🏀 KuBuckets Archive

In an article on The Other Site, Self has this to say about WUG & recruiting.

The Jayhawks have played their games on national TV on ESPNU, but that doesn't necessarily mean they’re getting an edge in recruiting.

“I don’t know if it helps a lot because all the recruits are somewhere else playing,” Self said. “You’ve got all the kids in the under-19 games that we’re recruiting and you have different camps going on. But I do think this: If we’re fortunate enough to advance, I think it’ll start gathering some attention and a lot of eyes will be on what we’re doing.

“Winning a medal in these games would really, I think, help our recruiting quite a bit.”
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Notice how he's already way more forthright than Coach K. I wonder if he's thinking primarily about international recruits or whether he thinks it'll translate into stateside hype.

@ajvan

Bravo. Great find. Thanks for posting it.

I was losing my faith for awhile there.

I wasn't sure Self was going after this with everything he 's got.

But jumping out to a quick 2-0 and then reading this quote pumps me up.

Go, Bill, go!!!!!!!

Bill Self is hard to read. On the one hand, he plays everything off with casual panache. On the other, he's a gritty competitor greedy for wins. I'm starting to realize his ultra laid back persona is just an ingenious ruse to make his driven ambition for Ws more palatable.

Same song and dance with the WUG.

Now that I'm onto him, I'm ok with that.

@ajvan

You are getting a taste of Bill Self... the Riverboat Gambler.

He should be meeting many players, coaches and handlers from all over the world right now in Korea. We already have a good track record with recruiting foreign players and helping advance their careers. Self is on an island right now... with no other American coaches to compete against. The floor is ALL his. He sure as heck better be taking advantage of this!

The comments about it helping us recruit US players playing right now is a bluff.... a distraction from where he better be focused. Those guys aren't impressed with WUG. How many were we able to land so they could get in some extra team ball this summer before having their one D1 year? Right... none. So it won't help us looking ahead either. Most will have no idea that it is going on.

The real "gold" in having us over there is for Self to connect to foreign basketball players and structures. There are many quality players, some have very polished skills that are hard to find over here in our lands. These should be prime hunting grounds for future PGs... and SGs.... and perhaps some decent Cs....

I've wondered on this thought for some time. It seemed to me KU wasted no time in resigning with adidas. I wasn't sure why? I felt with the lay of the land and Nike schools cobbling up all the talent that at least a school like KU would consider switching. It seems it was never an option.

KU seems to be getting some of the top talent from over seas. Which is quite confusing when these kids can just turn pro. I wouldn't be surprised if Adidas has something do with KU getting the nod for the WUG's. It seems with each passing year that KU is becoming an Adidas favorite horse.

I'm not sure what it all means just noticed that KU and Adidas are becoming one in the same.