🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@HighEliteMajor

Again, if you are going to quote me at least do it correctly. Nothing I post is a certainty because none of us can predict the future; however, we can make educated guesses as to what could/might happen based on known facts and precedent.

Svi has already played for professional teams and has been exposed to big time basketball, and has had a a taste of American basketball as well, and knows what it takes to be away from home, By all accounts he comes from an well do do, accomplished family and he seems to have the same drive. So no, I don't believe he will suddenly miss the homeland and run home. Again, I am not saying it will not happen, I am simply saying that based on his background and experiences it is unlikely.

Yes, Rubuio, the best prospect in Europe signed a contract but it was for SIX years with a $8.1 million buyout. Even the best prospect in Europe could not get a short term contract without a buyout. This is what I am talking about and you seem bound and determined to ignore. The Rubio contract was a wake up call to all European players with NBA aspirations. Do you really believe that if Svi is that good he will want to get stuck in a similar contract with huge buyout that would greatly delay his entry to the NBA, where the real money is? I don't think so. Could it happen? Sure it could happen, but again, if he is as good as advertised, the odds are he will not. If he does not live up to the hype and does have the skill to be a NBA prospect, then he might well go back to Europe...as I previously indicated.

I have family and friends in Europe that follow basketball, and of course soccer, closely and the Kanter situation was well known over there, as it was the family that went looking (and getting) the money and there were plenty of reports/allegations on the subject and people that regularly follow basketball in Europe already knew this; the only surprising part is that Calipari thought he could get it pas the NCAA. On the other hand, there is no indication whatsoever, NONE, that Svi (or family) took any undue money. Again, I am not stating this as a fact that they did not, nobody really can, but there is no evidence that I could find that he did either.

I do find it comical that you, of all people, interpret my "opinions" as certainty so you can justify your own opinion. I certainly never claimed them to be facts, simply informed opinions and/or conjectures which is all we can offer anyway...after all this is what forums like this are for...right?

@icthawkfan316

The city is not bad and the new ownership seems a lot better and appears to like McLemore.

@HighEliteMajor

You keep bringing up Papapetru as comparison and you (and Rustin Dodd) have it wrong as you are comparing apples to oranges or in other words European Leagues and NBA prospects.

Papapetru WAS NOT a NBA prospect and he came to the States for a chance to improve his game for a future in the European Leagues, not the NBA, and the first chance that he had he bolted for the place that was his final destination any way. BTW, his contract was for FIVE years at about $400K per year; this is what undrafted players make in the NBA to be part of the practice squad; however, this is big money in Europe and as such it comes with a long contract.

Svi, on the other hand, is being referred as the best European prospect since Ricky Rubio and his goal is the NBA and NOT the European Leagues. If he goes back to Europe for the money, he will be tied up on a long term contract that would delay his goal of making it ti the NBA. Look what happened to Ricky Rubio, he signed a long term contract that ended up delaying his entry to the NBA and costing him a lot of money.

If after one year Svi is till and NBA prospect, for the reason listed above, there is no way he goes back to Europe. If he goes back to Europe is because he did not show enough to stay as NBA prospect and hence its not a big loss.

Also, unlike the NBA, the Euro Leagues have no minimum pay and players can play for a professional team without being paid. The NCAA actually does not have a problem if players that come from the European Leagues received compensation for meals, lodging and incidental as long as it does not exceed a certain amount; in Kanter's situation, he received considerably more that the amount the NCAA allows and thus he was not allowed to play for UK. BTW, if you talk to people that follow Euro BBall, this was a known fact and the squid just tried to pull a fast one and for once he got bitch slapped by the NCAA.

In summary, if he is a stud or shows potential he will see playing time, will stay two years and then bolt for the NBA. If he is a bust or show Euro League and not NBA potential, he leaves after one year and there is no downside since there are scholarships available anyway. If I were a betting m,an I would pick the first case.

@nuleafjhawk

As I recall his family really needed the money, so and extra year was not an option.

@Wishawk

Micah Down did relatively well in the NBDL but was not able to break into the NBA. Europe seem like a good destination since they like that finesse type of SF that Downs is.

McLemore was wildly inconsistent; he had great games and some very poor ones as well. Once he steadies his game he will do a lot better.

@741hawk

You mightlike this article, see item #3...

NBA Lottery is rigged... ↗

@HighEliteMajor

Coach Self's offense style is not predicated on using the full clock. Granted, it is not the run and gun, fast break style prefer by Coach Roy Williams but it is not and has never been one that relies on milking the clock. KU would have no problem using a 30 second clock and it could actually help the defense as well.

The average game has between 60 and 80 possessions per team and the average possession time for the entire NCAA is 18.1 seconds. Lowering the shot clock to 30 second will not have that big of an effect since only a small percentage of possession go over 30 seconds anyway. Yes, it might sped up the game tempo some but I will guess the time of possession will not change much.

Coach Self has always had a fair amount of loyalty towards returning players that have earned playing time. At this time Mason is the most experienced PG going into the season, and the position is his to lose.

To keep the position he will have to:

1. Learn to stop driving blindly into a sea of bigs and getting his shot blocked.

2. He needs to lose his high school "score first, pass second" mentality.

If he can learn to control his urge to drive wildly and become a better ball distributor, then there is no reason why he could not see substantial minutes at the PG. The question is: can he overcome through training his natural tendencies and become more of team player? I guess we will find out in a few months.

@BucknellJayhawk3

Most coaches were not aware that he could and did skip the 12th grade and became eligible. I am going to guess that the few college coaches that actually scout European players were looking at him as a 2015 recruit. Coach Self scored a major coup, with long term repercussions, with this signing.

Nice take on Coach Self at Bleacher Report...

Article on Coach Self as recruiter... ↗

@bskeet

Cleveland would be a good fit for Embiid and Phlly is not a bad place. Not too crazy about Milwaukee but I would not mind catching a couple of games just to check the owner's daughter; she is pretty cute. :)

@truehawk93

I was thinking along the same lines...Mick has a nice ring to it.

@justanotherfan

@drgnslayr

McDermott is coach's son and as such he has learned to play the right way since an early age. He has high basketball IQ and he is somewhere in between Hinrich and Collison and he will likely play the SF in the NBA; he is a well above average scorer which the NBA likes. Time will tell how well he does at the next level; I am guessing he will do well.

I think Cleanthony Early goes around 20th and Doug McDermott will probably go 7th or 8th; he had good workout and the results showed that he is a lot more athletic than people thought.

@drgnslayr

I am familiar with it, but then I am old...make that older. :)

@drgnslayr

You might need to explain to the younger posters what flubber is :)

@DoubleDD

Me too. When I wear a KU ball cap it is not unusual for complete stranger to smile and say...go Jayhawks... or something similar.

@ralster

Great game last night. It could have gone either way but the Heat was able to pull it off despite a sub-par game from Chalmers; Norris Cole stepped up big time defensively.

As you indicated LeBron is a match up nightmare since he can play all five positions very efficient and he is built like tank. The only other player that could do this is Magic Johnson, but LeBron is a better defender. I would have loved to see Scottie Pippen guard LeBron.

@bskeet

The top 3 picks are:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

2. Milwaukee Bucks

3. Philadelphia 76ers

In case you have not seen it, here is the picture of Wiggins vertical jump:

!WigginsVerticalJump.JPG ↗

Of course there are a lot of stories around the event, here are some of the results:

Vertical jump results... ↗

And here is a funny collection of Photoshopped pictures...

Funny stuff... ↗

@dylans

I believe there will be 9 former McDonald All-Americans in their roster next season. Talk about a bunch of egos. Only the Bobcats in the NBA have 9 former McDs; interestingly enough, Duke will also have 9 former McDs. In comparison, KU will have 4 former McDs.

The team with the most McDs to win the championship was North Carolina in 2009 with 8 and UConn won the 2014 championship with ZERO former McDs.

@HighEliteMajor

if you read the link you provide you will see that the link that he was offered by the Panathinaikos and the one he accepted from Olimpiacos were both for 5 years at about $400K per year; this is chump change in the NBA but in Europe is fairly big money and it is tied to a 5 year contract. European teams offer big money only when it comes with a long term contract with buyout clauses. Even Ricky Rubio, arguably the most promising player in Europe, had to sign s long term contract with big buy out that delayed joining the NBA by at least two years. He had to play two additional years until his buyout was reduce to 1.4 million and he had to pay most of it himself since NBA teams are allowed to chip in only $500K as per agreement. This is just the way they do business on the other side of the pond.

If he ends up being as good (and smart) as he is projected to be, there is no way he delays the big money from the NBA for a small one year contract in Europe or larger (but small in NBA terms) long term contract. Whatever he makes in one year in Europe would be more than offset in his first NBA contract.

@justanotherfan

Th only problem is that to make big money in Europe, he would have to sign a long term contract with big buyout clause (see Ricky Rubio). The NBA restricts the amount NBA teams can pay for a buyout to $500K, so the majority of the buyout would have to come from his own pocket or he would have to play the majority of his contract in Europe; neither option looks good if his ultimate goal is to play in the NBA.

@HighEliteMajor

The example you used, Papatreu, is not a good one. Papatreu was not a NBA caliber player and the logical career path was playing in Europe and made no sense for him to stay longer and delay the start of his career where he was best qualified to play. For the elite European players, the NBA is the ultimate destination, and for all I have read about Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, he has NBA potential. Why would he move back to Europe after one year and be tied up to a long contract that delays his entry to the NBA, when he could play one extra year at KU, get maximum exposure and play his way into the NBA lottery?

On the other hand, if after one year he does not show big potential and moves back to Europe, then we have not lost much or wasted a scholarship that, either would go unused or be assigned to a walk-on, right?

As I mentioned, lots of upside and not too much downside.

@HighEliteMajor

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is NOT a one and one player; because of his age he would have to stay in college at least two years (maybe longer, if the rules change) before going to the NBA. It was my understanding that the class of 2015 was very thin on guards. In any case, would you prefer to have a potential two and done that many think is one of the better players around or a one and done from the 2015 class?

As far as transfers, I don't believe Frankamp would transfer; he is a lifetime Jayhawk fan with limited NBA potential and I see him as more of a Tyrel Reed type of player, a solid college player but with limited pro potential, that would not necessarily pursue a career in the NBA and a good career at KU (which he is very likely to have) may be all he wants.

Mason probably feels like he has a chance to make it to the NBA, but if he cannot break into the starting line up at KU, how much of a chance does he have of getting drafted or making it to the NBA? Pretty small I would think. No other school that would take him would offer the exposure that KU does.

Green has potential but so far he has not shown he can get a starting position. He can either transfer and sit out one year at a smaller school or try harder to get a starting position at KU; I would guess the second offers him the better path to the NBA. Much like Mason, if he cannot start at KU, chances are he is not good enough for the NBA.

I can think of 4 players with NBA potential that transferred out of KU. Padget and Downs left of their own accord and neither is in the NBA; Giles and Giddens were forced out and nether is playing in the NBA. It would seem that leaving KU does not ease the path to the NBA.

You are definitely a "glass half-empty" type of person where I am more of a "glass half-full."

Lots of upside and not a lot of downside. He would be a great fit at KU.

@drgnslayr

Again, you have your facts wrong. Spoelstra was originally hired as video coordinator way back in 1995 and held that position for two years after which he was promoted to Assistant Coach/video coordinator, After two yeas at that position, in 1999 he was promoted to Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting. He was the Assistant Coach when the Heat won the Title in 2006. In 2008 he was promoted to Head Coach, a position he has held since then and won two titles; Only Popovich has more titles than Spoelstra. His career is no different than that of other coaches, both college and NBA, that started at the lower ranks and moved up.

He was NOT promoted from video coordinator to Head Coach as you indicated; he was the Assistant Coach for the Heat for 9 years before he was promoted to Head Coach; as comparison, former Jayhawk Jaque Vaughn was an Assistant for only 3 years before he became a Head Coach. Spoelstra is considered one of the more technology savvy and harder working coaches in the NBA. By all accounts, Riley is not , and has not been for a while, involved in the day to day coaching any more than any other team President and Spoelstra does the the same amount of coaching that other NBA coaches do; don't forget that on his last season as Head Coach, Riley went 15-67. Again, you are being very unfair to Spoelstra..

@drgnslayr

Very unfair to Spoelstra. By all accounts Riley is pretty much removed from coaching and "Spo" does all the coaching.

@HighEliteMajor

We all preferred Phyllis George, who would not like a former Miss America; she was the the Erin Andrews of her time, a better version In my opinion.

What I was asking were your thoughts on Jimmy the Greek Snyder philosophy on race?

@HighEliteMajor

What do you think of Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder?

He will most likely follow the Ricky Rubio approach of honing his game professionally in Europe, and making a lot of money in the process, and coming to the NBA when ready.

Having said that, the fact that his parents are teachers might influence him to try college here, but I would say it is a long shot.

@HighEliteMajor

In that case how about Jay Williams, Chris Paul, John Wall, Derick Rose, Kemba Walker, Jameer Nelson, Derron Williams. Bob Hurley was an incredible college ball player...but so was Adam Morrison; unfortunately the car accident on his first year in the league changed his career and we will never know good he could have been n the NBA had he not had the accident...he was indeed a bad ass PG...in college.

It is difficult to say who is/was the best PG since they all played at different times and for different coaches/systems/teams, some of which make you look a better.

Now about Artis Gilmore...what I remember most about him was his gigantic 'fro. He is undeniably one of the best ever but I personally would go with the "big fella" Kareem.

@HighEliteMajor

I can think of several better starting with the big "O" Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, Pete Maravich, Phil Ford and an oldie but goodie Bob Cousy.

@truehawk93

The draft has not yet taken place and the twins can still decide to go to the NBA. This year's draft is loaded with talent and they were projected to go just outside the lottery picks and so they decided to wait a year; hopefully win a Championship and secure a lottery position next year. They both played very well in the tournament and they are the reason UK went as far as it did. UK will have lots of talent next year, and for change experience as well. Regardless of how you feel about Calipari (I don't care much for him either) you can't say that he has not been successful; he is a pretty good coach and wins consistently wherever he goes.

We always seem to catch Kentucky when they have a good team. It would have been nice to play them the year before when they were NIT bound. No question that they will be ranked pre-season #1 with Duke a close second; the question is whether all these egos and superstars at UK will be able to play team basketball or they will just try to showcase their talent to improve their draft potential.

@justanotherfan

If I recall correctly, the Bachelor in General Studies was done away many years ago since it was pretty much worthless. Most of the current roster are majoring in Sports Management or Communications; I believe all the Freshmen have undeclared majors. It looks like a lot of the players want to eventually go on to coaching; not really a surprise.

Since the Big 12 inception, the Basketball programs has had more honor roll players than any other team in the conference; Aldrich was Academic All-American player of the year. Other names that come to mind are Moody and I believe Reed who were pre-med and Kaun that studied Computer Science.

@truehawk93

Sherron used to do the same thing, charge like bull all the way to the base line and get trapped there. Once he got his game under control he was outstanding; hopefully Mason can develop the same way.

@REHawk

Mason was a "volume shooter" and scorer in High School and he still has that mindset. The only position that he can play is PG since he does not quite have the gun to play SG, and to be am effective PG he need to lose the "score first" mentality and look for the pass first and the shot second.

Frankamp, on the other hand, is a coach's son and as such he has a high Basketball IQ and sometimes he needs to think less and take the shot when available.

I am sure the coaching staff will work on both and hopefully we have two, much improved players, coming back.

@HighEliteMajor

“Of course [Wiggins is] going to the league [after this year], so they just need another big wing to come in and just fill that spot,” Oubre told SNY.tv. “[Kansas coach Bill Self] pretty much told me everything’s there for me.”

Even Oubre says "pretty much told me ..."

You have to agree that this different from what you had in your original post:

"A kid of this ranking isn’t coming to sit. Oubre – according to Oubre – was told by Self that he would come in and take Andrew Wiggins’ spot."

I will guess that Coach Self told Oubre...Wiggins is leaving so the position is open and yours for the taking...which is quite different than...Wiggins is leaving so the position is open and yours. The first indicates he will have to earn the position, the second indicates that the job is his, period. Based on everything I have read about Coach Self from previous from highly ranked players, he has never promised anyone a starting position or guaranteed playing time, only a chance to earn the position and playing time; even Wiggins said that much, and I seriously doubt that he would change for Oubre.

In any case, the only competition for Oubre seems to be Green and I am anxious to see how much Green improves in the off season; having one year in the system gives him an advantage. Both players seem to have big upsides and should be fun watching them.

All college sports should standardize on the baseball rule; a player can go pro straight out of High School but if chooses College he must stay 3 years. This approach gives players a chance to graduate in 3 years, or at least a chance to be reasonably close to graduation, so if the professional career does not work, they can complete their degrees and have a fall back option.

Having all pro-sports standardize would make it easier for all the different leagues to adapt the rule.

@jaybate 1.0

So, you don't think Lillard is a superstar?

In college he was conference player of the year, second in scoring in Division I, selected #6 overall in the 2012 draft.

In his first year in the NBA he was named Rookie of the year.

In his second year he was named to the All-Star and is the first player ever to compete in 5 events in the All-Star weekend. He has several Portland records and more importantly, have you seen him in the current playoffs?

He is a 6'-2" "score-first" point guard and as such he gets a lot of publicity. I don't particularly care about the Blazers much except for TRob, but Lillard is the real deal and has superstar written all over.

As I posted on another thread, regardless of what Oubre said, I seriously doubt that Self guaranteed any playing time. One common thing on the interviews contained in the "Beyond the Phog" book is that all the players, without exception, indicated that Self did not guaranteed playing time and told them they would have to earn it; I just don't see him changing his ways for Oubre when he did not even do that for Wiggins.

Having said that talent has always done well at KU under Self. Lots of talented freshmen have started or seen considerable playing time under Self and I don't expect that to change.

I am curious to see what Andrea Hudy does with the returning players in the off-season; a stronger, more athletic Frankamp could be a game changer.

@HighEliteMajor

Nice article. The only comment I would make is that regardless of what Oubre said, I seriously doubt that Self guaranteed any playing time. One common thing on the interviews contained in the "Beyond the Phog" book is that all the players, without exception, indicated that Self did not guaranteed playing time and told them they would have to earn it; I just don't see him changing his ways for Oubre when he did not even do that for Wiggins.

@Crimsonorblue22

I while back I had purchased the book "Beyond the Phog...", which Jason King the author and Tyshawn Taylor had signed.I had misplaced the book and found it recently and on a trip I took this past week I had a chance to read it. Highly recommended.

The book is a collection of interviews with players and coaches from the last dozen years and gives great inside into the inner workings of the program and the personalities of coaches and players. It is interesting to see how the perception we have of players and coaches can be quite different than the perception players have of each other. Quiet players that we don't see as leaders can be quite influential in the locker room and off the court, i,e. true leaders.

In any case, what I am driving at is that you don't have to be ubber aggressive to be a leader; many of the better leaders are quiet, laid back and lead by example. As far as who I think will be the leader next season? I think that Ellis can be the type of quiet leader that gets the team on an even keel. He is not an in-your-face type of leader but one that can be a steadying influence. I also think that Selden can develop into a true on-the-court leader; we saw glimpsed of it last season and he can develop into an aggressive, alpha dog leader.

@konkeyDong

Are you taking about Anna Kournikova by any chance? She might not have been good but she looked great at not being good.

@ralster

I guess a lot depend on how you define "alpha dog." Are you talking about being aggressive or being a leader? I can think of a lot of players that are very aggressive that I would not call leaders and the opposite is also true, where you have players that are not outwardly aggressive but are true leaders.

@icthawkfan316

I agree about being done with recruiting. At this point there are no players left that would even sniff playing time at KU. I would be in favor of giving the scholarship to one of the wall-ons that work hard helping make the team better.

@drgnslayr

Slayer, we have gone over this before. Taylor might have attended a summer camp before his senior year but it was not with John Lucas. John Lucas trains mostly pre-college kids and college players preparing for the draft; Tyshawn did go there AFTER his senior year while preparing for the draft.

John Lucas camp... ↗