Yeah seemed like Chatman liked KU but he was radio silent about them after visiting.
Liked his playmaking/shooting ability for sure. Unsure whether we missed on him in the end.
BeddieKU23
31745 posts
Valid question. Mikey is good, no concern there. KU may have found the better fit and better player in the end (Elmarko) both in the way he plays the game and his character off the court. I think its valid to point those things out while not diminishing Mikey at all.
It's clear Mikey has bigger goals then college and his social media/puma deal with his entourage make it a difficult deal for any school to navigate.
My question back is why didn't any other big named school go after Mikey? He clearly is talented enough to play at any school and yet KU was the biggest school that even tried. That tells you a lot.
Recruiting services have more or less said the Mikey camp played some games. He's a distraction & I think KU ultimately dodged that from their program. Perhaps he will be a positive to Memphis, though risky.
Dodging the proverbial bullet as they like to say
Bingo!
Perhaps Self was saving parts of the offense from getting scouted. One reason I can think of them avoiding the post ups. Or the offense is so vanilla right now because of the lack of experience they are running it certain way until there's more practice and game reps. It is weird but there has to be good reason for it
There were a few plays where Zach caught the ball under the basket and had no basket awareness it seemed. I'm guessing those plays in Bill's eyes are no-no's especially as he searches for any kind of big that can give him a front court presence. His drive from the perimeter for a layup was nice. He showed his perimeter touch late on another. You see the tools that can be useful, but they also seem to be skills Bill doesn't care about featuring or catering too.
It was game zero, I don't think we've seen enough from him but first impression wasn't flattering. Zach had a clear path to starting here and so far he hasn't seized it.
I remain hopeful Zach does become a reliable option down low.
Good fit for Mikey, doesn't have to worry about being coached up hard
Bossi says KU still an option for Mikey Williams according to his camp but he's visiting Memphis this week and logged a CB for them, given it goes well.
Very happy to have basketball back!
By Exhibition standards this was one of the poorest games in the Self era. Good to get out there and have this tape for practice though.
I have no idea how this team will score once scouted. Self has his work cut out for him with this group. I know he'll mold them into something.
Some individual notes:
Gradey was as advertised on offense. That shot of his is capable of performing at an elite level. The announcer seemed pretty shocked he could drive to the hoop which lets me know he didn't scout him very well. I was particularly paying attention to his defense which was good to average at times. His offense will force him into the starting lineup. KJ is a non-factor on O besides his ability to move the ball & that's something scouting will expose against us.
Kevin- you can see clearly why Self liked him, versatile big guard that is well schooled defensively. His defensive awareness is top notch, like Self coached him for years already. Him and Harris on the press was bad news bears for Pitt St. On offense you can see why he's still in College his shot has just never developed to the point of being a weapon. Hopefully he can find some efficiency as the season progresses.
Juan/Jalen have that added smoothness/comfortability to their games after years in the system. Jalen looks in great shape.
Thought Bobby looked sharp especially with the hustle plays. Is he afraid to shoot?
We have a lot of small guards (Juan, Bobby, Yesufu, Cuffe) and only Joe seems to have the awareness or ability to look for his shot. Really hope Bobby can evolve his game past the little we've seen which can absolutely be a positive. Anyone else notice Bobby holding the area he had surgery on it seemed?
Not buying the back excuse on Rice. We know better by now.
Good to see Cuffe out there. He's certainly behind still and you can just see it. Unfortunate. Probably won't play much this season.
Love the long-term potential of Zuby/Udeh. Those are grown men. 3 months from now it will be interesting to see their development. Seems like one of these guys is absolutely a key.
There will be growing pains for sure. Hopefully in the opener we have a little more focus at the start.
McCullar's defense looks legit.
Solid start to this half.
That McCullar post up was nice
Decent finish there
Clearly he listened
McCullar certainly doesn't appear to be an upgrade
Wilson can't shoot
Almost comical how bad this is
Have to say they need this time out
Fun start
Probably does matter. It also lets you know just how badly biased the NCAA was to nail Self. 5 level 1 penalties was always absurd.
True Louisville has suffered a lot. I was just voicing my frustration to this. Honestly, I don't care to see any program caught up in this still punished, even the programs that did a lot more dirty then KU did.
Expect KJ fyi
Sure, so Self/T took suspensions while Louisville gets off free. What a complete joke. If this isn't the end to KU's penalties, I'll have no words.
Totally get the frustration.
I think we know Self will at times deflect or provide cover to situations he doesn't want unnecessary attention on. I bet a good majority of KU fans had no idea we didn't have visitors at Late Night. Other schools didn't have that offifical info to use negatively against KU so he did a good job keeping the issue in the dark. He did a great job keeping a lid on the Remy situation last year as well (which could have spiraled). I've come to accept we have to know when he's using coach speak to the media. Think he does a great job keeping a lot of things in-house and away from the media overall.
Confirmed Official Visits were off this year due to self-imposed sanctions.
Low-Key upset Self won't be responsible for Scheyer's first L
But Norm Roberts can be a good Robin here
If this is part of the IARP decision, we all should be fine with it.
If we are playing ball without this in writing, its bull-crap
KU has Self-Imposed a 4 game suspension on Self & Townsend.
Also included is a reduction of 3 scholarships over the next 3 years
also recruiting restrictions that have already been served and some that will happen in the future.
Self swears by this kid. He says he's improved again. I'm interested to see what exactly he's improved at. We know he's a great game manager with a good supporting cast but now that role changes without the same cast. He's a vet, he's trusted, he'll have the ball in his hands. His growth/improvement at least in my eyes shifts to other parts of the position. Agree if he proves a reliable shooter then the defense shifts. I'm interested to see as well and eagerly awaiting games to see what "more" he can bring.
@BShark said in Insane Scrimmage/Exhibition Results:
@BeddieKU23 said in Insane Scrimmage/Exhibition Results:
Not unexpected with Louisville. Rebuild
Still, some Fort Hays shit for them.
I really didn't understand their offseason. They have like 1 guard on the entire roster
I'll be happy if he can float into that 7-10 ppg range nightly for the rest of his career here. That keeps a defense somewhat honest.
The biggest thing I want to see from him on offense going forward is getting to the FT line. I think he has the lowest FT % rate of any starter that's ever played under Self. He has 34 FT attempts in over 1600 minutes so far at KU. He simply has to get better at this. Easy points are there for him if he's savvy enough to take advantage.
Not unexpected with Louisville. Rebuild
West Virginia trying to slide one more transfer into the current year. Manhattan transfer guard Jose Perez has applied for a waiver to play for West Virginia this season after the Manhattan coach was fired just before the season was about to start. Would be a big pickup for them considering how badly Huggins has navigated the new transfer era
5 Star & Top 10 PG Elliot Cadeau announced a Top 6 including KU. KU, Louisville, UNC, Syracuse, Texas, Texas Tech in the running.
He has visited UNC, Tech & Louisville. No scheduled visit to KU yet nor was it mentioned. Can't get too caught up in this one until he actually see's campus
He could have transferred after last season so him sticking around is good to see. Word is he might not have the skill level to stick here which is why if he did improve during the redshirt and this yr that perhaps next year would be interesting. Not expecting anything but certainly remain hopeful since his athleticism and defense really popped when he was a HS Soph
Cuffe is an insane athlete at his size. Vertical has to be in the mid 40's. I really liked him but his growth was completely shutdown by covid and reclassifying down to join KU early. I was always hoping if he stuck around that year 3 would be where we knew if he was something. Hopefully we can see him in some games this yr to see whether there is something to keep some optimism in or not
It makes a lot of sense optically for Gradey to start here too. I'm sure he's earned the spot but for future recruits like him, it's always good for biz when you can sell to these kids that they can compete and start as freshman.
List was super weirdo, Syracuse, VCU, LSU and 2 other smaller schools. Probably fake.
Agree about Rice and the 5 position.
Listening to Joe's interview from media day was positive. Just seems like a great kid & easy to root for. Seems like he knows his role now which is to score, something he came to KU knowing how to do but hasn't really shown. I think Joe & MJ have the ability to provide the bench scoring this team needs on a consistent basis.
@BShark said in 2023 Recruiting:
@BeddieKU23 said in 2023 Recruiting:
Just a weird final 5
Was this updated?
I saw it updated on Twitter but wondering if its false since I can't find it easily.
Mikey Williams will announce on 11/6. KU not a finalist here.
Just a weird final 5
Great Analysis of the rest of the guys.
We know the steady hand we have at PG but I wanted to mention my concern for playing Harris 35 mpg (if that's what ends up happening). We've seen him wear down at times under heavy minutes in the past. I hope he took this offseason to get into even better shape to handle that kind of workload.
Ideally Bobby stays healthy and gets 7-10 minutes a game of PG duty but we continue to see that staying healthy has been an issue for him. I'm not sure we can count on him but I'm hopeful his injuries are finally behind him. Self mentioned that if Bobby can't fill the role, McCullar will have play point which I think is even less ideal. This is the one position we cannot afford injury at.
That starting 4 is pretty darn good especially if we can assume certain things:
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Juan will score more and be a more aggressive offensive player while maintaining his ability to control the game.
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McCullar will be a do-it-all type guard/wing while increasing his efficiency on offense across the board.
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Gradey Dick provides that 3-point threat, scores in double figures consistently & defends at a satisfactory level.
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Jalen Wilson is our Alpha, leads the team in scoring & increases his shooting efficiency.
This is probably the core of the team and the offense if we are being honest here.
With the bench, it seems like we are going to need all of them to play and fill to some degree a critical role. I agree Yesufu could take on the veteran spark plug role we've seen Moss/JCL etc fill recently. I'm confident we see a much-improved version of Joe just from a confidence/understanding/fit on this team. I'm really pulling for him.
KJ is a fun player athletically who gained some valuable trust defensively as a freshman. I have major concerns about how teams will defend KU if he's on the court with Juan. I can see teams playing off both and making it difficult to score. KJ is simply going to have to make plays and use his athleticism to his advantage. We might see KJ play a variety of roles/positions. He's a really good utility weapon to have.
Pettiford already mentioned his importance at the backup PG spot. We need to see him out there, availability has been an issue which is unfortunate because he showed some real promise. Hopefully that perimeter shot has improved as well.
I have to say I'm a bit shocked MJ hasn't picked it up as quickly as I thought he would. Seems like he's in Self's toughening box already and one we are likely to see some growing pains with. He signed up for hard coaching and I hope he comes out the other side of it a better man. We know the immense talent is there, the body is already chiseled and strong like a 5th year Sr so it's all about him plugging himself in and helping the team. Rice's improvement over the season will be interesting & critical to monitor.
Overall I think we have to lean on Jalen to be the go-to guy. Why else would he have come back when he could have left with all of his buddies on top? And the versatility in his game with some improved efficiency makes me think he can be that 16-18 pt scorer every night. We saw his FT shooting improve a ton over last season & he's good at drawing fouls. If that trey ball can hit around 35% he's going to score a bunch.
Disagree about Houston a bit. Great backcourt but they lost both of their stud bigs that kept them good after Sasser went down with injury. 4 of their top 5 scorers are gone overall as well. I know they have an exciting freshman big in Jerace Walker but he'll have to be all that to replace what they have lost. Perhaps Roberts takes a step forward, he's just not very big. The backcourt talent should keep them ranked though
He recruited Zach knowing this about him already. Going to take time but I think he gets there
Low expectations but high hopes.
Yeah Flo was the starter but not a very impactful one to their success that year. Crazy that he's still around.
I agree the traditional Big's importance has diminished with how the game has evolved at that position. For KU's scheme it has been critical that they have a guy that can go get a bucket.
Clemence was an interesting take from a fit perspective. Bigs that can stretch the floor have been rare in the Self era. DLaw was the last one and he was only around 1 year.
UNC had a traditional big (Bacot) and made it to the Finals. Flo Thamba was a traditional big on the Baylor team that won it 2 years ago. Doke in 19-20 was on the best team in America. Virginia's big Diakite on their title squad was more of the mobile type.
At least recently, its proven to be effective to have that traditional big in the lane.
Dave had another year available to him which would have been ideal.
Clemence's game is more poor man's Brady Manek.
I feel like Self is going to have to be way more creative in how he gets points down low. A lot of his traditional stuff he likes to run doesn't have a traditional guy to make the plays yet. If the guard play is strong, then that will help them.
I do agree that he's going to have to settle in on 1-2 options and live with it. I can't see a platoon being effective.
A lot of my analysis has been about finding the best offensive option in the post but defensively I think that's the bigger issue Self isn't talking about. It sounds as if the void Dave/Mitch left is significant right now
Yeah, perhaps a transfer would have been ideal.
Here's my rebuttal against that though. We recruited Zach, KJ, Zuby, Udeh in two recruiting classes to play the position. You develop and play these guys that you have invested in. Your security blanket of having an experienced post player is gone after reaping the benefits of guys sticking around. We forget Dave/Mitch struggled mightily as younger players. I get the portal let's you go out and get a ready-made guy but these KU coaches get paid a great deal to also develop HS talent & long-term that's the best way to get out of this situation.
Think we are seeing a combination of Self expecting a certain level of play in the post & new guys struggling to match that standard right now. I think we need to prepare as if this will be a constant battle all year long. It's probably going to take most of this year before we see someone start to emerge. These things take time & this position group is probably a year away from being a strength again.