🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Well I'm beginning to think maybe at best - -No news on Silvio today, as in like - -he didn't get his test score from his SAT today.

IF he did get it and passed it - -I'm sure we would of heard SOMETHING by now it's 12 :00 CST - - he would of been all over twitter posting Imma coming now. - yet - -we have nothing.

So I'm thinking turns out he either didn't get the results today - -OR he got the results and it WASN'T GOOD. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@jayballer54 I understand that there might be a few other items that need to happen in addition to the SAT/ACT Results. Even if he passes, there is no guarantee he comes.

So I just checked DeSousa twitter. No I didn't tweet anything to him , I didn't tweet anything period BUT

I read a tweet not from DeSousa but from a individual from Kansas hoops chat it read: - -Now that Silvio HAS THE SCORES he needs to enroll early it's still not over yet. - - -But him getting the scores he needed today was a must if he wanted any chance at playing now.

From the individual Kansas hoops chat he said: - Silvio has told me that he had got the SAT scores he needed to enroll early at KU.

More hoops to jump through BUT this was huge for Coach Self he said.

Hmmm , sounds pretty good - Soooo? he got his scores? - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

jayballer54 said:

So I just checked DeSousa twitter. No I didn't tweet anything to him , I didn't tweet anything period BUT

I read a tweet not from DeSousa but from a individual from Kansas hoops chat it read: - -Now that Silvio HAS THE SCORES he needs to enroll early it's still not over yet. - - -But him getting the scores he needed today was a must if he wanted any chance at playing now.

Hmmm? - -so he passed his SAT sound like. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

This is the same guy, think what anyone will of him direct messaging Silvio, that broke the initial news that Silvio wanted to enroll early. So pretty safe to say Silvio told him directly.

There is still some more stuff to do before he can play though.

BShark said:

jayballer54 said:

So I just checked DeSousa twitter. No I didn't tweet anything to him , I didn't tweet anything period BUT

I read a tweet not from DeSousa but from a individual from Kansas hoops chat it read: - -Now that Silvio HAS THE SCORES he needs to enroll early it's still not over yet. - - -But him getting the scores he needed today was a must if he wanted any chance at playing now.

Hmmm? - -so he passed his SAT sound like. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

This is the same guy, think what anyone will of him direct messaging Silvio, that broke the initial news that Silvio wanted to enroll early. So pretty safe to say Silvio told him directly.

There is still some more stuff to do before he can play though.

ya, I think probably you and I both seen the same from the same site. - Some on there giving him hell saying quit talking to Silvio direct right? some were asking why they hadn't seen anything anywhere else and like some said probably Silvio woun't say anything till after school - -makes sense then Ku will follow that up. - -ROCK CHALK ALLD AY LONG BABY

FWIW, here is some news ↗. Sounds legit but who knows.

Need him.

@jayballer54 Didn't read other posts on this but I understand he got his test scores and they were adequate for admission to KU

Is this the famous @Ralster?

@HighEliteMajor Indeed, it is. Time to cuss/discuss the Jayhawks...well, mostly cuss the lack of D. Usual 'soft' comments from Self.

I must admit, my enthusiasm has definitely taken a hit the last 2 years. Watching 2 alpha dogs, Mason and Josh...lose to Oregon was an extremely bitter pill, especially after watching the 6-dvd set of the 6 game 2008 championship run. I keep waiting for a new 'standard' to be set, still hasnt happened. Current team has their work cut out for them.

So. Cunliffe becomes eligible against Nebraska and, after practicing a full year with the Jayhawks, plays two minutes. TWO!

The football player turned basketball big has yet to see the floor.

I have little hope that either Silvio or Billy will impact this years club.

HCBS has his rotation and it will be tough to crack....

@Gorilla72 Preston will

So I taking it as since we have heard no more, then that the little scoop about DeSousa getting the grades he needed off his last SAT test must of been false.

Haven't heard anything more from anywhere, not of the LJW off his twitter I haven't seen anything about getting the grades - so that must of all been false huh? - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@Gorilla72

The biggest impact we need should come from our guards. We wouldn't have won either of those two loss games by having Billy or Silvio. The problems we had were guard related.

Having one or both of these players should only help us. There will be times when we play tough post players and we need to be deeper.

@jayballer54

The TV announcers mentioned we are still waiting for his scores. But who knows if they are just talking BS or not. The announcers for the Nebraska game really sucked. And they were pro-Nebraska and made that obvious throughout the game.

I recall that one guy going on and on... saying he hasn't been to a game like that for years... where the crowd gets so involved and so enthusiastic. It was showing pans of the crowd while he said that and no one was clapping, some fans looked like they were going to fall asleep. I think fans showed up because they found out their new football coach was going to be there. Ha... did you see that? Their football coach showed up and "stole the show" away from their basketball program?

@jayballer54

the test scores are 1 part of what's needed, more information is also needed from Angola. Remember Cheick and the NCAA cluster hump?

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article189811354.html ↗

even if he does get cleared. The most I would hope for is him being serviceable by march, but the experience gained would be huge with next years team looking very young.

I think the only player that would make a difference this year is Billy since he is already familiar with the system.

@drgnslayr Funny you say that about the announcers. I was so relieved we didn't have Dope head Walton or One eyed Dickie, I actually enjoyed their commentary. I didn't pick up a bias.

There are three things that need to happen for DeSouza to be able to enroll at the break. His test score must meet minimum requirements; this apparently is done. He needs to complete course work at his current school with passing grades and graduate; this is yet to be determined since schools are not quite out yet but likely will happen, Last, his complete transcript need to be sent to the NCAA and approved like any other student and this might be the biggest issue. He had not originally planned to join KU until next fall so he probably thought he had plenty of time and now we are in Diallo territory. Can't really blame the NCAA if the transcript have not been sent in a timely manner.

@KUSTEVE I am with you. After suffering through a night with Bill Walton, I'd rate these two Fox guys at least 4 star. Networks gotta limit Walton's flight tickets to the Midwest!

Has no one else shared this link yet?

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/21815535/the-kansas-jayhawks-hope-silvio-de-sousa-eligible-big-12-opener-texas ↗

I saw an article where Self says he is preparing to have both De Sousa and Preston for big 12 play.

If De Sousa, Preston and Cunliffe are all available after January 1, this is a much different team (in a lot of good ways). We can basically throw out what happened prior to now, because that's three high level players becoming available.

That A&M game gets very interesting as far as evaluating the ceiling of KU.

justanotherfan said:

If De Sousa, Preston and Cunliffe are all available after January 1, this is a much different team (in a lot of good ways). We can basically throw out what happened prior to now, because that's three high level players becoming available.

That A&M game gets very interesting as far as evaluating the ceiling of KU.

Well it seems like anyways we know know obviously Sam is with us now - - sounds almost a certainty that Silvio is on board - -now I just wish things would turn out positive for Billy - just don't seem to be hearing anything on Billy would be a big addition. ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

Well my friends hope everyone ha been good so we an get some really nice Christmas presents.

Guys I just get this feel now after reading some and following articles , it just sure sounds like that we might be coming close to finding out about Billy Coach saying he is preparing for Big 12 play with the scenario of Both Billy and DeSousa being here.

I'm telling ya right now if we get this two on Board it is going to change this team dramatically - -I feel it - -I feel something good is on the horizon - there is a storm brewing - - brewing for the league that is. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@JayHawkFanToo

I agree with your three steps needed for Silvio.

But I fear the following response from the NCAA -

!0_1513723633427_main_image.jpg ↗

Their "5 mins" can be "5 months." We like to think we have their attention now, after some of our recent issues with their lack of speed. But the reality is... we have NO power over the speed they operate at.

@jayballer54 I got goosebumps reading your post. We are going to tear this league up with those two plus Cundiffe on board.

@drgnslayr

In all fairness, over 180,000 potential student athletes register with the NCAA every year and the great majority that submit a complete application in a timely manner are processed without any issues. Now, if the application is not submitted on time or is incomplete, then it is not fair to expect the NCAA to process it in time like the others.

I used to have a sign on my office door that read...Lack of planning on YOUR part does not constitute an emergency on MY part. Perhaps prospects, particularly foreign prospects, should not wait until the last minute to start the process and expect a quick turnaround, it is not fair to the ones that follow the rules.

@jayballer54 Makes some sense. Self has all but said it.

@wilson Bingo...this is where the big chill happens by the NCAA. They've already frozen or will stall Preston, and now they will sit on Silvio's eligibility. Once KU completes it's investigation, the NCAA will then have to provide a final ruling. I guarantee you they will take as much time as KU took with Billy.

I will be shocked if Preston and Silvio are cleared quickly.

So: today, this situation is completely unchanged from the moment Preston disappeared into the Chronosimplastic Infindibulum, except for Sosinski getting a few minutes.

Cunliffe has shown up exactly as planned is being slowly worked in.

De Sousa, despite my doubts about him being able to improve test scores significantly, is on track to get here near January 1, after which he will be an 17-18 year old big man that will begin learning the offense and trying to get in D1 condition.

Regarding Preston, Self is still saying believe--believe a student-athlete with suspected vehicle ownership issues, will turn out not to have such issues. Believe Preston will likely be back.

But let us recall some things.

1. Preston was neither starting, nor lighting things up, when he disappeared and would take a good month month to get back to that level and another month or two to become a credible 20-25 mpg big.

2. 17-18 year old big men that neither know the plays, nor have ever achieved D1 grade physical condition, are not likely to be able to do more than back up a few minutes each half.

3. Cunliffe, despite my early optimism, is a 10-15 mpg back up until next season.

So: our starting 5 is our starting five for the season.

Preston and De Sousa jointly buy us 5-10 minutes of back up each half for Doke.

Cunliffe buys us 5-10 minutes more rest per game for our wings.

My point here is this: how good we can be is how good you think our current starters are with reasonable back ups by March.

Self has been building to this scenario, not toward another kind of team.

The reason for optimism is that with reasonable backups by March, the starters can play a 4-1set at a fairly rapid pace. That should prevent defenses from hamstringing them.

The reason for pessimism is the flaws in the games of some of the starters seem likely to be there in March just the same as they are now.

But either way, with a long bench, Self will be able to begin to substitute a little to make points with players that are not listening.

Here is an article by Andy Katz ↗ about KU and the possible play of Preston and De Souza on the NCAA website.

Here is another by Jeff Goodman ↗ about KU with comments from other coaches about KU’s issues.

By the way, DeSouza turned 19 in Octoberand Preston turned 20 also in October, not quite 17-18 year old kids.

Below is from an article on KU Hoops written by G Bedore

“He was really active and good at practice today,” said Self, who is of the opinion a decision on whether Preston can play this season will be rendered soon. “I don’t anticipate him playing (against Stanford). I do anticipate us getting very close to knowing if and when he will be able to play. I’m pretty optimistic. Our people are optimistic. It’s at the point now it will be out of our hands and somebody else will make the decision (the NCAA).”

Asked how much Preston could play in the Big 12 opener against Texas and/or ensuing league games if he’s deemed eligible to play soon, Self said: “I don’t think he’s done enough for 20, 25 minutes (in a game) but I think in a couple of weeks (he could do that) certainly.”

Self said if IMG Academy senior for Silvio De Sousa is declared eligible soon, “I think he could play some. I think that it would be more of a plugged-in situation until he gets comfortable.”

@jaybate-1-0 If it helps any I believe Silvio is 19 year old. (Or just slightly younger than Svi as the announcers will likely point out).

Call me crazy but I'm starting to get the feeling we end up with both of our boys. - Read the article from the LJW this morning and Coach sounds pretty confident even with Billy, says he doesn't think it's going to be long - seems like ya it's going to be a 2nd semester thing for both. Said it will take a bit for adjustment for the guys maybe a couple of weeks for Silvio and a little less then that for Billy. - -I smell the " ROCK " cookin up something really good for the Crimson and Blue. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

I used to have a sign on my office door that read…Lack of planning on YOUR part does not constitute an emergency on MY part

I still have that sign hanging up. Plus another one that says a $100 surcharge will be added to your order if you mention that you found it cheaper online.

I miss the days when people would go out of their way to help one another. Apparently I’m old fashioned.

dylans said:

I miss the days when people would go out of their way to help one another. Apparently I’m old fashioned.

Who is needing help? - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@jayballer54 who doesn't?

Crimsonorblue22 said:

@jayballer54 who doesn't?

lol, - - -I need -LOTS lol - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@JayHawkFanToo

Good post.

I heard this morning that the NCAA won't take any time at all to qualify DeSousa. It's a straight forward deal and he has the same process all incoming scholarship athletes have. It should be a "rubber stamp" moment.

Billy is a different story. My faith is in our compliance department. They know that "time is of the essence" so their info gathering and forms will be gone over carefully to prevent getting held up by the NCAA by having them request additional info. One of those request moments could cost him another month of play.

The whole Billy Preston thing .. he's kind of like Yoda communicating from the nether world. Just kind of a hologram. Is he a hologram on the bench? Has anyone really touched him to make sure?

Another website said that we expect to have news on both by the 26th. Silvio for sure by then, Preston is a maybe still, but that if it isn't by then, soon after.

Here are a couple of related tweets...

!0_1513791010356_upload-b7d1ce9e-8ec9-4a32-ad5e-6361e86dd437 ↗

!0_1513791059654_upload-d1779c0b-d850-42eb-8675-61693a85bea6 ↗

Here is a link ↗ to the CJ story.

JayHawkFanToo said:

Here is an article by Andy Katz ↗ about KU and the possible play of Preston and De Souza on the NCAA website.

Here is another by Jeff Goodman ↗ about KU with comments from other coaches about KU’s issues.

By the way, DeSouza turned 19 in Octoberand Preston turned 20 also in October, not quite 17-18 year old kids.

I am positive you will obediently agree that the difference between 17-18 and 19 approaches absolute zero, when a player has never been through D1conditioning, does not know the plays, has not played a second with his teammates and is changing climates from subtropical Florida to Kansas in January.

I am waiting for submissive agreement!

HOWLING!!!!

dylans said:

@jaybate-1-0 If it helps any I believe Silvio is 19 year old. (Or just slightly younger than Svi as the announcers will likely point out).

I know u mean well, but it doesn’t help me much.

How many years will 19 year old Svi have been practicing and playing for KU on January 1?

How many years will 19 year old Silvio have been practicing and playing for KU on January 1?

@JayHawkFanToo I used to have that sign too!

@jaybate-1.0 None, but 19 is much closer to full grown adult than 17. That will help in this case. It won’t make him an instant success, but good God man we’re throwing Lightfoot out there. I want to see something resembling a grown man in the post again even if he isn’t quiet ready for prime time this year.

I’m almost to the point of giving up on this season anyways and his early addition and seasoning is going to be big for next season. I said almost - there is a faint glimmer of hope in these possible additions.

@jaybate-1.0 I think Svi was brought in too young and it hurt his development.

I read in a KC Star article that HCBS said the NCAA eligibility offices are closed next week and reopen Jan 3. If true, KU needs to hear by Friday or wait?

@dylans

Many appear discouraged about the lack of depth.

I am discouraged about the recruiting dynamics that lead us to this lack of depth.

I don’t expect next year’s seeming greater numbers to really solve our problems either, as so many do.

I will be very happy to get Preston and De Sousa this season.

Next season brings transfers and not one but the sudden, inexplicable anomaly of two 5-Star PGs. This all fills me with apprehension about the baggage that may hit the carousel next year.

As for this season, I am just advocating for tempered expectations regarding what the newbies second semester will actually enable.

All this team really needs from the newbies are subs, so our starters can play hard most of the game.

The newbies could supply that after a month or two.

More than that I doubt.

@jaybate-1.0 I am discouraged about the recruiting dynamics that lead us to this lack of depth.

$$$ 🤑🤑🤑🤐

@dylans

I can’t recall for sure, but believe Bob Knight was quoted in “College Sports, Inc.” (1990) as indicating a top player back then cost a school willing to cheat about $150k in under the table cash over four years in those days. It’s hard to imagine what just a year of an OAD might cost some schools today!

But my deeper concern is: what if KU we’re willing to cheat and no amount of incentivewere enough to get more than the number of players KU has this season?

I want to believe there is no giving massive incentives to top players going on and that there no embargo of constraining KU recruiting. I want to believe everything is okay. But I don’t ever recall reading that the swamp in college basketball was drained between 1990 and present.

Swamps appear to be difficult things to drain, judging by the tiny numbers of persons actually being indicted and going to jail in Washington, Hollywood, New York, and Chicago, where it increasingly appears crime is rampant, but justice is scarcer than indictments for treason and pedophilia and missing trillions.

America increasingly appears a land where the price of tax relief for corporations and billionaires is swamp expansion, not swamp draining.

To paraphrase “Jerry Maguire...

Show me the convictions, Jerry!

@jaybate-1.0 I still contend this years dearth of talent allows for next years influx of 5 stars. Wax and wane.

How much was Ayton paid?!?

@dylans Apparently enough.

It's not that hard to imagine. The FBI put some numbers out there and it's pretty much widely known that Anthony Davis took 250k.

@BShark And Billy sits...

jaybate 1.0 said:

Next season brings transfers and not one but the sudden, inexplicable anomaly of two 5-Star PGs. This all fills me with apprehension about the baggage that may hit the carousel next year.

You are overthinking it. Grimes grew up a KU fan. Dotson wanted desperately to play for a blue blood program. Dotson was targeted and prioritized in his JR year by KU while UNC and Duke closed their heavy PG leans.

jaybate 1.0 said:

As for this season, I am just advocating for tempered expectations regarding what the newbies second semester will actually enable.

All this team really needs from the newbies are subs, so our starters can play hard most of the game.

The newbies could supply that after a month or two.

More than that I doubt.

I would agree with this. I don't think Preston or Silvio save this team. Just letting the starters get a bit more rest and not having to play Mitch at the 5 could help a fair bit in the long run.

@BShark

I find again and again that I underthink it. I underestimate how elaborate the problems of KU and college basketball are. I suspected KU would be short handed again this season, but I never dreamed it would be this acute this soon.

BShark said:

It's not that hard to imagine. The FBI put some numbers out there and it's pretty much widely known that Anthony Davis took 250k.

It’s actually very hard to imagine, because based on the last year of disclosures about corruption in Washington politics and missing monies we know that figures like those you mention are often gross understatements apparently made as effective limited hangouts.

The numbers could easily be 5, 10, or 100 times that. We have no clue really. We just know the numbers released officially tend to incompletely account for the actual magnitude of what is going on.

@BShark Widely known? I like sources, nice credible verifiable sources. Anything less for a statement like this is speculative, possibly slanderous or libelous, rumor.

dylans said:

@jaybate-1.0 I still contend this years dearth of talent allows for next years influx of 5 stars. Wax and wane.

This is what board rats have been believing for years now. Sooner or later this recurring appearance of asymmetry in recruiting and the annual constraints it imposes on KU’s pursuit of rings has to become recognized as something more than annual anomalies attributable to weather, girl friends and coaching charisma elsewhere. 🙃🤨

@mayjay Chicago Sun not only reported it, but then doubled down on it after the Davis' threatened a lawsuit saying they had sources from 3 separate universities that claimed Davis Sr. asked them for anywhere from $125k to $150k.

Woe is us because we don't know if or when they'll approved. Woe is us because the players coming in might take a while to get up to snuff. Let's end the pity party. So our team will be at their best once we start playing for the Big Cheese - I can live with that.

dylans said:

How much was Ayton paid?!?

I read somewhere that it was like 500,000 and that the money was already spent. - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

BShark said:

jaybate 1.0 said:

Next season brings transfers and not one but the sudden, inexplicable anomaly of two 5-Star PGs. This all fills me with apprehension about the baggage that may hit the carousel next year.

You are overthinking it. Grimes grew up a KU fan. Dotson wanted desperately to play for a blue blood program. Dotson was targeted and prioritized in his JR year by KU while UNC and Duke closed their heavy PG leans.

jaybate 1.0 said:

As for this season, I am just advocating for tempered expectations regarding what the newbies second semester will actually enable.

All this team really needs from the newbies are subs, so our starters can play hard most of the game.

The newbies could supply that after a month or two.

More than that I doubt.

I would agree with this. I don't think Preston or Silvio save this team. Just letting the starters get a bit more rest and not having to play Mitch at the 5 could help a fair bit in the long run.

if nothing else with Silvio Coach Self can use Him like he did our football walk on the other night. Coach ask him -can you do this? - He responded I don't know any of it.

Self said then just set a high screen and then roll to the basket. Hell if nothing else Silvio can do that for the first couple of weeks when he is in till he picks up on the offense, do that and get some rebounds, - make some stick back buckets and he will be ok until he can pick up the offense gives us depth and 5 more fouls anyways for a bit. - I think he will be fine. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

jayballer54 said:

BShark said:

jaybate 1.0 said:

Next season brings transfers and not one but the sudden, inexplicable anomaly of two 5-Star PGs. This all fills me with apprehension about the baggage that may hit the carousel next year.

You are overthinking it. Grimes grew up a KU fan. Dotson wanted desperately to play for a blue blood program. Dotson was targeted and prioritized in his JR year by KU while UNC and Duke closed their heavy PG leans.

jaybate 1.0 said:

As for this season, I am just advocating for tempered expectations regarding what the newbies second semester will actually enable.

All this team really needs from the newbies are subs, so our starters can play hard most of the game.

The newbies could supply that after a month or two.

More than that I doubt.

I would agree with this. I don't think Preston or Silvio save this team. Just letting the starters get a bit more rest and not having to play Mitch at the 5 could help a fair bit in the long run.

if nothing else with Silvio Coach Self can use Him like he did our football walk on the other night. Coach ask him -can you do this? - He responded I don't know any of it.

Self said then just set a high screen and then roll to the basket. Hell if nothing else Silvio can do that for the first couple of weeks when he is in till he picks up on the offense, do that and get some rebounds, - make some stick back buckets and he will be ok until he can pick up the offense gives us depth and 5 more fouls anyways for a bit. - I think he will be fine. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

I WOULD AGREE WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCEPT OVERTHINKING THIS STRUCTURALLY RECURRENT PROBLEM WITH KU’S RECRUITING.

WE HAVE OBVIOUSLY UNDERTHOUGHT THE PROBLEM, BECAUSE EACH TROUGH IS LOWER AND EACH PEAK IS NOT AS HIGH.

THINGS ARE NOT GETTING BETTER. SELF KEEPS HAVING LESS AND LESS LIKELIHOOD OF REACHING A FINAL FOUR BASED ON HIS TALENT IN COMPARISON TO THE TEAMS THAT STOP US. OREGON CLEARLY HELD MUA LAST SEASON. SINCE 2012 KU KEEPS RUNNING INTO TEAMS THAT HOLD SHARP MUA AND STOP KU COLD BEFORE THE FINAL FOUR.

@jaybate-1.0 We have 6 new players coming in next year. One was the AAC POY. 19 ppg + 10 boards a game. His older little brother averaged 12.9 + 9 boards a game. Charlie started for a Power 5 team. The 3 we signed were all top 40. Overflow from an overabundance of talent in the market? Does it matter when you have a brilliant coach who is now licking his chops over the prospect of having so much talent on board? I think not. We are LOADED FOR BEAR NEXT YEAR. Keep the faith. Final Fours are coming.

@KUSTEVE

It looks good on paper going in, but so did the Alexander, Diallo and Preston years.

I am not unappreciative of how good we have had it. 82% to 84% is to die for.

But with the nearly unparalleled success we have enjoyed for nearly 30 years, it sticks out anomalously that we cannot sign the basic pieces required to let Self power to a ring the way Consonants, Cal and Roy have gotten to do. Just plain wrong. Self deserves one to three POWER teams that others have to get lucky to beat instead of KU always being the team that has to get lucky.

Regardless, I will work on my attitude! 😀

Kcmatt7 said:

@mayjay Chicago Sun not only reported it, but then doubled down on it after the Davis' threatened a lawsuit saying they had sources from 3 separate universities that claimed Davis Sr. asked them for anywhere from $125k to $150k.

This.

@BShark @wissox

Researching this was interesting. The original article by author O'Brien was on Aug 5, 2010, on the Sun Times website. It said Davis was likely to go to UK and alleged that rumors were that the commitment cost S200,000. That was removed from the website that day.

The next day, Davis Senior's lawyer threatened to sue. O'Brien contacted him for a comment, and he said "Thanks for ruining my son." UK denied the story.

On Friday, the paper published a new O'Brien story that had the new quote about 3 alleged sources from other schools saying Davis Sr. had been seeking the 125 to 150 thou, but not alleging anything more about UK in particular.

The University issued a statement the next week threatening a lawsuit, noting the family and school denials, and seeking a statement specifically retracting all allegations and rumors as not based on credible sources.

No lawsuits were filed. No retractions, either.

A few years later, O'Brien wrote a retrospective about Davis in which he mention that "the Sun Times" had written about the Davis recruiting rumors in 2010, never mentioning that he himself wrote those articles.

Conclusion: I think the Sun Times very cleverly changed the allegation from the UK commitment to general allegations that the dad had sought money from other schools. This converted the original story to a Cam Newton story, and eliminated any allegation about UK specifically. Had Daddy sued, that would have opened his bank records to scrutiny. Whether he received anything illegitimate would have come out. The school no longer had any great harm it could assert, so it had no incentive to sue anymore.

Kuddos to Sun Times lawyers for a brilliant non-retraction/double-down that has still left everyone using those stories as their sources of alleged well-known payments to Davis.

I suspect Daddy got something at least, and he has gone quietly into a wealthy retirement.

Amusing aside: I came across this quote on a Louisville board's 2014 recap of the Davis rumors:

That . . . sums up the Calipari era at UK. I'm coming to this realization: if that's what it takes to land the #1 class all the time and to make 3 final fours in 5 years, count me out. I'd rather wait another 27 years for a championship than see the university from which I earned two degrees do business that way.

I didn't do any follow-up to see what that poster has said following the unveiling of UL's prostitution based recruiting, or the latest scandal that has cost Pitino his job!

I say we run and gun and see what havoc we can wreck on the B12-2. Throw Sam, Silvio, Billy (fingers crossed), and even young and the DE out there for 2-3 min bursts before tv timeouts to give the thoroughbreds a reasonable rest and see what we can do through pure offensive fire power. We could very well run teams under the table with our extra boys. Guards win college bball. Let's see if anyone can keep pace with our guards.

@mayjay Yeah all of this stuff is very messy. There is no doubt at least in my mind that players get paid.

@KUSTEVE I like how next year is looking A WHOLE LOT. I have no idea what jaybate is expecting.

KUSTEVE said:

Woe is us because we don't know if or when they'll approved. Woe is us because the players coming in might take a while to get up to snuff. Let's end the pity party. So our team will be at their best once we start playing for the Big Cheese - I can live with that.

I would take a final four over winning the conference any day of the week. The national media would never shut up about it,but honestly, I don't follow those yahoos like i used to. I'm much more concerned about our preparation for march and if the guys we need contributions from are developing.

@mayjay well now that you looked at that, read up on the AD, Kentucky and World Wide Wes connection...

I am not sure what is the big deal about recruiting. Had Preston not had the car issue KU is doing fine and no one is taking about depth issues. Next year KU has the #2 class with still one more player to get. If KU gets one the players it has been pursuing it will likely move to #1 and this does not even consider the Lawsons and Moore who were all top 40 players and when included it makes up for likely the best class ever at KU.

Considering that in the last 10 years KU has the best record in college basketball while playing in one of the thougher if not the toughest conference means that it has had lots of quality players; you just don’t get to have the best record with average players.

The main factor affecting recruiting is location. As much as we like Lawrence, it is not the preferred destination for the largely urban group that makes up the bulk of the top prospects.

@JayHawkFanToo Even if we had Preston, this is the thinnest collection of post players ever under Self.

@HighEliteMajor

Coach Self has always indicated that by conference play he likes to have an 8 man rotation which is what KU has now, not even counting Preston; with him it’s a solid 9 man rotation.

Only 1 5 guy though!

Teams are moving away from Centers and using PFs instead. The Cavaliers start 3 PFs,
LeBron as SF and one PG. The two Centers for the Warriors average just over 20 mpg combined. Two PFs that can hit from outside and rebound are better than one Center.

Well ltft isn't a backup for Doke no matter how you spin it. He's out of position. Heard all that all a million times.

I like the defense tonight.

@Crimsonorblue22

No, Lightfoot is not a backup for Doke, but if KU wants to go big it could do it with Preston and Lightfoot and have the outside shot to boot. Preston not playing has been the main issue and grades was the original concern and once he was cleared who would have thought a car would end up being the real issue, not me and obviously not the KU staff either.

I hope I'm not the only one who has googled "Silvio De Sousa" 3-4 times a day for the last month praying for an update. Make it stop!!

@joeloveshawks

Self sounded confident after the game last night they will hear news today unless they have to appeal.

@HighEliteMajor A fan might come to think that Self has actually become enamored of small ball. But then a look at next year's probable lineup debunks that thinking.

Wednesday was the final day of classes at IMG this semester. That's why Friday has always been the day to hear about Silvio. Teacher's have to input grades and then paperwork has to be processed which takes a day to do so in a situation like Silvio's.

@JayHawkFanToo I disagree just a bit with your analysis of playing "big." You could claim to be playing big with Preston and Lightfoot, but you really aren't. Big is Withey/TRob. Big is Aldrich/Morris. Big is Collison/Gooden. Big is Jackson/Arthur. Big is Embiid/Ellis. Big is Black/Ellis.

You are correct. You do not have to have a true center. But you have to have players that have post skills and can score down low, and players that can defend the post. Lightfoot isn't that guy. And of course, Preston is just a hologram at this point.

But you seem to suggest that if we had Preston, then this wouldn't be an issue.

I would suggest that your response about Self preferring an 8-9 man rotation is irrelevant when it comes to being thin up front. Even with Preston, we have only Doke and Preston. Lightfoot is not a competent 3rd big, when we compare to Self's tenure. He is only playing because Self has no choice. How nice would it be to have a Hunter Mickelson right now? But my point is Doke, Preston, Lightfoot -- that's way thin. Thinnest ever. No doubt. Sosinski at least gives us a body. The next thinnest is 2011-12, when we had Withey, TRob, KY, and Wesley. And that collection of 4 is better by a long shot than what we have now (including Preston). We've had times when we have 6 true bigs on our roster.

Under Self, that 8-9 man rotation consisted of 5 perimeter players and 4 bigs. We would see the 5th perimeter player and 4th post guy get limited minutes, but that would depend on the game. We don't even have a third big right now, and even if Preston was here, that 3rd big would be an Lightfoot.

Preston and DeSousa (assuming DeSousa is as good as expected), that fits what you're suggesting.

@REHawk Me thinks the hi/low will make its return ... hopefully with a higher rate of threes than before. Or at least not an "either/or" approach by Self.

@Texas-Hawk-10 I heard the ncaa is closed today, so we are unlikely to hear anything for a couple weeks if that is the case.

@HawkChamp The NCAA website says it closes at 5 pm today.

@mayjay thanks. Folks on other ku sites have posted quotes from the ncaa that they close today but that must be incorrect.

I will be extremely surprised if we don't know something today. And I will be even more surprised if he doesn't become eligible.

joeloveshawks said:

I hope I'm not the only one who has googled "Silvio De Sousa" 3-4 times a day for the last month praying for an update. Make it stop!!

LOL - -this is the same way I feel when I get up in the middle of the night and get drawn to the cabinet and find myself getting into my bad of powered doughnuts - - I say MAKE IT STOP lol. - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@drgnslayr I've never complained about early Christmas presents.

HighEliteMajor said:

@JayHawkFanToo Even if we had Preston, this is the thinnest collection of post players ever under Self.

I believe your right. - Because as we have said/heard Mitch is playing out of position, for sure not a true 5. - Mitch if/when he plays need to be out on the floor more like at the 4? - -More of natural position for him. Also I also think actually Billy would or could play more at the 4 then the 5, he is closer to a 5 then Mitch but still. Probably the other real 5 would be DeSousa right?

Just have to see how it all plays out, but IF Billy doesn't end up getting cleared then I still believe we need to move Mitch out to a 4 and let DeSousa back Doke at the 5, and then and only then if both of them get in foul trouble - -I suppose for a couple of minutes when they sit we could still use the walk on to give them that blow.

Mitch more then anything just does not have the body frame - the bulk to man up against talented big's -Although he does bring a presence of being able to defend the rim some as he leads us in blocks and in the top 5 they said in the league in blocks. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

drgnslayr said:

I will be extremely surprised if we don't know something today. And I will be even more surprised if he doesn't become eligible.

Yes I agree with you. -I think today is the day we probably find out for sure on Silvio. Coach said if everything turns out right he should be on campus by Dec 26th when the rest of the team returns.

There is ONE thing that puzzles me though. - I read from another site that DeSosua was going to be playing in some all Star game this weekend, which brings the question up - - if everything is good then WHY is he focusing on a high school all star game - shouldn't his only focus be on getting to Lawrence? - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

Would be awesome to hear results on Billy and Silvio today (highly doubt that happens though).

@jayballer54 it's Christmas! Nobody will be here

@jayballer54 I don’t think DeSousa has anything he can do about his eligibility, but worry. So playing basketball and working on skills is a great thing to do!

@HawkChamp Do you have a site where someone is posting the NCAA quote? The NCAA website for eligibility has the phrase that says they close today for the break, but it says at 5 pm, through Jan 1.

!0_1513958277574_Screenshot_2017-12-22-10-56-58.png ↗

But someone may have a different ref worth checking?

Crimsonorblue22 said:

@jayballer54 it's Christmas! Nobody will be here

I understand that, but still WHY you wanting to play in an all star game when your focusing getting to campus with the rest of the team when they return on the 26th? - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

HawkChamp said:

Would be awesome to hear results on Billy and Silvio today (highly doubt that happens though).

DeSousa yes - -a pretty good chance - -Billy - I'm thinking not so much - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@mayjay I don't remember which site. Maybe phog.net

dylans said:

@jayballer54 I don’t think DeSousa has anything he can do about his eligibility, but worry. So playing basketball and working on skills is a great thing to do!

Possibly, I understand the part for sure about it being out of his control , don't get me wrong I'm not trying to make anymore out of it then what it is- -BUT like some others said - -WHY you would think he would have a lot going on - -preparing to get ready for the trip and being here in time making sure everything in order - just like any other trip anybody makes those last minute things that need to be taken care of and such. - -So he can be here with the team when they return on the 26th. - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@jayballer54 Well if he’s anything like my 18 year old self. He’s doing the things he loves playing ball, enjoying his HS friends for one last week, & seeing his family. Packing can and will be done at midnight the night before, lol.

Dark thoughts say he is bracing for not being approved and doesn’t want to be too let down. But I think this is less likely than he’s 19 and wants to play around the week of Christmas.

dylans said:

@jayballer54 Well if he’s anything like my 18 year old self. He’s doing the things he loves playing ball, enjoying his HS friends for one last week, & seeing his family. Packing can and will be done at midnight the night before, lol.

Dark thoughts say he is bracing for not being approved and doesn’t want to be too let down. But I think this is less likely than he’s 19 and wants to play around the week of Christmas.

Ya it was mention by Coach Self this morning that they did have a couple of his grades that was good, and felt pretty good on the others. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@HighEliteMajor

Yes and no. Lightfoot can play better than he has so far if he plays his true position which is SF or PF but not Center where he is over matched, much like Perry was when he played out of position. Preston can play PF or Center although stretch PF is his preference.

You can play Doke and Preston, rest Doke and play Preston and Lightfoot, rests Preston and Lightfoot and play Doke and 4 guards like now, rest Doke and Lightfoot and Play Preston and 4 guards (intriguing lineup). You can see the possibilities and you can see how combining the 3 bigs with a 1-4 lineup at times, basically eliminates the perceived thinness at the front.

Remember that Kevin Young was only 6'8' and 190 pounds which smaller than Svi. Also, Cunliffe and his freakish athleticism plays taller than his listed 6'6" height that for the first time at KU appears to be under reported.

Like I said, if I were a betting man I would have thought that grades would do Preston in, not a car; hard to anticipate something so stupid.

I am sure that, much like all major programs, KU has been in contact with the NCAA through unofficial, backdoor channels and has pretty good idea of what will happen. I bet KU lawyers are parked at the NCAA compliance office waiting for the good word. I will guess that KU has been unofficially told the the decision would be handed in today and it will be a 9-12 game suspension which he has already served; it would explain what Coach Self has been saying.

I think we just expect too much out of Mitch. He hustles probably more than anyone else on our team, and that counts for a lot. But it also exposes weaknesses in his game because he is involved on so many plays. He is still "green wood" and has plenty to learn about the game. His biggest flaw right now is making boneheaded plays.... something that happens with all green wood, but in his case, more often because he hustles and is involved in so many plays.

Wow... he sure is swatting a lot of balls away from the rim! Bravo, Mitch!

Concerning DeSousa's eligibility.... I am of the opinion that we have been discussing his case with the NCAA so we can get him cleared ASAP, once he provides qualifying academics. So... we just need to be able to tick off the boxes today before 4pm CST. And DeSousa has it worked out with IMG to release his grades today, before 4pm CST.

Something could go wrong... but we have choreographed this to have the best chance of working today!

@drgnslayr

He has also taken more charges than anyone in the team, something that stats don't show. I though a couple of the fouls on him last night were unwarranted. At one time, the refs had called 16 fouls on KU and only 6 on Stanford and it was pretty one sided until Stanford started to foul more in the second half trying to get back into the game and the final count was KU 18 fouls and Stanford 14.

Lightfoot leads the team in blocks and is 6th in the conference; he is playing considerably less mpg than the players ahead of him.

@jaybate-1.0

No agreement from me. 17-18 year old players are quite different than 19-20 year old players. All things being equal, a 17 year old is nowhere close to a 20 year old. You can howl all you want but it does not change the facts.

Preston has been with program since the summer and he is as as conditioned as any of the players and DeSousa has been playing at a basketball prep academy where preparing players for the next level is mission 1. Bagley is 1.5 years younger and Ayton half a year younger than Preston and they are both domination with no problems; Azubuike is younger than all of them and he is doing just fine. There is no reason why Preston or DeSousa could not do the same. considering how long he has been in the program.

@JayHawkFanToo You're on a roll today. keep 'em coming.

@jaybate-1.0

No agreement from me. 17-18 year old players are not the same as 19-20 year old players. All thing being equal, a 17 year old is quite different physically and mentally than a 20 year old player, all your howling notwithstanding.

Bagley is 1.5 years younger and Ayton 1 year younger than Preston and both are dominating. DeSousa is older than Bagley and about the same age as Ayton. Azubuike is younger than all of them and doing fine at KU. Preston has been with team since the Summer and he is as fit as any of the other players. DeSousa attended an elite basketball prep school where preparing players for the next level is Job One and both faced top competition before joining KU. There is no reason why Preston and DeSousa could not compete in Division I; familiarity with KU's playbook will be the primary limitation for DeSousa and less so for Preston.

Sorry about my double post. I could not see the first so I rewrote it and now both show...go figure.

@drgnslayr your right for sure. - -I don't know if you happen to catch it or not , I think it was in the Omaha game , a guy got beat or it was a break away and the guy was going in for a layup.

Mitch came from behind and just pretty much took it with his forearm - -cupped it like - - -GIVE ME THAT lol - I mean he just flat out took it , but they called a foul even the announcers said how is that a foul - but turns out they called the foul on Vick or Garrett not Mitch on the play. - -I was thinking to myself - -oh no he didn't lol - it was pretty impressive. Actually Mitch is a better ball swatter then I would of ever imagined. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

JayHawkFanToo said:

@jaybate-1.0

No agreement from me. 17-18 year old players are quite different than 19-20 year old players. All things being equal, a 17 year old is nowhere close to a 20 year old. You can howl all you want but it does not change the facts.

Preston has been with program since the summer and he is as as conditioned as any of the players and DeSousa has been playing at a basketball prep academy where preparing players for the next level is mission 1. Bagley is 1.5 years younger and Ayton half a year younger than Preston and they are both domination with no problems; Azubuike is younger than all of them and he is doing just fine. There is no reason why Preston or DeSousa could not do the same. considering how long he has been in the program.

NO AGREEMENT? SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!

Howling! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😃😃😃

There is no question.

Preston will lead the team in scoring and rebounding the moment he returns.

De Sousa will start immediately and redefine post play as we know it.

John Brennan will incorporate the Deep State and buy digital sign board ads on Times Square claiming to have framed Trump.

Pyramids will cease to be used by the Freemasons.

Elvis is ALIVE!!!!

😀

Inter dimensional Buffer 1

sigh

ditto double sigh....

Triple and quadruple sigh.

DeSousa announcement in T-minus 37 minutes, 48 seconds....

It is quite likely that Preston and Desousa will turn out to be the two greatest players in the history of basketball the moment they arrive.

Sigh.

Si.

Sue.

Sigh.

DeSousa projected to break Wilt chamberlain’s First game a record for points and rebounds .

Sigh

drgnslayr said:

DeSousa announcement in T-minus 37 minutes, 48 seconds....

Whaaaa? is their some kind of an announcement coming or you just screwing around lol. - -ROCK CHAK ALL DAY LONG BABY

Preston’s jersey pre-hung in rafters.

Cough.

Sigh.

Azuibuke to red shirt to make way for future hall of gamers Preston and de Sousa!!!

Sigh.

Well I know how much fun you're having. But technically speaking Elvis has been alive all this time and he "just went home". According to Tommy Lee Jones. 😁

Well, looks like we are going to have to wait a couple more weeks to know anything about those two. Lots of time going by without knowing much or anything happening. Lol at the thought of us playing Texas with no one to back up Dok. That should be fun

Lol either grades didn't get in or they are appealing

@HawkChamp Any day now....

@REHawk that's all we are probably going to get. It seems like every year some talent we need is not available. More wasted opportunities.

@BeddieKU23 of course. Not surprising at all

I'm starting to think this Billy thing is a distraction designed by Self. It's taken so long with the paperwork being submitted at a late period that this is not looking positive.

Welcome to another episode of " As The Front Line Turns". On today's episode, De Silvo's grades are expected to be released today, so we have a live feed for the announcement below:

Oh wait. I take that back. We don't have a live feed. In fact we don't know a damn thing, including a clue about de Silvo.

DeSousa has been cleared to graduate and will report to campus on the 26th and is eligible to practice immediately. Still needs to wait for clearance from the NCAA before he can play in games though.

Worry worts! I was never worried! :p

@HawkChamp Thinking you're right.

BShark said:

Worry worts! I was never worried! :p

lol, ya ok. - -and you know what? - - -I'm going to be the pope tomorrow too lol. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@BShark Wink, wink, worry hell! We got 6'8" 133 lb. Mitch Lightfoot and a bruiser named Sosinski. With the acquisition of practice player S. DeSousa we have merely doubled the Eligibility Waiting Time. Steamin' along towards The 12th of Never.