Shane Southwell, a 6-foot-6 senior at Rice High School, has verbally committed to play at Kansas State next season, the Harlem native told The Post. Southwell chose K-State over Marquette, Providence, St. John’s and South Carolina.
“It’s not really relief, its excitement,” Southwell he said. “People kept asking, but I feel great. I feel phenomenal.”
Southwell, who transferred from All Hallows to Rice and helped lead the Raiders to the CHSAA Class AA intersectional title last year, will be the third Rice player at the Big 12 school. He’ll join Curtis Kelly, who initially went to UConn, and Jordan Henriquez-Roberts, who played at Rice for two years before leaving for Port Chester HS.
“I had the best head coach relationship out of all my schools,” Southwell said of K-State’s Frank Martin. “The fact that Curtis Kelly and Jordan Henriquez already go there made me feel comfortable, like a family-type atmosphere and they’re going to let me play some point and shooting guard, while other schools were just recruiting me for the wing.”
Southwell went on an official visit Sept. 25-26 and watched the K-State football team play Tennessee Tech. Walking around the Manhattan, Kan., campus was the validation Southwell was looking for. He immediately knew his decision was the right one.
“It’s a beautiful campus,” he said. “The fans are crazy, too. They knew who I was when I came on campus and they seem like they’re real passionate about their basketball and football there. After the visit I felt I shouldn’t have waited so long.”
Kansas State went 22-12 last season and finished fourth in the Big 12 with a 9-7 record. It marked the first time in more than 25 years the Wildcats had three consecutive 20-win seasons and K-State advanced to the postseason for a third straight season, losing to San Diego State in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament.
“I know a lot of schools tell people what they want to hear, but I felt that they were more truthful,” Southwell said of the K-State coaching staff.
Southwell’s focus is now squarely on his final season at Rice and attempting to repeat as CHSAA champs.
“Trying to win another championship at Rice is a goal I’m really looking forward to,” Southwell said. “More than likely, if everything goes right, we’re going to get that championship.”