And will be very matchup dependent as well if it happens. I see no reason to play our best player at the 5 and get him beat up. Guys are just going to have to step up and rise to the occasion.
BeddieKU23
31745 posts
Unless Zach/Udeh solidify the 5 position we're going to be a bit small there all year. Zuby, athletic but 6'8, KJ is shorter than that but again he's an athletic freak. Cam is tall but not good.
I mean we all know what he can/can't do defensively. He's a great college rebounder and not much else defensively.
He certainly had some moments, good and bad. Looked like a freshman & then dealt with some injury issues that stunted further growth. I'm not sure we saw him in the best light last year. I'm disappointed we are not hearing that he's been that good so far leading up. In fact it sounds like the all the bigs have struggled. We have had a lot of steady years in the post when we think back to even the Doke days. Doke/Dave/Mitch played a lot of minutes here the last 5-6 years and now that mantle is finally being passed on. Sounds like a lot of growing pains going on right now and something that will likely spill over well into the season.
KJ will play & I have long thought he'd still get minutes at the 5 after solid play there in spurts last year as a freshman. When you earn that kind of trust from coach you tend to keep it. I just think it's a valid concern about his rebounding. He had 10 total defensive rebounds last year in his minutes. Guards grab more boards than that without even trying. It's weird because he was pretty darn good at stealing a possession here and there on offense, so you know he has the ability to get the ball.
Interesting in Zach's limited minutes last year he had the highest Rebound Rate & 2nd highest Block Rate on the team. He was clearly not ready for primetime (body wise & experience) but he was not afraid to mix it up against guys bigger/stronger than him. Another positive quality he showed last year was a surprising steal rate (also led the team). Take these stats with some grain of salt due to how limited the minutes were for him (118 on the year) but they are glimpses to his defensive potential. Wondering if he's just a gamer. He showed some nasty when healthy down low. Very interested to see year 2 development.
I think Self has an idea who's going to play the 5 long-term but when he's got a room with little experience, he's going to push competition and be guarded with the media.
At least from the scrimmage Zuby looked like he was further ahead than we might have expected which is a good thing. Udeh has the size you want there & could turn into a rebound/lob threat as the season progresses when he gets practice reps in by the thousand.
KJ could start early due to his defense but man he's gotta rebound. Dude had the least amount of defensive rebounds on the entire team last year which doesn't even make 1 ounce of sense given his athleticism & motor. Statistically it looks like he was allergic to the ball on defense. Not sure Harris/KJ in your 5 is good for the offense but maybe we'll just shutout teams from scoring.
I do agree the growth of the position is going to be extremely important to this teams ceiling. Self was all over that scrimmage about how they don't score inside etc. This position group is going to have to grow up in a big way
Congrats!
At a school that cares about Football only so he probably has a long leash
@BShark said in KU's Secret Scrimmage:
TCU SMOKED Alabama in their scrimmage. These things are kinda weird and not about winning but reported score was 99-69.
Not surprised. TCU returned everything
I think the 5 is open competition right now. We might see a surprise there. I'm high on Zach but sounds as if he hasn't done enough to win a starting spot yet.
Yes they did this last year when they had a dunkfest on Tulsa
Is Saturday against Illinois.
No media etc.
There will be intel that comes out of it, interested to hear good or bad.
After that KU has 1 Exhibition game
Lots of positive press going to Chris Johnson for his play over the last weekend. Certainly looking like he will rise the rankings. He looked a lot like a top 20 prospect then his current rank
We probably don't realize how lucky we are, but we know there's no better person for the job then him.
It's amazing how far out of his way he'll go to recognize certain players that haven't had the best deck of cards thrown their way & the respect that those players earn from him. He finds a way to separate the game and make it about the individual that is almost uncanny. He does such a good job that he makes fans like us really feel and connect to their story. We've seen it time and time again over the years from T-Rob, McLemore, Jamari, Juan & others I know I'm forgetting. Bill is a saint, what else is there to say that hasn't been said about him already.
@Crimsonorblue22 said in Self Media Today:
Still can’t believe they hired him. But then again fran got a job.
Somehow missed this but you won the internet this week!
Dennis Evans is headed to Minnesota, eh
I wouldn't be surprised if this was part of the agreed upon early penalties that cannot be talked about since the case is still ongoing. They have always had visitors even if it was just a few.
Imagine not showing recruits your national championship banner etc and not having those same recruits see Shaq DJ the entertainment. Call me Flippin crazy because it doesn't make sense
Headed to Germany to play professionally!
On paper Texas has one of the most talented rosters. Certainly, looks like the most athletic bunch in the league.
I'm terrified that Self is going to play Cam Martin. He certainly hasn't said anything so far to kill my fears either. Yikes!
I'm with you on having a lot of questions about this team. I'll let Self figure it out and try and enjoy watching this young team grow up. They don't have the #5 roster on paper, but Self will find a way to coach them into something. I've lowered my expectations for this squad a lot & we won a title so the pressure valve is really low for this year.
Kenpom released its preseason rankings. Take them with a grain of salt. He has Texas #2 for example. Perhaps they will play to that lofty ranking.
KU #8 with #16 offense & #10 defense.
@BShark said in Late Night:
@FarmerJayhawk said in Late Night:
KJ, McCullar, and Juan looked terrific.
These things are always worthless but Zuby looks like a dude.
My thoughts too. He looked like someone that has to play if this team is going to raise its ceiling
Yes staff really pushed for Elmarko in the class & it paid off. Bill Self closing time came through once again.
I think he ends up a 5 star at the end of the cycle. This was the staff's top target and they landed him. He's ascended to be one of the elite guards in his class & his hard work has paid off.
Think they are done with HS recruiting for 23 unless an ideal 4 man became available. They will likely hit the portal for needs after the season
Thankful its not us.
Over/under of Self backhand slights in his first broadcast is set at 10
If they stick him in the Big-12 I will never take the mute button off
He's ranked right where Dotson ended up
@BShark said in 2023 Recruiting:
He's a 5* in my heart.
I believe he will end up one. I don't see how he isn't
KU FOR ELMARKO.
WOOOOO
Encouraging to see the freshman bigs are ahead of schedule but he is also concerned about post scoring and defending which I think will take a while to see consistency there
I wouldn't be surprised if it's our defense that struggles, especially post defense/ rim protection. I want to see what Zach offers and I'm extremely high on him but it's been a while since we had to rely on a post player that didn't play a lot the previous season. With how much that position impacts the game on both sides for KU it's one of my big concerns for the season
would be 8th best class with Jackson.
Baylor was picked first by the Coaches with 5, 1st place votes to KU's 4.
Baylor, KU, Texas, TCU, Ok-Lite/Tech (tie), OU, Iowa St, West Virginia, K-St.
Bill has print for the motivation board again!
And he'll have a legit shot it looks. Usually they just pick the highest rated player for the award preseason.
If the good news does come through today we'll need to marvel at the talent and athleticism Self has assembled in the backcourt in this class. Talk about going out there and getting dudes
Mike Miles Jr was named Preseason POY
Grant Sherfield (OU) - Newcomer of the Year
Keyonte George (Baylor) - Freshman of the Year
Kevin McCullar named to Honorable Mention team
Billy Eugene. Get that guy a raise
18 games still. Basically for 2 years the only guaranteed home/away series would be with K-St and likely a rotation of 4 other teams. I could see Iowa St, Baylor & Texas for example being some teams KU would also play home/away. Just won't be every team anymore with the expansion past 10
The others..
Oklahoma / Oklahoma St
Texas/ Tech
Baylor / Tcu
Cincinnati / West Virginia
Houston / UCF
Iowa St / BYU
Rothstein source saying..
With the league going to 14 teams next season KU will play K-St twice in league play. Will mark the end of each team playing each other twice. Very interesting
Technically every school with a shoe sponsor is guilty of it (and has been for decades).
Yes, the NCAA wanted to prove Adidas was a booster to the KU program.
So much has changed since the original NOA.
Nike just announced signing HS players to NIL deals. Kids don't even have to pick a program to get paid now!
Along with guards Marcus Carr (Texas), Avery Anderson (OSU), Mike Miles (TCU), Adam Flagler (Baylor), & Timmy Allen (Texas).
Congrats Jalen!
@drgnslayr said in Late Night:
Didn't we have to admit Adidas was a booster in our allegation case?
Correct our previous AD did so in the De Sousa eligibility case as a hypothetical to getting his eligibility restored. It was later used in the NOA against KU
@BShark said in 2023 Recruiting:
Real targets: Elmarko, Mikey, Cooper
Imagine we only take one. All should announce this month.
Considering the talent in this class available it's impressive to see high level guys looking here again. Elmarko and Cooper would be a really insane haul
Brutal injury
Yeah I knew we haven't been involved much here. I just thought I'd share for those who might be wondering on him
AJ Johnson updated his recruitment and didn't include anything on KU. Safe to say he's no longer a priority target/target worth following
@rockchalkjayhawk said in Late Night:
@BeddieKU23 said in Late Night:
@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Late Night:
@BeddieKU23 said in Late Night:
Didn't include him since he released a Top 2 without KU in it recently
KU is also officially out of the Bronny James sweepstakes, not that KU was going to sign him anyways, with Bronny signing an NIL deal with Nike.
Was just going to post. This is the new way Nike is going to pay players to end up at their schools.
That clearly is a booster situation, right? Thought that was still frowned upon.
The NCAA has been neutered from doing anything about anything. All they can do is talk now
@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Late Night:
@BeddieKU23 said in Late Night:
Didn't include him since he released a Top 2 without KU in it recently
KU is also officially out of the Bronny James sweepstakes, not that KU was going to sign him anyways, with Bronny signing an NIL deal with Nike.
Was just going to post. This is the new way Nike is going to pay players to end up at their schools.
Didn't include him since he released a Top 2 without KU in it recently
Shaq the entertainment.
Bobby is dealing with another nagging issue, this time a hamstring. I really don't think you can expect much from him with the amount of time he continues to miss. Hasn't been a full go in practices yet. Will be interesting to see if he suits up in the scrimmage.
No idea what recruits are coming just yet. I did see KU is interested in getting 2024 Big John Bol & 2025 5 star Mikel Brown on campus from Sunrise. I'd imagine the list will expand as we get closer
After this year KJ could be starting at the 3 or 4 depending on Rice & Zuby's development. At the base level he's already a trusted defender and we know that screams Bill's guy.
Yupp & just looking at the fit in this offense having a non-shooting 3 or 4 is not ideal at all. This O is literally made for Wings and Bigs to feast