Villa Park’s Chenowith Plans to Attend Kansas

Eric Chenowith, a 7-foot-1 senior at Villa Park High School, announced Wednesday that he will attend Kansas on a basketball scholarship. He said he will sign a letter of intent during the early signing period in November.

He is the first of a promising Orange County senior class, which includes Woodbridge’s Chris Burgess and Mater Dei’s Kevin Augustine, to commit to a college.

“I had to take a leap of faith,” Chenowith said. “I knew how good a situation [Kansas] was and I said to myself, ‘Why haven’t I committed yet?’ I couldn’t find a good reason, so I made my decision.”

Chenowith is ranked among the top 50 players in the nation.

He has come a long way from his freshman season, when he was a gangly 6-7 and the Spartans finished 3-20. He averaged 15.8 points and 10.3 rebounds last season and Villa Park finished 18-6.

Chenowith made an unofficial visit to Kansas last December and attended the Jayhawks’ game against Indiana. Californian Scott Pollard showed Chenowith around.

“He told me there was nothing to be scared about,” Chenowith said. “A lot of California kids have gone there and it’s not that big of a change.”