Way too early predictions
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http://www2.kusports.com/news/2015/mar/23/column-kus-2015-16-outlook-uncertain/?mens_basketball
This year is over. I am still very interested in the progress KU football will hopefully make next year but I am curious in what you guys think. It may be the off season, but in Lawrence, it’s basketball season all year around.
With the assumption that Kelly and Alexander leave, what should we expect from our players next season? Does Svi jump Selden? Does Greene make improvements to not make him so one dimensional? Does Graham gobble up the minutes that Oubre leaves? Can Bragg be an immediate contributer? All these questions are uncertain but I have to keep my mind on the numbing loss of WSU.
What do you guys think about the future roster?
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“Can Bragg be an immediate contributer?”
I think he can and will make an immediate contribution (and to be honest, he’ll have to).
I’m a huge Devonte fan! That kid not only has the skills… but he also has a big part of the charisma we usually lack.
We would have been totally skrewed without him on Sunday!
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@drgnslayr I agree that Bragg will probably have to contribute. If we don’t land a big time post player he is going to have to step right in and play big minutes. I just don’t think that the trio of Landen / Jamari / Hunter is going to cut it. Even with a summer or working on their game. I hope I am wrong.
My assumption is that Cliff is gone due to the NCAA situation. Oubre is gone as he can’t say no to being a lottery pick. That leaves quite a few scholarships open. It will be very interesting to see what happens.
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I’m not too excited. I’d be thrilled if Oubre came back for another year, but I have my doubts. So, the future roster looks a lot like the current roster except they’ll all be a year older and slower.
Coaching will be the same. Bill’s hair will be exactly the same. We can all dream about a new offense, but it’ll be a dream only.
Svi is really the one guy with the upside to be a game-changer for the team, and that depends on whether Self will actually use him to create match-up problems. Probably not.
Perry will hopefully be the Perry he was before the knee injury. If so, he can carry the team pretty far, but not by himself.
Mason will still be solid, but not a dominant guy that can get us through a 6-game tourney.
Devonte will still be a hair over 6 feet tall. I’d hate to see him and Mason be the starting 1 and 2.
Selden will either get completely healthy and find his mojo, or he’ll be playing in Nicaragua with Tharpe and Selby.
Mickelson will still sit on the bench, wondering why he didn’t take more classes and graduate this year so he could transfer.
Lucas will be a double-double guy every now and then.
Bragg will be a freshman, and I expect less from him than we got from Cliff and Oubre.
Greene… sigh. Who knows.
Jamari… Now I know how some of you guys felt about Brady Morningstar.
Those last two guys I’d rather not see come back unless they get a radical attitude change. That said, I’d prefer they get their s**t together and we keep the entire remaining roster for the sake of stability.
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I think we need to be excited about Bragg. Kid can flat out shoot the ball and having a taller version of Perry Ellis won’t hurt. We can use him in pick and pop and high/low. His motor will be an issue but if he gets here for summer ball and stays healthy I’m confident he can get 20+ minutes a night as a freshman. Now that depends if we sign anyone else.
Devonte, Lucas, and Svi should all take major steps forward in their development.
Svi has the most to gain from playing this summer in Korea but won’t get that chance. Lucas has a chance to continue his progression. I’m really hoping Hudy continues to push him.
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@BeddieKU23 I’m excited about the guys that want to come to Lawrence for 4 years. I don’t care if they’re 5’ - 2", crosseyed, bowlegged and incontinent. If they want to play 4 years - I love em.
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@BeddieKU23 Oh man, thats terrible that Svi wont get a chance to play in Korea with the team. Kid is a stud waiting to happen. He just needs to see the lid come off and the light go on…that and gain about 15 lbs of muscle.
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I’ll play 4 years! I never used any of my eligibility. Isn’t there an age limit?
Heck… I’ll be a walk-on and the discipline coach. I guarantee our guys will be clapping and talking all game… full of upbeat motivation. I promise.
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@drgnslayr You’ll have them “chattering” at the other players while they’re on the free throw line?
“Hey, shooter shooter - hey hey hey shooter shooter - SHOOT !!”
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@drgnslayr On a serious note - I’ll bet someone could randomly pick 5 of the regular posters on here to play against this year’s team. We’d surely get beat (?) but I’ll bet we could teach them youngsters a thing or two about focus, hustle and determination.
Punks…lol
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@Lulufulu He may not be able to play but I can’t imagine that he won’t be able to practice. That is worth something given the restrictions on the hours that players can be coached.
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@sfbahawk will he play w/Ukraine ?
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@Crimsonorblue22 Don’t know. I didn’t know that he couldn’t play for us. Taking @Lulufulu at his word. If he can’t, I was just pointing out what upside is left.
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@sfbahawk he can’t, wigs, Embiid can’t
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Self and Norm Roberts putting on full court press for Cheick Diallo. Both flying in to see him tomm. I believe this is the 2nd time they have been to see him in recent weeks.
I know more than a few of us on here would be thrilled to land him. A sure fire help on defense from the start while not a 1 and done. Developing post game, excellent motor.
Let’s hope Self & Co can seal the deal soon.
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@nuleafjhawk I meet your criteria.
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@BeddieKU23 Here’s to a closed Cheick deal. I love that Self and Co are taking full advantage of the post season play. It’s great. I’d love to hear Newman say those two magical letters K-U. It would almost take the sting out of the early exit.
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@BeddieKU23 These kids have to understand Self’s system. I’ll be surprised if Ellis leaves. I say Ellis stays his senior year. If Bragg is smart, he’ll be patient and take aim with Ellis. Learn all he can from Ellis and he’ll take Ellis’ spot his sophomore year. Diallo could be an instant contributor inside and take over for Alex’s departure. This team vastly improves without Selden, Oubre, and Alex. It’s silly, but true.
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@DanR Wrong on Bragg. He’ll have to take time to fit into Self’s system. We’ve discussed that Self’s system is not for the true OAD. It takes at least two years to become a contributor. If you go to Calipari, which is where all your OADs want, because he has no system.
Bragg will have to stay at least two years. Diallo may go and if we land Newman, he’s likely gone too. Bragg will be an Ellis disciple. If he learns, he’ll be huge his sophomore year. Not because he’s Cliff or Oubre-like, but because he’ll be a student of the program.
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@joeloveshawks If Selden jumps, he opens the door for Newman.
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@drgnslayr If Devonte gains some consistency, he’ll be pretty much what we need. If, he shoots like he did against WSU in a big game like that, there will be issues. If we land Newman, Graham will be a back-up to Mason and Newman. Newman can be that outside consistent presence we’ve desperately needed. I think Mason and Graham will be solid at the 1 for us.
We’ll be so much closer to that true inside/out game we all wanted this year. I think Ellis and Diallo will give us a huge inside presence. Green, Mason, Graham, and hopefully Newman will be nasty from outside. Also, gotta learn to pass in Self’s system. You gotta know some bball geometry.
I’ve got a crazy feeling, but the Ukranian is going to be the prototypical Self player. The kid has talent that will be what Self’s wants in all his players. Svi does things you don’t teach. He was making plays and passes most freshmen don’t make and at 17 yrs old? He’s going to be Special, Special Svi.
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Newman would be a great get, he’d be an unstoppable offensive talent kind of like Russell was for Ohio St this year. But do we want a 1 year fix? And will he leave the south? Same with Jaylen Brown do we want a year fix again at the SF spot or do we ride with Greene & Svi and hope they have great summers. Of course I’m assuming Kelly takes the leap because of his draft stock.
Self said he would be recruiting a big and a guard. He’s out in full force for Diallo as is his other suitors. Now we are apparently after Michael Horne Jr. a Senior transfer from Charlotte. 6’11 270. 10pts 7rbs a game as well. I’d take him if he wants to come, Mari’s minutes have to be reduced.
Guard wise Newman & Brown are the only guys we are really pursuing at the moment. Ingram is more SF/PF type but he’s not leaving NC. I’m sure we will pursue others as spring rolls around. Not sure why we stopped on Marcus Lovett. Kid will see a big jump in his ranking.
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@BeddieKU23 I agree wholeheartedly. Everyone gets starstruck. Maybe Brown would produce for 1 year like Russell did for OSU this year - or maybe he ends up closer to what Oubre gave us. But, I’m actually excited by the prospect of 2 years of Mason and Graham playing together - and, that’s what I would do. Selden isn’t going anywhere - well, he has no shot at getting drafted at this point, but I would start Graham ahead of him in a heartbeat - much better ball handler, defender (esp. creating turnovers), and even shooter - plus, he’s got some swagger and a better BBall IQ. I would see Mason and Graham as similar to Napier and Boatwright at UConn 2 years ago.
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“I’ve got a crazy feeling, but the Ukranian is going to be the prototypical Self player. The kid has talent that will be what Self’s wants in all his players. Svi does things you don’t teach. He was making plays and passes most freshmen don’t make and at 17 yrs old? He’s going to be Special, Special Svi.”
I totally agree. The question is how long will he be a Jayhawk? Imagine this kid playing 4 years? I’m thinking he might go 3.
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I think 3 years is a good guess at this point. He got some experience but as long as he spends most of the summer here I see him taking a big leap in his development. At least that’s my hope and assumption. Can he become a much better shooter? #'s were pretty bad overall.
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@truehawk93 I don’t think the guy who didn’t put up 0 points in his last game will be going to the NBA. That is not a derogatory statement about your comment or about Wayne Selden. Just my opinion that Wayne is far far far from NBA ready.
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@joeloveshawks I wish all the players who weren’t NBA ready were still here…
Stupid NBA.
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@Phog_Fanatics: Bill Self is with graduate transfer Mike Thorne of Charlotte today. Adding another veteran to next year’s team could make them scary.
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I like it, 10pts 7rbs last year. 6’11 270 would be an absolute beast in the paint. FT% scared me especially on 100 attempts. But we could definitely use the muscle for this year.
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Same with Jaylen Brown do we want a year fix again at the SF spot or do we ride with Greene & Svi and hope they have great summers.
The most important word you used there was hope. We can hope that Greene and Svi improve over the summer to the point that they can produce at a higher level.
However, as we have discussed here at length, the development curve does not always continue on an upward trajectory. Svi looks like he has a lot of potential, but what happens if his frame just can’t handle the extra bulk, or if that extra bulk slows him down significantly?
What happens if Greene just can’t develop into a good enough ball handler, or remains a subpar defender?
The thing with Newman and Brown is that we know what they are capable of from an athletic standpoint. Greene and Svi are not on that level athletically, so we would be depending on them to be better based on experience or improvement from where they are now.
We have seen how that works. We were hoping for big contributions from Hunter. That never materialized, although I am optimistic for next year. Last year we were hoping that Andrew White III would make a leap forward. Never happened.
Truth is, most guys that are not NBA caliber talents start hitting their ceiling between their sophomore and junior year. The NBA caliber guys keep developing, which is part of why they make it - they just have so much more room to get to their ceiling.
We can’t assume that Perry or Wayne will improve any more at this point. I think Wayne has probably peaked, and Perry is either very close to his peak, or has already achieved it as well.
If we don’t add a big time playmaker, we will probably be having these same discussions next spring.
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@justanotherfan BG keeps me guessing, I didn’t know last year-lack of court time- that he couldn’t dribble!! Perry has pleasantly surprised me w/improvement every year. He really needs a quality 5 to help his game. I never cussed at his D this year, did a lot last year! Just when Perry and Self figure out the best way to use him, he has the knee injury. I believe he will put it all together next year. Svi will improve, his fundamentals are good, age will help. Mason and Dg will continue to improve, headed in the right direction. We need a big! Bragg will help, probably a 4. Anxious to see who commits. Jmo
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Perry maybe close to his peak but the way he performed right before that injury was on a level of aggressiveness we had never seen before. That’s the Perry that Self has to get back and utilize. That player would be better than almost anyone at his position next year. If we can somehow pair him with a better 5 or a much improved Lucas we will see.
Wayne clearly needs to get faster, and work on dribbling with pressure. His handles were straight up a disaster sometimes. He needs to learn to be more aggressive like we saw in some games and use his frame to get to the line. Lastly FT’s are a must for him to work on, no reason he shouldn’t be 73-75%
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“On a serious note - I’ll bet someone could randomly pick 5 of the regular posters on here to play against this year’s team. We’d surely get beat (?) but I’ll bet we could teach them youngsters a thing or two about focus, hustle and determination.”
Within 5 minutes of play, I’ll let you know which guys were a cup. They will learn it’s a man’s game!
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@drgnslayr blown plays, think he lost some teeth. You better start getting in shape.
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I agree that we need to add some more players, we just need the right players. We need to get bigger, Diallo or this Sr transfer would certainly be upgrades. The transfer avg’d 10pts a game so without looking at some of his games I’m not sure what post moves he has. We know Diallo is a project on offense but defensively he would be an upgrade to anyone we have currently.
I might ruffle some feathers with this statement but we need to find better options than Mari, Mickelson, Lucas. I’m not even sure combining all 3 of them would yield 1 player we could rely on. We gave Traylor the whole season to prove himself and couldn’t out-rebound our PG. That’s just not going to cut it for KU. Mari had a disappointing season whether he played hurt or not, he’s undersized and isn’t a volume rebounder. I still think Lucas will be serviceable with his size but we saw time and time again how nonathletic he was at times. At least we have the best Strength and Conditioning coach in the business and hopefully Hudy takes him and helps him this summer.
Here’s hoping spring recruiting goes well!!
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@BeddieKU23 You have not ruffled my feathers. I feel the same. I have been a Jamari supporter for years. Love the guy but he really has not turned into the player I thought he could be. He is really a solid guy off the bench for 10-15 minutes but that is about it. I am afraid his ceiling just isn’t that high.
Lucas looked really really bad at the beginning of the year. He slowly but surely improved and he certainly plays hard and has a high basketball IQ. But I am not sure that he will ever be able to change the game on either end of the floor.
Mickelson is pretty good when he is in. Obviously there must be some reason we just don’t see him on the floor as much as you would think. That said, his ceiling does not seem that high either. Good utility guy but not the starting center on a top 10 program.
