🏀 KuBuckets Archive

To me, the biggest unknown is Svi. He is the proverbial "Jacks of all Trades, Master off None."So far he has shown to be adequate to good in all phase of the game but he really is not very good to outstanding in any one area, at least I have yet to see it. His past record indicates that he is a good outside shooter but an outstanding one, if anything, he is streaky but not consistent; I will be curious to see how much he has improved. He can end up being the best player on the team or getting lost in the rotation; I am cautiously optimistic that he will be closer to the first.

Diallo is pretty raw and he will need quite a bit of "basketball" improvement before he can seriously contribute. I just don't see him starting until the second half of the season. He is athletic like Embiid but without the uncanny innate "knack" Joel has for the game.

@Lulufulu @Texas-Hawk-10

I will guess that the penalties for UNC will be substantial as they involve academic fraud which, if I understand correctly, are the more serious of the bunch. It is possible that the NCAA will wait until after the NCAA since UNC has a championship capable basketball team...although it could be taken away after the fact...hard to tell.

@justanotherfan

That certainly makes sense.

@HighEliteMajor

Excellent point. Tarik's number and off-court issues did not predict his performance at KU, He performed well above what I had expected but more importantly, his leadership was an unexpected and most welcomed bonus.

@HighEliteMajor

A reasonable person would think so...but you never know...

If not, then maybe the NCAA can go back and review the numerous past violations at UK under...well, under essentially every coach, particularly Rupp, and at UCLA under St, John Wooden and Lavin and Brown and... :)

@brooksmd

A little easier for Toronto since the magic number of them is 3 and they play Tampa Bay, a team out of the race and the only incentive they have is to prevent a Canadian team from clinching home advantage...grasping at straws here. KC, on the other hand has to play Minnesota , a team that can still make the playoff, although if they lose and Houston wins, they are essentially out.

According to this publication ↗, the odds of grabbing that last wild cards spot are: Houston 74,4%, Angels 16.1% and Twins 9.5%

@drgnslayr

...and yet the programs was penalized under Coach Williams for allowing gifts to players after graduation, an arrangement that apparently was not kosher and the compliance department should have known. Keep in mind that the academic adviser at the center of the controversy at UNC is the one that worked at KU with Coach Williams. What are the chances that he will offer KU as a sacrificial lamb to abate sanctions at UNC? Apparently, there is a lot that goes on behind closed doors that were are not aware, case in point, all the shenanigans that went on with Coach Brown at KU that almost got KU the death penalty and none of us knew about it. Just sayin'

@drgnslayr

As far as I know, the NCAA is not done with UNC. UNC was notified of the major violations in June of this year ↗ and had 90 days to respond, so we are not even close to knowing what the penalties will be. I would guess that the case at UNC is so much more complicated and involved that I would not be surprised if UNC gets the Death penalty or something close to it. I will wait until the NCAA levies penalties on UNC before passing judgement.

Interesting game. Is 4 the magic number now?

@DoubleDD

TTBOMK, the NCAA is not done with UNC.

I will preface my post by saying I have not personally had ACL so I do not have first hand experience but I do have friends that have, and after 2-3 months they all started doing light workouts and at six months they were pretty much at full strength. Here is a link ↗ with ACL recovery time frame...

I am confident that by the first part of next year, he will be doing light workout and getting used to the system. I don't believe he will sit an entire year and do nothing. Recovery from surgery is now considerably faster that it was 10 years ago,

@Texas-Hawk-10

12 of the top 20 players have not signed and, much like last year, most will wait until the end of the season. Top players want to know where the other top players are going before making a decision. I would be surprise if KU signs anyone at Late Night.

@jaybate-1.0

Why wait? Bet KU to win and you will win about 82% of the time. Doesn't get any better than that.

Roy Williams and the UNC program being investigated for numerous academic infractions,. Started coaching his career at KU and took his main academic adviser at KU with him to UNC

The squid, the slimiest of all coaches. Started his career as an assistant at KU.

Larry Brown,, Now considered on of the worse violator of NCAA rules, Coached and got a National Title at KU.

How soon before all the stench starts wafting toward KU?

Really bad news for him. On the other hand, if it was going to happen, it did at a time when he can take his time recovering with the help of Andrea and hopefully come back stronger and more careful. He can also take the time to get ahead in his school work and maybe leave with a Master's degree...

@Jesse-Newell

Jesse, what an interesting write up. It is amazing that one simple play when a lot of the audience has not even settled in their seats can give you a bigger edge than the house has in Vegas for most games. Very nicely done.

@Crimsonorblue22

I am second hand vegan.Cows eat grass and I eat cows...:D

This is just not good. This story ↗ on the ESPN site is pretty damming...

I am particularly bothered by this part...

This is a man who reportedly used a kid who lived in his own Lawrence, Kansas, home, Mike Marshall, as his bagman at KU and whose infractions at Kansas were so egregious that when asked whether the Jayhawks were eligible for the death penalty (dealt, ironically, only to SMU in 1987), then-NCAA enforcement director David Berst replied blithely, "Kansas was on the bubble, so to speak.''

We have always been led to believe that the Askew issue and KU not hiring specialized counsel was the reason for the post-season ban, but maybe there was more to the story and we willingly looked the other way. If the comments above are true, it would definitely change my opinion of Coach Brown; he is the only coach to have caused all 3 schools he coached to get post-season bans...even Jerry Tarkanian did not do that and even the squid is smart enough to never have been named personally.

Once is a fluke, two coincidence but three is a trend...really, really disappointed..

@Texas-Hawk-10

Yes and no. Yes, Bilas is an attorney but the NCAA is not a court of law where you can be brought in whether you like it or not and where a jury of your peers makes the final decision. The NCAA is a voluntary organization where the member schools approve the rules and appoint the NCAA to enforce them to ensure a level playing field.

The NCAA by and large does a very good job of enforcing the rules. I understand they process over 100,000 applications every year and most go through with no problem, and the ones that do not are almost always the result of incomplete or insufficient submissions and yes, some student just don't meet the requirements.

As far as the NCAA approving students that have been admitted at at a school,. I just don't buy it. Schools, particularly private schools, are free to admit whoever they like regardless of qualifications. Many if not most most schools have"outreach" programs that allow them to admit student from, shall we say "economically disadvantaged areas" and a good deal of athletes would qualify under those programs. These students are provided additional resources to increase their chance of success, but a student-athlete, with all the additional overhead of practice and games could not succeed unless he has shown (by HS grades) he can make it in college and hence the NCAA basic requirements.

That's it, that's all I have.

@drgnslayr

I fully understand that there are many student-athletes that fit well in the JuCo system and for most , that is as high as they get; some move to a 4 year college and a few even made to the NBA...however, we are talking here about potential OAD basketball players...I just don't see that level of athlete ever considering the JuCo route.

@Lulufulu

In all honesty, I have heard almost all top analysts including Bilas, Fraschilla, Vitale and others indicate at various times that the streak is one of the more if not the most impressive achievement in College Basketball in the modern era. The better analysts understand the significance and readily acknowledge the importance of the streak...fans on the other hand...

@justanotherfan

I agree. I am not sure why we are even talking about this after 3 games. If Beaty is fired now or soon, what coach in his right mind would want to coach at KU? Beaty needs to be given AT LEAST 3 year before even broaching the subject.

@justanotherfan

I still don't buy it. there us just no market for JuCo Sports. Major schools have a large number of fans but JuCos don't. Many if not most students at JuCo end up at a 4 year college and that is the school/program they follow thereafter. JuCo basketball is just a step above intramural.

Also, realistically how many players with NBA aspirations are candidates to go to the league after waiting 1 year in Juco? Maybe 10-15? ...and when you consider that the real talent would be able to jump to the NBA right after HS, the the number is even smaller.That is not even 1 player per JuCo conference. Some Lucky JuCos get a few games broadcast on the local public access channel and maybe streamed on the school website while major programs get essentially all of their games on TV; do you really think that one OAD player per conference would change that? I don't think so. Again. you mention several players from KU possibly doing that, and when you consider other programs, that is sh@t load of players, but you forget that the NBA drafts only 60 players every year and at least one third are now foreign and of those, maybe 40 stay in the League.

Last, Baseball players can get contract and get paid to play in the minors until they are ready to move up. Basketball players can play overseas or in the Development League for money...why would they choose to go to JuCo? If I were a HS player that is a year or two away from the NBA, I would either go overseas and get paid, join the Development League or the new Vegas based Professional League and get paid, or go to a Major program for a year and then play overseas for a couple of years until I am eligible (and ready) to join the NBA...JuCo would not be an option, but that is just me and others might go a different route.

@HighEliteMajor

Unfair comparison with Wiggins. When Wiggins came in, he was in much better shape than Alexander, had a much higher BBall IQ and frankly, I really did not really see him lolly-gag down the court very often; his defense was great, arguably the best in the team.

We also have to keep in mind what the roles of the coach and staff are. One can argue that it is developing players, particularly the ones that will stay longer since developing players translate in players moving up to the next level and new players wanting to come to KU and "be developed." You can also argue that the primary role of the coach is to field the best possible squad that will win as many games as possible.

If Coach Self. or any other major/elite program coach for that matter, hypothetically sends a couple of players to the NBA every year but fails to consistently win 20+ games per year or win a conference title or make it to the NCAA...how long to do you think he keeps his position? I would think not long. For the sake of discussion I wrote hypothetically, because chances are that a coach that sends that many players to the NBA would win consistently.

So the question is...should a coach be more concerned about winning games (and making money for the program) and thus ensuring his own job security at he risk of not fully developing players or should he develop players at the risk of not winning as many games (generates less money) and risking his own job security? I do understand that the answer is somewhere in between, kind of the "chicken and the egg" quandary, but for the purpose of this discussion and if it comes to it (yes, a far fetched scenario)...which should take priority?

@drgnslayr

I think the Cliff issue is one of semantics. Many saw him as not hustling enough and other side cite his stats as proof that he was, but number alone do not tell the entire story.

In my opinion, it is not as much that Cliff did not hustle but more that he was so poorly prepared for Div. I play, physically, mentally and BBall IQ wise, that it looked at times like he was not trying hard, particularly when he would get caught out of position in defense and there would be an opponent wide open. Yes, he had a fair number of blocks in the time he played, no doubt a result of his innate athletic ability, but you also have to consider how many point he allowed when he got caught out of position.

In Coach Self"s system, defense is king and if you are not playing good defense you are going to ride the pine , which is exactly what he did. I have no doubt that with an extra year or two and once he had a chance to improve his BBall IQ and learn the system better, he would have been a potential lottery pick. It is really too bad that his family forced him into yet another situation he is/was not prepared for, Hopefully with some competent coaching and patience from his NBA team, he can develop into a serviceable, or at least a journeyman player in the NBA,

@Crimsonorblue22

I always try to be the glass half-full rather than the half-empty type of person but this team is making it very difficult. I think we are a few years away from being even half way decent. Thank God for basketball...we could be MU losing to UK in basketball...and football.

@Crimsonorblue22

I like Cozart but from what I have sees so far, he is just not a Big 12 caliber QB. He had some good moments but he had others where he had players wide open and took sacks instead. Keep in mind that Rudgers is the worst team in the Big 10 and they had players and the coach suspended. It gets a lot more difficult from here on.

Did you see the Baylor, TCU, WVU and Texas Tech. offenses? How many point do you think they will score against KU?

@Texas-Hawk-10

Agreed. Statistically this was the game with the best chance of winning at 15%, even ISU is 11% and it gets much worse after that. The offense -as bad as it is- it has some good players and some potential, QB is just not one of them. The defense is as bad as it gets and today Rutgers ran at will...2 player with over 100 yards rushing each...pathetic. I just don't see this team winning a game this season.

On a related note, UK beat MU...in football, so MU is not officially UK's beatch, just like it was predicted,

@Crimsonorblue22

I believe we agree. I wrote in my post "A few players that started at JuCo made it to the NBA but only after moving up to a 4 year school."

All the players in the list, at least the ones in the lasts 20 years moved to the NBA after moving to a 4 year college. Like I said, the last player to be drafted directly from JuCo was Donta Smith in 2004, after backing up from his commitment to Louisville. Pitino called it a very bad decision and he did not last long in the League and ended up playing overseas.

@HighEliteMajor

Bryce Harper? Isn't he a baseball player?

Why would a true OAD ever go to a JuCo? No competition, no exposure and no money. A true OAD like Mudiay plays overseas for one year for $1M+ and then gets drafted. JuCo is for players that are not good enough to play Division I or need to build up grades to make it to Division I and play there for at least a couple of years. No OAD player has ever come from a Juco and the last JuCo player drafted was Donta Smith in 2004. A few players that started at JuCo made it to the NBA but only after moving up to a 4 year school.

@drgnslayr

Interesting. The article mentions...

"A native of Australia, Malou also held offers from Kansas, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, West Virginia, Oregon State, Marquette, Oklahoma State Texas Tech."

He is a 2 star JuCo prospect that KU or most other major programs really would not be interested and much less offer. As far as I can tell KU is not listed in any of the major recruiting services.. I have seen this before where KU and other major programs are listed by obscure players that have zero chance of attending those programs. He picked ISU because he attended prep school in Ames and had a log term relationship with the ISU program.

@Crimsonorblue22

Good one... :) :) :)

@Crimsonorblue22

Plausible explanation.

Best of luck to him and a full and speedy recovery. I wonder how this is going to affect his recruiting, although he will have his senior year to get back in shape.

@Crimsonorblue22

I wonder if Zenger was part of the team that negotiated the deal with Iran...:d

@Crimsonorblue22

Last year the Volleyball and women's Basketball games were blacked out on ESPN3 in the Entire State and the KC Metro Area. I noticed that you can now see replays of the Volleyball games, but I am not sure the live feeds are available now,

@KansasComet

Slight disagreement. While any one can play tennis and golf, the overwhelming majority of people in the sports is from the upper socio-economic class, even when public facilities are available (limited), most is still practiced at private clubs. Kids from wealthy backgrounds are more likely to play golf, tennis , swimming and yes...lacrosse than football, basketball or baseball. Take a look at the sports played at the Ivy League and others with primarily private schools.

States like Arizona, California and primarily Florida are full of (very expensive) tennis and golf academies were younger kids are sent to hone their skills, and again, a relatively small number makes it to the pro level. At one time we dominated in both sports but now, the majority of tennis top players are East-Europeans, and most trained in Florida...go figure. Yes, there is the occasional player for a working class environment that makes it big, but the majority come form well-to-do backgrounds.

Interesting subject with lots of personal and different experiences, I am sure.

@justanotherfan

I respectfully disagree, The JuCo level of play would not prepare players to the next level or give them the exposure they need, and JuCos do not have the money to "sponsor" these players either. We are talking about a small number of players that are not ready for the NBA and are not OAD material either, maybe 40-50 per year; a drop in the bucket when divided among JuCos but a significant number when looking at major programs.

I can see many going overseas, but I really don't believe JuCo would be an option. In fact, only the Far East would be an option since Europe now develops its own players and marginal American players are not as coveted there as they once were.

Cheicking, to Cheick = An activity in which Jayhawk basketball fans actively participate and consists of frequent checking on the status of one Cheick Diallo.

Usage
- I have been Cheicking all day without success.
- Have you Cheicked today?
- When the NCAA makes a ruling I will not need to Cheick any more

@HighEliteMajor

The sad truth is that every kid in the top 50 or even 100 fancies himself as a OAD and the next Jordan, Bird or Kareem. Misguided? Yes., Correct assessment? Absolutely not. It has a lot to do with our culture where the lure of a huge payday and the adulation that comes with being an NBA starts overrides common sense. Remember the 70's? every kid with some ability thought he was going to be the next Mohamed Ali or Joe Frazier. In more affluent circles kids want to be the next Pete Sampras or Roger Federer or Tom Watson or Tiger Woods, but the reality is that, much like in basketball and boxing, very few reach that level.

Most HS players are grossly unprepared for Division I play and some end up as busts. Many try to make the jump too quick and never make it. Close to home...Selby and Henry could have benefited from an extra year and Alexander, if circumstances permitted, would have benefited even more so. Unfortunately many athletes surround themselves with leaches that see them as their meal ticket and force them into unwise decisions. I imagine coaches fight daily an uphill battle trying to bring reality into some players unrealistic career paths.

The best solution is to adopt the baseball rules to basketball where you can go directly to the NBA but if you choose to attend college then you have to stay for 3 years. This approach allows the exceptional talent to join the League early and the rest gets a chance to prepare better for the next level...and gives College Basketball more stability. Just my thoughts on the subject and many probably disagree with me.

Fox Sports still showing the celebration...

@Lulufulu

Less Conference Money???

@Crimsonorblue22

Too much...:D

Prospect can take only 5 official, expenses paid visits. If a prospect wants to take more than 5 visits, they will usually take the ones closer to home, less expensive ones as non-official and take the more expensive (farther, bigger cities) as official visits. For example, why would the kid from De Soto take an official visit to KU when he can drive 20 minutes and be there for basically no cost? He would not, he would save the "official" visit for places like UCLA, St Johns, Georgetown that are in high cost cities and where the price of taking a non-official visit would be very expensive.

ESPN calls this game...the one you have not been waiting fo ↗r...

On a related note, Jeff Goodman of ESPN predicts that AFH will play a role ↗in the KU-UK game...duh!

@Texas-Hawk-10

Also, Late night used to start...well, at midnight, but now starts much earlier

Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare

It is way, way too early to say what player will go where...

Remember last recruiting season? Most top ranked players waited until late to make a decision. no doubt because they wanted to know whee the other top recruits would end up and how much playing time would be available. Didn't KU get Diallo's commitment in late April? This is now the trend. I would not be surprised to see the remaining uncommitted players wait until next year and they will keep their preferences confidential to have more leverage and to extract a few more all-expenses paid junkets...I mean school visits

According to ESPN only 4 of the top 10 and 9 of the top 20 have committed. Rival indicates 4 of the top 10 and 8 of the top 20 as having picked a school. Duke is the only school with 2 commits in the top 20; UK and KU have none.

Again, It is way too early to assess how recruiting will end up but I am sure Coach Self will do what he always do and KU will be fine.

Maybe I can quote Ralph Waldo Emerson: Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.

or maybe more appropriately...

Trust thy "Self:" every heart vibrates to that AFH iron rim. - JayHawkFanToo

Since I started withe the Bard, let's end the post with him as well...

This above all: to thine own "Self" be true - William Shakespeare

@drgnslayr

You don't need much of anything to enroll in HS nowadays, particularly private schools. More likely, the documentation his HS required and what the NCAA does are probably quite different.