Mitch & Coleby
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Not sure if speculation about their DNPs deserves its own thread, but to me its a fascinating aspect to having 2 more big bodies we didnt use. They will give foul-relief mpg. There will be that game where Lucas gets 2 early 1st half fouls–which will have Self reveal to us all his backup/foul-mgmt plan.
Ive seen Coleby block, rebound, seemingly better than early season’s DistractedBragg…but Dwight a liability offensively and on FT line.
Mitch Lightfoot may have a KYoung-like rebounding knack, but too raw offensively, and is still iffy on FTs.
So, my take is: Coleby’s ship has sailed developmentally, Self knows what limited things he can give (rbds). Lightfoot just too raw, too young, but at least has some rebound ability outta the box…and there’s a reason Mitch didnt redshirt, and Self likely will need him to be readier to contribute in '17-18 this way, than if he’d redshirted him.
(Next year its Udoka, Bragg, Lightfoot, and McDAA Billy Preston. Not sure if Coleby has 1 more yr?)
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I looked at this game and the tightening of post bench minutes being the right move. Bill is just trying to get Landen re-established in his role. Part of that is for Landen to TAKE OWNERSHIP. Plus, he could really use a boost to his confidence.
Mitch and Dwight are going to figure in to this season. But first things first… and we need to get both Landen and Carlton established in a positive role for this team.
I know it hurt us all to lose Doke… but on the bright side, his loss created a direct path, a clearing of the fog, concerning our post structure for the rest of the season. This is what happened last year when Bill stopped shuffling this post and committed to Landen. Then we went on a tear…
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I thought they switched ll’s second foul to Vick’s??? They were talking about Self talking to the refs about that in post game. Could have been on his 3rd foul, didn’t quite catch the whole thing.
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Obviously I’m too dumb to figure out how to start a new thread… but just read that Evan Maxwell has left the team. Odd news.
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He was never going to play sooooooo yeah. Honestly I was baffled when he transferred in, figured Self was desperate for bodies. This does mean Self will need to take a post flier/practice player in this class.
I’m not trying to demean the kid or anything, it is what it is and I hope he finds success/pt at another school.
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@Crimsonorblue22 That is interesting. How does he decide that? Performance vs. the other guys in practice?
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I’m not saying he was mushed in order to make room for Copeland but if we see Copeland and Cunliffe pop for KU the math checks out.
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“This semester didn’t go the way Evan anticipated”? Grades weren’t up to par?
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When this stuff happens, one clear possibility is that he was squeezed to leave. That could come in many forms. Whether it be blatant, or subtle, or just by Evan seeing the writing on the wall. Next season – Doke, Lightfoot, Preston, and as it now appears, maybe Bragg. Coleby will likely be here too unless he graduates and can transfer free from sitting, but not sure we’ll notice either way. It could be a clear as – “You know Evan, you’ll never play. Just being realistic, so we’re being fair to you.” Or Evan could just assess the talent around him. Somewhat like CF probably did (combined with other issues).
On the other hand, Maxwell could have a girlfriend he’s away from and he wants to go back closer to his honey. That would make sense too.
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@Hawk8086 could be his values too. Could be about anything. Doesn’t sound like he’s parting on bad terms.
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He saw Bragg was coming back lol
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@HighEliteMajor (Glad you’re back, man…) Ya, there’s always that “homesick” angle ku fans can recall with Luke Axtell and Galindo. Or the happy feet of AW3, who now has jilted Nebr for Syracuse.
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Micah Downs had the worst case of missing the girlfriend, he left KU for Gonzaga because of her…I wonder if they stayed together.
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Very bizarre situation with Maxwell. A lot of people thought from the beginning that Evan wasn’t a KU caliber player and would never play a significant role on the team. Self took a shot on him needing a big body. Maybe they mutually saw that he wasn’t going to cut it here and decided to “move on”.
I know KU has its eyes on 2 mid-season transfers which could be playing a part here. Or giving itself 1 more scholarship for the spring when there might be some better immediate talent to go after. This spring is looking like it will be a critical time period for next years team
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@BeddieKU23 Another point – Maxwell leaving leaves KU with just four bigs in practice. A bit of an under the radar difficulty. At least he (presumably) served a purpose for the first semester.
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Downs was too involved in his girlfriend, Natanya
http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/college/zags-micah-downs-long-strange-journey/
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Good point, it will be interesting to see if any mid-season addition(s) either Copeland (a big) or Cunliffe a SG/SF type will give this team more bodies to use in practice. I can’t imagine with so few bodies this year that practices will be as long as normal.
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@BeddieKU23 said:
This spring is looking like it will be a critical time period for next years team
Gonna need a Self Springtime miracle.
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@BeddieKU23 They can use the extra time to shoot free throws.
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I will guess that during practice is when Maxwell realized he was not up to KU’s expected level to get the playing time he had hoped for. Players like Vang, Young, Self…or Maxwell have a very important role in practice since most of the time they play the role of the next opponent but are also aware than other than mop up time, they will not get meaningful minutes but they will always be able to say they played for KU. I guess Maxwell has bigger dreams; nothing wrong with dreaming big as long as it is a feasible dream and not just fantasy.
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@JayHawkFanToo sounds like he was whining, if you believe rumors.
We really don’t know, most fans forgot about him anyway.
