@BShark said:
Allen would have looked real good at KU....
Definitely
BeddieKU23
31745 posts
Quick start is over. Guys lally gaging
Texas will settle but I wonder how they have scored at all this season
Great start
Best part of today.
NO FRAN
Indiana short another player today as Juwan Morgan is dealing with an ankle injury. Hoosiers are seeing injuries pile on
looked okay after that game winner. they said it was a hyperextension
All excellent points.
If Devonte was a normal Junior maybe he would have a good chance of being back next year. Devonte is basically a red-shirt junior after doing the post-grad year after High School. He would be 23 next year and that really doesn't help him if he wants to be drafted.
Would he benefit from another year? At this point in the season I would say 100% yes. He's deferred to Mason and hasn't given this team as many individual moments as he was giving us last year. He's certainly played better in my opinion in the last 4 games but we are still not seeing consistent excellence. Maybe we expected too much out of him this year. He's been solid but I think he can give more. The good thing is there is still plenty of time for him to step up to that next level. March will be important for Graham's draft stock.
Newman is a double digit scorer, possibly our best player next year if all of our draft eligible kids leave. We'll need him to be a "sure thing" if that situation happens.
Name a Top 20 kid that goes somewhere where playing time isn't available? They are rare, Self is selling him a starting spot because honestly he's good enough to earn it.
He was recently offered over the holidays. I'm assuming we watched Duval and we saw this monster.
6'8 200 pound freak. And I would think we have a good chance if we prioritize him
I did not realize he was this good. He is priority #1 if I'm the staff.
I know that a lot of schools have started to offer. West Virginia has been in with whole staff to see him before.
Anunoby is having surgery and is out for the rest of the season. Crushing to Indiana, probably going to cost them a tourney birth.
It would be the equivalent of Kansas losing Josh Jackson. OG is a stat stuffer
Yup we recruited him. Arizona would have been a clear top 10 team with him this season.
From what is written a family member/friend gave him the banned substance that he had no idea was illegal to help recover from a car accident he was involved with this summer. I guess the NCAA believed his case enough about his innocence to let him practice but until the substance is completely clean from his system he cannot play. Such an odd situation. A very humbling moment in life for the kid I bet
You definitely made a great pitch for why Devonte should come back and run this team next year. That would alleviate all the pressure this off-season would have about replacing Frank. And by the week those shoe's seem to be getting bigger and bigger to fill.
Great post by the way.
I completely agree about controlling the tempo on both sides of the ball.
Landen Lucas will be huge in this game. It is key that he stays out of foul trouble.
Much like last years game where KU switched to a junk triangle and 2, this game would be perfect for it.
Graham covering Monk, Mason on Fox.
This is basically the same team at every other position as we beat last year.
Briscoe still can't hit the broad side of a barn. I would sag whoever is guarding him way off into the lane for help defense. I've watched numerous UK opponents guard Briscoe like he can shoot and those teams always pay for it.
We can beat Kentucky as long as we bring poise, utilize the scouting report and make shots!
@drgnslayr said:
I think UK will look at this game as important for their seeding purposes. They are already being blasted for winning in a down conference and rightfully so, the SEC is just not keeping up. Pairing a KU win with their UNC win will validate a lot of what they are missing from their resume.
The thing I'm worried about in the Kentucky game is their team speed in the 1st half. They shoot a lot of shots early in the clock (top 15 team in tempo according to KenPom).
I agree signing Young means the staff knows Graham's intentions. I think his intentions have been known since the season started to make it easier for Self to recruit.
But another way to look at it is Young is the type of player that can be the "other" primary ball-handler as Devonte is this year. Young is the ultimate stretch the floor guard. Devonte would slide over to that primary pg spot if he came back.
I really hope Svi decides to finish his career as a Hawk. That to me is the most important question facing this team next year. The NBA will still love him at age 20 and he'd have a real chance to have a feature role next year.
I'm pessimistic about next year because there's a good possibility we lose all 5 starters. We've replaced 5 starters before but those teams had depth to absorb loses. This team has Vick, Bragg, Newman & Doke. A solid core but we'll be relying on freshman to fill in the other pieces. Svi would give this team a solid 5. Cunliffe should make it 6
Young had a Triple Double in 3 quarters last night. 40 points, 10 assists, 11 rebounds.
Just posted in the 18 recruiting about Williams. Oh my! And we were talking about Oturu. Williams is on a different level. I can see the kid jumping into the Top 10, I can't imagine there is 10 kids better then him in that class. Having compared the 3 I would take Williams over Zion and Naz. Mean streak in that Williams kid, something Self would love to mold.
Anyone seen the film on Emmitt Williams? Good lord we want this one. I have a feeling he'll be moving up the charts. Crazy athlete, just crazy.
Plays for IMG- same school as Duval attends. Mari played their as well.
Williams just became the # 1 recruit I hope KU gets next year.
I haven't seen anything since a Jan 14th article but Shaka was quoted as saying he didn't know if he would be back this season and he's not practicing with the team or traveling. Shaka suspended him, not the university. Mack was suspended for 3 games to start the year as well so he may have run out of chances. Usually that's a good indication that a kid will be seeking a new place at season's end
I agree OSU is a top 10 offense in efficiency, they really know how to score and Texas is the opposite of that. Texas is actually a higher ranked defensive team than KU according to KenPom (albeit by 2 spots 27-29). Texas also has a 170 something tempo rating so they play decent defense and play slow to try and keep the game as close as possible.
Hopefully KU will get this Texas team out of its tempo/defensive rhythm and we'll get a chance in the 2nd half to rest Mason & Graham. I can see that Texas will look to push the ball inside to Allen/Cleare to draw fouls on Lucas and hope they have a good shooting day to keep it close.
We haven't looked unbeatable at home so this would definitely be the game to snap out of that. I hope they don't look to far ahead to Tuesday
Looking at these stats its hard to find any way shape or form how Texas could win in Allen.
!upload-0e8dc405-99d4-4bd3-95c8-dc2b2ec916ea ↗
Since Tevin Mack was suspended and from the looks of it, could be the end of his career there, Texas has lost to West Virginia by 2 and Baylor by 10.
Jarrett Allen, the recruit KU battled Texas for and lost is starting to play up to his HS ranking. Averaging 18 & 8 in his last 3 and is likely a candidate for Career game status in the Phog.
It seems with Mack gone, freshman Andrew Jones (another KU recruit Texas won) and Cleare a bruising big have stepped up in their leading scorer's absence.
This is a horrendous 3 point shooting team. Jones is their leader at 32%. It's clear, keep this team out of the paint, off the FT line and shooting jump shots and this should end up an easy win!
I suppose that's the prognosis. Self said he practiced Wednesday and might have some stiffness/soreness still.
Either its a non issue or we'll know pretty quick into the game whether this is a lingering injury or not. I'm still concerned until I see him play
Are we purple fans Saturday?
West Virginia in Manhattan of doom.
Baylor in Horned Frog Land.
These could be the gifts that keep on giving..
For those that have missed it we are starting to see some major injuries across the nation to some of these teams best players. Here's a look
Creighton's assist machine Maurice Watson is gone for the year with an ACL putting their banner season in jeopardy. Creighton really doesn't have another PG ready on their team.
Oregon's Dillon Brooks left their game last night with a lower left leg injury. Being evaluated. This is the same leg he had surgery on in the off-season. That can't be good.
Indiana's OG Anunoby left their last game with a knee injury. They say he's out "indefinitely". Crushing to a team that's been so up and down.
Louisville's starting point guard Quintin Synder is out 2-3 weeks with a hip injury suffered in the Duke win last weekend.
Duke's Amile Jefferson has missed the past few games with a foot injury. I believe this is the same foot that has derailed a few of his seasons and is part of the reason he's still playing at 37 years old. Duke has looked lost without his leadership and scoring in the post.
Then there's Frank Mason. Coach say's he's fine. We'll see how "fine" Saturday.
It's not a bad loss if KU has others it prefers that they can close on. The problem is the 18 class is weak top to bottom and has just a handful of elite type players. KU seems to be after man-child Zion Williamson who plays the same position. Oturu wasn't an immediate contributor type but he's a nice 4 year player for any D-1 program. He had some upside and was ranked right around where his ceiling is right now.
KU offered by the way of Coach Townsend but Self had not seen him yet. It looks like the home-town school pushed for him to commit before the important AAU season came around and KU had a chance to recruit him and they succeeded. He's a really good get for Minnesota who's having a turnaround season.
Fox and Monk would eat their zone alive. Fox is arguably the quickest player in america
Oh man that is a terrible nightmare to have!
We probably won't know honestly. Before he jumped on the KU offer there was talk he wanted to transfer closer to home and maybe even drop a level to avoid the sit-out year. I can understand any kid jumping quickly at a KU offer and forgetting why you were transferring in the first place.
I think that probably had something to do with it, as well as him not being good enough to play here. There was plenty of talk about that when he committed. Self is a honest guy and might have told him he had no chance of becoming a rotation player. And to my knowledge there hasn't been any official word of where he ended up since leaving.
Even if we return all our scholarship big's next year (Doke, Carlton, Mitch, Dwight) and Billy is eligible I still feel like KU needs to get one more big with some ability.
You think after 2017-18 Mitch could be the only scholarship big left. Doke, Carlton & Billy could all be drafted and Dwight will have graduated. Self has to find a guy willing to compete for minutes as a freshman with a possible feature role after..
Oh yeah I saw the projections before last night's game. It was all over the ESPN main page yesterday. I thought it was ludicrous then and today its even worse.
Today they are spinning it with "Is West Virginia built for the long-haul" and "West Virginia is still a lock for the Sweet 16". Good to know they are lock 2 months out from the tournament.
I have never taken the BPI serious but once I saw West Virginia #1 and Duke #3 I just couldn't stop laughing.
I expect this game will be fairly close even if Mack is still out of the lineup. Texas has played a lot of close games in conference play. They played us tough in Allen last year. I expect to get their best shot, whatever that might be.
Having said that, it would be great to see one of those 20+ point wins to rest some legs for Tuesday's war
After watching OU beat Tech & now West Virginia they are playing much better. I think them losing to KU at home was a turning point for that team. It doesn't hurt when you get your best player back and he helps you win games.
I never thought our win in Norman was bad and if OU continues to turn around their season our so-so win in Norman won't look so bad. The way they are playing the return game in Allen could be another stellar game.
I know we had some previous interest and I assume we left him be after his first troubles. I can't imagine any school is going to be reaching for him after these latest arrests.
It is a very weird situation.
I would put the % that Coleby isn't playing next year at 50%. Just a hunch the way they've kept him out of games. Let's say best scenario for Coleby is he gets healthy enough to play next year. Best case would be what Hunter Mickelson minutes of out him? That injury changed the whole complexion of why he was brought here. We may be better off finding a replacement who's 100% ready to go.
Preston if eligible is obviously a 15-25 minute player. A Bragg/Preston rotation at the 4 is good enough.
Bragg should be back. With the way Self is making him play out of position it could really help his development this off-season. If he played like he did against Iowa St the rest of the season I would have a totally different view of him. Going back to the 3 out 2 in would really benefit him.
But will Self go that way? He's looking to get Young and Svi is a wildcard to leave. Cunliffe signed on as well gives him another athletic 6'6 type. A 4 guard lineup of Young/Newman/Vick/Svi/Cunliffe with Garrett mixed in is very intriguing again. That is assuming Graham leaves.
Lightfoot is still a bit away from impacting the team. Going to be a big off-season for him.
Doke's injury has bigger implications then some may realize. And that's assuming he's back in the time-frame they gave. This team needs a legit backup to him because Doke was foul prone and that's not going to change over night.
Let's assume a few things for a moment to discuss.
Assume that Coleby's injury is one that forces him to retire from basketball or he looks for more opportunity as a grad transfer.
Billy Preston's grades become a hot topic of discussion in the spring and there's general concern for his eligibility.
Carlton Bragg still decides to pursue a professional career or a fresh start after an up & down year.
Doke is recovering from Wrist Injury until early summer. Conditioning/skill development cut a good 2+ months into his off-season.
Lightfoot continues to play sparingly the rest of the season.
How far off is all of this from what might happen or is going to happen? Obviously the worst case scenario of everything I have layed out but if I'm Self I'm going into the Spring saying I've got 1 starting spot in the post available and plenty of rotation minutes. Self needs to find athletes and size.
We expect Doke to be a rock at the 5 next year but the 4 spot is far from settled right now. And who's going to back them up?
West Virginia now has losses to Temple (10 L's), Oklahoma (9 L's) and Texas Tech (14-4) and they were the #1 team according to ESPN. How could a network fall so far from respectability
Oh Poor ESPN nitwits you never fail to make me laugh!!
53% chance of winning in Lawrence:poop: :poop: :poop: :poop:
!upload-664dcf4d-5b4a-47bb-be5e-f12b6a4f750c ↗
!upload-faacb26d-1701-4bf3-904d-1c3caae7880b ↗
Dang. Good big for them. Had a chance to look into Oturu, will be a good big by Junior/Senior year. I don't think he was a fit at KU at 6'8 with no mid-range game. I liked his ability to face up in the lane and score and has long arms that help him play bigger than 6'8. Pitino is having good season so I'm assuming that looks appealing to him
Woodard made up for it by making the game winner. OU is playing with a different air since he's come back
Making a city enjoy basketball again & bringing the laughing stock of the league to respectability is amazing for any rookie to do. It tells you just how good he is. Imagine if he didn't miss 10 games because of back to backs. Joel would have a real shot at MVP.
I'm assuming 2 year guy.
if you search iowa western basketball you'll find some recent highlights with him in it. Doesn't look like anything special. Just seems like KU is getting out there looking for a spring-time big. Juco's haven't really been needed at KU. He must be okay if he's got 2 D-1 offers already with 4 other bigger programs looking at him.
Definitely he's doing great. He also had the benefit of a red-shirt year but Acuil Jr was one of the top 5 JUCO's 2 years ago.
Jordan Woodard we owe you a cookie
New name on the radar. No offer but "interest" apparently
De'Quon Lake 6'10 (2017) Juco of Iowa Western CC had 38 and 13 in his last game. Arizona St and Old Dominion have offered. Interest from West Virginia, Creighton, Oregon St and KU.
It's certainly possible that could happen with how slow his injury has healed.
If he did it could make KU attractive for any late signing Bigs (Euro's, transfers, de-commits).
I still think Tilmon is one to watch with Illinois 12-7 and likely headed for a 12+ loss season that would put Groce clearly on the hot-seat. Getting any Top 100 big to pair with Preston would really be an ideal situation to end this recruiting cycle.
One of my good friends is a die-hard Texas fan. Neither sport has given him much joy of late. He thought Shaka was a home-run and I had to use the Lee Corso line "not so fast".
Besides his usual banter of "this is the year KU will lose" he's pretty good about things.
I can't imagine knowing a Missouri or KSU fan. I can't imagine any realm in which we'd get along.
Did last night move the needle any closer to Sunshine Pumper?
Fortunately for KU, they did a pretty good job of exploiting ISU's post defense.
The trade-off's we see from game to game have worked out pretty well since game 1