🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@justanotherfan

It means something to the media because every KU loss to a mid-major now has significance to talk about it everytime we have to play that team again. We still are living down the UNI loss, they had a feature on ESPN this year. The first thing mentioned when we play Texas will be highlights of Shaka beating us in 2011. If we ever play Wichita St again we will never hear the end of that tourney game.

I'm sure it also means something to Self knowing he had one of his best teams he's had beaten that year. I bet he looks forward to the competition of those games as a personal score to settle from coach to coach.

@Lulufulu

I really hope we do, Self I bet will personally want to beat him after 2011 but as far the players they have zero ties to that loss. Last year we played maybe our best game of the year in Austin.

@joeloveshawks

I don't know, its nice to look at the schedule and know that its a near certainty that KU is going to win every home game. We've seen KU underachieve at home but the atmosphere just wills them to wins. That can be positive & negative at the same time. I don't think it hurts us in the tourney, we just haven't had a team in the past 3 years that was clicking on all cylinders. 2013 we had a chance but we had the epic collapse at the end of the game. The last 2 years have battled injuries & a bad matchup.

@drgnslayr

UK should have won it last year with the team they had but thats the beauty of the tournament. KU should have won it in other years but one game is all it takes. I always wondered if the pressure to stay undefeated especially as they got to the Final 4 just was too much. If they had lost just 1 game it would have taken all that pressure off them. But one game UK didn't get the lucky stick and bam its over. I'm certainly not saying they should have blatantly lost a game because they will still go down in history as one of the best regular season teams ever. Their league also didn't do them any favors after they dismantled everyone in the non-con.

@RockkChalkk

Boy if Cal has underachieved then Self has drastically underachieved. It's a crapshoot every year if your going by NCAA championships. To his defense he has made 4 Final 4's is the last 6 years which is an amazing thing to accomplish.

@drgnslayr

ESPN always puts us on the road for Big Monday games because of Allen Fieldhouse being such an overwhelming home-court advantage. They figure if they put us on the road constantly for those big games that the games will be more competitive.

Take the Texas game for instance, Shaka is now the coach & gets to play KU on Big Monday. We wouldn't have been on Big Monday playing @ Texas otherwise. Right now it means nothing but when we are in the jungle of the Big 12 schedule it will become a big deal

Update on Wenyen Gabriel. KU didn't make his top 5.

Surprising seems how a few weeks ago he said he would visit KU...

Still a heavy Duke Lean if and when they offer.

@Crimsonorblue22

http://thegazette.com/subject/sports/college/mens-basketball/iowa-state-adds-simeon-carter-to-2015-recruiting-class-20150807 ↗

The 2 guys they added Ernst & Carter are not playing which they signed in case this greek kid doesn't come back. Their freshman PG is out (with a family issue) & Burton isn't participating. And we thought we had it bad for the WUG..

@Crimsonorblue22

Notice the Texas game on the road is for ESPN to hype up Smart playing KU again. Typical tv

@JayHawkFanToo

Certified transcripts can take time even in the states. I'm seeing this for example with a football player from a Power College team who is a Jr College transfer. Started at LSU left, went the JUCO route, then signed at another big time school. His grade for the 1 class he was waiting on has been known for weeks but the official transcript from the school has caused him to miss the first 5 days of practice. Another player on the same team had a 9th grade class rejected by the NCAA a few months ago. The kid took the class again on his own dime & submitted the paperwork to the NCAA over a month ago. Still no word on his eligibility as he continues to miss practice..

So 2 examples of how kids taking classes in the USA can take what seems like years to send a piece of certified paper to or from a school to the NCAA. Imagine if its Diallo's classes in Mali that are being scrutinized, that could take forever. Even this current situation with Our Savior, its not like this investigation is new. This could drag until late September or even closer to the season, we know that the NCAA works at a snails pace.

@drgnslayr

That would be great if that is the message. Late Night is our chance to bring in the closer and sign the guy. He's the best shooter in the class and can flat out jump out the gym. He's a highlight real at all 3 levels waiting to happen.

@konkeyDong

Where it gets tricky is how individual each situation is.

Dillard came from Indiana to Our Savior for 1 year. He was cleared late last week. He was committed to Cal before signing with Ok. St. but I read an article that his time at Our Savior was being looked at. There were articles in May asking why he wasn't signed yet which would be a lot earlier than the now news about Diallo.

Damon Wilson Jr played at St Benedict but does not say how long before playing at Our Savior his Sr year. He is a native of Georgia so my guess is he started in Georgia, transferred to St Benedict's & then ended up at Our Savior.

@konkeyDong

Kobie Eubanks ended up at Alabama. He had to sit last year because of his prior High School tampered with his transcripts for which he is currently suing them over. Our Savior was not the reason he was ineligible.

As others have said, his school is being investigated. That didn't stop his teammate from being declared eligible the other day so there's no real information what is going with the school. Wilson his other teammate hasn't been cleared at Pitt yet and I've seen little info on if he's being looked at for attending Our Savior or if he bounced from school to school.

Some have said his prior schooling to Our Savior is being looked at, that would explain the paperwork aspect & if it's coming from Africa might have taken a while to get here.

Kid is a baller with unreal athleticism & motor for a wing. T-Ferg & Jackson are truly in a league of their own in terms of above the rim highlights.

Coaches have actually said that his drive to win all the time actually will have to be contained going forward. Sounds like a great competitor. He can play defense & his shooting is good enough to be respected.

As far as his recruiting goes I just don't think we have much of a chance. Yes we are in it, but him being coached by Coach Miller all summer plus them being present at every game in the AAU circuit just tells me that they have the inside advantage. I don't think any scout, recruiting service will tell you different. Maybe if we get him for a visit whether its late night or such we can make up ground because he does like KU & Self.

I wouldn't expect his recruitment to end until the spring either.

If Diallo isn't cleared then he will spend his one year on campus & go pro without playing a game here. I just don't see him sticking around if the NCAA were to screw him over. I know I wouldn't want to. The NCAA has done such a marvelous job at doing the wrong thing that I have absolutely no respect for how they are run. Also, if the belief that he's only here 1 year anyway then expecting another year because he is not eligible is stupid.

He's going into the fall with a lottery type status, whether he plays or not may not affect that at all. The benefit of him playing is that he's our starting 5, shows enough offensive game & shows us the motor & defensive presence that got him such praise. That would get him drafted high. Not playing would keep him a relative unknown to all teams & his workouts would be very important. He could still be drafted high based on workouts etc.

Let's all hope that we get the good news we need so that we can go back to planning this teams championship run.

@JayHawkFanToo

He was great in the Nike Hoops Summit as well. I think he's their best guard going into this year, he just can do everything from shooting to getting to the lane.

@JayHawkFanToo

True I just found it odd because he was a teammate of Maker's who we recruited hard for a while so how did we not see this guy was going to blow up. He had been on the verge of this for years. As @KUSTEVE said we are happy with the perimeter we got but I just found it odd that we never showed interest.

@approxinfinity

done it before no problemo

@BeddieKU23

With Duke they aren't going to have a lot of acadamic issues because of their strict admission standards.

What standards?
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2008/11/05/stanford-vs-duke-basketball-the-difference-in-admissions-standards/ ↗

@JayHawkFanToo

Tremble will be very good for them. I prefer Mason myself & Murray is very good. I always wondered why KU never got involved with him but he went to UK anyway so it wasn't worth the time.

As @justanotherfan pointed out Maryland needs just as many things to go well for them as KU does but yet they are the considered one of if not the favorite for next year.

I have a hard time believing Suliamon is suddenly a changed person, there was a reason he was kicked off the team regardless of allegations against him because he was a toxic player to that team. You know you messed up when Coach K gives up on you. Talented player that can help them but I didn't view his signing as the icing on the cake that makes them a favorite. Carter was a decent player for Georgia Tech and transfered in & Stone was a very highly coveted freshman big. They are in no shape or form a dominant looking pre-season team.

@Lulufulu

There has been little word on him, almost like its just going to sweep under the rug while Diallo is making headlines not being eligible. Not that I think UK does anything illegal because they have been on the wrong side of luck before (Kanter) but Skal's eligibility issues have been talked about a lot more but I have not seen anything recent on him.

@jayballer54

The NCAA is investigating the school itself. Without all the details into what they are looking at or what allegations they have for doing this is up in the air. Diallo isn't being singled out though and his teammate was just cleared. But as a whole there is very little real info on what the hold up is.

@justanotherfan

Nice post.

I think his style will translate once he gets a full roster of players he wants. Felix, Ibeh, Lammert are players he would never sign and we all know Ridley is too big to change but maybe he can get more minutes out of him with the conditioning I'm sure Smart is installing. His 3 recruits will fit his style but the Transfer Cleare is another lumbering big body so he's got 3 space eaters this year.

Taylor could have a good year but he's never had much of a jump-shot that Smart covets from his lead guard.

@drgnslayr

Izzo always seems to have one of those magical cookbooks where he can just turn his team on when he wants to. That's what good coaches do and he's certainly one of the best.

@Crimsonorblue22

Doubt he misses a lot of time because without him they hurting at the Guard spot.

@wissoxfan83

Forgot about Brown, he was a guy who got spot minutes and they will need him to step up. I wonder how many of his freshman he will get to be apart of the rotation. You have to think at least 1 or 2 of them will have to be ready to contribute for them to stay competitive. Usually that's the last thing you would expect from Bo.

@drgnslayr

I don't understand it either but when does anything that the NCAA does make any sense.

Apparently a school doesn't have the final say in whether a kid goes there or not. Its definitely micro managing at its best and the only possible reason I can see that Athlete's get this extra attention is to ensure that schools are not accepting them based solely on their athletic ability.

What if Jimmy slips the KU admin department a few Benjamin's to look the other way at someone's grade or this or that and they accept him. Obviously just a hypothetical but its probably the reason why the NCAA overseas athletes eligibility to ensure schools follow the rules in accepting these guys. It will be truly sad if the NCAA has a negative ruling with Diallo because its certainly not his fault that his school may not be up "standards". I'm certainly more optimistic he will be eligible then I was a week ago but time will tell..

@wissoxfan83

Your probably right we do get a lot of attention but you look at a UK team that lost its top 7 scorers and there in the top 5. Seems lofty to me? And the Freshman replacing those that left are not even on the same level. Meanwhile KU is only 5th with its possibly best team suited for a title run in years..

I don't think Wisky is being under-appreciated they lost so much of the core from the Runner-up team. Hayes & Koenig will be big but what else do they have? 4 players are back who even played last year. Happ I hear could be good. I don't doubt that Bo will have another good year but its crazy to expect this won't be a down year from the past few.

You could argue that the Big 10 will be a tougher conference then the past few years too. Indiana, Maryland & Michigan all expected to have good years. Michigan St is always there, Iowa & Purdue have a chance to be good as well.

A bit of update on the Diallo situation.

It's his school that is being evaluated.

He isn't the only player from his team that hasn't been cleared. Damon Wilson Jr # 81 in ESPN top 100 has not been cleared to play for Pittsburgh either.

Davon Dillard 4* player who recently signed with Oklahoma St and Diallo's teammate was just cleared yesterday by the NCAA. Dillard however only spent his Sr season at Our Savior & there is rumor that his transcript was a mess.
-Positive news if 1 of the players has been cleared.

We know its not a question of Diallo's grades or his intelligence but rather if the school provided the necessary classes over his career there to make him eligible. You would have to think that no matter if you spent 1 year or 4 years at the school, that it would make no difference in your eligibility. Dillard attends 1 year and gets cleared but Diallo does if I'm right 4 and is being questioned. Hopefully its the fact that his information has just recently been sent to the NCAA & his recent completion of 2 summer courses at KU that is delaying a decision.

I'm more optimistic after the news of Dillard being cleared and Diallo not being the only 1 singled out.

Every coach has their own gimmicks, the article was nice to read, you usually don't get that kind of backdoor access to what coaches do on a day in and day out with their players. Do I think the changes he's trying to make will make a big difference in year 1, No. He's got a talented team but not one with a guy who can get 20 points on any given night. I think Lammert & Holland are below AVG players for their positions in our league & Felix has always been too small and only hits a few jump shots here and there.

At VCU he was a legend and because he raised the value of basketball so much there, he really couldn't do wrong. But now at a big school, one that is a football school he has his work cut out for him. If he can bang with the best at recruiting that's probably his best shot at sticking with Texas and building something. His style of play is attractive to HS kids and when he has the right combination of them he is dangerous. I just don't think he has the players to be that dangerous in year 1.

I wouldn't worry about this update. UK is in the top 5 because its ESPN and they are the new media juggernaut. What would a top 5 be without UK, UNC or Duke? It wouldn't be a poll at all so I'm not worried. The Pre-Season football polls have Alabama in the top 5 with no QB or WR's.. It's the same ol same ol in the media. Both teams could be a top 5 program but they both have so many unproven parts.

I'm surprised Maryland is getting so much respect as a possible #1 team. Don't get me wrong they have a great chance to be up there but they have a lot of new faces that need to gel together. I think the #1 ranking they are being given is more about the new faces that need to blend in then what stayed behind. Tremble could be Big 10 player of the year, Layman is also a All Big 10 type player but they will rely on a freshman (Stone) in the post & the only guy to ever be kicked off Duke's team in Suliamon to play big roles.

As you look at all the possible teams out there there isn't a dominant team out there that has separated itself. All the top teams have question marks, can Paige for UNC stay healthy? Duke is likely to start 3 Freshman, KU is reliant on a freshman big man, Virginia lost arguably its best player, Iowa St brought in a new coach, Oklahoma lost their best post player. The list goes on for each team..

KU has as good a shot as anyone with Diallo. W/out, well we all saw what last year was like..

@drgnslayr

I think you hit nailed it with the Riverboat Gambler analogy. Huggins went out and recruited for his new style of play so don't let him fool you. Myers the Juco kid, played for a fast paced pressing team in the Jr college ranks. He also got a good top 100 kid in Ahmad who will help them. Plus everyone not named Staten returned so he's full of crap if he thinks he's going to change his style again because of the rules. This is essentially the same team minus a couple seniors who were largely responsible for the games they won.

@HighEliteMajor

I think Traylor & Lucas might be doing the same prayer dance as well.

Hopefully they are just dreams..

@konkeyDong

When Gabriel gets an offer from Duke I bet that becomes the one thing that pushes his recruitment that way. Usually if you grow up a Duke fan and then they offer you, your not turning it down. I'm glad he at least has interest in KU but I'm thinking no matter how crowded a front-court they have he will go there. Giles is in the bag for them, so is Frank Jackson.

If we can get him to Late Night or in for a visit around a decent game that could help us. We don't have a lot of post targets at the moment that we logically have a chance with. And this kid is still improving so maybe he's like T-Rob on the high school circuit where he came out of nowhere and KU locked in on him. I also wonder how much he will remember the other schools that were recruiting him before he shoots up the rankings any-day now.

@jayballer54

Gabriel is quoted as saying KU will be one of his 5 visits. He grew up a Duke fan, if Duke makes him the priority they probably have the inside track.

@ParisHawk

Thanks for the clarification then. You would think that KU the judge in giving him a scholarship and accepting him to KU did its homework on his past coursework and was found to be okay. I know Self was very upset about McLemore's & Mari's decisions when they were deemed partial qualifiers. He seemed very shocked that they weren't eligible and has probably used that as a guide to recruiting guys that have been to multiple schools or are from oversea's.

@drgnslayr

Exactly why I'm confused on this issue.

I'm holding out hope that its just the shear amount of paperwork that is the holdup and verifying all of his coursework (basically crossing all the T's & I's of some checklist) and now that he's finally sent all that stuff to the NCAA's that its just a matter of time before we get the good word.

I do have the slightest amount of doubt just because of the amount of hope that has been bestowed on Diallo to be our savior in the post.

@justanotherfan

thank you for the in-depth analysis. Required paperwork or required min curriculum seems to be where he would most likely fall short if he does.

@SoftballDad2011

Hard to quantify what big or bigs we could have gotten. Up until getting Diallo it was the sky was falling if we didn't get him. We put in about 2 years worth of recruiting with him to sweat out his decision (at least from a fans perspective). We don't know if Self had a silent verbal all that time.

But you have to assume KU did its homework into his eligibility after losing players in the past to academic issues that could have helped that years team (ala 2012 B-Mac & Mari). If they took the risk assuming he was just a bunch of paperwork away then its a no brainer. If there is some undercover issue we don't know about or the NCAA has a decision that seems out of left field then its unfortunate for both the school and Diallo.

This could end badly for us, but until more information is available we can only speculate what's happening. I will try and resort from freaking out until news says otherwise.

@ParisHawk

I still think we need some clarification of what exactly they are looking at. He graduated from his HS so to his HS he passed their standards.

Is it his school because of the classes he took? Or is it his grades/ACT SAT scores?

Now he's enrolled in Summer School which was delayed because of paperwork from his school.

Now the NCAA is looking into his eligibility.

Either he passed High School or not correct? If he didn't wouldn't he need to go to prep school to complete his HS courses that are found to be ineligible for College standards. As far as I'm concerned you can't take College classes whether summer, fall or spring unless you've actually graduated and been approved for College.

Honestly I don't know the real answer so if I'm wrong please explain to me how that whole process even works where a kid graduates but is taking college classes only to have his eligibility in question. I thought kids went to prep school if they had grade concerns, not be taking College courses which cannot correct whatever issue is present. Wouldn't that be a waste of both the kid & College's $ and effort.

If I understood, BMac & Mari qualified by the NCAA but the Big 12 deemed their core classes to be insufficient which rendered them partial qualifiers. It wasn't whether they passed HS & needed additional HS classes but whether their overall body of work met the Big 12's min standards which was found to be no.

@SoftballDad2011

The downside is exactly what you said, not having a player who can help us this year in the post. That was his 1 job that everyone is banking on him doing. If he's not eligible we now have 2 post players sitting on the bench who can't do squat for us this year.

@drgnslayr

I had initially thought maybe being enrolled in summer school was to help square away whatever issue is causing this but I can't see that being possible. If his classes are in question or whatever then how is he taking college classes? He'd still be clearing that issue up at his high school if it was a lack of HS classes.

Something isn't adding up with all this and I wonder how credible the information really is. Is this his HS that is in question or his classes/grades themselves. If its the latter then how is he enrolled in College? I know the school itself has had issues with kids qualifying and if kids are getting red flagged because of it then that's a school that doesn't belong in the system. Each kid has a unique situation, like Diallo who came from abroad so the exact details are always going to be missing. Hopefully some kind of decision is made before we get too close for comfort.

The Big 12 does have strick rules on eligibility but I understand this isn't a Big 12 issue at the moment. Remember Bmac & Mari & Anderson all being ruled partial qualifiers.

I just find it interesting that there was very little talk of his eligibility being in question way back in the spring when he was the hottest ticket in town. Yes there was some grumblings about his school, but not Diallo himself. I thought this would have been squared away by now but obviously the NCAA loves to drag its feet with Kansas athletes.

That article does send a worry up the ol spine because so much of this teams goals rely on Diallo being apart of it from the beginning.

I would like to think that Self had found out what he needed to know before signing him and that his clearance is the NCAA dragging it's feet yet again.. At least this issue isn't popping up in September when we would certainly be waiting on the edge of our seats.

If he isn't eligible then i'm going to hide myself in a basement and scream..

@JayHawkFanToo

I hope he doesn't need a special Red Velvet cake!

@drgnslayr

Those are the guys we might have to settle for if Bolden doesn't come to KU. It's not a great class for depth in the front-court that was this years class. Herard is a guy that has that KU feel to him. He's definitely a few years away but he plays hard. Skill Set & BB IQ need work though, hes only played basketball for a handful of years.

@RockkChalkk

Alabama is playing major catch-up work. It was just like schools that were after Diallo in the spring, KU had done its work early and kept steady until he came here. I was way more worried about Diallo than I am about T-Ferg because the Diallo situation was shady the way teams were fighting for him.

Ferguson has already been to KU for a game in January, he saw the Oklahoma St game and he loved it. Meyer saying that Alabama is right there with us, I just don't buy it. It's the things that recruiting services do to draw interest from multiple fan-bases to keep visiting their sites. 247 has blown up with its Crystal Ball projections where only a handful of people actually know any info at all and everyone else follows suit. Notice in the case of T-Ferg nobody followed Meyer's switch to Bama.

I think if he makes it to Late Night without picking a school we will have won the battle after it.

With Fox he has made a lot of interesting comments, some that he mentioned about Mason leaving after this year. Kentucky will be very much in the picture if they make him a priority. They have their way with anyone they want, just like Duke. They had Simmons in the bag, they have cooled apparently on him due to poor play. They want Dennis Smith or Rawle Alkins & now they offered Fox in case they don't get any of those PG's first. His comments about Arizona, were they about the PG position? Because Zona has had OAD's including Gordon & Johnson recently.

Just Seen T-Ferg will visit Alabama next week.

He's also planning to go to Late Night which could be the nail in the coffin for us getting him.

Bolden has scheduled a visit to Duke, says he will visit KU but no official date is set.

Fox has been offered by UNC & Kentucky in the last week.

@Hawk8086

Doubtful but its not out of the realm of possibility. Either can play the SG/SF role but I think more importantly it would depend on who's back next year, if Selden and Svi go to the NBA.

great article. Love the comments about KG he's exactly the type of guy Wiggins and all their young players need.

@jayballer54

I just don't think the CB's are accurate in anyway when a player hasn't made his intentions known when he plans to sign. Guys haven't switched their picks because Jackson hasn't tipped his hand 1 way or the other. Miller has gotten so many kids coaching up the u19 squad that anytime they lock into a player its usually a done deal. He just had a chance to be coached by him for a month and then they are front and center at everyone of his games in Vegas. That's how you win these kids these days.. Hopefully KU at least gets him to Late Night so he can see the difference in atmosphere.

@Texas-Hawk-10

5 players sounds about right. I wasn't saying that you were implying we needed 4 bigs in this class, I just responded as saying 4 would be too many imo. At the moment even getting 3 bigs is looking unlikely but we all know how spring recruiting has dramatically changed & Self's ability to close in the spring, we will probably end up with exactly what we need.

@RockkChalkk

The evidence is in KU's favor. He's been to KU for a visit and loved it. He hasn't been to Alabama.

A few months back, there was some insider talk from people close to his situation that a friend or family member blurted out that he was going to KU. Whether that info was true or not, usually where there is smoke there is fire. KU staff has been present at all his games basically since last summer.

Everytime he is asked about his recruitment KU is always at the front of his talks. Yes Alabama has done what they can with his AAU connection & with Johnson trying to sell his NBA roots to him. All the recruiters believe he will go to KU sooner than later, they view Alabama as a contender but at the end of the day KU being there from day 1 with him will win out.

I'm usually the first person to put the breaks and hold off any on certainties but I would be more than shocked to see him go anywhere else. He's as much a lean as any prospect out there being tied to one program or another. For example, do you expect Harry Giles to end up anywhere else but Duke? Especially after Tatum committed who was his roomate at the U19 games for a month.

@Kcmatt7

Because of Sean Miller's connection with the u19 program its going to be tough for us to beat Zona for Jackson. They were also front and center at all his July games & KU wasn't as prominent with him. They focused a lot of their attention on Fox & Ferguson.

@Texas-Hawk-10

I don't think we will sign 4 bigs though. If we assume we will have Bragg, Coleby & Lucas signing 4 is overkill. Especially with so many 2017 recruits being legit KU targets.

We all know Bolden is the top Big we are after. But he's certainly no cinch after his comments & his mentor's guidance (the same guy who sent Randle to UK) in his corner.

Giles is out of the question, he's going to Duke regardless of us being in his top 5.

Bam Bam Adebayo seems a lean to NC State with his AAU teammate Dennis Smith, both kids we recruited until we found out other schools had a strangehold on them.

Jarrett Allen has been rumored to Texas.

Huell & Azubuike are being pressured to stay in state by Florida St (Hamilton has really stepped up his game with Bacon this yr & Issac in 16).

That pushes us past the top 30 or so kids in the country and we are now recruiting 4* star players that really aren't ready to contribute from day 1.

Gabriel's recruitment absolutely went bananas, will be tough to figure out where he's leaning now that all the top programs came calling.

Yakwe could be a good catch especially with the Diallo connection. His defense is far ahead of his offense. Was defensive MVP of the EYBL.

Ideally, we could get 1 to 2 bigs & maybe look to the transfer route for an immediate Sr available who can score and has experience.

Thoughts??

@drgnslayr

It's Ferguson. Alabama is pushing hard because his AAU team is connected to the new coach but with a decision likely coming before fall, its as close to a done deal for KU as there is. Anything could change with these kids but I feel we will be very happy when he announces. Elite shooter, Elite Wing reminds me so much of B Mac with more length.

@jayballer54

Johnson is a new name, if he decides to visit then we may have a chance with him. The CB means nothing people jumped on him being offered as so much of these CB's go one way or the other when the elite schools offer.

Bolden is the must get big man but we have our work cut out for us and he will not decide this fall as he said recently. At the moment we really don't have a legit backup plan to him if he goes somewhere else. Johnson isn't nearly the caliber Bolden is.

Fox was just offered by Kentucky which he said he was waiting for their offer to come in. Not sure how serious he will take the offer, but KU is still in the picture. A few weeks back it was near certain that Kobi Simmons was Kentucky bound but his poor July showing has reportedly cooled off their interest with him.

@Texas-Hawk-10

It isn't deep but the matchups are intriguing.

UCLA is a guard heavy team, especially when they added 2 4* guards and get back their other prized recruit from last year in Bolden eligible. Parker will be a tough matchup if he's locked in like he was in the NCAA tourney. Not worried about Welsch but he was a backup, now will be a starter I assume.
I also think they will beat UNLV because they are a more experienced and talented team.
UNLV has a lot of new faces, they could start 5 new guys if they wanted including "I'm only here for my one year Zimmerman".

If we meet Indiana in the finals it would be a very tough game. Between Yogi, Johnson, a healthy Blackmon & Williams they matchup very well with us. If they play the same style this year it will be a fast paced game, they will play a junk zone defense and will shoot everything from the perimeter. They have exactly 1 talented big man in Freshman Bryant so our advantage definitely is in the post. But the defense they will play may negate that advantage especially if we are not prepared for it.

I still think KU is a very likely winner of this tournament but we won't be handed it, especially if the better teams are ready this early in the season.