward Taj Gibson will also reportedly declare.
That means Jones has a golden opportunity to come in and run the point on a reloading team under Tim Floyd. The other options are Donte Smith, a community college transfer, who struggled as Hackett’s backup and Mike Gerrity, a transfer from North Carolina Charlotte who won’t be eligible until conference play, according to the LA Times.
Asked where Jones will end up, Smith said, “Most likely USC.”
USC is expecting to sign 6-10 forward Renardo Sidney and 6-6 forward Solomon Hill, both of Los Angeles Fairfax, and 6-6 forward Evan Smith of Calabasas. The Trojans have also signed forward Derrick Williams and Noel Johnson.
PAINTER REOPENING
DeShawn Painter, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound center from Norfolk, Norfolk, Va., has decommitted from Florida and is reopening his recruitment, according to Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy coach Kevin Keatts.
“He’s wide open,” Keatts wrote in a text.
