🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@ParisHawk

He looked more or less the same physique in Italy as last season. I wouldn't say Svi is a great rebounder but he should be more than serviceable at his height. I would hope he brings more to the table then 3 a game as a Senior and the lack of big men on the roster we need everyone to collectively do their job. He's the 3rd tallest player on the team and needs to do a better job playing to that.

We had 3 really solid rebounder's in Frank, Josh & Landen and all 3 of those options are gone. Doke should average 10 a game just standing by the basket at his size. Preston is a really solid rebounder considering his effort has been something the staff is after him about. His size and athletic ability should translate to 6-7 a game if he starts. Vick is a go-getter, I think he continues to expand his game on both ends. Garrett was a surprise in Italy grabbing 12 boards in one game. The kid simply knows what he's supposed to do which is rare for a freshman that isn't hyped as a OAD. On paper, rebounding should be solid but we all know it changes when the games happen.

So a quick recap of where things stand with recruits.

The lack of good big men in this class is concerning and the lack of targets on the board makes me believe KU thinks guys will be back or that recruits themselves are not sure what Doke & Preston will do at season's end. It's clear KU needs to land big's in this class and the only players with legitimate interest are David McCormack & Emmitt Williams at this time. Most likely we'll be going into the spring looking at late-signing, de-commits and transfers.

Rumored to be locks according to Andrew Slater.

Grimes & Dotson

In with a good chance:

Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Emmitt Williams, Noah Locke, David McCormack

In it but have work to do

Ayo Dosunmu (hasn't visited, Illinois & Xavier have prioritized him), Romeo Langford (Louisville lean) , Louis King (waiting for UK) , Naz Reid (LSU likely), Moses Brown (wants blue-bloods but didn't play well this summer), Keldon Johnson (offered late but Texas lean), Jalen Carey (KU prioritized Dotson/Grimes over him), Kaden Archie (new offer, late to party),

Unlikely options with offers

Jules Bernard (staying West Coast), David Duke (Providence lean), Deyontae Johnson (new offer), Demetrius James (Zion's friend), Jermaine Harris (new offer, late to party), Jairus Hamilton (Not leaving North Carolina)

@BShark

I believe that as well. The Zion news is the hot ticket right now but I feel we are probably in the same position for both at the moment. What's interesting is his intel that Barrett won't drag this out past the fall which I thought would be the plan with them reclassifying so late. Wherever he lands among the UK/Duke/KU trio that would assumingly take them out of the running for Zion. I think both Zion's and RJ's brands are big enough where they don't want to be fighting for the limelight at the same school. I know Duke/UK fans believe they can get both but I don't see it.

Slater seems to think Zion wants to end this early but his dad might drag this out to spring. I think both situations benefit KU for Zion in that case. We have the recent momentum with Dotson and them playing together and offering his good friend and AAU teammate James. If he waits until spring he can see who goes pro and how KU's season goes. If Vick has a big season and leaves its likely Zion will see plenty of playing time available at the wing position. He could even end up being the perfect 4 man at KU as well with his size and athleticism

BShark said:

Interesting take away is that Shittu and Barrett are perceived to be mutually exclusive. I think UK would want both, but it seemingly isn't possible. If anyone could do it though, well...I'd certainly never count out Cal for anything.

That was some crazy inside the details that Slater dropped on their situation yesterday.

Oregon fans went nuts thinking Shittu and Barrett were friends and the Canadian pipeline would continue.

Slater dropped all the info saying they are not friends, they had an issue a few years ago and Shittu's handler and RJ's father don't get along. So the moral of the story is Kentucky could get 1 but not both. Both are considering Oregon but both won't land there. Seems RJ to Duke is more of a possibility then RJ to anywhere else...

Slater has been killing the boards the last few days. I wonder if recruits will notice all the nuggets he's dropped about where people are going or likely to end up at.

The way things are shaping up it looks like KU, UK, Duke & Arizona are going to have killer classes.

KU- Likely getting Dotson & Grimes. Good chance at Zion. After that ?

UK- Quickley, Good chances with Zion & Shittu so far. Reddish still a possibility. King wants UK but they haven't offered.

Duke- Jones, Reddish, good chance at Barrett. Still in it with Zion.

Arizona- Already has O"Neal, Quinerly, Williams. Likely getting Little, Still after Grimes, Bol and others.

Recruiting is crazy!

BShark said:

JRE will be a joy for Self to coach. Should be a fan favourite too.

A lot of Perry Ellis in his game. He's definitely a gamer

@KUSTEVE

This team will win a ton of games this season.

DG, Newman, Svi, Vick, Doke are all the foundation of this team that is built for success.

It's guys 6-8 (9) if Sam I am gets it together that define this season. What can Preston, Lightfoot and Garrett give this team every night? If the answer is a blend of consistency then the ceiling goes up.

The blueprint is there to run the 4 out again and hide the lack of bodies in the post. The defense will look terrible without Doke in the middle but that's the price we pay for taking 4 transfers, 1 which is gone already and 3 that must sit instead of getting depth to use this season. That risk is fully on Bill Self and if it pays off we won't think anything of it, but if it fails the fans will come a calling.

We haven't had a season in quite some time that didn't have a significant injury to the post. I bet there aren't five Power 5 teams that have only 3 big's on the entire roster eligible. I see a minimum of 4 on every Big-12 team this season for example. What can we do but pray Doke stays healthy and the young guys develop the rest of the summer and into the season. Bill has his hands full, this is a championship level squad that has a ton of work to put in to make that dream possible

This is what Slater said yesterday

I am, but will double-check today. The word is that JQ (Quinerly) was/is going to announce this week and Devon will very soon after getting back from a family vacation.

The staff likes Grimes a lot (in regards to UK), but Kansas is in a strong position, as of yesterday. Q will be cutting his list again to 4-5.

Today-

Question in regards to KU and Zion- No lock (Zion), but they're excellent recruiters. Adding Dotson, who ZW encouraged to play with him in Vegas, and offering his friend/teammate D.J. James will help. Adidas will be supportive, particularly given the likelihood that Langford will end up at Louisville. Per a mutual friend, Cal is not that high on Zion anyway.

Sure thing. This one is likely to have many more ebbs and flows.
As soon as Dotson was added to Zion's team for the Adidas Summer Championships for the third live session, it seemed like more than a coincidence.

BShark said:

I'm pretty confident Dotson will be a Jayhawk.

I sure hope so!

Slater said its a done deal. Wow that's great news if true

jayballer54 said:

OH Lordy the sky is falling lmao, - - Big Blue Nation about ready to wet all over themselves - -OH NO Ku has now been mentioned in the hunt For Zion Sooooooo - - - -.lets start throwing out the insults, I mean there is NO WAY someone like Zion would ever begin to even possibly consider coming to a place like KU if everything is on the up & up - -I mean we are Kentucky, - -we ARE the BLUEBLOOD and we get whoever, whenever, so to say that a top notch player would even begin to consider another school when WE are involved - - - -something fishy going on - - Oh I just kill myself sometimes laughing at these morons. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

KU showcases his position the best. Wiggins, Jackson, Oubre, Henry, Rush. Wings can come here and get it done.

Zion is manchild. His brand is already unlike any prospect we would have ever landed before. Wiggins had a big following but nobody has gained this much pub since Lebron who he's most similar to in my opinion

RockkChalkk said:

@BShark Just picked up another CB pick for Dotson to KU by some Arizona insider (Jason Scheer).

Yup he's a scout writer for Arizona's board. With the merge of scout and 247 he's able to make CB picks.

The margin for error in the post is even shorter then last season.

From a game to game perspective the single most important factor in KU winning most of its games this season will be the ability for Doke to stay on the floor. If he can't stay out of foul trouble I don't know how this team is going to survive with what we have left. This will be a team I won't be able to assess its real chances of a title until well into the season. There is simply too much we don't know about Azubuike.

mayjay said:

@BeddieKU23 Thank you. I was pretty sure they weren't trying to remake "Convoy". "Breaker, breaker...."

You now have the recruiting lingo down. Your lesson is complete!

mayjay said:

Kcmatt7 said:

@BeddieKU23 Although, I suppose it should make me feel better about the weight that a Slater CB pick carries...

Forgive my ignorance, but what does CB mean?

Crystal Ball

247 sports uses to forecast which players are going where. Sometimes they mean something, sometimes they don't. This particular person CB'd Zion to KU after an interview with him. Slater is a Duke insider and is one of the few people in the AAU scene that gets information

Kcmatt7 said:

@BeddieKU23 Although, I suppose it should make me feel better about the weight that a Slater CB pick carries...

Especially coming off an interview with him. Slater isn't always right but is plugged in as much as anyone with connections. A duke guy switching his pick says something. Could be the recent momentum with Dotson and Zion playing together. I don't think Zion's camp is in any rush to decide either

BShark said:

Grimes/Dotson/Zion would be incredible. I'll also believe it when I see it but damn, fun to think about.

Was thinking about the same thing. Monster class if it happens

Kcmatt7 said:

@BeddieKU23 Well we all know that is because he saw Slater's. Matt has no inside information.

You know it!

Arizona board got an interview with Grimes. Says his top 3 is KU, Zona, Texas

Zona's pitch is he's their top priority. Will see how much that changes if Quinerly signs with Zona. Their other pitch to him was to play pg and sg.

Texas- says he knows Matt Coleman, home school

KU- come in and play right away.

Been mostly the same for a while. Only visit right now is to KU for Late Night. We'll see what other's he sets up and when, if any!

Matt with his CB for Zion to KU as well.

Another player Dontarius James, unranked SF just got a CB to KU as well. His page says KU offered yesterday. His list of offers isn't impressive..

BShark said:

BeddieKU23 said:

Statmachine said:

There were a lot of guys on this very board that said Newman would bold after sitting out last year. That didn't happen because Self explained to him and his family that he would mess up recruiting. It all worked out so far.

Yes the concerns for Newman were valid. He didn't go against his word.

This situation with Robinson is different.

I agree, it's a risk. If KU was extremely well positioned with a top 2018 C I'm not sure it would be a risk worth taking. However I think this could end up working out and KU isn't greatly positioned with a top C. Robinson is way better than McCormack who might end up at Okie Lite anyway.

I think its a huge risk. Newman just wanted to get to the NBA and his year at Miss St just completely backfired. We're seeing how talented the kid is now. Malik bought into a 2nd chance and his father made sure he followed through with it.

With Robinson we have all this stuff about his mother having no control and the Godfather and other outside influences pulling the strings. If that stuff is true and most of it seems to be, then we are talking about a fragile situation. His coach alluded to accountability and taking care of himself in his exit. We can read between the lines there to know it was the "nice thing to say". On paper Robinson is a great fit at KU. Everything else is a mess. I trust our coach would take precaution here deciding if he's worth it.

BShark said:

Quinerly is announcing tonight between Nova and Zona. I hope it's Zona and also LOL guess he isn't taking that KU courtesy visit.

I hope its Zona as well but the recent chatter had been Nova. Did he visit Nova recently?

Statmachine said:

There were a lot of guys on this very board that said Newman would bold after sitting out last year. That didn't happen because Self explained to him and his family that he would mess up recruiting. It all worked out so far.

Yes the concerns for Newman were valid. He didn't go against his word.

This situation with Robinson is different.

Statmachine said:

@BeddieKU23 Self would approach him like he did Newman and make it clear if he comes to Kansas its a 2 year ordeal if he the NCAA doesn't clear him to play this year.

I'm sure he would but would he really honor it? There is nothing but his word to hold that true.

Robinson has already bailed on one team and didn't even have the courtesy to tell his team or coach he was leaving. He left in the middle of the night like a chicken.

Kcmatt7 said:

@BeddieKU23 Once he transfers he is stuck there unless he goes pro basically. NCAA only grants you one transfer, or two if you become a grad transfer. So unless Robinson wants to go play pro ball overseas or sit out and enter next years draft he will be stuck wherever it is he transfers to. I think that is a major reason Bill takes these guys.

There isn't anything stopping Robinson from going pro after this year if he has to sit. He will have met the minimum requirement. Whether the NBA will want him or not is a different story.

Character should mean something when going after this guy. The first impression he has made in College is not a good one. Yes he's a young kid, mistakes happen, kids change their minds. I know Self wants to have the most talented players out there but this one comes with a lot of red flags and questions.

I personally think he ends up at LSU. Kind of a Newman situation where he choose the wrong school first time around because of outside pressure

RockkChalkk said:

@BeddieKU23 Nice! He does play on the Adidas circuit and has said he likes playing with Dotson a lot and that they have discussed going to the same school.

Good point you made. That is potentially a very good thing Dotson and Zion played together. He also has said he would like to play with Quickley who's a Kentucky lock. We'll see, we'd hope Adidas has some pull here as it doesn't ever seem to be the case unlike with Nike's influence. We'll see if Slater has some good info (which he generally does).

WHOA.

Slater just Cb'd Zion to KU. He doesn't make these picks without inside information.

But if he's not eligible this season I wouldn't count on the kid being here long enough to play the following year. There's a big mess around this kid and the people around him. Character should count and there's no reason to believe he wouldn't Whitman us and bail

He's a fantastic talent. Definitely the highest risk/reward factor we may have ever gotten involved with

wow this is crazy news

@jayballer54

The biggest disadvantage to him coming in for Late Night is the staff won't be able to spend as much time with him as they would if he came on a different weekend. I'm sure they will prioritize him among the group that comes and Late Night figures to give him plenty of opportunity to get a feel for how crazy it gets etc. Late Night is hit or miss with some. Hopefully it pays off.

If he officials and then visits for a game the following month that could be a telling sign. I don't get the sense from any of his interviews that he is in a rush to decide and I can see him not signing in November and waiting until the spring. Where will KU's visit fall in his other visit plans? 1st?Last Visit? etc.

I think Dotson will decide before him and if Dotson jumps on board first we could become more of an option, or less of an option if he feels the back-court is too crowded. I think Self has done a great job selling both of them on playing time and the type of offense where both can co-exist. Grimes is capable of running the PG position but his size leans more to playing the off-guard position (Newman's current place).

I'm excited that KU is in a really good position with 2 very talented guards. Usually KU is trying to make up ground but in this case I think we have had an edge at every step of the way for both. Landing 1 is a must, 2 is putting next years squad with a leg up on the Big-12 yet again

Grimes will Official for Late Night and hopefully come back for a game in November!

BShark said:

http://www.zagsblog.com/2017/08/06/2018-point-guard-jalen-carey-names-final-six/ ↗

Carey's final 6, KU is on it. Doesn't mention KU as a school recruiting him the hardest. Seems clear that Self really would like Dotson and Grimes, if he could pick.

Zag's has probably the least amount of cred in the business and is really East-Coast slanted in every article he runs. Not to say he isn't right, the local schools are coming at him hard.

We kicked the tires pretty good and I'd love to have Carey but doesn't look like that will happen. He's a kid I will follow, I think he's got NBA potential in a few years

not a good end to that half

this game is going to help preston so much the rest of the summer

BShark said:

Cunliffe trying to get off the respirator.

big shot

malikkk

mitch with 2 fouls in a minute. going to be an issue all year

jayballer54 said:

@BeddieKU23 Do we know, has he scheduled a visit t Ku yet? -- Seems like I remember reading he was going to schedule. - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

Nope, heard maybe end of August. Could be September. We'll see what happens but so far he doesn't have anything set up yet

Kcmatt7 said:

BeddieKU23 said:

@BShark

Matt may just never be the guy that gets first hand knowledge of what's happening.

He is a douche and has no actual connection with the program. Other guys seem to have some sort of in with their program. I mean all you need to do is befriend even someone as lowly as a team manager. Slip him a 20 or buy him a beer for just a little bit of info. I know that my buddy has picked up probably a dozen guys who visited KU in the last 4 years without a single report of them being on campus. Or getting word of who may or may not be transferring. Or who coach gave a recruits number to and told them to hit them up. I know that Self had all of the guards texting Malik in his first recruitment. Probably half the reason he transferred here.

These are the tidbits Matt should be sharing....

Exactly. There is none of that, ever. He botched the Trae Young situation badly, the only recruitment he's ever had a shade of connection to.

I'm a big Florida St football fan and the 247 guys on there are some of the best in the business. They have sources, they get first hand access to information and they go out and get information for their paying subscribers. Just generally looking at other places, its the same for those fan-bases as well.

The few of us that follow recruiting do a better job of sharing information then he does

@jayballer54

I think Dotson will commit first and Grimes could wait until spring. Meyer's money was on Maryland after the spring visit but he's now back to KU which can never be a bad thing. I'm glad there wasn't a bunch of CB's to Arizona after his visit this week.

Relationship, playing time, priority, have all been consistent for KU. Just have to get him here for his official visit and I think we get him

@BShark

I do appreciate the work he put into the Bible.
Gives everyone updates all in one thread instead of 10+.

But I think most fans want to know why particular recruits are leaning towards KU or not. The detail is missing in why? We all know which recruits Self and assistants were watching and for the most part nothing Matt reported was something you couldn't find in interviews etc. I still think the actual value is missing from The Shiver. Matt may just never be the guy that gets first hand knowledge of what's happening.

BShark said:

Info dump from MS on the shiver. It's VIP.

Honest opinion of it all. Nothing stood out that someone who follows recruiting didn't already know.

There is no way all these guys are visiting KU that say they are likely to.

@RockChalkinTexas

yes indeed

50-26

Dunking Doke

you would think they'd learn to stop stepping out of bounds...

Svi with 2 more 3's.

36-20

Newman shoots it so quick you barely notice until the ball is in the hoop

well that's a dumb play.

BShark said:

BeddieKU23 said:

Garrett has been really damn good.

Clearly ahead of Cunliffe I have zero doubts.

Fine with that. Marcus just knows how to play the game