Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - BREAKING: 4-Star Trent Perry Commits to Kansas | Bill Self Found a Wing with a 7-1 Wingspan!!!

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's another commit for Bill Self and KU. Trent Perry, a seven-foot-one wingspan of a wing coming in to join the Jayhawks. We break down his commitment, second of the class of 2026 for KU on today's episode, Locked on Jayhawks. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What's going on? Derek Johnson here. This is a bonus episode Locked on Jayhawks as Trent Perry is officially a Jayhawk continuing the long line of, you know, famous Perry's in the state of Kansas. Of course, there's Perry, Perry LaCompton High School, Perry Ellis, and now we get Trent Perry joining the fold. We're going to be breaking it down. His game, scouting report. Look ahead to the roster next year and more on today on today's. Thanks for making it your first listen every day. And thank you every day. Catching each and every episode. including our double days, where we have multiple episodes here on Locked On. So the news of the day, Trent Perry, a four-star recruit in the class of 2026, has committed to Kansas under Bell Self. He is a wing from Dallas, Texas, originally.

Starting point is 00:01:16 Now he plays in Branson, Missouri, going to Link Academy, or when he chose KU over Maryland and TCU in the end. You look at the rankings on this kid. He's just outside the top 100 on national rankings. Certainly, you would say that Bill Selva's had some success with guys who were like, you know, just outside the top 100 or right around their ranked players from the, I guess, at least nearby-ish area when you think of recent wings with Christian Brown and Ocho Abaji, different player here. But, you know, point being he has had some success there. But this just keeps the momentum going to, when you have Taylin Kinney commit over the weekend this past Sunday and you're trying to fill out the class, you're trying to do. do it in different ways. You're trying to get different positions of players. You're trying to get, you know, different types of guys in terms of, okay, maybe Kenny's more of the one and done

Starting point is 00:02:07 type of guy. Maybe Perry's more of the program type of player and try to build as solid of a recruiting class as you possibly can in that regard. And I do think that is something with Perry where, you know, he does profile being more of a longer term guy than Kenny, right? Like with Kenny, you're probably expecting a one and done or a two and done with Perry, I guess I never lose sight in some of these classes. Like I always think back to that class of 2013 when you brought in Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embed and clearly the impact on basketball they've had after their time at Kansas with the NBA and everything is spoken for itself and they did, you know, had a lot of fun games when they were

Starting point is 00:02:48 at Kansas. But if you're talking about the most impactful player, I guess you could say it still would be one of them in terms of how did that help them in recruiting down the road. But if you're talking about the most impactful on the court for Kansas, it wasn't Wiggins or Embed or Selden who were the most impactful of the recruits in that class. It was actually the guy who was the lowest ranked in Frank Mason wound up being the most impactful for the University of Kansas. So I never lose sight of that when this class of 2026 right now is rolling and it feels like it's going to be even more rolling for Bill Self and Company.

Starting point is 00:03:24 Don't lose sight of the guy that, yeah, maybe he's ranked a little bit lower than the other players because sometimes those end up being the ones who stay a little bit longer in college and become kind of the folk heroes that you have at KU. But regardless, you want to balance a class with, you know, possible one and duns, guys you can continue building on for multiple years. And I guess if Perry ends up being a one and done two, great, because that means that he had a great season and that you're going to have a lot of talent on next year's roster, if that were the case.

Starting point is 00:03:51 And the fact that he supposedly has a seven foot one wing span, I think also continues kind of a trend of what Bill Self has been recruiting these, you know, last two years now that you look at it on the, right, when you look at the portal this year, when you look at high school recruiting and, you know, I guess if you would add Florida Bedunga to that and now high school recruiting class of 2026, like it feels like Bill Self is really leaning toward athleticism, really leaning toward wingspan, really leading toward length and things

Starting point is 00:04:19 that you can't really teach. I think that he is, you know, he had a couple teams here that weren't his most athletic or weren't his longest teams. And I don't think he wants to get back to that point. And I think you see that with this edition of Perry. Let's get more into his game, though,

Starting point is 00:04:34 with his scouting report, as well as a look at the 2026 to 2027 roster that Bill Self has getting ready to be built for him. Today's episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by Mazda. And with Mazda, you know, maybe you can drive a Mazda out and go see one of the games of Trent Perry because he's nearby if you're in the area. But Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move. From footwork to breathwork, athletes sweat all the details. Mazda brings the same intention to how we craft every model. You can make everyday drives

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Starting point is 00:06:24 Locked on College. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Locked on Jayhawksy and bonus episode Trent Perry four star wing committed to KU. So what does he bring to the table? What is his scouting import here? Well, he is a 6 foot 4, 190 pound small forward reported again, 7 foot one wing span

Starting point is 00:06:45 by 24-7 sports. He is ranked 105th on the 24-7 sports composite where he is the number 37 small Ford in the class. For Mokan Elite, which is, you know, that's, I don't know, Dewan Harris, O'Chagbosji, Christian Brown, like the Missouri and Kansas kids, that's where you get Mokan out of this. You end up with 8.3 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game in the summer. From some of the highlights that you watch, you see a power athlete. you see a very good athlete, you see a powerful one, he's able to get up, you see the long arms where it looks like he could tie his shoes standing up almost, like a lot of dunks, a lot of transition game, long arms lead to a lot of steals. The most impressive highlight that I saw was

Starting point is 00:07:31 there's one in like the main highlight package where a guy is just trying to like pass it up the court and he's like right on him and he just jumps up and you can't get it over him. It's like trying to throw it through the Amazon and he just catches it and it leads to a steal and a run out the other way. So very impressive player in some of that area, didn't really see anything in the highlights in like the half court, which I think probably makes sense based on the scouting report that I'm about to read from Adam Finkelstein of 24-7 sports. I'm not going to read everything, but here's a couple excerpts. Makings of an elite role player, broadly built, high shoulders, long arms, seven foot one wing span, undersized for a true wing, plays bigger, no problem, bodying up with bigger players because of toughness and physicality. So you're talking about a tough player, long arms, like physically everything that Bill Self can want. But it says, you know, not always a high volume score can get inefficient when trying to force his individual offense.

Starting point is 00:08:23 But able to factor in transition, cutting an occasional straight line driver does need to make strides with shooting. This is the, I guess, a little bit of red flag here, just 7% from 3 and 46% from the free throw line and the EYBL. Now, EYBL, that can be, you know, one tournament, right? That can be a small sample size of things, but clearly those are things that need work. Overall, Perry is trending towards a valuable blend player who values the team, has defensive versatility, a high motor, and increasing willingness to play within himself offensively. Doesn't that just sound like a Bill Self guy? He's going to be a good team player.

Starting point is 00:08:59 He's going to be aggressive. He's going to be tough. He's going to play good defense. He's going to be good in transition. Sounds like a Bill Self guy. Now, I think what's going to determine, obviously, as you get to that shooting, you know, whether he becomes a star at Kansas and all conference player, Kansas, versus just being kind of a role player that comes in to be a defensive stopper and provide some energy. The difference between those two things is just where the shot goes and what you get kind of from the offensive side if you're Trent Perry.

Starting point is 00:09:26 But I do find an interesting because you see the Maryland offer in there. And Buzz Williams, if you've paid an attention to how he's been playing, like when he was at Texas A&M, now he's over at Maryland, they basically play a style that's very rugged. they are going for, you know, like athletes who are going to crash the glass and rebound. You look at the TCU offer. And I don't know if you remember Micah Peavy, who was at Texas Tech and then went to TCU and kind of this athletic, like, wing, who was a good defender and offensive rebounder and stuff, but the shot never really came around. If we're making KU comps, I'm sure you're going to see some people, like, say, Marcus

Starting point is 00:10:02 Garrett. I don't know if I totally buy into that one. I mean, let's not forget, Mike, Marcus Garrett led KU and assists. during the 2019 to 2020 season. Garrett could at least shoot a little, though that was at the end, though, you know, teams are still sagging off of him. Honestly, Perry probably has a bigger wingspan than Garrett, but also Garrett what made him so special.

Starting point is 00:10:21 Part of it was his defensive IQ, and not to say Perry doesn't have good defensive IQ. I'm sure he does, but like Garrett was like the 99th percentile of it, right? And he had unbelievably quick hands. So I just don't like comparing guys to him in terms of he was just like a freak at what he did is this a this might scare some people so i don't mean to mean it that way but like is this kid a three version of kj adams maybe but maybe with a little bit more potential of three point shot because if he can be key even just 28 to 30 percent from three where you at least have to respect it and he can do it like that's probably enough but again if he becomes a good three point shooter

Starting point is 00:10:58 you're talking about a potential really really really good player here but at the very least be a stop or get rebounds maybe he can even play some small ball four if you're playing like four guards out there because of the 7-1 wingspan. It just makes the rest of the ball, like roster build unique and important. But yeah, I got to find role players in recruiting as well. And this is somebody who could be that with potential because of the wingspan to be, you know, kind of even more in the athleticism as well. All right.

Starting point is 00:11:21 Let's take a look at that 2026 to 2027 roster. This is Locked on Jayhawks. This episode of the show is brought to you by Square. Your favorite neighborhood spots run on Square. There's certain businesses that make the neighborhood. the neighborhood. These are the places that become an extension of your home, whether it's the sports bar dedicated to your team's fan base, the spot with the best wings in town for Game Day, or that beloved local chain that's been rooted in your community for years. These

Starting point is 00:11:49 businesses are what bring people together. When neighborhood businesses thrive, the whole neighborhood thrives. Silas and Matties uses Square. You probably like ice cream. Square's a proud partner of more than 4 million neighborhood businesses around the world. You can go to Square.com slash Lockdown College to learn more. But before you do, go support your favorite neighborhood spot. You'll be happy you did square. See you in the neighborhood. Thanks, joining us on this bonus episode of the show. So what does that 2026 to 27 roster look like for KU? Well, just from a identity perspective, you're looking at something where, I don't know, it feels like this team is going to be very built on wingspan and

Starting point is 00:12:28 athleticism, not too dissimilar from this year's team. But you look at Taylin Kenney and Marco Jackson, you know, obviously you are having some assumption which players are going to improve, which players are going to come back, which players aren't going to have a chance to go the NBA. I don't, you never totally know how things are going to go, but like I do, as I've said before, like the back court of Kenny and Jackson, you're looking to the wing, you know, just Cole Rosario as a sophomore, that could be a really intriguing player for you, so I could really like that one through three.

Starting point is 00:12:53 And then you could have like a big man lineup of Paul and Bia, Bryce and Tiller, if you want to play two bigs, or maybe Smeese Calderone at the four and one of those guys hit the five, and now you could possibly have this, like, here's the thing. I don't expect Trent Perry to come in right away and play. like 25 minutes per game. But if the defense is that good and his wingspan allows him to be a very helpful player in at least a couple categories, like, whether it is rebounding, transition or defense, he's at least going to be playing like five, 10 minutes game. Like Bill self isn't, remember KJ. Adams role as a freshman, right? It was like, he's going to throw in five

Starting point is 00:13:27 minutes here just to be like a defensive stopper. I could see that being Trent Perry as a freshman. And then by the time he's a sophomore junior, he is playing like a big role on the team. So, So, you know, this isn't just about building for 26, 27. When you add a player like Trent Perry, it's about building to the years after that as well. So a fun, intriguing addition here with Trent Perry and now two commits in the class of 2026 for Bill Self and KU. Make sure to check out our Taylin Kinney episode if he didn't already. And we'll see you next time for another edition of Locked on Jayhawks.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - BREAKING: 4-Star Trent Perry Commits to Kansas | Bill Self Found a Wing with a 7-1 Wingspan!!!

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