DaShawn Gory is a name that basketball recruiting fans need to file away in their memory bank for the 2024 class. He’s a young player who could easily be in the 2025 class if he wanted to, and he is starting to see a huge uptick in his recruiting heading into the summer of his junior year.
Gory spoke with Rivals about the schools sticking out early on in his recruitment.
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2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Rivals150
2024 Rankings: Top 40
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IN HIS OWN WORDS
Kansas: “They’re a top program, and me, I’m trying to be a one-and-done player. I want to do one year in college and then go straight to the NBA. I really like the hype they have around them. I’ve always been a fan of Kansas, so they’re one of my top schools right now.”
Kentucky: “To go there, you kind of have to be a one-and-done type of player, or you just have to be really good and talented. I like the program and how they’ve contacted me. First they came and saw me before just believing what a coach said about me, and stuff like that. They came and saw me in person and then they talked to me.”
Minnesota: “I really like Minnesota because they were the first school to reach out to me on June 15. One of my best friends, Jaden Henley, he goes there now. They’ve been on me for a while since I was at Hillcrest, and I really just like coach Ben (Johnson).
Georgetown: “They stay in contact with me and contact me every day. They send me stuff about their school and their program and about players that they have had. They’re really keeping in contact, calling me and texting me.”
Pepperdine: “On June 15, I sat and talked with them for about 15 minutes. They talked to me about life, about their school and everything that goes on at Pepperdine, how it’s on the beach and stuff like that. They offered me to visit, too. I like their coaching staff, I talk to a few of their coaches, and I also like that it’s here in California.”
USC: “I like that it’s at home. (Assistant) coach (Eric) Mobley was of the first people to contact me. He told me things about life, about basketball and about USC. I actually went to their game against UCLA, and I sat there and talked to the them for a while, and talked to his son.”
TCU: “I’ve talked to coach (Jamie) Dixon. He’s been at a few of my games. He’s been talking to me about my skill level, what I need to work on and giving me tips on shooting since I shoot from my chest and not my head. He’s teaching me how to become a better basketball player even if I don’t go to his school.
Visits: “I want to take visits here soon. One of the big ones I want to take a visit to is Minnesota. I want to see my friends and the coaching staff. I want to visit a lot of schools, but Minnesota is the one that I really want to visit right now.”
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RIVALS' REACTION
Gory has zero offers at the time of this interview, but look for that to change very soon. Since Rivals spoke with the rising junior, Cal and Wyoming have also reached out. Gory will be looking for a place where he can develop and be on the fast track to the NBA. He’ll want to go to a program where he will have an opportunity to showcase himself early on.