When Texas plays Kansas on Saturday, the Longhorns will face Austin native and All-Big 12 candidate KJ Adams, a Westlake graduate who averages 12.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Jayhawks while leading the Big 12 in shooting at 60.9%.

Adams, a four-star recruit in the 2021 class, fielded an offer from then-Texas head coach Shaka Smart, who left for Marquette after the 2020-21 season. However, Adams had his heart set on becoming part of the rich history at Kansas, a six-time national champion.

So could Texas coach Rodney Terry, a noted recruiter, have lured Adams away from Kansas and kept the 6-foot-7 forward at home?

More: Texas basketball needs Tyrese Hunter at his best to make the NCAA Tournament | Golden

“You’re trying to get me in trouble with Shaka right now,” Terry said Thursday with a laugh. “Shaka is a good friend of mine, and he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes in recruiting. He's a high-level recruiter. But you can't take everybody, you know what I mean?”

Texas fans do. Adams won’t be the first formidable foe from the Austin area that the Longhorns have faced this season. Texas has already played twice against Houston point guard Jamal Shead, the Cougars' All-American candidate from Manor.

More: Texas basketball got a much-needed win over Kansas State. Here are three things we saw.

From Jay Arnette (McCallum) and Chris Mihm (Westlake) to Jarret Allen (St. Stephen’s) and Greg Brown III (Vandegrift), Texas usually keeps the Austin area’s best players at home. But some do get away. Take Del Valle’s Curtis Jerrells, for example. In the mid-2000s, when Terry served as the lead assistant to head coach Rick Barnes, the Longhorns courted McNeil guard AJ Abrams in Round Rock instead of Jerrells. Abrams had a good career with Texas, but Jerrells became an all-conference star for Baylor before a long professional career.

“Jerrells let us know about it every time at Baylor,” Terry said, chuckling at the memories. “But you’ve got to take the guys that you feel are the best fit for you. And KJ, he's been a great fit for those guys (Kansas). He’s had a great run in his time there, and you know, we could have made a case for that at Texas, too.”

Five who got away

So who are the best players from the Austin area to leave and find stardom elsewhere? Let’s take a look at this starting five:

F Marshall Brown, Missouri signee: The all-state forward for legendary LBJ coach Freddie Roland and the 2003-04 American-Statesman Central Texas player of the year excelled for a strong Missouri program before a decade-long career primarily overseas.

F Ray Jackson, Michigan: A member of the Wolverines' famed Fab Five teams in the early 1990s, the LBJ graduate led Michigan in scoring as a senior and remains a strong presence in the East Austin community.

G Curtis Jerrells, Baylor: The best player ever to come out of Del Valle, he led Baylor in scoring and assists in all four of his seasons from 2005 to 2008 before spending more than a decade playing overseas.

G Jamal Shead, Houston: After leading Manor to its only UIL state tournament appearance, the senior is now in his third season as a starter for the No. 3 Cougars and is making a strong case for All-American honors with 13.3 points, 5.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals a game.

G Xavier Silas, Colorado: The son of San Antonio Spurs legend James Silas, the younger Silas starred at Austin High in the 2000s before a collegiate career that included all-conference honors at Northern Illinois and a professional career with NBA stops in Boston and Philadelphia as well as his current position as head coach of Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Kansas' KJ Adams got away from Texas basketball. Who else left Austin?