KENNESAW, Ga. - Ranked 42nd in the nation according to 247Sports, the Kennesaw State men's basketball team will turn some heads with a loaded 2020 signing class.
 
The class, which features one four-star recruit, two three-star recruits, three Georgia products and a multitude of size and talent, will be the first for Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.
 
"We're really fortunate, I think any time you get a class like this, obviously people focus on the head coach, but at the same time for me I think it's just a testament to our staff," said coach Abdur-Rahim. "We were able to hire three guys who had big time ties to the southeast, we were able to hire two guys from Georgia, which really gave us an opportunity to put our imprint on the state. It was people that they knew, people that they could recognize and anytime you can have kids, parents, coaches, high school and AAU, recognize your staff and know them, and trust you, you are going to end up getting some good recruits. It's really a testament to our staff, there's really no way that I could have done it on my own. I want to make sure that Ben Fletcher, Tanner Smith and Pershin Williams get the credit that they deserve because they did an incredible job of putting together a top-50 class at a school where I'm pretty sure they've never had a top-100 class. So, we are really excited about it and can't wait to get to work."
 
The Owls add five players to the 2020 freshman class, including top Georgia prospects and East Coweta High School teammates Chris Youngblood and Brandon Stroud. With the addition of Langston Hughes' Kasen Jennings, KSU adds three of the top-25 prospects out of the Peach State.
 
Rounding out the class are two big inclusions to the paint in Mayson Quartlebaum and Cole LaRue. Quartlebaum, who comes to KSU all the way from Lawrence, Kan., is the eighth-ranked recruit out of the Sunflower State and the son of Kansas men's basketball Director of Operations Fred Quartlebaum. LaRue is a 6-9 power forward out of Mobile, Ala. The No. 14 prospect out of Alabama, he helped guide McGill-Toolen High School to a quarterfinal berth in this past year's state tournament.
 
"We're really excited about all five of our signees," continued Abdur-Rahim. "They are phenomenal kids, they are phenomenal people, which makes them phenomenal players. We can't wait to get them here and have them be a part of the program." 
 
Chris Youngblood | SG | 6-3 | Sharpsburg, Ga. | East Coweta HS
A composite four-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals … the ninth-ranked recruit out of Georgia and top-30 for his position … helped lead East Coweta HS to a 24-4 record in 2018-19 … averaged 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game as a junior … recorded nine double-doubles in 18-19 … named a team captain his junior season.
 
Brandon Stroud | SG | 6-5 | Sharpsburg, Ga. | East Coweta HS
A consensus three-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals … the No. 11 recruit out of Georgia … an tremendous all-around player, averaging 16.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game in 2018-19 … logged eight double-doubles, nearly recording a triple-double against Northside HS with 31 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists … 2018-19 All-State Honorable Mention … also received offers from Georgia State, Liberty and UNC Greensboro.
 
Kasen Jennings | PG | 6-3 | Newnan, Ga. | Langston Hughes HS
A 247Sports three-star recruit … the No. 24 ranked recruit out of Georgia according to 247Sports … a 2018-19 GISA All-State selection … named a team captain his junior season … led the Heritage School to a 22-9 overall record in 2018-19 … transferred from Heritage HS to Langston Hughes for his senior season … plays AAU ball with the Atlanta Xpress.
 
What Coach Abdur-Rahim Says:
"I think if people go back to my press conference, the thing that we said was that we are going to put an emphasis on our kids right here at home. Getting Chris Youngblood, Brandon Stroud and Kasen Jennings who when we got the job weren't necessarily household names, but it was doing our homework, knowing who they were, knowing the programs they came from. I think what all three of those kids are going to provide from day one is that they are all competitive kids. They love to play the game, they love to work at their craft and when they get between those lines and there's somebody else, whether it's in practice or it's another team, they strap their hard hats on and go to work. Having those three kids is huge for us and now it makes us relevant to even the other kids in the state because they all know Chris, they all know Brandon, they all know Kasen so it's huge for us."
 
Cole LaRue | F | 6-9 | Mobile, Ala. | McGill-Toolen HS
Helped lead the Yellowjackets to a 26-6 record in 2018-19 and a quarterfinal berth in the Class 7A AHSAA Basketball State Championships … No. 14 2020 prospect out of Alabama … plays for AAU Hawks Elite club.
 
What Coach Abdur-Rahim Says:
"To be able to bring in a guy like Cole, if you polled every coach in the country what's the hardest thing to find, they'll all tell you it's hard to find bigs that can play. With Cole being 6-9, the ability to play inside, the ability to stretch the floor shooting the ball and have good hands, good feet, good motor, it's really like finding a diamond in the rough. Ben Fletcher being from Alabama, he's a kid that he targeted and said this is who we need to be on. Being able to add Cole and his abilities, and again with all of them they are just such high character kids but being able to find a big that can pass, that can catch, that can shoot, that can finish is a big deal."
 
Mayson Quartlebaum | F | 6-6 | Lawrence, Kan. | Lawrence HS
The eighth-ranked recruit out of Kansas … helped lead Lawrence HS to a 19-4 overall record, going 10-2 in district play … member of the KC Run Red AAU team … father is on the coaching staff at Kansas … older brother plays basketball for St. Francis College in Brooklyn.
 
What Coach Abdur-Rahim Says:
"Mayson is a kid I fell in love with watching an eight o'clock game at one of the NCAA Academy camps. It was an eight o'clock game on like the last day and these kids have probably played like 10 games in two and a half days and this kid is out there flying around, challenging shots at the rim, he's talking, and not just talking but talking with command, and I'm just like who is this kid. Come to find out his dad is Fred Quartlebaum who is the Director of Operations at Kansas. Any time you can add a coach's son to your program, they understand what it takes every day because they've lived it, they've been in it. Any time you can add a guy like that to your program with his ability it's almost like you're spoiled, you got lucky. That's how I feel about Mayson, we got lucky. People won't realize how lucky we got until he steps between those lines. In a sense he's like the captain, he's a leader, because his voice is so big, his command is so good. We're really excited about him."
 

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