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If CB does not return, who will be go to players next year, Grady, Wilson?

@AsadZ said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

If CB does not return, who will be go to players next year, Grady, Wilson?

Not a Freshman, that's for sure.

We'd get a guy from the portal if CB goes, so a lot would depend on that so I will reserve judgment. Jalen would be a huge factor though.

@AsadZ no clue

I think Jalen Wilsin leads the team in scoring in the 14-15 ppg range. I think we see three others averaging double figures and I think those other three in no particular order will be Zach Clemence, Gradey Dick, and Joseph Yesufu.

I think Juan will be counted on for more points... not sure he is ready to average double figures.

I like Zach a lot, but don't see him being a double figure scorer next year.

I think Jalen leads the team in scoring and, if necessary, will attempt to be a volume scorer around 20, though not sure he can do it.

Other players will have to step up but I think most of those "step ups" will not quite reach double figures.

If CB comes back it will be a huge help for our point totals. If he doesn't, we will still have to recruit someone with the expectations of being a double figure scorer.

@AsadZ Grady Wilson? We're counting on this guy? (he's a Sanford and Son character) !05f0bcd3-8cdf-490a-baec-3c4f090792da-image.png ↗

If we get Hunter we’ll be a stupid good defensive team. Scoring might be a challenge but they’ll scrape together enough offense to be a really, really good team.

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

If we get Hunter we’ll be a stupid good defensive team. Scoring might be a challenge but they’ll scrape together enough offense to be a really, really good team.

"Hard to lose if the other team can't get to 60" ~ Bill Self, probably

Defense is gonna be SALTY

One of my friends made a lil Harris video

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@BShark

This really shows how good this teams chemistry was.

BIFM is back in Lawrence, working out with Ramsey Nijem. Are we sure he doesn't have another year of eligibility? He never got a Covid year...

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@Crimsonorblue22

Thanks for posting the clip on Juan.

Seeing a compilation like that reminds me how "silk" Juan's shot is. Reminds me of the soft touch Jamaal Wilkes had.

We are going to need more points from Juan next year!

@drgnslayr I've been of the opinion that he simply hasn't LOOKED to score at KU yet. Not that he CAN'T score. His jumper is not great but not terrible, his floater game is ok, and he has the ability to convert some tough takes at the rim. He's seemed to be able to get into the paint when he wants to. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility for him to take a significant step forward in the scoring department next year.

We know one opponent for next season now. KU will host Seton Hall in the Big 12/Big East Challenge.

@drgnslayr I was noticing the passing, the timing, looks like they have been playing together for years.

We play Indiana also

Harris is a good player. He does a lot of things well. A list:

1. Excellent on ball defender. Probably one of the best at KU on ball since Russell Robinson.
2. Takes care of the basketball. He only has 83 turnovers in his entire KU career. He's played in 70 games. His assist to turnover ratio is almost 3.
3. Good passer. He's not a flashy passer, but he makes the right pass to the right person at the right time. Can't ever be mad about that.
4. Good teammate overall.

His singular negative is that he is limited as a scorer. I worry that if he tries to score more, his efficiency will plunge (saw his FG% drop 6 points this year) as his volume goes up. We don't want him to become a <39% FG guy. That borders on unplayable no matter how well he does other things, and Harris absolutely should have a role. Harris wasn't a big scorer in high school or on the AAU circuit. That's never been his game. He's better as the fourth option that he is as the second. Harris will probably have some games next year where he scores 12-15 points (I think 15 would be a career high for him) but to expect that every night just isn't practical.

It's more likely Harris is outscored by both Rice and Dick than that he averages double figures. KU is probably a better team if he is outscored by Rice and Dick than if he averages double figures. I'd rather he put in an efficient 7 than force shots to get 10.

@justanotherfan

I don't view it like Juan should try to score X-amount per game. I just think he needs to look more often to score when it's there.

There are other possibilities for his FG% dropping. Perhaps it is because he was often the "last option" for scoring and that meant he had the rock with only a few ticks left on the shot clock and had to force shots. I recall several times when he was put in that position this past year.

I hope Juan is busy this summer working on his trey shot. If he is able to improve slightly from the outside and if he becomes willing to take it to the hole more this coming year, he should be able to lift his numbers and improve on his efficiency.

Juan made several crucial shots in this past March run. I definitely think he should continue to develop his scoring and be willing to take more shots. I bet part of it has to do with confidence, too, and if he gains more confidence scoring it should show up on his stat percentages, too.

@drgnslayr Juan is a starting PG on a Championship team. I hope he carries that swag.

McCullar in the wings... I know many challenge him being good for us... but I'm totally on board with him coming here because by himself, and with Self coaching this team we will be an elite defending team next year. Now if we improve in post defense... wow!

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

McCullar in the wings... I know many challenge him being good for us... but I'm totally on board with him coming here because by himself, and with Self coaching this team we will be an elite defending team next year. Now if we improve in post defense... wow!

It would be hard to be worse in post defense. Last year was Self's 2nd or 3rd worst team in that regard. But more importantly...his best trey ball defending team.

I understand why Bill wanted a wing capable of defending. McCullar is a home run, glad we didn't settle on lesser options. Dexter Dennis ended up at Texas A&M. These transfer rankings are not an exact science but...

McCullar #3, Mosley #15, Council #148, Dennis #191. I think those are all the wings that reached out to us or we reached out to. I have some great extra stuff about McCullar, waiting for the secret board @approxinfinity :winking_face:

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

McCullar in the wings... I know many challenge him being good for us... but I'm totally on board with him coming here because by himself, and with Self coaching this team we will be an elite defending team next year. Now if we improve in post defense... wow!

It would be hard to be worse in post defense. Last year was Self's 2nd or 3rd worst team in that regard. But more importantly...his best trey ball defending team.

I understand why Bill wanted a wing capable of defending. McCullar is a home run, glad we didn't settle on lesser options. Dexter Dennis ended up at Texas A&M. These transfer rankings are not an exact science but...

McCullar #3, Mosley #15, Council #148, Dennis #191. I think those are all the wings that reached out to us or we reached out to. I have some great extra stuff about McCullar, waiting for the secret board @approxinfinity :winking_face:

Council to Arkansas - just saw that. Holy smokes that Arkansas roster is something else. Musselman has it going on.

@Kcmatt7 I feel like Bill would have worked the portal hard if we had more spots.

Next season's team will be something.

I like Harris, but I liked him as the 6th scoring option. He will undoubtedly need to be more of a scorer this season. I think he has more to give in the paint, but I'm afraid we saw his best shooting from 3pt range already. He's a comfortable choice at PG, but he was playing next to three All-Big 12 caliber players.

Who starts at the 2 will be interesting to see. McCullar could theoretically play here if we went big (would be my choice), but something about Bobby just screams he's going to find a way in the lineup. I wish I could see Yesufu in this spot, but I just don't see him making a leap past Bobby just based on things we've heard. I think he is a better player than Bobby though, so to me it is sad to see. I'm honestly pretty low on Bobby after what I saw last season. I know he looked okay when healthy, but that jumper is broke. I hate the idea of him playing next to Harris for long stretches.

The 3 - if we go big and play McCullar at the 2 it will be because Dick or Rice force Bill to. It would be very encouraging. But I doubt that is what happens. McCullar starts here and we may legitimately be playing Harris/Bobby/McCullar next to each other in what would undoubtedly be the worst 3pt shooting back court Bill has ever rolled the ball out with. I mean, undoubtedly.

The 4- Jalen on lock. I think this is the year the game moves in slow motion for him. Much like it did for Och this past season. Already from that G-league tape you saw his catch and shoot prep was worked on this last month. I fully expect him to be 18ppg and pretty much unstoppable. This is his "rafters" season. My pick for B12 POY and should be on Naismith watch lists early.

Center might be the position I'm ultimately most concerned with. Zach has shown a nose for the ball. Clearly able to shoot it from deep. Has the potential to be the 2nd most dangerous weapon on the team. But that is a lot of pressure on the sophomore who, in my opinion, lacks athleticism to dominate at this level. He won't be a presence in the paint on either end. Decent rebounder. Smart guy. But I do not have the confidence he is the answer. Behind him are two freshman with the complete opposite problems. They will be raw. Athletic. A presence in the paint. BUT they don't come with IQ. They will probably struggle not to foul. If I were betting right now, Zach starts, but a chance Udeh ends up getting 20+ minutes of run by the end of the season.

The bench is probably the strongest part of the team. The depth is unreal. You'll have a 5* freshman wing no matter what. Probably two. You'll have Yesufu in his 2nd year in the system. You'll have two freshman big men with size and physicality. You'll have KJ for situational substitutions at the very least. Essentially we are 2 deep at every position again. A little young, but there are options for Bill to ride the hot hand.

I have to admit, I'm not in love with our projected starting lineup if it doesn't include one of the freshman. And even with one of them, I have my concerns. We are unathletic. This is a below the rim starting lineup if it is Harris/Bobby/McCullar/Wilson/Clemence. Which is a HUGE contrast from a year ago. CB lead the team in blocks I think (lol). Ochai is a freak athletically. And those two absolutely dominated in transition. UK just absolutely out-athleted us a year ago WITH two NBA wings. I think you'll see more of that this year, but from teams we should beat.

Not only that, but the lineup above is a TERRIBLE shooting lineup. Just awful. Nothing really nice to say about it. McCullar has had enough attempts (idc whatever his catch and shoot was) to show he is at best a barely over .300 3pt shooter. Harris is a low volume guy. Bobby missed all 3 of his attempts last season, and I can't recall one hitting the rim. Jalen is adequate, but without taking a step forward he isn't a "good" shooter. Clemence is the best of them, and he'll spend half of his time in the post. It just isn't good.

I just feel like we lost some of what made us good a year ago. We are going to try to defend everyone to death, when last year we RAN everyone to death. We ran teams out of the building. It won us the KSU, Miami and NC game. That ability to score 15 in a blink won those games. The FF run with DG/Svi/Malik/Vick/Doke RAN in transition.

Finally, the biggest thing this team probably lacks is a playmaker guard. No Remy. No DG. No Frank. No Tyshawn. No Sherron. A bunch of JAGs. Not a single one of the guards is the type of guy you want the ball to be in their hands late.

So, for the first time in a long time, I just am not very excited with what I think we will be rolling out there next season. Can't help it.

On the the flip side, this team could be an elite defense. Could still theoretically be a good team on the break. If McCullar, JWill and Clemence all take big steps forward that could be a very dangerous trio. I'm not here to say all is lost. I just would have preferred to stay athletic and offensive. And it feels like Bill gravitated back towards his comfort zone of defense and "coach's pet" type of guys.

Obviously I don't have all of the insight. I don't know how good players looked at the end of the season behind closed doors. But I just don't love the roster makeup. It is going to be older unathletic players blocking younger athletic players all season long. I think the offense is going to struggle because defenses will be able to pack the lane. And I think the transition offense we saw a year ago will be a shell of itself without CB and Och.

I think it is going to be a rock fight season. There will be several games where it is a race to 60. I'd never bet against Bill winning the B12, but this roster just did not end up where I thought it would.

@Kcmatt7 There is a bit of frustration with two of his best offensive teams (18 and 22) that were simply okay on defense overperforming in the tournament while Bill can be perceived to still not value offense enough...

Next year will be very interesting for sure. The depth but no true stand outs (Jalen aside) will lead to RABID message board and twitter banter...

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@Kcmatt7

I think you need to slow down a bit. First. We still stand a great chance of getting JWIL back.

This team has the chance to be an outstanding defensive team... and if that be the case, how much offense can we expect to get from runouts? Runouts is more than scoring at the rim, that includes secondary breaks on the trey line, which may be the ticket to lifting everyone's trey stat numbers.

We can examine this until we are blue in the face but we just won't know how this team will play together and what it will do on offense. Players often move their stat numbers from year-to-year.

There just wasn't much on the stat line from this year's team signaling a NC.

What glares at me... is not our roster. What glares at me is the question:

Has Self finally figured out what it takes to get his team to peak in March (April)? If the answer is "yes" we can hope to see better March results in general moving forward. I don't know about you... but I experienced a very different Bill Self this year in March. A lot more poised... I hope it was his poise that rubbed off on the team and not just the other way around! ha

@Kcmatt7

Maybe you have an answer here.... is there a stat site that can show our team this past year and a breakdown of how they scored their points on the 30-second clock? I'd love to see this stat.

@BShark Video of a Bill Self crutch if I've ever seen one. I'm having Marcus Garrett flashbacks.

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Kcmatt7

I think you need to slow down a bit. First. We still stand a great chance of getting JWIL back.

This team has the chance to be an outstanding defensive team... and if that be the case, how much offense can we expect to get from runouts? Runouts is more than scoring at the rim, that includes secondary breaks on the trey line, which may be the ticket to lifting everyone's trey stat numbers.

We can examine this until we are blue in the face but we just won't know how this team will play together and what it will do on offense. Players often move their stat numbers from year-to-year.

There just wasn't much on the stat line from this year's team signaling a NC.

What glares at me... is not our roster. What glares at me is the question:

Has Self finally figured out what it takes to get his team to peak in March (April)? If the answer is "yes" we can hope to see better March results in general moving forward. I don't know about you... but I experienced a very different Bill Self this year in March. A lot more poised... I hope it was his poise that rubbed off on the team and not just the other way around! ha

But the reverse it true as well right?

If you can't score yourself then you are giving up those same breaks. And this team on paper looks like they cannot score.

Besides J-Will, where are the points coming from?

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Kcmatt7

Maybe you have an answer here.... is there a stat site that can show our team this past year and a breakdown of how they scored their points on the 30-second clock? I'd love to see this stat.

I don't. But eye test told me we did most of our damage in transition. CB and Och finished very well on the break this season too. But both of them I would consider to be + athletes.

@Kcmatt7 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

But the reverse it true as well right?
If you can’t score yourself then you are giving up those same breaks. And this team on paper looks like they cannot score.
Besides J-Will, where are the points coming from?

I hope we can be a better rebounding team this coming year... that would help some of that.

I have the same concerns you have on where our points come from. But I think if we have a team that is well-oiled in other areas: rebounding on both sides, defense, low TOs, good assist passing... we will produce decent offense. Will it match this past year? Doubtful we have those offensive weapons, but we have a chance to be a much better defensive team.

I think we should tamper our expectations to have a team offense as capable as this year's team. Very unlikely. Even if we go after a good offensive player in the portal, will that be enough? And isn't it always a risk that player doesn't work out on offense? When push comes to shove... grabbing a player from the portal... I'd rather grab a known defender because that is more predictable. McCullar gives us a tough, physical player, easily capable of guarding 2-4.

@Kcmatt7 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@BShark Video of a Bill Self crutch if I've ever seen one. I'm having Marcus Garrett flashbacks.

Garret was fine when he wasn't miscast at PG.

Not only that, but the lineup above is a TERRIBLE shooting lineup. Just awful. Nothing really nice to say about it. McCullar has had enough attempts (idc whatever his catch and shoot was) to show he is at best a barely over .300 3pt shooter. Harris is a low volume guy. Bobby missed all 3 of his attempts last season, and I can't recall one hitting the rim. Jalen is adequate, but without taking a step forward he isn't a "good" shooter. Clemence is the best of them, and he'll spend half of his time in the post. It just isn't good.

Shooting? Who said shooting? :)

Well said, KCM.

This team as it currently is (I’m assuming it won’t have Wilson) will have no choice but to depend on freshmen for some scoring. Not a good recipe, but hopefully Rice can at least drive and score.

And Self, it would seem, will have no choice but to let Yesu loose.

It won’t be a pretty team to watch, that’s for sure,

@rockchalkjayhawk You took the words out my brain. Somebody gotta put the ball ina basketball and it won't be Juan. Juan is lockdown and a elite decision maker. The Jalen and the 2 Freshman will have to give us the Wing scoring.

@NormRoberts said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@rockchalkjayhawk You took the words out my brain. Somebody gotta put the ball ina basketball and it won't be Juan. Juan is lockdown and a elite decision maker. The Jalen and the 2 Freshman will have to give us the Wing scoring.

Yup, but if Jalen stays in the draft...even more so, right?

Some of you are acting like McCullers is a sure thing to be in Lawrence next season. Why are you so confident?

@wissox said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Some of you are acting like McCullers is a sure thing to be in Lawrence next season. Why are you so confident?

McCullar*

Bill wouldn't have him announce without a promise to play here. See: Malik Newman and Remy Martin. I would be very shocked if he doesn't end up in Lawrence for a year.

@rockchalkjayhawk Jalen isn't looking to great, don't count on him being a better shooter. He needs to put in time. CB kinda shaky in scrimmage too. Anybody else watch?

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@rockchalkjayhawk Jalen isn't looking to great, don't count on him being a better shooter. He needs to put in time. CB kinda shaky in scrimmage too. Anybody else watch?

Jalen has looked much worse against better competition.

CB just hit big 3

@wissox

Bill is foaming at the mouth to have a more physical version of Marcus Garrett on this team.

I agree with the fear that we won't have enough offense... but if picking up one guy... at least McCullar should help us obtain an elite defense. Acquiring a scorer would be helpful but not going to replace Och, CB, and JWil's offense. As it stands, I don't think we have an elite defense. So we don't take McCullar we won't have elite play on either side of the ball.

I think there’s a decent chance we’re not done in the portal. I know they’d make a spot for Hunter if he wanted to commit.

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

I think there’s a decent chance we’re not done in the portal. I know they’d make a spot for Hunter if he wanted to commit.

Bill wants a starting 2guard.

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

I think there’s a decent chance we’re not done in the portal. I know they’d make a spot for Hunter if he wanted to commit.

Bill wants a starting 2guard.

Yeah, if no Hunter I wonder if they’d look at Grant Sherfield. Put up gaudy stats at Nevada

@FarmerJayhawk Might have burned bridges there last I heard. What I do know is if Self wants to fill a spot he's gonna do it. Definitely something to monitor.

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@rockchalkjayhawk Jalen isn't looking to great, don't count on him being a better shooter. He needs to put in time. CB kinda shaky in scrimmage too. Anybody else watch?

Jalen has looked much worse against better competition.

Didn't light it up today in the big boy camp?
how'd he do?

The hyperventilation thread. We haven't even completed the roster, and we're eviscerating the team...just like we did last year.

@Jethro 100% guilty of it. If remy doesn’t take off though then we wouldn’t have won. So many on here we’re right we can’t win a title with Juan playing all the minutes and that applies next year as well.

Need Hunter or Ramey

Juan
Hunter/Ramey
McCullar
Wilson
Clemence

Bench
Bobby
Rice
Dick
Kj
Udeh

Joe’s odd man out. If we don’t get another guard then Rice starts at the 2 and Joe backs him up.

Cam and Cuffe don’t play

Crazy to think mcd national player won’t start heck same for Rice and Udeh. One of them has to surprise us.

What I learned is Self might have figured out March being laid back/confident/chill not his tense usual self.

Trust in Self

@kuballin10 Every national champion has a we wouldn't have won if such and such had happened. It happened. We're thrilled. Join the fun.

@Jethro You gave us a PHOF candidate with that one!

@BShark Potential casualty, Cuffe or Yesufu.

@AsadZ said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@BShark Potential casualty, Cuffe or Yesufu.

I am pretty sure we won't ask Cuffe to leave. We had him reclass then redshirt, and were on thin ice previously with his AAU (he is the first player we got from them since Cheick). We are seemingly tentatively not having that door shut (recruiting another couple guys from there again and not being turned away) and don't want it slammed shut. So if Cuffe left after this year it would have been his decision I think.

Joe would make a lot of sense. Don't think you even have to force him out by any means. It's like, well Juan is starting at the 1, transfer is now coming in starting at the 2. Primary back-up small guard is Bob with Rice and Gradey chomping at the bit for minutes too and well, it's a tough squeeze.

I can envision the conversation between Self and Joe

I hope there's a few more moves left but at this point I don't know what's going to make a meaningful impact.

I just don't understand the Cam Martin situation from redshirting to still being here.

I'm also surprised Cuffe is sticking around. Personally I'm high on him but I expected him to look around.

If Braun does leave that really hurts the upcoming squad. Leader, scoring option, proven winner among many other things. Makes J Will returning of paramount importance.

McCullar is a nice get for what he provides. Perhaps he flourishes here and steps his game up offensively.

Young team with a lot of unproven pieces that will have to play.

If Braun leaves and JWill returns, who do y’all see as next years leader? McCullar is new, Juan doesn’t seem the type, rest are pretty young. 🤔

@Gorilla72 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

If Braun leaves and JWill returns, who do y’all see as next years leader? McCullar is new, Juan doesn’t seem the type, rest are pretty young. 🤔

JWill 100%.

I think Bobby and Zach end up taking the biggest steps forward in terms of improvement though.

@Jethro Agreed and I feel like the offensive concerns listed seem overblown. Clemence was a bucket every time he stepped out on the court last year and will open the floor up to get to the hoop even if we have average gaurd 3 pt shooting. College 3pt% generally improves year over year too so I don't think that will even be as bad as it looks. If I had to pick a something to be worried about, it would be getting Clemence to improve on interior defense and having gaurds that can pressure the ball and make the entry pass harder will help some there.

@RockkChalkk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Gorilla72 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

If Braun leaves and JWill returns, who do y’all see as next years leader? McCullar is new, Juan doesn’t seem the type, rest are pretty young. 🤔

JWill 100%.

I think Bobby and Zach end up taking the biggest steps forward in terms of improvement though.

JWill is among the most experienced, but he didn’t seem to be a leader last year. Early on he moped about his drunk driving ticket/team suspension. Later he let Remy, Christian and Big Dave lead, both by example and verbally.

I hope JWill steps up. Otherwise, the Hawks may have a void there. 🤞🏻

@wissox I am enjoying the fun. I can’t stop laughing at the fact they won when I was so down on them. I wasn’t around for 88 so this changed my entire mindset.

100% agree things have to fall your way and they did. Nova kid hurt, bacot hurt ect we capitalized and made the plays though!

All that but the thread is about next years team which I was referencing how last years March team was different than the entire year. Last years team with a healthy remy is a champ. Without probably lose to creighton or providence easy.

Then with that frame of mind it’s so important to get someone who can score to play the 2 or eat into Juan’s minutes unless he improves offensively (which he could).

I’m happy and enjoying it and still can’t believe they won it!

@BeddieKU23 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

I hope there's a few more moves left but at this point I don't know what's going to make a meaningful impact.

I just don't understand the Cam Martin situation from redshirting to still being here.

I'm also surprised Cuffe is sticking around. Personally I'm high on him but I expected him to look around.

If Braun does leave that really hurts the upcoming squad. Leader, scoring option, proven winner among many other things. Makes J Will returning of paramount importance.

McCullar is a nice get for what he provides. Perhaps he flourishes here and steps his game up offensively.

Young team with a lot of unproven pieces that will have to play.

The people that think we're going to be limited offensively don't know Dick. "But Jethro, he's new. New is bad. He's never played college basketball. " Gradey, see that spot? Go run to that spot, and we'll throw you the ball, and you shoot and make it, ok?

I've been heavy on the scoring coming from the new players for a while now, particularly if both Wilson and Braun leave (though it seems like Wilson could return). Our returning players, other than Yesufu, are not really natural scorers. The thing about being a natural scorer is that you can start the game 0-3 or 0-5 and then get it going. If a guy like Harris starts 0-5, he's not going to be thinking he needs to get up 6 or 7 more shots tonight. That's not his game. He's a true PG that wants to distribute, defend and get into the paint when he can. But Rice and Dick are more scoring oriented. They will be looking for their shot because that is their game. I just don't see how we don't get scoring from the new additions, particularly when you add McCullar in that group. That's even moreso if Wilson stays in the draft - I'm assuming CB is gone at this point.

@Jethro Ha, I see what you did there. I used to have your same belief but after watching him in one of those all star games, playing against other incoming frosh, I was quite disappointed and lowered my expectations to be more realistic. Its rare to have a true frosh that can come in and put it all together to a point where he is a reliable scorer. Last few I can think of were JJ, Wigs, Jo. I just don't think Dick is in that class of talent and ability to be the scorer we hope for in his first year.

Its also not in Bill Self's history to put someone out there to just spot up and shoot without having to worry about thinking about anything else. Guys like Greene who I'd say is a better shooter couldn't carve out time because he couldn't play D. The one trick ponies don't see the court much with Self. At least not enough to rack up a strong scoring line each game.

I saw some of sunrise games on tv, Gradey's the real deal. All star games are so unorganized it's really hard to judge. They are the opposite of what Self would call a game. It's not a team game.

@kuballin10

I can't think of a single poster in here this past year that went "all in" on this team for winning the trophy!

I feel sure we can all say that things fell right and also that we peaked at the right time! Part of that peak was getting Remy back at near 100%.

My big optimism now is that Self sees the game differently, especially our play in March. Do you think his energy was different this past March over previous Marches? I thought he was very poised and confident.. more so than usual. Whatever it was.. I hope it sticks and we don't have to wait another 14 years to bring home the prize again!

Concerning next year's team... truth is... until we get this bunch together and playing, we won't know what we have as far as points go. Sure... we have ideas about guys scoring gifts, but that changes, especially as new teams are put together and kids have a new coach/environment.

Personally... I hope we get McCullar and Wilson back. I think that will give us a very solid team. The offense will have to get sorted out, but that is Self's job. He managed to get these guys playing at a high level so I remain optimistic. I like what I'm seeing possible for next year already!

Gradey/Zach/Harris trio can put up plenty of points. Need a high jumping big to do nothing but flush lobs and set screens and one wild dog like KJ to rebound. Gold

@drgnslayr great post. 10000% agree and hope Self learned. He felt they’d win every game in the tourney and his cool confidence just oozed through the team. He had that smirky grin on his face even when it was a dogfight and that’s when as a fan you know we are gonna win.

Self changed in that he said he wouldn’t play or trust someone in March who didn’t produce in Feb. He made a huge exception with Remy in the big 12 tourney which he wanted to win and it paid off. He not only did that but continued that into the ncaa’s and played the perfect balance of Juan and Remy. That plus big Dave being an animal and everyone playing with stones got us a title I still can’t believe we won.

I am sure there were a few on here that still believed and should be credited for having faith when I had known.

I wish but know it won’t happen we start:
Hunter
Rice
Mccullar
Wilson
Zach

Bench
Bobby/Joe
Dick
Udeh
KJ

No way this happens but Bill did have Remy start over Juan but then the injury ect changed course. I’m hoping Bill starts the best guys and let’s them play the most minutes.

@DanR I think you’re right but hearing from the insiders on this board the coaches already don’t think these freshman will be able to guard or grasp the system defensively. Hopefully they loosen the reigns and let the guys play and get out and run like they had this group do.

Run, run, run (a play out of ole Roy’s book)

@kuballin10 Juan started every game except the last regular season game against Texas.

@Crimsonorblue22 Juan definitely didn't start the season starting. Remy started until he got injured Vs Nevada

@Crimsonorblue22 Juan started every game after Remy got injured. Remy started first game vs Michigan State.

@RockkChalkk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Jethro Ha, I see what you did there. I used to have your same belief but after watching him in one of those all star games, playing against other incoming frosh, I was quite disappointed and lowered my expectations to be more realistic. Its rare to have a true frosh that can come in and put it all together to a point where he is a reliable scorer. Last few I can think of were JJ, Wigs, Jo. I just don't think Dick is in that class of talent and ability to be the scorer we hope for in his first year.

Its also not in Bill Self's history to put someone out there to just spot up and shoot without having to worry about thinking about anything else. Guys like Greene who I'd say is a better shooter couldn't carve out time because he couldn't play D. The one trick ponies don't see the court much with Self. At least not enough to rack up a strong scoring line each game.

I really got a kick out of your post. Especially your scouting report. I knew if I put some bait out, I'd get some bites. All in good fun- thank you for participating!

@DanR said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Gradey/Zach/Harris trio can put up plenty of points. Need a high jumping big to do nothing but flush lobs and set screens and one wild dog like KJ to rebound. Gold

That'll be Ernest Udeh early on. He's going to be the guy that plays 10-15 minutes a game amd has a few foul outs because he's a very aggressive defender and won't have to worry about playing extended minutes. Maybe not as physically imposing as Doke, but similar mindset and style of defense when Doke was playing behind Landen Lucas.

@NormRoberts @Crimsonorblue22

Technically you both are right. Juan started msu because Wilson was out. Who Bill would have started not sure but I’d guess Juan because in msu game he played 36 mins to remy’s 27

@NormRoberts nope it was like I said

@Crimsonorblue22 Correct.I forgot Jalen wasn't starting the first couple games then Coach announced Remy wouldn't start again after injury

Remy and Juan.

Russ Rob and Sherron.

Parallels, in some ways. And totally different duos in other ways.

Winners in all ways ;-)

Juan/Tyrese/McCullar/JW/MJ/Gradey/Clemence. Best perimeter defense in the country.

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Juan/Tyrese/McCullar/JW/MJ/Gradey/Clemence. Best perimeter defense in the country.

Hunter is going to Texas. It's done.

@BShark that sucks as Hunter is better than Ramey wish it’d worked out. What you’d hear as the reason it didn’t?

Assuming Jalen’s back; who else do we go after? I’ve seen Ramey thrown out there any other nba guys that could withdraw and we find that 2 spot that can score and play alongside Juan?

@kuballin10 Rumor is 750k. We typically max at 500 for starters. Assuming Jalen is back the roster might just be set. Personally I would have sent Cam packing but I'm not in charge (thankfully lmao).

Not having a final roster and its almost June has to be exhausting. I can't see this being a sustainable thing every year.

@BShark

Yeah I don't understand the Cam situation at all, never will. He's not going to play minutes anyway

@BeddieKU23 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Not having a final roster and its almost June has to be exhausting. I can't see this being a sustainable thing every year.

June Bill is the new spring Bill.

Hunter also would be the main PG at Texas, wouldn’t be here.

@BShark got it thanks for the info and I wish you were with regards to the roster and maybe pushing someone out the door lol Bill gettin’ soft! Haha jk

@FarmerJayhawk do you agree with this?

I don’t because Hunter is better than Juan so why not take him and make Juan the backup? I’m confused why the hang up and holding a clearly better player back so Juan can play pg. Juan is a great teammate whether starting or off the bench he will stay positive he’s a great kid.

@kuballin10 it's hard to disagree since we just won a title with him at PG. I'd play them both together: Harris Hunter McCullar Wilson Clemence. Rotate in Rice and Dick. Not to say Hunter would be off the ball all the time. Remy played on the ball quite a bit when he and Juan were on the floor.

I don't think the frosh are ready to roll major minutes right away. Over the last couple years (definitely since covid made HS and travel ball sparse at times) freshmen are less prepared than they've been in a long time. You won't find many 20-50 ranked dudes who played a lot for tournament teams. And 2022 isn't a super strong class either. Especially with college players as old as they are with the extra year, it's tough for a rook to break in. So I think Dick is best suited as a shooter off the bench, and Rice as a 6th man/swing player. Hunter is one of the few guys in that range who came in and was great right away. Sure hasn't been the norm.

Not sure if this is on another thread but Hunter goes to Texas

@wissox said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Not sure if this is on another thread but Hunter goes to Texas

Looking more and more like McCullar, huh.

Whatever happened to that smaller school Missouri dude?

@rockchalkjayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@wissox said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Not sure if this is on another thread but Hunter goes to Texas

Looking more and more like McCullar, huh.

Whatever happened to that smaller school Missouri dude?

Headed to MS State it appears. I'm befuddled by the lack of announcement.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@wissox said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Not sure if this is on another thread but Hunter goes to Texas

Looking more and more like McCullar, huh.

Whatever happened to that smaller school Missouri dude?

McCullar did announce for KU if you missed it. Self strongly preferred him over Mosley (said dude).

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@wissox said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Not sure if this is on another thread but Hunter goes to Texas

Looking more and more like McCullar, huh.

Whatever happened to that smaller school Missouri dude?

Headed to MS State it appears. I'm befuddled by the lack of announcement.

I mean, would you WANT to go to Starkville?

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@wissox said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Not sure if this is on another thread but Hunter goes to Texas

Looking more and more like McCullar, huh.

Whatever happened to that smaller school Missouri dude?

Headed to MS State it appears. I'm befuddled by the lack of announcement.

I mean, would you WANT to go to Starkville?

Might be spelled $$$$tarkville….

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@wissox said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Not sure if this is on another thread but Hunter goes to Texas

Looking more and more like McCullar, huh.

Whatever happened to that smaller school Missouri dude?

Headed to MS State it appears. I'm befuddled by the lack of announcement.

I mean, would you WANT to go to Starkville?

I heard it was Stackville.

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@wissox said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Not sure if this is on another thread but Hunter goes to Texas

Looking more and more like McCullar, huh.

Whatever happened to that smaller school Missouri dude?

Headed to MS State it appears. I'm befuddled by the lack of announcement.

I mean, would you WANT to go to Starkville?

I lived in the South for a few years. i did my time. Bassackwards.

@Gorilla72 His first choice was Kansas. As Farmer noted it is interesting that he seems to be putting off the announcement... It was supposed to be today.

@FarmerJayhawk

We won the title because of Remy’s contribution way more than Juan’s. It worked because Juan played the proper minutes. Without Remy (or a scorer like Hunter) we lose to Creighton or Providence

@kuballin10 not my point at all. I said we won a title with Harris at PG. And he’s not getting benched.

Juan will be the main PG, that’s just a fact. My point is I’d play Hunter with him because it gives you your best 5 out there. He still played 25 MPG in the tournament. I’d bump him to the 28-30ish number next year. He played so much last year because Remy and Bobby were hurt. Non-con he was only at 27 MPG.

Say we get Ramey instead. He’s also a really good defender and can handle it. I’m still not benching Harris for an unprepared freshman. Harris Ramey McCullar Wilson Clemence. That’s plenty of offense. Absolutely killer without the ball, and has enough shooting. Won’t be a great strength but enough. Dick can snipe off the bench. This lineup is so versatile because you can rotate PGs and switch between PG and 3 wings and 2 PGs 2 wings.

Juan is a floor general. A facilitator. Self loves that. Mason and Graham had to prove they could do that before they became the potent offensive weapons as seniors.

Juan is a champion, the best floor there is. Now lets see him grow to his ceiling.

@approxinfinity If Juan plays a full season like the Nova game he’s a stud.

Shoot 500 three’s a day and another 500 floaters!

@FarmerJayhawk you still noted it so felt compelled to comment. It’s like say Peyton’s last year winning a super bowl or an average qb winning it all because of the team.

Dave, Remy, Och, Braun, Wilson carried us and mainly Remy in crucial games. Juan’s D contributed mightily but his reduction in minutes allowed the title.

He will start but monitoring his minutes is important.

You think we get Ramey? Watched some highlights of him and he’s a solid 2. Better shooter than Hunter and honestly in our offense he would be great alongside Juan.

Defensively and ability to drive how is Ramey per staff? Seems they wanted Hunter but would be happy with Ramey.

@bskeet agree and wish it wasn’t exactly this way!

Wiggins/Embid team used tharpe then frankamp when we had Frank there...

@kuballin10 Juan is lightyears better than Naadir or Frankamp.

I dont think of Tharpe or Frankamp as floor generals at all. I thought of them as score first PGs who were mediocre at best at running the offense and not good on D either. I think of Russ Rob as a better comp for Juan.

@approxinfinity said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@kuballin10 Juan is lightyears better than Naadir or Frankamp.

BY FAR - -not even in the same ballpark

@approxinfinity said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

I think of Russ Rob as a better comp for Juan.

yes.. And maybe Sherron.

@approxinfinity said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@kuballin10 Juan is lightyears better than Naadir or Frankamp.

LOL. Comparing Juan to Naadir and Francamp has to be the funniest thing I've heard this offseason. Too funny... you can't make this up.

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@kuballin10 not my point at all. I said we won a title with Harris at PG. And he’s not getting benched.

Juan will be the main PG, that’s just a fact. My point is I’d play Hunter with him because it gives you your best 5 out there. He still played 25 MPG in the tournament. I’d bump him to the 28-30ish number next year. He played so much last year because Remy and Bobby were hurt. Non-con he was only at 27 MPG.

Say we get Ramey instead. He’s also a really good defender and can handle it. I’m still not benching Harris for an unprepared freshman. Harris Ramey McCullar Wilson Clemence. That’s plenty of offense. Absolutely killer without the ball, and has enough shooting. Won’t be a great strength but enough. Dick can snipe off the bench. This lineup is so versatile because you can rotate PGs and switch between PG and 3 wings and 2 PGs 2 wings.

I think you hit on something very important that some folks are missing- this team will be oozing with levers that Bill can pull - need team speed? Put in Yes. Need a shot blocker? Put in Udeh. Need some outside shooting? Put in Dick. Juando needs a rest? Put in Bobby. Need someone to drive the ball? Put in MJ. So much talent, so much versatility. We won't be as fast as last year, but if we can get Ramey, then we might not need to be as fast. We could have the best perimeter defense we've ever had with Juando, Ramey and McCullar.

@approxinfinity @Jethro you guys are as bad as cnn and foxs news twisting words (yes, I’m hating on both so both sides here politically can’t complain).....or I suck at explaining the latter probably true.

Juan’s reduction in minutes (he played the perfect amount) allowed the title.

I wasn’t comparing Juan to those two players, clearly Juan is better. The comparison that I poorly explained is a lesser player holding up a better player from getting proper minutes. The scenario was the comparison not the literal players.

Russ rob/sherron situation and player comparison is perfect.

Tharpe and Frankamp is situationally applicable but not player to player with Juan. You guys got on me quick for that one.

Juan vs Hunter....one is nba talent the other is not. If I was Bill then I’d say Hunter come on down and Juan you will be the backup pg. Play the best players and in this situation Juan is being perched up when in reality he isn’t as good as the guy we were after.

@kuballin10 the last time iowa state played kansas, dajuan had 14 pts and 8 assists in 38 minutes. hunter had 8 pts and 2 assists in 32 minutes.

You can speculate that Hunter is better but i have seen dajuan stepping up big when we need him.Hunter is just that, speculation, at least in the sense that we dont know what he will do for Bill.

In defense of your position, Dajuans box score against UNC was not pretty, even if his defense in the second half was.

@approxinfinity said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@kuballin10 the last time iowa state played kansas, dajuan had 14 pts and 8 assists in 38 minutes. hunter had 8 pts and 2 assists in 32 minutes.

You can speculate that Hunter is better but i have seen dajuan stepping up big when we need him.Hunter is just that, speculation, at least in the sense that we dont know what he will do for Bill.

In defense of your position, Dajuans box score against UNC was not pretty, even if his defense in the second half was.

@approxinfinity 1 game sample size is your argument?

Speculate? We have a full season with each and it was pretty clear. Hunter is a better athlete, drives it better (thus more assists and impacts the game), just as good defensively and scores it better.

I’d love to see what he would do for Bill.

In the game at KU Juan hit the shot but got outplayed by Hunter’s 5 assists and 5 steals ect.

Hunter scores it more, takes it away more, and assists it more. There isn’t any speculation studs like Hunter do just fine under Self.

@approxinfinity I agree on the box score and had him stepping out of bounds with a horrible angle and court awareness cost us an L I can’t imagine how ugly it’d been for the kid (he gets roasted on 247 sports 10 times as much here).

His D second half did lead the charge there is no denying that. The lob to start, the steal from Love you almost don’t see (horrible camera work), the denial of in bounds causing inbounder to step across the line and then my absolute favorite play was the strip of RJ and straight into his scream/celebration saying YOU CANT SCORE ON ME HELL YOU CANT EVEN GET A SHOT UP!!!!

I feel seeing him for what he is; is crucial and Self sees all his good straights and excuses his bad.

Hopefully we get Nova Juan or the Juan who after coach called him a p and changes his scoring mentality.

Who else still thinks about the inbound's play drawn up for Dajuan Harris and his failure to properly execute it? Dajuan was wide open for the inbound's pass but couldn't control his position on the sideline. Even if he stayed inbounds, he threw an out of control pass right to Brady Manek but not much time remained. I still think about that play and how it could have gone better; great design on the play, but less than great execution. I also wonder what would have happened if Brady Manek hadn't slipped on his cut in the lane during NC's final inbound's play. My guess is Brady was the first option to shoot their 3. Then I remember KU is the National Champion. I read where Coach Self admitted to watching the championship game more than 10 times. I don't watch the first half, but love watching the second half during the sport dead zone that is April to August for me.

@stoptheflop I have not thought about that play for even a millisecond.

Did any other players ever execute anything improperly?

@stoptheflop Incidentally, I have thought a number of times about Hinrich giving up the last shot against Syracuse. But his failure to execute that play doesn't at all diminish my sense that he was a fantastic guard for the Jayhawks. He and Collison were a joy to watch on fast breaks!

On the other hand, the missed free throws by several players were too numerous to feel bad about any single one!

@stoptheflop play was perfect and everyone executed their part Juan just messed up. Huge dome and court awareness is different with the raised floor/benches ect.

Play should have been for a better free throw shooter though!

As @wissox said stuff happens every season, every champ gets some breaks and our guys won that’s all that matters.

But I do enjoy analyzing the game and potential moments where the result may not have been in our favor. I still can’t believe we won but then with remy’s emergence, Dave turning into Dok on offense and the other guys all stepping up with huge stones it’s easy to see how we pulled it out.

Cam Martin will enter BEAST MODE.

!KEKWiguess.png ↗

@bskeet said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@approxinfinity said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

I think of Russ Rob as a better comp for Juan.

yes.. And maybe Sherron.

Haaaahahahahahhahhhahahhhahah. Haaaahhahahhahahhhhhahhhahh. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

@RockkChalkk had to check the ranking in his class. Dajuan was 39th on Rivals! Sherron was 21st. While I agree they are very different in players, I am on board with those two rankings. I think Dajuan is a better defender and leader, while Sherron is a better scorer. I think some of those Sherron led teams after the 2008 championship could have benefited from Dajuans court vision.

@kuballin10 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@approxinfinity If Juan plays a full season like the Nova game he’s a stud.

Shoot 500 three’s a day and another 500 floaters!

@FarmerJayhawk you still noted it so felt compelled to comment. It’s like say Peyton’s last year winning a super bowl or an average qb winning it all because of the team.

Dave, Remy, Och, Braun, Wilson carried us and mainly Remy in crucial games. Juan’s D contributed mightily but his reduction in minutes allowed the title.

He will start but monitoring his minutes is important.

You think we get Ramey? Watched some highlights of him and he’s a solid 2. Better shooter than Hunter and honestly in our offense he would be great alongside Juan.

Defensively and ability to drive how is Ramey per staff? Seems they wanted Hunter but would be happy with Ramey.

Following that metaphor, I think Juan is more 2012 Eli than last SB Peyton. Solid, reliable, makes plays when it counts.

Ramey doesn’t really want to be in college next year, but isn’t really a prospect so we’ll see how things play out over the next month. Ramey’s performance guarding Och really impressed them. He’s a pesky defender. Not really a driver. Think more a Devonte 2016-17 role.

@approxinfinity Yes. And Sherron was not asked to be a primary scorer in 2008. He was a facilitator first. Then, he took on more and more responsibility until he and Aldrich were an incredible tandem in 2010.

I think that role is similar for Juan. He was not asked to be a primary scorer this year; we had plenty of other options for that. But he was trusted to be a facilitator. But I expect that he will asked to take on more scoring responsibilities in 2022-23 and the following years he will be a primary scorer.

This is the way.

@bskeet said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

I think that role is similar for Juan. He was not asked to be a primary scorer this year; we had plenty of other options for that.

Correction, we had plenty of other better options for that. Like literally almost everyone. The only other players with a lower FG % were Zach, Yes, Teahan and Jank.

Next year's team is starving for scoring. Its hard enough scoring 5 vs 5 but when the other team knows they don't really have to guard one, it becomes 4 vs 5 on the offensive end and that much harder. If the 4 are studs then it can work. I think its way more likely that we see Juan as a 6th man or 7th man rotation player next year than it is he becomes a second team all american like Sherron did. Also, this isn't me accepting the Sherron comparison - Sherron was way better than Juan soph year especially if you do a per minute comparison because Sherron played fewer minutes per game and still almost doubled him up in points per game.

@RockkChalkk I wasn't making an argument about who is better, Juan or Sherron. I was talking about career trajectories. My point is that I think they will be similar. Sherron was capable of scoring but there were better options in 2008. Later he was depended on to be a more prolific scorer. Likewise for Juan in 2022. And, in my opinion, Juan will also be depended on to be a more prolific scorer in his jr and sr years.

Your point about scoring 5v5 compared to 5v4 is a good one. When one guy isn't a scoring threat, the defense can cheat.

As a side note, I don't have the numbers for post-season, but it would be interesting to look at Juan's post-season scoring to see how that compares to his full-season metrics. My observation is that he took more shots in the post season, when it was more critical to keep the defense honest. He only needed to make a few (and he did) to change the way the team was defended.

@bskeet I would LOVE to see Juan become that prolific scorer you describe. It would be fantastic. Its just hard for me to see that happening. You'd think that being the non scoring threat he was all year with defenses backing off of him would equate to a higher FG % since he would get those wide open looks. As a player becomes more and more the threat they start facing the other team's best defenders, see more double teams, get the defenses attention, etc, and often we see the player's FG % drop down a little. If I'm not mistaken this was the case with Sherron too.

Its not impossible for it to happen though so there is still hope. Hopefully he is a gym rat all off season, gets some shooting mechanics worked out, and shocks us all next year as a new player on the offensive end.

However, if you're looking for a surprise scorer next year, I think Pettiford could be that guy. Really small sample size but 53.3% FG % raises an eyebrow. His workout tapes coming in reminded me of Dotson's. DD's was more impressive but still, 85% of DD is damn good. I'm hoping Bill tries him in that Mason/Dotson role and see if he sinks or swims.

@bskeet I can’t believe you are comparing one of the baddest guards to ever play at Kansas (Self’s words) to a guy who averages 5.4 points, 4.2 ast, and 1.5 steals

Sherron
Frosh: 9.3, 2.9 and .7
Soph: 9.3, 3.1, 1.1

Also, Dajuan was no where near 39th he moved up that many spots when he committed to KU.

https://m.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2019/aug/22/kansas-commitment-dajuan-harris-jumps-in/ ↗

@RockkChalkk Exactly - a defense never left sherron open or played 5v4 when he was a freshman or sophmore.....

If Pettiford can stay healthy he’s in the mold for sure that can get to the rim and finish strong

Speaking as a former player who shot so low a % from outside that it didn't matter if I was open or not... I can honestly say I probably shot near equal % when left wide open than when guarded. I know it killed my confidence being dared to shoot it from outside and after a while I didn't have the balls to try to prove them wrong.

My only advice to Juan on shooting from trey: don't listen to me! lol

I will say... Juan has several offensive tools that are quality and will help his stat line; he's actually a good finisher at the rim, and his open-court scoring is good (especially helpful when he steals passes), and he has a very soft touch at midrange. There is no reason why he can't lift his numbers a bit from trey and become a more consistent scorer from distance. I wish people would stop bagging on him. He's earned every bit of that championship ring on his finger and will bring his winning formula back to KU to try to do it again!

It would be sick if Mosley comes and we all get the benefit synergy created off their relationship! Absolutely sick!

And NO! I'm still praying with get McCullar! lol We get McCullar and then it comes down to Wilson or Mosley... ha... I'm becoming crazy enthusiastic about next year's team!

My new chant: BACK-TO-BACK!

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Speaking as a former player who shot so low a % from outside that it didn't matter if I was open or not... I can honestly say I probably shot near equal % when left wide open than when guarded. I know it killed my confidence being dared to shoot it from outside and after a while I didn't have the balls to try to prove them wrong.

My only advice to Juan on shooting from trey: don't listen to me! lol

I will say... Juan has several offensive tools that are quality and will help his stat line; he's actually a good finisher at the rim, and his open-court scoring is good (especially helpful when he steals passes), and he has a very soft touch at midrange. There is no reason why he can't lift his numbers a bit from trey and become a more consistent scorer from distance. I wish people would stop bagging on him. He's earned every bit of that championship ring on his finger and will bring his winning formula back to KU to try to do it again!

It would be sick if Mosley comes and we all get the benefit synergy created off their relationship! Absolutely sick!

And NO! I'm still praying with get McCullar! lol We get McCullar and then it comes down to Wilson or Mosley... ha... I'm becoming crazy enthusiastic about next year's team!

My new chant: BACK-TO-BACK!

Excellent post. We don't need 15 a game from Juan- but I'll bet we get 10. Juan does so much more than score- setting up the offense, hitting guys in their spots, playing tenacious on ball defense, etc. The value is immeasurable.

I never said Juan would be a prolific scorer. I said he would be depended on to be a more prolific scorer. In other words, he will be asked and expected to generate more scoring in his jr and sr year.

Again, I AM NOT COMPARING THE ABILITIES OF THESE TWO. I'M COMPARING THEIR ASSIGNMENTS.

@kuballin10

Sherron Frosh: 9.3, 2.9 and .7 Soph: 9.3, 3.1, 1.1

Sherron Jr 18.9 pts per game; Sr 15.5 pts per game.

He basically doubled his output in his last two years. Not because he suddenly found some new ability between his Sophomore and Junior years, rather, because the team dynamics changed and his assignment changed.

DeJuan's Frosh: 2.4 pt per game and Soph: 5.4 pts per game

I wouldn't be surprised if Juan averaged 9-10 per game next year. That's about double this year's production and that's what they will need from him.

My point is that this is a similar trajectory.

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Speaking as a former player who shot so low a % from outside that it didn't matter if I was open or not... I can honestly say I probably shot near equal % when left wide open than when guarded. I know it killed my confidence being dared to shoot it from outside and after a while I didn't have the balls to try to prove them wrong.

My only advice to Juan on shooting from trey: don't listen to me! lol

I will say... Juan has several offensive tools that are quality and will help his stat line; he's actually a good finisher at the rim, and his open-court scoring is good (especially helpful when he steals passes), and he has a very soft touch at midrange. There is no reason why he can't lift his numbers a bit from trey and become a more consistent scorer from distance. I wish people would stop bagging on him. He's earned every bit of that championship ring on his finger and will bring his winning formula back to KU to try to do it again!

It would be sick if Mosley comes and we all get the benefit synergy created off their relationship! Absolutely sick!

And NO! I'm still praying with get McCullar! lol We get McCullar and then it comes down to Wilson or Mosley... ha... I'm becoming crazy enthusiastic about next year's team!

My new chant: BACK-TO-BACK!

Excellent post. We don't need 15 a game from Juan- but I'll bet we get 10. Juan does so much more than score- setting up the offense, hitting guys in their spots, playing tenacious on ball defense, etc. The value is immeasurable.

Agree Jethro I think we could get maybe 8-10 from Juan -if we NEED/HAVE to get 15 from Juan - - -we in trouble , we should have enough scorer's that won't be necessary

Underclassman Sherron frustrated the hell out of me. If he hadn't gotten that steal and 3 to put us in striking distance in the championship and then the fall down pass to Mario, I would have remembered a lot of the boneheaded things he did that season, including some head-scratching plays in the championship on a team full of pretty cool customers. My point being, Dajuan is not the first KU underclassman to make a few boneheaded plays in a championship he also did some very good things in.

In particular, underclassman Sherron's drives to nowhere, getting caught in the air with no option, and either turning it over or getting packed to Kingdom Come drove me absolutely nuts. So let's allow that there may be a bit of lip-service hypberbole in Self's assessment of Sherron as "one of the toughest" or whatever he said. Yes, Sherron was good, had a borderline great career by KU standards (high standards). He checks all the boxes for someone Self would praise.
* Contributed his sophomore year to a championship run.
* Waited his turn to start
* Was from the Chicago area (want to recruit that!)
* Was a 5 star McD (want to recruit that!)
* Played 4 years for Self, probably should have left after his 3rd
* First team All American
* Wasn't drafted because of size

And importantly, his senior year, with 7 guys who made an NBA roster on his team, a team you would expect senior Sherron to lead, he lost to Northern Iowa.

So don't laugh when we suggest that lil Sophomore NCAA CHAMPION Dajuan Harris might end up having a better college career than Sherron.

He just might.

Can we please stop trying to compare Sherron in any season to Dejuan Harris? Their games have very little in common.

Sherron was always a score/shoot first PG that only played PG because of his height, otherwise he'd have been a 2. Sherron's game was to drive and use his size to initiate contact and try to draw fouls which was a consistent source of frustration with him over the years.

Harris is not someone who drives looking to score or initiate contact. Harris shot 24 FT's all season in about 1150 minutes. Harris also has a much different body type that Sherron did which has a huge influence on the differences in their games.

Would I love to have a Sherron type PG this upcoming season that could go get a bucket whenever he wanted? Absolutely because this team next season will very likely be on that's prone to having some long scoring droughts, but we have Harris who is much better at protecting the ball and facilitating offense than Sherron was.

None of that is knocking either player, they just play very different styles of PG that each have/had their own strengths and weaknesses.

@bskeet got it you’re saying you hope seeing a scoring ppg jump similar to what Sherron did when he played.

Fair enough and I get what you’re saying.

@kuballin10 Right on. I hope Pettiford tears it up and we don't have to rely so heavily on Juan for scoring. But I wouldn't be too surprised if Juan is asked to contribute more. And if he is, I trust he's preparing all summer so that he can deliver more.

@approxinfinity said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Underclassman Sherron frustrated the hell out of me. If he hadn't gotten that steal and 3 to put us in striking distance in the championship and then the fall down pass to Mario, I would have remembered a lot of the boneheaded things he did that season, including some head-scratching plays in the championship on a team full of pretty cool customers. My point being, Dajuan is not the first KU underclassman to make a few boneheaded plays in a championship he also did some very good things in.

In particular, underclassman Sherron's drives to nowhere, getting caught in the air with no option, and either turning it over or getting packed to Kingdom Come drove me absolutely nuts. So let's allow that there may be a bit of lip-service hypberbole in Self's assessment of Sherron as "one of the toughest" or whatever he said. Yes, Sherron was good, had a borderline great career by KU standards (high standards). He checks all the boxes for someone Self would praise.
* Contributed his sophomore year to a championship run.
* Waited his turn to start
* Was from the Chicago area (want to recruit that!)
* Was a 5 star McD (want to recruit that!)
* Played 4 years for Self, probably should have left after his 3rd
* First team All American
* Wasn't drafted because of size

And importantly, his senior year, with 7 guys who made an NBA roster on his team, a team you would expect senior Sherron to lead, he lost to Northern Iowa.

So don't laugh when we suggest that lil Sophomore NCAA CHAMPION Dajuan Harris might end up having a better college career than Sherron.

He just might.

https://m.kusports.com/news/2022/may/31/kansas-guard-joe-yesufu-eyeing-greater-leadership-/ ↗

JOE. Needs to take a big leap this offseason.

@Texas-Hawk-10

Spot on! There is no real comparison between these two players because everything about them is different. Sherron was a volume-scoring 2 forced into being a PG. Juan is a natural PG and is better-rounded to fill the stat sheet like what you want from a PG.

This idea that we have to get points from our PG is a vision of desperation. Any team that has to count on points from a PG means they have shortcomings on offense, whether it be team total points are too low or not having a go-to guy for points.

Here is where I'm glad we have a HOFr head coach. He will scheme offense to best take advantage of the offensive skills we have on the floor. He can help but only do so much. Players have to step up.

I’d take Sherron 10x out of 10 over DeJuan. Juando is a nice complimentary player, much like Russel Robinson. Sherron could be featured in the offense. In 09 it was just cole and Sherron carrying the team. Juan isn’t that type of player and we should not expect that out of him. Juando is a defensive player that is good at involving his teammates. Sherron was good a driving and scoring the ball, not distributing. Totally different players.

@BeddieKU23 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

https://m.kusports.com/news/2022/may/31/kansas-guard-joe-yesufu-eyeing-greater-leadership-/ ↗

JOE. Needs to take a big leap this offseason.

Agree. Next year will need scorers. As I believe @justanotherfan has pointed out before you are either wired to be a scorer or you aren't. Joe is wired that way. He will take shots and not care how many he has missed. We will need that. Especially if Jalen leaves.

@dylans Well, damn, that guy who wasn't good at distributing the ball somehow is number 10 on KU all-time assist leaders....

@approxinfinity said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Underclassman Sherron frustrated the hell out of me. If he hadn't gotten that steal and 3 to put us in striking distance in the championship and then the fall down pass to Mario, I would have remembered a lot of the boneheaded things he did that season, including some head-scratching plays in the championship on a team full of pretty cool customers. My point being, Dajuan is not the first KU underclassman to make a few boneheaded plays in a championship he also did some very good things in.

In particular, underclassman Sherron's drives to nowhere, getting caught in the air with no option, and either turning it over or getting packed to Kingdom Come drove me absolutely nuts. So let's allow that there may be a bit of lip-service hypberbole in Self's assessment of Sherron as "one of the toughest" or whatever he said. Yes, Sherron was good, had a borderline great career by KU standards (high standards). He checks all the boxes for someone Self would praise.
* Contributed his sophomore year to a championship run.
* Waited his turn to start
* Was from the Chicago area (want to recruit that!)
* Was a 5 star McD (want to recruit that!)
* Played 4 years for Self, probably should have left after his 3rd
* First team All American
* Wasn't drafted because of size

And importantly, his senior year, with 7 guys who made an NBA roster on his team, a team you would expect senior Sherron to lead, he lost to Northern Iowa.

So don't laugh when we suggest that lil Sophomore NCAA CHAMPION Dajuan Harris might end up having a better college career than Sherron.

He just might.

Whoa buddy, not sure what you're mixing in that Kool-Aid you're drinking. A two time all-american with a championship is "borderline great career"?? To me this is unquestionably great, one of the greatest we have ever had. Nobody else since Sherron has been a two time all-american for KU. The only other two in modern times is Jacque (two second team seasons) and Raef (had two first team seasons).

What would Juan have to do in his next two years for you to classify him as having a better college career than Sherron?

@RockkChalkk Some people weigh in post season accolades more heavily. Maybe that's the factor for Sherron. He flamed out of the tournament twice when it was "his team".

I think he's a career great too, just guessing why others may feel that way.

@BShark you put it succinctly, exactly my thoughts. Win on the big stage. You may say thats not fair. It might also be not fair to undervalue skills less tangible than scoring.

But win on the big stage and youre a winner, however your methods.

Basketball is largely about having guys that fit into different roles. Sometimes, players can move between different roles, depending on their mindset and skillset, but each team has specific roles that guys will play.

For example, Thomas Robinson started his career as an energy rebounding guy off the bench. He finished it as an All-American post scorer (albeit inefficiently). He was a better fit as a rebound/energy guy than as a prrimary scorer, but he was good enough as a scorer (and was always a great rebounder) to move into that primary role.

Travis Releford came to KU as a big time scorer. He morphed into a defense first player through his career.

Some guys never find their role in college. I think Julian Wright is a good example of this. He thought he was a point forward. He should have been developed as a stretch 4. That mismatch in his approach hampered both his college and pro career.

Every good team needs the following roles filled:

• primary ball handler
• secondary ball handler
• primary scorer
• secondary scorer
• perimeter shooter/floor spacer
• primary perimeter defender
• post defender/rim protector
• rebounder
• bench scorer
• bench ball handler
• bench defender
• bench big

Let's take this year's KU team and fill in the blanks.

Ochai Agbaji was the primary scorer. David McCormack was the secondary scorer and post defender. Christian Braun was both the secondary ball handler and the perimeter defender. JCL was the shooter/floor spacer. Harris was the primary ball handler. Wilson was the rebounder, and could double as an additional ball handler. Lightfoot was the bench big. Remy was the bench scorer/ ball handler. Yes was the bench defender, although because the rotation was perimeter heavy, and Agbaji/Braun/Harris were all average or above defenders, his role wasn't as prominent.

Everyone slotted into their roles nicely. Braun actually shifted from being the floor spacer in years past to more ball handling duties this season. Och obviously moved from being a secondary piece to being the primary guy this year. Wilson moved out of the secondary scoring role into a complimentary role offensively, which helped since he was not as efficient from the perimeter. Mitch kept his role as bench big. McCormack moved from a primary offensive weapon to a secondary one, which helped everyone. Yes sacrificed minutes because it was more important to have a shooter (JCL) than an additional defender given that Harris' strength was defense rather than shooting and Harris was the primary ball handler. Had Martin been the primary ball handler, Yes plays more because you need more defense to compliment Martin rather than shooting to compliment Harris.

Next year's team will have new roles, but the biggest thing is who the primary and secondary scorers are. Once that is clear, the other roles will fit themselves around that and will help compliment that.

@drgnslayr a pg who can distribute and score is not desperation. All 5 guys need to be scoring threats the pg specifically.

The pg can easily lead the team in scoring see kemba walker getting a title and heck Steph in the nba.

A scoring pg isn’t a desperation. Pg’s aren’t old school where they score minimally and must distribute anymore.

@BShark

Without Sheron’s play we don’t win the title. Sherron was a stud. Blame the entire team or other players for the flame outs.

Juan helped defensively get the comeback going then was on the bench as Remy, Dave and Wilson made plays mid to late second half.

Och getting mop was so wrong. He was outplayed by Soph Puff once Puff entered the game. Ochai had the and one layup after puff’s dunk then missed the free throw. Puff hit a 3 and I think och had another layup.

From och checking in at 8:49 left in the game he didn’t score another bucket and from what I’ve looked up didn’t even attempt another shot.

@kuballin10 I am pro Sherron. Was just offering up what I figured the only detriment could be in the mind of detractors and as @approxinfinity stated, what I thought was correct for him.

Dave should have won MOP. Don't think it's really debatable.

It is debatable. I should have won MOP for the animals I sacrificed to ensure KU victories.

I sprinkled holy water on the Dean Dome

Per thread title https://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/bobby-pettiford/ASqWeb_fEeeT-Oz0u-e-FA/basketball/stats.htm ↗

So with Wilson's announcement, the most likely starting line up for next season should be Harris, McCullar, Dick, Wilson, and Clemence I'm guessing.

Next season should be interesting to see how Self handles the line up because other than Udeh, there's not a true post that figures to be part of the rotation unless Cam Martin suddenly got good enough to play at this level. Even then, Cam's outside shooting was a big reason why he was brought in so we could potentially see a lot of 5 out next season which is something I never thought I'd see out of a Bill Self coached team.

I'm guessing the core bench pieces will be Rice, Pettiford, Adams, Udeh, and Yesufu with Ejiofor, Martin, and Cuffe getting spot minutes unless Ejiofor jumps ahead of KJ in the rotation. I'm not knocking Ejiofor, but he's probably looking at being the 5th big in the rotation which historically means very few minutes.

WELCOME BACK, JW!

Boom pow 🐦 View Tweet?s=21&t=kjIoMKoS10nsS7W6ybD2gA

Boom

I think I can help with this DeJuan confusion. He's not like Sherron. I was so glad when Sherron graduated. Love the guy- he's true blue Jayhawk. But Approx and I both know speaking ill of Sherron is a major offense in Jayhawk Land. We know it triggers you, yet somehow we do slip up and blurt out a "lousy senior year" or something offensive to St. Sherron from time to time, so we offer our humble apologies. We still love THAT shot.

The comparison is Russ Rob. "The Lurker" ( a.k.a. JayhawkFantoo) pointed out that DeJuan and Russ are literally splitting images in everything, from the defense to the offensive game, and I agree with that. My opinion is DeJuan improves offensively enough to get to 10 per, and that is plenty, folks.

These returns obviously reveal the players' desire for a KU B2B.

I wonder if they might have been clued in to what our IARP sanction will be, and maybe are assured we won't be banned from post-season 2023?

I just doubt they would invest another year in what could be a dead-end effort....

These two announcements on a day I received my championship tshirt, and book, and last day of school made for a very very very happy birthday!!!! I’ve got one minute left.

@kuballin10

We just won a natty without a scoring PG.

I'd rather see Juan add to his assist stat this coming year than his point stat.

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

So with Wilson's announcement, the most likely starting line up for next season should be Harris, McCullar, Dick, Wilson, and Clemence I'm guessing.

Next season should be interesting to see how Self handles the line up because other than Udeh, there's not a true post that figures to be part of the rotation unless Cam Martin suddenly got good enough to play at this level. Even then, Cam's outside shooting was a big reason why he was brought in so we could potentially see a lot of 5 out next season which is something I never thought I'd see out of a Bill Self coached team.

I'm guessing the core bench pieces will be Rice, Pettiford, Adams, Udeh, and Yesufu with Ejiofor, Martin, and Cuffe getting spot minutes unless Ejiofor jumps ahead of KJ in the rotation. I'm not knocking Ejiofor, but he's probably looking at being the 5th big in the rotation which historically means very few minutes.

That is definitely a possibility. I'm thinking we might see Pettiford, Harris, McCullar, Wilson, and Clemence as starters. Rice, Yes, & Dick rotating in the 1-3 spots and Udeh/Adams rotating at the 4/5. Bigger rotation early in the season and a few will drop out as conference play picks up. There's some big shoes to fill and lots of opportunity for whoever is ready to step up and take it.

Perhaps this team will grow on me as the summer goes along. I was expecting a few more chess moves from Self to bridge the gap on guys he's lost. There's no way around the fact this team was gutted after a Championship which usually happens.

Comparing it to past teams I'm a bit concerned about experience & where the scoring will come from. 9 of 13 guys have little to zero experience playing in games. Among those 9, as many as 6 could be regular parts of the rotation so lots of growing pains. The 3 returning Soph's all have promise and we could even see 1 or 2 of them start. The freshman class is stellar, we got real dudes this year so talent is not a question.

It's going to be interesting to hear who's developing. Development is beyond vital this offseason. Will a freshman push to start in the backcourt or will Self lean on experience or another ballhandler next to Harris. That 2 spot will be a battle. Will Wilson shine being the man? I think he will. He's waited his turn and watched his brothers take the leaps. This is his time and he'll get every opportunity to showcase. In spite of my concerns the ceiling on this team seems high. Odds are at least one of the freshman & one of the Sophomore's will have a breakout season. I think the keys to a successful season lie on what the young guys can give on a consistent basis. Interesting offseason. Glad its over

@BeddieKU23

I'm not 100% sure we are done. Might Self carve a space for Mosley?

@wissox said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

These two announcements on a day I received my championship tshirt, and book, and last day of school made for a very very very happy birthday!!!! I’ve got one minute left.

• Truly a day to remember!

The question with Wilson (and with several others) is whether he is ready to take on a bigger role.

For Wilson, that boils down to efficiency. Can he average 14 ppg while shooting at or above 45% from the field? If so, that's a win for KU. If he averages that, but on a lower percentage, that makes it really hard to build a top notch offense around him because it will be very inefficient. Part of Wilson's increased efficiency last year was on the offensive glass and as a second or thid option on kickouts. If he's the primary scorer, those opportunities go away for him (and go to Adams or Udeh, or someone else). If he can be efficient even outside that, KU has another top notch offense. If he can't be (and this is the big question), then KU can have a good offense, but it will be inefficient.

The other question is secondary scorer. Is that McCullar? Is that Dick (or is he the shooter/floor spacer). McCullar doesn't have a history of being very efficient either, so having Wilson and McCullar as the first two options offensively is concerning from an efficiency standpoint. I will note that I think both are very good collegiate players and that I think both will play well next season. I just don't know where the efficiency comes from. Harris won't help bump up the efficiency. Dick, Rice, and Clemence are all unproven at the college level for that type of scoring. We could have a good team next year, but they may have to play some ugly ball to get there while they figure out how to be efficient.

This KU squad is a top 5 squad. They need to get into transition though, because the half court offense will be a work in progress for most of the season.

@drgnslayr technically we did in 2008 as well but Sherron and Remy played in those final 8-10 minutes not Juan and Russ.

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@BeddieKU23

I'm not 100% sure we are done. Might Self carve a space for Mosley?

I think Mosley wanted to be here but there's parts of his game that don't particularly fit with Self. He's not a great athlete or defender but his offensive game certainly looked very appealing. Personally I thought he was worth bringing in (Harris/CB connection + the instant offense) because of how much offense this team has lost. Ochai, Dave, CB, Remy. We have 1 guy returning who can replace 1 of those guys but not 4. There will be a drop off in offensive firepower from last season to this upcoming one. How much will be one of the key's to the season

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@BeddieKU23

I'm not 100% sure we are done. Might Self carve a space for Mosley?

KU hasn't been recruiting Mosley for weeks now. Self did not believe he was capable of playing defense at the level we require.

@BeddieKU23 you are correct about Mosley. He was supposed to commit to MSU twice now and backed out. Texas Tech is still involved but strongly prefers Kerwin Walton. KSU is lurking, hoping.

I'm not really familiar with Mosley but liked his point totals and connection to Juan.

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

I'm not really familiar with Mosley but liked his point totals and connection to Juan.

Subpar athlete basically. If he was even as athletic as Jalen/McCullar with his skill set he would have been at a P5 school and already in the league imo. Incredibly skilled and will be a nightmare for us if he ends up elsewhere in the league IMO.

@kuballin10 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@drgnslayr technically we did in 2008 as well but Sherron and Remy played in those final 8-10 minutes not Juan and Russ.

I'm a HUGE Russ and Juan fan but this unfortunately for my opinion, very true. I think Bobby or Yes are the Sherron Remy role this year. I dynamic change of pace guard that when they sub in can make a significant impact and change the way a game is going. Juan is steady and won't get us into trouble but may need a little backup with the firepower to blow an opponent out of the water. I like having both as opposed to comparing which is better/more important.

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@kuballin10

We just won a natty without a scoring PG.

He sparked a heck of a comeback. Many people are saying it was the biggest in title game history

@justanotherfan said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

This KU squad is a top 5 squad. They need to get into transition though, because the half court offense will be a work in progress for most of the season.

Hopefully this defense will be capable of forcing the turnovers and rebound well enough to get this team running. Can you imagine Juan, Yes, and McCullar as the perimeter D? Could definitely apply some pressure to the ball handlers.

@BeddieKU23 , IMO player’s talents at a low to mid-major don’t often translate well to P5, especially at the elite P5 levels. Cam Martin (we’ll wait and see) seems to be an example of that. I don’t remember a plethora of them succeeding. Coach apparently feels that way about Mosley.

@Gorilla72

I agree its difficult to jump up in competition and be as good especially at KU. It does happen every year across the nation but I think its difficult to predict which players will blossom. Mosley made a lot of sense due to his connections to the program & his offensive skill level. I could argue Self has taken two transfers in recent past (Moss/Coleman-Lands) that were similar to Mosley athletically/defensively. I do think Self prefers to get transfers from major conferences though so I do think that is a big factor in his decision making process with transfers. Take a look at the recent transfers & Yesufu/Cam Martin are the only 2 guys that have transferred in from lower levels.

2021-22- Coleman Lands- (Illinois/Depaul/Iowa St), Remy Martin (Arizona St). Yesufu (Drake) & Martin (D2) .

2019-20- Moss (Iowa)

2018-19- Dedric, KJ Lawson (Memphis), Charlie Moore (Cal)

2017-18- Cunliffe (Arizona St), Newman (Mississippi St).

2016-17- Dwight Coleby (Ole Miss).

I beleive in next years team. I also have reason for concern about next years team at least probably for non con. The Reason ? - I have yet to see anyone convince me about scoring droughts ? - -Scorers , PROVEN SCORER'S

This team is going to b really inexperienced for awhile , I just think we are going to take some lumps. - -Were gonna look ugly , really ugly at times early. I mean who is going to take over score the ball for us ? you can't try and defend by saying Dick or Rice - -any of the Freshmen to be that scorer. Big difference between High School and P-5. Alot of those moves you got away with in High School - -some of those shots - -they aren't gonna work in College, as you got players just as good to defend those moves - -those shots.

I think sure Jalen - ya Jalen will score but even him how is he gonna be on a consistent basis ? - he isn't gonna be no mean star monster scorer. Jalen has shown from the past he might score 15-16 one game and then might be 10 the next time. Is Jalen a guy that's a Alpha? - is he gonna step up and take that key shot late in a crucial game ? - I don't think at this point that Jalen is that type of player. - Jalen is a good player but Is Jalen a take charge player ? Jalen is a very good complimentory player. Do we even have that type of player on this team ? - -Lot of questions to be answered.
Other then Jalen , who can we look to for that production ? I just don't think we can count on the freshmen for that. In most cases unless they are a proven one an done like top 5-10 range they gonna hit that wall sometime.

Were gonna be good defensively - -I think we got a chance to be REAL GOOD defensively. I just think Offensively - -were gonna look like we going through mud some times bog down. I hope I'm wrong but I just think that Scoring is going to be a big issue for some time hope I'm wrong. Would be great to come out and be hitting on all cylinders from the gt go. - -I do not think this is a top five team at the beginning , more like possibly a 8 or 9 - just so many qustion marks

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

We had to have great shooting last year because our rebounding sucked. If we missed, there’s a good chance we weren’t getting the ball back.

I think you may have just been overreacing to times we didn't do great.

Here are the full season stats. First line is KU, and 2d line is our rank nationally.

3rd line is our opponents, and then their rank.

!20220604_083022.jpg ↗

@Jethro And same stats for conference play:

!20220604_083737.jpg ↗

@mayjay I think you're correct. Let me fix it for you. I should've done my homework.

@Jethro I think it has more to do with our emotional hopes that get dashed whenever KU does something wrong, for example, if we miss an easy rebound. It gets magnified in our reaction, and those mistakes tend to be what we remember.

Happens to everybody! Just think of how baseball fans revile Bill Buckner--one misplay created a mythos of him as hands of stone despite him having committed only 146 errors in 16,661 chances over 21 years, and even setting several fielding records. But that play is seen as the one that lost the World Series for Boston.

Except it didn’t. They lost the Series the next night. Emotion affects memory!

@mayjay said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Jethro I think it has more to do with our emotional hopes that get dashed whenever KU does something wrong, for example, if we miss an easy rebound. It gets magnified in our reaction, and those mistakes tend to be what we remember.

Happens to everybody! Just think of how baseball fans revile Bill Buckner--one misplay created a mythos of him as hands of stone despite him having committed only 146 errors in 16,661 chances over 21 years, and even setting several fielding records. But that play is seen as the one that lost the World Series for Boston.

Except it didn’t. They lost the Series the next night. Emotion affects memory!

I think I fell for a combination of us getting beat on the boards against UNC and the Big Dave caterwauling to think we weren't good on the boards. You should've seen my face when I pulled up NCAA stats...lol. Any who, the original point was to say all is not lost if we aren't as good from 3 point land as we were last year... when we won the national championship. I really think we have a deep, solid team that might not be as good as last year, but still will be a damn good team.

@Jethro You certainly made a good point about good shooting being necessary since we may not be able to rely on a banger underneath. Z will likely get the agility and finesse boards, but I think he is a couple years away from being bulky enough to get a putback basket like Dave's against UNC!

Gosh... the news this past week... Wilson and McCullar here... We should be competitive on the boards this year! Now... if we get good boards from the 5? Could be huge!

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Gosh... the news this past week... Wilson and McCullar here... We should be competitive on the boards this year! Now... if we get good boards from the 5? Could be huge!

If Udeh is what they say about his aggression on the Boards - -we gonna be fine. -Him & Wilson and others. One thing I will say My God Udeh is big -I mean Big hope he can develop some offensive progress to go with the rest of his game. - Actually I've her Zuby is as good maybe better offensively at this point although neither have super offensive games at this pint BUT still glad we have this pair to go with Zach on our team

@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Gosh... the news this past week... Wilson and McCullar here... We should be competitive on the boards this year! Now... if we get good boards from the 5? Could be huge!

Rebounding won't be an issue unless Self decided to play KJ Adams the majority of the minutes at the 5. He's the only big that's going to play that's a bad rebounder. Clemence is already a good rebounder and should be even better with a year of lifting and bulking up. Udeh has the frame to be a monster on the glass, and Wilson is a good rebounder for a stretch 4.

1 and done.

The kid is so smooth!

Besides Juan, Wilson and Gradey I haven't seen enough of anyone else to make an educated guess. I think the freshmen will really help! I know KJ plays pretty good D consistently when he goes in. Am anxious to see what we have. Vets better be working hard!

I think Gradey is rather overrated. Would love to be wrong...

@BShark you will be doing a lotta loving!🤭

@Crimsonorblue22 There will be a big adjustment period imo. Can he defend the way Self wants at this stage? Very doubtful.

@BShark he can jump hi, run fast and get a shot off quick with hi release. No reason he can't move his ft, get those long arms in the passing lanes. He gets a lot of offensive dunk put backs. I'm ready to say I told ya so all yr! I hope anyway.🙏🌾🌾💙❤️🏆 Juan will be throwing a lot of lobs to him. Excited!

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

I think Gradey is rather overrated. Would love to be wrong...

I’m guessing one area he’s not overrated is his shooting form. That looks pretty solid. It’s always tough for scrubs like me to judge an incoming player, having only seen him play a few times. He never stood out in those few games though.

But, somebody has to shoot and score next year. His light is gonna be Green to launch 3s.

He for sure doesn’t have a college ready body. That will hold him back on anything physical.

I’ll call my shot in the other thread...

I think he will have some highs and lows his freshman year. He's going to get pushed around, and that will completely push him into becoming best friends with the strength coach next summer.

🐦 View Tweet

Look at how happy he is @Crimsonorblue22

Some issues behind the scenes at Tech!

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

🐦 View Tweet

Look at how happy he is @Crimsonorblue22

Some issues behind the scenes at Tech!

All I know there are some really un happy fans in Texas lol

@BShark I'm excited! Really!

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@BShark I'm excited! Really!

Same. Bill had his pick of some pretty good players and chose McCullar. Would have seen more guys end up here if we had guys transfer out. But no one wants to leave the champs. :grinning_squinting_face:

My 2 gkids in Lawrence are at Washburn bb camp. Brett's a great friend, my son played a lot of ball with him. Anyway the kids took pics with Juan and each a pic getting Gradey's autograph. I haven't been able to post pics for a long time.

@Crimsonorblue22 That's awesome <3 <3 <3

Zach said yesterday he's up to 225.

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

🐦 View Tweet

Look at how happy he is @Crimsonorblue22

Some issues behind the scenes at Tech!

Shannon and McCullar both transfer out. Awkward...

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

🐦 View Tweet

Look at how happy he is @Crimsonorblue22

Some issues behind the scenes at Tech!

Shannon and McCullar both transfer out. Awkward...

Two of their best players.. You don't see that at KU, Kentuckah, Puke, UNC etc

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

🐦 View Tweet

Look at how happy he is @Crimsonorblue22

Some issues behind the scenes at Tech!

Shannon and McCullar both transfer out. Awkward...

Two of their best players.. You don't see that at KU, Kentuckah, Puke, UNC etc

Makes me think the atmosphere down there isn't very pleasant. Those guys were the heart and soul of their team.

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

🐦 View Tweet

Look at how happy he is @Crimsonorblue22

Some issues behind the scenes at Tech!

Shannon and McCullar both transfer out. Awkward...

Two of their best players.. You don't see that at KU, Kentuckah, Puke, UNC etc

Makes me think the atmosphere down there isn't very pleasant. Those guys were the heart and soul of their team.

It’s Lubbock. How pleasant can it be?

@rockchalkjayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

It’s Lubbock. How pleasant can it be?

It's a football school. I will never understand why anyone would want to go to a football school if they have an option at a basketball school.

We treat our players like Gods... lol

But it goes way beyond their playing days. Any guy who is on the team, including scrubs, will be treated well long beyond their playing days.

I think by the time conference play rolls around he's going to be adjusted.

You just can't teach his size, athleticism and coordination combination. He probably needs to put some weight on for the pros, but I don't think he really will need it in college ball.

And the odds are he is going to put on 10-15lbs between now and the start of the season. I expect him to be good

Summer hype szn is upon us with the camp scrimmages.

I heard Rice looked pretty good today

That he did. Yes put up a 30 burger lol

Adams had 16

Udeh with 16

Rice had 18

Zach with 19

Gradey with 10

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

That he did. Yes put up a 30 burger lol

ELITE scrimmage player. The anti-Garrett, if you will.

Such a relief that MJ made it on campus. That’s the first box checked for next years team.

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

That he did. Yes put up a 30 burger lol

ELITE scrimmage player. The anti-Garrett, if you will.

Not to be outdone by Mr. Late Night, Justin Wesley

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

That he did. Yes put up a 30 burger lol

He's the new Remy.

Tait's take on MJ today:

"MJ Rice, who arrived in Lawrence around 4 a.m. today, has looked far and away like one of the best players out here today. Physical on the drive, smooth on the pull-up, range to the 3-point line. All of it looks easy, too. #KUbball"

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@FarmerJayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

That he did. Yes put up a 30 burger lol

He's the new Remy.

Remy, but less good. Not a great recipe for heavy minutes imo.

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Tait's take on MJ today:

"MJ Rice, who arrived in Lawrence around 4 a.m. today, has looked far and away like one of the best players out here today. Physical on the drive, smooth on the pull-up, range to the 3-point line. All of it looks easy, too. #KUbball"

Also from Tait:
“ Tough drives through contact at players big and small, pull-up jumpers, run-outs in transition and shots from behind the 3-point line all were a part of Rice’s outing on Wednesday. His red team fell in the bragging-rights game, 81-79, to a blue squad that received 30 points from Joe Yesufu and 16 more from Adams, including the game winning dunk with just under four seconds to play.”

Yesufu and Adams putting guys on notice…

@Jethro Keion Brooks left Kensucky for Washington.

See I'm some what confused , surprising I know lol. See when we were recruiting Rice I heard and read a lot about people not even knowing if Rice would even play in a college game , saying probably just go play some form of pro instead of College. After he committed to KU, again had people worried and saying they would believe it when they see it about him actually showing up.

Then I hear all about Grady wand I have seen how good Grady is , the I see people's what they believe would be their starting 5 this coming year , and I read some talking about Mj and limited minutes .Now I'm not complaining or bitching but I'm just thinking , why is it so hard for people to project Rice not having a bigger impact and struggling to get meaningful minutes . I guess that just solidifies our team when we have this quality of a player if he is going to be hard pressed to play quality minutes.

I mysel am saying it's going to be hard - - very hard - -if almost not impossible to keep MJ off the floor even in his freshman yr if he is what he has been projected as and I'm just confused and taking nothing away from Grady - -just confused some who is better Grady or MJ - -both rated high it's just MJ looks to me seems to bring it all. Complete all around game. Shoots the three - -has good medium game - - attacks the rim or can offensively - -rebounds the ball just solid - -real solid. Nice position to be in with this group of freshmen I actually think MJ gonna surprise some , why it would be a surprise but just sit back and watch and apprciate when the time comes.

@jayballer67

Rice the more College ready body physically, he's a grown man. Both are going to play a lot. They both bring some different skills to the table & its a luxury to have them both

@jayballer67 They'll both likely play in the 25-30 minute range because they can both play the 2-4 spots for Self. The reason why people tend to be higher on Dick than Rice right now is because Dick's recruiting stock increased over the past season quite a bit whereas Rice's stock went down to the point where 24/7 even lowered him to a 4 star recruit.

@Gorilla72 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Tait's take on MJ today:

"MJ Rice, who arrived in Lawrence around 4 a.m. today, has looked far and away like one of the best players out here today. Physical on the drive, smooth on the pull-up, range to the 3-point line. All of it looks easy, too. #KUbball"

Also from Tait:
“ Tough drives through contact at players big and small, pull-up jumpers, run-outs in transition and shots from behind the 3-point line all were a part of Rice’s outing on Wednesday. His red team fell in the bragging-rights game, 81-79, to a blue squad that received 30 points from Joe Yesufu and 16 more from Adams, including the game winning dunk with just under four seconds to play.”

Yesufu and Adams putting guys on notice…

Just a silly deep bench again this season. Bill should have plenty of levers to pull all the way to March. A step forward from Yes and Adams and the bench has potential to be as good as the starting 5 on certain days...

Team 1:
- Harris
- Rice
- McCullar
- Wilson
- Clemence

Team 2:
- Pettiford
- Yesufu
- Dick
- Adams
- Udeh

Legitimately, I think Bill could finish top 3 in the league starting that 2nd group lol.

@BeddieKU23 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@jayballer67

Rice the more College ready body physically, he's a grown man. Both are going to play a lot. They both bring some different skills to the table & its a luxury to have them both

ya that is the one sure thing I noticed about MJ , well developed he is for sure college ready body - strong

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@jayballer67 They'll both likely play in the 25-30 minute range because they can both play the 2-4 spots for Self. The reason why people tend to be higher on Dick than Rice right now is because Dick's recruiting stock increased over the past season quite a bit whereas Rice's stock went down to the point where 24/7 even lowered him to a 4 star recruit.

I understand. I think Mj has a lot he can bring to the table. -I think he is going to be able to finish in contact - - physical really likes to attack the rim from times I saw - glad we have them both

@BShark is Mccullar hurt?

@Crimsonorblue22 Currently no

@BShark wondered why he didn't play yesterday. Thx!

@Kcmatt7 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Team 1:

Harris
Rice
McCullar
Wilson
Clemence

The bench will be very deep for sure. Somebody (s) will not be pleased about playing time!

I think Self will run out countless lineups before he finds the right mix. That may take til Mid January.

IMO that Team 1 lineup is just asking for opponents to clog the lane.

I'm going to take the chance but going to anyways. I think we might be surprised or some will I think that Cuffe just might surprise some people playing more minutes. - All I have to say to others is to the other players - - Don't F - - - up watch your back because Sam is on a Misson and is going to be like a Shark in blood infested waters - - Be Ready

@Kcmatt7 Best post of the day. You still got it!

@rockchalkjayhawk said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Kcmatt7 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Team 1:

Harris
Rice
McCullar
Wilson
Clemence

The bench will be very deep for sure. Somebody (s) will not be pleased about playing time!

I think Self will run out countless lineups before he finds the right mix. That may take til Mid January.

IMO that Team 1 lineup is just asking for opponents to clog the lane.

Not sure what you can do about that playing Harris/McCullar/Wilson together.

They need Wilson and McCullar to have breakout years from deep.

@Kcmatt7 I think Wilson will for sure, McCullar has a very good chance in our offensive flow and Harris will improve his percentage so people at least have to guard him. If he doesn’t and Joe or Bobby play well he will see minutes decreases similar to Remy’s return.

Clemence will hopefully draw some bigs away from the bucket giving us room to drive.

This team has me really excited to see how they gel and who Self trusts and gives minutes to.

@Kcmatt7 Yeah these three are the locked for sure starters and all 30+ minute guys. Will be interesting that's for sure..

So the guy gets into town at 4 o'clock in the morning. At 3 that afternoon, he participates in an informal scrimmage against his teammates.

Tait says" Tough drives through contact at players big and small, pull-up jumpers, run-outs in transition and shots from behind the 3-point line all were a part of Rice’s outing on Wednesday. "

KJ said “It was cool seeing what he can do,” sophomore forward KJ Adams said. “His jumper’s really smooth. His confidence level is up high and it gives him (a chance) to hit shots like he did today. I think he’s going to be really good.”

He scores 18. He lets the team know who the alpha is. This is a dude that's built like TROB. This is the definition of "college ready body". This is a guy that can get his own, and assert his will whenever he wants. This guy is on another level.

He's that tall?

@Jethro

Very talented kid. Also context, it was a "scrimmage" where the last 10 minutes were basically uncontested shots on both sides

@Jethro

Also if we are talking comparisons, Wayne Selden is a good one. I think they are very similar coming in.

@BeddieKU23 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Jethro

Also if we are talking comparisons, Wayne Selden is a good one. I think they are very similar coming in.

I would say senior Wayne. When Wayne first got here, he was a little pudgey...a little slower than what we were expecting. Now, he worked his tail off, and transformed his body, so kudos to Wayne. MJ is already there. I made a reference to Trob, but not because of his height. Trob's senior year he had some big guns, and was just ripped. And MJ looks like he's cut from the same cloth. Doesn't look like there's an ounce of fat on him. Wayne was a great 3 point shooter (imo), but he was never great at driving the ball to the hoop. MJ is a driver- don't think he's at Wayne's level of shooting from the perimeter quite yet, but MJ will shoot some midrange stuff, will take guys to the hole, and hit the occasional 3. I think he's a guy that is just a gifted athlete who has learned to press his advantages on the court. Teams are going to have quite a problem figuring out how to stop MJ, imo.

Summer hype szn 🐦 View Tweet

He also said jwill would be back wed and Juan was looking really good.

Self mentioned he thinks KJ will play more on the wing going forward, contingent on bigs stepping up.

Expects Gradey & MJ to battle for a starting spot but positions are open outside a few.

Leaders- JWill, Juan, McCullar. Says team not void of leadership.

McCullar- Perfect fit for playing interchangeable lineups

@BeddieKU23 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Self mentioned he thinks KJ will play more on the wing going forward, contingent on bigs stepping up.

Dedric is as good of a passer as we have ever had. Grimes is one of the best guards we have ever had.

@BShark still though, I think it’s a possibility. KJ did surprise me a few times with his quickness and handles. A small sample size is an understatement though.

@Jethro older post in this thread, but that was a great video on how smooth Grady is, thanks for the share!

KU will play at UK next year as part of the SEC/Big-12 Challenge announced today. January 28th is the date.

Pencil in Oscar for 30 and 30 + 3 fake injuries from Wheeler

@BeddieKU23 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

KU will play at UK next year as part of the SEC/Big-12 Challenge announced today. January 28th is the date.

Pencil in Oscar for 30 and 30 + 3 fake injuries from Wheeler

Ya, Tshiebwe is going to murder us. Oh well

Myself , I'm kind of getting tired of playing Kentucky in this Challenge. -- UK fans feeling the same way. Just takes some of the luster off when it's yr after yr. - When you gt two blue bloods and they get together for a match - - -Cool. Yet yr after yr just don't do it, so many other teams to play. - Kentucky fans were hoping they might get Baylor this year, can't really say I blame them

@jayballer67 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Myself , I'm kind of getting tired of playing Kentucky in this Challenge. -- UK fans feeling the same way. Just takes some of the luster off when it's yr after yr. - When you gt two blue bloods and they get together for a match - - -Cool. Yet yr after yr just don't do it, so many other teams to play. - Kentucky fans were hoping they might get Baylor this year, can't really say I blame them

I'm excited we get the chance at revenge this year. Punk them at Rupp! We have a 10 point advantage in coaching every time we play them.

Jalen is back in Lawrence and back on the work out grind @Crimsonorblue22 I know you were wondering.

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@jayballer67 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Myself , I'm kind of getting tired of playing Kentucky in this Challenge. -- UK fans feeling the same way. Just takes some of the luster off when it's yr after yr. - When you gt two blue bloods and they get together for a match - - -Cool. Yet yr after yr just don't do it, so many other teams to play. - Kentucky fans were hoping they might get Baylor this year, can't really say I blame them

I'm excited we get the chance at revenge this year. Punk them at Rupp! We have a 10 point advantage in coaching every time we play them.

Lol well that 10 point advantage that you say we have - - - sure the hell didn't help us last year lmao

@jayballer67 Bill made a calculated choice to not amp up the team for that game. WE had just won a double overtime game against 13th ranked Tech, were scheduled to play at # 20 Iowa St, #8 Baylor, and at #20 Texas after 'Tucky. If we amp up against 'Tucky, then we run the risk of losing at the Clones, and against Baylor, which would've put us in a such a deep hole in conference, we might not get out. Bill even said he didn't care about the game.

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@jayballer67 Bill made a calculated choice to not amp up the team for that game. WE had just won a double overtime game against 13th ranked Tech, were scheduled to play at # 20 Iowa St, #8 Baylor, and at #20 Texas after 'Tucky. If we amp up against 'Tucky, then we run the risk of losing at the Clones, and against Baylor, which would've put us in a such a deep hole in conference, we might not get out. Bill even said he didn't care about the game.

It was actually simpler than that. Bill was spending time dealing with the NCAA shit (trying to negotiate) and didn't have time to do much of a gameplan.

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@jayballer67 Bill made a calculated choice to not amp up the team for that game. WE had just won a double overtime game against 13th ranked Tech, were scheduled to play at # 20 Iowa St, #8 Baylor, and at #20 Texas after 'Tucky. If we amp up against 'Tucky, then we run the risk of losing at the Clones, and against Baylor, which would've put us in a such a deep hole in conference, we might not get out. Bill even said he didn't care about the game.

It was actually simpler than that. Bill was spending time dealing with the NCAA shit (trying to negotiate) and didn't have time to do much of a gameplan.

He won't have that problem this year.

@Jethro Hope not!

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@jayballer67 Bill made a calculated choice to not amp up the team for that game. WE had just won a double overtime game against 13th ranked Tech, were scheduled to play at # 20 Iowa St, #8 Baylor, and at #20 Texas after 'Tucky. If we amp up against 'Tucky, then we run the risk of losing at the Clones, and against Baylor, which would've put us in a such a deep hole in conference, we might not get out. Bill even said he didn't care about the game.

I have to laugh at that. So your telling me that he didn't amp up his 10 pt Coaching advantage for that game lmao. - - Has nothing to do with the players as you said we had a 10 point Coaching advantage every time we play -- - so I get it he gave his brain the night off for that game lol - - gotcha bud - -I like that. - -just giving you the business - -every brain needs a night off

@jayballer67 You said I was full of it at halftime during the championship game, too. Remember? When I said we'd come back, and you said the game was over. I am really clueless why you are so afraid to play Tucky..lol. Did you forget who our coach is???

We will give Kentucky a hell of a game at Rupp this season. For both teams, there is a lot of pride on the line.

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@jayballer67 You said I was full of it at halftime during the championship game, too. Remember? When I said we'd come back, and you said the game was over. I am really clueless why you are so afraid to play Tucky..lol. Did you forget who our coach is???

No where did I say I was AFRAID of us playing Kentucky. - -I'm TIRED of us playing Kentucky in the Challenge. BIG DIFFERENCE It's the Big12 /SEC Challenge- - not the KU / Kentucky challenge year , after year, after year. - -I wanna play some other SEC teams not just fricken Kentucky every dam yr that crap gets old. I'm not afraid of KU playing anybody - -I just want something new different. Florida - - -LSU - -Auburn there ARE other good teams other then Kentucky in the SEC - - THANKS

We should play Kentucky every year, imo. At least 2-3 power house non-con games a year. Would love to add UNC into that mix now that Roy is retired.

@BShark said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

We should play Kentucky every year, imo. At least 2-3 power house non-con games a year. Would love to add UNC into that mix now that Roy is retired.

We can play 10 powerhouse teams a year just sick and tired of playing Kentucky every year. believe it or not there are other power house teams other then Kentucky. - -Hell let's play Duke - -there is a power house -or let's play Gonzaga - -that's a power house - Let's Play Michigan - - let's play North Carolina - -just not Kentucky - -every dam year every other year every two three years that's great but not every dam year

Champions classic has Kentucky, Duke, Michigan state and us. I think we play Duke this year. Where? Fav. mems, Frank and Wiggs! Speaking of Wiggs, I ordered that shirt his lil girl had on after his awesome 5th game. Wiggs dunk over luka. 100% cotton. Lil stiff, probably shrink to a toddlers size. I knew it'd be that way. Lost power, stormy here!

@jayballer67 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@jayballer67 You said I was full of it at halftime during the championship game, too. Remember? When I said we'd come back, and you said the game was over. I am really clueless why you are so afraid to play Tucky..lol. Did you forget who our coach is???

No where did I say I was AFRAID of us playing Kentucky. - -I'm TIRED of us playing Kentucky in the Challenge. BIG DIFFERENCE It's the Big12 /SEC Challenge- - not the KU / Kentucky challenge year , after year, after year. - -I wanna play some other SEC teams not just fricken Kentucky every dam yr that crap gets old. I'm not afraid of KU playing anybody - -I just want something new different. Florida - - -LSU - -Auburn there ARE other good teams other then Kentucky in the SEC - - THANKS

I hit a hot button...lol.

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@jayballer67 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

@jayballer67 You said I was full of it at halftime during the championship game, too. Remember? When I said we'd come back, and you said the game was over. I am really clueless why you are so afraid to play Tucky..lol. Did you forget who our coach is???

No where did I say I was AFRAID of us playing Kentucky. - -I'm TIRED of us playing Kentucky in the Challenge. BIG DIFFERENCE It's the Big12 /SEC Challenge- - not the KU / Kentucky challenge year , after year, after year. - -I wanna play some other SEC teams not just fricken Kentucky every dam yr that crap gets old. I'm not afraid of KU playing anybody - -I just want something new different. Florida - - -LSU - -Auburn there ARE other good teams other then Kentucky in the SEC - - THANKS

I hit a hot button...lol.

LMAO Scorchin. - - I'm just tired of Kenucky guys wanting to play powerhouses - Great - play Arkansas - - play louisville - -play Michigan State - - Play Michigan - -Play Duke-- -Play North Carolina. - play any of Hell play Auburn - -Play Gonzaga - - Play UCLA - - anybody but KENTUCKY every dam year they are not the only powerhouse team to boost ratings lol - - Sizzlin Button lol. Jethro you a goof lol

Wow. shocker. Saw an early mock draft for next year, and surprise, surprise! Gradey Dick mentioned as the last pick in Round 1.
Here we are debating his chances to start, when he's a projected NBA pick!
Wadda we know...

1. G Gradey Dick
   Ht./Wt.: 6-7, 195 pounds | Kansas: Freshman

Dick is way more bouncy and athletic than what meets the eye. On top of that, he can shoot out of the gym. He averaged 17.9 points per game on one of the best high school basketball teams in the country, Sunrise Christian Academy. He knows he'll have to work for that starting slot, but can slide in and help fill the void of Ochai Agbaji (No. 14 this year) and Christian Braun (No. 21) next season.

@rockchalkjayhawk

He's very talented, but definitely shouldn't be an OAD. His body is a ways from being NBA ready and he still needs to learn more of the game.

@drgnslayr Dick has a higher chance of being a OAD than MJ Rice at this point. Dick is also not projected to be a lottery pick at this point so he doesn't have to be NBA ready immediately. Dick is also projected as a 2 at the NBA level, not a 3 or 4 he'll mostly play at KU. If he is OAD, he's probably going to end up in the back half of the first round which means mostly likely on a playoff team that can afford to ha e him spend some time in the G-League.

If we get to April next year and Dick's game is NBA ready, but he's still not physically developed enough, he'd still need to go pro because then he can work on physical development full time with an NBA trainer.

That's always been my take on whether a player should turn pro or not. If their skillset is NBA ready, or as developed as it will get, then go pro because that's when that person's stock is at its highest.

I am gleefully anticipating Zuby, Udeh, MJ and Dick to the team. That is some serious, serious athleticism, folks. And McCullar will fit like a glove. Dare I say we don't take the big step backwards, and end with more of the same? Maybe not as hot from outside, but defensively as good as a team as we've had in a while? Looks like we have several rim running big men. Coach will use that athleticism to punish teams. Zach shot 36% from 3 before he injured his toe, so he will be a reliable weapon from 3. On the perimeter, the combo of Juando and McCullar will flat get after people. If MJ buys in, we could be looking at the best perimeter defense since 2008. Offensively, JW will be a star, and there's no way that teams will stop MJ... he will be huge, imo. Gradey will probably come off the bench and will scorch 3's, and lead runouts. I could see him and Yes changing the game tempo- I think there will be times when we fast break teams into the ground.

I just can't look at this roster and think this team wouldn't give last year's team a run for their money. Yeah, they'd probably lose, but I think this year's team is more athletic, other than Remy they are quicker, and I think they will not only win the B12, but they could playing the 3rd weekend again this year.

I do think Yes staying was big because I think it creates a lot of competition behind closed doors. I would imagine he gives the freshman "the business" during the offseason and really pushes them. If they want to see the floor that is the litmus test.

@Kcmatt7 Bill just won a title retaining a bunch of mostly non-star players who developed and got better so I'm never really gonna complain with keeping guys especially when they are athletic. He could end up like, a minus version of Remy which is fine. Gigawatts aren't there to a be a starter for Self.

Big year for Yes. He basically was a freshman this past year with his confidence issues hindering some of his development. I like how he battled to get minutes, came through big for this team in several games and stayed humble even when Remy came back. Now hopefully with that year behind him he just has a free mind & plays to his scoring & playmaking instincts. Could be a really important rotation piece this year.

@BeddieKU23 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

Big year for Yes. He basically was a freshman this past year with his confidence issues hindering some of his development. I like how he battled to get minutes, came through big for this team in several games and stayed humble even when Remy came back. Now hopefully with that year behind him he just has a free mind & plays to his scoring & playmaking instincts. Could be a really important rotation piece this year.

From the little I've read this offseason, it sounds like the coaches and him came to the same conclusion that he isn't a PG. So I expect him to sort of be the JCL/Isaiah Moss guy this year. That vet coming off the bench with a green light to just make plays and shoot. 12 MPG just to bring energy. 20+ mpg if he's feeling it that night.

Pretty integral role for these last couple of Bill Self squads.

@Kcmatt7 Self flat out said in the middle of last season that Yes wasn't a PG so the battle has been getting Yes to buy into that vision that he's better suited as an off ball guard.

@Kcmatt7

Makes sense to ditch the PG label on him and just let him focus on being a scorer/playmaker. I thought when he was able do focus on that he not only made plays for himself but others. As you pointed out having a veteran guard off the bench that has a green light has been a valuable role on this squad recently. I hope he takes that spot

@Texas-Hawk-10

Interesting post. I have always seen it that if a player can get a guaranteed contract, even if it's just for a year, he should consider the jump. It's not strictly about the money, especially now with NIL competing against that. It's more about knowing there is a committed team and structure behind their development.

@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:

I just can’t look at this roster and think this team wouldn’t give last year’s team a run for their money.

Sure is easy to feel this possibility. I just hope we have the run of luck we had this past year... a lot of that being with overall health.

Makes me think about our invisible coach... our strength coach. He hasn't received all the attention Hudy received but I've heard whispers he's an upgrade.

Anyone have some knowledge there?

@drgnslayr He is extremely good at his job. Fortunate to have him.

@drgnslayr Nijem is our superstar. How lucky we are to have him! We went from having the most worn out basketball team in college basketball to having one of the freshest teams since he took over. In my opinion, we won that national championship game in part because of our conditioning ( it also helped we had a deeper bench ). UNC was gassed at the end of the game, which allowed us to execute, while they floundered away. Go back and watch the tape of that game, and you'll see Ramsey Nijem's fingerprints all over that win. We just wore em out.

I love this... "Kings of the Wings!"

Shouldn't someone pay a visit to Buffalo Wild Wings for some NIL sponsorship?

I got it... a new wings sauce... "Jayhawk Jazzam!" A cool blue sauce with blue cheese and red chili bits... yummy! lol

I'm freakishly excited for basketball season.... REPEAT! First school since Florida!