This is obvious but one thing that could really help us tomorrow is getting off to a good start. Let UK know that they are in for a hell of a game early.
Speaking of starting...who is the 5th starter? If I am Self I start Graham. He had the best game of anyone on the team in his college debut. Seems like the real deal and better suited to start than Greene or Svi at this point.
@Crimsonorblue22 No, not this year. I live about 10 minutes from where we played Duke last year so that was an easy ticket. A couple friends I went with last year will be at the UK game so as far as I am concerned that is good luck.
I am really feeling a UK meltdown. How many years in a row can we talk about these idiots going undefeated?
Lots of great points above. Really fantastic stuff from HEM to get this thread started.
To me it is wonderful to read all of the things that need to happen to win / lose, etc. But it is simple. UK was down to Buffalo at half. Buffalo. Not Louisville, not North Carolina, not Duke. Not a good SEC team at their place. Buffalo. This team is beatable based on that alone. Think about the NCAA Tournament. Unbeatable teams lose every year and that is part of the fun.
I can't wait for Tuesday. I was in attendance last year for our victory over Duke and it was one of the top 5 nights of my life (don't tell my wife).
@JRyman Ha! Not my intention at all. I live in Chicago so I know exactly what you mean. As a KU fan every year is kind of "our year" so I apologize if that was taken the wrong way. Just saying I like the idea of possibly having a heavily Sophomore / Junior / Senior team.
RCJH.
@HighEliteMajor I have said it before and I totally agree with #7. I think next year is our year. Not to take anything away from our great squad we have this season but I don't think we are going to lose much from this team. Maybe Selden but at the moment Cliff (even with his big numbers against power house teams like ESU and Washburn) looks pretty raw and Oubre is yet to show off his projected lottery pick talent. Svi is of course back. Mason and Graham will be back. Greene will be back. Perry is a 4 year player. Jamari is a Senior along with Perry. It will be the oldest team we have had in awhile and obviously that is what Bill likes. Guys who have been in the system. The 08 team, the 2011-2012 teams. Those teams had veterans...as did 2013 which was a meltdown away from having a real chance at a Final 4 as we all know.
Enough about next year, though. We could have a real shot this year even with a UK team everyone is saying will run the table. I am a bit surprised that our own Larry Brown is saying that UK should go 40-0. Doesn't anyone learn from this bullshit after last years 40-0 t-shirts that had to be thrown away after they played 1 good team?
Rock Chalk.
@Kip_McSmithers Great post and thanks for trashing Cal. Always fun.
Cal does not develop players. He gets NBA ready talent to come to college for a year (two at max) and as you say he uses it to his best recruiting advantage. Coach Self seems to be getting more and more NBA ready talent in the last few years but he truly did get certain guys into the NBA and / or playing pro ball over seas. Jeff Withey would not be where he is without Bill. The Morris Twins, TRob, Darnell Jackson...hell, I think you can say Tarick Black even with only one year of Bill Self. Self has an incredible ability to develop players into NBA players and often into lottery picks.
@wrwlumpy Thanks for the stats. These say quite a bit. To me Greene is our biggest threat from deep and last year he hit 10 3's. Obviously he did not get that many minutes and would have hit a ton more if he didn't spend most of his time watching Wiggins play. It is scary, though. And I don't really believe Bill about giving guys the green light. At least not enough guys to spread the wealth. How many guys has he ever given the green light to?
2014 - Last year Wiggs seemed to be able to do no wrong and shot the ball quite a bit and seemed to have a green light.
2013 - B Mac had a green light. Did EJ? Probably. Releford to me was great from 3 but did not look like he had the go ahead from Bill to fire it up whenever he wanted.
2012 - Again, EJ probably had it. He certainly shot the ball a lot from deep. Not a great shooting team and we were able to play through Trob.
2011 - Great shooting team. Morningstar and Reed shot quite a bit from 3. Reed probably had the green light. The Twins shot plenty of 3's from the top of the key when wide open but that is one of the easiest shots in basketball so not sure if those count.
2010 - Sherron. Xavier did not in my opinion.
2009 - Sherron again.
2008 - Rush. Chalmers. That is probably it.
I guess my point is it is usually 1-2 guys who Bill allows to shoot the ball. I LOVE the idea of us shooting more 3's. It is the way the college game is going and it takes teams to the Final 4 every year...often teams who are Cinderella or at least lower seeds who surprise people by getting hot from deep. But this is Bill Self. He lives to put guys into the game and after they miss one shot they are back on the bench. Not questioning the winningest coach in college ball in the last 11 years but just saying this is not his style and I will be shocked if we really do end up shooting a huge amount of 3's this year.
I know that Bill is saying this based on the fact that we are smaller this year and we don't have a TRob, Morris Twin, Embiid type guy we can play through...but isn't it odd given the guys we have on the perimeter? Who on this team is really a dead eye from 3 other than Greene? Selden was very streaky last year. Mason and Graham are not known for their shooting. Oubre is streaky. I suppose if Svi gets big minutes he may be asked to put up a bunch of 3's.
We need to shoot more 3's. No doubt about it. It is insane that we were 270th in the nation or close to it last year. My only fear is that 2 of the guys I assumed last year that would be hoisting 3's this year are now gone.
@drgnslayr Love the post but you may be a bit ahead of yourself with the love for Cliff. He looked great but against practically a high school team in Washburn. To compare him to TRob's achievements his Junior year is a lot to ask. He was a candidate for National POY all year and if it wasn't for a freak like Anthony Davis he would have been POY. He was an All American who lead us to a National Title game. I will wait for Cliff to come close to that before I think any comparisons are even close.
How much do you guys read into the starting lineup from last night? I know it is super early and the starters will change a lot throughout the season but does it seem like these may be the starters for the UK game? That is only 2 weeks from today. Honestly, I know it is only one game and it was against Washburn but Cliff looked like a starter to me. I would like Jamari's hustle and energy as the first guy off the bench. That would be the one change I would make even after only watching one game.
@DanR I am hoping this is the lineup for UK as well. I'm convinced playing small ball against them is the only way to win. Let's just hope this group gives us enough of a threat from 3.
@HighEliteMajor I am totally with you that part of the fun of watching KU basketball (college ball in general) is seeing players develop over the years and go from the bench, to a contributor, to a star. We have been blessed to see this from Releford, Withey, EJ, Tyshawn, Morris Twins, TRob, etc. But I also agree that it is a conundrum. Can Self simply quit recruiting guys who are highly ranked? I don't think so. You play with the guys you have an you hope that they are the best players possible. The two best teams under Self (2008 and 2011 in my opinion) were packed with highly ranked high school recruits who just happened to stay around for 2-3 years. Chalmers, Rush, Collins, Shady, Morris Twins, T Rob. These guys were all very high recruits. Some of them even top 10 guys coming out of high school. I think these two teams were the perfect storm and it is what we have to hope for. Highly ranked guys with insane talent who take a year or two to develop and don't jump to the NBA right away. This is really what I was assuming Joel was going to be. A guy that by his sophomore or junior year would be great...not the #3 pick in the draft after 1 season. I am 100% convinced that is what we need. Guys like Greene, Oubre, Alexander, Ellis, Selden to all stay past year one. The OAD thing is tough to watch and UK has proved that it can be feast or famine. They are going to be great this year but if all 10 guys leave for the NBA it is going to be a tough year next year such as the NIT trip not so long ago.
This is the biggest disappointment for me ever regarding a kid leaving the program. Mostly because he is a home grown product and in the age of the OAD he appeared to be a 4 year player who would really make an impact this junior and senior years while striking fear in the hearts of our opponents with his unlimited range. I obviously can't comment on the exact reasons for his departure but it is odd that even his close friends Wayne and Perry were shocked by the news. Seems like if anyone knew it would be a close teammate who has a locker right next to you.
Really hate seeing this happen to another shooter as well. Losing CF and AW3 back to back makes me hope Greene and other pure shooters can get it done from 3.
This list is fun to look at since it is the off-season but it is pretty silly. I passionately hate Kentucky but how in the world are the Harrison twins so far down on the list? They were the reason that an up and down UK squad went all the way to the title game last year as an #8 seed. Are we talking about the best players in college basketball or the guys who are going to be highest in the NBA draft next year? The #1 guy on the list has never played in a college basketball game. That right there makes this list a joke. Why is Oubre so high on this list? We don't even know if he is going to be a starter. How many times do we have to see over-hyped Freshman not play up to their billing to realize that these lists give too much credit to High School seniors? Wiggins, Randle, Gordon and the rest of the "best freshman class of all time" were all good players but not the best players in the country for most if not the entire year. Rarely are these kids Durant, Melo, etc.
Sorry for the rant. Rock Chalk.
I read this morning on the "other KU site" that Bill says Frank is for sure the starter at PG. Am I reading too much into this or is anyone else really excited to hear Bill make a statement regarding PG? I know that he has also referenced Devonte being in the running for big minutes and that we could potentially play Wayne at the point, et cetera, et cetera. But to me this seems more legit than his "Wayne could play the 4" comments. It would be fantastic if we could have consistent play from Frank at the 1 spot from Day 1.
@jaybate-1.0 My hope is that Svi is the odd man out and that Greene and CF can battle it out for minutes. Seems like at Svi's age it would be great for him and KU if he can get a year in the system before we ask too much of him. Not sure that a red shirt would make sense for him though since there has already be discussion of him leaving for the NBA after 2 years. Do we really see anyone getting a redshirt? Could CF or Greene have an AW3 type sophomore year?
@KUSTEVE That game was so scary and I am with you that I had literally never even heard of the school before the tournament started.
I am not sure that I agree that our guard play has been terrible since 2008 with the exception of just the second half of 2012. The 2011 squad was pretty serious. Obviously the years that Sherron lead the team we looked pretty good. Yes, we lost in one of the biggest upsets ever to Northern Iowa but guard play was good enough to have us the #1 team in the country almost the entire year. Obviously last year was a weak year for guards and the year before EJ was forced to play out of position. He was a really great 2 guard...not a PG.
I am with you that Devonte is exciting. If him and Frank can both be pure PG's for the next 3 years while they are both on the roster we have great days ahead of us. I hope that by March Devonte and Frank are both firing on all cylinders. Judging from Bill's comments it looks like CF is going to be more in the 2 guard spot when he gets time at all.
I see a lot of comments about needing size at the PG spot due to the size of Kentucky. Are we going to play with Selden at the point against the preseason #1 team in the country? A guy who has never played point before and who is referenced in an article on the other KU site today as potentially even playing some 4 this year? I don't think so. I mean, it sounds great in theory but I just don't see any reason that CF/Mason/Graham can't bring up the ball against a team with size...including UK. They are going to have to learn how to do it some time.
Also, this is only one game and it is early in the year. Let's see what we can do with the guys who were recruited to play PG and will play PG 95% of the rest of the season. To me against this huge UK team I think speedy guards on offense will actually offset their huge size and then we should go zone on D. I know that wont' happen but if we are playing a team with this much size I think it is the thing to do.
@justanotherfan Also, I think Jamari is a lock for big minutes.
@justanotherfan All very good points. All true. No doubt about it. Honestly I am probably just hoping that we have some guys this year who can knock down 3's on a regular basis and it seems like Greene is one of those guys. Perhaps his D is not as elite as Oubre and Selden. To me our best teams (in my opinion 2008 and 2011) had a number of guys on the perimiter who could hit 3's. I hope that if Greene rides the pine this year that Selden, Oubre and whoever is playing PG can knock down shots.
I really hate the idea of Greene not seeing much action again this year. Any way that he is just in the dog house again? It seems like a guy who is 6'8 and can shoot should always see plenty of minutes, but what do I know.
@KUSTEVE I think you asked this on another thread in a response to something I posted. I think we could as Self has mentioned it as a possibility. I don't really like the idea that much personally. Selden is big and strong and that is great but he is not a pure PG. To me we need our best ball handlers at the 1 in this game and that should be Frank and CF and Graham.
It is true. 3-4 guys will be upset about their playing time this year at UK. What is scary is last years UK team proved it really does not matter. They did not have a great season, got a terrible seed in the tournament and then based on their overall talent and size they make it all the way to the National Title game. Talent and depth and a little luck is very frightening come March. Kentucky will be in the mix with or without team chemistry. It is just a horrible reality of playing with mostly guys between 6'5 and 7 feet tall that will all be in the NBA.
I'm so tired of hearing about Kentucky and college basketball hasn't even started! It is going to be a long season of listening to comments on their "10 NBA ready" player roster. All they can do is underachieve just like last year. They go to the title and that is still a disaster since it didn't go with their preseason 40-0 shirts.
@KUSTEVE Personally I don't think that Bill will change his starting lineup around for this game...or any other game for that matter. Bill is pretty set in his ways as we have all discussed.
With all of that, I think it may actually be an advantage to play smaller against this much bigger team. How many times has KU been the much taller team and had to watch quicker guards run all over us. It seems to happen at least a few times a year. The WVU game last year comes to mind. The VCU game comes to mind. UCONN beating UK in the title game last year as the much smaller much quicker team comes to mind. I say we put our best players on the floor at their appropriate positions and play one hell of a game. To beat UK we will have to hit a bunch of 3's. I hope CF and Greene see plenty of minutes...although they probably won't. They will probably come into the game, miss a couple of shots and then never seen the floor again.
This may be the first time all off-season that I have realized how little scoring we have coming back. Seeing the names of the "returners" on paper is a bit scary. I know we all think that guys who sat the bench last year like CF and Greene will come in and be studs (including myself) but it is a bit worrisome to think about how little true game experience there is from a lot of guys who will see minutes and be asked to score...freshman included. Obviously Ellis, Traylor, Selden and Mason have all been on the floor quite a bit but never in leading scoring roles. Ellis and Selden have proven that they are capable of scoring at times but also did plenty of disappearing acts last year. I hope that both guys are able to put up better numbers this coming year. We will need it.
@wissoxfan83 Regarding their killer instincts, yes I think they do. Obviously you don't. I am basing my thoughts on high school videos on Oubre and very limited play from Greene last year but that is what I see.
I totally agree. I anticipate Greene having a huge year and I think he starts at the 3 ahead of Oubre. He is a better shooter and has another year in the system and like Oubre has a killer instinct. They should be a great combo at SF all year no matter who starts and who comes off the bench.
Just saw this on ESPN.
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/100074/who-will-play-point-guard-for-kansas ↗ ↗
It is funny that nationally our PG play is being talked about as suspect. I personally could not be more excited to have the 3 headed monster we are going to have. We have beat the PG issue to death since last season but I suppose it is due to our lack of leadership at the position the last couple of years. Not to say our guard play will be as good as it was in 2008 this season but I am really looking forward to multiple guys playing the position as they did during our championship run.
I wish I could just be basketball season!!
@jaybate-1.0 I am ok with our lack of height this year. I know that we had Sasha coming of of the bench in 2008 but for the most part that was a pretty small team in the post and things worked out ok. Hey, look at UCONN last year. That team did not start anyone over 6'9 and their two starting guards were both as small as they come at an elite level.
Jamari and Cliff can play bigger than they are and Lucas and Mickelson are nice big bodies to have coming off of the bench. As Coach Self points out our perimeter is going to have to be the strength of our team this year. Wouldn't most of you say the last team we had that was stacked on the perimeter was 2008?
@JayHawkFanToo I hate Coach Cal. He is a conceited, arrogant blow hard and I hate that he is in the spot light all the time and he is probably my least favorite coach in all of sports. Let's just get that out of the way. But is he really a cheater who gives benefits and money to kids? I kind of doubt it. Or to say it another way, does he commit crimes that no one else at the highest level in college basketball does? I seriously doubt it. The way that every high level team lands the cream of the crop recruits is a dirty business. I just think Coach Cal tells these high level recruits what they want to hear. "You are going to pay for a major program, you are going to be on TV every game, you are going to go to the NBA if you come here and play. Look at the kids I have put in the league...Rose, Davis, Wall, et cetera". This seems to be working for him. Again, I can't stand him and UK is number one on my list of teams I hate but I think the "Cal is a cheater" comments are a bit old and we just have to accept that while he is at UK they are going to get a large amount of McD's players and we have to be ready to meet the challenge.
@Statmachine I expect both Mason and CF to make big leaps this year. They are a great pair as their best attributes are much different. Mason is obviously an incredible athlete who can get into the lane and hopefully he will have improved on his ability to pass and not shoot as much as he did last year. CF is a pure shooter who just needs enough time on the court to get hot. If no one else has said this on here yet, you heard it here first...CF is going to have multiple games this year where he hits 5-7 3's in a game. The guy is automatic but just needs to be lose and in the flow of the game. There is nothing harder than a shooter coming in cold off the bench and being asked to knock down shots.
@HighEliteMajor Fully agree on CF / Mason. I think together they are a far better tool than Tharpe was last season.
As far as our perimeter being the best in the country I guess I'll believe it when I see it. Wayne is the only member of the perimeter that has had any huge performances at the college level. Mason and CF were solid at times last year and Greene has shown us what he can do. Oubre was obviously a stud in high school as was Graham and Svee. I just can't get too excited until I see these guys go out and put up 15-20 in a real game against serious Div. 1 defense.
To me this upcoming season reminds me a bit of our 2006-2007 squad. We have a number of highly touted sophomores who may or may not be ready to get over the hump and put us into the Final 4. The 2006/7 team that lost to UCLA was an incredibly tough team to watch lose but the entire season I thought that we were a year away from something really special. B Rush getting injured over the summer ended up being the main ingredient for 2008 but a number of other things factored in. Sherron was a year older and wiser...as were Chalmers and Shady. Russ Rob and Sasha were very battle tested and the early departure of Julian Wright allowed for Darnell to have a career year as a senior. Personally I don't think we win the championship with Wright. He was too up and down and what that team needed was a steady force like Darnell.
The reason I bring this up other than slow sports news day is I see some similarities for next year. We are going to have a huge Junior class whether or not Wayne stays. We are going to have multiple seniors and Perry and Jamari will be playing their hearts out. We are going to have at least Oubre or Alexander back (just my opinion). This looks like a ferocious lineup as yet again this year I consider us pretty young. In our starting lineup we are going to have an unproven PG no matter who gets the start. We are going to have an unproven 3 and probably an unproven 5. Our bench is more or less completely unproven with the exception of Jamari. They are all possibly waiting for breakout years but not a lot of actual positive results in real games from anyone else off the bench.
Those are my reasons for thinking we may still be a year away from cutting down the nets as we did in 2008. I'd love to be wrong and do it next April.
To me this guy sounds like a great project and I know I have said this before but rankings are not everything. They are typically a great measure but a lot of recent All Americans have been unranked or around or above 100...Shabaz Napier, Trey Burke, Russ Smith, McBuckets, etc.
I have high hopes that the 2 most improved players will be Mason and CF and that this will be our first year in a few years with consistent play from the PG positions. I expect CF to get more minutes which means more confidence which means more 3's going in the basket. I expect Mason to play more under control and to have a better shot which will make his defender more honest.
I like the optimism about his growth and potential. I really do. But it seems like a lot of people reference growing a couple of inches during your senior year of high school / freshman year of college as "like Anthony Davis". Lots of kids get late growth spurts and sometimes it actually makes them more awkward and forces them to play a position they are not used to. Anthony Davis was a once in a decade talent. I hope that this kid is even remotely close to the impact that Davis had on college hoops. Especially since we have him for 2 years.
@FarSideHawk I'm obviously biased but I thought he would be top 3. I suppose the top 6 guys are pretty interchangeable....Self, Coach K, Cal, Izzo, Pitino, Donovan. Hard to go wrong with any of those guys (although Cal is obviously the biggest sleezeball).
I have posted this before but I don't see anyone but Jabari Parker going #1 now that Jo Jo is hurt. He is the most NBA ready player in the draft.
Wiggs will go #2 and I predict that Jo Jo will be gone before the #6-7 spots that sound exciting since they are the Celtics and Lakers.
I disagree that Randle is top draft pick level NBA player. I think he was a great college player but will be exposed in the NBA as he won't be able to bully people.
No idea where Dante Exum will go. I see he may go #3. I can't say I've seen him play more than once.
@icthawkfan316 The part about Perry Ellis transferring to another program to play the 3 is a joke, right?
I agree that Cliff is about a 50% chance or higher for leaving although without even seeing a game I think he should stay. He does not have polished post moves, does not have a reliable 15 ft jumper and could use a ton of reps against guys who are as athletic as he is unlike High School.
I love Mickelson. Can't even say why. I hope he turns into a stud next year.
@drgnslayr I don't think it will happen personally as I think Jabari will now go #1 but I do like the idea of Wiggins playing for Cleveland. The Cavs have had a number of busts with draft picks (most notably last year) so that is why I think they will pick Parker. He is the most NBA ready of the "Big 3" and will produce right away. Wiggins is still a bit unpolished on offense but as we all know he is a freak of nature and is a good 3 point shot away from being a serious All Star level NBA player. It is also interesting to think of Wiggs potentially getting Lebron to come back to Cleveland to play with the player with one of the highest ceilings since Lebron came into the league.
I predict it goes 1. Parker 2. Wiggins 3. Jo Jo. I know a lot of people are saying that Dante Exum may jump into the 3 spot but I can't see Philadelphia passing on Embiid if he is still available. He is worth the gamble.
@Crimsonorblue22 Agree to disagree. I think Wayne will be a huge part of the offense including bringing up the ball on occasion when Mason or CF don't. This is Wayne's team.
@ralster Very glad to hear that these guys look hungry. Selden, Mason and Traylor are certainly gritty and tough kids and Greene and Oubre seem to similarly wired.
I really like the idea of Selden sharing some of the PG duties with Mason / CF / Graham / Svee...or whoever ends up getting those minutes. I know we need a guy late in the game who feels comfortable bringing the ball up the court but it may not be a bad thing if that person is Selden. Deandre Kane did not exactly look like the prototypical guy to bring up the ball for ISU last year but it worked out ok.
@HighEliteMajor Did you go to the scrimmage? If so, what else did you notice? I know we can't take much away from these but very curious.
For me the biggest disappointments as far as entire seasons go are 2003 (Cuse loss) 2011 (VCU loss) and 2013 (Michigan loss). My reason is simple. Those were teams full of incredible talent and / or lots of upperclassmen and each year we were in a great position to win it all even though we lost at different point of the tourney each year.
Unfortunately EJ and the Morris twins are easy to be mad at. EJ punching a guy in the nuts is probably why karma came back to bite us when we blew our huge lead. The Morris twins supposedly fired up the entire VCU squad by talking tons of shit before the game. I'm sure I have other players I am mad at but those are specific examples. That said, EJ and the Morris twins were both huge parts of our teams and I loved watching them play with the exception of those bad decisions.
Cliff is a beast and is going to be a fantastic KU player at some point but I don't know that he will put up Julius Randle type stats this year. Randle rolled out of bed this year with a double double. That is going to be tough to equal for Cliff. He is more raw offensively than some of the posts above suggest. Dunking on kids in high school is not going to translate. He is a big, strong, tough kid with an attitude and I am incredibly excited for him to be at KU but he is a year away from being a stud. I hope that like T Rob (unlike Jo Jo) we get to see him mature into a great post player while still at KU.
I hope to see a great deal of Greene this year. I personally think he is the real deal and is a future NBA player.
I also feel that Traylor is a solid contributor who will get plenty of minutes this year. He improves every year and we saw large improvements even within the season last year. To me he is the first "big" off the bench for Ellis and Alexander without any question. He is proven as a guy who can block shots and is a superior athlete to Mickleson and Lucas even though he gives up size.
@KansasComet Great post. I especially like the second paragraph. It is good to keep in mind that KU has been to the Finals twice just in the last 6 years and that we are a top 10 team in contention year in and year out. RCJH.
Frank Mason is a tough kid with a chip on his shoulder. We need as many guys with this mindset on the team as we can. Selden showed last year that he can step up and be a leader. Supposedly Alexander and Oubre really get after it and show grit on the court...just like Mason. To me Mason is not only not going to RS...he is going to start. This summer gives him an opportunity to get more confidence on his shot (which Bill Self says is much better in practice than in games) and to tighten up his ball handling skills.
This is Fran Fraschilla's take on ESPN "Insider". Fran is the International expert as you all know. I'm not sure that what he says means he will be an instant starter or anything but obviously he has a lot of tools. I'm shocked at how young he is.
Kansas has added one of the best young players in Europe to its 2014-2015 roster. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (pronounced ME-kuy-luke), a 6-foot-6, 16-year-old Ukrainian guard, signed with the Jayhawks today after considering scholarship offers, initially, from Virginia, Oregon and Iowa State.
Mykhailiuk, who averaged 25 points and eight rebounds at the 2013 European Under-16 B Division Championship last summer and was named to the all-tournament team, recently played in the Nike Hoop Summit. His minutes were limited as he arrived in Portland, Oregon, as a late addition to the World Team, but his appearance made him the youngest player to ever compete in the game.
It was during the practice sessions leading up to the Hoop Summit game where Mykhailiuk really shined. He shouldn’t be characterized as a point guard or shooting guard because he is multiskilled and can play either position, and he showed that during the World Team practices.
Mykhailiuk is an outstanding shooter with range, though he struggled in the Under-16 tournament, making only 28 percent of his 3-point attempts. He did, however, make 77 percent of his free throw attempts. He handles the ball well for his size and has a better than average feel for the game as a playmaker.
Though he will turn only 17 years old in June, Mykhailiuk is well put together physically for a young player. This past season, he played for the Cherkasy Monkeys of the Ukrainian Superleague. His teammates included Americans Ronald Moore (Siena) and Jamal Boykin (California). While the level of play in Ukraine is not the best in Europe, it is a very physical league. That will make his adjustment to the college game even easier.
Mykhailiuk’s transition to college should be relatively smooth because he has already mastered the language barrier. Both of his parents are educators, and his English is certainly above average for a Ukrainian teenager.
Initially, I see Bill Self using Mykhailiuk off the ball where he won’t have the pressure of running a team. As he grows more comfortable in the Kansas system, he will be entrusted to have the ball in his hands more. I believe that if he were playing in the United States as a high school junior, he would be rated among the top 10 players in the Class of 2015.
Interestingly, when Self visited with Mykhailiuk and his family after the Hoop Summit, he discussed with them the great Kansas basketball tradition. While they were impressed, the biggest impression was made when they discovered that Self had coached Russian Sasha Kaun during his four years at Kansas. Kaun is now starring for CSKA Moscow, one of the top clubs in Europe. It is too early to tell about Mykhailiuk’s NBA future, but like Kaun, at a minimum, he should have a very good European professional career.