Texas Basketball Recruiting: Kansas State battling for 3-star G Silas Mason

Pushing the 2019 Texas basketball recruiting class as far as it will go could mean including three-star NC native forward Silas Mason.

The signing period for this college hoops recruiting cycle is about to arrive. National Signing Day 2019 will bring with it more action than we’ve seen in recent years, but the 2019 Texas basketball recruiting class could be left out. This potential 2019 signing class for the Texas basketball program is shaping out in solid form. The issue is that it might not finish at the top of the Big 12 recruiting rankings for this cycle since it doesn’t look to have any other commitments in line.

However, one potential prospect that could claw up the boards for the Texas basketball program to eventually add is the three-star rising Ben L. Smith High School and Greensboro, NC, small forward Silas Mason. The 6-foot-7 and 180 pound wing is ranked as one of the nation’s top 150 2019 high school prospects, per 247Sports.

It’s interesting that two of the programs that could play a role in the ultimate commitment decision of a North Carolina native, Mason, are coming down to are both in the Big 12. North Carolina tends to be a state run by the blue blood North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils. Beyond even Duke and UNC, NC native programs like the NC State Wolfpack, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and UNC-Greensboro and Wilmington tend to pick up the pace.

However, Texas basketball could sneak its way into relevance for Mason just ahead of the final signing period for the 2019 recruiting cycle. The Texas Longhorns basketball program currently has three commits signed for this 2019 class. There aren’t any prospects that the Horns are hoping for in this class, possibly outside of five-star power forward Jaden McDaniels.

The activity on the recruiting trail of late involving Mason mostly went with the Kansas State Wildcats. He received an offer from Kansas State on Feb. 8 and took an official visit on March 9. His offer from Kansas State came nearly a full year after he got his from Texas, back in April 2018.

Outside of his offer and official visit with Kansas State, the latest significant activity in the timeline for Mason was the offer he received last month from the Appalachian State Mountaineers.  Mason also had some nice words regarding his latest visit with Kansas State, when he watched them take on the Oklahoma Sooners in Big 12 play.

Per 247Sports, Mason stated that: “The fans support the team real well and the team came out and handled business. It was good to see. I love the support in the community. They get behind the team and support them in full force. It was spring break and the student section was still packed. It was a great environment.”

This is the type of prospect that the Longhorns could make some headway with if head Texas basketball coach Shaka Smart put in effort down the stretch for this final signing period. If Texas doesn’t give him the attention he deserves in the final days of his recruitment, he could be a lock to wind up with head coach Bruce Weber and the Wildcats.