🏀 KuBuckets Archive

I went back and looked at the Malik Newman to KU posts from 2016 and His camp had him pull his name out of the draft to improve his draft stock. They were wise enough to recognize that 2nd round draft status doesn't come with a guarantee. He was at one time projected to go #4 in the draft but he fell to late late second round. They said he needed to go back and improve on his game and work on the things scouts told him to work on. He could have went over seas if money was driving their decision. I think Malik and company will stay put until he either graduates or is projected first round. He has had exposure to Frank Mason and knows that hard work and sticking it out could pay dividends. I guess we will get to see how things play out in April! Until then I am going to cheer for our guys this year and hope for the best!

I love our guys this year and generally don't think about our future team until the season plays out BUT next year is different for me. For the first time ever (and I mean ever) I feel like we have a juggernaut!

https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2018/1/18/16903994/zion-williamson-recruiting-predictions-duke-kentucky-clemson-kansas-south-Carolina ↗

Kansas
Kansas is losing its best player, point guard Devonte’ Graham, to graduation. The Jayhawks are losing their best shooter, too, in fellow senior Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. In their place comes a wave of transfers and impact freshmen who should give Bill Self the ability to play with a ton of lineup combinations.
Point guard will be handled by Charlie Moore, who hit 35 percent of his threes as a freshman at Cal last season. Devon Dotson — the No. 26 recruit in ESPN’s rankings — is coming aboard, too. Dotson is another shorter guard who wins with skill and toughness over size.
Malik Newman (35 percent from three) should be back at shooting guard. He’ll be joined by five-star recruit Quentin Grimes, who has a reputation as a crafty three-level scorer. There’s also Marcus Garrett, a long-armed guard who has been up and down in his freshman season and has hit only 5-of-26 shots from three.
At the forward positions, Kansas can choose from Memphis transfers Dedric Lawson and K.J. Lawson, Arizona State transfer Sam Cunliffe, and potentially Lagerald Vick, though it’s possible he turns pro. Neither of the Lawsons is a great shooter, but Dedric in particular can be a stud. At 6’9, 230 pounds, he averaged 19.2 points per game for Memphis last year.
Kansas’ frontcourt is currently paper thin, but that could change next year if Billy Preston finally gets on the court and Silvio De Sousa is ready to contribute. Udoka Azubuike is expected to return as starting center.
Kansas did well with Andrew Wiggins and Josh Jackson, and it would do well with Williamson, too. The fit alongside the Lawson brothers seems a bit awkward, but the best players will play. Williamson would be great in Lawrence.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2019mock_draft ↗ Udoka Azubuike projected in the first round of the 2019 draft.

@Hawk8086 I think Newman's family thought he was going to play better and be projected as a 1st rounder. Aspirations have not turned into a reality for the Newman camp. That's good for us and with a little more time he could work himself into a 1st rounder also good for us.

I cant help but to think ahead about what's to come. Next year KU will actually have a title contender, a Goliath, a juggernaut or what ever you would like to call it?

Udoka Azubuike is already a beast averaging 14pts, and nearly 8reb per game. Good news for KU is that the NBA isn't drooling over him due to his lack of conditioning and his lack of scoring outside of 4ft. The reality is he needs more time at KU before his NBA debut which benefits KU greatly because at the collegiate level he can easily over power opposing bigs. Opposing defenses will not be able to target him next year either because he will have another BEAST starting along side of him in the paint.

Dedric Lawson Led the American Athletic Conference in rebound average at 9.9 boards per game. His 19.2 scoring average was second in the conference. Recorded 19 double-doubles on the season. Had 14 games of 20 or more points. Pulled down 10 or more rebounds 20 times. Led Memphis with 68 blocked shots. These 2 starting bigs will be like a college version of Pelicans big-duo Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins in terms of dominating the paint.

K.J. Lawson Earned AAC Rookie of the Year honors and was a member of the AAC All-Rookie Team. He averaged 12ppg, 8rpg, and recorded nine double-doubles which were second most on the team behind his brother Dedric’s. Coach Self has said that he was the most impressive/surprise player in practice. He did put up some impressive numbers as a freshman before his medical rs. As far as maturity on a basketball level he would be a senior without his medical rs and sitting this year at KU had he stayed at Memphis. He should have the mechanics and playbook down along with 2 summers with Hudy. He is my pick for the biggest surprise player on our team.

Pick your poison at the 2 spot? Newman , Grimes, or Garrett? I hope Newman stays. I honestly don't know who will start but we have a log jam here and Garrett could fill in at the 3 spot. Will Self elect to put Garrett at the 3 and have 3 ball handlers on the floor or play a bigger line up by putting him at the 2? Self will have plenty of options at his disposal. I didn't even mention Cunliffe or Vick. If Vick stays OMG it will be Nuckin Futs and if he leaves and we land Langford HOLY SMOKES!

At the PG position we have 2 options Charlie Moore, and Devon Dotson. Moore had a pretty impressive Freshman year at Cal and started in all 34 contests. He was Cal’s freshman record holder for assists (120) and three pointers made (45), sixth for points (414) and seventh for free throws made (99). Dotson is tearing it up this year and moving up Draft boards to a OAD status. Who gets the nod?

All 3 freshmen coming in are McDonald’s All-Americans and Silvio De Sousa will have half a year in the system. Next year is KU's best shot (if Doke and Newman stay) at being the first to go 40-0 and win the whole enchilada. KU should be the favorite to win it all right out of the gate!

Graham did really good against Heild back in 2016. I think he held him to 6 first half points. If he can open another can of whatever he drank that night I think we got this!

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2016/feb/13/jayhawks-slow-buddy-hield-least-half/ ↗

I love Selden but the point was that he was projected to go in the 2nd round (went undrafted) and has had to fight for a roster spot every year since leaving KU. Had he came back he COULD have avoided that?

Preston's mom has made some statements lately about over seas being an option if he isn't cleared. I think his support group is similar to Alexanders group. Money over logic to be exact.

I still think we could return Vick, Doke, and Newman. Vick is not projected to be a 1st rounder as of today on www.nbadraft.net/2018mock_draft. I think the support network surrounding him will tell him to stay and try to improve his draft stock. If I were Coach Self I would remind Vicks inner circle that Selden was a top 25 recruit that went undrafted in 2016. IMO he will not hire an agent but will get an invite to the draft. Will he stay or will he go? Only time will tell.

Doke has no outside game to speak of and needs to stay and polish his outside game if he wants to stick in the NBA. Jahlil Okafor is a perfact example of what Doke might look like if he left early for the NBA except he would not have a guaranteed contract or 6 mil a year. Without being projected as a lotto pick his NBA future is sketchy at best unless he returns and polishes his game.

Newman? I cant remember a 3rd year sophomore (5th in scoring) that went pro/got drafted after averaging 10ppg and had sub .500 fg average and a .346 3pt average. Even if he got a combine invite I can not see anyone really giving him a guarantee. He has to come back to improve his stock.

Order size on D is one rebound per caller lol

!0_1515527822913_wow.jpg ↗

When basketball wraps up in April it will be Newman's 3rd year in D1. From what I hear NBA heads are saying Doke needs to improve his shot outside of 4ft. I personally think they return for one more year. Vick, Svi, Graham, and Presron are gone. So our 2018-19 team will be over the top talented! This year I think KU figures it out after adding a piece or 2 in Feb. Hopefully they arent too far behind in the big12 race? I am excited and nervous about the weeks to come but I sure hope everything goes our way!

Or maybe its because Weber held a funeral for Bill Self because he was tired of the media asking him about Self all of the time! Lol funny but not very classy...

Marcus Garrett's stat line is better than I think Billy Preston would have if eligible.

KU's 4 guard lineup is impressive! 6th man Marcus Garrett is GOLD! So who do you want in the final minutes of ANY game? I am going to go with the current line up in 99% of the games... Coach Self will go small "end game situations" regardless of eligibility status of an incoming BIG or Preston IMO.

I remember us talking about Svi or Vick? They are BOTH awesome IMO and I hope Coach Self sticks with the current rotation "even though he wont/cant"... Preston is great but Garrett is better!

@wrwlumpy Yeah he had 19 and 10 last night!

Only problem with this much talent is someone is not going to be getting in reps! Someone will transfer? I know Lightfoot has said never BUT we have all heard that before.

Next years team will have an identity problem. Who leads next years team? So many new faces. Some have exp some talent but mostly new faces! Who will lead and what does KU look like next year?

@BShark Yes, next year no matter how things shake out we will have the best roster on paper IMO...

@BShark KJ will have been at a D1 school for 3 years going into is 4th by the time next year starts. I think he starts over any Freshman due to conditioning and experience UNLESS KU lands Zion period.

@BShark

He starts at KU!

@BShark KJ will start and I never said Moore would start next year but He would start at other D1 schools.

@BShark They might be fine BUT when you have to replace your whole roster each and every year with OAD's he HAS to sign more talent to keep his OAD farm from going under! Herro was a last ditch effort when they knew they were out on Grimes! They have 4 guys on next years Mock Draft. They need 2 more guys that can step in and play starting minutes. Not to mention they are losing 3 guys listed 6'8" or taller and Cal said they probably wouldn't sign a BIG this year! I am just pointing out that UK is usually sitting pretty this time of year but its not a normal year for UK.

@Hawk8086 You could be right? I have my own thoughts on KU landing recruits early. Is anyone else wondering why UK is having a down recruiting year so far? Could it be that the shoe companies are laying low and the funds have dried up temporarily? If I were a top 25 recruit in the nation and I had been offered money to attend ANY school in the country I would not go to that school EVER! I would fear that others had taken the cash and the school would be given the death penalty at some point. I wouldn't want to be investigated by the FBI or have my name attached to ANY of the negative publicity surrounding the school. The FBI has had a ripple effect on the recruiting scene and in my opinion UK and its recruits are laying low. How else would Coach Cal already know he is not going to sign a big this year? He knows who is coming already but they are all laying low and hoping this all blows over. I bet he has "bleached" his email and took a hammer to his phones!

Okay enough about that. On to Coach Self and his new recruiting approach. We have all heard recruits recently stating that Coach Self has told them they will come in and be impact players as freshmen. He is now also a HOF coach! PT has opened up "supposedly"? Is this the perfect storm or can we expect the same for years to come? Have the shoe gods finally answered our prayers? Next year is NCAA championship or BUTS!

Svi, Vick, Graham, and Preston are for sure gone.

Newman-If Newman doesn't show up on any mock draft boards he will test the NBA waters but come back.

Udoka-copy paste Newman. They both need to develop another year at KU.

Garrett-Stud! This kid has all the tools in the shed. Just needs some polish and he will be a huge asset next year!

KJ Lawson-Coach Self said this summer he was more impressed with KJ than any other player on the roster. He averaged 12 points 8 boards and will be a rs JR. He would have been a SR next year fellas! He is going to start!

Dedric Lawson-Possibly NPOY honors? Need I say more?

I now everyone's BIG on our recruiting class but if we return the 5 guys I have listed Our freshmen are not going to start! We would still have our "glue guys" WHO have started or would start at most D1 schools Moore, Cunliffe, and Lightfoot.

If all of this shakes out we will have the perfect balance of experience and talent on the court next year and should be favored to win it all next year! Even if Newman leaves I think we are in a good position with Langford and even if we don't land him Plug in either freshman stud and we are still in good shape!

What a Luxury to have and if we could just get Preston and De Sousa on the court this year we could go deep in to March or early April! Good time to be a KU fan!

Is it just me or does HOF attached to Coach Self boost his recruiting numbers? Maybe landing 4 top recruits early will be the new norm?

I am almost positive Malik was with Billy and should have done a better job making sure Billy made it back on time. Didn't happen and he didn't get the start because of it. Wing man fail!

Strange that BIG name school can not sign a 5 star BIG?

Not saying I know for shure but lets say you were being offered cash from a shoe company to play ball at a specific school that always signs the top kids in the country. Then the fbi starts investigating the NCAA. Lets just say any kids/family that would still risk NBA millions to go to that school for 100k is stupid. If that school always signs 5 plus 5 star guys and signs none this year. Shouldn't that flag the FBI?

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article179151031.html ↗

We had 1 leftover scholarship to give plus we have 2 graduating. I remember 2 seasons ago when Graham went toe to toe with Buddy Hield and came out looking like a future national player of the year. Could Graham be so dominant that he steels the show? Could Svi be second in scoring? I don't know if the NBA takes a look at Doke if he is 3rd in scoring unless he averages a double double and leads the country in shot blocking? Then there is Newman, and Preston followed by Vick. Do any of them even get an invite to the combine if they are 4th 5th and 6th in scoring? Unless KU wins the national championship OR Preston, Newman, and Vick step it up KU's 2018-2019 roster could be complete (which would be fine by me). There are a lot of games to be played between now and then BUT our coaching staff cant take another player until late with a clean conscience right? Taking another recruit could force a transfer or force an unfair RS on a guy that could be playing on any team in the country!

HighEliteMajor said:

This is dangerous for Kansas. I am very concerned. The web will expand. We should hold our collective breath.

If its dangerous for KU then just about every team in the country is going to get the death penalty! The NCAA would lose hundreds of millions if they were to issue Death Penalty's to the masses! I think HCBS has kept his nose clean ONLY because KU's recruiting classes would look much better or more like our peers if he was dirty! Only my opinion and you have every reason to be concerned!

If the FBI is looking at the kind of guys shoe companies want to pay they should start looking at the 2 schools that sign 1/3 of the 5 star guys annually! Arizona and Louisville were just starting to reach their true potential with funneling recruits to their schools BUT 2 other schools have already perfected it.

Good news is we have an open scholarship for lets say a big. Maybe Malik Williams?

I think KU is clean in all of this or our recruiting classes would be much more like some of our peers (not naming names)! 3 stand out BIG TIME far and away from the others. KU has had to patch things together with transfers, lower rated players, and had to utilize a play book to win games and our peers have had the luxury of having players funneled into their programs. Just sayn

https://itsovertime.com/team-up-zion-williamson ↗

https://www.facebook.com/KansasBasketball/videos/10155729487039532/?hc_ref=ART0q_5Fd4j0eP2UN1V2IvuIIAiI3_Q68zyutyzPdYPa_UTpAeQ07gtd7p2lfMkPpAY&pnref=story.unseen-section ↗

I have to wonder? Is Coach Self taking himself and KU out of the OAD circus? I mean 2 quality bigs b4 late night? Has he finally figured holding out for the 5 stars and missing on other top talent made his job harder? I mean I think I would rather lock up the top 4 star talent that will give you a couple years. I wouldnt turn down 5 star guys BUT if KU lets UK, DUKE, and company fight for the 5 stars while we swoop in and sign the best 4 star guys I am game!

Could someone please tell me why KU could not offer Nick Sabian (too lazy to sp check) a max contract similar to Wiggins or a "nba nfl player"? Why couldnt they pony up 20 mil a year to land someone that would put KU on the map or a destination for football recruits? Doing so would pay for its self and put KU in a position to start their own network similar to the longhorn network AND put them in a position to be PRIMETIME every single event and demand more money from NIKE ESPN CBS NBC you name it! I just dont get it?

We WILL lose 3 seniors. I look at the mock draft and think to myself out of the remaining KU roster maybe ONE guy jumps into the first round? Maybe? Newman could but he is projected 57 in the 2019 draft on one website. Doke? I cant seem to find him on any draft boards (I am sure there are a few) but he could make the jump sure! Preston? Sure, why not? I just don't see any of them throwing their hat in for a non guaranteed contract in the second round? Vick has been on some draft boards too. But losing 6 would be a stretch unless we are talking about UK where its like "you are being replaced if you don't leave".

I think we are primed for a HUGE season in 2018-2019! KU will return almost ALL of its NON SENIORS! Add in our transfers and a couple blue chip recruits and BAM!!!! We Will be loaded!

I can dream right?

Not to mention if you can read body language and see how recruits use snapchat to communicate to their friends and followers you get a better picture of where they might go? More so than reading any 247 sports bs or other boards. I get a lot of info from watching snapchat on recruits. I don't post a lot but I do have a wealth of knowledge from talking with guys and watching them on snapchat! If there are other snapchat users that follow KU let me know?

I am not sure if any of you guys have snapchat BUT if you are a true fan of the KU basketball team you would enjoy seeing their posts! Watching the team practice until they cant dunk the ball because they are too tired, half court shots, dancing and singing in the locker room together is highly entertaining to me! I cant figure out how to post their videos or pics but if you have a snapchat account I would highly recommend finding our guys and checking their storylines daily...

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You know what we say around here at buckets? If the shoe fits? lol

Don't get too worked up on Zeon! I have looked into him a little bit and if I had a CB pick it would be UK. I will not elaborate on how I came to that assumption but that would be my pick.

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2017/aug/17/lawson-story/ ↗

KU forward Dedric Lawson’s name appears on Memphis police report

@jayballer54 probably not...

He must not be willing to suit up for a season if he doesn't qualify this year? Bummer!

Former Western Kentucky commit Mitchell Robinson is expected to visit New Orleans today, per a source. Visited Kansas last weekend.

I dont know what Robinson is going through but he posted he was upset and on his own now. I would expect we hear something soon. I am guessing he is going against his fam and being your own man at his age is never easy.

@RockkChalkk I haven't heard he was planning another visit or seeking an agent?

Böyce‏ @samuraihawk · 10m10 minutes ago

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Replying to @mellinger

Odds that Mitchell Robinson picks Kansas and actually plays a single minute of college basketball as a Jayhawk in 2017/18? #kubball