🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@BShark said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@BShark said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@AsadZ said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@BShark He is 26 years old.

Right, it's pretty crazy that he has eligbility left. Modern times I suppose.

@rockchalkjayhawk I would be rather surprised if that spot was filled. Only so much $ and playing time.

Yea on that roster spot? Seems weird for a major program like Kansas to not have a full roster of players. Times are changing i suppose.

It is also more than it used to be now. 15 instead of 13. Admittedly it was always a big bigger with walk-ons. The last spots now are essentially walk-ons. Finding cheap players in this era will be important.

Well for this year at least, we still have some “walk-ons.”

@BShark said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@AsadZ said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@BShark He is 26 years old.

Right, it's pretty crazy that he has eligbility left. Modern times I suppose.

@rockchalkjayhawk I would be rather surprised if that spot was filled. Only so much $ and playing time.

Yea on that roster spot? Seems weird for a major program like Kansas to not have a full roster of players. Times are changing i suppose.

@dylans said in TV shows:

@approxinfinity I’m enjoying the last of us. Pedro Pascal is in fantastic 4 too…oh boy, is it bad though.

I think I watched the first season of the last of us. At the time I was totally burned out on post-apocalyptic dramas, so I stopped watching.

@approxinfinity said in TV shows:

Prob stuff youve seen: hacks season 1, chernobyl, the wire, the last of us, the pitt

The Wire may be my all time fav show.

Chernobyl and the Pitt I haven’t tried. Thx!

Well, I rebooted the HBOmax subscription.

Anybody have any faves other than White Lotus?

@TYOHawk said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in KU Roster for 25-26:

One roster spot to go. Will we fill it?

Would love a wing in that spot.

Yea looking at the roster we do seem thin with experience at the SF spot?

Anybody have the scoop on Jaden Nickens? Will he play both football and basketball?

Updated.

May as well look ahead to see what’s in store for next season.

I’ll try to keep track of the offseason drama here. I’ll keep this mostly official, so no portal projections here.

Roster size: 14 (includes ALL but DSA players. Normally it’s 15, but we lost one to NCAA sanctions)

Roster size at the moment: 13 (a bit sketchy given the DSA rules)

RETURNEES (4)

G Elmarko Jackson

G/F Jamari McDowell

PF Bryson Tiller

C Flory Bidunga

RETURNING WALK ONS? (3 – and potential “designated student athletes”)

G Wilder Evers

G Will Thengvall

F Justin Cross

IMCOMING FRESHMEN (5)

G Darryn Peterson

F Samis Calderon

G Corbin Allen – Oak Park High School

SG Kohl Rosario

C Paul Mbiya — not sure what year he is

PORTAL ADDITIONS (4)

G Jayden Dawson via Loyola Chicago. One year of eligibility left.

G/F Tre White via Illinois – previous stops at Louisville, USC. One year of eligibility left.

G Melvin Council Jr. via St. Bonaventure – previous stop at Wagner. One year of eligibility left.

PG Nginyu Ngala via Canada. he’s like 28 years old! Likely a senior.

BIG QUESTION MARK (1)

SF Jaden Nickens – A football player who may play hoops. May have to count against the roster before the season begins.

HAVE ENTERED PORTAL (6 —Bidunga initially entered, but will return)

G/F AJ Storr – signed with Ole Miss

G/F Rylan Griffen — signed with Texas AM

G/F Rakease Passmore — signed with Maryland

PF/C Zach Clemence – signed with Texas A&M

G David Coit – signed with Maryland

G Noah Shelby

One roster spot to go. Will we fill it?

Updated the roster at the top after adding the 45 year old Canadian point guard!

@Kcmatt7 said in Bill Self back in the hospital 😳:

Let’s just hope he can do a victory lap this year. But I don’t want to see the guy die on the sidelines here.

He’s somehow arguably the most successful coach in KU Basketball history. No shame in walking away at this point.

💯

I think the serious question is how the hell did the medical professionals not see this potential issue when he had his previous episode? Surely they did scans and tests for blockage? Shaking my head right now.

Hard pass on soon to be 27 year olds!

What the hell is happening with college sports?!

Ugh. Poor Bill. Head to the coast, man. Chill on your boat. Take it easy. The last thing anybody wants to happen is a mid game issue like this.

Hate to see him suffering.

I thought Big Dave played well, with some spunk.

I still don’t understand why we let the guards dribble off their knees so much instead of using a post up game. Such a size advantage.

@Crimsonorblue22 yea, that was u-g-l-y.

Mayo looks sooooo bad.

And now Karlaftis gets a big bag!

Four year deal for $93? million for him.

Who's next?

Ha. Mayo did get himself into some trouble. Sloppy.

With such a huge size advantage, i'm surprised they didn't really post up inside more. Maybe they figured they could easily rebound any misses.

Not quite summer league, but anybody watch the JHX team last night in the TBT tourney?

They won their first game. It ain’t pretty hoops though.

Billy Preston was both the best and worst player on the floor (scoring and turnover machine).

So if you wanna see some old Jayhawks, check it out. It’s on the YouTubes.

Looks like the Chiefs have all their draft rookies locked up with contracts.
Let the camp battles begin!

@approxinfinity said in Had to put two pet rats down:

One a couple months ago, the other just now. They both had massive tumors. Apparently its almost inevitable with female rats. Cancer is a bitch, but more of a bitch for rats.

RIP Opal and Lily

Ahh, bummer.

But pets rats? Gotta be a story there.

Poor Tony LaRussa. He's had some great runs with multiple teams for sure. He's beloved in the Bay Area for his success (mostly) with the A's, and for his animal foundation as well. Maybe a string of bad luck being hired by ding-a-ling owners.

@BeddieKU23 said in TV shows:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in TV shows:

So I finished Yellowstone. What an embarrassing end to the show with no Costner. Somebody messed that up big time.

Are you familiar at all with the drama that happened prior to the final episodes being released? That also took over 1 year before the final episodes were released. It is what it is and not an uncommon theme for tv shows that get so big and have such following for the wheels to fall off towards the end.

I was not familiar at all until after i watched the final season. Did some binge watching, and really hadn't paid attention to the show at all previously. My jaw dropped at the Costner-less nature of the final shows, and i poked around after.

The wheels totally fell off. Just crazy how they let that happen.

Hmmm, is Tony LaRussa the common denominator? :)

As a guy who lives in the Bay Area, and has been to countless A’s games…

Fans absolutely detest ownership, with a passion. Dude is so cheap. Cheap isn’t even the word. So, they protest by not attending. I mean, they hate John Fisher so much they wear “Sell” T-shirts en masse. Their payroll is consistently near the bottom of the league.

They hold parking lot protests screaming for Fisher to sell.

They grow good players, then sell good players before they have to pay them. Sooo many fan favorites have been sent packing.

Plus their stadium is a giant, urine stained pit in bad area of Oakland, which is a giant, urine stained violent crime waiting to happen. Well, their old stadium. I’m sure you’re aware they now play in Sacramento, in a minor league stadium.

So I finished Yellowstone. What an embarrassing end to the show with no Costner. Somebody messed that up big time.

@bskeet said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@rockchalkjayhawk I don't know how much it would be, but whatever the amount, it would be etched in stone.

🤣

That sounds about right, @approxinfinity

@approxinfinity said in Generic soccer thread:

@BShark i think awful is harsh for Agyemang. Hustle is there, hes just too large. I find myself wishing his bones were shorter so his feet could contact the ball where it needs to be contacted.

Yea, he seems awkward for sure. Maybe has more straight line speed with those legs than the quickness needed in tight space.

I’ll have to read more about him. Saw something briefly about Poch being forced to play him for silly off field reasons.

@dylans said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@rockchalkjayhawk A miracle occurred; Moses parted the waters that Shelby could arrive, but then Noah fled on his boat.

Ha!

What kind of NIL package would Moses ask for?

Sounds like Noah Shelby has entered the portal.

So, he was truly a designated student athlete.

** Roster above updated.

Well damn, lost to El Tri in the Gold Cup final today.
Other than the very beautiful set piece goal we scored, it wasn’t exactly pretty today.
Mostly dominated by a superior Mexican side. That was expected with the experience on each roster I suppose.

The more I watched some of the young guys over the last few weeks, the more I learned some of their strengths and weaknesses.

Luna: he’s feisty. He’s got some good skills. He seems a bit sloppy with the ball at times. I like him though. A good substitute.

Agyemang: I’ve seen enough of him. Forever. I see no skills at all. He seems slow as well.

Freese (gk): he seems acceptable. He had a few shaky moments, but grew in confidence as the Cup progressed. Made some nice saves.

Outside backs Freeman and Arfsten: Arfsten had a few nice shots on goal. He made some sweet moves on the wing while attacking. I expect a bit more athleticism out of Freeman given his pop’s pedigree. Neither was a defensive standout.

Our defense seemed vulnerable In general.

Credit to Richards for that brilliant free kick header for a goal. Nice.

Not a new guy, but … Tyler Adams: did he even play this tournament? Yes sadly is the answer. Invisible man until his nasty yellow card.

Berhalter: I was skeptical at first, but he truly has great crossing and free kick skills.

Think that’s the first guaranteed deal?
All the stories I’m reading so far are vague, but making it sound like it’s a large deal, but not the first fully guaranteed.

The deal is believed to be one of the largest fully guaranteed revenue-share agreements in college football history under the recently approved federal settlement that allows college programs to pay their athletes directly

@BShark said in Generic soccer thread:

Wow, Diego Luna is on some kind of run right now.

Jesus, what a game!

@wissox said in My memorable moments:

I always sat behind the basket in AFH. If we got there 2 hours early the seats were always empty, right on the floor.

Well, we must have run into each other at some point, @wissox .
I tried to sit in the last row behind the basket every game. It was remarkably easy in the 80s! :)

@DCHawker said in KU Roster for 25-26:

While we should have a very competitive roster, the question is whether it is one that can compete for the B12 title, let along a NC? Championship teams have multiple NBA-level players. Based on ESPN's (way too early) mock draft, we have only 2 on the board for 2026 - DP at 1 and Flory at 56 (30+ spots below Ejiofor)...Duke has two in the top 10 (including Sarr) and four in the top 16 (of course, they did this year, as well).

Lots of us have been KU basketball fans for many decades. Until recently, it was pretty easy in the preseason to gauge how good or not so good we’d be. We’d have returning four year players, with a few exciting recruits to mix in. So, we’d be dealing in known quantities. Ha, times have changed! :)

Anyway, most of these players I at least have no clue about. I can’t say I’ve ever watched St. Bonaventure intentionally.

Add to that the two guys coming off injury who we hope are big contributors, and even more question marks.

My big concerns on paper are rebounding and 3 pt shooting.

So we seem to have some experienced guys, but I’ll reserve judgment til the fall when we see em on the court.

@FarmerJayhawk said in The portal.:

@rockchalkjayhawk post-House there is a hard cap we have in terms of RevShare. That money is spent. Now, if there are donors willing to pony up for NIL for a guy (subject to getting through Deloitte’s clearinghouse) that’s a different deal but KUAD is tapped.

Ahh, gotcha. So RevShare is that $20 million cap that schools have for all sports?

@FarmerJayhawk said in The portal.:

Yeah any other additions would be walk on types. Revshare is tapped.

Not sure what’s believable about our cash on hand anymore, Mr Farmer. We heard the same thing before we signed Rosario and the big guy whose name I forget how to spell.

If this is Self’s last run, make it count.

We seem to have a decent mix of older and younger guys. I’d like to get an experienced shooter on the roster. Somebody who could get hot like Coit could once in awhile and win us a few games.

Waddya all think? Adding one or two more guys?

The Noah Shelby redshirt/DSA situation still unclear?

** With the recent House v NCAA settlement, things are complicated with roster size. It’s hard to say if KU has two more spots to fill, or less. Also, apparently there’s a new fule for “designated student athletes.” These are players who would have been removed given the new roster rules, but now may stick around until they run out of eligibility, but may not count against roster size. This could easily be ALL the KU walkons. ****

May as well look ahead to see what’s in store for next season.

I’ll try to keep track of the offseason drama here. I’ll keep this mostly official, so no portal projections here.

But the portal window is: March 24 to April 22

Roster size: 14 (includes ALL but DSA players. Normally it’s 15, but we lost one to NCAA sanctions)

Roster size at the moment: 12 (a bit sketchy given the DSA rules)

RETURNEES (4)

G Elmarko Jackson

G/F Jamari McDowell

PF Bryson Tiller

C Flory Bidunga

RETURNING WALK ONS? (4 – and potential “designated student athletes”)

G Noah Shelby

G Wilder Evers

G Will Thengvall

F Justin Cross

IMCOMING FRESHMEN (5)

G Darryn Peterson

F Samis Calderon

G Corbin Allen – Oak Park High School

SG Kohl Rosario

C Paul Mbiya — not sure what year he is

PORTAL ADDITIONS (3)

G Jayden Dawson via Loyola Chicago. One year of eligibility left.

G/F Tre White via Illinois – previous stops at Louisville, USC. One year of eligibility left.

G Melvin Council Jr. via St. Bonaventure – previous stop at Wagner. One year of eligibility left.

BIG QUESTION MARK (1)

SF Jaden Nickens – A football player who may play hoops. May have to count against the roster before the season begins.

HAVE ENTERED PORTAL (6 initially – Bidunga entered, but will return)

G/F AJ Storr – signed with Ole Miss

G/F Rylan Griffen — signed with Texas AM

G/F Rakease Passmore — signed with Maryland

PF/C Zach Clemence – signed with Texas A&M

G David Coit – signed with Maryland

Finally, a much needed big man!
Gimme a mobile 4 and I’ll feel pretty dang good about the team.

@MR11 said in The portal.:

Tre at 6-7 right? Couldn't tell you how big he plays though.

Give up some top end size but looks to be an extremely switchable lineup so not all bad.

yea i'm in the dark on Tre's game as well. I thought i read somewhere that he was really 6-5.
Hopefully he can rebound at whatever his size/spot on the floor.

Hopefully if Tiller is serviceable, that will help give us some size.

I still have nightmares from those USC freaks...

@BShark said in The portal.:

@approxinfinity said in The portal.:

@BShark so are we still down a starting wing then?

The starting line-up has been set for months

I hope we can get a starter with size next to Flory. If not, it’ll be everybody at what, 6-5, and Flory at 6-9?

Weird for a team that may not be strong from 3 pt land.

** Update: With the recent House v NCAA settlement, things are complicated with roster size. It’s hard to say if KU has three more spots to fill, or less. Also, apparently there’s a new fule for “designated student athletes.” These are players who would have been removed given the new roster rules, but now may stick around until they run out of eligibility, but may not count against roster size. This could easily be ALL the KU walkons. ****

May as well look ahead to see what’s in store for next season.

I’ll try to keep track of the offseason drama here. I’ll keep this mostly official, so no portal projections here.

But the portal window is: March 24 to April 22

Roster size: 14 (includes ALL but DSA players. Normally it’s 15, but we lost one to NCAA sanctions)

Roster size at the moment: 11 (a bit sketchy given the DSA rules)

RETURNEES (4)

G Elmarko Jackson

G/F Jamari McDowell

PF Bryson Tiller

C Flory Bidunga

RETURNING WALK ONS? (4 – and potential “designated student athletes”)

G Noah Shelby

G Wilder Evers

G Will Thengvall

F Justin Cross

IMCOMING FRESHMEN (4)

G Darryn Peterson

F Samis Calderon

G Corbin Allen – Oak Park High School

SG Kohl Rosario

PORTAL ADDITIONS (3)

G Jayden Dawson via Loyola Chicago. One year of eligibility left.

G/F Tre White via Illinois – previous stops at Louisville, USC. One year of eligibility left.

G Melvin Council Jr. via St. Bonaventure – previous stop at Wagner. One year of eligibility left.

BIG QUESTION MARK (1)

SF Jaden Nickens – A football player who may play hoops. May have to count against the roster before the season begins.

HAVE ENTERED PORTAL (6 initially – Bidunga entered, but will return)

G/F AJ Storr – signed with Ole Miss

G/F Rylan Griffen — signed with Texas AM

G/F Rakease Passmore — signed with Maryland

PF/C Zach Clemence – signed with Texas A&M

G David Coit – signed with Maryland

Alrighty then, bring on that big fella from overseas and we're getting somewhere.

So, do we have a team yet?

...as we wait impatiently

@approxinfinity said in The portal.:

Are we getting closer to imposing harder transfer rules now that universities can pay athletes directly and there is a clearer contractual legal path? I dont think NIL destroyed college sports, it just pulled the curtain back. Now we have to align what the schools and fans want with what the athletes want. Time to make the fans happy and lock kids into multiyear contracts.

I haven’t read anything about contracts. But, seems like they’ll be forging new paths as they go. you can obviously see that all these new freedoms benefit the athletes. Taking a step back and restricting the athletes just seems like more lawsuits waiting to happen.

Hey, all. I updated the original post, adding some House v NCAA chaos. There's still lots to sort as far as who counts on the roster, etc. crazy!

Oops, sleepy time posting…

I’m gonna guess Luna makes the WC roster as the energy sub…