Freshman/newcomers review so far
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Hey everyone I know it’s early, but what are your thoughts on the freshman/newcomers so far!
Here are mine so far:
Harris (I’m including him since he didn’t play last year): looks like a 4 year guy and a mix between russell Robinson/Aaron miles. Team seems better when he’s on the floor. Improved defensive pressure and ball movement. He needs to get his shot to be at least Russell Robinson’s level and continue to work on drive moves/floaters. He never has to be a scorer but he has to keep defenses honest.
Thompson: looks like a 2-3 year guy. Needs to develop his body and fill out his athleticism . Seems focused and has a good work ethic. I don’t love how his elbow wings out on his shot but the mid range looks pure. Reminds me of rip Hamilton. By the end of the year his scoring will be key. Defensively he doesn’t seem bad but not exceptional.
TGF: a little disappointing so far. NBA athlete and has shown good rebounding and shot blocking ability. His ball handling is holding him back. He can drive but he loses the ball too much or can’t complete the dribble smoothly. Haven’t seen enough of his jumper yet. Disappointing how raw offensively he is. He will be here another year for sure. I like 5 guard lineup look this year and I rather have him be the back up 15 min a game center in the small lineup.
Gethro M: wow he has the body type of a ku age Embiid, But he is so uncoordinated. I knew he was raw but he’s so much further away from being a contributor then I thought. Not sure if he will last at ku but I could be wrong and he might take a huge leap forward
Latrell jossell: not talked about really, very little video on him, we were his only serious offer at the time, many on here have discounted him. He hasn’t played much but my goodness he looks so much better then I thought. I sneakily think he’s being held back some to keep him hungry for more. The kid has reportedly the best shot on the team and that’s saying something with ku having Braun. His shot looks pure. He has good speed and he’s stronger then I thought. He looks like he has a good handle and can pass. I’m not saying I think he should be starting or playing huge minutes necessarily. But man he does look more like frank/Devonte then a guy people assume will just be recruited over. Obviously we need to see him play more to really know.
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@jayhawks2010 I think your assessment pretty much nailed it. I might be a tad higher on TGFs play so far because he seems to have “it”, but I like your criticisms and I think they’re realistic. I agree on Harris’ shot and Thompsons shot. And I
agree that I want to see more Jossell. I see Frank tbh. Tough as nails. Makes the smart pass in rhythm (honestly I think Harris may be a passing savant but Jossell looked like second best passer on the team last night) has complete body control, and his shot is pure! I don’t have an opinion about Gethro yet. He’s just too raw and timid to know what he will become.
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Harris is a nice player to have on the roster, agree with OPs take. It will be hard to play him against good/smart teams this year. You either have to swap him cleanly for Garrett or play Garrett in the post lol.
I believe Bryce and his dad figured he would be here multiple years. Definitely not NBA ready. He tries defensively, which you love to see for a Frosh. Statistically he is slightly above average defensively, but bad offensively. The offense will come. I feel like a full offseason will be HUGE for Bryce. Look at Jalen, it really helped him.
Tyon statistically is one of our best 5 players with the caveat that he didn’t really play against UK or Creighton. He’s really strong defensively when engaged. Agree about his dribble, it’s just awkward. With his athleticism and size I think you mostly want to play him at the 4.
Gethro needs a lot of work. Self is bringing in a lot of bigs so he could be buried on the depth chart.
Jossell is soooo small. He’s a great walk-on (that has a scholarship). If he sticks it out at KU he is a nice practice squad type player. If he turns into more I will be shocked and it would be an all-time Bill Self story.
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6ft 160. Yeah that’s a good little point you made.
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@approxinfinity Even KU lists him at 5’11’’ I thought, and he looks probably an inch shorter than that.
He could develop but his story is very different from Frank and Graham. Graham and Frank are both guys that benefited greatly from a prep year and got other real P5 offers.
Graham was a 4* top 100 that visited Virginia and NC State in addition to KU. Cincy was also involved.
Jerry Meyer was really high on Frank, he had him just about in the top 50, a 4*. Iirc Bama and South Carolina offered but there wasn’t a lot of time for him to accumulate offers because Bill put the hammer down to land him in the fall.
Jossell otoh was completely unranked, had no other D1 offers and was the back-up on his AAU team. I don’t think it’s a good idea to compare him to Frank and Graham but I see it on twitter and other spots because of his size and “under recruited story” but the recruiting stories are NOT similar.
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@BShark Yeah you could be right about jossell. I guess it will depend how he looks against maybe higher level guards. Do you think he’s much shorter then mason or sherron Collins? He definitely was unknown from a recruiting stand point. On one hand you want to trust the coaches bc they have found some sleeper kids but then they also have the merv Lindsey’s and rio Adams type guys they’ve recruited so who knows lol… I like Thompson’s approach. From watching him play he seems very driven. Exciting to see!
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@BShark thanks for the analysis to temper my expectations, you’re right they’re very different. I’m not meaning anything deeper than the eye test last night against a bad school in spot minutes. He’s got some Frank style in him. I sincerely enjoy the last three minutes of blowouts still being exciting to watch with highlight reel dunks, tight handles and pure 3s. That was fun!
I really like Thompsons pull up jumper from around 10 feet out. After beating his man on perimeter its fearless, pure, and he seems to be best on team at creating his own pull up jumper. Stretches the floor and gives Bill a nice tool to work with when we need a bucket.
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I like what I see from most of the young guys. We will start to see more separation as the year goes by… depending on if we can actually play most of our games.
Wilson and Harris stick out to me (so far). Both of these guys have a good feel for the game and appear to be able to move at the speed of D1 already. I’m expecting great things out of both of those guys during their Jayhawk years.
TGF is a real mystery so far. I think he’s still adjusting to the speed and the enormity of playing for Kansas. He definitely shows some nervousness. Maybe the game will start slowing down for him later in the year and we can utilize his exceptional athleticism.
Latrell… I hold out hope he will develop into more than most think. Sure I like to run size. But more… you all know me… I’m pure x-axis. Give me a guy with speed, who can shoot from everywhere, and can make plays. He will be the most valuable player on the floor. And the little guys are very capable of being excellent on defense. First… they have the jets. And if they learn how to position, cut off driving lanes, disrupt opposing offense, steal passes, and get into someone’s grill on their shot… what more could we ask for? The little guys should have plenty of motivation to prove they belong out there.
Bryce is the total package. He comes from a basketball family and I’m betting no one is in a hurry to shove him into the league before he is ready. He’s a guy who should spend his summers away at development camps, preparing for the league. But he can’t take anything for granted. Just because he has the look, the body, and some of the talent… that is no guarantee in the No Boys Allowed league.
I’m on board with others and think Gethro needs a lot of work, but I trust in Self that he sees something we don’t yet. Maybe it’s just a good practice player/reserve. Don’t know.
