THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Putting the crazy in the Kennel a little early this year

Just when you thought college sports couldn’t get any crazier …

You know, that the movement and changing of conferences, athletes switching schools, scholarship releases, NIL and the transfer portal couldn’t possibly make that buzz in your head any stronger.

Meet Marcus Adams Jr.

If you don’t know Marcus yet, that’s understandable.

A little over a week ago, he was a freshman wing at Kansas, a solid 6-8 catch-and-shoot guy who figured to see a lot of time in Bill Self’s rotation.

Now?

He’s a freshman wing at Gonzaga, (still) 6-8 with catch-and-shoot skills — but unlikely to see too much court time in Mark Few’s crowded offense.

Marcus’ logic for making the switch, after attending classes for nearly a full semester at KU?

Well, he didn’t really like Lawrence or the Midwest — if we’re translating his comments correctly — but why Gonzaga?

“I went through it all with my parents and my family, and it was just the right fit,” Adams told the Kansas City Star.

Huh?

It’s a strange conclusion tactically, since Marcus really wants to play college hoops as soon as possible.

CONSIDER: Adams reclassified to become a 2023 recruit — jumping into the big time a year early — before choosing KU.

Self is a great salesman who had already landed the nation’s top transfer (center Hunter Dickinson), so it wasn’t a shock that he landed Adams over the usual gang of programs that chase kids who averaged 28.8 points per game.

However, as we know now, Marcus didn’t settle in Lawrence.

He had nothing bad to say about Self or the university, but felt in his “heart and gut” that KU wasn’t a place “for him to be for years.”

Adams got his release from Kansas nine days ago, and of course, there were coaches on his phone immediately.

The one who impressed him the most, obviously, was Few.

“He reached out and let me know he needed me,” Marcus said. “That really meant a lot.”

It also makes you wonder what the other coaches said, but never mind.

Besides his nationally recognized hoops program, Few had something else on his side.

“I really was homesick,” Adams said of his time in the Midwest.

Wait.

Marcus grew up in Harbor City, Calif. (just outside Los Angeles).

What past experience made him homesick for Spokane?

Or the Northwest?

Well, that’s a puzzle, because he’s never been here.

WHAT?

That’s what the young man said.

I’ll tell you this, if he’s homesick for the ocean and year-round sunshine …

He might as well have stayed in Lawrence.

Unless the humidity was a deal-breaker.

To be fair, Marcus had scheduled an official visit to Gonzaga as soon as Few called him – but then he made a lock-solid commitment without even seeing the campus.

Of course …

Bill Self can tell you about lock-sold commitments.

With Marcus’ “heart-and-gut” departure, Kansas now has lost two stars from what was considered a terrific four-man freshman class.

Five-star combo guard Chris Johnson decommitted prior to Adams.

Remember that we mentioned Adams’ move was an odd one “tactically?”

That’s because KU is desperate for wing players, and especially shooters like Adams.

Gonzaga, meanwhile, has a raft of players at the position — transfer Steele Venters, Korean international Jun Seok Yeo, and freshman Dusty Stromer.

Perhaps even more.

STRANGE, no?

If this were the Wild West, with money being thrown around illegally, you’d suspect that a Zags booster had offered Adams a nice NIL package.

However …

It’s not SUPPOSED to be the Wild West.

Handing out cash for endorsements is quite legal — ask Drew Timme — but enticing athletes to sign on the dotted line is not.

The rules say you cannot recruit with NIL inducements.

Now, obviously, if there’s a five-star stud headed to campus, you don’t have to tell him out loud that there will be some sort of package waiting for him.

“Just look at last year’s class,” you could say, staying JUST inside the rules.

These kids are smart.

Most of them got money to play summer league ball.

They know the deal.

What’s weird, though, is that it’s hard to imagine some Gonzaga booster penciling in a nice cash deal for Marcus Adams Jr. — when he was at KU two weeks ago.

Marcus is still a bit of a question mark on the court, by the way, having played prep ball with something less than awesome competition (Norbonne High).

On the other hand …

He dropped 44 and was named MVP in the high-profile Ballislife All American Game.

“Through the Phog,” a KU hoops newsletter with a solid reputation, suggested that a combination of Adams’ ability to shoot at 6-8 – along with Self’s needs – pointed to Marcus seeing a lot of playing time pretty quickly in Lawrence.

Perhaps even becoming at starter.

But now Marcus Adams Jr. has arrived in Spokane.

Hopefully …

Someone will give him a tour.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”