SVI WILL TEST THE WATERS



  • Jesse just tweeted. Cant post a photo of the tweet.





  • It tells me that I don’t have the privilege to post after I hit the “Upload Image.”0_1492034442059_Capture.PNG



  • I used the link button above the text box looks like a two link chain I don’t twitter so not sure if a link would work for that



  • If he leaves, then they have told him he’ll be drafted and I will be glad and wish him well. If he stays, I’ll be more than glad and wish him well.



  • So my thing is where does this put us? - -How do we approach recruiting over him? - -I mean he is not hiring an agent and he has till May 24th to decide to rather stay in or come back with out an agent. - -How do we go about recruiting with something like that. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • Svi gone.



  • @jayballer54 I would think Self would tell him that a risk he takes by entering the draft is that he could lose his scholarship. I think it is only fair, Self learned his lesson the hard way after 2011 and I doubt he wants to take chances.



  • @wrwlumpy try again 1 time?



  • @BShark You really think he’s gone? He will have to have an amazing combine. And we already know some of his stats will be bad. Like his reach and wingspan. I wouldn’t expect much out of his lateral quickness numbers either.

    Maybe he can shoot his way into the draft though. He definitely is the perfect draft and stash guy. Bring him back over when he turns 24 and is built like a man and is over his mental issues. He would probably even be more than ok with that.



  • @Blown I don’t think that is fair. Not if we are in this for the best interest of the players.



  • @Kcmatt7

    Staff wants to add two players. I posted in another thread about how he makes the most sense by far and he should land on his feet.



  • @Kcmatt7

    Yeah I don’t project him as having a strong combine if he gets invited. But what’s also important is what teams he might workout for in the process on the side. I do think he is intriguing to teams that want to stash him given his age, size and shooting skill. He came to America to make the NBA though, will he be okay with being a stashed player oversea’s is another question… Kind of defeats part of the purpose he came to America which if he’s stashed puts him partly in square one again. This kid could have had a professional contract 3 years ago…



  • @Kcmatt7 Then I guess we disagree?

    What if 4 players wanted to test.

    We hold the schollies, miss out out on four kids, and then all four left for the draft?

    Where would that leave the program?



  • Why wouldn’t you test? It gets you direct feedback from scouts.

    The concerning part for me is the way his statement started off. I get the feeling if it’s not to the NBA, it’s to Europe.



  • @Blown

    I don’t believe that’s how it works. Svi isn’t doing anything out of normal where his scholarship should be in jeopardy. This is the game coaches are put in with the way the rules are now set up.



  • @BeddieKU23 arent scholarships reissued on a yearly basis? Scholarships are not a four year deal, as I understand it. You could ask Carlton Bragg, he might know.



  • @Blown said in SVI WILL TEST THE WATERS:

    Why wouldn’t you test? It gets you direct feedback from scouts.

    The concerning part for me is the way his statement started off. I get the feeling if it’s not to the NBA, it’s to Europe.

    Might not entirely be Svi’s decision. Or Self might have just gently recommended he go pro.

    This is 100% conjecture, not known knowledge or anything.



  • @BShark Why would Self do that?



  • @Blown

    I think your choosing to look at it in a different sense. Self isn’t going to say, you go pro you can’t come back. That’s not how he does things and I don’t know any coach that has a player in a position to be drafted that would give an ultimatum like that to a player that could still come back to College and help the program win games



  • @Blown

    Garrett, Vick, Cunliffe, Svi.

    That’s a lot of wings, the staff has made he clear they want a third ball handling guard be it Duval/Waters/Allen.



  • @Blown I think it would make us look like a heartless program that only cares about basketball and not our players best interest. I wouldn’t send my kid to play there if there was a risk of his scholarship being taken away. Especially when it is a kid entering his senior year that could come out of his last year with a degree.

    And 4 pros in one season is pretty stinking good. I’d say that would leave the program in a very strong recruiting position. Open scholarships and a track record of developing pros.



  • @Blown

    What you hope is Svi stays in contact with Self so that he knows what direction he might be going in if he wants to recruit in case he does stay in. Self has wings so losing Svi is not a loss we can’t replace with players ready to step in.



  • @BeddieKU23 Now you are putting words in my mouth !!! I didn’t say that “he can’t come back” I said, in my opinion, that if he says hes is going to test waters, his scholarship should be considered vacant until he announces he’s returning. Not gonna argue it anymore. It’s just an opinion. Not being prepared for the Morrii twins really hurt and I wouldn’t want to be there again. This is business now. College basketball is business, whether you like it, or not.



  • @Kcmatt7 Bill over recruits all of the time. Do you want to go down the list of players that left after their year end visit?



  • I think the staff was expecting Svi to go, given he almost went last year. So they took Garrett and Cunliffe.

    @Blown

    The list is long, and has a new name this year: Bragg.



  • @Blown Those are two completely different scenarios.

    There is a huge difference in saying “son, you aren’t going to get minutes here. It is probably in YOUR best interest to transfer” than saying “You are good enough to go pro. Test the waters. But if you do, you can’t come back.”

    It could be a nudge by Bill, but I very much doubt that is the case. It is more of a “you have a chance to make millions. Go do that. If you don’t get good feedback, you can come back. But just keep me in the loop.”



  • I’m happy for Svi, he almost tested the waters last year but made the right decision. Now he’s in a better position to see where he stands with GM’s, scouts, and his fellow wing prospects. Given how young he is I’m sure there will be some intrigue with some teams that like to draft international prospects.

    KU will welcome him back if he doesn’t feel leaving now is the best thing for him to do. He can come back and help this team compete for a championship.



  • @Kcmatt7

    Tharpe and Greene were nudged to “go pro”. So it has happened. Not quite the same thing here with Svi though. Svi is going out on good terms.



  • @BShark

    I think you could also say they just were told behind the scene’s they were not coming back. Once you burn that bridge with Self he quietly makes it go away. Tharpe had a child to provide for, Greene clearly thought his shooting ability would get him farther in life then it did. Both cases I think they went pro because they thought they could make it. Happens all the time. Isaac Humphries just went pro from Kentucky after averaging 3 points a game.



  • @Kcmatt7 said in SVI WILL TEST THE WATERS:

    “you have a chance to make millions. Go do that. If you don’t get good feedback, you can come back. But just keep me in the loop…and in the meantime we might use your scholarship on a better recruit if one happens to come along because the spring signing period is upon us"

    I agree, it is unlikely. If it were my program, that is how I would do it. Life is about choice, chance, risk & consequence. Just my take. I’ll respect yours, too.



  • @BeddieKU23

    I almost mentioned Humphries. Don’t see him in the NBA.



  • Andrew White III



  • @BShark

    Well when you recruit 7 post players over him he got the message LOL.

    Might make Kentucky more attractive for Bamba now…



  • @BeddieKU23 said in SVI WILL TEST THE WATERS:

    @BShark

    Well when you recruit 7 post players over him he got the message LOL.

    Might make Kentucky more attractive for Bamba now…

    Really thought he would transfer but I suppose it makes more sense to get paid if you can.

    @Blown said in SVI WILL TEST THE WATERS:

    Andrew White III

    Was not forced out by Self.



  • @BShark I think that anyone who was forced out basically had a less than stellar attitude or role. One that people saw coming from miles away. But Svi is different. He is a legit player with experience and real NBA interest.

    We don’t NEED another ball handler. I think Self would like to add one so we have an experienced one to lean on next year if things get rough. And I don’t expect some of these kids to sign anywhere until very late May or June anyways. They want to wait to see where things fall.



  • @Blown

    I don’t read anything extra into Svi’s comments. And at the end he still mentions being without an agent, which is where he needs to be if he would like to return.

    It is a good idea for players entering the combine to basically think they already decided for the league. The optimism counts as a plus by NBA management. Or another way to look at it is if he sounded like he was coming back and only doing this to see where he needs to improve… it is more likely he will be viewed as “not ready.”

    If you want to read into his comments with tea leaves… what about him stating he improved every year while at Kansas? I’m certain he knows that he will continue to improve with one more year at Kansas.

    I see him still as more likely to return. At worse, 50 - 50.

    Svi is doing the right thing. In the least, he will learn what areas of his game needs improving by next year at this time. I believe his academics are very good so he won’t suffer an academic hit for taking time/energy to compete in this.

    Svi is still very, very young. Basically… he’s a freshman. No one can say he is better off jumping to the league while he is still young. He will still be young next year!



  • Isn’t the combine invitation only? If you don’t get an invite that would seem to me to be a pretty good indicator where you stand in the big picture. And the only KU players on any of the mock draft boards are JJ and BIFM. Also it’s pretty much a given that JJ is a 1,2 or 3 pick, so why hasn’t he gone ahead and announced and hired an agent? To me he’s holding up things as far as recruiting. Just my 2 cents worth.



  • @brooksmd

    Self didn’t seem concerned last night commenting on Jackson that he was holding anything up.

    But your absolutely right about Svi, if he’s not invited to the Combine he will have his answer pretty much. We should know fairly soon after the deadline if he gets an invite.



  • A slow 6’7 guy who is streaky at best. I don’t see an NBA future at all.



  • @BShark

    Tharpe and Green were most likely asked not to come back because of the many issues during the season and the go pro was a way to save face. Svi has not had any issues and I would expect him to be an experienced and valuable rotation player if he comes back and I would take him over just about any incoming freshman. I just don’t believe Coach Self would suggest a player goes pro unless he has assurance he will be drafted.

    The NBA combine is by invitation only and if you are not invited it means the NBA does not believe you have a realistic chance of being drafted. Players can work out for individual teams but without an invitation to the combine, the chances of being drafted are slim to none.



  • Relatedly, would love to hear from any players from KU that left early that went undrafted and ask them if they had any regrets about leaving early.

    How could a year in the D-League possibly compare to another year at KU? I’m asking the question in a leading fashion, but the truth is I don’t know the answer.



  • @JayHawkFanToo

    That’s what I said?



  • @Blown I agree & I’ve been saying that for some time. – -I personally do not think he will score enough to really get drafted, BUT I’ve felt and stated that I do think he is gone, I still fully think ok, ya he will test the NBA. BUT like you I think he is going home. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @Blown You are right on. These scholarships are a ONE year thing n Now I’m not trying to take SVI"S Scholarship if he wants to come back cool. My only QUESTION was, as a staff - - how do we handle this as far as recruiting - -kind of makes things touchy.

    Do we recruit like he is not coming back? - -Do we put everything in a hold pattern tell he decides? - -Problem there is IF we take that approach then SVI decides not to come back - -we have waited all this time and now no options - he doesn’t have to announce until like May 24th. - -So what do we do? How do we recruit? We recruit like he ISN’T coming back and are aggressive after other recruits and someone commits THEN SVI announces he is coming back – -then what? - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @Kcmatt7 Problem is EVERY player faces the possibility of having their scholarship taken away EVERY YEAR. - - Now does that happen at KU? - -Have never heard of it - -Will it happen? - - I seriously doubt it, I sure wouldn’t want that to happen BUT the cruel hard truth of the situation ANY player CAN have their scholarship taken. every and any year. - -They are good for one year. ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @JayHawkFanToo tharpe left to be closer to his daughter. Yeah, right?



  • @Blown

    Publicly, Bill already stated that he thinks testing the waters has been a huge improvement for college players to do without risking anything, but also to discover their road map to success the following year by hearing out their weaknesses from scouts and management. They also start making connections and are making impressions for the future.

    I am happy for Svi to do this. It is a wise move. He knows it… Bill knows it (and probably advised him to do it)…



  • @BShark

    Sorry, I was probably answering a different post but I am having problems scrolling up without reloading the page.



  • @Crimsonorblue22

    Riiiiiiiiight…laughing emoji goes here.


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