Draft Declarations Thread



  • @justanotherfan

    Interesting conundrum for Doke. At this time he is a one dimensional player and the dimension being one that the NBA is getting away from. He needs to stay and diversify his game, particularly improve rebounding and develop a midrange shot but to do this he needs playing time and likely would need assurances from the staff he will get playing time; I am not sure that assurance is a sure thing at this time.



  • @JayHawkFanToo

    Agreed. I just don’t see how Doke is going to develop some of those things at KU. Is Bill Self really going to take Doke out of the post to help him develop his face up game? The rebounding, I absolutely see Doke being able to develop. But diversifying his offensive game likely won’t happen at KU. I think that’s where the 40 part of the 60/40 is coming from. Doke understands he needs to develop, but breaking from his one dimensional game requires a significant change in his role - a change I am not sure KU will make because its not worth it from KU’s perspective to have Doke go from shooting 77% from the field to 60% because he’s taking 12 footers all of a sudden.



  • And Hamidou Diallo is gone. UK’s “stacked” roster continuing to fall apart piece by piece. Hearing PJ is leaning towards staying in the draft now. Green transfer rumors are still abundant as well.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    And Hamidou Diallo is gone. UK’s “stacked” roster continuing to fall apart piece by piece. Hearing PJ is leaning towards staying in the draft now. Green transfer rumors are still abundant as well.

    Tyrese Maxey is going to reclass to 2018 and commit to UK.

    So young again!



  • @BShark Have you ever seen a team with so many PGs? lol.



  • Herro isn’t going to be happy no way no how. Green has to be so butthurt right now.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    @BShark Have you ever seen a team with so many PGs? lol.

    UK has 3 5* PG and Duke has 3 5* wings. Maybe they should do a trade.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    Herro isn’t going to be happy no way no how. Green has to be so butthurt right now.

    You’d think these kids know what they are signing up for. Herro isn’t going to play now LOL.



  • @BShark Is the Maxey thing official?



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    @BShark Is the Maxey thing official?

    I mean it’s happening. SMU fired his dad.



  • But it’s not official yet.



  • @BShark I swear Cal has some military grade cologne or something that puts people in a trans and they believe everything he says.



  • @Kcmatt7 The fan base too. They went from upset to declaring 40-0 again.



  • @BShark Lol right? That has me dead! I look at that team and all I can see is 10 losses. Chris Weber and Jalen Rose aren’t walking through that door 😂



  • @Kcmatt7 18 class is weak too. Anyone counting on all players from it is in for major disappointment. Maxey and Hagans are easily better than Quickley.

    Like maybe Quickley should have considered KU. At least Self wouldn’t recruit over him in the SAME CLASS.



  • OMG WHAT IF QUICKLEY IS THE MYSTERY PLAYER.

    pounds 12 beers, runs around naked, passes out

    (all fiction no malice)



  • @BShark Lol Kentucky fans would have a Civil War if that happened.



  • @Kcmatt7 Yeah I mean there is no way, he legit loves UK.



  • @BShark Oh he’s not going anywhere. But, Cal 100% told everyone of these kids they would come in and start or be the first guy off of the bench and play 25 mpg. That isn’t going to happen at this point, so someone is going to be pissed.



  • Today is basically the last day to ask for feedback without officially declaring. A week from today is basically the deadline to declare. At least we should have an answer on Doke in the next week. Langford decision is in 2 and a half weeks. By then, I hope we basically have our roster figured out.



  • @Kcmatt7 Sure seems like Doke will stick around.



  • @BShark I sure hope so.



  • @Kcmatt7 Yeah, seems like more of a need with the Silvio situation too. This has to be so hard for Doke. He obviously isn’t ready for the NBA but I’m sure he really wants to start getting paid so he can get his mom out of Africa.



  • @BShark I will 100% respect his decision to leave if that’s what he chooses.

    I wish he could talk to an agent about it and see what he would likely get paid if he went to play overseas.



  • Maxey isn’t going to reclassify. UK prefers him in 2019 to replace Hagans and/or Quickley. Probably means Green is sticking around.

    The Doke situation is super quiet. Nobody is talking. I’m thinking he stays b



  • It would be very helpful to Doke if he could get some feedback not just from the NBA, but from teams overseas. He could probably make a decent amount playing overseas at his size. Not millions, but hundreds of thousands. It is a bit difficult that he cannot consult with an agent about those options without forfeiting his eligibility, as that would be very helpful in his decision making. Most NBA folks aren’t connected enough with the international basketball scene to give quality advice on what other leagues may be interested in with a player like Doke. Doke may be even more valuable overseas because of the fact that he isn’t a guy likely to be poached by the NBA in a few years.



  • @nuleafjhawk Man! How can you be mad at Paul?? One of the best all time Jayhawks. Period. He went to the League and was a multi time All Star. He never forgot KU and his roots there. I could go on and on here. Paul will always be a Jayhawk. That 97 team he was on was so dominant a case could be made that it was the best team KU fielded ever in its history. They ran into some terrible luck against AZ, shoulda gotten an NC that year. That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes tho. Kind of like how Duke’s shot rimmed out at the last second and we go to the Final Four this year in an unprecedented run.



  • @justanotherfan

    The coaching staf has great connection with the pro scouts and NBA teams and they get the information and relay it to the player and advise him on whether to go or stay. Markieff has not really planned on leaving with Marcus but the staff told him he would be a lottery pick and off he went.

    So, while an agent can contact teams and get specific offers, the coaching staff can get him pretty good information about the overall interest by pro teams.



  • @JayHawkFanToo

    For NBA stuff, that is absolutely true, but Doke’s best opportunities probably lie overseas. Without connections to the international agents and scouts, Doke isn’t getting all of the best advice for his unique situation.



  • @justanotherfan

    Times have changed. There are many scouting agencies like this one that scout American and International players for NBA and overseas teams and they are in contact with American college programs scouting players for potential international teams. KU staff has information not only on NBA but also international potential destinations; this is part of the service they sell to prospects parents, the ability to provide complete scouting reports including overseas opportunities.



  • @Lulufulu One thing you probably need to know about me bro (or sis) - I use hyperbole and sarcasm a lot. Almost exclusively.

    Love Paul. Would have loved him a tiny bit more if he had stayed one more year. No big deal.



  • Wendell Carter breaks his momma’s heart. NBA with Agent. Duke’s entire starting 5 gone



  • Wagner from Michigan to no surprise declares with Agent



  • @BeddieKU23 that team has less than no depth now.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    @BeddieKU23 that team has less than no depth now.

    Don’t tell Duke fans that, they are loaded beyond comprehension



  • @BeddieKU23 Lol I feel another zone coming.



  • Wagner and Carter both sure took awhile. Not sure what the wait was for lol.



  • Has Duke replaced UK as the preferred destination of OADs?



  • BShark said:

    Wagner and Carter both sure took awhile. Not sure what the wait was for lol.

    Same with the Kentucky kids who haven’t made up their mind



  • JayHawkFanToo said:

    Has Duke replaced UK as the preferred destination of OADs?

    Definitely. Or running side by side for it. Hasn’t helped them win titles the past few



  • I am 100% ok with UK and Duke taking OADs and having absolutely no depth or experience to go with it. Go ahead and mark them down for an elite 8 flameout.



  • @Kcmatt7

    In the last 15 years UConn has 3 titles, UNC has 3 titles, Duke has 2 titles, one gifted to them by the refs and KU and KU have 1 tiltle each.

    Considering the huge talent gap between UK and Duke versus the rest of the field, both programs have underachieved big time.



  • Winning the national championship is legitimately difficult.

    It takes a perfect blend of players, combined with the right amount of luck and talent to get it all done.

    Even during this OAD era, there have never been more than four teams with enough overall OAD talent to even be considered a national title contender in a given year. Given that, having two OAD national champions is pretty good when you would guess that there are probably six or seven total teams with legitimate national title aspirations each year.

    Up until Calipari arrived at UK, there really weren’t many OAD dominated teams. I don’t count Derrick Rose at Memphis because he was the lone OAD on that team, or Durant at Texas (or Beasley at KSU) because again, they didn’t really have that many actual OADs around them. If you want, you can count Ohio State in 2007 with Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook. However, most only projected Oden as an OAD, with Conley and Cook expected to stay multiple years.

    If we count Ohio State 2007, here are the OAD dominated teams in the OAD era:

    Ohio State 2007 (Conley ranks too low in most recruiting sites to make this team qualify), UNC 2007, Kentucky 2010, Kentucky 2012, Kentucky 2013, Kentucky 2014, Kansas 2014, Duke 2015, Kentucky 2015, Duke 2017, Kentucky 2017, Duke 2018, Kentucky 2018. To be considered OAD dominated, you have to have at least three players ranked in the top 15, or four freshman ranked in the top 20 in the class. That eliminates teams with one high ranked recruit surrounded by a bunch of other top 100 players (LSU with Ben Simmons, Mizzou last year, Beasley at KSU, Durant at Texas, etc.).

    Kentucky 2012 and Duke 2015 won titles. Kentucky 2014 and Ohio State 2007 were national runners up. Kentucky 2015 went to the Final Four. UNC 2007, Kentucky 2010 and Duke 2018 went to the Elite Eight. Kentucky 2018 went to the Sweet 16. Kansas 2014 and Duke 2017 lost in the Round of 32. Kentucky 2013 missed the tournament.

    What’s really fascinating about these squads is that Kentucky 2013 was by far the weakest of the group. Poythress and Goodwin were ranked 13 and 15 in their class. Noel got hurt. If you take away Noel, that team doesn’t qualify. Same story with Kansas 2014. Take away Embiid and it’s just Wiggins and Selden. That means they aren’t really an OAD dominated team. Duke 2017 had Giles and Bolden both miss big chunks of the season with injury or illness. Take away those two and again, that’s not an OAD team.

    Obviously, that doesn’t take away the fact that those teams underachieved, but when you count it up, there have really only been about a dozen true OAD teams. Most years, it’s one or maybe two freshmen on a squad together without a lot of other help. If you don’t have three starter quality freshmen, it’s hard to say you’re an OAD team.

    It appears from this that if you can land three or more top 15 recruits and keep them all healthy, your chances of making a deep tournament run are almost assured.

    Edit: The only OAD squad for 2019 is Duke (for now). Kentucky only has three top 20 recruits, and only one top 15 recruit. KU may have two top 15 recruits, but they don’t have any other top 20 guys. Oregon only has two top 15 recruits. If Langford goes to Vandy, they actually become an OAD squad (Garland and Shittu are both top 15 players) so adding Langford would legitimately change Vandy’s ceiling.



  • Hamidou Diallo declares for draft with Agent.

    Nojel Eastern of Purdue without Agent.



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    Nojel Eastern of Purdue without Agent.

    2.9 PPG…



  • BShark said:

    BeddieKU23 said:

    Nojel Eastern of Purdue without Agent.

    2.9 PPG…

    I was surprised. Eastern will be one of their best players this year. Figuring he’s banking on getting some feedback and building for next year.



  • Zhaire Smith stays in the draft. Smart decision. Likely a Top 20 pick

    Huge loss for the Big-12 and Texas Tech.



  • Omari Spellman declares without an Agent (Smart Move).

    Chris Silva of South Carolina, no Agent

    Danny Manning loses his starting C, Doral Moore who will stay in the draft. Another huge loss for him.



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    Zhaire Smith stays in the draft. Smart decision. Likely a Top 20 pick

    Huge loss for the Big-12 and Texas Tech.

    Figured, but will be interesting to see how Beard does w/o Evans and Smith.



  • Danny will be lucky to make it through this season. And I find it hard to disagree. I have yet to see any improvement.


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