Basketball Recruit Michael Orris Commits to Kansas State

Michael Orris, a former Illinois signee, has committed to play basketball at Kansas State.

Orris, a point guard and former star at Crete-Monee High School in Crete, IL, has chosen to follow coach Bruce Weber to K-State. After Weber was let go by the University of Illinois, Orris asked for his release from the letter-of-intent he had signed with the school. Once they granted that release, he was contacted by Pittsburgh, Kansas State, and several other schools.

The “re-recruiting” process for Orris actually went fairly quickly. He talked extensively with Jamie Dixon, the head coach of Pittsburgh, and at one point seemed to be leaning that direction. But, in the end, his close relationship with Bruce Weber swayed him to commit to the Wildcats.

One issue that will have to be dealt with is the paucity of available scholarships at KSU. With only one scholarship senior graduating (Jamar Samuels–Victor Ojeleye was a walk-on), and big-man Darrell Johnson also having signed an LOI with K-State, it seems likely that a player currently on scholarship will be released from that scholarship at or before the deadline rolls around in July. Failing that, one of the two signees would have to be a walk-on for K-State, and I just can not envision that happening.

We’ll have to see how it develops over the next few weeks.