🏀 KuBuckets Archive

OK? Granted the Mayor as in way gotten the Clone program heading in the right way. A tip of my cap. Hold on let me put a cap on so I can tip. So the Clones are returning 4 of their starters from last year. Check. The Clones have been playing KU pretty hard that last 2 or 3 years. Check. The Clones took two of three from KU last year. One in the regular season and one in the conference tournament. NOT Check.

Yes the Clones indeed did win that tournament game. However It wasn't so much that they won but it was more like KU lost that game. KU was in control and had the Clones on the ropes pretty much the whole game. It took a late comeback from the Clones to win that game. Again a tip of the cap. It's ok I kept the cap on this time. I know a win is indeed a win. I get it. However by basing that the Clones owned KU last year with their two wins isn't telling the whole story. KU lost that game more than the Clones won it. Congrats Clones on your win.

However how does any of this correlate to next year? It doesn't If you really think about it KU is only losing one of it's starters from last year too. Yet KU is gaining so much more than ISU can even dream about. Bragg is border line OAD but more likely at least a two year player. However Diallo who may not be the top recruit in this years recruiting class, (Not sure why?) was the MVP of not only the McDonald's all American game, but also the Nike Classic. That says something. He was going against the best up and coming talent and he claimed the title as the best not only once (meaning it could be a fluke), but twice (meaning the kid has some game).

@JayHawkFanToo seems to think Diallo has something to prove, before KU can be considered a final 4 team. Yet automatically believes UK's and Duke's OAD's will be great. Sorry friend just picking on ya. ;) I'm thinking the kid has already proved he can play with the best, but that's just me. Think of Embiid for a second. A lot of potential but wasn't getting the love from the media and even the great UK. Only Pitino came out on record and said this kid is going to be special. So what happened? Embiid under HCBS's love of the war in the paint and big men in general. Embiid was being considered the next great coming of Olajuwon. What do you think HCBS is going to do with Diallo?

I'll be honest I'm foaming at the mouth here. Yes I get sideways with HCBS in his apparent lack of ability to play to the strength of his team, and not valuing the three shot as much as I think he should. However none of this matters. HCBS has finally done what all us KU fans dreamed about. He has recruited two high powered big men. This is a game changer for not only KU and it's fans but College Basketball in general.

HCBS getting his hands on some of the top talented big men in the country to play his high low is going to move that east coast bias. Even the powerful Nike will be shaking in their high priced shoes made in sweat shops with the hands of little children.

This upcoming season could be special my friends. My advice buy all the tickets you can find. Make plans to attend the final four, because this team can be very special. KU is returning their whole team except Cliff and Oubre. Lets face it Cliff never materialized has he was suspended and Oubre in some ways will be missed as he did have talent. However I'm sure Svi and Greene can fill his shoes. Graham will be better. Mason are you kidding me the kid is rock solid. Selden has only one way to go but up, and lets not forget we have Ellis an all American talent with a solid core of glue guys. When the game is being called tight I"m sure Traylor, Mickelson, and Lucas will fill in quite nicely.

Forget Iowa St. KU next year could very well run the table. I know, I know. I'm just saying HCBS finally has gotten a class of bigs that he could very well ride to greatness. Also for dessert he's not done recruiting.

Rock Chalk boys and girls. Now you know where I stand.

@DoubleDD

You are taking my post out of context. I did not say that UK and Duke's players have nothing to prove, they have to prove as much as KU does. Simmons, Labissiere, Ingram, Brown. etal...have to prove themselves as much as Diallo and Bragg do. My point was that the #1 and #2 ranked classes, naturally have a "better"chance for success than the #14 class...there is a reason why they are ranked #1 and #2.

Having said that, there are no assurances or surefire way to predict how well any class will perform regardless or ranking; however, logic dictates that the higher ranked classes are more likely to perform better...don't you think it makes sense?

Look at last year's team and in my mind, Alexander, who came ranked very high did not perform to the expected level based on his ranking but Oubre did; however, Graham and Mason, players that were not top 30 players performed well above what was expected, and the year before, Wiggins and Embiid performed very well as predicted by their high ranking. Again, no way to predict performance but given the choice I will give the higher ranked player/class the nod.

@JayHawkFanToo

Relax friend just having fun with you. However we can have some fun with this. First recruiting classes are not just based off the talent you recruit. The size of the recruiting class goes a long way in determining the ranking of a recruiting class too. Meaning a school that recruits five players versus a school that just recruits two will indeed get bonus points, and a higher ranking.

In fact I would be willing to bet if a school recruited the #1 and #2 recruiting recruits in any given year they would fall behind a school that recruited say 5 players all ranked in the top 50 and two in the top 15 of course.

So you see rankings of recruiting classes really mean nothing in the big picture, other than to show where the top high school talent is going. It really boils down to who and what you get. Duke got a Royal Flush when they landed Okafor and Jones. Two top talents that delivered, but that doesn't happen all the time. Remember UK's top recruiting class of 2012? They didn't even make it out of the first game of the NIT. The error (or maybe not)(respecting you here) in your theory is Kentucky. Sure they have been getting all the talent every year. 3 to 4 top 10 recruits every year. Well they eliminate or change the equation a bit, but they are loaded up. If two or so don't pan out they have 3 more that may not be the best but are really good, and increase their odds that one will be really special. Which get to my point and why I disagree with you here on this subject. UK is trying to reload, while KU is recruiting to fill needs. We know what KU has and what players like Bragg and Diallo can do if they deliver. Where as with UK or even Duke we have no idea.

Lets shift gears here and let me ask you this question. You're a knowledgeable basketball fan. Watch a lot of games no doubt. So here is my question. Is UK good as they were this previous year with all that top talent and flirting with greatness without Willie Caley Stein a JUNIOR?

Either way I respect you as you like to stir the pot. I seen an opening on you so I took it. Nothing but love and respect.

@DoubleDD

Again, if you read my posts, I am on the record indicating that returning quality players are better than just about any OAD player, and I rather have returning players than OADs...I guess most of us do.

Also, you don't get to be the #1 or #2 class by recruiting a bunch of 3 star players. look a the rankings past the top 20 and you will see that there are many schools with several 3 or 2 star players.; look at KU, it is ranked the #14 class with only 2 players ranked #7 and #21; had KU picked up Brown or Ingram it would likely be top 5, maybe even top 3. The top #1 or #2 classes are dominated by 4-5 star players, typically in the top 20, otherwise they would not the ranked #1 and #2.

Just having fun too.

I see Diallo as the perfect recruit.

He has been coming on recently as much as any of the top kids. His game is about to explode. He has the natural gifts and attitude to go from never touching a basketball to being a top tier recruit in a short amount of time. What does that spell? That spells him as a SUPER DEVELOPMENT guy!

I look at him and I believe he is the PF version of JoJo. It's too bad JoJo got banged up in his one year of ball because we watched him go from a bench warmer to the most dominant big man in the game in just a couple of months. I'm expecting Cheick to do the same. His game is about to explode.

What Cheick has but JoJo didn't? A better balanced team with more experience. This can not be stressed enough! JoJo put up some good numbers, but Cheick has the potential to put up even better numbers because he'll play on a team with better balance and more experience in knowing how to attack.

What makes recruits like Cheick and JoJo so special is they didn't play ball their whole lives. They have few (if any) bad habits that need to be fixed now. Cheick is like a baby learning language... blank slate and ready to fill with knowledge. He has a super attitude and work ethic. His game is about to explode.

I still can't believe any basketball experts pick ISU over KU this year. ISU will be great. Fred does a fabulous job and he sits at the top of my list for college basketball coaches not named Bill Self. But this is the first time in a long time Kansas will be playing with the right personnel. We've got all the right pieces coming back to provide plenty of experience, and we've added in some uber talent to fill the holes we were missing last year. I believe ISU has basically reached a performance plateau with the talent they have. There just isn't much space for them to improve without taking the next jump in player talent. We all know players like Niang are great players, but what is he going to bring to the party this year that he didn't have last year? I do believe some players they have will improve.. including McKay, who is a guy that is totally underrated in D1. I wish we had McKay, too. He's going to take a step forward this year.

I also like our chances of still getting at least one more piece to the puzzle in this recruiting year. We are just coming up to the time of year where Self actually accelerates past all other coaches in recruiting. Bill is the master of adding late recruiting talent to the roster.

And lets not forget the extra season we get this year with WUG ball. That should make a big difference in helping us develop players over the rest of the pack. Can't stress this enough.

BTW: I'm loving it that some media still isn't on board with Kansas. It just helps us develop our chip. And it is our chip that remains the biggest unknown factor for next year. I hope Bill has his own chip going into this year. 2008 is now a long ways off and time to repeat. He can carry the chip for his entire team by having one himself!

I don't see why teams like ISU MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF WINNING THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT. Any team that wins the conference is not going to go all out. The conference tournament only ranks the also Rans.

Wake up and go stalk someone, ISU.

KU is the undisputed heavy weight champion of the B12!

So sick of the pre-mature hype. This happens every so often. Until ISU can gain at least three years of consistent play, they are still who they have always been...pretty much a flash in the B12 pan. Miles Simon is the only one that gets it. He knows who rules the B12. But until ISU, Texas, Baylor, whomever, can win with some consistency, people need to shut the hell up and stop creating unnecessary drama. It's getting old, tired, and frankly a waste of my typing, time, and breath. Dang it...did it again...a waste...I don't know what it is about Hoiberg and ISU...they come on strong every year. They make a great conference run and about the time they seem to have a chance, they choke away their conference chances. Then, they make a strong showing in the tournament and settle for a 4 game conference championship. Then they go to the NCAA and really stumble. Hoiberg can never win a B12 conference title outright. His players are good, but not consistently B12 good, that strings a few conference championships together, sad.

@DoubleDD Texas was the favorite last year. How'd that work out? I actually enjoy the pundits strategy of anyone but KU ...it makes it sweeter when they all end up eating their words. We have an amazing team for next year, a great blend of experience to go along with the two new bigs. We will be back in the NC conversation, and should be ranked in the top 5 all year.

Dang it, if only Dickie V. would step forth again and reward us with a #5 league projection!

@REHawk or that jack crap in kc!

@Crimsonorblue22 Jack Crap in KC. Ooh, that's a topper!

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ISU better figure out if they can still play ball after Niang is gone. They have one more season with him. Then they have to prove they can hang with Kansas every year. Any team can get a player or two that makes them a challenger during their playing days. Kansas loses big players every year and come back to hang another year on a compressed league championship banner the following year.

Think about that for a minute. When we win another conference championship we just take down our existing banner and add 4 numbers to it (ie 2010, 2011, 2012...) while if another team in our league wins one, they will hang a new banner specially for this accomplishment which will be the same size as a National Championship (and mean about the same thing to them)!

That alone should help some Jayhawk fans realize what a big accomplishment it is for us to win this long of a streak. It is huge!