Next Year's Team Thread
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@jayballer67 May I ask all who post here why everyone places KJ Adams in the big man category? He’s listed at 6’7" but when he’s on the court he looks smaller than that. Braun is sometimes listed at 6’7" and rebounds well but is always listed as a guard. For me the bigs category starts at 6’9". I don’t see many players KJ’s size listed as a big forward or center. But, to answer jayman’s question, before his superior play in the tourny I would have been against Dave returning. Now, Big Dave gets to do whatever he wants; play center for us, coach, or take Brian Hanni’s spot, whatever Dave wants to do. Dave’s a champion and not many KU players can make that claim.
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Because of his skill set and he exclusively played the 5 offensively. His defense was not an issue at all to seeing court time. We didn’t have a back-up off the bench for JWill at all (I would consider sliding CB over when he came out his “back-up”) so I feel like if he was capable of doing the things Self wants of his 4s since Josh Jackson then that would have been a way to get him on the court more.
To me, skill set is much more important than height for positions.
It could be possible that Bill goes back to playing 2 bigs, I think that would be a good way to adapt to KJ if he (hopefully) stays.
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@stoptheflop said in Next Year's Team Thread:
@jayballer67 May I ask all who post here why everyone places KJ Adams in the big man category? He’s listed at 6’7" but when he’s on the court he looks smaller than that. Braun is sometimes listed at 6’7" and rebounds well but is always listed as a guard. For me the bigs category starts at 6’9". I don’t see many players KJ’s size listed as a big forward or center. But, to answer jayman’s question, before his superior play in the tourny I would have been against Dave returning. Now, Big Dave gets to do whatever he wants; play center for us, coach, or take Brian Hanni’s spot, whatever Dave wants to do. Dave’s a champion and not many KU players can make that claim.
KJ being listed as a 5 is every minute he played this yr I believe he played at the 5. - I believe he was recruited as a 5 out of high school , could be wrong. He has shown no ability to make any kind of mid range jumper well as of yet while at KU - - think that’s where he plays while at KU
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@jayballer67 Listed as a PF by the recruiting services. I think those traditional player positions need re-defining. I would consider KJ a potential stretch big, based on his skills. IF he can develop his shot.
Tried to show wing/guard skills in HS but doesn’t have them at the major conference level.
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Whenever an opposing team plays a 6’7" big, I always consider it an act of desperation. I agree a very unusual player with the right talent may be effective in the post and not be 6’9". But those players are seldom seen. I remember how effective 6’5" Charles Barkley was in the post. I don’t understand why KU is having trouble recruiting some real heighth, 6’10"-7 feet. Second half Big Davc against Miami reminds me why a true tall post is still invaluable. Miami had no answer when Dave got the ball inside.
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@stoptheflop said in Next Year's Team Thread:
Whenever an opposing team plays a 6’7" big, I always consider it an act of desperation. I agree a very unusual player with the right talent may be effective in the post and not be 6’9". But those players are seldom seen. I remember how effective 6’5" Charles Barkley was in the post. I don’t understand why KU is having trouble recruiting some real heighth, 6’10"-7 feet. Second half Big Davc against Miami reminds me why a true tall post is still invaluable. Miami had no answer when Dave got the ball inside.
Us having so many tall bigs soon is I think part of why KJ/his mom are considering a transfer. Zach 6’10’’, interested to see what Udeh and Zuby are listed at once they get here. Both are very big.
It depends what you are looking for in your system. Nova has done well with short 5s. I think KJ could do great there. Very athletic, develop into a respectable shooter and that’s a great fit.
I’m somewhat concerned with what we do if JWill does leave. I see some guys in the portal that fit out system, but I’d rather have JWill.
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KJ did a great job of guarding 6-5 Miami’s guard, Mcgusty!
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@stoptheflop Vital from Baylor reminded me of Barkley
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@Crimsonorblue22 said in Next Year's Team Thread:
KJ did a great job of guarding 6-5 Miami’s guard, Mcgusty!
Think he can do a great job defending 2-4. Can defend some 5s. At this point can be abused inside by someone really big/strong. A good bench piece.
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I think being at KU should be a very good barometer for KJ and his mom. If he can’t get on the floor here isn’t going to go pro. Bill can and will absolutely take advantage of having a 4 who can score. He did it with the Twins, T-Rob, JJ and Jalen. He definitely needs to add some skill/develop an offensive game that can be more than catching alley oops at this level. Wouldn’t argue that.
But I do pretty much reject the idea/notion that he is “basically a 5.” The guy has above average handles for his size. Enough that Bill trusted him in the weave as a freshman. His shooting form (based off of HS tape) is better than Jalen’s. He shows plenty of signs of having a good BBIQ (4.1 Assists per game in HS and showed plenty of IQ this season). He has soft touch and looks to be very coordinated.
The talent is all there. He just has to basically stick it out next season behind Jalen (hopefully) and then 2023-2024 will be his year. He is basically a jump shot away from being a ++ defender and 10ppg+ offensive threat. It’ll take some work, but from what I can see the tools are all there.
I really, really hope he is back. I’m super high on him if he is willing to tough it out.
I rarely find that this route is “the right way” but I feel like it is in this particular case. In order to be forced to develop offensively, he needs a place where talent is there to push him each day. If he leaves and goes a step or two down, I just don’t see how he ever is pushed enough in practice to develop his offensive game. He can get on the floor at a lot of schools. But he can’t be GREAT at a lot of places. Just my two cents at least.
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@Kcmatt7 I’m talking about right now. Guys do develop of course. If he stays or not he needs to be working on his handle and his shot this offseason. That’s his path to playing time.
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@BShark he certainly seems to love it here. Heard him say several times this is why he wanted to play here.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Yeah. Mom is the BIG issue here.
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@BShark said in Next Year's Team Thread:
@Crimsonorblue22 Yeah. Mom is the BIG issue here.
Is the issue that another school is favored (like an alma mater) or is it all about KJ?
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@bskeet Mom was very upset with his playing time/usage. Thinks she knows better than Self. Headache.
Her twitter was insane, then she locked it and deleted a bunch of tweets.
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SMH
Hopefully a national title will help her adjust her perspective a bit. And he was on the floor on the final shot.
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@bskeet Bill pointed that out during the banquet. Don’t think that was by accident.
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My thought exactly. I thought Self went a bit out of his way to stroke two guys (outside of the rotation players) at the banquet: KJ and Bobby.
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@bskeet yeah, don’t think Bobby is a transfer risk but Self does just love him. Bill will sometimes take one guy individually under his wing over the summer and really work with that guy. This happened with Dajuan previously and I’ve heard it’s very likely with Bobby this off-season after recruiting is done.
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@BShark it really started last fall. Self had Bobby host recruits and take a leadership role in projecting the future of the program. Looking for a big jump from him
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@FarmerJayhawk Heard about this as well. Zach and Bobby pick game will be LETHAL.
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@bskeet and Clemence!
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The kid can shoot the 3
https://twitter.com/bgclk/status/1515414170853908490?s=21&t=G5eZRNKFfNv5-elMdxtb6A
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I will just say there are things in our favor in regards to CB…
Loves KU (can’t be overstated)
Family is already wealthy.
Not many guys have the chance to come back off a national championship with a shot to cement their spot in the rafters…
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@Jethro Best part of this list is the lack of UK and SEC teams.
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@BShark He’s also got his bro Juando on the team. I think CB coming back is more likely than JWill returning.
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@Eric-san said in Next Year's Team Thread:
@Jethro Best part of this list is the lack of UK and SEC teams.
Iowa State having more than Kentucky is something I never would have expected. Kentucky fans are taking this all quite poorly.
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@BShark said in Next Year's Team Thread:
I will just say there are things in our favor in regards to CB…
Loves KU (can’t be overstated)
Family is already wealthy.
Not many guys have the chance to come back off a national championship with a shot to cement their spot in the rafters…
Wish I could feel better about CB as you, I just don’t feel that well. - For one CB really has nothing left to prove now, part of an NCAA Champion Team , two , Just really can’t see his NBA stock raising enough for him to take that chance of possibly injury where he has no NBA chance. 3 ya his family is wealthy, UT he not gonna be living with mommy and Daddy forever - he is considered an adult now -he has his own life and a chance to make some good money of his own -wish I felt better - if he comes back Great would love it - but I sure wouldn’t want to bet the farm on it
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Dennis won AAC Defensive POY. The guy can defend and shoot the trey. I think he has a lot more game in him… hasn’t been reached yet.
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@drgnslayr Don’t know about that shooting part. Agree he can really defend.
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He can definitely shoot the trey well… his stats might be hidden because of their disastrous concept of an offense.
He should accel on a team with real coaching.
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Career sub 40% shooter from the floor fyi
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@Crimsonorblue22 lol
Maybe he stays if KJ transfers out. Have no doubt he wants to stay. I’d be surprised but Bill has really softened over the years…
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KJ’s shooting form looks way better lately… @BeddieKU23 @Kcmatt7
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@BeddieKU23 said in Next Year's Team Thread:
Career sub 40% shooter from the floor fyi
No one in the country would be above 40% if they were forced to take the shots he took. Their offense stunk. Many of those were forced shots with a tick or two left on the shot clock because no one else would take the shot, and he was guarded. He has a great shot and on a real team would lift his % dramatically.
If you look at his stats, he shot 40% from both 2 and 3 pt line as a freshman. Then it was downhill from there. The team continually crashed their offense.
I know he’s a Shocker and that is a negative for many… but he’s a great young man with high character.
I don’t know if he fits with this team, but he has a lot of play that resembles Och.
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I can live with 1 year where a player’s role is forced into this or that. We have 4 years of data on Dennis and he can’t shoot consistently. Under 40% for 4 years is terrible imo.
The tape shows plus athleticism, defense (for which he was rewarded in the league), physically mature guard/wing. Tape shows he can make open perimeter shots with 176 made 3’s in his career. Think he’s a cut below KU level and the kind of impact player that will raise the ceiling
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I’ll just leave it like this. I bet Och would shoot in the 30s on that Shocker team. I tried to watch several of their games and they weren’t watchable. Dennis was one of their guys having to force up late clock guarded shots. His shot form isn’t available out there in college basketball, but with a few… like Och had. I hope the kid gets a chance to shine somewhere and he will disprove critics when playing in a real offense.
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I agree Wichita wasn’t fun to watch this year. Saw a few games & their current coach isn’t the answer. Dennis brings plenty of experience to the table. Good athlete and defends. Certainly has some skills a coach like Self values. We have MJ Rice who’s basically a younger/better version of Dennis imo. We certainly need to replace Och with a comparable body though so Dennis is an option, just not sold on him being the one.
We have an unbalanced roster right now. We should see plenty of roster movement this week & perhaps some portal action.
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@BShark said in Next Year's Team Thread:
KJ’s shooting form looks way better lately… @BeddieKU23 @Kcmatt7
Would be a really good problem to have if he can just hit a wide open 3. That problem being how tf do you get everyone minutes?
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@Kcmatt7 It would be an absolute game changer for him imo
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The only thing I’ll say about Dennis - we do sort of need a 3 and D guy on this roster. Not necessarily a sniper, but you saw how that role helped with JCL and Moss. And neither of those dudes could defend. If he can hit 3s at a .380 clip and bring a spark on D, I’m interested.
There are not a lot of minutes left to give out. If Dennis wants to spend his 5th year as a mature bench piece, I’m good with it.
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@Kcmatt7 said in Next Year's Team Thread:
The only thing I’ll say about Dennis - we do sort of need a 3 and D guy on this roster. Not necessarily a sniper, but you saw how that role helped with JCL and Moss. And neither of those dudes could defend. If he can hit 3s at a .380 clip and bring a spark on D, I’m interested.
There are not a lot of minutes left to give out. If Dennis wants to spend his 5th year as a mature bench piece, I’m good with it.
Yeah we could simply…not have him take 2s except dunks. Classic Self wing role.
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Dennis brings other qualities to the table, too.
We all have come to know that it isn’t just if a kid can ball. Their attitudes are equal contributions (or not).
https://twitter.com/Goodable/status/1462160115629498376
We may need a big dose of humility on next year’s team coming off a NC.
I don’t know if he’s a good fit… that’s Self’s job. I do know he’s headed to Indiana for a visit.
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@drgnslayr said in Next Year's Team Thread:
Dennis brings other qualities to the table, too.
We all have come to know that it isn’t just if a kid can ball. Their attitudes are equal contributions (or not).
https://twitter.com/Goodable/status/1462160115629498376
I don’t know if he’s a good fit… that’s Self’s job. I do know he’s headed to Indiana for a visit.
I just think there are better fits - better kids for that spot - seen Dennis plenty of times -Big time volume shooter - he is either hot - -or he is frigid cold - no in betweens - And when he is cold seems like doesn’t matter he STILL keeps letting it fly -forced or not during those times can really hurt the team. - BUT you know what they say - -the difference between a guy that’s a shooter and a great shooter - the shooter shoots he misses - -he is done - - A great shootere - -he shoots misses and keeps shooting cause he thinks EVERY SHOT is going in
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Dennis left the team once… under the abusive behavior of Marshall. This kid can flat-out ball… and never fit well in that system of abuse and mental illness of Marshall… and Brown is in disarray. I think he’s ready to show who he really is in his final season. Heck… people don’t even know how athletic he is. He’s another Och. And I bet he has a chip with him, and we can use any kind of chip next year because that will be lacking! I’m just thinking out loud!
I think about how he could grasp Self… and Self is truly a players’ coach. He’s never had that. To me, it seems like a great fit, but there is a reason I am at home and not coaching D1! lol
I just wish he had two years of eligibility left. That second year would be a real monster.
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I would like to thank @Jethro for always believing.
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After so many years of practice deciphering the cryptic posts on this board, it sounds like Braun will be coming back. Big news.
