I expect Furphy to go second half of the first round or first half of the second round unless something magical happens at the combine / tryouts.

Self shutting down McCullar? Man, it seems like we're living in a reverse-occams-razor world.

The least likely possibility should not be the one to assume is correct.
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On the topic of McCullar, he was most certainly more impactful to the program than Furphy. He was here two years. His stats don't lie.

When he was out of the game, the team struggled. His absence certainly impacted the team.

There's plenty of precedent for Self starting more experienced players and finishing with someone else. Russ Rob comes to mind but I think there have been others through the years.

@approxinfinity said in You know it's a big day:

@dylans the team sucked and furphy was a bright spot. Your criticism could be said about wiggins and embiid as well, had they not gone on to nba success. Maybe his success contributed in part to the guys we pulled this offseason, as he is proof that a player can come in and in one season improve their stock dramatically.

I’m glad we had Furphy and he made the season much more watchable for me.

Amen. The kid hit critical 3s and ran the floor like a gazelle. He had some pretty explosive dunks.

I shudder to think of last season without Furphy, considering how things played out: Morris out, Elmarko struggles, Kevin gets hurt, etc.

Seriously, I'm not sure we make the tournament last year without Furphy.

@BeddieKU23 Well, that's disappointing.

Aw, shucks.

He would have been great as a sophomore. What a pickup though in, what was it, July? Just amazing. Hope he does well in the league.

@nuleafjhawk said in Portal/transfer , now THIS would P - - - me off if true.:

@bskeet the theater of High Sarcasm.

Lol. Well said.

What theater are you going to that has cheap concessions???

Just curious why Acuff would feel the need to post that to the whole world if things were buttoned up. Smells like a counter-offer is on the table.

I'm wondering if he's asking for more than any freshman has ever been given... leaving the staff to contemplate the implications of putting so much stock in an unproven player (at this level).

It's one thing to put a high 6-figure package together for a transfer whose performance has been validated with stats against at least Div1 or even P1 competition.. Seems harder to make the case for a player out of high school, no matter how high you (or others) are on the guy.

Grady or Wiggins (worth it) + Selby or Alexander (not) = risk.

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in 2024 Portal Madness Thread:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in 2024 Portal Madness Thread:

Ugh.

The NCAA will no longer limit the amount of times that athletes can transfer schools. Previously, athletes were allowed to transfer one time and play immediately, but they had to sit out a full year if they transferred schools a second time without a waiver. The two transfer windows are still in place with the new ruling, and players can’t transfer schools in the middle of the year and play for their new school in the same season.

The caveat to the unlimited transfer rule is players must be in good academic standing in order to not sit out after that first transfer.

Actually, that's a reasonable rule because it treats the student-athlete like their peer students. A student in good standing can transfer to another school without any penalty. If the athlete is taking their student status seriously, they should have the ability to move from school to school like other students.

It certainly has implications for the game. But I have a feeling that the frenzy we are going through currently will settle down a bit in the coming years as the basketball community comes to better understand the positives and negatives that come with transferring.

Right now, it's a big unknown so there's unbridled experimentation.

Hmmm

Notcommitted??

@Texas-Hawk-10 Wow. I had not heard that. Loss for basketball.

Isn’t UConn at Stores on the sched too?

Am I the only one that heard Hurley drop hints in the post-game interview that he was leaving (going to Kentucky)?

@dylans He did, but to his defense, he got hammered more than most guys and rarely got a call.

That said, the game has certainly evolved and the amount of contact allowed seems to be higher than ever.

So he probably was thinking "hey, that was a foul" and it probably was... last year. Not this year.

There have been quite a few games in the tourney where I've been stunned with the physicality. I guess it's time for players and fans like me to adjust.

The pool of teams I will root for is getting very thin and the pool of teams I actively root against is swelling. UGH.

My bracket is so busted after the last two days.

Man, NC State and KU are like antonyms this year. While we are crashing the last 8 games of the season, they've won 5 straight in the ACC tourney and 2 more in the NCAA Tourney.

Talk about peaking at the end of the season. It's like 1983 all over again.

What happened to the lineman who had the most penalties in the league? Can't recall his name, even though they called out his name enough on all those flags.

I will be absolutely shocked if Iowa State loses to Washington State. Frankly, I expected them to blow WSU out. That is not happening unless ISU pulls a KU second half.

@AsadZ said in Other bball games:

KU Women came from behind and won in OT.

Big Win for KU Women.

The board now shifts to focus on a Lady Jayhawks' dream run... They will have to be the giant-killers on Monday.

That is.... true.

in short, we shot exceptionally well in the first half and exceptionally poorly in the second half.

Gonzaga shot consistently well throughout the game.

Shame on our defense. But even with great D, not sure we could win given our abysmal shooting.

Did we make any adjustments at halftime?

@kjayhawks said in Zigging the Zags:

@bskeet wish we could get a steak like that going

We’ve got the record streak for consecutive tourney appearances. A different but equally valid metric for excellence.

Glad we won one game. In the tourney.

First half had my hopes up.

Second half was an embarrassment. But Gonzaga has their Sweet 16 streak alive.

Good lord. Self going with the bench to finish the game.

Not thrilled with the no calls when our guards are knocked and thrown to the ground.

Epic collapse only redeemable with an epic comeback.

Bloodletting has begun

Wow.

Timberlake has looked locked in. We should be working to get him open looks and pounding the ball into the paint.

They seem to be willing to let Johnny shoot threes

KU: let’s settle for jump shots

Gonzaga: let’s get layups.

Dug a hole pretty quickly.

Hunter with 2 treys in the first half. Impressive.

Still, I kinda hope he lives at the rim in the second half.

Self: “We’ll tighten it up in the second half”

Comforting words.

Will be interesting to see what Few does. Sprinkle some Junk D?

Can we put two exceptional halves together?

Need ElMarko to play just a bit better. Nick is starting to fit into the unit and contributing. And let’s face it, this is his time — facing a big time mid major.

Boys are playing with a lot of heart.

Second half chess match will be interesting.

@Texas-Hawk-10 is that realistic? Would he want that job over UConn? Something makes me think he is cemented in Stores.

Let’s hope Parker Braun can share some valuable intel and provides a vital advantage from his experience playing against Gonzaga while at Santa Clara in the WCC.

Here we go. The games have already started in Salt Lake City while the cheerios are still in the breakfast bowl.

Thinking about this a bit more… there might be another explanation for the giving the western sites the early games. Maybe all the staff and operations people are based on the eastern time zone and they know they lose two or three hours flying back, so the NCAA does this so they can get home at a more convenient time or to reduce/avoid overtime pay and lodging costs.

If that’s the case, it’s a financial reason. I don’t like it because it seems selfish and prioritizes the organization over the players and the game. Actually that would be very consistent with the NCAA principles.

Officiating has been suspect. That Grand Canyon game was exceedingly one-sided. Then there’s the seeding and matchups. The optics make it hard not to believe the NCAA has some agenda.

I mean, can anyone explain why they schedule the early game to start in the western-most site? Today’s games start in Salt Lake City. Makes no sense at all.

They did it years ago when the games were in San Jose. I remember grabbing breakfast and running out the house to get to the games. There was still morning rush hour traffic. I live 12 min from the Shark Tank and I missed opening tip. Arena was empty.

Utter incompetence? Or by design?

I was hoping for Samsung puns... Oh well.

Scott Drew to UK would not surprise me.

About half of the games today have been supremely entertaining and competitive. The stinkers have been blowouts, but they are important to note because the teams that win in a blowout are often the teams that go deep.

That spread for the Zags is fine.

The NCAA committee threw kryptonite at us tonight and we survived.

We are playing with house money from here on out.

:exploding_head:

@patoh3 Your blood pressure is better for that internet outage. Not sure I would want to watch that game again.