There was an article in yesterday’s Kansas City Star by Brady McCullough about Kansas commitments Xavier and CJ Henry. It talks about they recruitment, their decision to play for Memphis, then Kansas, what they think about John Calipari, and their priorities.

The theme of the piece is that next year is all about getting to the NBA for the Henry boys. They look at Kansas as a stepping stone for those goals and whatever school they attend would be treated exactly the same way.

There have been rumors of late that the Henry’s are rethinking their decision to attend Kansas and possibly looking at UK. This was fueled by their decision to remain in Oklahoma City to train rather than attend summer classes at KU. While McCullough does not directly mention the rumors, he does say that Xavier considered playing a year in Europe, even after choosing Kansas. He also speaks directly to Kansas fans concerns about losing the two before they step on campus:

When Calipari left Memphis for Kentucky in April, the Henrys, particularly Xavier and Barbara, felt betrayed. After a three-week period that left the family and the fan bases at KU, Memphis and Kentucky exhausted, the Henrys agreed on Kansas. The boys were interested in UK, but Carl says that Barbara didn’t want to move to Kentucky.

“Everybody was ready to get it over with,” Barbara says. “I said, ‘What’s the worst that can happen? You can go to KU. You love KU.’ ”

Lounging on a white leather sofa in C.J.’s apartment, the Henry boys’ attire hints at quite a story: C.J. wears a Memphis shirt, Xavier a KU practice jersey.

“I’m ready to go up there and get everything started,” Xavier says.

Kansas fans can relax: The Henrys’ allegiance to Calipari and the thoughts of Europe are behind them now. They will show up in August, and they will do the work on the court and in the classroom. Still, the NBA remains in the forefront. If it weren’t for the league’s age limit of 19, Xavier would almost certainly have been picked in the first round of Thursday night’s draft.