🏀 KuBuckets Archive

It appears that Kansas coach Bill Self is still actively recruiting for his 2014 class.

Power forward Ray Kasongo, a former Oregon signee, is slated to visit Kansas later this week, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. The visit is tentatively scheduled for Friday.

Kasongo signed with Oregon last November but was denied admission to the school, according to the Oregonian newspaper. That left Kasongo scrambling for another place to play.

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This guy is a beast. Here's a little blurb I found on him:

"Last summer Kasongo become a pretty big deal in the recruiting world when he put 24 points, 15 rebounds and 7 blocks on BOTH Cliff Alexander and Jahlil Okafor in Las Vegas. At that time Kasongo had three schools that he was focused on, Oregon, LSU and Florida State. Although Kansas was interested in Kasongo back then, the Jayhawks never offered because they were still recruiting, the previously mentioned, Alexander and Okafor. "

Btw, I just posted this on August 5th. I guess everything is now a month old.

I ask the age old question ... If the guy is really that good, why isn't he ranked at least in the top 100?

To me this guy sounds like a great project and I know I have said this before but rankings are not everything. They are typically a great measure but a lot of recent All Americans have been unranked or around or above 100...Shabaz Napier, Trey Burke, Russ Smith, McBuckets, etc.

I would guess his low ranking is at least in part due to the fact that he is Canadian and bounced around at US high schools, playing at times against subpar competition as far as I can see on the videos. It appears that he's a decent athlete, but I haven't seen any other skills on the limited video I have watched. I would say that he is a lesser version of Cliff Alexander, actually.

He's an inside banger that doesn't step out to shoot much. He can protect the rim, but he's not the athlete that Cliff is. He's not as big or as strong to my eye, but his timing is good and his effort seems good. I wish there was more video of him, but I haven't found it yet.

I'd like to see him next between Traylor and Alexander to compare his size to those guys. He would be a nice late add, but how much he would contribute this season is an open question.

Maybe just the fact he did this last summer, might be a good reason to look at him??

Last summer Kasongo become a pretty big deal in the recruiting world when he put 24 points, 15 rebounds and 7 blocks on BOTH Cliff Alexander and Jahlil Okafor in Las Vegas.

@HighEliteMajor

When Embiid signed with KU in November he was not in the ESPN top 100 either; he entered that list the following January.

On a related note, sounds like Embiid is having a difficult time quitting twitter...

Joel trying to quit twitter... ↗

And he probably should. His agent should also have a talk with him about what to and what not to say in an interview...

Link to Joel's intreview... ↗

@JayHawkFanToo just for clarification he says RULES! No question! It really makes me mad that guy sad that!!! Embiid is hysterical, but not rude! He has quite the following.

@JayHawkFanToo

I think the writer that put the column up about his interview is just trying to stir something up. He pretty clearly is talking about his constant tweeting. The interviewer asked him if that was a side of his personality and he says "I did it [meaning Twitter] at Kansas, but at Kansas there are so many rules..." This is likely in reference to the code of conduct that the athletes must abide by, as well as internal team rules regarding social media. It's unfortunate that the writer of that article decides to use Joel's accent as a means to troll for clicks.

@justanotherfan, @Crimsonorblue22

It is all over the Internet so it is not just that one writer that is commenting on it. At first I thought he said "girls" (the wife keeps telling me I need hearing aids) but with his thick accent it is hard to tell. If you read the different stories on the subject, there was quite a stir recently because he twitted repeatedly about women not being "loyal," and maybe this is what prompted the misinterpretation. Also, he apparently was hitting on Kim Kardashian without realizing she was married, and then moved on to Rhianna (that is a whole lot of potential trouble).

I understand that Joel is playful and quite naive, but he is now a professional athlete and the image he projects becomes very important; look at how careful and tactful Wiggins is.

Several KU players and many professional athletes have gotten in trouble because of twitter; you would think the rest would learn.

@JayHawkFanToo yes your wife is right!

The word he says is obviously "rules" and he's talking about Twitter. And @JayHawkFanToo I'm sure there are more wanna be journalist out there that like the idiots at 'BroBible' (I just threw up in my mouth) that have written about the interview and like @justanotherfan stated, they too are trying to drum up clicks. My wife and I watch a few TV shows that use subtitles for anyone that's non-American with an accent even when we can clearly understand them and we often think, "Why do they always have subtitles for someone so easily understood?". Now I know it's for Brandon Wenerd!!

Like I said before, if you Google it you will see lots of places reporting on the issue and it not relegated to just one site. Please don't shoot the messenger. Again, as indicated I thought he said something else, but then my audience is restricted to this forum, while the other reporting sites, right or wrong, have a much, much bigger (and not KU friendly) audiences.

@Crimsonorblue22

There are two rules in marriage:

Rule 1 - The wife is always right.

Rule 2 - When the wife is wrong, see Rule 1.

Now, look at how Wiggins and Embiid are dealing withe the exposure. Wiggins, although a year younger, is saying and doing the right things and it is obvious that he knew what was coming and was prepared for it; this is not really surprising since he had had the spot light on him for while now and his parents (and agent) have guided him masterfully. Embiid is a year older than Wiggins and, IMHO, definitely not quite ready for the attention he is getting. If you follow him on twitter (I just read some yesterday for the first time) he comes across as a very naive and playful...16 year old...and not as the professional player earning millions that he is. While most of us KU fans don't see the harm, I will guess that many GMs see it as sign of immaturity, an image that as a professional you do not want to project.

Again, I am not bagging on Embiid, I really like him and as a Jayhawk he will always be a favorite. I am simply saying look at how Wiggins and Embiid are being guided/handled and draw your own conclusions. That's all.

@JayHawkFanToo wiggs and Embiid are completely different. Wiggs is shy and reserved and Embiid is crazy! If he's immature, it's probably adapting to customs here. Embiid is creating a huge fan base, which is increasing the 76'ers fan base. He hasn't crossed the line, yet???? As always, I have no problem w/your opinion, almost always agree w/you! Rule 1, completely agree!

Joel Embiid is a big favorite of mine for his play at KU, his personality and his French (even if we don't speak the same dialect). He's having fun while we're still waiting for the real Andrew Wiggins to stand up.

Joel is taking risks, so he will eventually make mistakes and have to learn from them. That's life, if you accept to live it.

@JayHawkFanToo You are quite correct on Embiid .. is Kasongo an unknown type guy? It didn't seem that way to me.

But I'm always curios why a guy isn't ranked. Reasonable question (or red flag).

@HighEliteMajor

I think we are still missing the big elephant in the room...why will Oregon (the school) not take Kasongo, when Oregon (the basketball team) desperately needs him? Do they know something we don't? Is he not good enough to overcome whatever the "other" issue is? Is the "other" issue so big that outweighs the basketball team's dire needs? Inquiring minds want to know.

@JayHawkFanToo It's because he's an Adidas player and Oregon is all Nike. Shoe wars strike again. :) On the bright side he's a ((shoe)) in for KU. ;)

@DoubleDD

That was my laugh for the day. But seriously, doesn't it make you wonder?

@JayHawkFanToo I get giddy over any potential recruit. I build them up, and then reality sets in. I guess you could call me the Charlie Weis of KU bb recruiting on KU Buckets.