Crootin Thread III, Wherein Some Players Probably Commit to KU



  • I like his post moves. Left handed hook shots. Head fakes. Looks like a high bb IQ. And he’s willing to ride the bench. What’s not to like? It’s not like we can offer any recruit that much playing time ( except Duvall ).



  • @KUSTEVE He’s a little springy isn’t he? Appears to me the only reason he couldn’t score 15-20 ppg for W&M was because he has foul issues.



  • @Kcmatt7 He plays hard, and is quite scrappy. I think we got a pretty good one.



  • http://www.d1circuit.com/news_article/show/787849

    Could be that Demarius plays himself into a KU offer so that he can play with his brother in college.



  • Well after further review lol. Maybe not quite as bad as my first really bad thought process. Seems pretty fluid, seems like he wants to take the ball to the hole with authority - -ALOT gotta like that - has some bounce, some nice inside moves - maybe not ALL against A-1 talent but still think he will give us some quality play possibly. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @BShark I can already tell I like that family. I hope that is the case. I expect him to shoot up the boards soon. And, I like when we can have those telepathic connections.



  • @jayballer54

    I think he is a fine addition for what KU will ask him to contribute.

    @Kcmatt7

    The big knock on him was his shooting ability, and reportedly he has improved it a fair bit. That isn’t close to the only big time risers/improvers/stock increasers article that mentioned him. It wouldn’t surprise me if one reason he took the prep year was to hope for a KU offer. Also spaces him just one class apart from his brother. He has the toughness and grit Self wants, based on everything I’ve read.



  • jayballer54 said:

    @BeddieKU23 So guess I have this question. With so many misses in high school recruits this year and so many and then relying on so many transfers this year do you consider this year in recruiting a good year - -a so , so year or a down year?

    The Lawson’s is solid , This guy I feel not so much , Cunliffe , might be fine , Charlie Moore I’m taking a wait and see with him. I know probably just me BUT I just feel that this has been a little frustrating on the recruitment trail this year - MAN I hope I’m wrong. so what do you think? - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

    I’m not sure its a down year, actually we are probably in uncharted territory here with how many transfers we are taking.

    Landing Newman last year seemed to have scared off other guards we were so desperately going after. Probably the only one that would have been as good as Malik this season would have been Sexton. So in the end losing out on all guard targets except Garrett sucks but we still have really good options. Newman is likely to be a 1st team All Big-12 player, can’t complain if he performs.

    Speaking of Garrett, he makes the class good in my opinion. I hope my confidence in his game pays off. Exciting kid, exactly the type Self loves.

    The Ayton miss and the non-existent other options in the post besides Preston is the most puzzling aspect of this years recruiting class. Preston is such a wildcard. He thinks he’s a OAD, he will be a OAD regardless of his season. I just hope he’s eligible otherwise the Whitman signing was more then just “depth”. If Preston can be coached Self will have fun with him.

    Cunliffe, solid addition if he matures. He better get on board with the rest of the team and fit in. Messy situation leaving ASU, usually where there is smoke of a kid being detrimental to a team usually that isn’t the type Self goes after. I’m hoping he was just immature and needed a better situation. Bouncy, can shoot and create his own. Rebounds, some potential defensively. Lots to like.

    The 3 sit-outs will be very good here although the Moore signing left us IMO 1 scholarship short for this year that we could have used to create a 6 perimeter, 5 post situation, great depth, covers injuries, etc. But Self is gambling on Moore paying off in the future so we must get on board I guess.

    Lawson, definite favorite for Big-12 POY and All American when he’s eligible. Seems like the other Lawson still has some potential to max out. Home run signings IMO.

    So while its always great to get the best High School kids out there it seems Self has really changed his mind on finding the best talent out there regardless of what it is. Former Top HS kids, Newman- Top 10, Cunliffe- Top 40, Lawson- Top 30, Lawson- Top 60, Moore- Top 75 now find themselves on KU’s roster. Will be interesting to see how they all mesh.



  • @Kcmatt7 I like per 40 analysis … posted a lot of that stuff over the years. It was particularly insightful with Diallo and Alexander. Others reacted quite negatively to the comparisons.



  • Whitman looks better than Coleby. Obviously more athletic. All based solely on the video and the numbers/stats. Is he really better than Coleby?



  • All the video’s I’ve seen point to a player with some really nice footwork, can catch the ball, survey what is happening around him, and make quick fluid moves to the basket. Unless Preston comes ready to play this seems more then just a depth move.



  • @BeddieKU23 Kevin Young 2.0?



  • @HighEliteMajor Agreed. I’m pretty sure I did a ton of analysis two years ago trying to see if there was a way stats could prove LL was our most effective post player. Couldn’t find anything to support it, and actually saw that Diallo was more effective per minute than LL. Significantly more effective…

    I wish we had played Diallo more. But I think I’m in the minority with that.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    @BeddieKU23 Kevin Young 2.0?

    Maybe, I’m not sure he’s the comparison that best fits Whitman. He looks like he can take contact and finish which is a nice thing to see from someone who finishes most of his baskets at the rim. I just like how he knows what he is supposed to do, no hesitation, he understands angles and pivoting to get his man going another way. Very optimistic he can fit in the rotation



  • HighEliteMajor said:

    @Kcmatt7 I like per 40 analysis … posted a lot of that stuff over the years. It was particularly insightful with Diallo and Alexander. Others reacted quite negatively to the comparisons.

    I remember the discussions. I think the biggest problem is if the 40/per stats are based on sample sizes under, say, 10-13 min per game. A guy can come in and really skew his numbers by being able to average 4 pts and 2 rebs in an average 6 minutes for 4 or 5 games, but might get no more than that every time he got extended minutes. I.e., can score in spurts but no distance on his motor.

    The value to the stat is still there, but I think it is limited to comparing people whose actual game minutes are similar.



  • @BeddieKU23 I only bring that one up because they have similar stat lines at that lower level and both seem to be fairly coordinated guys with high BBIQ.



  • @Kcmatt7 The discussion of Whitman should prob go to the other thread.



  • @jayballer54 @BeddieKU23

    The other big key about grad transfers is they are such low risk. It’s like a one year contract in baseball.

    Agree on the guards, Sexton would have been an electric signing. Young would have made KU boards happy, but he was never a great fit. Not saying I didn’t want him, because he would have been a fine add, but he reminded me of Frankamp.

    I’m not big on Cunliffe. I think the staff has a lot of work to do there.

    Garrett looks like a great multi-year addition to me. If he does blow up and show he can play PG, it might only be 2 years though.



  • HighEliteMajor said:

    Whitman looks better than Coleby. Obviously more athletic. All based solely on the video and the numbers/stats. Is he really better than Coleby?

    Probably, but we won’t know for sure until we see him in a KU uniform. I’m not convinced Coleby’s knee could hold out for 20 minutes a game. Coleby was like that kid on the little league team who when he actually did anything positive, everyone was extremely happy for him. Coleby’s one, actually good game was the Texas game. He was just kind of…there in the Georgia, UK and Purdue games. So yeah, I would hope this kid is better. At the very least, he has two healthy knees.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    @HighEliteMajor Agreed. I’m pretty sure I did a ton of analysis two years ago trying to see if there was a way stats could prove LL was our most effective post player. Couldn’t find anything to support it, and actually saw that Diallo was more effective per minute than LL. Significantly more effective…

    I wish we had played Diallo more. But I think I’m in the minority with that.

    Argh Diallo talk again, this is still bothersome for me so I’ll keep it short.

    I think Diallo should have played more. Definitely instead of Jamari. Sure he was rather lost on the court most of the time, but he had the ability to make up for it. With more playing time, the hope would have been he would figure some things out. Some players just need the actual game time instead of practice, maybe this was the case with Diallo, but sadly we will never know. I think the biggest issue was his offense. He was easily determined as a net positive on D despite his lapses. His offense was worrisome, probably a net negative and I think he felt he had to shoot more often than he should have.



  • @mayjay

    I agree. Statistically speaking, the per 40 is similar to the models used by KenPom and Sagarin that get better as the sample size increases but are wildly unpredictable with small samples. The per 40 stat is better suited when players average at least 20 minutes. Players that average less than 10 minutes are in the game for situations that call for their specific strength or at the end of games, neither a typical game environment.

    In Alexander and Diallo’s cases, the per 40 stat really is misleading because based on their on game stats they would never play 40 minutes…unless the NCAA allows 12-15 fouls before fouling out.



  • Diallo sucked hind tit. He was lost and way behind. Raw with a late start. He needed 2-3 years in the system to be a + for KU.

    Alexander was coming on strong late and would have been a big factor for KU in the NCAA tournament had he been allowed to play. His roll was expanding as the season went on. If allowed a second year Alexander would’ve been a beast! Diallo who knows?



  • @mayjay @JayHawkFanToo Not an exact science to be sure. Lucas is a great example of a guy whose productivity in limited time ended up translating with more playing time. Traylor is an example where more playing time meant less production.

    The fact that a player may never play 40 minutes because of fouls is irrelevant. Most players don’t may 40 minutes anyway. The choice of 40 minutes is a semi-random static number. Remember that. It could be per 30. Or per 48. It’s just chosen because that’s the length of a game, and most players never play 40 anyway, as mentioned (fouls or no fouls).

    The per 40 is really a “per minute” stat. That’s how I always tried to break it down. Per minute. But, of course, it’s the same issue in determining what it means.

    The ultimate key is to find the point of max productivity. With Traylor, it really was about 10 minutes per game. We saw that over his entire career. We could get bursts of good play.

    With Diallo and Cliff, the more experience they could get, would likely lead to more productivity over longer stretches of PT. That’s because of their talent level. The limited PT gave us glimpse of what could be. We’ve seen that with multiple players at Kansas where they progressed and became more productive.



  • Jeff Borzello ESPN Staff Writer

    Hameir Wright said he’s still weighing a move back to 2017, but the plan right now is to take a prep year. Kansas and Michigan State are making a push. Miami, Syracuse, Villanova, Maryland, UCLA.

    http://spartanavenue.com/2017/05/01/michigan-state-recruiting-hameir-wright-reclassify-2017/

    Is he a real possibility in 2017 with Whitman?



  • @dylans

    Michigan State people are very confident he will end up there. Some kind of family tie as well iirc.



  • What happened to T. Mack from Texas? Why’d he get kicked? Seemed like he was coming on strong.



  • dylans said:

    What happened to T. Mack from Texas? Why’d he get kicked? Seemed like he was coming on strong.

    Not much has been released on him, still don’t know why he was shown the door but he had to have pissed off Smart because it was him who suspended him and not the school. Here’s what I found

    Those schools include South Carolina, Clemson, East Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Connecticut, Wake Forest, Georgia, DePaul and North Carolina.

    Mack was home for spring break last week but did not visit any schools. He is going to finish the semester at Texas and then go from there to decide on his new school.

    “I think he’s really waiting for the coaching changes and what players are transferring out or in,” Ms. Mack said. “He said it’s going to be much closer to South Carolina than he was. When he first talked about leaving, he said it’s more than likely an ACC or SEC school.”



  • If we are to take what Matt is saying we are not getting Tilmon… Not even a visit…

    His “KU is in it for Duval” has changed to “would be surprised if he picked KU”. So shocking



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    His “KU is in it for Duval” has changed to “would be surprised if he picked KU”. So shocking

    Mystery of the century revealed.

    At least he was pretty straight forward in that post. The bit about KU not being done if Tilmon/Duval go elsewhere combined with other bits makes it seem like Svi is leaving and so is Coleby.



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    If we are to take what Matt is saying we are not getting Tilmon… Not even a visit…

    His “KU is in it for Duval” has changed to “would be surprised if he picked KU”. So shocking.

    I missed this, where is it?



  • Crimsonorblue22 said:

    BeddieKU23 said:

    If we are to take what Matt is saying we are not getting Tilmon… Not even a visit…

    His “KU is in it for Duval” has changed to “would be surprised if he picked KU”. So shocking.

    I missed this, where is it?

    1. Basically saying he thought Tilmon would visit but sounds like that’s not happening or not likely on the books right now. Things may change but there wasn’t much confidence in that post.


  • BShark said:

    BeddieKU23 said:

    His “KU is in it for Duval” has changed to “would be surprised if he picked KU”. So shocking

    Mystery of the century revealed.

    At least he was pretty straight forward in that post. The bit about KU not being done if Tilmon/Duval go elsewhere combined with other bits makes it seem like Svi is leaving and so is Coleby.

    Yeah I think the staff can’t close 2017 yet without knowing if Coleby is leaving after this semester or Svi stays in the draft. Still lots of players out there.



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    Crimsonorblue22 said:

    BeddieKU23 said:

    If we are to take what Matt is saying we are not getting Tilmon… Not even a visit…

    His “KU is in it for Duval” has changed to “would be surprised if he picked KU”. So shocking.

    I missed this, where is it?

    1. Basically saying he thought Tilmon would visit but sounds like that’s not happening or not likely on the books right now. Things may change but there wasn’t much confidence in that post.

    About as negative as he gets lol.

    As for your next post at this point it sure seems like Svi is gone. I’d love to see Coleby stay for post depth.



  • Wow Kevin Knox to Kentucky. They have 1 million forwards now.

    @BeddieKU23



  • @BShark

    I can’t laugh enough



  • We’ve mentioned this kid before.

    Jalen Carey 2018 combo guard from NY received a KU offer. Slater and Meyer CB’d him to KU. If Slater knows something that would be something to watch… Carey is very good! Typical Self guard.

    Also to mention, he’s having a very good spring in AAU. 6’3 Top 50’ish type IMO



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    We’ve mentioned this kid before.

    Jalen Carey 2018 combo guard from NY received a KU offer. Slater and Meyer CB’d him to KU. If Slater knows something that would be something to watch… Carey is very good! Typical Self guard.

    Also to mention, he’s having a very good spring in AAU. 6’3 Top 50’ish type IMO

    I was coming to post that Carey got his KU offer. I’m not surprised. I’d guess he could commit today if he wanted to. I would assume there is always a spot for Grimes, and then first to commit of Dotson/Carey/etc…

    I don’t think Duke would offer Carey as they should land their top targets, same with UK. So I could definitely see KU being his top offer.



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    @BShark

    I can’t laugh enough

    Duke fans incinerating.



  • I am not sure if this has already been mentioned but apparently Chandler Lawson, AKA the “third” brother was offfered a schoolie by KU. several other offers are mentioned in the article.



  • JayHawkFanToo said:

    I am not sure if this has already been mentioned but apparently Chandler Lawson, AKA the “third” brother was offfered a schoolie by KU. several other offers are mentioned in the article.

    Yep. His dad might be moving to Lawrence to coach HS bball too. Wrap it up if that’s the case.



  • JayHawkFanToo said:

    I am not sure if this has already been mentioned but apparently Chandler Lawson, AKA the “third” brother was offfered a schoolie by KU. several other offers are mentioned in the article.

    Oh, you Wiley guy. You managed to get me to click on a Star link. I hate giving those 💩s views!



  • @BShark ya right now he has 23 offers. Florida, Indiana, Syracuse, Villanova U Conn to name some.- As of right now he is listed a # 82 on 247 rankings but I’m sure he will move up - -good size 6’3 PG out of New York chances are physical player coming out of there playing on the grounds of New York probably not afraid of drawing contact, not a bad thing. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • Another kid to watch that we have been talking with a 2019 to go with Markese class. - -6’8 Isaiah Stewart also out of New York Rochester.

    Of course the normal we are recruiting against - -Duke, N Carolina and us -says he really wants to hear from us that’s a good thing. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • jayballer54 said:

    Another kid to watch that we have been talking with a 2019 to go with Markese class. - -6’8 Isaiah Stewart also out of New York Rochester.

    Of course the normal we are recruiting against - -Duke, N Carolina and us -says he really wants to hear from us that’s a good thing. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

    Doesn’t seem that likely given how deep KU is in with JRE, Chandler Lawson, Matt Hurt etc…

    Watched what I could find of Marcedus Leech. I take it all back, no way he could be the odd man out. He might actually be a guard, very good handle for being 6’6’’. His ceiling is unreal.



  • BShark said:

    BeddieKU23 said:

    @BShark

    I can’t laugh enough

    Duke fans incinerating.

    Ayton 2.0



  • @BShark I suspect there could be a Greyson Allen effect going on. Maybe kids just don’t want to have him as their teammate. I certainly wouldn’t want to go to Duke if I knew he was going to be back on the team. Knox goes elsewhere, Duval taking a looong look at his options and not committing to what most think is a certain pick for him.



  • @RockChalk ya I just can’t believe why he hasn’t announced there yet I mean from everything you hear and have heard it’s been ALL Duke, yet he hasn’t announced. Just keeps saying he is close, he is close. So WHY?

    Maybe there is some truth about his grades after all. Maybe he IS goin to end up going over sea’s and play. Just doesn’t make any sense other wise. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • If Duval goes to Seton Hall the Duke sites would implode.



  • @BShark Not just Duke’s!



  • Just have to laugh when a kid announces that he is about ready to announce when he is going to announce - you follow that lol ? ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY


Log in to reply