🏀 KuBuckets Archive

BShark said:

BeddieKU23 said:

BShark said:

Matt Scott on the shiver confirmed my own suspicions. The staff wants TWO guards in this class. Then listed...

Grimes, Dosunmu, Dotson, Quickley, Romeo, Quinerly, Smart, Bernard and Jalen Carey. Maybe throw David Duke in there as well.

Why stop at 2 when we can get 3. At least 2 for sure!

I like the optimism but I can't see pulling three with Moore already on board.

Agree, was just playing. Lots of good guards in this class that fit what Self wants. Pulling 2 might even be hard with how guys look for the path to the least resistance but if Newman is being shopped as good as gone well getting 2 shouldn't be that hard.

BShark said:

Matt Scott on the shiver confirmed my own suspicions. The staff wants TWO guards in this class. Then listed...

Grimes, Dosunmu, Dotson, Quickley, Romeo, Quinerly, Smart, Bernard and Jalen Carey. Maybe throw David Duke in there as well.

Why stop at 2 when we can get 3. At least 2 for sure!

With Russell being traded from the Lakers looks like Ball will get what his daddy wants for him

The Hornets traded for the 31st pick in the draft. They have limited cap space and they are rumored to be looking for a backup for Kemba Walker. Could Mason go 31st? He did workout for the Hornets

With Cal the coach he didn't have much of a chance.

Oh and Cal conveniently left his 3 current players on the team and every 2018 recruit made the cut that he's recruiting.. There is no coincidence in that.

Still a good experience for Moore who can now get back to campus and get ready for Italy

@JayHawkFanToo

True, given his size its natural to think he will be transitioned to another position but maybe he's good enough to be the primary backup for Graham as a freshman. He has excellent vision and from everything I've read he has leadership skills to be a PG.

We haven't heard Self talk about where he plans to use him yet. There has been some general talk from those around the program that Marcus was recruited to play the 2/3 spot but its never been confirmed. There's definitely a role for him as a ball-handler if he earns it

@Crimsonorblue22

I would say no and we'd probably never need him in that situation but anything could happen. Josh was an extraordinary outlier where he had the size/athletic ability and talent to overcome what we generally view as a post player.

If Marcus was a few inches shorter he'd be a point guard but because he's 6'6 his game has rounded out more to accommodate for his height. Gives him the versatility to guard all 3 perimeter spots which is good for this team. He doesn't have elite athletic ability but he's solid and I expect Hudy will really help him in that area. He's similar to Vick when he came in that he'll need to add natural weight through strength training. I wonder if the coaches will look to fine tune his shooting motion as well which would help him, right now he has a bit of a set shot (think Niang).

BShark said:

@Beddie23

Him or Devonte probably. My comment was actually directed at @REHawk so I should have @ him before. Vick may start, but it won't be over Newman. Graham and Newman are locked in stone starters.

Replacing two great players is difficult. Otoh Tyler Self was the 2nd guard off the bench last year and the one big Self trusted was not athletic at all. The whole one big thing definitely skews the rebounding stats. Frank was a good rebounder but in a normal situation, even just Doke being healthy, his numbers there would have been lower.

Agree though, it's nice to have the Italy trip. Lots of new pieces to fit in.

Yeah Devonte could definitely be the leading scorer as well. I'm most interested in seeing how he improves this season. He's seen the blue-print, let's see if he's got what it takes.

As always we have exciting elements to the team that we haven't seen. We expect Newman to be All-Big-12 caliber, we expect Doke to be this larger then life big man, we have guarded expectations for Preston but we know there is a world of talent inside of him. There's the next step for Vick and Svi. Cunliffe has barely played and Whitman is taking the jump up to Big-12 ball. And so far Mitch Lightfoot seems to be doing everything he needs to do to become a positive contributor to this team. And then there's Marcus Garrett who could be anything. It's a great group, the ceiling for this team is high- hopefully championship worthy

@HawkChamp

It is a valid concern though replacing a POY and a Top 3 pick in this years draft. They were our 2 leading scorers, 2 of our leading assist leaders, and 2 of the best rebounders on the team.

There will be some adjusting and as you pointed out, Italy should help as these guys get some extra practices and games together to build team chemistry.

Self always puts together a good team and this year should be no different. But we certainly have a lot of unknowns right now, certainly a ton of talent and potentially a very good team. We can assume we won't miss a beat but it will be exciting and frustrating I'm sure early in the season watching this unit come together

@BShark

and likely will be our leading scorer..

JayHawkFanToo said:

@BeddieKU23

But he is not a graduate transfer right now, right so far? He is just an athlete with two years left of eligibility and after he graduates at the end of the season he will still have one year left. He will be a graduate transfer AFTER he graduates from Yale and at that time there is nothing Yale or the Ivy League can do, right? What part do I have wrong?

Your correct he's not a grad transfer yet. Mason has kind of jumped the gun per say in saying he's going to be a grad transfer after next season and also by naming Baylor as the team he will transfer too. Because he can't stay with Yale if he graduates in the spring he'd have to transfer somewhere else. I expect he'll be one of the most sought after transfers if he sticks to what he's saying

ESPN updated rankings for 2018

Grimes down to 29, not understanding the drop honestly.

Dotson #33

Dosunmu #39

Carey # 55 (nice jump, finally people are catching on)

Bernard #57

A few Duke prospects saw big jumps before they commit.

Tilmon arrested.
Per an MUPD arrest report, Jeremiah Tilmon was arrested at 1:42 a.m. Friday for a minor in possession after a routine traffic stop.

His Missouri career is off to a resounding start!

@JayHawkFanToo

The Ivy league does not allow graduate transfers to play. Mason after sitting out last season with an injury is going to graduate after this year and look to transfer. It was odd in that he apparently already decided on which school even though he's still playing for Yale.

@BShark

Definitely, I still think there a lot that will happen between now and Mason going to Baylor. With the Ivy league not allowing his type of situation he'll either try and make the NBA after this year or as he's saying go somewhere else for his final year.

Baylor picked up a big transfer in Mario Kegler for 2018. A likely starter at SF or small ball 4..

@BShark

Bernard has been solid so far. I read he isn't elite at any one thing but does go out there and gets production. With any California kid, you always wonder whether they will leave the area or not

@BShark

Interesting development with Ayo.

He's a very good player and if our connection with him lands a commitment I'm not going to be upset at all. He's had a very good spring and has excellent size to play in the back-court at KU.

Personally I'd love to land Carey or Grimes because at this stage they are better shooters especially from the perimeter but that's my personal opinion of them at this point. We'll see how this develops

@jayballer54

Yes, he visited for the Iowa St loss in Allen with his mother.

As with any kid, momentum swings one way or the other at seemingly every visit. Right now the momentum doesn't seem to be in KU's favor because his last visit was 4 months ago but every time Dotson speaks KU has always been at the top of his list. As long as KU gets an official visit I think we are in good position until we hear otherwise.

@BShark @jayballer54

I wouldn't be concerned with Dotson just yet. We did get him to pay his own dime to come visit during the season with his family. They have a great relationship with the staff and have a chance to seal the deal if he waits and takes his official visits.

The key will be getting him locked into an Official visit and getting his family to come back here again. Maryland has done a good job getting him on campus because of his proximity to them and Florida has been recruiting him for a while as well and may offer the most immediate PT as a freshman.

@BShark

Looks like we need to get Carey on campus as quickly as we can. A lot of programs are after him it seems.

The way he talked about Uconn makes me think they could be the favorites especially with his proximity to them. Who knows if Gilbert and Adams will on the rosters after this season which would basically guarantee him a starting role.

If he hasn't talked to coach Self yet I wonder how much KU is really pursuing him which sucks I think he's as good as any guard we have a chance with.

ZIG said:

I think the trade between the Celtics and 76ers, all but solidifies the top 3. Fultz to the 76ers, Ball to the Lakers, and Josh to Celtics.

That would be great for JJ. Where does he fit on the Celtics team though.. They drafted Brown in the top 5 with similar attributes last year and he carved out a nice role as a rookie.

jayballer54 said:

@BShark One thing some thought was interesting was - -No mention of Matthew Hurt or RJ Barrett, wondered what was going on there? - - The article said there would be named later but - -I too thought Hurt was pretty good for us guess we shall see. - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

Barrett is widely considered to be going into the 2018 class after the summer

Things will change a ton. I do think next year's draft has a lot of potential so we might get lucky with a few of our players staying

@BShark

I'm happy they will suck so they can give him an extension:expressionless:

They still have the reincarnation of Larry Bird according to their delusional fanbase. LB Jr will take over both positions and dominate. Definite All American and top 10 pick next year. hahaha.

Oh I'm also looking forward to the annual our players are better then KU's comparison

BShark said:

Bruce just kicked their possible starting center off the team. Tough times in kitten land.

couldn't happen to a better person!

huge loss

Slater is hearing that Dotson's top 3 is KU, Maryland and Florida..Maryland scares me some with the recent visit he took there. They do have Cowan and Morsell at PG so its not like he's walking into a bare situation there. Florida definitely needs a PG after losing Alexander to Kentucky and Chiozza is a Sr..

These penalties were hilarious!

BShark said:

For whoever was wondering if Self should use the alumni game for visits... Well is is certainly using these scrimmages. Multiple visitors yesterday and of course Adam Miller will be in today.

Yeah I'm surprised there are no 2018 recruits here. Dotson just went to Maryland and now Jerry CB'd him there. Not worried about his switch but maybe it would have been a good idea to push unofficials during this time when there is a lot of activity going on for the recruits to see. It's a missed opportunity for this class when kids can pop any day during the summer.

@BShark

Having Collins on in some way would be ideal.

@BShark

I really don't know why we are bothering with him. His handler either lets him leave home or doesn't. Seton Hall will be in it because of his situation but if Kentucky or Louisville press I think he could end up at either.

@BShark

That's what I was thinking as well or the Italian guard that just left St Johns after 2 years as a good comp

@BShark

I saw Corphew was joining in 2018.

Moretti looks like a solid pickup and looks like he'll be somewhere in the Top 200 players.

Going to be interesting to see how they mesh 9 new players in

Lots of great potential on this team. The pieces need to fit and its probably going to take a while for that to happen but if Newman is as good as advertised, Preston takes to coaching and Doke returns with a vengeance we'll be just fine

BShark said:

@elpoyo was probably saying Frank sucks before last year, just something to keep in mind.

Better yet last years team was going to suck because there was nobody to replace Perry Ellis. We always make it work somehow.

The Irony of his/her original post to DoubleDD was too funny to pass over. Asking someone what they are drinking?? HA

KU offered Top 30 guard Ayo Dosunmu out of Chicago. Great name. Surprised it took them this long to offer.

Has been one of the best guards on the circuit, overpowers his opponents getting to the lane, fearless actually.
Not a great shooter at this stage but does a lot of other things well.

@BShark

Agree on all points. The Lawson's definitely had targets on them every game to produce. KJ was always trying to be the other producer to his brother. I thought in the games I saw of Memphis that he pressed too much to make that happen. No question he'll need to spend this year off honing his craft and his shooting.

I love the rebounding/defensive ability and his toughness, he might be one of those high level glue guys that teams always seem to need. It's hard to imagine him coming here and not being a good player but definitely the jury is still out

@BShark

Definitely his shooting numbers weren't very good.

The big but I have with assessing KJ right now is just how bad Memphis was without him and his brother. Coaching didn't win them games this season. They didn't have a single player outside the Lawson's that were even as good as Lightfoot. I think surrounding himself with guys better then him will do wonder for his game.

The one strength of KJ is he's a plus rebounder and defender. He can make the open 3 as well. I think he'll definitely be a nice rotation piece next year.

But your right we can revisit this next year. Hopefully Self will have some nice things to say about the 3 sit-outs over the course of the season which will shed more light on them

Vick is a high level athlete. If he shows an improved game he'll have his chance to get to the combine. The NBA will be closely monitoring Vick's progression.

Hard to see a top big signing in the fall at KU without the staff convincing those guys that Doke won't be here next year. Lawson already has the 4 spot locked down so regardless of whether Preston returns we already have 2 PF's set to be back after this season. We could see the staff land an under the radar big or someone that will develop over time in the fall. There is going to be anywhere from 3-7 spots open after this season.

@Crimsonorblue22

His D is what he's known for. Played for a defensive minded coach in HS. Hopefully that translates up seamlessly

Kcmatt7 said:

@BeddieKU23 When we only sign late, it does get frustrating. It feels like we aren't getting our #1,2 or even 3 option. Like we are just scrambling to fill a roster.

Just once, I'd like to see Bill have a stacked recruiting season early.

I'm optimistic we'll sign at least one of our top targets in the fall. Grimes, Dotson & Carey all seem to be on course to decide before or in November. Carey could be one that pops early as he's supposed to visit KU this summer.

It will be frustrating if we are waiting to fill out the roster again in April/May but I think every program is in that same boat today. It does look like we might have to wait until spring to sign a top big man (if there are any available at that point).

Hopefully my optimism isn't for nothing

@BShark

You know its coming.

Svi and Vick will play a lot, again.

BShark said:

BeddieKU23 said:

Jaime Lewis off the board to NC St

A lot of early commits for this class. Not sure how involved KU was here after the visit. Felt like a back-up plan.

Yeah, agreed.

praying KU can land anything early. I know, that sounds really funny with how things have gone over the last few years

Jaime Lewis off the board to NC St

Good for Charlie Moore if he makes the team though. Never hurts having more game experience while your on a transfer year

Cal gets free recruiting at Bol Bol, Quickley etc. Just about solidifies them ending up with UK

@mayjay

Good point. Hadn't thought of that.

Shaka is another that is benefiting from USA coaching. He got Bamba that way

I'm really surprised that Self and his staff don't push to have recruits on campus for this week with all the alumni here.
Just seems like the perfect opportunity to showcase what happens during the off-season for these guys. I know with AAU and the travel schedules it makes it difficult but there is no reason to believe you couldn't get some of their local targets especially in 2019 to be roaming around for these camps and games.

Seems like a missed golden opportunity