Not really news but, Parker leaving Duke
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Who is that player?
@HighEliteMajor My first odds on guess would be Tharpe, he brought shame to the family.
Then I’d have to say White. Those are the only two I can really see being let go or leaving, Lucas would be a distant third, but he has to look at the future and think if he stays he could be a TRob like player when he’s a senior or junior even and have that one hot season and get drafted.
If any of then go to a lower Div. school they can play right away so that might be an option for them instead of staying in D1 ball so they don’t have to sit and lose a year.
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@justanotherfan I think the Harrison’s are gone. If Randall declares, the twins are gone too. I think this will be uk’s “down” year because he’ll have to get a crop of OADs and teach them his elementary school system of dribble drive. He’ll then convince them to “buy” into his system. They will have another year as last year or similar. He’ll keep 1-2 key players for another year, then make his usual appearance in the ncaa tourney. I see Calipari in the dance every other year and will likely go deep with his talent.
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@JRyman Tharpe has a big decision to make. Rumor has it that AW3 has already mentioned unofficially that he’s returning. If these guys are patient, JTray, AW3, Lucas, CF, Green and Mickelson, they will have a successful year. If they don’t see it, they are setting themselves up to be one scary senior laden team, if they won’t jump ship. These guys could very well be the beneficiary of 1 or maybe 2 NCs. If you’re a coach, looking at what Self is bringing in the next 2-3 years, I’d be skeered.
I had no idea about Tharpe’s grandfather and very sorry to hear about him. However, Tharpe has got to decide if he wants to play and maybe dedicate this season to his grandfather by playing with a purpose or go back to business as usual. Maybe going back closer to home would be better if he’s not able to decide. Self should have a good talk and tell him to take time to heal his hurt, but to be ready by a certain date. If he’s not ready, Self may just encourage him to reconsider other options and at least finish his degree since he’s so close to graduation. I hope he makes the right decision.
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@truehawk93 I think if the twins stay they are a 2 man team next year. I think they tasted success and want more headlines. They won’t pass, they will either try and take their man off the dribble or see how deep they can hit threes from.
They come of as very egotistical and selfish players, if they stay Kentucky will really struggle. If they go I think you are on to something.
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I believe your comment on Tharpe is extremely harsh. I do not think for a second that he “brought shame to the family” as you indicated. Yes, he finished the season on low note but the kid, like all other players, played his heart out. He was instrumental in other wins earlier and was shooting great from the three; once he started passing open shots, his game started to suffer; it is possible that his wrist injury had a lot to do with that. I believe he can work on the weak part of his game over the summer and come back as productive player next season.
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@JayHawkFanToo wasn’t an indictment of his game but of his naked twitter pic with the blonde.
I would never blame a season or a game completely on one guy, it takes a team to win a game, it take a team to lose a game.
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It’s kind of funny that “shame” is in the conversation. Tharpe is an adult and he has the right to have a child born by a woman he is not marrying, and have pictures taken with a woman who might be about the age of his mother. He has rights and we should all respect.
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OK OK I get it I was a little rough on Tharpe, if there was a sarcasm font then I would be OK.
Don’t act like everyone is so high and mighty about what the say, Im a smart ass always have been always will be, sure might cross a line here or there, but that’s who I am.
If in any way my use and spelling of the word “ass” offend you, I meant no harm by it I was just stating who I am and and thats it.
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“OK OK I get it I was a little rough on Tharpe…”
Let’s face facts… Tharpe was a little rough on us!
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[http://www.kansascity.com/2014/04/16/4963620/7-foot-ku-recruit-myles-turner.html](link url)
Well…I’m beginning to wonder just a little about Turner. I think he’s still a KU lean. But, it wouldn’t surprise me if he goes to SMU with Mudiay. It wouldn’t further surprise me that Self would respectfully sacrifice Turner to LB for obvious reasons. Turner and Mudiay will be sick for LB at SMU. They will be really good in that conference. Also, would likely go to the dance. Self knows that LB is about to retire from bball. I would think LB would be the only reason Self would take on Turner for SMU.
We may not see any transfers. Self’s plan may be to hope for Turner, but if not, use that last opening for Graham or pg. I don’t see Turner going to the other options for pretty obvious reasons. I doubt staying in Texas is a huge part of his decision. Again, if wasn’t leaving Texas why not just commit to Texas earlier? Texas is understandable, but not a big part of his decision making. I hate to say it about SMU, but why not commit to SMU too if you’re staying in Texas? SMU may have been his earliest option if it was a Texas thing. So, I think it may have been, “he’d like to stay in Texas,” but will go for the reasons he mentions.
dook- full
uk- full
ohio st- full
okiest- well they’re full of Ford, but their bigs would definitely give Turner too much comp for pt
a&m- I have no idea where they came from except as another Texas option and maybe to throw people off to thinking he’s a “Texas” lean
ut- Ridley and Ebeh…again too much
SMU - needs Turner more than anyone on this list
KU - could use him to fill Embiid’s exit and fill a big hole. I just don’t see Lucas and Mickleson ready for big play time. But, Self will depend on them if he pushes Turner to LB in some inadvertent way without being too obvious.
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@JRyman Sorry, but I didn’t mean to use such strong language. Tharpe made his choices, but we can choose not to talk about it. I just find it embarrassing to be discussing it. Sorry again.
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If Self misses or “passes”
on Turner, then he needs to be all out on Jeter. His game reminds me of Lucas only a better defensive set. He seems to be at a high level inside. I’m sure Self loves his inside game and his backside offense is pretty strong too. Jeter would be a good get to follow Lucas and Mickelson, but yet learn from them too. His footwork seems lighter and more agile around the rim than Lucas. Lucas has some lazy feet. I’m real anxious to see Mickelson. The vid shows some outside range too, a bit like Turner.
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What he does in his private life should stay that way, particularly since he did not post the picture himself.
I am thankful that we did not have digital cameras or cell phones…or the internet when I was in college
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Here is a good summary of the schools Turner is considering…
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@JayHawkFanToo I completely agree about private life, and that it wasn’t his post, but he has to be aware of who he is, and who he is around and what he is doing where if for any chance at all he could get caught.
You are right, digital cameras and youtube would have probably ran me out of a few towns back in college, but I wasn’t the starting point guard for a national power house basketball team.
Everyone needs to lighten up a little laugh today, it’s Friday, geesh everyone is so clamped up coal is going to shoot out their …
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@JayHawkFanToo Thanks for the link.
I hope we land Turner but I don’t feel he is going to be an instant impact guy who puts up 10-15 a game. To me he is a bit of a project. He is very tall and can shoot but he is very skinny and does not really play at all with his back to the basket. He would be coming off the bench in my opinion since he has to deal with Cliff who is a low post player along with Perry who may be our best scorer next year. Not to mention the fact that Jamari turned it on at the end of last year and Mickelson and Lucas are pretty good and certainly big guys.
Honestly at this point if we land Turner I hope it is to develop him…not to have him play off the bench and then jump to the NBA off potential. Not that that happens to often, I suppose. Just hope we get a couple years out of kids.
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Usual speculation about if returning “system” guys like Traylor or Mickelson or Lucas are “ready” or not. Usually, almost always, they show they are ready. We’ve seen glimpses from Lucas, and Razorbacks saw glimpses in frosh Mickelson, who was a top50 recruit initially. Those guys are projected starters/heavy-rotation guys by their jr/sr seasons. Then there are freak athletes like Traylor, who contribute earlier eventhough their game is less evolved, simply because athleticism enhances everything you do. The chemistry Traylor developed with Black was almost uncanny to see. Wanna bet that Traylor develops a quick chemistry with incoming fellow Chicagoan Cliff Alexander? Not going to be pretty for opponents. We saw Traylor go for 18&15 vs. EKY, and even showed us a face up J a few times this season. He obviously fixed the FT% last year, solidifying that this year. Sobering thought: KU’s win over EKY was a 1 possession game with 3min left…KU goes out 1st round exit (like Duke/Mercer) if Traylor doesnt go 18/15.
Guys like Justin Wesley, who never showed any real glimpses at Lamar, nor anything beyond emergency minutes usage, are your practice-types. Kleinemann would be another example from the recent past. Sorry to put names to this, but felt had to cite examples to differentiate the different categories of bigman contributors we’ve seen evolve at KU under Self.
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I see Turner’s game a lot along the lines of Isaiah Austin at Baylor, a tall, skinny player that prefers to play outside and can hit the 3. He might work well with Alexander playing Hi-Low game Coach Self favors.
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@ralster I’ll have to admit, part of me likes the idea of Turner passing on KU. Part of me would also be very curious how we would play in the post next season if Cliff were ineligible.
Four man rotation of Ellis, Lucas, Traylor, Mickelson.
Very curious.
Would that be bad? Would be get dominated inside? Would it be a disaster?
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No problem. I tend to be just a little over-protective of our players.
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Lucas would be a distant third, but he has to look at the future and think if he stays he could be a TRob like player when he’s a senior or junior even and have that one hot season and get drafted.
@JRyman Thinking Lucas has a chance of being a TRob like player is dreaming. The two aren’t in the same conversation regarding the caliber of talent. TRob was national player of the year caliber. I think a closer comparison would be to hope Lucas can progress to a Darnell Jackson type player by his senior year. Even that might be hoping for a bit too much. Remember, Jackson was ranked in the 50s coming out of high school. Lucas was unranked. Not that players can’t outperform their rankings or there aren’t exceptions, but they are a useful guide.
Now as to the likelihood of him transferring, it would be to his disadvantage because he would lose a year of eligibility, having already red-shirted a year.
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@HighEliteMajor and @icthawkfan316: Yep, HEM, in keeping with our philosophy of minimizing OAD-type hype distractions, the minute Turner declares for somewhere else (different discussion), then Lucas + Mickelson’s eyes get real big! I dont think Traylor has to worry, as he has moved from 4th big to “3rd” big (first off bench), and will likely battle everybody. Now he has a decided advantage in Selfball, Huditioning, and downright attitude that Self loves.
I’m not calling Traylor the next TRob just yet…as I dont know if he is a double/double guy yet (I’m projecting 10 & 8…)…but if that EKY game was any glimpse, his development needs to continue. Traylor was big against Duke. Hardly gets stripped on his dribble-drives. Enough about Traylor, still has work to do.
Lucas needs to show more of the glimpses he did show. His FT% needs work. He never showed the scoring repertoire Self says he’s got, other than 1 baby hook, and 1 6ft pullupJ, if I recall…
Mickelson hopefully is a “developed” and Huditioned version of a top50 recruit that he was. By joining Self at KU, he’s already shown he is smart.
Best part of Lucas + Mickelson is that they both are a legit 6’10 and 240+ lbs. (As opposed to Traylor and Ellis at 6’8 220lbs).
The Xfactor becomes Cliff Alexander, 6’9 240lbs…, but who plays high school ball with some kind of nasty! Now, coming to Self’s KU has a way of humbling and changing people, and they become “team” guys (see Wiggins).
HEM, I look fwd to seeing Texas bigs come bang with Lucas + BigBoreMickelson, since Ellis cant do that (he more of a finesse-type, Roy-type of MickeyD bigman). I’d like to recall some CoolJ lyrics here for Landon: “…come test BigLL and getcha head sprung…” I think Landon is a banger, more than Withey was, and may have more offensive repertoire than Withey, remains to be seen…
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@JayHawkFanToo Absolutely. No doubt about that. Again, I would love to have him but similar to Austin I think he is going to need at least a year or 2 of college ball before he is a game changer.
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Would that be bad? Would be get dominated inside? Would it be a disaster?
@HighEliteMajor That is a heck of a rotation on the blocks, and could stretch the court a little with Ellis as well. Alexander in on that rotation and it’s pretty stout.
Plus thats 25 fouls in the paint to give if a team had to.
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@icthawkfan316 I’m not saying he is on the level of TRob, but if he puts his time in and stays in Selfs hi/low system he could get his draft stock up there. Strike the iron when its hot.
I haven’t been overt impressed with Lucas yet in his limited time on the court. He has a nice farm and height, he looks lost at times and a tad slow. Maybe two more years he breaks out? Not sure.
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Stirring the pot here, but what if Tharpe and/or Ellis transfer? And did anyone else see Perry Ellis at the college dunk contest a few nights ago (he was standing around courtside looking down at cellphone, maybe?). I was a bit surprised to see him there, as he isnt known for his above rim game just yet…
I do believe the kid from EKY actually won it.
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“I’m not calling Traylor the next TRob just yet…as I dont know if he is a double/double guy yet (I’m projecting 10 & 8…)…but if that EKY game was any glimpse, his development needs to continue. Traylor was big against Duke. Hardly gets stripped on his dribble-drives. Enough about Traylor, still has work to do.”
I’ve got the proverbial man-crush on Bam-Bam. When he arrived at Kansas he couldn’t do anything on the court except look menacing. Now he is starting to match the look.
What if he improves as much over this summer as he did last summer? I believe he is going to be working on his perimeter game quite a bit this summer, too.
Lucas is here for the long haul, and he’ll continue to improve and build strength. He needs muscle for the type of post skill he is trying to execute. He’ll get there…
I believe Alexander may end up being Self’s best ever 4. Especially if he hangs at least 2 years.
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@drgnslayr Jamari Traylor is a guy our hearts just root for. His story, his perseverance, his physical tools. And the fact that busy Bill Self took the time to see something in Jamari, believed in him, and Jamari is starting to pay back on that investment. While he still has work to do, he also has the time. 2 more years under Bill Self. And I already saw some in-rhythm pullup midrange jumpers…
Sky’s the limit for this kid…if he adds a 17-20footer…he can already dribble-drive twice as fast as Georges Niang…hmm…
Traylor is an example of “players with top athleticism and a strong work ethic” show up and keep an open mind, and let 5yrs (redshirt year) give them a total-immersion in a program run by a HOF-level coach, who coaches fundamentals PLUS positive aggression.
From his late-game dribble-drive on Duke to his both ends dominance of EKY in our final win, Self notices things like that, and individual plays like put-back dunks of a teammates FT miss, which says a ton about beating the closer guy off the blocks.
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My hunch is Lucas will be a stud for us. Got to get that FT% over 70%. We dont want to see Hack-a-Luke.
Who knows, but Lucas could do what Cole did? I know Cole was a MickeyD, and Lucas was low-ranked…but the improved Lucas as a junior, might compare to early-soph Cole? Cole didnt have fast feet either. But he had a knack for blocks, and you couldnt move his 245lbs in the paint. Cole wasnt a big hook shot guy, and his faceup jumper from the FT line seemed to disappear his final season…His soph season was his best season at KU. Does Lucas have a defensive presence? Does Lucas have an offensive repertoire? Does he have range? We’ve seen he can rebound.
Lets check his stats after a season’s worth of contributions…
