🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@Texas-Hawk-10

It's truly surprising we haven't landed a big already with how many post players we will lose. Self & the staff have been busy because they know they haven't closed the deal on some kids yet. The pool of players has been shrinking daily.

I think its doubftul that Bolden is afraid of competition. He's got Duke high on his list & they are going to land Giles. Obviously you can't just assume Giles will go there but its like the worst kept secret right now. I doubt Duke is willing to take a immediate commitment from Bolden if that affected them getting Giles. Duke is also in good standing with DeLaurier another high ranked PF..

I have to ask Bolden why would you be waiting on Duke knowing your not their top top target at the position. But I get it, its Duke and they have all the powers that be right now.

A 1-2 punch of Bragg & Bolden would be incredible. You could even play them together.

Self is very high on Coleby. He's the type of guy that Self covets so I'm assuming he's going to be a rotation player next year regardless of who else we get. We will have to wait and see with him. I'm higher on him than most from seeing some of the Ole Miss games last year, he was very good in the games I saw. A year to develop & learn the system & push our post players in practice will be a nice bonus to this team.

Right, it may end up an non-issue but right now it is.

Apparently he's going to make his Official for Late Night, as I've now read that his family had scheduling issues that were known have prevented Bolden & his parents from visiting.

@JayHawkFanToo

While I agree more and more recruits have been waiting that isn't always a 1 for 1 correlation. When you look at what's left right now in the Top 100 or so & the guys we are actively pursuing you are left with just a handful of guys. I have no doubt that Self usually comes through but its looking a lot less likely that he pulls off a class that he's used to getting.

Post Targets

Giles

Bolden

Azubuike

Allen

Herard

Lightfoot

I would venture to guess 4 of the 6 sign by the fall signing period.

Guard Targets
Jackson

Fox

Alkins

Monk

All 4 of these guys could sign late, 2 of them are not even serious targets.

@blackmild33

Late Night schmate flight, It's all a show.

Bolden coming this weekend would have given us fans genuine hope that he was serious about coming here. The staff would have been able to put all their focus on him, that was the whole plan of this visit.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but its never a positive when your top target cancels and doesn't have another date already set to come back other than Late Night which is a crowded event with recruits. Funny how he cancels just days after Self is busy after Azubuike & Allen...

@blackmild33

not an encouraging sign. How much we want to wager he doesn't reschedule

@jaybate-1.0

There's too much money invested in the Big 12 for football purposes that it will take Texas or Oklahoma breaking off to set a chain reaction like your assuming could be on the horizon. Baylor & TCU have greatly improved their brand to make them nationally relevant.

In Basketball KU is the only juggernaut but we are not the destination school for Adidas athletes. Being Adidas has done us no favors, Nike has really put the pedal to the medal & Under Armor is just as much a threat in the future. We have to get away from Adidas, there's just not enough top athletes associated with them to be fighting Nike & Under Armor into the future in a shoe recruiting battle. It's crazy how this battle has evolved even in the past year. I think KU needs to ditch Adidas before it ditches the conference.

@ajvan

We need something to end this drought we are in.

I like that we are putting in the effort with him. With no other visits lined up, Self should be selling him the world right now. Signing 1 impact big will really release the pressure for next years team. Because our next best options are not freshman impacts.

@justanotherfan

I don't disagree that Skal will be an important player for them. I just believe the talent gap from him to Lee, Poythress & Humphries is not as dire of a situation as it will be for KU without Diallo.

I truly believe the talent disparity from Diallo, Perry, & Bragg to the rest of our bigs is so significant that everything this team can be will be altered if Cheick is sitting.

Of course Mick is the wildcard & Bragg's development to an extent is as well. We could weather the storm if both are ready to give consistent game to game production but that is such a big assumption to make..

@Statmachine

Your right he's not an ideal 5 if you go by the metrics of a proto-typical size of a 5. But he's superior athlete in many ways, rebounding, blocking, running the floor, motor. And all those things he can contribute now. Would you not agree that what's what we need?

I'm not underselling Bragg at all, he's our future at the PF position if he sticks around. He was an offensive player in High School & played very little defense that Self would accept. Korea showed us that he was still far behind in strength but he tried to make up for it by being a good athlete & scrapping for the ball.

@ajvan

I think the response was as good as expected. His handler is his brother by the way. What is encouraging that I just read was that KU is conducting another in-home visit just days after visiting. I may have retract my thoughts about this whole process with him.

@Statmachine

But he's not a 5. Bragg is going to need time to develop and understand how to play in this system. He had a nice head-start in Korea We have to have a consistent presence in the post. Diallo is a game changer in the post especially on defense.

Alkins included us only by name. Nothing has been reported that we've put any real serious miles into recruiting him.

We watched Allen workout yesterday and I saw something saying that Texas has lost out with him. Still its going to be extremely hard to pluck a kid from Austin.

Just like Giles & Monk including us in their 5, we have a better chance of playing Mizzou again before they took us seriously.

The Big 12 has Zero momentum on the recruiting scene. Everyone wants to play in the ACC or the Big 10 this year. Can you blame them? KU blinders aside I don't.

The Big Board has 8 guys left.. Azubuike came and went without committing so I would say we probably aren't as serious a threat as I thought we could be. Florida is now trying to get involved..
Lightfoot I bet wants to go to KU or Arizona but the word is that neither school is ready to take him without knowing where other domino's go first.
All the recent activity with Bolden seems to point to Duke or Alabama now. Hopefully he's still going to be on campus this weekend but we will see.

KU definitely has a good chance of striking out cold on this years crop of kids. It's still early for Self's standards but momentum is definitely not on our side.

@justanotherfan

I may be in the minority but I believe Diallo is more important to KU. I mean really if he's not cleared we are going to be playing the same bigs we cried about all last year. Unless Mick really has turned the corner and will be an everyday contributor, we will have a giant weakness again in an offense/defense that depends on a quality Center in the post. It's critical that our depth includes Diallo so that we can minimize the minutes Traylor & Lucas have to log. We have a championship squad, but it takes a major nose dive if Diallo isn't with us..

@jayballer54

Doubftul, his one son Brian Cook played in the NBA. Brian has 2 sisters so there is a possibility there. Otherwise its just a coincidence.

@jayballer54

He is from St Louis. We haven't had interest in a long time. He's down to Iowa & Florida with Iowa supposedly in good shape to get him.

@HighEliteMajor

Your right without a rules enforcer it would be chaos. I don't argue that without some system in place there would be no College Athletics, it wouldn't exist in the capacity it does today.

What I don't agree with is the NCAA being the FBI, CIA, (you get the message) into dealings that it has no business being in. The whole structure is just biased, unfair, & doesn't make sense.

KU had no problem accepting Diallo as a student, but the NCAA has a problem with him playing Basketball because of the High School or schooling he received. If the NCAA has an issue with his school or classwork, KU should have had the same issue. There should be absolutely no grey area when it comes to academics & athletics. Why has this "investigation" dragged on for months & months like he's on trial. Why is he allowed to be in College and take classes but can't play a game of Basketball. What's the gain for the NCAA in denying good kids to play a game?

Lets take Cliff for example:

Was Cliff being held out of playing because he did something wrong??? NO. KU was scared to play him & have infractions placed on their program for playing a possible ineligible player for which he was never ruled

. From all we know Cliff's mom acted without his consent or knowledge of doing what she did. Regardless if he knew or not, he didn't do anything wrong. He didn't cheat in school, he didn't skip class, he didn't do something to jeopardize his standing with his teammates & coach.

How can a player be punished for something he didn't physically/mentally do? His mom didn't commit some crime but to the NCAA it was like some criminal act that only Cliff was punished for in the end.

The same can be somewhat applied to Diallo.

He came to the USA for a better life/education. He enrolled at school, he just so happened to become a good player playing a sport. Years later into his education when he's all but graduated the NCAA now is going to investigate you like you committed a crime. He graduated, he enrolled in Summer School, he's been cleared by KU for academics, he's taking classes. What more does a kid need to do?? Why is the kid going to be (possibly) punished for something he has no control over??

Obviously we don't know the whole story, and I'm sure what I've written can be picked apart and explained a thousand ways from Sunday. I guess my whole stance with the NCAA is "Who do they think they are" deciding what kids can and can't do all for a GAME!

@wissoxfan83

that will not cut it, this team cannot bail out early in the tourney again.

There's still a few weeks until I'll start to get really mad about the situation. I already dislike the NCAA enough so I don't need another reason.

@ParisHawk

Then Diallo is the only guy left awaiting clearance at this point. Syracuse had a PF #58 in ESPN that isn't enrolled.

But yes Self found the only guy that's being held out right now.

@ParisHawk

I've checked all the major teams that I can think of, Diallo is the only top player out there still waiting that I can see.

I'm sure others will come talking about Skal but he's eligible until proven otherwise.

@drgnslayr

At his current weight & height, he's no less than a PF at the NBA level. Maybe he doesn't need weight but developing strength will be the best asset he can acquire for his body. If he can't defend post players, there won't really be a need for his tantalizing offensive talent. Willy Stein's don't come around often (in regards to guarding multiple positions).

I think Matur is a lot farther off in terms of development than Thon was at his age. Thon has that drive to be good, you can see it. I think Matur is a good prospect but not a dominant one that Thon has shown he can be when he's engaged & committed to the game.

At the College level, Thon can be very good. I think the NBA is intrigued by him, but they haven't exactly been proclaiming him to be the next #1 pick either. What's keeping scouts & the media from that??

Assuming he would be eligible for College (handler issues, bouncing between schools etc) he's only on campus for less than a year. Would that help KU? I'm going to go with no

Let someone else deal with that issue & with Self and staff passing on him months ago we have done just that.

He' a talent & has immense upside but its likely to be realized on a NBA team. He's going to need even more strength & weight just to make it on any NBA roster. Will his body be okay with that kind of additional jump up.

I guess I gave up on Maker when we moved on. So my bias towards that, trusting that we got out of his sweepstakes for good reason (regardless of talent).

very doubtful this report is true. no twitter guys talking about it..

@drgnslayr

The ship sailed..
There's a reason Arizona St, Indiana & Notre Dame are the only serious inquirers for him these days. I'd be shocked if he ends up anywhere but Indiana & Arizona St. ND he would have clearance issues especially grades, not sure that's ever been his probelm but he's bounced around schools. Az St signed a 7'ft rim protector already and is in very good shape with Kegler so I'm not sure they have him in the bag. Indiana would offer him all the time in the world + tv exposure, and they are really the only school that's stuck with him all this time.

It's very possible that KU's only giant they can sign will be Mitch Lightfoot, another undersized forward..

Looks like we made a nice impression on Lightfoot on his visit. Nothing on Azubuike as of yet..
Seems like Lightfoot would like to commit to KU, I'm just not sold on him at all. Undersized, plays at the lower level in Arizona (same as Woolridge did). I would rather have others that fit our need & talent gap we will need to fill.

I really like the rule for having less timeout's. Should help alleviate some of the snooze fest end of games became.

There's already a min of 4 media timeouts per half + any replay & team timeouts. How many timeout's does a game seriously need??

We all know what its like to be getting ready for a Big Monday game with Wake Forest & Pittsburgh in a FT shooting contest for 10 minutes and then we miss the first 4-5 minutes of the game. I had to pay attention to ACC games just to project whether they were going 20 minutes over the 2hr time slot or not.

@Crimsonorblue22

will they or are they for sale to the public?

@Crimsonorblue22

I am not, I was accepted to both KU and FSU but I decided to stay closer to home for College ( a decision I always think about from time to time).

I became a fan of KU b-ball in 1995, when we beat Uconn in Kemper who had Ray Allen, Ollie, Marshall on the squad. The gold helmets for FSU with the stickers is what drew me to them at a young age..

@Crimsonorblue22

Florida State actually. A storied program that at the end of the Bowden days had real concerns about ever getting back to the glory days. I think Jimbo has silenced that fear & brought the product & performance back to its peak. But FSU is a football school first unlike KU which is always going to the be the issue.

@nuleafjhawk

Your right all on accounts.

Jake Heap was forced out of his BYU job, he had what 1 semi good year before leaving. Writing was on the wall with that kid. He tried to salvage his career here and he was pitiful under a coach who crippled the immediate future of the program.

There's so many things you can point your fingers too that are wrong. A big time coach is out of the question, so if this school/fanbase/AD can't show patience with this new coach who's trying like heck to restore everything then the school doesn't deserve to have football team. I think its that simple, maybe I'm wrong I'm often that.

Give the guy at least 5 years, it's going to take a few years just to establish 2 deep depth with his own players.

@nuleafjhawk

My only rebuttal to that, is I believe those Qb's were transfers right that didn't pan out?? With all the coaching & roster turmoil its hard to expect any QB to be successful in this program until stability & development are in place.

I don't follow KU Football even a smidge as much as I do Basketball as I like a different football team.
I have watched the games this year & over the past few years and the options they have at QB are just not going to cut it.

Even last year it was no better. Cozart isn't the option, he's not going to win KU football games this year unless they have some sort of miracle. Cummings was hit or miss but at the end of the day I doubt he's the type of play caller Beatty needs in his new system.
If the staff has any belief in the other young QB's they have then they should just play them. See what they got, see if any of them can be the future. If the program is really 3-4 years away from even respectable football then it makes no difference to watch Cozart & Cummings (if he comes back from injury) do the same things week in and week out. Beatty's most important job on the recruiting front besides getting the #'s back up again will be to find his QB. Having a good QB can change so much in a hurry.

@konkeyDong

Giles to Duke is just a formality, everyone knows it. Can't see Bolden picking them after that happens so again it will become a 3 team race now fighting Bama & UK.. It seems like we go through this same crapshoot every year with 10-15 players. We should know more coming up soon especially if Bolden makes the 1st of 2 visits he had scheduled previously.

Gabriel on the other hand I think is less certain than we think to end up a Blue Devil. I still think its the most likely scenario for him but Maryland has been making a very strong push for him. And if you look at their roster, they seem to have the most readily available situation for him to play meaningful minutes as a freshman. You just never know if Gabriel is going to want to play behind Giles. Ever since Diamond Stone committed its sent the Under Armour/Maryland AAU connection to new heights. They are now a destination school.

The other reason I'm getting the feeling that Gabriel might be going to Maryland is Duke's now of all of a sudden interest in Javin Delaurier #44 ESPN, PF from Virginia. One of the highest risers in the rankings this summer I see Duke has offered & is getting an official visit. Not sure if Duke was always involved but it seemed like Texas and a few others had a good hold of him but now Duke comes calling. And we all know Duke doesn't extend many scholarships without putting a full effort to get them. This may be the deer in the headlights type offer for the kid where he just takes what's been given to him. If they were certain Gabriel was coming to Duke I'm not sure Coach K leverages by going after Delaurier.

Some other KU boards don't seem to be that excited Azubuike is coming or that he could be a legit option.

They seem to think his handler's influence will keep him in Florida. The belief has been that FSU coaches placed him here in the states, got him into school etc.. I believe some of his AAU teammates are signed or playing for FSU as well..

I think there is more too it with the fact that he's saying he's wide open to anyone & we are his only scheduled visit to date. FSU is hard on Devan Huell which is a guy I've mentioned as possibly having an influence on where Azubuike may go. There also hasn't been much word of FSU's contact with him lately so I'm thinking we have a great chance.

I think Lightfoot is the least viable option. He seems like a Stanford or Utah type player to me. Arizona has also been involved being the home school and all.

Having Azubuike here this weekend is big I think. He's wide open according to his brother so there's no telling if we make a great impression on him that he could commit shortly after. Maybe we will be his only visit..

I don't think that impacts Bolden's decision because he's flat out said he wants to play PF.

I like the talk of Mari being a situational player.

I thought in his Sr year he would be the glue guy & important part of the rotation.
Not sure many of us can honestly say that's what he will bring us this year.

His WUG play was just as poor as last season too much ho hum performances. No consistency. As a 5th year senior you would expect consistent play to become common.

The fact that he was "demoted" as the WUG games went on had me thinking that Self finally realized Mari wasn't the best option for extended minutes unless the situation occurs where he's playing really well or we need him.

Hopefully he's still committed to improving & teaching our young guys the ropes. Leadership is also an important trait he can bring to this team. Nobody is giving up on Mari, I'm certainly not but I do think our best chance of a great season is picking and choosing the spots to use him in.

@HighEliteMajor

Your not missing anything, that would be the logical & most effective line-up with/without Diallo.

Mick clearly earned his time in the rotation with his WUG performance.

Whether Self remembers that & Mick continues his improved play into camp is another story.

He did show that "it" factor in Korea, confidence in his shot, offensive rebounding, enough rim protection. I liked everything he did over there.

Visit is scheduled for this weekend as confirmed by his brother. Sounds promising, maybe we can close the deal??

Good News indeed.

@REHawk

With Cal it has to be location.. Martin is a good coach and he's recruited well wherever he has been. Getting Rabb was big but he was always staying out west. Getting Brown was that out of left field decision. Still don't view them as a contender as its hard for me to believe 2 players will all of a sudden make a mediocre at best team a F4 contender. They have a few returning guards who are good but what else?

Alabama hired an ex NBA coach and has apparently got strong ties in the AAU scene already. He lured Ferguson & and is now doing the same with Bolden. We all know their B-ball program will always be a blip on the map with Football.

OU is definitely a contender as long as they fill the spot Thomas left & develop some depth. I hear the Jr College big guy is good & Buford was a top 100 kid who sat last year & I hear is athletic. They have little guard depth besides freshman.

Iowa St is going to be a small team, McKay becomes their most important player to keep on the floor with the lack of size they will have. They will still be good but its hard to imagine they will be the same with a new coach..There's a reason Hoiberg is in the NBA & Prohm was at Murray St.

@drgnslayr

I have modest offensive projections for Diallo. I think anything close to the 7-10 ppg. area is an upgrade over last year. I expect he'll be a decent FT shooter (he has good touch) & his % at the rim should be high because he's athletic & will take almost all his shots in close range.

I expect he'll block a lot of shots & be a good rebounder. Somewhere in the 7bs & 2 blocks pg area. He'll likely foul a lot early until the game slows down defensively, at that point I expect he'll be a dominant defender as he has been his whole career.

Some stats that won't show up that I think are critical in assessing Diallo will be: Shots altered, 50/50 balls & the pace he might force our guys to play having a gazelle like big on the floor. Self has already alluded to the pace factor that he brings to this team. I expect he'll alter a lot of shots like Withey did, & I expect he will win his fair share of 50/50 balls. Maybe I'm being too zealous in some projections but I just find it hard to believe this kid isn't the stud big we all think he is.

Both have been under-appreciated by the media. Mason is really under the radar as far as PG's go but that's fine anything to give Frank a chip on his shoulder is not a bad thing.

Ellis is just one of those steady guys, quiet & consistent, for some reason just isn't getting the love maybe he deserves.

Can we sign a petition for the end of the dribble weave??

Has to be the most played out useless waste of time I've ever seen on the offensive end.
In the past it helped us win games, but now everyone and their mother knows we use it.

If Self's philosophy or scheme changes I'm crossing my fingers we don't see that play in the arsenal this year.

@Lulufulu

Mason being small definitely helps us out. We may get a 3 year starter and one of the best to play the position ever at KU. If Ellis was not such a finesse talent, he'd be gone as well. Sometimes the best thing for this team is having some players that don't measure up to the NBA standard for their position.

@HighEliteMajor

I would agree that behind the scenes Self might have should I say "frightened" this team into shooting less from the perimeter. If anything he certainly wanted them to be a more aggressive team driving to the basket. We never found that perfect balance & where guys were in their development clearly showed we should have kept going with what worked.

I believe it was him that said around tournament time that you can't win games in the tourney without a good post game or 2 point scoring team. Again instilling his belief that jamming the ball inside without the proper guys was still the best way to win. But we've seen time and time again how the 3 point shot becomes the equalizer in such match-ups. Duke had the combination of guys who could chuck 3's and have a post game.

The Free Mind thing I believe has merit. This summer we saw how well a team could play minus some of its best talent when you just let them play with minimal structure.

Do you think Self learned a lot this summer seeing just how well we played this way? Because the WUG didn't have the importance of the regular season everything was more lax & free-willed. I would say we have 3 legit guys who can get their own shot whenever they want. How can you not let those guys run this team regardless of offensive scheme. And all 3 that I'm talking about (Mason, Selden, Ellis) are outside-inside players first.

De'Aaron Fox has set up his free visit to KU for Late Night.

Is he taking his joy ride like the others or are we still in this race with a crowded back-court & others going after him now.

Self hasn't gotten his top PG target in how long now?

@drgnslayr

National Title's or getting to the Final 4's fuel recruiting momentum especially in this day in age.

Duke is back to getting whatever it sinks its teeth into.

Uconn has recruited very well with Ollie. They have 2 good recruits for this year coming in, 3 next yr + 3 transfers who are high level kids also coming in this or next yr.

Kentucky does what it wants because its made it brand the top dog.

We benefited from the 2012 Championship run, we need another deep run to fuel the next wave of recruiting classes.

As fans, we hate to lose anything especially our conference because at this point we don't know what its like to lose. 11 years is an eternity. I would exchange this streak for a national title this year. The streak has been amazing but a national title team goes down in history (overall) & forever in fans hearts. We talk about 08 & 12 like they are the standard. We need the 15-16 team to be that next standard. We have the team capable, & a coach who needs to prove again he can win on the big stage.

@drgnslayr

Correct, I was more leaning to his FT% which basically can't get much worse at 40ish%. A nice Hook around the hoop or the ability to use his feet to gain leverage on a defender is what I'm most thinking would be his greatest strengths to learn if he came here. Let's face it, he can't dunk everything, guys in College will guard him even if they fail they will hack him. Can he pass out of a double team, some highlights show he can but they were obviously easy passes to make when 4 guys collapse on you.

@HighEliteMajor

Great post.

I thought late in the finals at the WUG we should have played Vick some more. I just thought his athletic ability & shooting could have been used when we had all those tired legs. In the end it was the vets that came through but we almost had the "what if" scenario's if we didn't win.

2016 has the chance to erase all the bad NCAA memories we've had, I mean the collection of talent we have with hopefully Diallo is as good as we've ever had it. Self knows this is a big year, the players know it.

@drgnslayr

I think we would warm up even more if he signed.. He definitely could play as a Fr next year, just hopeful that his development of skill/shooting would take a steep curve up while here. A true brute force Center is hard to find in this age of ball.