Combo guard recruit adds another option for Self
- Jul. 9, 2012
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- udkne.ws/S1Dfrp
The decision for Anrio Adams to play basketball at the University of Kansas was easy for the freshmen from Seattle. The difficult part for Adams was becoming academically eligible in the last six months.
The 6-3 guard attended three different high schools in Washington, and at one point was supposed to join St. Patricks (N.J.) his senior year but ended up finishing his high school career at Rainer Beach in Seattle.
“Hard work and dedication,” Adams said. “It was on me if I wanted to be here or not. So I worked as hard as I could.
“The toughest part for me was politics. A lot of people that shake your hand you don’t know are working against you. I didn’t realize it until I went back home.”
Adams, who prefers to be called ‘Rio, is the godson of Bull Stewart, who is the father of former Kansas guard Rodrick Stewart.
Adams said Rodrick told him about the family atmosphere at Kansas, how tradition rich the school was and, of course, about the passion of the fans in Lawrence.
“You can’t really beat it,” Adams said. “It’s a basketball state, and this is where I wanted to be.”
Rainer Beach has a long history of producing basketball talent, not only at the collegiate level but also in the NBA. Players such as Ryan Anderson, Doug Christie, Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Lodrick Stewart, Rodrick Stewart and C.J. Giles all came from Rainer Beach.
Kansas head coach Bill Self said Adams has a chance to be special.
“I really think Anrio, based on what we’ve been told and what we’ve seen, has a chance to be one of the very best ones to come out of there,” Self said. “He’s capable of being an elite guard.”
Last season, Adams was named the Associated Press 3A state player of the year in Washington. Adams had offers from Arizona, Washington and Washington St. among other schools but committed to Kansas on Nov. 19.
“A lot of schools were involved in the Pac-12,” Adams said. “I felt like I was a little bigger than the Pac-12. I mean, I didn’t really want to stay home.”
Adams will add depth to the Kansas backcourt and looks to be a prototypical combo guard in Self’s offense.
“I think he can handle like a one, and he can score like a two,” Self said.
Adams said all the hard work he has done off the court will only help him going forward.
“I put a lot of emotion in the game because this is what I want,” Adams said. “I love this game. It’s gotten me this far. I’m hoping it continues to let me go further from here.”
Edited by Megan Hinman
