Kansas player Dillon Wilhite decided to announce the saddest news that leaves fans.
The KU basketball program announced the addition of two walk-on players on Monday. The two newcomers are big man Dillon Wilhite, who previously committed to KU, and guard Charlie McCarthy, who first appeared in pictures on move-in day Sunday.
KU coach Bill Self commented on the incoming duo in the release announcing the news.
“We’re happy to get both Charlie and Dillon,” Self said. “Each had successful high school careers in California but they are probably more familiar with Lawrence, Kansas, than anyone from out of state that we have recruited.
Dillon’s father, Brad, grew up here and his grandmother, Joanie Stephens, happens to be my administrative assistant and has worked in the athletic department for 37 years,” Self explained. “Both Charlie’s parents, Kent and Missy, graduated from KU and have been generous contributors to the Williams Education Fund for years. Charlie and Dillon will both be able to put their handprint on what we are trying to do in the men’s basketball program and they’ll both have a role in accomplishing that.”
In terms of official listing, the Kansas Athletics release noted Wilhite is 6-8, 240 pounds. He averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds per game last year and was a first-team All-League selection at Cathedral Catholic high school in San Diego, Calif.
McCarthy, on the other hand, was listed at 6-2, 180 pounds. He just wrapped up a senior prep season at Shadow Hills high school in Indio, Calif., where he averaged 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and one-and-a-half steals per game, per the release.
The year before, McCarthy averaged 11.5 points per game at Palm Desert high school out in California. The release also noted both players regularly attended Bill Self Basketball Camps, which run throughout the summer.
“I’m excited for both of them. They know it’s going to be a lot of work,” Self said. “More importantly, what they are most excited about is being at the University of Kansas and continuing their family tradition.