Arthur close to making a decision

Darrell Arthur, the 6-foot-9, 220-pound power forward from South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, Texas, is one step closer to making a decision about his future. After helping deliver a second consecutive State Championship to South Oak Cliff, Arthur, the No. 19 ranked player in the class of 2006, is going to sit down with his family and coaches to discuss his future.

"We did it again," said South Oak Cliff head coach James Mays. "We won our second straight State Championship and it feels great. It just feels so great to complete this goal.

"Before the year started, we thought that winning another State Championship was very possible," he added. "We had talked about that before the year started. We knew that we had Darrell, but we also had some other key players."

Now that his senior year of basketball is complete, Arthur is looking forward to making a decision about his future. The five-star prospect has taken official visits to Kansas, Baylor, SMU, Indiana and North Carolina.

However, Indiana and North Carolina are no longer in the mix for Arthur. As it stands right now, the No. 4 ranked power forward in the class is seriously considering four schools, with one standing at the top of his list.

A number of reports have indicated that Arthur has added the likes of Arizona, UNLV, Connecticut and others to his list, but that simply is not the case.

"Darrell is still looking at the same schools," said Mays. "Kansas, Texas, SMU and Baylor are the schools he is considering at this time. I know that we are going to sit down, talk about the plusses and minuses of each school, and then make a decision.

"I would imagine that Darrell will be ready to make a decision within a week or two," he added. "He just needs to sit-down and make the best decision possible."

According to Mays, Kansas has a slight advantage over the programs, but a final decision about Arthur's future has not been made.

Darrell Arthur Scouting Report: Very athletic, Arthur has the size and skill base as well to be a combo forward at the highest level. Capable of dominating the glass, Arthur can, however, play too passive at times. -Jerry Meyer