Paschal Chukwu twitter chatter. Looks good for KU
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I got COACH Embiid working on this guy for us!
Statmachine @calanr · 1m1 minute ago
@JoelEmbiid can you lend KU a hand recruiting Paschal Chukwu PLEASE???
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Just a discussion point, but would a true center like Chukwu on the roster compromise our ability to land Marques Bolden?
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If HCBS can get Paschal Chukwu in the system for a whole year learning Self’s playbook and building chemistry with his fellow KU teammates then I say Marques Bolden Who?
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OMG, this would a huge catch for KU. I could see this kid becoming a beast for the team one day.
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ESPN analysis on Chukwu from prior to his freshman season:
Strengths: Chukwu’s size and length are his most obvious assets, but he also has a great pair of feet for a guy his size, giving him outstanding agility and mobility to cover the court. He’s an excellent shot-blocker whose ability to change direction only makes him that much more dangerous patrolling the paint and protecting the rim from wide radius’s. He’s also a diligent rebounder who is content to dominate a game on the defensive end. While he doesn’t need a ton of touches to stay engaged, Chukwu has tools to work with in a soft touch, a passer’s instinct, fairly good hands, and the ability to change ends of the floor.
Weaknesses: Physical strength is his top priority right now. His lean body type and high center of gravity make it difficult for him to hold his position against contact at times. His defense is far ahead of his offense right now. He needs to become a more consistent finisher at the rim, establish a go-to move with his back to the basket, and begin to learn how to play pick and roll.
Bottom Line: He needs to get stronger and develop his offensive game, but this is a seven-footer who can anchor your team defensively, will give you a diligent effort, and has tools to continue to develop in the years to come.
Why do we always think a kid would do best to come to Kansas? Because it’s true – at least in this case. Seems like a perfect fit for a kid that needs to get stronger, and then play in a system offensively and defensively that will highlight his abilities.
If you look at the teams he was interested in on Rivals, they all seem to be east coast – farthest west team was Notre Dame.
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I would love to land this kid. Can’t teach height and KU’s track record with 7 footers is probably unmatched.
That said, I really hate all of this transferring. It is amazing how prevalent this has become. Just pick a school and stick it out. It will be a good life lesson to put in some hard work.
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@HawksWin I hope he’s not another Embiid. I’d prefer someone who would stick around a while.
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Michael Lickteig @mhlickteig · 3m3 minutes ago
#kubball KU should move quickly to bring in Paschal Chukwu. Let the Jayhawks help Chukwu the way they did Joel Embiid, Jeff withey, etc.
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@nuleafjhawk look at it this way, if he isn’t around long it was a great pickup. I’d rather him come in and have an amazing season and leave than him have 2-3 mediocre seasons.
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I think HCBS could get any transfer he wants at this point. We have the WUG, Maui, then the over seas trip again next summer. After that is it Atlantis for next years November mini tourney?
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If that’s true then I’d rather have Bolden especially since we’ve put in considerable amount of recruiting into him.
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@Kcmatt7 That’s definitely one way to look at it. I’d personally prefer to have the players around 3+ seasons.
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@BeddieKU23 Pass on Bolden and lock up Chukwu now! A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and there’s no guarantee Bolden even comes to KU.
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@Statmachine AMEN. and who’s to say Bolden doesn’t come here still? If he is thinking long-term we should still be considered regardless.
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“Just a discussion point, but would a true center like Chukwu on the roster compromise our ability to land Marques Bolden?”
I wouldn’t be concerned with that. “One in the hand is worth two in the bush.” I think Self learned his lesson when he backed off recruiting other big men after Tarc initially verbalized he was Kansas bound and flipped at the end.
And for those recruits that really really want to go to Kansas… they can cement their status with an early LOI signing.
“Why do we always think a kid would do best to come to Kansas? Because it’s true – at least in this case. Seems like a perfect fit for a kid that needs to get stronger, and then play in a system offensively and defensively that will highlight his abilities.”
We should only have to show him “before-after” video of Withey. Top it off with the same video format with JoJo. Then… ask for his commitment.
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@drgnslayr I wish I could post that on 247 sports lol. I LOVE IT!!!
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My reasoning has to do more with recruiting the state of Texas. We’ve had discussion that Texas has a lot of good prospects every year but KU only seems to get 1 every once in a while. And we’ve whiffed on others in the past.
This 16 class we’ve spent considerable time recruiting Bolden, Ferguson, & Fox among others. We land 1 and its likely would could get them all.
3 kids we’ve taken underneath Smart’s plate & others. Smart has already made a very favorable impression with Texas kids and that scares me the further these kids wait out decisions. Before he came, it was the same old pitch from Rick Barnes. Smart is bringing excitement, and his name resonates with young kids. It’s not worth fighting for kids in North Carolina when the hometown school comes barking (Ingram & others) but with Texas we are much closer. No doubt that Chukwu could come here and become a good player but if it messes with Bolden and the others I’d rather not.
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I still cant get over this picture
I am going to photoshop this pic often! We need a KU buckets CB function with Buckets User voting function! I think that would bring Buckets to a whole new level!
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I can upload the image without anything in the middle so you can go to town on it every time we have a new possible recruit.
Here it is:
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@drgnslayr Thanks!
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@Statmachine A guy like that can be the game changer. HCBS should be all balls after this kid !!
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Matt Scott @KUTheShiver · 4h4 hours ago
7’2" transfer Paschal Chukwu loves what Coach Self is doing at Kansas #KUBBALL #VIP http://kansas.247sports.com/Article/Providence-transfer-Paschal-Chukwu-looking-at-Kansas-37366203 …
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KU Recruit Insider @KUHawkRecruit · 58m58 minutes ago
Paschal Chukwu is officially interested in #kubball. You have to think Bill Self uses the Jeff Withey transformation to his advantage.
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@HighEliteMajor : Is Bolden a true center, or could he play PF while Chukwu is on the floor? Of course, both could progress faster than anticipated, but even 2 yrs of Chukwu and 2 or 3 of Bolden would be worth it, don’t you think?
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Talk about an absolute perfect recruit for our team. I was trying to use Chukwu in a sentence, and haven’t come up with anything yet. Instead of calling the guys in the paint “BIGS”, maybe we could call them “chukwus”.
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Don’t you love it when we preemptively ID an ideal recruit & then Bill Self agrees with us and acts on it immediately?
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I think I’d rather have Johnathan Williams III honestly. Chukwu has a high ceiling, but if he’s transferring because he didn’t get minutes at Providence, there’s no guarantee he would beat out senior Landen Lucas when Chukwu becomes eligible. JW3 is someone who’s always wanted to come to KU and KU probably would’ve gone after Williams had they missed out on Embiid. Toughness and strength are the biggest questions about Chukwu and neither are a concern with Williams. Williams played the entire season on a torn meniscus and would have an entire season to heal from that. Williams is also a quality shot blocker (1.5 per game as a freshman when healthy) and could average double digit rebounds when he becomes eligible.
It basically comes down to which bigs Self feels good about landing in the 2016 and does he want a more proven commodity with a a lower ceiling against a kid that’s not proven but has a higher ceiling? My personal preference in this case would be Williams because KU will need production in the front court in 2016-17 and Williams has proven for 2 years that he can be a quality player in a major conference.
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So… Uptown Chukwu up??? How’d that b . Haha
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The consensus is … go after Chukwa and hope we can get Bolden. @BeddieKU23 makes a pretty compelling case for Bolden. The bird in the hand thing is compelling too. But I REALLY like Bolden. Bolden looks exceptionally talented and has an array of low post moves – that be skill for the uninitiated. Skill rules. Chukwa maybe not so much skill at the moment. @ajvan mentioned a good point … whether Bolden could play the 4. Bolden looks like a pure 5 to me if there is such a thing. To effectively play the 4 in the high/low, you better hit that 15 foot jumper.
If we land Chukwu, he’s likely our center for two, possibly three seasons.
Though @Texas-Hawk-10 sure seems like rain the parade, would Williams + Bolden ultimately be the better result?
I will happily ride the fence and trust Self on this one. I won’t always trust him on his offense, mind you, but this? Sure.
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@KUSTEVE keep working!
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I despise UK with the best of you, but if Bolden is also a true 5, maybe Self could take a page…ok, maybe more of a paragraph…or a sentence?..out of the Squid’s notebook. Tell Bolden he and Chukwu are gonna tag-team the opposition and beat them into submission with an onslaught of tall talent that will make them both lottery picks.
Also a nat’l title (but none of the “perfection” crap) since Self is twice the big man coach Cal is.
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I would say if he wanted to come visit ku anything could happen
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@HighEliteMajor Like you said, it’s a matter of how the pieces fit together. Can Bolden expand his game to play the 4 and be the high in the high-low? We know Self wouldn’t play a 7-2 player at the 4 because it takes away the height advantage in the interior. Those two pieces together don’t really seem to fit together very well on the court on paper like Ellis and Traylor have never meshed well on the floor because they both do basically the same thing on offense (Ellis obviously being the more skilled). If Bolden ends up being a natural 5, then I do believe Williams would end up being the player to compliment Bolden’s skill set as opposed to another natural 5. If KU does end up with Chukwu, I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed because the kid does have a lot of upside and it’s already known that KU will have front court minutes available for a 2016 recruit and it could end up being more of a matter of which 2016 recruit best compliments the transfer KU lands.
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@ajvan You mean the Squid should take something out of Self’s big man book. Self’s bigs are way more productive and prepared for the league than Calipari. The only two bigs that standout for Calipari are Cousins and AD. However, they promoted Calipari, not the other way around. Very few of Calipari’s big men really reached their ceiling. If Self had Calipari’s big men, Self would coached the hell out of them. Self gets way more from his bigs than Calipari. The real sad commentary is Calipari lands these bigs and they pretty much leave they way the arrived in Lexington. I’m not saying Calipari can’t or didn’t coach them, but big for big, I’ll take Bill Self every time. He’ll give you more big for the buck.
I like the idea of landing both Chukwu and Bolden. Why not?
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)Bolden still reminds me a bit of Landen Lucas in high school.
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Michael Lickteig @mhlickteig · 3h3 hours ago
#kubball Lots of reasons for Paschal Chukwu to transfer to Kansas. Great tradtion, great facilities, great coaching, great opportunities.
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He would have been the starter this year at Providence. Their Center graduated. Now they don’t even have a 5 on their team because of his departure.
the 16 class is top heavy and guard heavy. Bolden has been our main Big target with some others. Not a deep class for Bigs like 15 was. Chukwu would gain a lot by getting a year with hudy.
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@Crimsonorblue22 “Chuck wus the pretty girl”. Better?
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@KUSTEVE Watch out or she’ll Chuckwu up.
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Stephen McKinnon @Steve1422 · 23m23 minutes ago
@ESPNAndyKatz @ESPNCBB Did you guys hear Paschal Chukwu is leaving Providence and that Kansas seems like a front runner-according-2-KUsports
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@KUSTEVE keep working!!
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@Crimsonorblue22 **CHUK WUllery. **
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@KUSTEVE Ewww! Gotta be a better one? Do you know how to pronounce it?
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Bill Self was in the stands at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, Fla. back in 2012 watching Chukwu. The article goes on to say the we were recruiting him back in the day. Maybe this is why HCBS is making this young man his #1 priority right now? I guess he liked what he saw back in 2012? heres the link http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/jul/29/ku-self-take-look-class-2014/
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On 05/06/2014 Paschal Chukwu was ranked #48 on this recruiting site. http://www.courtsidefilms.com/news_article/show/383150?referrer_id=1216585
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Paschal Chukwu (ESPN #58 In 2014) @ The NBPA Top 100 Camp
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@Crimsonorblue22 Like Chuck Woolery, only hold the “lery”.
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@KUSTEVE I know! I meant his real name. I’m enjoying this! You know that though!
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Mark Sudol @news12ctsudol · 1h1 hour ago
Could former Fairfield Prep basketball star Paschal Chukwu be transferring to Kansas?
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With all of this pro KU stuff on Twitter and other media outlets I would say KU is the only real player in Paschal Chukwu’s recruitment. There is little to no talk of any other possible destinations and he was released from the Providence Friars a few days ago. If KU had a contender in this recruitment it would have been posted by now. I think he will be a Jayhawk soon.
