(Warning: this post includes a long set up, and followed by unbridled optimism and belief in two players that many have grave doubts about. Be it known I hate giving up on guys that don't give up. Sometimes it leaves me out in right field, as it did when I hoped for Justin Wesley to surprise everyone and make an impact. I can own it as one of my flaws. I love underdogs. America is just an underdog that got off the leash. I love America, too. The hell with leashes.)
It appears to me that we have never gotten the straight skinny on AW3's situation.
And we may never get it.
But that's alright.
We never REALLY got the straight scoop on Russell Robinson's year in the darkest, sensory deprivation depths of the Toughening Box.
Still, I think it helps to try to recall the crucible that AW3 has been through--to not simply leap to the conclusion that he will be one of the guys that never made it.
Self has a history of putting certain players through living hell; of ignoring them to the edge of oblivion, and then retrieving them to do great things. Not all players have fairy tale book endings, but more wind up contributing something important to the program than don't.
Most of the guys that have left the last few years, had they had the courage to stick it out, would have be utilized by Self their last years. Justin Wesley is about the only one that did not contribute something decisive his last season and even he got one or two chances to come in an make an impact late. But Wesley clearly earned Self's respect by hanging in and be an L&A practice player. Not saying that's enough. Not saying it wouldn't hurt like hell to get caught in the numbers. But I am saying that a surprising number of guys with a particularly marketable skill, like guarding the post, or rebounding, or slashing, or trifectating, eventually are called upon under Self their junior and/or senior years.
So let us dust off the cobwebs in the memory.
Partial recall then from the Memory Hole about AW3:
Self said before the start of AW's first season that it was pretty special to have a guy his size that could shoot the trey. AW3 was supposedly an awesome machine of a trey shooter.
Next, as a freshman, when he got in games he seemed a bit awkward from being a bit too skinny and we never saw much sign of the great trey stroke.
Sometime during the first half of the freshman season it surfaced in some newspaper quotes that his father indicated that KU was not the only team that had wanted his son. Whether or not the report meant to, it seemed to me the remark of a parent possibly disgruntled with his son's PT. AW3's PT seemed to drop somewhat after that quote appeared, but it was hard to draw any strong connection.
Recall, however, that AW3's situation was also unfolding somewhat in the shadow of the then modestly curious lengthening absence of Zach Peters, which Self remarked on intermittently more or less to the extent of saying that the longer Zach was out, the tougher it was going to be for him to come back.
Sometime later in that first semester, if I recall correctly, it was reported that Zach reputedly suffered from a number of concussions, some dating back to high school football, one to some time during the summer in Lawrence, and maybe one more during the season. Don't hold me to this sequence exactly. Its kind of vague in my memory.
Soon it was reported that Zach had suffered from persistent impairment from the concussions, would not be returning to the team, would be going home at semester, would stay in school until then, and that Zach's roommate, AW3, would be switched with Tyler Self for the remainder of the semester. I do not recall an explanation being given for the roommate switch.
Over the rest of the season, AW3 got a few chances on the floor, did not play badly, showed some unexpected aptitude for rebounding, but did shoot particularly well, nor impact much, and maybe struggled a bit with defense and protection, as most freshmen tend to.
Suggesting Self saw a possible specialist role for AW3, Self inserted AW3 at least once at the 4, against a small ball team (I forget which one). It was a brief trial and did not seem to accomplish much, but suggested also that AW3 was perhaps picking up defending some as the season went on.
AW3's PT seemed to dwindle down the stretch, as Self shortened his bench, and Ben at 2 and Travis at 3 played and trifectated exceptionally well and proved to be iron men in terms of endurance.
After the season, AW3 made clear he was staying and committed to earning a rotation spot, despite the signing of Selden , at 2, and Wiggins, a 3--AW3's most likely positions.
Prior to last season, Self praised AW3's off season development, indicated he was a likely rotation player, and said that he was being a leader on the very experienced young squad.
At the start of the season, AW3 seemed transmogrified by Hudy's weight work. The skinny gangly freshman had turned into a hulking, cut sophomore. He seemed to move much better. He saw some PT early but did not shoot the trey ball very well. Ball handling skills did not look exceptional, but they also did not look horrible either.
Shortly, he started getting almost no playing time, despite the other starters and reserves on the perimeter protecting and shooting the trey ball often poorly. His defense seemed a bit slow footed, he did not seem sharply worse than anyone else backing up Selden and Wiggins, and at times did not seem sharply worse than Selden and Wiggins, during their ups and downs early.
Very early and conspicuously, Self started Frank Mason at the point, which seemed a wake up call to Naadir Tharpe. But which we now know may have been something of a cover story for preparing to compensate for Selden's knee injury.
While we know now that Selden never fully healed, we know Selden resumed playing more.
Around this time I vaguely recall there was a reputed injury to AW3, maybe a hip.
In turn, the experiment of Mason starting, while junked after only two games, was not tossed in the ash can entirely. Recall that Self increasingly tended to pull Selden for a rest, move the 38% trey shooting Tharpe to a wing, and Mason to the point. It was during this period that Mason was being inserted reputedly for his ball handling and get-to-the-paint abilities, while Tharpe was reputedly being used as a trifetate and team leader ahead of AW3.
The inference available at the time was that AW3 was slow to heal and in any case was not a good enough ball handler to share Tharpe's ball handling duties, made apparently necessary by Tharpe's on again, off again abilities to handle the ball against pressure.
Self then spent some time rotating Mason and Frankamp into games ahead, while AW3 sat.
Shortly, Frankamp got a knee injury.
It was at this time that AW3's PT seemed likely to rise, but did not.
Self stuck with a three guard rotation of Tharpe, Selden, and Mason, despite all three struggling during this period.
Some point after this AW3 was asked by a media person about his status and indicated some thing to the effect that it would not be fair to the team for him to discuss transferring until after the season. From that moment on, at least as far as I can recall, AW3 more or less never got another serious look, and was largely only inserted near the end of a half, or just before a TV time out, to make sure a rotation player did not pick up a foul.
Asked by media again about his status later in the season, again if I recall correctly, he seemed more circumspect, indicating only something to the effect that he was just working hard and trying to stay ready in case Coach Self ever called on him.
Starting this off season, I do not recall any comments by Self about AW3, though I have been somewhat less vigilant in reading about the Hawks the last few weeks. Further, speculation among board rats swirls that center Myles Turner and PG Devonte Gregory signing with KU would require someone to transfer in order to have enough scholarships for just those two. Yet there has been nary a peep from AW3, or from Self, that I recall regarding this situation.
Silence can be deafening, or mean nothing at all.
It could be an announcement of AW3 transferring is contingent on signing both those players.
It could mean that someone on the team could give up a scholarship; that has occurred infrequently in the past.
I have a hunch Turner goes to UT and AW3 stays and surprisingly to some gets some rotation time, if Gregory is signed.
Why?
Whether some like the caliber of our returning bigs, there are four of them plus an OAD recruit: Traylor, Ellis, Lucas, Mickelson and Alexander. That is a lot of bodies to wade through. Texas has two very good ones, but only 3 total to wade through, if I recall correctly. And the second season of his likely TAD experience wherever he goes, would, at UT, be pretty well centered on Turner. Turners's problem at KU is that there is a significant probability that Self could sign another OAD big next season and Turner could experience what Tarik Black experienced this season. So: I see Turner going to UT.
But why would that make AW3 a possible rotation player after having been buried so deeply as to be on the verge of being forced into a transfer?
Self was forced to play non combo's last season, because he needed a ball handler in the games at all time to compensate for Tharpe vulnerability to Pressure Syndrome on both ends of the floor. That was necessary, because Mason and Frankamp, Self's only alternatives to Tharpe, were green wood moved from HS 2 guards to D1 PGs. Well, I'm here to disabuse everyone of the notion that it is impossible for a HS 2 to become a D1 PG. It is possible. It just takes about 2-3 years.
Mason is right at the threshold of being a super, short, X-axis PG. There is absolutely nothing about his game that cannot be fixed over a summer of physical/mental maturity and a lot of hard work and tireless reps. And it is clear that Frank Mason understands he is Rocky getting his big shot against all of the Apollo Creeds of the world. Frank may not have been as quick of a study as everyone hoped for (couldn't switch from hyperdrive to dish, couldn't learn when to trigger and not), but intermittently all season long he made afterburner moves not even Tyshawn Taylor had the speed to make, and Tyshawn was lightening his first season too. XTReme agile, quick-footed hyper speed is worth developing, even if it takes till a third season of trying to get it all down, as it took Tyshawn to get to it down. Speed kills. Frank has enough speed to be a mass murderer on wood. He just needs a lot more work on his off hand. He only had one had up to the challenge of enabling his speed. Off hands can be developed as surely as The Twins could learn to jump, and Mario could learn to shoot 40% from trey. Frank just needs to work and work and work at that off hand. He needs to tie his good hand behind his back for the rest of this off season. He needs to eat with it. Type with it. Shoot with it. Fly fish with it. Spin cast with it. Oil paint with it. Dance with it. Write with it. Fly kites with it. Play piano with it. Fence with it. Autoeroticize with it. And then when September gets here, he needs to untie his on-arm and he needs to be running 400 drives a day to the iron with two trainers, or coaches, or cheerleaders, standing there with 10 foot tall plywood cutouts of big men on rollers that he has to drive at and react to in mid air to these moving big men cutouts and dish 200 times right and 200 times left into trash barrels. And every time he misses the trash barrel he has to add one rep. If he does what I am saying, no one on Planet Earth will be able to stop Frank Mason next season with anything but a sniper rifle. Most point guards are born, but Tyshawn Taylor proved some point guards are made. Frank Mason has the compactness that slayr said Tyshawn lacked. Frank Mason was put on this earth to be the embodiment of the X-axis game that slayr has explained to everyone that would read.
But I have digressed on Frank in pursuit of explaining why AW3 might see rotation time.
Frank is not alone in the getting better department. Conner Frankamp already showed that he could play the position adequately from a protection, dribbling, and shooting standpoint the last few games. Conner has to build up his fast twitch, as slayr has rightly pointed out. HE WILL. He has excellent hops. He is a brainwashed, monomaniacal, gym rat, coach's son. He will be able to get in the paint this season some, not enough for him to be the only PG, but enough to keep the pressure on opposing defenses, when asked.
Next, Devonte Gregory is as good as signed. Gregory is a born point guard, even if he is not recognized as a great one. Born point guard. Ready to plug and play, just not able to put the team on his back. Fine. We have other players with backs ready to carry the team.
The above means that Self is going to have THREE guys ready to run the point full time by mid season. Three guys that won't have to have another big time ball handler at the 2 every minute, like a baby needs a pacifier.
This means Selden, with a good knee, ought to be able to become the create a space and drain it inside/outside scorer that Self expected.
And Oubre can be somewhat the same at the 3, if he gets his trey gun sighted.
Now Selden and Oubre are going to need to sit 10 minutes each per game; that's 20 minutes of backup PT.
And neither wing position is going to need a pacifier replacement.
So: if AW3, can get his trey gun sighted, and maybe drop 5 pounds to lean up a little for guarding under the new rules, AW3 looks like a perfect fit for that 20 minutes, whenever the other team is long at 2 and 3, and 10 minutes when they are only long at the 3.
I almost hope Turner doesn't come. I want AW3 to get his time in the sun. Self put him into as long of a toughening box sentence for whatever reason, as he put RR in. By god, AW3 needs to be set free. This is the flipping "Bridge Over the River Kaw"!!!!!!! How hard do you think AW3 will play when Self finally unleashes him? What loose ball won't he dive for? What charge won't he take? What forearm smash won't he deliver? What trey won't he drain?
In an age of soft OADs, AW3's body and mind are hardened. Let him study Travis Releford's game.
Go AW3, Go!!!!!!
P.S.: Oooooops! I forgot all about Brannen Greene standing in the way of AW3 at the 2 and about Self trying Brannen a bit at the 4 last season, also. Well, that happens sometimes, when you post from emotion. :-)
Hmmmmm, I don't want to pull against Brannnen. And I don't want to give up on AW3. I guess it will be some tough sledding for AW3 given that Brannen beat him out of minutes at the 2-3 in Brannen's first season. Oh, well, it may come down to a slot behind Oubre for AW3 and only 10 mpg best case. But that would be start on the long road out of the toughening box.
