240 lbs of Recruiting Space Opened....
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Cliff gets his own video:
Kansas Basketball @KUHoops “Thanks for being with me…and supporting me the whole way.” - Cliff Alexander
#alwaysajayhawk
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Good luck, Cliff! Your road may become a bit rocky, but give it your all and we all hope the best for you!
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@drgnslayr I don’t know any players that eat nails for breakfast but if they did you would have to figure it would be bad for their health??? I heard Jordan eats Wheaties and I figure if it works for him I would rather have a guy that eats 10 boxes of them in the morning!
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@RockChalkinTexas Thanks for posting that RCIT.
Cliff, Nice touch!
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I am not too worried about this. Most players, even those with remote NBA potential routinely file that request for information and most end up staying in school. If he is projected as a 1st round next year, then he is eligible for the NCAA sponsored insurance program and that might be the real reason for the request. I understand his family is very education oriented and if he can graduate in May, which is distinct possibility given that he is an outstanding student, then it would be more feasible.
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Interesting that the only highlight in the video is the one dunk that cost him a “T.” When you think about it, he really did not have many highlights…if there is a poster boy (no slight intended) for a second year in college, it would be Alexander…and Selby…
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Now that the Harrison’s are gone we are officially out of the Newman running and that is if we were ever really in it. He will be committing there any day now…
The Ellis situation scares me and not in a good way. No reason he shouldn’t assess where he is but he’s going to get nothing but a mid 2nd round grade. Awesome, nothing the internet couldn’t have told you already. You come back and expand your game once again with more perimeter approach which is your only hope of sticking to a team. If you leave the sky is officially falling, no way KU is a top 20 team next year. You can’t replace Perry with something better.
Whens the last time we had 3 year starters?? When’s the last time we returned our leading scorer the following year. Ellis & Selden can be those guys, and you have to go back to Sherron Collins for the last time our leading scorer returned.
Spring recruiting is never a dull moment now. Especially when the entire KU team thinks they are NBA players
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I saw that the Hoop Summit will be at the T Wolves game tonight. I bet they all want to talk to Wiggins which could be a really good thing. I wonder if HCBS has asked Wiggs to do some work for the KU team?
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I looked up several prospects to throw out there along with the flying Greek that Jayhawkfantoo mentioned:
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Yankuba Sima 6’11" 215 lbs. A few months of steaks on the grill could fix the weight problem. Being recruited by Turg and Daddy Pitino.
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Levi Cook 6’10" 305. Maybe we keep him away from the steaks. Virginia Tech is leading the recruiting on him.
Beyond that, anybody know any All-American Juco centers laying around?
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OK not calling anyone out by name, but how can you want some current players to transfer(Selden, Green), but when a guy leaves early(Selby, Alexander) people call them out for not being ready for the NBA or how it’s not right to transfer from KU.
It can’t be both ways. You can’t say that OAD’s we don’t get to know or they didn’t develop enough, then turn around when a guy has a sub par year and say it’s time to go.
To me that’s being a fair weathered fan. Only like the guys that excel every game, but once they let you down or don’t play great it’s time to go. But if they are good enough to get a shot at the league, they get bagged on for making KU a pit stop.
KU has who they have, they will play who they have. We need to, as fan, support those guys and be ready to cheer them on this summer and next season. Cause if not, then it only takes a few bad fans to sour the perception of a great fan base in the eyes of recruits, other teams fans and so on.
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@Statmachine if wigs plays like he has been playing, he won’t have to say much.
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“I don’t know any players that eat nails for breakfast but if they did you would have to figure it would be bad for their health??? I heard Jordan eats Wheaties and I figure if it works for him I would rather have a guy that eats 10 boxes of them in the morning!”
You ever seen what is in Wheaties? Definitely not enough IRON!
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“Beyond that, anybody know any All-American Juco centers laying around?”
Might we take a look down in Wichita and Sunshine Christian Academy? Seems like they pump out several blue chippers that are off most radar screens…
Of course we are familiar with Buddy Hield… but I know last year they had a couple of guys 6’10" or taller, one I think signed with Arizona. One of their bigs a year or two ago went to Miami and is a stud from Africa. They still may have a Croatian or Serbian big left.
“Spring recruiting is never a dull moment now. Especially when the entire KU team thinks they are NBA players”
I second that! Tyler Self moved up to the second round in one draft prediction!
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This is a bit unsettling.
Great…Diallo is rooming with Skal Labissiere, a UK commit, at the Nike Hoops Summit in Oregon. How did that happen? Hmm…I wonder if WWW has anything to do with picking rooms for players? He’s been awfully quiet lately.
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@truehawk93 let’s hope he’s obnoxious!
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@Crimsonorblue22 Gawd, can these players ever get away from the influence of anything UK? Geez
Also, don’t look now but Calipari just lost Dakari Johnson too. He’s super desperate. He’s in the same boat Self was in the year both twins went pro. Remember that?
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@truehawk93 what did cal say? Something like, we’re Kentucky, we can do what we want!
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Great line from Cal on people who say mass exodus of players to the NBA will hurt the team. “This is Kentucky. We do whatever we want."
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@Crimsonorblue22 Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t they pretty much lost all their bigs? Guess what? They need bigs. He is dying for both Diallo and Maker.
Cauley-Stein, gone
Towns, gone
Lyles, gone
Johnson, gone
I think Calipari may be losing his sex appeal with recruits. This next season reminds me of the Nerlens Noel class and team.
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@truehawk93 I hope so!!!
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@Crimsonorblue22 One good thing…UK already disappointed him by losing the NC, hehe
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@Crimsonorblue22 Maybe cheat too?
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@truehawk93 I’d say his lips are to loose!
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@Statmachine wigs had 29 pts tonight!
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Looking to the “next” OAD to be the savior? Was the overall #1 NBA pick, #1 incoming recruit Wiggins the savior his OAD year? Was Jabari Parker a savior for Duke? Mention Tyus Jones and Okafor, but realize they had each other, and came with chemistry with each other when they both came down from MN. That is both special and ultra-rare.
I really don’t like the transfer speculation, as that attacks the very thing that Self’s system has been yearning for x 2yrs now: experience.
Also a bit gloomy on the projection of “not even top 20” if Ellis leaves. He was a Mickey D. Not every Mickey D is the same. Ellis played little his frosh season. Cliff produced more as a frosh than frosh Ellis did. Now we add 6’9 McD Bragg. Who knows what he adds. Let’s hope his brain and personality are wired just a wee bit more aggressive than Perry’s–> and he may add closer to Cliff’s statline, or actually exceed it…? (again, who knows)
Finally, people seem to forget the scoring that Mason gives. He isn’t a 10ppg scorer, but more like a 15ppg scorer. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t quit. Count on Frank to be there. He was there all season for us, but he needs help.
Devonte Graham is another unsung hero. Becoming dangerous on both ends of the court. Man, this is rare: a FROSH who could run Self’s system fairly effectively. When have we ever seen that. Neither Chalmers, nor RussRob could do it as frosh. Sherron did a bit, and Mason did a bit as frosh. Graham is on another level. Having a good/great PG is a force-multiplier. RussRob became exactly that by his Jr season. Tyshawn improved, but was never elite at it statistically. Graham and Mason. What a luxury to have 2 guys that can do it.
Wings? Usually 2 out of 3 show improvement, if you consider Self’s player development, and to be honest, any or all 3 of these kids (Svi, Selden, Greene) could blossom this year.
Our issue is in the post, but it isn’t for lack of bodies. It could be simply the right puzzle-piece fit. I little bit of individual improvements + whatever impact the new bigs add. We could get 1 notch better in our post game, or we could get 4 notches better, depending on who exactly we recruit, and how much the returnees improve.
The rock of this team is Frank, Devonte, Ellis. We need more out of Selden, Greene, Svi, Lucas, Traylor, Hunter, Bragg. That’s 10 guys. What if we get Thorne +/- another big? Or 2 bigs + Thorne? Now that’s 12-13 guys?
Agree with Selden being an enigma. If he plays like DWade, uh, I mean like the guy who killed FL single-handedly, then it takes a lot of pressure off the bigs. This is his time. Many Self McDAA’s produce solid Jr seasons. I’m not throwing in the towel on Big Wayne!
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With all those players leaving UK will have plenty of “salary cap” available to hire…I mean get some of the better unsigned players left
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Going at on a limb here, but this is what I’m seeing. My feeling is Coach Cal and the Wildcats may not get the big recruiting class they’re expecting. Coach Cal showed he can’t coach a OAD team to a championship. The UK players sticking up for him said it all. Words like you can’t blame it on coaching was Nike saying protect our investment. Yet in the end it was all a coached speech.
They maybe OAD’s but they do want to win a championship. Look for Duke to grab some players and then look for KU to grab some players. As KU is playing in this professional tournament. ESPN is already going to air all those games. Behind closed doors I would expect that ESPN and Adidas to put some pressure on these kids to go to KU. I believe KU has 3 or 4 schollies to give. Look for them to be filled with OAD’s.
Just my two cents.
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you can’t replace Ellis if he leaves its that simple.
No wonder why Self has thrown is eggs into so many baskets this late. He’s generally concerned he could leave as well.
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@ralster Wiggins was a savior. Last year would’ve been horrible without him. 10 losses with Wiggins. How many losses would KU have had without him? 15+ No conference title streak, possibly no tournament streak. Wiggins was a stop gap not an instant title and it was a success. He took a non-tournament team to a 2 seed.
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I agree. Even though we often looked bad because we didn’t play like a team. Truth be we had very little offensive power without Wigs. We might have been able to develop a perimeter game but it would have been with all freshmen and how big of a risk would that have been?
Interesting perspective. And we should be landing a couple more OAD-style players because of our extra season and visibility this year. If we don’t, what the heck are all these recruiters doing on our bench? However… it points to us landing USA-born players.
I think it would be nuts for Perry to leave now. He is sitting in the drivers seat for next year, never playing such good, aggressive basketball, and will get a lot more exposure with our extra season. He is a guy that should realize he can throw his name in the hat now and get a guaranteed contract. But what about his second contract? He needs to be playing at the 3 this coming year and work on his perimeter shooting, ball handling, and finishes near the rim. He also needs to tighten up his defense. His defense has often been a liability. Since he is a player who sits on the NBA fence, he should strive to reduce all the weaker areas of his game.
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@ralster Except Okafor didn’t come from Minnesota.
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@drgnslayr I am often frustrated with people who say that Perry should go because he can’t improve anymore. This couldn’t be further from the truth. He could improve his defense, outside shot, and fade away jumper. There is still plenty of room for improvement.
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@DinarHawk I agree!
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Do you think Self is selling Diallo the idea that Ellis if he stays will be getting more perimeter action. That the playing time Diallo wants could possibly be split to some of the 4 minutes mixed in with action at the 5. Perry could be a lethal 3 but I’d have to see him guard the position before I’d be sold on that idea.
Pump fake, ball handling, continue to work on his explosion to the hoop, perimeter defense, 3 ball. All things he could really benefit from staying. Oh and becoming a KU legend by finishing in the top 10 in KU scoring history…
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I hope Self is doing that… and meaning it. I’m not sure how great Perry can guard at the 3, but there is only one way to find out. He has been known to be an average defender anyways. I think we have to look at the net gain. Perry at the 3 and bringing in star talent in the post sounds better than keeping Perry at the 4 and not adding more depth in the post.
Perry has improved every year he has been here. It would be magnified if he had continue to show more aggression. The latter part of this season he started doing that and we could see several different twists Perry has put in his offense. His defense has improved, too… just not to the level we like to see in the post. Perry works hard on his game, and when he focuses on adding tools, he adds them.
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I think these next few days are mere smoke and mirrors. I hate to admit or think it, but Perry Ellis is gone folks. He would’ve announced that he’s staying another year. If they stay, it’s usually pretty quick. In fact most announce after the last game. I think he’s using this time to pick an agent. I don’t fault him either way.
If Ellis leaves, whoa Nelly. The dominoes are going to fall in place.
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@truehawk93 There have been a few guys who have announced they were staying at the end of season dinner I believe. Maybe he’s waiting till then?
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@JRyman It’s hard to say. I actually won’t blame him either way. However, I looked at DraftExpress and NBADraft. I didn’t see Perry at all in the first round. I’d like to know what the “NBA reports” revealed.
I actually found Selden at #45 DraftExpress and #50 NBADraft to the Atlanta Hawks. Cliff was at #35 in the 2015 Mock going to…Philadelphia. Can you imagine if that happened? TRob, Embiid, and Alex?
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I believe the comment is more related to improving his draft status. Obviously he can improve as a player but because of the “tweener” label his ceiling in the draft is limited.
