🏀 KuBuckets Archive

A lot of people have stated that the program is incapable of landing a high profile coach. As in Les Miles or Dave Doren, two guys that are at the top of my wish list for Christmas to land at KU.

1. Pooka Williams Jr. - The freshman running back has had a solid freshman season thus far racking up 711 yards and 6.1 ypc behind what could be the worst offensive line in power 5 football (maybe Rutgers is worse, maybe). He also has been effective in the passing game being 3rd on the team in reception yards. Pooka is a guy offensive coordinators dream about, you can build an offense around this kid.

2. Khalil Herbert- Junior running back that has several huge games on the ground in his KU career. Him and Pooka can be. A great 1-2 punch if used correctly in the run game. I believe both guys have power 5 talent.

3. Stephon Robinson- had a bad first half against ISU Saturday but is second in receptions on the team. He is just a sophomore and believe he has a high ceiling and will be a very good WR before his college days are done.

4. Kwamie Lassiter II - Another sophomore WR that just recently started to see action outside of special teams. He too looks like a guy that can contribute in the near future. Having players that look like they have just scratched the surface of their capabilities would make a difference if I was being hired.

5. Carter Stanley and Miles Kendrick- having QBs that have played snaps at this level and being able to watch film with these guys to improve their weakness right off the bat also is something that I believe to positive.

6. Facilities- Yes, Memorial Stadium needs a face lift. But we have a brand locker room that’s on par with just about anyone else in the country. The brand new indoor practice facility should be done before the end of this year. We also have Anderson Family football complex and the practice fields adjacent to Memorial that are fairly new themselves. Who ever gets this team will have better Facilities than anyone has ever started with at Kansas by a landslide.

7. Lawrence/ KC - being close to a major city and a major airport is something that recruits seem to highly favor in this day and age. KC always has stuff going on with several professional teams and Lawrence is a great college town.

@kjayhawks

You list some nice positives there.

The drawbacks probably aren't as numerous, but they are significant.

1. Lack of a prime recruiting pipeline. KC area isn't large enough to produce the amount of talent needed to sustain all of the local D1 programs. KU will never be a top choice for kids from Texas, Louisiana, Sun Belt states, etc.

2. Recent program turmoil. KU fired Gill after just two seasons. They fired Weis after two and a half. Bowen will get four full seasons, but you have to go back to Mangino to find a coach that made it to his fifth season, and KU has never had a coach last a full decade. Only four head coaches have lasted at least 90 games at KU. EVER

3. Lack of fan interest. KU has never truly generated a strong interest in the football program. Some of that is because the program has been up and down (with a lot of down). But some has also been that even when the team was better, you couldn't get people invested in it.

Like I said, the list is shorter, but no less daunting. The lack of a pipeline for talent makes it very hard to build consistent success. That results in lots of turnover, which ushers in a general meh feeling to the program. Rinse and repeat. This hire could change that, but it has to be a home run hire, especially since K-State is about to enter a down cycle that could open the door for KU to capitalize.

@justanotherfan You bring up some some fair points for sure. Lets hope the pros out weight the cons for most of the higher profile candidates. I think the program can gain a fair amount interest from fans if the team is competitive. I remember going to games in 08 and 09 where the stadium was not only full but there were thousands of people in lawn chairs on the hill. Most people I know that go to KSU games spend the second half drinking in the parking lot rather than back in the stadium. I think Football and Baseball in general are struggling to keep fan interest high compared to BB because the games take so much longer to play. I can drive up to Lawrence for a BB and only be gone half a day, if its football its pretty much a whole day. I think Kansas High school football is getting better personally but yes I'd say there are only a hand full of guys that have D1 capability early in there College careers. As you said KSU in a down slide and Mizzou as well hasn't been great recently. So if we get a high profile coach I think it bodes well to get a kid like Bledsoe that went to OU or a Blake Bell.

@justanotherfan

Well...

The KC Metro are is not fertile grounds for basketball either and yet KU manages to recruit nationally to an environment that is much farther removed from that of the top players.

KU coaching longevity history is actually quite good for the winning programs such a basketball where it probably has the least number of coaches in the P5 Conferences. If we find a football coach that can win reliably he will stay a long time,

Fans will be there when the team wins. During the good years under Mangino the stadium would regularly sell out and basketball games have been sold out for as long as I can remember. If the football team starts winning fans will be there. Look how excited we were here...a basketball forum...when KU won just two games.

Fan interest would be there if there was something interesting to be watched.

Recruiting pipeline is here. The JUCO pipeline. It has been cut off from KU ever since Mangino though. Apparently, he burnt some bridges and nobody has been able to rebuild them yet. And I'm not talking about desperation JUCO takes. I'm talking about the Zach Mettenbergers. The Alvin Kamara's. We need a coach who is going to nab the talent that is right in our backyards. Not even heavy JUCO classes. But classes with 4 or 5 JUCO guys that are legit players. In 2017 alone there were 3 Hutch players and a Butler player who got drafted. If you REALLY focused on landing top JUCO talents I think we would see some top tier talent infusion.

The players are in new dorms. There is going to be a new practice facility, an updated stadium, we have a top tier weight room, and then we have a new lockerroom.

It's not a bad job for the right person.

@Kcmatt7

That is quite true. Kansas JuCos is where Division I caliber players with "issues" go to atone until they are ready to move up. Not a bad pipeline. Having said that, I believe Weis recruited the top JuCo player and a couple of other top prospects that turned out to be busts...those "issues" sometimes are hard to overcome.

@JayHawkFanToo you and your juco "issues"!

Crimsonorblue22 said:

@JayHawkFanToo you and your juco "issues"!

He's right though.

@BShark I know to many that don't have "issues"

@Crimsonorblue22 It depends on your definition of the word. Often times, it's academic.

@JayHawkFanToo Oh I think there is definitely something to picking the right guys. Weis was never the disciplinarian to be able to successfully keep guys with "issues" in line though.

I just think it is about the only competitive advantage KU holds as far as recruiting goes, so it's stupid not to utilize it. There is absolutely no reason we shouldn't be getting two or three starter level players coming here out of the 8 CCs in the state.

Crimsonorblue22 said:

@JayHawkFanToo you and your juco "issues"!

Not every player that goes to JuCo has issues but then, these are not Division I caliber players. The Division I caliber players in JuCo are there precisely because they have issues otherwise they would be playing for a Division I program, right?

Some issues can be as simple as a family situation or academic where a low GPA, ACT/SAT score or lack of credits prevents admission or in some cases could be discipline or character issues that keep recruiters away.

Kansas Juco football is second to none. There should be some talent available. It’s how Snyder had it rolling earlier in his career at KSU.

@JayHawkFanToo

Football recruiting and basketball recruiting are two vastly different things. Beyond that, KU football is in a much different place than KU basketball has EVER been in.

In football, you have to sign 20+ talented players every single year or you will be in trouble. In basketball, you only need a couple each year.

In football, position matters. You can't just sign six great running backs and figure the rest out later. You need linemen. You need skill guys. Offense. Defense. It makes a difference.

In basketball, position doesn't really matter. Give me a couple guys that can play every year and we can figure the rest out. Yeah, it's nice to check off different positions, but when in doubt, talent trumps all.

KU basketball has been one of the premier programs since basically the day the program started.

KU football has been... a program.

There's a huge difference in the two.

Not having a fertile recruiting ground hurts because every football program needs to be able to sign several local kids each year that help the team.

JuCos can help with that, but a lot of those guys will only be around for two years. That puts even more pressure on you to hit with every single recruiting class because if five or six of those guys don't pan out, your recruiting class looks like Charlie Weis'.

The only JuCo recruits I'm interested in are guys that can get to KU by spring ball their sophomore year. Those guys are willing to put in the work on and off the field to get to a D1 school and compete. Beaty has done a good job with those guys. I'm good with plucking a couple guys like that every year just to plug holes, because even the best miss and KU doesn't recruit well enough to have solid backup plans on their board, especially along the lines.