Rakease Passmore: Three Thoughts on Kansas' Latest Commitment

Bill Self has landed his third commitment of the 2024 class as four-star small forward Rakease Passmore committed to the Kansas Jayhawks today. Passmore joins Five-Star Plus+ center Flory Bidunga and four-star point guard Labaron Philon. 

Let’s go through what Kansas is getting in their latest commitment.

Who is Rakease Passmore?

Rakease Passmore is a 6-foot-5, 185-pound wing is the no. 49 player in the 2024 On3 150 and the No. 16 small forward in the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking. Passmore chose the Jayhawks over schools like LSU, Arkansas, Oregon, and Mississippi State. 

The four-star wing plays his high school ball at Lincolnton (NC) Combine Academy. He averaged 13.9 points and 4.6 rebounds for his nationally-ranked team last season. 

This summer, Passmore averaged 13.6 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 58.3 percent from the field while playing for Team Thad during Nike’s Peach Jam.

What does he bring to Kansas?

The building block Rakease Passmore has is his athleticism. When he gets a head of steam, he is one of the most explosive players in the class, and that is where a lot of the intrigue comes from.

Passmore has the upside to be a good defensive player. He has long arms and natural anticipation and aggression in the passing lanes. He moves his feet well and has fluid hips, able to open up and change direction.

Offensively, he has always been good in transition. He attacks the basket with a purpose and finishes looking almost parallel with the rim. Passmore is able to quickly turn defense into offense and create easy baskets.

The swing skill for Passmore is shooting. This is something that has come around a great deal over the last 12 months. His release is consistent, and the pocket is good. In the past, it was the base and the balance that would knock the shot off-line, but during Peach Jam, Passmore shot 58.3 percent from the field and 70.0 percent from the free throw line. Last high school season, he finished right around 38 percent from three.

While there is still work to be done with the consistency of this jump shot, the building blocks are there for him to at least be a threat from beyond the arc.

How does Passmore fit into the lineup?

The player archetype that the staff is using with Rakease Passmore is Ochai Agbaji. You can see some similar building blocks with Passmore as you did with Agbaji at the same stages of their development. They have similar size, similar athleticism, and similar explosion.

Passmore is a true wing, which pairs nicely between explosive center Flory Bidunga and point guard Labaron Philon. In last year’s class, Kansas is expecting Elmarko Jackson to be a possible draft pick after his first season. Wings Jamari McDowell and Johnny Furphy are the other two. Passmore and McDowell are similar positionally. Furphy is a bigger, skilled forward who would, in a perfect world, pair well beside Passmore.

Kansas has a short bench this season, with Zach Clemence redshirting. They have three players who are seniors and four who are juniors. Along with Clemence, Dajuan Harris, Hunter Dickinson, and KJ Adams all have eligibility left after this season. If the Jayhawks do not get any more high school players, expect them to be active in the transfer portal

Passmore Talks Kansas

“Coach (Bill) Self is one of the best college coaches of all time,” Passmore told On3. “I have a solid connection with the staff, and they have a good plan drawn out for me if I were to come there. They have a history of getting guys to the next level, and they feel like I can be one of those guys with my athleticism and shooting. They’ve been able to show me other guys with similar playing styles that they’ve helped become pros.”