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Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor to take three visits together; doesn’t include Kentucky

Minnesota Boys All State Basketball

In this March 23, 2013, photo, Apple Valley’s Tyus Jones (21) celebrates as he is taken out of their 74-57 win over Park Center in the Class 4A championship high school basketball game in Minneapolis. Jones was named Monday, March 25, the co-winner of the Minnesota Associated Press Player of the Year award for high school boys basketball. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Kyndell Harkness) MANDATORY CREDIT; ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS OUT; MAGS OUT; TWIN CITIES TV OUT

AP

Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor are considered by many to be the top two prospects in the Class of 2014.

They also happen to be very good friends, and since their bond off the court also extends to their play on the court (Okafor is a technically sound center while Jones is an elite level playmaker at the point), the pair has been quite vocal about their desire to play together at the next level.

On Tuesday, Jones announced his final visit list via his twitter feed: he’s on an unofficial to Minnesota today and will take official visits to Baylor (Aug. 30th-Sept. 1st), Kentucky (Sept. 27th-29th), Kansas (Oct. 18th-20th) and Duke (Oct. 25th-27th). Jones, who has officially narrowed his list to seven schools, would have one more official visit if he doesn’t make up his mind by then.

Okafor scheduled his visits earlier this month. He’ll be joining Jones at Baylor, Kansas and Duke, while taking his visit to Kentucky on September 9th on a visit to Arizona on October 11th. He will also visit Michigan State, Ohio State and Illinois unofficially.

I may be reading to deep here, but I find it interesting that Kentucky is the only school on both player’s lists that is getting separate visits.

Then again, that’s what happens when dealing recruiting in this day and age. The timeline for decisions made by precocious 16 and 17 year olds has become a profitable industry, which is why it’s difficult for these kids to enjoy the recruiting process. Okafor’s dad told ESPN.com that the speculation and rumor mill is “taking the fun out of the process for the two boys”, while Jones told NBCSports.com that the process is stressful and that “once I make a decision I’ll be happier.”

With that in mind, I’d expect the pair to make a decision sooner rather than later.

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