🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@BShark

Depends on who Washington gets as its new coach but I bet a major reason he wanted to go to Washington was style of play and Romar + playing with Porter. I can't imagine he'll stick.

Harris did visit KU unofficially when his team was in Kansas for his Jr year. Some familiarity already.

I feel Harris is talented enough to play as a freshman, ideal size, athletic ability and shooting to step in and play a role similar to Devonte Graham during his fr year. I see Combo guard in him which is what Self prefers anyway. I wish we could contact Self and let him know this kid could be available.

@HighEliteMajor

Again you have come through with a gem.

@chriz

Porter's recruitment starts and ends with his father as we've seen. If he packs his bags and heads to Missouri we know the kid doesn't care about what Jersey he puts on. I would lump Porter in the typical OAD that is just doing his time until he can make the NBA.

Kid is a complete stud and KU was involved until he shut us down last summer.

@BShark said:

Hell I'm not picky, I'd take Blake Harris too. We need a PG.

Been a big fan of Harris. I'd take him

@JayHawkFanToo

They could have easily switched Wichita's and Dayton's seeding around and nobody would have cared. I can't remember Dayton playing at a 7 seed level unless we have some devout A-10 fans here.

I do agree though that it was a big disservice to both teams that the committee doesn't know how to properly seed Wichita St.

@ralster

I bet Fran had to throw away the voodoo doll before making that pick public. He's probably already sent a gift basket to Monte's house and will be present for Naz Long's first born child.

@BShark

UC Davis would be a much easier opponent as well. But yeah the payback thing would be nice

@drgnslayr

Definitely we need a guard. The more Self publicly talks about it more the astonished I am that no one has signed on.

I just don't understand what kids are not buying about Frank Mason not being here next year.

Do we need billboards across America?

Do we need to start a smear campaign with flash flyers "come to KU and run the show like Frank Mason".

What is Self not doing correctly here...

@Ralph

The top end of the class is strong, as is any cycle. But the general sense has been the 18 class is not nearly as deep as some previous or the 2019 class after it. I think re-classifications have hurt the 18 class as more and more guys jockey which class they end up in. We'll see some guys emerge and maybe some more depth helps balance things out but its definitely not looking like a blockbuster class to need immediate OAD types filling your roster

@BShark

Keep forgetting Garrett! And he's my favorite player in the class. I say just let him play I still think he'll facilitate offense at whatever position he's playing

@JayHawkFanToo

We tried that a few times already with no bites...

@BShark

Bill the Wizard, funny. Kind of like Bill the Science Guy?

@drgnslayr

Cunliffe is also a guard/wing type that will be fighting for starter minutes

Newman is a 2, at 6'2 what else is he going to play if his own coach says he's not a point..

We definitely need a guard regardless of Devonte's decision. The caliber of guard will hinge on whether he's here or not

@BShark

Funny I've thought the same way then conventional wisdom smacks me in the face and says "Bill Self" always figures it out.

And he does always figure it out.

@BShark said:

KU will have lots of PT

Not necessarily a good thing- starting to sound like the Duke/UK train.

We always have to blend program players in with top talent..

@BShark

Yupp if your coach is saying your a starter now, you must be turning heads in practice.

Waters will end up wherever playing time is the most plentiful. Cuse definitely has that to offer...

@drgnslayr said:

I believe this will be another year where the Big 12 under-performs in March. (except for Kansas)

Unfortunately I agree. And if KU/ISU meet in the Sweet 16, the committee just limited the conferences ability to get multiple teams to the Elite 8. I think Baylor has come back to earth as a lot of people correctly projected they would, and West Virginia doesn't play consistently enough at a high level to project them going far even though there style of play is scary as heck for teams not familiar with it. Oklahoma St gets one of the hottest teams in the country and Kansas St won't even be favored in the First 4 game.. Tough tough for a conference to change its narrative

@drgnslayr

Malik Newman is the real issue. Self just this week said its going to be really hard for him not to be a starter next year. They want a PG to play alongside him. If Devonte returns Self has his guy, if Devonte doesn't return KU needs a guy. The problem is, the decision isn't yet public for recruits to know one way or the other. There's a real slim chance we get Devonte back and a Top 30 player to come play behind him. Those days are gone..

@StLJhawk

Yeah there's no way Oregon becomes a stronger team without Boucher. I think it was easier for them to play well without him for that one game given the context of the situation. Now, days go by and Bigby-Williams and a seldom used post become part of the rotation and its clearly going to affect them. Brooks will have to shoulder even more for them.

@wissox

I think its a positive that KU has played imposing front-lines this season with success (Baylor, Kentucky). Landen knows what to do, Josh Jackson really does an admiral job on any 4 he matchups against. We saw how weak our interior defense was without him against TCU who had a plethora of bigs to throw at us.. I like that Purdue's defense has been poor when an opposing team plays a faster tempo which also favors KU

Ryan is hearing Waters to Syracuse.. They need a PG

@nuleafjhawk

Heard there's a backyard league they entered but drew a #7 seed.

@wissox

I know you follow the Big-10 to a default because of Wisky but is Purdue really that good? I've watched a lot of their games.

Strengths- obviously 1 really good player (Swangian), 3 point shooting as a team, Chemistry. Carson Edwards is a future stud in the conference after Biggie leaves and his scoring off the bench balances out the starters.

Weaknesses- Rebounding, defense (dictated by style of play). In games where the tempo is fast Purdue gives up a lot of points. Reliance on Swanigan being the offense.

Overall I see a team that at its best can hang with most teams in the country. Haas hasn't been as good this year which I believe keeps them from being as dominate a team as they could be. I don't feel as though one player can beat KU and we obviously have the advantage in the backcourt which is important.. Interested to hear your take

@drgnslayr

I would expect a Top 30ish player to have everyone after him. The list is long of teams that need a PG now. Which gets me back to the dilemma we've been in with every top PG this cycle.

Is Devonte coming back?

If he is returning, Waters won't start, which won't be attractive to him. If Waters doesn't slow play his recruitment this time around we may again lose out to a team that has more clarity at the position.

@justanotherfan

Iona is a big shocker. I don't see it but that would really be something.

@DCHawker

Good questions.

I'll start with the Maryland/Xavier game. Xavier is a 11 seed for a reason. Maryland got a high seed (an overrated seed) how, I'm not sure? I guess finishing 2nd in the Big-10 was good enough for that seed. Maryland didn't beat a ranked opponent all year and finished the season 5-5 in their last 10 games.

The reason I don't like Xavier to win is because of the injury to Edmund Sumner (their 2nd leading scorer out for the year with an injury). Without him they have been ordinary at both ends of the floor. This isn't your typical Xavier squad that is usually dangerous coming into March. I think they are lucky to be here after salvaging a downward spiral to their season in the Big East conference tourney. Getting an 11 seed shows they were close to not making it at all.

Maryland has overachieved all season long thanks to coaching and Trimble taking on a huge scoring load. I think they prevail because of those 2 factors. Just IMO of course, anything can happen.

Good pick on Wake Forest, they can definitely win a game or 2. I believe every year since 2011 a First 4 team has won two tourney games (first four, regular 1st round game) so Danny definitely has a chance. It helps that he has an NBA prospect in John Collins and an excellent guard in Crawford to lead the way. Cincinnati has kind of flown under the radar all year long. Wake can compete with them, they ended the season on a good note.

As for the Big-12 teams here's my take on the matchups.

I see a lot of experts picking Iowa St to go down 1st round to Nevada. I don't see it, the Mountain West was historically down this season, Nevada wouldn't even have been on the bubble had they not won their tourney. Cam Oliver is a solid post and Marshall has been a steady force for them all season long but I think Iowa St has too much going for them right now to lose.

West Virginia- interesting case. They play the most ugly style of basketball known to the human eye, okay maybe not as ugly as Tony Bennett's put you to sleep Virginia brand but you get the point. Bucknell is a team that doesn't give up the ball a ton so immediately West Virginia's main advantage has been downplayed. Honestly West Virginia can lose in the first round, but I'm more confident in them winning the 2nd game if they do beat Bucknell because most Likely Notre Dame only has a day to prepare for the press. I haven't watched Bucknell- I refuse to watch them actually but I'm sure they'll make it interesting. I didn't expect Stephen F Austin would beat WVU last year but we all saw what happened.

Oklahoma St/Michigan is a complete toss up. Two offensive minded teams, what gives? Michigan looks poised to continue its run, not sure Oklahoma St is coming into this game playing their best ball.

Baylor should win its opening round. I think SMU can beat them in the 2nd round. I can't imagine even Baylor fans feel confident Scott Drew can get them past the opening weekend. Motley will have to carry the team..

I agree KU could be the only team that survives the 1st weekend. The next most likely team to survive would be West Virginia because they would be playing Notre Dame (most likely) off 1 day of prep and ND only has 1 true ball handler. ISU has a tough matchup with Purdue and I think Purdue prevails. The matchups for everyone outside of KU in the 2nd round were unbelievably hard. Its possible that none of them will be favored in their matchups.. Time for put up or shut up time in the Big-12 again

@drgnslayr

Yeah Tremont is a 4 year player most likely so he's a great program type player to build around. Not everyday you find a Top-35 talent that could be in your program 4 years.

I wonder though when he visited did he feel slighted by the staff? He probably knew the staff was targeting bigger fish and might have felt KU wasn't after him as hard as other targets (they have since missed on). Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it was he visited and just felt more comfortable with Georgetown at the time but since their season has imploded and KU is still after a PG, maybe he's thinking that's a good situation for him after all. Will be interesting to see after his release where he's looking.. You would think KU would be high on his list after being in his top 5 before

@BShark

He would be a quality signing that's for sure. Not ready to get too excited yet when he hasn't received his release nor spoke about who he might be considering now. Of course the rumor mill says Zona/Duke might be the reason..

Mason was a scorer though, Waters has a similar reputation as a score-first type that is evolving his PG skills. The thing I like about Waters is he's super quick and will find an open man which is what the offense will need next year. Earlier in his prep years I thought he was too reliant on being a scorer but he's calmed that down as he's rounded out his game. His size worries me, he would need 15-20 pounds to be able to take contact in the lane against bigs.

@nuleafjhawk

With the Draw and playing in Kansas City for 2 games, not playing in Phoenix will be a major disappointment. I'll be happy making the Final 4 because at that point we are playing UNC, UCLA or Kentucky. Would love to get Nova in the finals, ultimate motivation factor for Frank Mason and company.

@Texas-Hawk-10

Money has swung from one ACC team to the next. No big deal..

Bracketology also showed Duke 5-1 last night.. Not that it matters who's the favorite.

@BShark

Exactly!

@Texas-Hawk-10 said:

@BeddieKU23 I think you have Duke and UNC flipped. Duke's odds have gotten better because of their ACC tournament run, but it was UNC as the betting favorite for awhile.

I know KU has been pretty consistent with their odds throughout the year. I put $20 on KU to win when I was in Vegas and KU was 6.5/1 to win.

!Screenshot_20170313-094243.png ↗

@Texas-Hawk-10

Pretty sure ESPN was showing Duke at 5/1 in Vegas. If its changed since I haven't seen. Showed KU, UNC, Kentucky, Nova in that 6-8/1 region after.. I honestly have no idea which Vegas line is best to use or if its a general "vegas line" generated

Waters is electric with the ball, around the same size as Frank Mason. Wish his outside shot was more consistent but he has excellent vision and can run a team from day-1. He will need to add significant weight to his frame in College.

If Waters looks at KU this time around I'm conflicted about what that means for an impact on 2018 recruits. I know we should only be worried about what next year will be like without Frank but Self has clearly prioritized some point guards in 18 already with IMO more potential and signing Waters will compromise our chances with them. That's how it goes these days, nobody wants to come in and earn their PT.

The best case scenario is the recent talk of Devonte coming back, happens. We find another guard with ability for depth behind Devonte and roll with some combination of Graham, Newman, Vick Cunliffe, Garrett, Svi?, (insert guard recruit/transfer).

ESPN been touting Duke as the favorites in Vegas btw

Who's everyone got??

Here's what I'm thinking at the moment.

Lowest Seeded team most likely to lose: Florida St.

This isn't a homer pick siding with Joe Dooley. I genuinely think FGCU is a quality team. They played UNC tough last season in the tournament so a bunch of their rotation has tourney experience. I think they are a better version of last season's squad led by a transfer Goodwin who is a do it all guard. FGCU's record might have been even better had their best player from last season Norelia not been injured for a good part of the season. He's started to round back into form in the conference tourney averaging a double double there. Dooley has size, athleticism and 4 double digit scorers. The game is being played in Orlando which helps them.

Florida St is a quality team but I think they are by far the most overrated lower seed in the entire tournament. Lots of good wins at home, dismal performances on the road. I look at how they have performed on the road as more of a true indication of how they will perform in March. January was a great month for them when they knocked off Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, Notre Dame, Louisville all at home. But since they are just 7-6 with lopsided losses on the road to Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Duke (game was not as close as the 5 pt margin suggest). Florida St has multiple NBA players, elite athleticism and crazy size but I've watched a lot of their games and they are not a disciplined group, they lack toughness and teams can score on them easily. I think all that is a recipe for a 1st round upset.

If Florida Gulf Coast beats FSU they have an excellent shot of making the Sweet 16. Assuming Maryland beats Xavier who would be scared of Trimble and a bunch of freshman? Right now I have Dooley dancing into a matchup with Arizona in San Jose.

Some other upset possibilities.

East Tennessee St over Florida. Florida is reeling after losing their anchor in the post Egbunu. E Tenn St is a really athletic team, I had not seen them play until their conference final which was an exciting game. TJ Comer is a player and they also start 2 guys in the post who started their careers at much better programs (Mosquera-Perea (Indiana), Tevin Glass (Wichita St). Those 2 are long athletes who can matchup with Florida's style of play. The game is being played in Orlando which favors the Gators but I have not been sold on the Gators all season long. E Tenn St likes to score a lot and this is a team that can compete IMO.

Middle Tennessee St over Minnesota. First Minnesota has had a great year to get here but a 5 seed? Really? The committee was on something when they seeded them. I think this could be the most likely upset outside of Wichita St (which isn't an upset they are an opening 6.5 pt favorite).

M Tenn St won't sneak up on anyone this year after what they did to Michigan St last season. Coming from the conference that Memphis used to dominate, M Tenn St wasn't challenged during the season but racked up 30 wins! Their best win is against Vanderbilt, but who didn't beat Vanderbilt during the season (tourney high 15 losses) for an at-large team. They also lost a tough game to VCU at VCU so they have some quality again. This team features 3 really good offensive players, Jacorey Williams has re-started his career after being kicked off the Arkansas squad and is the team's only post and leading scorer averaging 17 & 7. Giddy Potts (my favorite name in the tourney) was electric last season against Izzo and has followed up with another good year. Reggie Upshaw is the other key returning guy who had a breakout performance beating Michigan St. Whatever the line is, take Middle Tennesse St in the upset.

Rhode Island over Creighton. We all know Creighton has stumbled since losing its star point guard with an injury. I thought they showed grit getting to the Big East finals but Villanova was too much for them again for the 3rd time. Creighton is still a good offensive team but Vulnerable here in March. Rhode Island won the Atlantic 10 and is starting to play like the pre-season top 25 team that they were projected to be. If they continue this momentum they can upset Creighton.

Tilmon will go wherever the assistant coach from Illinois goes. Whoever gets hired at Illinois will think hard about keeping that guy just to keep Tilmon. That seems to be what has held the Illinois/Tilmon marriage together. Unless Tilmon breaks free from that assistant it doesn't sound promising

Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller calling our game..

@Crimsonorblue22

Different in the tourney as we know. I'm sure he'll be eager to please after what happened recently. Without his production we know what happens.

Its BIFM time

@truehawk93

I just hope Jackson shows up when we need him too. It was clear without him on the floor this team would not come close to 28 wins this season. We are relying on a freshman being a key part of our end of the season.

@truehawk93

4 days changed a lot of things for how people are perceiving Duke. It was impressive they won 4 games in 4 days against good teams. Our lasting impression wasn't great which is why we are kind of not being talked about. Had we taken care of business we would have been the unquestioned #1 overall seed.

michigan st will lose in the 1st round

@KirkIsMyHinrich

If Illinois st hadn't been dominated by Wichita in the last 2 meetings it would have made a difference. Tough for the mid major when they don't play enough big teams

No cuse a million for whineheim on espn later

Wichita can beat Kentucky

@wissox said:

@BeddieKU23 I forgot about that.

But it was great game that Kentucky won on monks 59 thousand points

@wissox said:

@BeddieKU23 Playing Kentucky potentially, never really easy in my view.

They already played

Just handed unc a sleep walk

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