After weeks of anticipation, No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes went to where many had predicted him to go, and that is with the Kansas Jayhawks. However, this raises the big question of which brand would he rock, as Stokes is famously a Nike athlete, while Kansas is the biggest Adidas school out there.
The rivalry between these two sports apparel giants is well known, as it spans various continents and sports. However, despite committing to an Adidas school, it is more than likely that Tyran Stokes would stick with Nike.
Last year, Stokes signed a multi-year NIL deal with Nike, and those kinds of deals will be hard to get out of. While Kansas is a well-known flagship school for Adidas, it would be more likely that he would remain a Nike athlete, even though he also signed a reported $7 million deal with the rival brand’s school.
When he signed with with Nike in October, Tyran Stokes gave Kentucky plenty to hope for, as Mark Pope’s squad is one of the most well-known Nike school and a major rival to Kansas. However, Stokes had shown a lot more interest in Bill Self’s program, with sites like On3 believing that Stokes would ultimately go with the Jayhawks despite the Nike deal.
His decision to go to Kansas is very timely for the Jayhawks, especially as the team is bound to lose Darryn Peterson to the NBA draft and lost Flory Bidunga to the transfer portal. Kansas was seen as one of the biggest losers in the portal but ultimately won in the high school recruitment front.
Analyst Impressed With Bill Self Getting Tyran Stokes To Kansas
As for Bill Self managing to recruit Tyran Stokes, this impressed insider Jeff Goodman a lot. During his appearance in the Could Be Wrong podcast, Goodman sang praises for Self for managing to land the biggest Nike athlete in an Adidas school.
“Taking a Nike kid away from Oregon & Kentucky and getting him to an Adidas school… that’s insane!” he said.
Initially, Kentucky was the favorite to land Stokes, but the Jayhawks had since overtaken them, even though Stokes had recently visited Lexington. For now, the incoming freshman would be Kansas’ top offensive option.
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