🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@HawkChamp Nova and Duke got beat by bad teams this season too. Everyone has. At this point, I think it will be harder to get passed the number of losses more than losses to OK State. Id rather have the 2 seed in Omaha than the 1 seed in LA though anyways.

So #1 seed depends on us winning the tourney now I’d think. An 8 loss #1 seed would definitely be an anomoly.

@BShark Langford would fill that role. I understand he is a 2 guard basically. But his athleticism would allow him to be a versatile Guard/Wint combo. He should be able to rebound at a high level and defend other wings just fine. At 6’6 he should be able to fill that role just fine.

@BShark I think Romeo is what this team is missing to win the N.C. next season... I think he’s favoring KU too. All depends on what Self has said about who is coming back and what not. If we land him, reminds me of the Duke team with Okafor, Jones and Winslow. But better.

@BShark worth talking it through with the Dotson’s and Grimes’. We can always make room for great players.

@Blown Yea you can buy them online. They sign probably 500 at the beginning of the season and then 200 or more throughout the season. Don't gawk at the price. Pretty much nobody makes a true profit off of it which is why they have to price it so high.

I used to work for the KUStore/

I just hope that he can add a few more inches before he gets here. If he ends up 6'1 or 6'2 that'd be tremendous.

@KUSTEVE ESPN does continue to say they stand by the reports. Not that it means anything, but they must have a source the REAAALLY trust to produce evidence if something were to happen.

@approxinfinity He may be worth millions next season though. His problem is that he is such a project, NBA teams don't want to spend millions to develop him. Would rather watch him develop on someone else's dime. If he can continue to develop both hands though, I don't see how he wouldn't be a 1st round pick after next season. He's in an especially deep draft this year. When Bagley is potentially land out of the Top 5, it is a crazy year. Especially for big men.

There is also no rush for him to go right now. He is still young. Won't be 19 until next September. I'm sure that is what NBA scouts will tell him too.

@dylans This has been the toughest season to not try peaking over the horizon. I’ve had to remind myself several times this season that I just enjoy the sunset in front of us.

I hope Vick and Malik both stay. I just find it unlikely that either of them come back. No matter what, there will be a very deep bench next season. Regardless of how the backcourt situation shakes out by June.

UVA, first 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed. Final Score: 42-41. They are the only team I could see losing to a 16 because the style they play gives them such a low margin for error. When is the last time a 1 seed played as slow as this UVA team?

If Doke stays, I seriously think we will have the most efficient low post scoring tandem, perhaps ever, in college basketball. The best part about these two guys, you can't leave one to double the other because they are both good passers.Yet, you can't go against them 1v1 because they will score 80%+ of the time. So you will have to double down with a perimeter player most likely, which should lead to spot up 3's. Which will be great for our young, talented guards. The dominant post play should really help those guys thrive. They can run in transition and shoot open shots. Something they are used to doing and should already be good at. Not to mention, our rim protection should be much improved, so we can guard differently and bail out freshmen mistakes. Ever since coach told Doke he needs to be a better rim protector, he has averaged 3 blocks per game. I think we should expect 2 to 3 blocks per game from Dedric. Another 1.5 bpg from Mitch. And another 1.5 from De Sousa should put us at close to 7.5-8 BPG. That is a big, big number. But not unrealistic. So, next season we should see a more efficient offense and a MUCH improved defense. I would be shocked to see this team not make the FF.

@mayjay I'm kind of with @KUSTEVE on this one. If anything is being done at the moment, it is ESPN and Miller's lawyers talking about a settlement deal.

I wouldn't expect a filed Lawsuit until the summer. But as @mayjay points out, that is IF a lawsuit is ever filed. I would agree that I don't think one will ever get filed. I do not think Miller is clean. I do not think he would want anyone combing through his life. Therefore, I do not think that this will ever be followed through.

It would be damn near impossible to actually prove that he did anything though. I'm sure by now that every single dirty coach in America has purged their computer, laundered their money, work only on burner phones and don't do anything that isn't in person anymore. I'm not sure that the FBI actually stopped top recruits from getting paid. I think they may have just reminded everyone to be more careful about it.

@mayjay lol sorry I meant to put Gordo there but typing LF felt so good.

@BShark Somehow he is going to argue a broken foot is far less painful than some injury a KU player played through.

@BShark You have to remember, JB assumes any player that wears a shooters sleeve has an arm injury :joy:

And apparently a bloody/broken nose is the same thing as a broken foot lol.

This team does have a high-end finish of winning an AL wildcard spot the more I build the lineup. Of course, it would take great years from everyone.

• 2B Whit
• RF - Bonifacio
• LF - Soler
• DH Duda
• C - Salvy
• LF - Gordo
• 3B - Cuthbert
• 1B Dozier
• SS - Escobar

I'm not sure this shakes out, but the important thing is that Gordo, Soler and Duda have big seasons. If Gordo can put up a .270 seasons with 20HRs, Duda can put up .230 with 25 HRs and Soler can put up .250 with 20-25 HRs this team will be able to score. The only problem I see is that this team is SLOW. Terribly, terribly slow.

@Apologist Absolutely savage. PHOF

I do think Bill has done an absolutely amazing job for having such little room for error. Leave in Doke too long, foul trouble. Deciding how much to play Garrett vs. Vick or Newman. Playing a 6'7 guy at Center.

I mean it is amazing.

@mayjay Bingo! I also think that is the only reason Whit is still here. Fan favorite. Could have been traded for the moon in the offseason I think.

Don't look for any rational from signings or trades or not trading guys. Likely, the only rationale right now is getting through 2019 and then taking it from there.

I miss Hoiberg.

@BShark Yea I suppose. But Self knew what would be the cause of his actions.

Hind sight is 20/20.

@dylans If he gets to Free Agency than we are an option. But usually when a team wants to keep a guy as badly as it seems the Bears want to keep Fuller, he ends up staying home.

I think the Chiefs could steal a guy like EJ Gaines for a decent price (still will be expensive) because of his health issues. But an amazing player when he is in the game.

There are a ton of options out there this year that are solid CBs. Probably one of the best FA CB classes in a long time. I expect the Chiefs to sign at least one. I think a lot of it will work itself out after the combine. Either the Chiefs will see a CB they like that can be landed in the 2nd round, or they will sign a known commodity.

I would rather see us get a known and then draft a Safety or ILB in the 2nd.

Chiefs HAVE to find a guy who can play on the other side of Houston. So, if they do that and skimp on CB I won't be upset.

@BShark I remember at the beginning of the season it was basically an AWIII showdown with Greene. Self chose Greene. AWIII left after he lost the battle. I'd be pissed too if I worked my tail off all summer for Self to play a sh*thead like Greene more than me.

So far, I can't fault a single decision that AWIII made. He is in the NBA right now.

@justanotherfan From what I am seeing, the plan is to TRY to get through this season and next season (2019 season) as a 75 win team. That is when the new TV deal will be finalized. And the Royals have had the best TV ratings in baseball over the past 4 years. Not only that, but the Rays just signed a deal for $82M/season. The Royals should get even more than that with how bad the Rays do on TV. I'm thinking they may seriously get $100M/season. Which would give them about $20M more a year than the Cardinals have from the TV deal. This is the type of money that can change the trajectory of the Royals Franchise. And why it is so important.

But the key to this is not fielding a historically bad baseball team, while also not adding to payroll. So, rolling out young guys just to see if they have what it takes is a poor plan. This is why I think you have seen Escobar get signed back and Duda brought in as some guaranteed pop in the lineup.

The plan is simple, get to 2020 with a shell of a team that doesn't kill TV ratings. Rebuild the farm system. Once the new TV deal is signed, sell off everyone and start the Tanking process.

If the team is 25 games out of first place at the break however, I think the plan is to just sell off what can be sold and start the rebuild process.

At this point, pray for hot starts the next two seasons that keep TV Ratings high. Who knows, maybe this team can get some mojo. The pitching staff is capable. It really depends on what our position players are going to be able to do. Can Gordo bounce back? Does Salvy take another step? Can Whit repeat? Can Bonifacio learn to hit a curve? Did Soler get himself into a position to play 120+ games this year and really get in a rhythm? Is Cuthbert truly an MLB level player?

No matter what happens though, tell everyone to record every game. Watch everything they can. Go to as many games as possible. Because these next two seasons are amazingly important to the future of the franchise.

@HighEliteMajor AWIII was my favorite player at the time. Tough guy with a great work ethic. Really disappointed when he got forced out. But, i am happy to see him succeed everywhere he has been so far.

@mayjay Agreed lol. But just in general, they always test out the rules in the NIT before the implement them for real. I hope that the NCAA does not implement the floor change. Who knows if DG could have broken Boschees 3pt record if the line hadn't been moved back? Is it likely? No. But, it is possible. And now we will never know for certain.

@KUSTEVE I mean I would love to see you be right lol. That'd be one hell of a story.

I do not like changing lanes or 3-point lines. It alters records and makes it harder to compare players from eras. I love the quarters instead of halves and I hate 1 and 1s. I am ok with the shot clock reset as long as it doesn't cause any clock issues and goes smoothly.

@justanotherfan I realize I sounded contradictory in my statements after rereading them. I personally wouldn't have signed Duda. But I do in fact see what the Royals could be doing by signing cheap vets with tradeable upside.

There could be more at play too. I'm sure they don't want to be mentioned in the MLBPA lawsuit against teams that were inactive in free agency.

@KUSTEVE Plenty of people have made up stories just for recognition.

Stephen Glass. Jayson Blair. Jack Kelley.

There have also been plenty of stories that have been fabricated to alter events, such like you have suggested.

But almost all of those events are 10X larger than throwing one game. Lying about Sadaam Hussein. Trying to throw presidential elections. Trying to pass bills and laws so a president can sign it. Pretending the president is ok after having a stroke. Etc. Etc. Those are the type of events that someone makes up a story for.

Then, there have been obvious games thrown for gambling purposes. I haven't seen evidence of this yet. Though, I would think the timing of it was questionable if that was the case. They could have waited until Saturday to release the story, but instead they released it Friday, allowing Vegas to change the line before accepting bets. Basketball is only bet on the day of. So I do not think that would be the reason.

So, unless we can find a reason as to why someone would want Arizona to lose to Oregon or ruin Arizona's season, I find the most likely solution to be that a writer wrote a story from hearsay and passed it off as truth so he could get bonus points. Only it backfired because apparently nobody vetted the story.

@justanotherfan signing guys with upside to cheap contracts aren’t bad deals. If Duda hits another 18 HRs before the break, he could be flipped for a prospect or two. If some young guy is having a great season at AAA, you can always waive him because he is so cheap or trade him for cash or international player money.

@mayjay I think we will see him DH a majority of the time. Just don't understand the signing tbh. If we are going to tank, save the money lol.

@BeddieKU23 He's going to be a big surprise next season. I think once he has an entire season of film and time to work on everything, he will be a different player. Not to mention, I wouldn't be surprised to see him add 10-15 lbs of muscle in the offseason.

@drgnslayr UK looks like a top 3 team next year if the players who are supposed to stay end up staying. Won't be much PT available.

I'm not upset that we didn't end up with him. I'm sure he thinks he is OAD and wants to play the Wing and wanted guaranteed a starting spot and how HE would be made the vocal point of the team and blah blah blah.

Nothing good comes from fame not earned. I think Alford will have his work cut out for him next year.

@KUSTEVE Source on the wire tapping dates?

@KUSTEVE The FBI investigation started in early 2016. So it is likely that there was plenty of wire-tapping going on in 2016.

More times than not, the simple answer is the right answer. Combining the events would mean that you need to include the NCAA in the conspiracy. Which seems even less likely.

The most likely solution is that ESPN CBB department wanted to stick it to the idiots over at Yahoo and prove that ESPN is still the big leagues with the better sources. But this caused them to rush a story out and not vet it like they should have.

Also, your wire-tap timeline is based on what? Everything I have read shows the investigation started in early 2016.

@KUSTEVE I did read the links. And I still do not see why Nike would attempt to destroy one of their most profitable schools just so Oregon could win a single regular season basketball game. Not to mention that if this were to get out and that you are correct, we are talking prison time for anyone who was complicit. Like hard prison time.

Not to mention that it could cost Nike billions of future revenue, because who in the world would not shred their Nike contract then and there? What player would sign another Nike endorsement deal? Or the stock market implications that would come from it. Or what other scandals would come out of an investigation into just this one scandal. Because if they are willing to lose all of that just over one basketball game, Nike is even more corrupt than I would have thought.

And, that brings me to my final point. Even if you are right, why waste the bullet now, that you could have saved for the Conference Tournament which is about their only real chance to make the NCAA Tournament as of right now.

@KUSTEVE I could see ESPN being pissed that Yahoo is breaking news that they aren't. Thus someone creating news bigger than what Yahoo is releasing causing them to do things without vetting them properly.

I still think your Oregon/Nike reasoning is small apples. Oregon making the tourney is worthless if they are just going to lose in one of the first two or three rounds. Which looks likely. It would be better for Nike to pump Ayton all the way up and help Arizona as much as possible. If anything, Nike would want this story buried. I don't see how it benefits Nike to have one of the 10 schools who could possibly win the NC to get a worse seed or lose players/coaches.

Seems to me like a major waste of time and dollars for one game unless someone were influenced by a huge gambler or something. I mean we are talking ESPN could be sued for tens of millions if this was to get proven untrue.

I wouldn’t play if I was porter. I wouldn’t even workout for anyone or do any interviews. He’d still be a top 10 pick.

@Texas-Hawk-10 seems like that’s too important of a position. I agree we should do anything we can to keep him, but that’s a lot of responsibility to give someone who might not be good at it. I’d think special teams coordinator or something like assistant head coach.

@BShark I am starting to really like the idea of having the Conference Tourney in December to kick off the year. And then giving NCAA automatic bids to conference regular season winners.

Or be like the Big 10 and have the Conference Tourney early so you can rest up for the Big Dance. They start tomorrow.

@Texas-Hawk-10 Do we think Hull is actually capable of being a Collegiate level OC?

Nobody wanted a 2 year headache just to watch him leave before you could sign him long-term.

@justanotherfan and they never would because they have too much money invested in college athletics.

Bright side is Beaty brought in a new QB that appears to be able to run... He has to be our best option. Because everyone else is tied for our worst.

Talking about Kendrick.

@KUSTEVE I just want to know what price per pound he ended up getting

@KUSTEVE so messed up :joy:

@drgnslayr Lol if anything, I think Bill has wanted MORE contact. But perhaps that really kicked in once we had to put the turbo boost on and jump back in front of TTU.