🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@JayHawkFanToo

I think his knee injury hurt him as well in workouts?? I think he slides into the 2nd round but remember the Lakers & Celtics both have late 1st round picks that they are openly shopping to get rid of that guaranteed money situation. Cliff could fall to a team that trades for those picks or be traded as part.

Oubre should be in the lottery somewhere, I'm guessing 11-14 is his real range. Winslow & the Euro are guaranteed to go before him. After that Johnson, Oub's & Dekker are all going to be drafted by which team likes which better. Hopefully a team was sold on Kelly's potential in this workout process

@drgnslayr

Only concern I have with Mason giving up some of his PG duties is his future. If he's got a shot at the NBA, he's going to have to become just at good at running a team as he is scoring. His size is just not going to allow him to be one way or the other. Mason has NBA potential so I'd rather see him become a complete guard because he could be more unstoppable if he's able to do that.

Glad they pulled out the W.

Would have been a big letdown to start this months games out with a L.

Mason looks like he is continuing to get better which is scary for us.

@HawksWin

I think the 10 scholarship players will split minutes pretty equally unless the game is close. If someone like Frank Mason is taking over the game like he did last night then it could change by the fly. I'm sure Manning & Self will see just a few minutes here and there to give guys a break.

Self is smart to try and balance the minutes, minimize fatigue, risk of injury, and give guys a chance to build chemistry with each other in different lineups.

@JayHawkFanToo

I'm not really sure why it matters other than personal opinion of what you think the Jersey should look like.

Whether its KU or USA on the front its still the same. I bet KU lobbied to have its name the prominent feature on the Jersey. I would have, its a unique situation to be in.

@Crimsonorblue22

that's a shame, they could make some bucks selling the jersey's.

I like the uniforms. We'd all be pissed if there was little mention of KU on them because its our team representing. KU did well to market its brand onto these jersey's so that spectators know who it is. I hope they go on sale, definitely thinking of getting one.

I'd put zero faith in the crystal ball's..

Ferguson is probably the only safe lean at this moment. It will be a complete fail if Self isn't able to hold on to him. He's a great shooter, on par with Greene or better but the rest of his game is definitely still a work in motion. Definitely doesn't utilize his athleticism like he could yet. If Selden or Svi was to declare after this year he's the player we have to get.

Bolden has been offered by Kentucky, UNC & Duke recently so his recruitment has taken off. I'm interested to see if he takes visits to those schools and his recent interview had zero mention of Kansas recruiting him or in recent contact with him. So I'm wondering into the validity of that. His crystal ball will swing to any of those schools listed above if he schedules a visit.

We seem to have lost ground with Fox, not surprising that Smart is trying to lockdown a 5 star guard in his backyard, you figure he didn't visit them twice this spring for nothing. Louisville is now involved as well.. The only real chance of getting him is losing Mason or Graham which seems highly unlikely.

A new name to this board that we are recruiting is Tony Bradley 6'10 C listed KU in his top 5 as schools actively pursuing him. Ranked #24 on ESPN. We are after Jarrett Allen from Texas 6'9 C #17. So we are clearly not settling on Bolden alone.

@HighEliteMajor

From a team perspective, this isn't what I was expecting because we will be short 4 rotation players & 1 transfer sit-out.

From an individual perspective these games will still give us a glimpse and gauge of progress made by upperclassmen & our young players. So I'm way more in tuned to the individual performances than I'm worried about the team result because so many things are different from what they will be in the fall.
Questions I have going into this tournament

• Will Ellis pick right up pre knee injury and show us he's our leader on offensive? Will the same aggressive and noticeably more athletic Perry take this team on his back.

• Will Selden show us a more consistent offensive arsenal? He's talked about using his body more, and losing a few pounds to help with his game.

• Will Mason continue to evolve as a point guard, showing leadership, smart plays with the ball and a commitment to making his teammates better?

• Will a healthy Lucas show enough improved post play (maybe even a go-to move) to cement his status in the line-up?

• Where are Bragg & Vick in their development? Bragg has gotten a lot of early praise and I'm interested to see if he can play any lick of defense. Can Vick adjust to the College game after playing against HS kids not even a month ago?

I think the WUG will be a nice preview of individual development at least..

At least the kid has experience, he's a senior and a starter from a coach who took what he learned here and brought it with him.

We got a bad roll of the dice with injuries and ineligibility so no matter what this tournament isn't going to show the best of this team especially in July.

I wouldn't be worried about his shooting #'s, he's a senior and they tend to always improve especially when he will be one of the scoring options for Dooley. If he's a slasher that can handle the ball a little bit its a gain gain

Maker is looking at Indiana and Arizona st.

@JayHawkFanToo

Not disagreeing with you at all, if I was a recruit, a top 1 at that and had serious NBA potential I'm not going to play in that system. It doesn't do anything to really prepare you for the league in terms of system.

I do think that Smart will land kids regardless of the system though. Why is it that 2 months ago Fox was practically in our lap but now a strong Texas lean? Fox is a future NBA player if his development keeps forward, he's one of the best guards in the class. Smart has changed this kids mind completely.

@JayHawkFanToo

Not sure you can correlate 1 for 1 what Smart might do at Texas. He comes into Texas with a seasoned roster and 2 top 50 recruits. His hiring really seemed to energize recruits especially in Texas to look at Texas. He's going to get kids, top level kids to go there. VCU was never going to compete for the cream of the crop but at Texas he can. If he gets high level kids to play his system there's no question how good he can make them. It's a testament to Smart that he could even get top 100 kids consistently in the past few years to go there.

Now I think his record in the A-10 and Colonial says that his style doesn't win conference championships so far, and other than his dream season beating KU, he's been out of the tourney fairly early every year. This is the big leagues, and I'm sure Self is going to be eager to put him in his place. I think the rest of the Big-12 will be eager to do the same...

If Smart lands Fox then he is likely to add other top kids from Texas. So it can be said that it's important that Self lands a Texas kid so that the momentum that has been shifting to UT isn't a sign of the times.

@jayballer54

That's why Arizona is the favorite among non-jayhawk fans to land him. The U-19 is a huge opportunity for Miller to solidify his position with him. Has Jackson even been to KU?? Obviously its far from over with him, I think if he signs early its with Arizona and if drags to the spring we will have to fight off everyone else that may get involved with him.

I think the one criticism with Jackson is that he can have monster games and then drift in others. So I've heard that getting him engaged all the time is something he needs to work on. That's something a lot of super talented kids go through where they are just bored with the competition at this point. He would be a fantastic kid to sign but we have our work cut out for us with Arizona.. Maybe the recent success with Wiggins & Oubre to the NBA will help us.

@konkeyDong

Great post, its never too early for the dream class discussion.

I like how you picked guys that KU is currently recruiting the hardest. You could have lumped in Giles, Smith Jr., Monk, Simmons, Adebayo other top 10 players that we may have or maybe showing some interest in but the fact is that other local schools have locked in on these guys.

At the moment Bolden & Ferguson are the must have players of those you listed. I'm sticking with them, they are the foundation for a great class and anything else we may add in the fall or spring is gravy if they both come to Lawrence.

These kids we've done our homework on and recruited for some time now. I am scared that Bolden was offered by Duke lately but hopefully all the early work we put in with him pays off. Ferguson, well there was rumors a month back that he told people in his circle he was going to commit to KU. Still waiting for that announcement and really there's no hurry especially with the grassroots season still going.

Fox: I feel a lot less confident that we can lure him out of state since Smart came to Texas. He's the perfect player for him to build his havoc style around and would mark a huge recruiting coup for him. Fox has been to UT twice now since the hire and it really seems from his actions that we will lose out to him. If a PG spot opens next year somehow with Mason or Graham then we could still be an option, I still think Fox thinks highly of KU but when it comes down to what's best for the kid, more immediate PT is probably available at Texas.

Not sure where I stand on Jackson, great talent, elite level wing that we always like to have but for some reason I think he goes to Arizona or skips college entirely. Maybe I'm wrong but he will be one of those April guys that waits til the last moment.

The more you think about it, the more this change in the shot clock seems like a huge thing. Especially in KU's case where we run sets that take time, this is a huge season for Self to re-invent the wheel.

West Virginia should be great early at forcing turnovers and enforcing their style of play on the opponent Defensively they could benefit more in the long run if they are able to shorten offensive possession of the other team by 5-7 seconds. I'm sure more teams will zone or press because it gives you the chance to dictate pace if your defense is good.

Iowa St seems to benefit the most because they probably have to change the least offensively. They chuck 3's, take shots when they want and spread the floor. Will the new coach use the same style? Probably will use something similar as he's known as an offensive coach.

Oklahoma with Cousins & Hield who can get their own shot whenever & Woodard who can drive the lane and get fouled every time is likely to benefit as well.

I see the rest of the league having to adjust accordingly including KU. Playing at 24 in real live games will really help the transition to a shorter clock. Mason & Graham will have to learn to speed up the pace on every missed & made basket. It's the greatest practice we will get to the rule change.

@JayHawkFanToo

Lebron has been in that position too many times where its him against the other team.

The Love injury was unfortunate, with the play in which he got hurt looked like an intentional act to hurt him.

Kyrie was the last straw as he was dealing with a knee injury the entire playoffs it seemed. They were okay without Love but Kyrie was not replaceable. Hard to guard Curry and company with your backups in.

I think the Cavs did what was best for Lebron and how they wanted to build around him. Wiggins gained more being the man in Minnesota than in any year he would have gotten playing alongside Lebron. This year really made Andrew come out of his element and take over, he had no choice his team was bitten by injuries all year. From the games I saw, it was hard to believe this was the same kid who was at KU the year before. That Alpha dog mentality that he showed in games like West Virginia were so evident watching him play in the NBA, especially from January on. I didn't know what to expect from him as a rookie because all the people who talked about his game were basically calling him a bust in the making. Now he's got the foundation to become an all-star as long as Minnesota can field an actual NBA team.

Svi is a key player especially if he wins the battle against Greene. If Self uses a conventional PG/SG/SF lineup which he prefers then how much Svi can contribute to the starting lineup is right up there with the most important questions going into the year.

I don't agree that Bragg is the key because where are his minutes coming from?. Ellis is a shoe-in for 30 minutes a game, 28 last year wasn't enough. When he was having his banner moment before the injury his minutes were up and he was producing with those minutes.

Traylor is the guy standing in his way as he's now a 5th year senior. I don't think anyone would disagree that Bragg has more talent than Traylor will ever know but you can't teach his experience and we all know that game with Self.

Self has said Bragg has been a big surprise so far in terms of picking up things which bodes well for him being ready when his name is called. Ideally Bragg could get 10-15 minutes if he scraps a few playing the 5 spot as well. He's likely to have the same impact Ellis did when he was a freshman. What is great about having Bragg is he's the safety belt for Ellis being off the floor. How great is it going to be bringing in a backup PF All-American. It's kind of like T-Rob his Soph. year. You knew he was going to be very good once he got his minutes but was able to produce in the time he got. I see that same situation, and Bragg can really stretch the floor offensively so defenses won't be able to scout him and view him as a non-threat on offense.

I still think Wayne Selden is the guy who needs to step up the most for this season to be a banner year. Frankly his production at the 2 guard has been anything but consistent. I don't care if he averages 10 points a game again but if he does it consistently it goes a LONG way. When Greene has as many double digit scoring games off the bench as your starting Shooting Guard has playing 30+ minutes a game that's an issue. Selden took too many nights off offensively and when you don't get the consistent production that we expect from him, its the reason he's still in College and not getting drafted next week. If he truly works on his ball-handling this summer he stands a chance to give us that 3rd key scorer that we need.

@Texas-Hawk-10

Embiid did have a future NBA player in front of him when he came in so his situation is different from Diallo's. Diallo doesn't have a future NBA Center in his way.

I think with Self this year, he's going to role with his most talented team. No question Diallo will have to adjust as all freshman do, but if we all agree that Diallo is an upgrade to Lucas why would you sit him. Conventional wisdom from Self says he sits early, I'm hunching he plays Diallo because he knows how talented this kid could be. No reason to baby him.

@JayHawkFanToo

I probably didn't see enough of his other games to notice, I just clearly remember Shepherd chucking borderline 3 point shots with ease and making them. I didn't know he had that range and just chalked it up to the "oh i'm playing KU, I must make something". The stats say I'm wrong, won't be the last time.

I bet he steps up with all that they lost. Anderson is gone so the dynamics of the team will shift to their front-court.

@drgnslayr

I totally agree with you on Brown he was the type of player Self has thrived on getting. And he would have continued the trend of freak SF's with un-measurable ceilings.

I'm not sold on Svi or Greene being the answer at the SF spot, some of it may have to do with the fact that I think we will miss how athletic Wiggins & Oubre were the last 2 years and now with Svi & Greene its an unknown if they will take 15 shots inside the arc combined. Any doubt I have is more with the fact that neither has been put in the situation to be the man at that spot. I'm sure either will be fine and erase all the doubt but I do wonder if missing an elite SF will hurt us..

Report is Svi is being much more aggressive (a good sign) but Greene we all know is doing next to nothing while recovering so we know he isn't going to change his game yet.

Brown would have been that guy you can clear out and say hey get in the lane and get to the line. That's what Brown will do at Cal, and I'm sure their fans are giddy about getting him. I'm hopeful as Self has said this spring that Wayne Selden will realize he's 6'5 of pure brut force and to use that body for once and consistently. HS mixtape Wayne where are you??

I'm really excited about Vick, something about him says he can get some minutes here and there and remind us why Self was so quick to lock him down and get him to re-classify. If he's a freshman who needs time, that 's fine but I just have a feeling we may see a few good games from him this year. He really is dialed in offensively and that is something that can be used immediately.
As a side note it looked like Tyler Davis wanted to go to KU but the offer wasn't genuine enough? We may have never gotten Diallo in the end who could be a game-changer. So there's always trade-offs to who you get and who you don't.

he seemed to show up when playing KU. always seems to be the thing to do..

@JayHawkFanToo

Vick was snacks

I love the responses.

60 days ago the ship was on the verge of collapsing, Self called in his 9th inning Closer and pulled 3 recruits in less than 2 months time.

He fought off all the vultures for Diallo, jumped the gun on the competition at word of Vick being available (don't tell me Brown didn't probably have some influence in that) & got a transfer big with 2 years left.

Bragg started the parade with his mid-season verbal. That got us off the ledge from the fall signing period.

We coulda woulda shoulda gotten Tyler Davis or Dorsey, or Jaylen Brown or Brandon Ingram but in the end we landed the kids that wanted to come to KU. I have no problem with recruiting into the early parts of the summer as long as the quality of the player is the same. Self has proven once again he can haul in the guys especially late in the game. Now its up to him to coach em up..

I give the class a 9.5

The only reason its not a 10 for me is missing on some kids and wasted recruiting time on certain kids.

I had to do some digging but some of my first posts on this site were in response to what I wanted from this class. I wanted Bragg, Diallo, Brown & Tyler Davis. Bragg & Diallo were my top 2 choices so we hit a home-run there. The Diallo circus sucked and even though we won that battle, some of the shadiest recruiting tactics happened to try and get him.

I'm super excited for what we got. Vick could really be an ace down the line & Coleby looks to have some development talent left

@sfbahawk

I saw about 6 of his HS games from this year being from the east coast a bunch of his games were on TV this year. He played top competition all year and traveled a bunch. I also saw a few from last year, and a few of his AAU games.

His team wasn't great this year. They had Diallo, Dillard SF signed with California & Yakwe a Top 100ish PF from 2016 class. Their back-court wasn't the greatest and that hurt the team. Diallo was asked to do a lot, and sometimes he tried to do too much by shooting jump-shots etc which at this point is not his game. But what was the same from what we saw in the All-Star games was his motor, rebounding, defense, & blocking shots.

In the half-court setting Diallo could be neutralized at times because of his need to develop a set of go-to post moves. All things that Self and staff can work with him.

But what he lacks in that area he'd make up in relentless attacking the glass off misses, and anything around the rim he's pretty skilled at getting baskets. His footwork is great, his mobility & athleticism are off the charts for a 6'9 player. I know we thought Cliff would play bigger than his frame but this guy really can player bigger than 6'9 with his wingspan & athletic ability. He has good hands and with the players we have, he should get plenty of assists close to the basket. You just anchor him down low as much as you can because he's a magnet getting the ball.

I think that's important as we try to pencil him to start at the Center position. He's not a true 5 per-say because he's not this 6-10-7 foot behemoth but he is skilled enough to guard the 5. There's no doubt in my mind that he will lead the team in blocks, probably the conference he has great instincts for blocking shots. He will be one of our top rebounders as well so his impact is going to be felt and I don't think we need to expect him to score a lot to see it. We have shooters and we have go-to guys so we just need a talented big man like he is to come in and do the dirty work.

@DoubleDD

we will need both and the competition can only make them both better. I think its encouraging that Greene is expected back on time and at full health. No red shirt needed, doesn't help KU this year which is the only thing that matters.

I read on the .com that Svi has put on 15 pounds since arriving last summer. That's great news and seems like an ideal weight area for him. Glad to know that he worked on his game while he was home.

Hard to say what he does better but what we expect from Svi is all projection at this moment.

I guess when I look at the SF position this year I consider it to be the most unproven position on the team. Even more so than the 5 now that Diallo is signed.

We all expect Svi to really improve but we also have to remember he's just now turning 18. A year to acclimate & learn the nuances of how Self wants him to play are probably big factors in his development. Also a full summer to spend on his body and individual work will also push him to be better. I still wonder about his shooting, was his low %'s a product of being overwhelmed and young or a true indication of a streaky shooter? If he's a streaky shooter than Greene is definitely the better option.

Defensively, Svi already looked capable could move his feet and really showed good pressure on his man. I didn't see him rebound much, and Greene actually was pretty good on the boards so you could consider him a better rebounder as well.

Passing and court awareness, Svi already has that going for him so advantage to the youngster.

Athletically both are downgrades from Wiggins & Oubre but those 2 guys are freak athletes so its a mute point to compare. Maybe Greene will have better movement, lateral quickness now that the injury has been dealt with. You have to think Svi will just be better at those skills because he seems more agile on his feet.

If Svi is a better shooter than last year showed, then I would probably give him the slight nod to start the season. Greene is very capable off the bench instant offense. His rebounding & shooting are his best skills at the moment.

How does Greene expand his game? Learn how to dribble and take care of the basketball. If he had a capable handle he could get his own shot more instead of relying on being set up by Mason or Graham. He's got such a great shot that he just has to learn how to fully capitalize on it. Watching Steph Curry film would be a start. Learn positional defense to limit his exposure to blow by's and out of position mistakes.

I do think Greene is very valuable to this team and I'm really holding out hope that he will improve this year..

Encouraging news from Brannen today on his progress back from injury. Plans to be full speed by the start of practice. Says injury occurred in January.

Glad to here his progress is on schedule, we will need him!

@Crimsonorblue22

Well put.

@approxinfinity

I'm right there with you, the All-Star games showed that he was already light years ahead in the effort department from the rest. That to me translates immediately, and gives me optimism that he will grasp the system like we want him to. Hopefully we are not disappointed.

@drgnslayr

Great point on the foul trouble. That will be the one thing that stands in his way, much like it did with Cliff last year. Diallo is much quicker and a better defender so I think he will be better at knowing defensive positioning and moving his feet. He's like a Gazelle out there. We all know Cliff's defense left a lot to be desired, he just needed more PT than he ended up getting.

Diallo did tend to foul a lot in the HS games that I watched last year and this year but his team was not great. They lacked a good back-court & relied so much on Yakwe (2016 recruit) & Dillard (signed with Cal) at the SF/post spots that it placed a lot of pressure on Diallo down low. I think having Mason, Graham, Svi & Selden as capable passers is a major upgrade from anything Diallo has seen in his life.

@HighEliteMajor

I'd be jumping out of my shorts if he gets enough minutes for 9 rebounds a game. That would be beasting numbers from a freshman. He's capable but as you said will Self give him the PT to get it

@JayHawkFanToo

I think he leaves after next year if a big program job opens up. As far as this year goes he was never going to get a better gig with Baker VanVleet & co still there. He baited for more money and got it, if he does stay he's payed like he's one of the best..

A lot of good points about Cheick & Graham coming in. As a fan of Diallo, its hard for me to come into this discussion without some bias towards him because to me I think we landed the best big man in the class. How he impacts the game, and not just the all-star setting games that I watched was what I saw as the potential for a great player.

Is he the B2B player, No he is not. He may never be that guy because he is so much better at other things. I think if the KU staff does give him 1 post move to work with that it would really help him if he is stuck in a ISO situation. But he will clean up missed shots like no other big we've had, and he's so athletic that its going to make a difference from what we had last year.

The biggest thing about Diallo especially if he starts from day 1, is that he makes Ellis better.

Diallo is basically the exact opposite of Ellis offensively and defensively. He gets a lot of his baskets on pure hustle "motor" plays as you may call it. It's infectious, it could potentially be a cancer that spreads to the rest of the team watching him play with such effort. At least that is what I can hope happens. I don't think teams will be able to double Ellis because KU can lob to Diallo anytime they want if that is the case. Having a 5 star post player with Ellis changes how teams are going to scout KU. Teams weren't scared of Traylor, Lucas, Mickelson but they will be by Diallo & Bragg.

Defensively he becomes one of our top 3 rebounders, easily our best shot-blocker and those are 2 things we lacked all last season in any shape of consistency.

Now before I go too far, Diallo will have to learn the system and won't be here until 2nd session of the summer so it looks as if he will be behind Bragg in that regards. How easy he learns the system, and how to place himself on the court will go a long way to determining how much time he gets early. Will he be foul prone as a lot of bigs tend to be until the game slows down? Will he hold up to the rigors of a long season?

goodman reporting as well..

Prohm will keep them relevant for this year with his hi tempo style. will he able to recruit if they dont keep Oztleberger is a big question in the future. He is basically responsible for every big recruit Iowa St has landed in recent memory.

@HighEliteMajor

Matt is biased but he's a KU recruiter so I have no problem with his one-sidedness.

He is though the most connected guy when it comes to 2 recruits in 2017, Michael Porter & Trae Young both of which we have serious interest in. He's well connected with their families so sometimes Matt is actually going to know something.

@sfbahawk

We had plenty of success in Hilton until Hoiberg came along. The intensity of the series has picked up dramatically when he was here. It will be the same this year with their veteran squad but that will change when most of their players graduate after the coming year. It will be interesting to see if Morris goes pro with his seniors.

@HighEliteMajor

You could say to some extent that each of these losses are still lingering with KU.
TCU wins one freaking game and now everytime we go to Fort Worth we get to here about the Topeka YMCA debacle comments.

When we play Texas it will be about how Shaka shocked the world at VCU against us.

The UNI game still gets coverage to this day.

@HighEliteMajor

tells you how much more we fans know than ESPN sometimes.

half these kids listed are not even being heavily scouted by KU. Jackson a must have, please let me barf first. I would place Bolden, Ferguson & Fox ahead on the must have category.

Wonder if the Duke offer of Bolden will have any effect on his recruiting...

@JayHawkFanToo

the TCU debacle was eerly similar.

• FG: 18-61 (29.5%)
• 3pt: 3-22 (13.6%)
• FT: 16-23 (69.6%)

But as far as that VCU game goes, yes we were cold as humanly possible and Skeen had the game of his life.

I have seen a bunch that Otzelberger is the favorite based on familiarity with the program. But no matter how much he knows the program he's not Fred Hoiberg. I wonder how in tune he is to how they ran their sets and such because no matter what its unlikely this guy can keep the exact system they were running without having Fred's playbook.

I do think we gained the slightest advantage with Fred leaving because he was the reason for making Iowa St a contender. They still have a good team with a lot of experience.

@Texas-Hawk-10

OU is going to be a preseason top 10 team with 4 starters back. The only question I have is how they replace Thomas & Booker. They have a few unproven bigs to try with Spangler and a few unhyped recruits to try and add to the rotation. How much better can Hield & Cousins get? The key for them is the PG who has never had a reliable outside shot.

@JayHawkFanToo

Hornacek declined to be contacted by Iowa St so I think that put those rumors to bed. He would have been their choice if he had choose to entertain it.

@HighEliteMajor

We have seen kids forced out but what do we gain this year by doing it. We've went through the possible's- Traylor & Mickelson would need to quit basketball or graduate this summer, all of which we have zero info to back any claim that could happen. Extremely unlikely either would quit, unlikely they graduate if they hadn't done so in May.

We've mentioned Lucas but he red-shirted and is just a junior so unless he's on track to graduate early, again just a very unlikely option.

Then we have Greene who besides getting himself in the doghouse a few times and depending on who you ask about him, has serious NBA potential still left in him. He likes it here, his GF is at KU and from all things said by Self and family, Self really wants to see Greene succeed here. He would have already transferred if that was the way he wanted.

So what's left to theorize because no other current player is leaving and why would anyone give a scholarship to someone who can't even play this year.

What's left is the pay your own way avenue. If his intentions are really to be at KU that's his only route. But why pay for schooling at one, when you can get it paid for you by Michigan St, Nebraska, Iona, or Virginia.

I think the situation would be different if Chukwu was a player that could help us now, but he can't and that's what makes me think he's here to see the campus in case something unexpected does happen. Hopefully some real news comes out that ends all this talk..

Figured we needed a non Chukwu hypothetical speculation thread to pass the days until practice starts up for WUG

I was reading something on Iowa St's possible candidates for replacing Hoiberg. They are the assistant Otzelberger , Prohm of Murray St, Bryce Drew of Valparaiso, Brad Underwood of Stephen F Austin. I figure one of these 4 will probably get the job. I noticed the 3 coaches at different schools are all good offensive coaches so I'm guessing Iowa St wants to continue to score like they were with Hoiberg.

My question is though, do you believe Iowa St. is as big a threat now that he is gone? Will the new coach change their style to fit his needs or try and stick with the principles they have learned under Hoiberg?

To me I think their style of play enhanced them and without Hoiberg's coaching that its enough to assume they could take a step back with a new coach. I know they have a lot of experience coming back but if they are forced to learn a different system this off-season seems to me that Oklahoma becomes the biggest threat now.

Agree/Disagree?

@DoubleDD

your right in many ways, I just feel with him playing behind Ellis its going to be hard for him to get enough PT to leave. He's not really on any NBA radar at the moment like Diallo already is. He may fly under the radar enough.

@ParisHawk

why would they?

tuition isn't cheap. who's family is well off enough to do that, that i'm sure has no answer.

this will all be settled soon and I assume he will pick another school.
we've ran through all the possible things a million times. unless he pays his own way we won't have the 7'2 giant.

its happened before where players have given up their scholarship but its rare. I remember Drummond from Uconn having that done for him but that was to play that year. I seriously doubt anyone would give their spot to him because he can't play this year.

@Bosthawk

i bet there will be word after his visit is completed.. at this point he would have to pay to be here. Might be a negative as Mich St & Virginia I'm sure have open scholarships he can take. We will be fine if we don't get him somehow. The cupboard isn't bare

@DoubleDD

I don't think Bragg will get the PT to warrant leaving after 1 year. He knows after this year the paint is his. He's a potential lotto pick if he sticks around and he seems like a kid who wants to develop in the system.

At some point we are going to want to get young big men in the system. Bolden would be the ideal fit. We will need at least 1 big next year if Diallo does go pro. Too early to tell what will happen

@Bosthawk

he is on campus... some word if he really wanted to go to KU that he would pay his own way this year and take a scholarship next year.. Those close have said there are no transfer rumors that would potentially open a slot for him.

@jaybate-1.0

Maybe, that's a tough question to ask. I think more than anything Vick didn't get the exposure before this spring on the AAU scene and fell through the cracks as they say. Then when he finally played some tournaments he was much better than anyone had realized, dominant to a point offensively. Some of it probably is due to marked improvement in his game which bodes well for us because he could have the potential to start as a Soph if the cards play out for him.

@drgnslayr

i was hoping you'd get the sarcasm in that.

maybe there is something going on that we don't know about, but its not unheard of for a kid to visit knowing we don't have a spot right now. maybe its new to KU standards but if he's still visiting its on him and shows he's still interested in case something opens up. I doubt that it does, especially because the players we all think could leave are basically caged in because of already used red-shirts or transfers. I hope it all passes over and we keep what we got and worry about recruits and transfers next year..

why don't we just run Bill Self out of town to make way for him, doesn't Self take a scholarship spot!!