🏀 KuBuckets Archive

A lot of Bryce's issues this season stemmed from his injuries. The light was starting to come on for him towards the end of the season after he came back the second time and probably would've turned on sooner had he not been injured. I'd be very surprised if Thompson wasn't the starting 2 next season.

Having Coach Ramsey actually be able to do an off-season program with these guys is going to be huge. Harris adding strength this off-season probably won't be an issue barring an injury and in the fall he and Yesufu should have a really nice battle for the starting PG spot. There's no reason Harris, Thompson, and Yesufu shouldn't play basically all of the 80 available minutes at the 1 and 2 spots next season.

Part of what Scott Drew has done is redshirt everyone possible and with the depth KU has, there's really not a reason not to redshirt Pettiford next season unless he comes in and is clearly the best option at the PG spot which I don't think he will be. This is what makes a lot of Baylor's players good defenders is spending a season guarding players better than themselves.

Here's what I'm seeing as the rotation next season.

Harris/Yesufu at the point and redshirt Pettiford. Jossell if he's still here gets spot minutes mostly in end game blowouts.

Thompson/Yesufu at the 2 since Yesufu can play off the ball.

Agbaji/Braun at the 3 spot. If Braun gets his 3 ball back, then you can work him at the 2 some as well.

Wilson/Clemence at the 4 spot and I'd personally redshirt KJ.

McCormack/Martin at the 5 spot. With Martin's outside shooting, I could also see him playing some 4 and getting a little high-low going with Dave as well. Mitch would likely get some minutes when Self needs a little more quickness at the 5 spot. I'd redshirt Curry so he can focus on slimming down some.

@nuleafjhawk said in Does Baylor's title make Self hungrier?:

@Fightsongwriter Well yeah, but what college aged stud doesn't want to live (temporarily) in Waco, Tx. It is the mecca of college basketball.

You clearly haven't been to Waco recently. Joanna Gaines has all of her Magnolia brand stuff headquartered in Waco which attracts many young women to Waco for either weekend trips or longer.

@Kcmatt7 said in Okay I Know but Hear Me Out:

@BShark lol he is going to get another HC job after he spends a year in the studio.

It'll be more than a year in the studio, probably 2-3 years.

Sean Miller is going to end up with a show-cause tag so hell no.

@jayhawks2010 This team was bottom half of the country shooting this season. A small ball line up would've been countered with a zone forcing a bad shooting team to wins games by making shots. And no, the small ball line up wouldn't have worked against athletic length defensively either because Jalen and Braun who typically defended the 4 and 5 spots in the small ball line up are not good defenders.

@bskeet said in Coach Howard:

Any chance that Hudy would ever return?

Zero chance. She left because the S&C program became part of KU Health System and pretty much took away her ability to do her own health clinics and stuff like that.

What about looking at the D2 ranks and bringing Ballard back because we know the man can coach with how he's made Washburn a D2 power.

@BShark I've long thought Townsend could end up being the fall guy for Kansas because of the Zion conversations and his name is attached to all 3 players tied to the Adidas case I believe.

@approxinfinity said in So- with all these players coming and going, what is next years team gonna look like?:

@Texas-Hawk-10 you had me on everything except Harris 40% from 3. Kids form is jacked. It's going to take seldenesque improvement in shooting form, Marcusian improvement will not suffice.

He's was 64% this year and I realize the limited sample was wide open looks that he won't have with increased minutes. His form does need tweaking, but it's not TGF levels of broken. I really wouldn't be surprised if he's at least 37% next season.

@BShark Yesufu is someone I really like and think he'd be a really nice fit in this back court. He can play lead guard or off the ball and would be some nice competition for Harris.

@FarmerJayhawk said in Coach Hot Seat and Players to Poach:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Coach Hot Seat and Players to Poach:

The way the UNC coaching search played out is historically significant and I don't know how much that's being talked about. Even here on these boards, the general consensus was that UNC is the best job in college basketball based on another thread.

UNC basically saying we're going to hire a black man to succeed Roy Williams without seriously interviewing anyone else is a big damn deal and I don't think a lot of people realize how big of a deal this is not just at North Carolina, but in college basketball in general to see a black man leading arguably a top 3 job in the nation.

If it works out, would be huge. If Hubert ends up like Doh, WOOOOOOF. UNC may stop hiring black people altogether.

Hubert Davis has a helluva lot better pedigree than Doherty did though with 12 years in the NBA as a player and a decade already within Carolina's program.

Doherty was also very clearly and publicity not UNC's top choice during that search unlike Davis.

The way the UNC coaching search played out is historically significant and I don't know how much that's being talked about. Even here on these boards, the general consensus was that UNC is the best job in college basketball based on another thread.

UNC basically saying we're going to hire a black man to succeed Roy Williams without seriously interviewing anyone else is a big damn deal and I don't think a lot of people realize how big of a deal this is not just at North Carolina, but in college basketball in general to see a black man leading arguably a top 3 job in the nation.

@Kcmatt7 said in 2021 Transfer Talk/List:

I think it is time to quit counting Curry. Is there a reason he hasn't signed an LOI?

Curry wasn't necessarily signed to be an immediate impact player at KU. He's someone that while he has insane athleticism for someone with his build, he's built like Zion, doesn't have the quickness to guard P5 players because of his current build. A year to sl down and refine his skills and Curry is someone who could man the 5 spot his last couple of seasons after Dave, Cam, and Mitch are all gone.

@justanotherfan said in Bill Self Emperor of Kansas:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Bill Self Emperor of Kansas:

@justanotherfan Duke has solid history pre Coach K with multiple Final Fours and title game appearances so Coach K didn't exactly build that program from scratch. Duke played in the title game in 1978 which was only 2 years before Coach K arrived.

Duke reached the Final Four in 1963, 1964, 1966, and 1978 including the 1964 and 1978 title games. So much like UCLA, their history is more than one coach.

Agreed. The only thing that separates UCLA, Kentucky, Kansas, UNC, etc. from most programs is that they have all succeeded more or less regardless of who has been the coach. Duke has really only had three successful coaches - Vic Bubas (led them to those first three final fours), Bill Foster (1978 final four), and Coach K. If the person after Coach K keeps up this level of success, then they are on the level with KU, UK, UCLA and UNC.

Kentucky has Rupp, but also Hall, Pitino, Smith and Calipari with titles.

UNC has Dean Smith, but Williams has three titles, Frank McGuire won their first title, and Bill Guthridge went to a Final Four.

Kansas has three titles, each by a different coach, plus final fours from other coaches as well.

It doesn't matter who has coached at those places - they succeed or are replaced (insert jokes about Billy Gillespie here).

Every KU coach since Phog Allen has been to a Final Four. Every single one. Every UNC coach since the 50's has as well, except Matt Doherty.

Same for every UK coach except Eddie Sutton and the aforementioned Gillespie.

I detailed UCLA above.

Add one more coach to Duke's history, and they have a similar story. Duke is close. They just need one more coach with that success rate.

Duke has Nike money behind them and that's going to continue even after Coach K retires. UCLA might be a fertile recruiting area, but a lot of that are prep schools whose kids are not truly local SoCal kids. Under Armour also doesn't have a huge grassroots presence yet so they don't have nearly as deep a talent pool.

If we're talking best jobs in 2021, shoe affiliation matters and Nike supporting Duke lifts them above UCLA being an Under Armour school.

@justanotherfan Duke has solid history pre Coach K with multiple Final Fours and title game appearances so Coach K didn't exactly build that program from scratch. Duke actually played in the title game in 1978 which was only 2 years before Coach K arrived.

Duke reached the Final Four in 1963, 1964, 1966, and 1978 including the 1964 and 1978 title games. So much like UCLA, their history is more than one coach.

@Woodrow said in 2021 Transfer Talk/List:

So we still are going to have a team next year that can’t shoot. I’m am shocked Bill did not go get a legit knockdown shooter.

Self probably thinks Ochai stays steady or gets better, Braun returns to form, Harris becomes more of a factor on offense, and Wilson improves a little bit and KU will be a much improved as a shooting team.

KU isn't that far from being a good shooting team. Ochai was at 38% and pretty consistent. Harris was 65% on his limited attempts this so there's potential for him to be a 40% guy with increased volume. Wilson getting north of 35% opens up some old school Self high-low action. Braun is the biggest X-factor for next season and if he gets back to the 40% neighborhood, then he once again becomes a very dangerous weapon for KU on offense.

Stanford held off Arizona by 1 to win the women's national championship. Aari McDonald wa smothered on the last possession and had to throw up a prayer shot that bounced off the backboard.

This is Stanford's first title in 29 years and 3rd overall.

Christian Bishop would be a weird fit on KU next season. He played the 5 at Creighton because they were a very small team, but his size lends itself more to being a 4 at KU. He also doesn't have great range so playing him next to Dave would look very similar to when Dave and Doke were on the floor together last year which didn't work at all.

I like his game a lot and think he was Creighton's second best player overall behind Zegarowski.
That said, I just don't see his game being a good fit on next year's team and I don't really see him wanting to go from being a 2 year starter to wanting to come off the bench.

@KirkIsMyHinrich said in 2021 Transfer Talk/List:

If Clemence plays, he'll probably be in that 8-10 minute range that first-year big men often are with Self. It would upset me if Lightfoot was getting minutes ahead of him. If we land another big (like Bishop) I think he might redshirt.

Clemence and Lightfoot do not play the same position and will have zero impact on each other's minutes.

Zach Clemence is going to be backing up Jalen Wilson this year at the 4 spot. The only scenario Clemence plays the 5 is a small ball line up with 5 shooters on the floor.

Cam Martin and Sydney Curry are the two guys looking to take Mitch's minutes next season with Cam Martin being the most likely at this point and Curry likely taking a redshirt to slim down and improve his quickness to eventually take over that spot when Dave leaves.

@Fightsongwriter said in So- with all these players coming and going, what is next years team gonna look like?:

@Texas-Hawk-10 Actually, last season. Neither Too or Dot will ever be an NBA starter. Dot may never play meaningful minutes.

Last season's team had two sure fire NBA players on the roster because both Doke and Dotson have played in the NBA this season. Regardless of whatever status either player reaches in the NBA doesn't change that Doke was a first round pick, and Dotson has appeared in multiple NBA games this season.

Who on the team this year is even a threat to make the NBA? Bryce Thompson is probably the answer, but he was injured for 1/3 of the season and has a lot of work to fix his game up. Ochai is probably the second best chance as a 3&D player, but I think the NBA has cooled on him quite a bit at this point due to his overall lack of NBA caliber skill.

KU genuinely lacked top end talent this season which is something that hasn't happened here in over 20 years. Only 2 players on the roster this season were top 50 recruits (Thompson and McCormack) whereas last season had 4 top 50 recruits in (Dotson, Doke, DeSousa, and Dave). KU's recruiting has dropped off big time with the NCAA investigation over Self's head. A borderline top 50 recruit is KU's top recruit this year. It wasn't that long ago a player of Clemence's caliber was the worst player in the class, not the best.

In the last 4 recruiting classes, KU has lost 6 players early to non NBA related reasons. Having that many misses takes a toll on a teams talent level.

@BShark said in 2021 Transfer Talk/List:

I would imagine Bill is going back to playing 2 bigs all the time with these moves. Zach needs a RS year imo, not sure Adams moves the needle. Taking some bridge guys does make sense if you want to be moving back to two bigs.

I will, however, be surprised if Bill doesn't add 2 PGs, he has already added one. Whether the second is TyTy or a transfer I do not know. TyTy would be my first preference after watching Geico Nationals but the Yesufu kid is nice.

Self's not going back to a traditional two big line up. The 4 spot for the better part of the last 12 seasons has been manned by a stretch 4. Thomas Robinson is the primary exception along with Dedric Lawson for half a season. KU will have 2 guys who fit that mold of a stretch 4 play almost all of the minutes at that position next season in Jalen Wilson and Zach Clemence. Clemence doesn't need a redshirt year because it wouldn't do him much good. He's a 4 and if Self tries playing him at the 5 spot in a regular line up, it will be an absolute disaster. Clemence can play the 5 in a small ball line up, but his game is not a 5's game.

The 5 spot next year is going to be crowded, but I think taking Cam Martin is a clear sign the staff plans on redshirting Sydney Curry next season so he can focus on slimming down so he's quick enough to guard post players when he enters the rotation in 2022-23.

Evan Manning is a GA at Gonzaga, Go Zags!

Guaranteed first time national champion this year.

Jalen Big Nuts Suggs!!!

@approxinfinity said in Today's Games Thread:

Wow bailed out on that one.

That was a charge. Timme was growing roots in that spot.

@jayballer67 said in Today's Games Thread:

Call me crazy - - - I'm still taking Baylor

Baylor used their A+ game tonight and Gonzaga is having their off night tonight. If Gonzaga holds on, they're going to beat Baylor by double digits.

Jalen Suggs is a stud.

@jayballer67 said in Today's Games Thread:

To think we was recruiting Juzang - - mercy - -Big time ice in those veins

Juzang would've been a bust here. Homesickness was a big part of why he flamed out at Kentucky and would've happened here too. Same deal with Grimes, homesickness was a big part of his issues at Kansas.

UCLA only 7 points short of their total from the E8 win over Michigan. This pace absolutely favors Gonzaga and UCLA is really going to have to muddy the game up in the second half to have a chance and play at a snail's pace.

Didn't think UCLA's offense was capable of scoring this many in a half against a good team.

I'm going to end up tied for 3rd this year.

@FarmerJayhawk How much of that talent that Jones played a large role in bringing to Lawrence stays if he's let go after a new coach is brought in and presumably starts bringing in his own coaches who don't have a relationship with the current players?

Bringing in a new coach after spring practice is not a smart decision to me because either the new head coach won't have a say in who's on his staff or he brings in his own staff making spring practice a complete waste and losing a bunch of players and recruits that haven't arrived yet.

@stoptheflop said in Spring Football:

@Texas-Hawk-10 Yes, I can tell the the Big 12 wants teams to schedule more competitive games with nonconference opponents. KState was forced to upgrade its nonconference schedule with USC a few years ago. But, what's wrong with getting out of previously scheduled games like CC and even Duke, then scheduling more competitve games for a rebuilding program? I think the entire Big 12 enjoys keeping Kansas as an easy win. KU likely plays more Big 12 teams' homecoming games than any other team. How can we rebuild if KU is winless every year?

KSU didn't schedule USC until after Snyder had been there for over a decade and those games were scheduled before Pete Carroll turned USC into the dominant USC of the 2000's that they were.

It's not just the B12 forcing teams to schedule P5 nonconference games, every P5 has that mandate now. TV viewership is the driving force behind that mandate because 30 years ago, there was maybe 5 games on during a weekend. Even when those KSU/USC games happened 20 years ago, there were maybe 10-12 games on during a weekend.

As far as KU scheduling a mandatory P5 opponent, who do you want Kansas to schedule? Duke was 2-9 last year and are a traditional bottom feeder like Kansas so who would you rather see KU schedule? All these P5 match ups for KU are going to be home and home games. KU has series with Duke, Illinois, Missouri, and Washington State lined up for the next 8 years. Other than Missouri, those are traditional bottom feeders in their conference so I don't know what else you think KU can do with their schedule.

KU does not have the money to cancel games just because a non P5 opponent unexpectedly becomes good plus it would be really bad PR for KU to back out of a game like that.

@stoptheflop said in Spring Football:

Weird, weird, weird. So, while KU football is starting spring practices and has its intrasquad game scheduled for May 1, our first opponent is playing conference games this spring. The Missouri Valley has its teams playing conference games right now. Our September 4 opponent, South Dakota has played 4 games starting February 27 and has several more to play. The good news is South Dakota is 1/4 with several games cancelled. I was looking at South Dakota football in hopes of seeing a vulnerable team for a possible W in 2021. But, SD is playing a freshman QB who will now have game experience when he plays KU on Sept 4. It just looks like SD will come to Lawrence better prepared to play than our poor team limping in with an interim head coach and many of our roster positions completely unsettled. Also, may we please fire the moron who keeps scheduling Coastal Carolina as a nonconference opponent. We need the nonconfernce schedule that KState used to build its program when Snyder started there.

The games FCS schools are playing now are the same games they would've been playing in the fall so there's not really an experience advantage.

Scheduling games now is not the same as it was 30 years ago. Games are scheduled years in advanced and KU scheduled the Coastal series when Coastal was transitioning to FBS and wasn't assumed to end up being a top Group of 5 program. There's also now only 3 non conference games instead of the 4-5 nonconference games Big 8 teams played 30 years ago, and also unlike 30 years ago, P5 teams have to schedule at least one other P5 opponent in their schedules. Snyder and KSU didn't have to worry about that stuff 30 years ago.

@Bosthawk I would probably say UNC is the best coaching job right now because of the affiliation with Nike and the Jordan brand. Kentucky would probably be 2nd best followed by Kansas 3rd, Duke 4th, and I'd probably put UCLA 5th.

@Kcmatt7 said in So- with all these players coming and going, what is next years team gonna look like?:

@mayjay so your argument is that he would play better next to better players even though he played next to better players before and it didn’t look good?

Dave was not the same player this season that he was last season. He was much improved this season, unless you think Bill Self is full of shit about that, but also played on the least talented Kansas team since the 98-99 team. When was the last time KU didn't have a surefire NBA player on the roster because that was the case this season?

Dave shot 127/213 over the last 18 games (60% of the season) which comes out 59.6% and there's little reason to believe Dave won't be in that same range again next season.

Arizona pulls off a huge upset in the Women's Final Four knocking off UConn 69-59. They will play Stanford on Sunday night for the national title.

Zona up 9 going into the 4th. Their defense has absolutely shut down Paige Bueckers and UConn tonight.

Arizona taking it to UConn in the Women's Final Four up 11 halfway through the 2nd quarter.

I'm going 10 with a 1st team and 2nd team.

1st team: Udoka Azubuike, Frank Mason, Devonte Graham, Thomas Robinson, Tyshawn Taylor

2nd team: Devon Dotson, Perry Ellis, Josh Jackson, Svi Mykhailiuk, Jeff Withey

Honorable Mention: Joel Embiid, Marcus Garrett, Elijah Johnson, Ben McLemore, Marcus Morris, Markeiff Morris, Kelly Oubre, Andrew Wiggins.

The honorable mention guys are mainly because they only played 1 season from the established window other than Garrett and Johnson.

That post isn't to say that Dave is better than everyone else on that list because he isn't. In a vacuum, the players that I believe Dave is better than, or at least equal to, are Darnell Jackson, Landen Lucas, Cheick Diallo, Jamari Traylor, Sasha Kaun and Chenowith. Those players also had far better supporting casts than Dave has and none of those players were tasked with being the go-to player on their team the way Dave was.

@Kcmatt7 said in So- with all these players coming and going, what is next years team gonna look like?:

@mayjay Who on that list would you NOT take over Dave? (With the caveat that you have to assume they too would have at least been here a 3rd season).

Maybe Chenowith and Kaun?

The game has changed so much since even 2008 when KU won the title that season let alone from the oldest player on that list from over 25 years ago so not really that recent. I will say this right now and stand by this statement, 2020-21 David McCormack would've been a starter if he was on that 2008 title team. Dave and Darnell Jackson are basically the same player. If you swap them and put Darnell Jackson on the team this season as the focal point of the offense instead of McCormack, their numbers and complaints against each player would be nearly identical. Don't even get me started on how much shit would thrown towards Sasha Kaun if he was on this team as the only legit big man.

Supporting cast matter and the only player on that list with a worst supporting cast than Dave had this season was Chenowith.

LaFrentz had Pierce, Vaughn, and Pollard. Collision had Golden and Hinrich. Simien had Miles and Langford. Arthur, Jackson, Wright, and Kaun had Chalmers, Rush, and Collins. Withey and Traylor had T-Rob next them most of their careers (I don't know why @KirkIsMyHinrich didn't put T-Rob on there because he'd be damn near the top of that list of players I'd take and I'm assuming his career FG% is pretty high). Embiid had Wiggins. Doke had Graham, Svi, and then Dotson. Cole had Collins and Morris twins. Lucas and Ellis had Mason. Alexander and Diallo weren't here long enough to develop although I believe Cliff would've become better overall than Dave, but I don't think Diallo ever would've developed into much offensively and probably been a defender and rebounder so hard to make an official call there as neither played all that much as freshmen. The twins had Cole, Collins, Tyshawn, T-Rob throughout their careers. Ostertag had Walters and Jordan and then Vaughn and Pollard.

Chenowith I agree is by far the worst player on that list because he had Collision, Golden and Hinrich the second half of his career, but Dave gets hurt because he lacks having NBA caliber players around him which basically everyone else had at least one. Who on KU right now is an NBA caliber player?

@Kcmatt7 Harris is better than a back up PG and KU doesn't have a better option right now than Harris at the position. The biggest hole in his game right now is turning the ball over too much. If he cleans that up, he will be the next great out of nowhere PG for Self.

@bennie said in Bill Self Emperor of Kansas:

@drgnslayr this is simply a marketing and recruiting tool. Kansas intentionally labeled it a lifetime contract to send a message to recruits. it is no more a lifetime contract than many other similar contracts given to coaches. kansas needs to send a message to recruits so they opted to call it a lifetime contract. that doesn't mean its any different than other contracts out in the market that no one ever bothered to call a lifetime contract. if bill self wants to leave he will leave. if ku wants to get rid of him in 5 years they can.

It is a recruiting tool, but that doesn't change that it is a lifetime contract. This contract will always be a 5 year contract because it does automatically add another year at the end of each season. If either party wants to terminate the deal for whatever reason, it's not going to be cheap for either party to do so unless Self is determined to be fired with cause.

@BShark said in So- with all these players coming and going, what is next years team gonna look like?:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in So- with all these players coming and going, what is next years team gonna look like?:

The second thing Harris needs to do is up his aggressive and look to score a lot more. Harris showed an ability to score and shoot very well. Harris can absolutely be a guy that be a 15-5 type player while shooting 40%+ from 3.

Strongly disagree unless that 40% on on low volume. His shots are wide open if he is guarded his numbers will be bad. I would love to be wrong about Harris but I don't see KU being any good if he is a major player.

KU's best teams have had a PG as one of, if not the leading scorer. KU's worst teams have been when a PG isn't much of a scoring threat. Harris has the ability to be a 15-5 player and needs to pushed into that role. His quickness and explosiveness is what can help him get his own shots from 3. Harris was 64% on his limited attempts this year. He's a very good shooter that needs to shoot more. It won't be hard to get Harris good looks next season. Set a screen or pick for Harris and if the defender goes under, shoot the three and if the defender goes through or switches, drive to the basket.

@RockkChalkk said in So- with all these players coming and going, what is next years team gonna look like?:

I'm predicting starters next year are:
Pettiford
Agbaji
Thompson
Wilson
McCormack

KU's in trouble next year if Pettiford is starting next season over Harris. There's a reason why Pettiford is ranked as low as he is and that's because he has a lot holes in his game at this point. He has the tools and foundation to develop into a very good PG. Freshmen PG's struggle in Self's system because there's a lot to it. Dotson absolutely struggled at times a a freshman and was much more prepared coming in than Pettiford is. Harris is entering his 3rd year in the program. Harris is much closer than Pettiford to being able to run Self's system.

Pettiford will be very good at KU, but his best role as a freshman will be backing up Harris.

@Kcmatt7 KU absolutely needs Dajuan Harris to improve big time in two areas for him to be able to play the starter level minutes he's probably going to play next season. The most important area by far is his decision making. Harris had a turnover rate of over 28% last year. That will not cut it next season with what's already shaping up to be a terrible defensive team.

The second thing Harris needs to do is up his aggressive and look to score a lot more. Harris showed an ability to score and shoot very well. Harris can absolutely be a guy that be a 15-5 type player while shooting 40%+ from 3.

The development of Dajuan Harris into an alpha type player and embracing that role is going to be the biggest factor in how good Kansas is next season.

@BShark I wasn't disagreeing with him. I was reinforcing his point.

@justanotherfan said in So- with all these players coming and going, what is next years team gonna look like?:

I am concerned about next year, to be honest. I think we are going in the wrong direction.

Jalen Wilson is most effective as a stretch 4 or a small ball 5, where he can use his quickness and ball handling against slower, bigger guys. When Self went away from that, Wilson's production fell. Moving him to the 3 would eliminate his MUA and he would be an average or so player at that spot.

KU needs more athleticism on the perimeter, not less. They need more versatility. I don't see that right now coming in. That's going to make next season very similar to this one. Maybe we have to go through these two seasons to clear out some of this, but I don't see things improving from this year right now.

Jalen Wilson is not now, not will he ever be a 3 at the college or NBA level. The man is simply not quick enough to play that position on either end of the floor. He'll, he routinely got abused by other 4's on defense and you think moving him to the 3 spot is going to help?

Defense is going to be KU's biggest problem next year as only Harris and Agbaji are above average defenders right now. Everyone else is somewhere between average and bad. Bryce Thompson has a chance to emerge as a good defender, but that remains to be seen if it'll happen. McCormack is below average because of his lack of quickness, same with Jalen Wilson. Mitch Lightfoot is the best interior defender, but his lack of size limits his effectiveness. Jalen Wilson and Christian Braun are liabilities on defense.

Out of the new people coming in, Pettis is the only one with the reputation of being a solid defender. Adams is in the same league as Wilson as far as athleticism which is below average and the HS competition he faced in Texas was crappy at best. Zach Clemence is Perry Ellis 2.0 which means shit defense with minimal rebounding ability for a kid his size. Sydney Curry has the potential, but he needs to take advantage of being able to redshirt and slim down so he can be quick enough to play either post spot. The big man we just got from Missouri Southern makes David McCormack look like Ochai Agbaji by comparison.

Next year is going to be better offensively, but will also likely be Self's worst defensive team ever at KU.

@BShark said in 2021 Transfer Talk/List:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in 2021 Transfer Talk/List:

KU has one spot open as of now. We've got a PG and a big man. The current focus has to be a starting caliber 2/3 that can shoot from deep so Braun can go back to a 6th man role that he's perfect for.

Tell that to the staff who is heavily prioritizing another PG with TyTy being the top choice.

Tyty can play off ball and probably would primarily play off ball under Self so he still fits the profile of what Self and staff are looking for.