Sounds like Oregon may lead, KU also involved
BeddieKU23
31745 posts
Paul Mbiya back in play. Decommitted from NC St. Just measured 6'9 with 7'8 wingspan. Would be 6th longest player in NBA for reference
For sure shades of Doke, I thought of that as well. Shoot's FT's as good as he did too.
Perhaps, they seem to be further along with Demir though. If both are attainable, why not, if choosing 1, I'm going with Demir who's a clear fit here.
Karem Konan another international prospect is now following KU on socials.
Demir tried to get admitted to UCLA back in 2022 and it didn't happen.
Reason from Swain:
He wasn't admitted because he didn't earn a qualifying score in English as a foreign language, per our UCLA website. Things have improved since then.
Big picture, it sounds like he should have a better shot at getting eligible than Brice Dessert did.
McDowell is likely going to seek a medical waiver for his year at Jax St, he's played 4 seasons but likely has a case for the 1 year so that's why his situation isn't settled either.
Sounds like another that they will have to pray is eligible. Would certainly be an ideal option if they can
McDowell also has eligibility issues to work through for those interested in the D2 kid
One to monitor. Sounds promising
Suemnick is off the board to Seton Hall
Dessert is not coming due what sounds like significant issues with his situation. He was a pro player so perhaps issues with eligibility. Perhaps visa or other paperwork concerns. Sounds like they were red flags with him being here so its a no go.
We are good at finding the 1 international player that has issues. We have a well established history of it
Maybe they did pass on both, but neither was expected to be a year 1 high impact dude. I don't remember Jemison ever visiting here (or having serious interest) and while SWA did visit they seemed to have him lower on the pecking order at the time. We also have no idea what NIL # they were looking for & could KU afford it. There's an obvious reason KU only signed 2 HS players this year, 1 being one of the most expensive in the country (for good reason).
I'm not going to make much excuse for the outcome of the offseason but it's kind of felt like there's no roadmap to follow & there's been a crazy amount of circumstances that have made it difficult to be successful in the KU bubble alone.
The focus is still a big and a wing, the last spot could go to another front court type.
This offseason has been mostly forgettable
Ha Dessert is a no go. What a shame
Significant roadblock potentially involving appeal process is what the issue is here
Vernon is reporting the Student Visa thing could also be part of the hold up on Dessert @mayjay but who knows, he's not a trustworthy source.
Pat Suemnick is still another potential addition that visited for front court depth. I'd take both if we can afford it.
@DCHawker said in The portal.:
@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:
This is a big one (literally) if they can get all the logistics in order. I think this is the biggest remaining need to ensure this team has enough front court depth + he's going to have a good-sized role.
Another Wing Shooter is still priority 1A, but they may have to live with what they got. Perhaps they get lucky shaking the trees this summer as we've seen Coit/Furphy join the team late in the last two years and have impacts.
Reporter for 247 quoted HCBS as saying we needed to add a 15ppg wing (3/4) to "have a complete roster."
He did say that, they tried to get that from Sarr and Williams but didn't have the NIL funds to win out. Now they are likely getting Dessert who probably is going to take a significant amount of that NIL pool. I doubt there's funds to get that 15ppg scorer and given what NIL it takes to get top level guys we may be done after this one. Of course everything is still fluid, perhaps there's an international player with a price range where Self can shake a booster tree one more time but I wouldn't count on it as of today..
This is a big one (literally) if they can get all the logistics in order. I think this is the biggest remaining need to ensure this team has enough front court depth + he's going to have a good-sized role.
Another Wing Shooter is still priority 1A, but they may have to live with what they got. Perhaps they get lucky shaking the trees this summer as we've seen Coit/Furphy join the team late in the last two years and have impacts.
Yeah good backup option, old as well (22). Hes a bruiser we desperately need
@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:
@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:
One to monitor
Things are heating up and could hear news in the next few days
Sounds like logistics are being worked here, eligibility etc. Promising that it sounds like he's gonna be a Hawk
It wasn't a lot but that 3 big lineup happened on more then 1 occasion later on in the season after KJ came back from the shoulder injury. It was a terrible lineup combination when used
I see the 4 spot as still a concern. We have White who's experienced being a "small ball 4" right now and that's it. Tiller and Calderon are your backup options and neither has proven anything, both freshman, one coming off 12+ months of being injured, the other dropped in the rankings due to inconsistency in play and ceiling at his age. One of them will need to be dependable if we don't add another option there.
I guess when you look at a few positions, once you get past the starter its unclear what we are getting for any of them.
@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:
One to monitor
Things are heating up and could hear news in the next few days
Also thinks Tiller will be a pro. Interesting there. Not being cleared until July means that ceiling is so far away from truth.
Elmarko being full go is good news. He's in great shape and excited to see what he can give us returning.
Yepp congrats to him. That's why I think it might be a bit until we learn they are actually in the mix there.
KU is in the mix but waiting to hear from Swain on 247 where that one is going. Could be a bit before we know.
Agreed.
Grew up a fan of Frank Mason and Devonte. Oh my! Music to the ears
Lexi Price takes over as director of operations with Q leaving
Officially moving on from the KU program. They don't make many more respected then him.. Best of luck Q!
One to monitor
From what I've read, there was some red flags with him that made them pass a while back. We have to assume for good reason.
KU passed on Luis
Maybe they can develop him a bit. Has that athleticism we have lacked recently.
Seeing an influx of international kids committing to schools, doesn't seem to be much of a deterence that I've seen
Its sounding like a top level wing is the priority, doesn't sound like a big after that could be affordable. From there cheapest practice player they can find. Not a promising update tbh
The latest is they are looking at International Players and there's very little reliable info to provide on a regular basis for them vs US transfer or HS prospects.
Also think the big NIL players are looking for that feature role and KU isn't offering that with Peterson. Guess it's hard to find Robin's these days.
I've seen that some Donors might have some buyers fatigue after the past couple NIL driven portal cycles. There hasn't been a great return on investment, just look at the Storr fiasco. Hard to keep getting them to buy-in by giving more and more when the results don't match the price.
They definitely found some sticker shock this offseason with some of the early portal guys they targeted, and it sounds like they weren't willing to bite on being the highest bidder in some of those either.
There's also some risks in play with having Peterson. You can't pay guys that were looking for 2+ mil and not expect Peterson's camp to up the price he's getting as the crown jewel of the team. Peterson and Flory are going to account for 50% or more of the pool of funds.
I think you hit the nail on the head on other contributing factors- GM, Football stadium. The lack of success in Football over the years does have an impact ($ wise), the Big-12 for football took a big nose-dive in reputation losing Texas and OU as well. Vaughn being added to the staff was partly, if not driven by donors wish for changes. There's potentially more changes still coming.
I also think there's some negative recruiting going on against KU when it comes to Portal guys (lack of success this past year) and with Self at the end of his career.
It's really an adapt or die atmosphere right now. They are still adapting it looks
Passmore ended up at Maryland
I like the 3 guys we got but I don't see any of them being DP's #2 and that's what we are missing to really compete next year. Williams is a potential All-American candidate next year, Sarr has an extremely high ceiling and is a draft prospect. You're almost assuredly getting a less talented player with what's left which is a hard pill to swallow.
I'm not going to say we can't find someone of that caliber, but the pool is very shallow for options now. The 3 transfers are not really NBA prospects and I'm not sure what else is out there that has that kind of ceiling. I know they are looking at the international pool of players and perhaps that's the avenue they need to push on now that they missed on their top 2 targets.
There are some issues behind the scenes that seem to have hit full circle this offseason.
All 3 transfers are in line to start.
Flory and DP take up a significant portion of NIL.
We clearly are not a top dog NIL team this year. Proof's in the pudding with Sarr and Williams among others.
We are short a starter, a backup big at minimum.
IMO this offseason has been frustrating and disappointing.
Starting to look like we have a reality hitting that's uncomfortable
Lol
Well where i live we have had 24 straight weekends or rain or snow. Haven't had a dry recorded weekend since November. Its frustrating beyond words really. We have had at least a full week of weather in the 50's and today low 40s with no end in sight until Monday. Had to turn on the heat again. My son last night had a baseball game in 47 degree weather with 15-20 mph wind gusts..
ha, my original take on moving on seems to have come full circle again.
don't know why i bothered but a lesson learned
@wissox said in The portal.:
This kid is sure taking his time. Doesn't he know that adults all across America need him to make his decision NOW? Like how rude. :)
Totally agree
Swain still reporting good things. He knows the decision is made but has to respect til its announced
I know. Educated guess based on the tea leaves right now
Sarr picked the good guys. Yayy
what a whirlwind this all this.