🏀 KuBuckets Archive

"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity."
~ Walt Whitman

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Jack Whitman, alleged (imagined) great-great-grandson of the late Walt Whitman, proves his ancestor's point; simplicity is the "art of arts."

Jack has fundamentals. He is our next Landen Lucas but with a lot more offensive fundamentals figured out. He knows how to deceive on the pick and roll, he knows how to pivot his way in the post to open blue sky (and easy scores), he knows how to "shoot through the paint" for eye-popping offensive rebound finishes.

Jack represents the experience we need in the post. He has his school bus driver's license and is raring to go!

After watching the highlights, I am feeling a bit better about Mr. Whitman. He has pretty good hands, he has good footwork and he doesn't mind dunking on people's heads. I don't think he will be a star, necessarily, but he can certainly be a rotation piece. He can probably help Lightfoot along in practice as well. I wish the highlight had shown him on defense a bit, but I am guessing that he was not asked to be a big time defender at W&M. Bottom line, though, he can help the 2017-18 Kansas Jayhawks.

Christian Moody 2.0?

@justanotherfan

Might he help Doke, too?

Whitman seems to have pretty good footwork underneath him. I'm pretty sure he can help out all our bigs.

Hmm how did he only get 22 min a game at W&L? Looks like he gets a few offensive rebounds every game, that bodes well.

BucknellJayhawk3 said:

Hmm how did he only get 22 min a game at W&L? Looks like he gets a few offensive rebounds every game, that bodes well.

Foul issues.

He needs to lose that little habit of putting the ball on the floor before going up. It's not an all the time habit, but only takes once for the score to go 2 pts the other way.

@brooksmd My high school basketball coach hammered on our big guys to keep the ball higher than the heads of the "runts." Solid advice.

Nice clip package of Whitman
First, he most DEFINITELY has more offensive moves that Landen .
And he knows how to bang bodies underneath and is not scared of making moves and making his own offense... can he block shots??

Man O Man, wouldn't I like to spend a hot day on a golf course with Bill Self, then sit down with him in the club house, the two of us well into a 12 pack of cold beer. Loosen him up enough to pry from him his current thoughts about team make-up and promising schematic for play this season. I know, I know, daffy imaginings! He probably hasn't even shared with his wife the plans for another league title push. Maybe he talks with Tyler?

@HighEliteMajor I'd be considered a runt & make a lot of strips against Juco to middle aged men who have not figured that basic concept out. I did get my teeth knocked in a few years ago and that scared me out of the paint for a little while.

Do we know who teaches our bigs these days? After Danny left?

It took 4 years to teach Landen to stop the lengthy gatherings under the rim. And I still don't see our guys knowing how to seal off for rebounds.

At this point, I'm for grabbing any decent big that has been taught fundamentals because it doesn't look to be guaranteed they will learn them at Kansas (or any other D1 school).

I know that sounds whiney... but I'm sick and tired of our bigs not doing what they are supposed to be doing.

Look... we get a guy with 3 years under his belt in D1 and it looks like he has a grasp of fundamentals, at least, some of them. I think that is a huge leap forward. Let's just hope he can teach what he knows to our young post guys.

I really enjoyed that clip and immediately adored his pick and roll move. We've NEVER had a post player that could deceive like that before. NEVER!

@Blown I kid around as I get older that the most important thing to protect in my advancing age is the teeth -- gotta wear a mouthpiece. Back in the day, the cup was the most important accessory of protection. My life's work is done, so the teeth take priority.

@drgnslayr Your question is a good one. You have been right on top of our sloppy play inside for quite some time now -- basic, fundamental stuff. And it's not here and there. It seems systemic in that much of it is not second nature.

@HighEliteMajor and @drgnslayr

While it is fundamental to not take a long time to gather under the rim, this isn't always a thing of habit or purposeful intent.

As I wrote at length last year, Landen just doesn't have great hands. That was probably my single greatest issue with him. He struggled to catch the ball cleanly, both on passes and rebounds, which necessitated bringing the ball into his body to secure it. Watch good bigs, the really good ones, and see how good they are with their hands. Watch how they can catch the ball cleanly even when passes are off target, or when rebounds are outside their body frame. The test is to see if they can catch the ball with their arms fully extended, or if they have to "short arm" the ball (i.e., they have to bend their arms to really secure a pass or rebound). Only guys with very good hands can keep their arms mostly extended.

Watching Whitman, he can catch cleanly. Any more, that's the biggest thing when I start evaluating a big guy. His hands are better than Doke's in my opinion. If a big can catch the ball cleanly, he can be a solid rebounder and has scoring potential. If he has to slow gather, he will struggle in both areas because he will get stripped quite a bit.

@drgnslayr norm

@justanotherfan

Landen gave his heart and soul to KU but in an ideal world he was never a starter.

Just watched that video! Oh my God! What a beast! Bill has done it again! Definitely an OAD, but clearly beating up on smaller competition. Where is William and Mary High school again?

Seriously I'm pumped! It's all in the mindset ;)

Well this really surprised me, I figured if we were to sneak in a big it would be from the Jusiton kid. Clearly that ship has sailed. This kid looks to be better that Coleby and Lightfoot right now. He will be in the rotation without question. Looks to have great foot work and hands, someone that Doka could learn a lot from and has a fair amount of D1 PT. Bill Self pulls a rabbit outta a hat again.

I can't believe how many transfers we have on this team. I'm totally fine with it. And what I really like is Bill's willingness to change in hopes of bringing home a trophy in April.

Yes... I used to be one of the dorks that claimed Bill was too hardheaded to change!

kjayhawks said:

Well this really surprised me, I figured if we were to sneak in a big it would be from the Jusiton kid. Clearly that ship has sailed. This kid looks to be better that Coleby and Lightfoot right now. He will be in the rotation without question. Looks to have great foot work and hands, someone that Doka could learn a lot from and has a fair amount of D1 PT. Bill Self pulls a rabbit outta a hat again.

Definitely the ship sailed on Juiston after the Lawson's came on board. Handler's got involved with Shakur anyway and put him at UNLV..

Whitman might be better anyway from what this team needs. He's bigger, athletic enough around the hoop and has D1 experience which Shakur didn't have. We can probably interchange him at both the 4 and 5 spots in lineups which is another advantage.

BeddieKU23 said:

kjayhawks said:

Well this really surprised me, I figured if we were to sneak in a big it would be from the Jusiton kid. Clearly that ship has sailed. This kid looks to be better that Coleby and Lightfoot right now. He will be in the rotation without question. Looks to have great foot work and hands, someone that Doka could learn a lot from and has a fair amount of D1 PT. Bill Self pulls a rabbit outta a hat again.

Definitely the ship sailed on Juiston after the Lawson's came on board. Handler's got involved with Shakur anyway and put him at UNLV..

Whitman might be better anyway from what this team needs. He's bigger, athletic enough around the hoop and has D1 experience which Shakur didn't have. We can probably interchange him at both the 4 and 5 spots in lineups which is another advantage.

Honestly you really just never know how a JUCO will translate. Juiston sounded like a plus version of Jamari but it's hard to say how he would have done at KU. And yeah the Lawsons coming in assured he wouldn't start his SR year and he wants minutes. He would have got big minutes at ISU too of course. ISU and MSU both struck out quite a bit late. People can say what the will about Bill but he typically at least closes late if not sometimes early.

@BShark I wouldn't say assured! Plus the bird in the hand this year.

I would have taken Juiston on the reputation of his character and the past he is overcoming. Sounds like a fine young man; a leader this past years team could've used.

Crimsonorblue22 said:

@BShark I wouldn't say assured! Plus the bird in the hand this year.

Dedric is much much more talented than Juiston. Juiston is a lot tougher though. I think he would have been a back-up each year, but one that got, say, 20 minutes a game.

Could it be that we signed Jack because he offered us diversity? Do we have another big that mimics a similar game to Jack?
I don't know... but it seems like Bill prefers having a big mix of differing talents/capabilities. Jack fit that bill.(?)

Who is better, Juiston or Whitman? If the difference is arguable, then the route we went (Lawsons + Whitman) seems the best path. Because as mentioned above, the only way get Juiston is if we don't get the Lawsons.

The way it is now, we're national title contenders both years.

HighEliteMajor said:

Who is better, Juiston or Whitman? If the difference is arguable, then the route we went (Lawsons + Whitman) seems the best path. Because as mentioned above, the only way get Juiston is if we don't get the Lawsons.

The way it is now, we're national title contenders both years.

Exactly the Lawson family vs Juiston, it's a no brainer if it was in fact and either/or.

@drgnslayr It's just nice to see a big that can score with his back to the basket. Can you imagine how much better Whitman would've made us last year?

@KUSTEVE I hope he's as good as you think he is!

If the choice was between Whitman and Juiston, I would choose Whitman every time. Whitman has size, good skills and actual Division I experience and, if as a grad transfer, he can contribute as much a Tarik did, it would be great. Juiston has played (and dominated) JuCo competition but it is a far cry from Division I competition and we don't know how his game will translate to the next level. Juiston is a tweener with a high ceiling of Jamari Traylor, who was a contributor but not a key player, and he would play either SF or undersized PF but we already have players at that position where Whitman does fill a void.

@JayHawkFanToo you must have seen juiston play quite a bit to know so much about him, you're such an expert!

@Crimsonorblue22 I have dubbed him "Collison Jr.".

@Crimsonorblue22

Why do you take any comment about Juiston personally? Did you read the part where I wrote he dominated JuCo? What part of my comments on Juiston do you feel is incorrect? If you feel I have it wrong, please state your opinion and maybe I will change my mind. I don't claim my post to be facts just my personal opinion; when I quote facts, I normally cite a source.

No, I have not seen him play personally but I have read plenty about him from sports reporters that saw him play and I have seen plenty of JuCo games to know the level of play is generally low. Yes, there are the occasional Jimmy Buttler (who only played 1 year at JuCo), Cleanthony Early of Jae Crowder, but generally, most JuCo players end up at a mid-major or minor Division I and not at elite programs.

I don't know how Juiston will do at the next level and based on his background, I hope he does great, but this is not what my post was about. I was simply comparing two players that could have ended up at KU (one did) and which one would contribute more at this time...in my opinion , of course.

Juiston is not coming to KU. Let's move on.

@JayHawkFanToo I've seen him play and you said he had the ceiling of Mari, not sure you can say that "just watching some juco games"

@Crimsonorblue22

Again, I personally did not see him play at all, but the consensus, from what I have read on various publications and many post in this forum, appears to be that his ceiling is that of Jamari Traylor since both players are about the same size and have similar games. I have seen highlight videos (FWIW) of both Juiston and Whitman and I personally think Whitman is the more polished player at this time.

Again, this is just my opinion.

@JayHawkFanToo dunno about Juistons ceiling but I'm excited about Whitman as well and he feels much more like a known commodity. Not unreasonable to speculate about a juco talent translating to D-I.

Damn I love the dude's strength and post moves!

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Alright KU fans, Ive officially become sold on this Whitman guy.
At first, I was questioning Coach Self's pick here. Why pick a big when we still need a guard? I see it now. We need experience in the post more than we need another guard. Will "The Poet" deliver some big time back up minutes for us or barely get off the bench? Who knows. Point is, he's another big body to push our guys in practice.
My whole hang up about the experience level is even Whitman himself hasn't had much experience in Self's system. Hell, Udoka, Coleby and Lightfoot have more experience at KU. But they don't have more IN GAME experience.
So, based on that I'm officially retracting my previous doubts about Coach Self's decision to bring this guy in. I hope he has a good season for us next fall.

Alright. I got TWO WORDS FOR YOU GUYS.

PERRY. ELLIS.

Whip out the ol Perry playbook.

I think offensively, Jack's got more than a little Perry in him.

approxinfinity said:

Alright. I got TWO WORDS FOR YOU GUYS.

PERRY. ELLIS.

Whip out the ol Perry playbook.

I think offensively, Jack's got more than a little Perry in him.

I think we should be very please if he plays 10-15 minutes a night and put up like 9/5.

@KUSTEVE The Poets got some good hands around the rim. I like the Perry Ellis comparisons @approxinfinity

There is still a lot of creative Jayhawks here posting... so much for garden discussions...

@approxinfinity Love the Perry comparison. Perry and Jack have differing styles somewhat, but the bottom line is both have good footwork around the rim. I can see using some of the same Perry playbook. I think both players have their strengths. I really like Jack's pick and roll/pop talent. He hides it pretty well. Better than anyone I've ever seen in a Jayhawk uniform. Perhaps he will become the player I thought Carlton would be.

Every time I think of us signing Jack I come away with a better feel and a more positive outlook.

My first impression wasn't good. He just didn't have a basketball player look to me. Then... I found the tape on him and started changing my mind.

Now.. I think mostly of our possible team chemistry and I'm feeling like he will become a big plus. It seems like we want superstars at every position, even on the bench. But... most of our players need to be role players. There is only a few slots open for superstars. I see Jack as a role player who can be extremely valuable. A Landen Lucas type with a lot more offense.

@Blown Already can see he has more offense then Moody or Lucas. Must also consider quality of opposition seen in video also. If he's eligible to play this coming season, he'll help right away. Predictions would say a "piece", not a superstar.

@drgnslayr Too cynical about Danny's leaving, while not giving enough credit to Self's concepts and teaching. Wake Forrest doesnt even look like an ACC-caliber team. Could it be that various kids simply havent panned out, for very different reasons? Lucas no hops, no hands, no fast twitch, not an alpha. Bragg showed promise Yr 1, even in the WUG, then flops in all areas despite KU-level coaching. Watch that Udoka kid. Find some faith.

@JhwkSqdn

The word on Carlton is he liked to party too much. He did get nailed for drug paraphernalia... I don't want to claim he was smoking pot... but if he was... that sure would explain a lot. I'm not an "anti-pot" person but I do see it as a negative for young athletes.

I don't have any negative feelings towards Carlton. Hard to do that with a kid that has a million-dollar smile! Hope he finds his way at ASU.

JhwkSqdn said:

@drgnslayr Too cynical about Danny's leaving, while not giving enough credit to Self's concepts and teaching. Wake Forrest doesnt even look like an ACC-caliber team. Could it be that various kids simply havent panned out, for very different reasons? Lucas no hops, no hands, no fast twitch, not an alpha. Bragg showed promise Yr 1, even in the WUG, then flops in all areas despite KU-level coaching. Watch that Udoka kid. Find some faith.

Wake Forest did make the tournament this year which was a major step forward for Danny and the program.

And the most glaring example of Danny's success with post players is John Collins.

A 3 star recruit (220th on 247) who he's gotten to the NBA in 2 seasons and will be picked in the 1st round.

@JhwkSqdn

Danny is a wealth of post information and experience. There is no one in D1 that knows the inside game like Danny.

Gosh... I remember his days at Kansas like they happened yesterday. His ability on the court was shocking! He didn't know what he knew later on in the pros... but this was experiencing Danny before injuries. In the open court, he was a gazelle. A gazelle that could not only dribble... but pass... and fake... and change direction.

Danny was the "most artful" college player I ever experienced.

And then watching his pro career was painful. No free gifts in the league. No remorse. "No Boys Allowed." Danny wasn't a boy by then. But he wasn't prepared to be cheap-shotted literally every friggin' night! He proved himself a warrior. He took the blows and he got up for more. But his knees couldn't take it. Couldn't take the pounding, day in and day out. Couldn't take being smashed by gangsta players from that time.

I have total respect for Danny. That will never change.

KUSTEVE said:

@Crimsonorblue22 I have dubbed him "Collison Jr.".

Watching his video definitely brings back memories of Nick. We make it to the NC game let's hope the similarities end.