Cheick, please
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@HighEliteMajor said:
@ParisHawk Good thoughts. However, you said, “If Cheick is out the whole year, Cheick-compatibility is no longer an issue and Hunter has fewer arguments for playing time.”
You know what that means? You have to make an argument for Traylor to play rotation level minutes.
Just to be clear, I said “fewer arguments”, not “weaker arguments”. I didn’t want to address the issue of who should play if Cheick doesn’t.
Since you address that, here’s my position: Mickelson should have played more last year. After the WUG, he should play ahead of Traylor and Lucas.
There may be team dynamics that mandate some leeway for guys in their fifth years in the program, but we need the right guys ready in February, March and I hope April…
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@drgnslayr You said — “I hope Jamari spent most of his off-season in the video room and reading textbooks on the game of basketball. His biggest weakness is clearly his lack of basketball IQ. It just isn’t enough to bring “energy” into the game without knowing how to use it for the benefit of the team. His “energy” was often spent committing really bad fouls, over-shooting his rebound positioning directly under the basket, or making various assortments of TOs.”
I would agree. However, for a guy heading into now his 5th year in the program, I would suggest that you not hold your breath.
I still chuckle on this energy thing. I think that’s just a fraud. He does have times when his effort and athleticism create exceptional plays. But what is largely ignored is when he just stands there as a shot is taken, or when he’s frozen when a dribbler slips past him. He takes plays off, and he has numerous lazy moments.
You are so right. If we accept that his calling card in energy, it certainly isn’t enough to just bring energy.
But we have Traylor, and there are certainly situations where he can be effective. There are times when he can excel. He (and CF) saved us vs. EKU. It’s just a matter of marginalizing his minutes. 20 minutes per game? Please, no. Eight minutes here, 10 minutes there. And if he’s having a great game, then more. That’s really the best role for him.
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Good post.
I don’t count on Jamari figuring out the Xs and Os anytime soon (or ever). What I didn’t mention in my post is how much of basketball IQ comes through players’ own natural instincts and can’t be taught. While that is true, especially for some of the really great players, someone like Jamari could improve himself by “studying” the game off-court enough to come out and execute better game without thinking too much while playing (building some instinctual responses).
I like Jamari, and want only the best for him. But my feelings towards him doesn’t change the circumstances. You can review footage from last year and I doubt you will find more than one game in a row where he doesn’t make a bonehead play and then gesture his bonehead, knowing he made a basketball IQ flub up. That’s the kind of situation where we can lose a NC down the stretch because our opposition attacks his lack of bball IQ.
But you hit the nail on the head. There are times when he can produce for us, and in those moments, he should get as much PT to match his productivity. When he isn’t being productive, we need to give minutes to guys with more potential in the game and in the future.
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I like the talk of Mari being a situational player.
I thought in his Sr year he would be the glue guy & important part of the rotation. Not sure many of us can honestly say that’s what he will bring us this year.
His WUG play was just as poor as last season too much ho hum performances. No consistency. As a 5th year senior you would expect consistent play to become common.
The fact that he was “demoted” as the WUG games went on had me thinking that Self finally realized Mari wasn’t the best option for extended minutes unless the situation occurs where he’s playing really well or we need him.
Hopefully he’s still committed to improving & teaching our young guys the ropes. Leadership is also an important trait he can bring to this team. Nobody is giving up on Mari, I’m certainly not but I do think our best chance of a great season is picking and choosing the spots to use him in.
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@BeddieKU23 Agreed. Picking our spots with Bam Bam is the way to go. Ellis, Mick, Diallo (who to me will be cleared any day) and Bragg should get the minutes with Jamari coming in to do dirty work when the bigs in front of him in the rotation are in foul trouble, injured, Self’s dog house, etc.
Hopefully this means that Lucas will be the #6 big which will translate into 2-3 minutes a game.
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I’m “in” for Jamari being used in situations.
Otherwise… I like the potential of Mick producing NOW.
And, of course, I want to see Carlton get as much PT as possible. His PT is an investment not only in him, but in Kansas basketball! Jamari has had plenty of investment minutes thrown his way in the past. It is time for him to step aside for the potential coming up.
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@HighEliteMajor I’m not sure if Traylor’s biggest improvement needs to be the video room.
I could be wrong, but I witnessed Traylor as slashing when he needs to slash, being in the open spot of a zone, and passing off to other bigs.
His biggest weakness is learning the basics of angles, footwork, and mid range game. Which is scary because if he does not have it now, when will he develope it? Mickelson seems to have more skills, but does not help on defense and rotate to get the right angles.
Or maybe, as you have said repeatedly in the past, Self is simply more comfortable with Traylor and there is almost nothing Hunter can do to dislodge such an idea.
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@drgnslayr I laughed pretty hard at this
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@jaybate-1.0 said:
How do we know if Cheick will be eligible?
Self and Hunter are the miner’s canaries.
If Self were smiling and stroking Big Mik, then Cheick would be a lost cause.
If Self were treating Big Mik like last season, the waiter would have brought the Cheick.
Good one
Do we know where said waiter is? Have we seen any evidence of Self revealing his cards so to speak?
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Kansas Recruiting @kansasrecruit · Sep 19
Can’t confirm anything, but apparently Cheick Diallo is telling people on campus that he has been cleared. Obviously this is great news!B Turn (87-62) @bturner23 · Sep 19
Cheick Diallo just told me at the Hawk that’s he’s cleared so let’s get it #kubballI really doubt he is telling people that he is cleared BUT if he really is we should here something today.
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HCBS was out entertaining recruits this weekend and was probably focused on them. IF Cheick really is cleared HCBS will have a press conference at some point today. I am still pretty sure its bogus!
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@Statmachine worthy of a press conference?
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@clevelandjayhawk SURE! Why not? This is big news to Jayhawk nation!
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@Statmachine said:
Kansas Recruiting @kansasrecruit · Sep 19
Can’t confirm anything, but apparently Cheick Diallo is telling people on campus that he has been cleared. Obviously this is great news!B Turn (87-62) @bturner23 · Sep 19
Cheick Diallo just told me at the Hawk that’s he’s cleared so let’s get it #kubballI really doubt he is telling people that he is cleared BUT if he really is we should here something today.
“Kansas Recruiting” is just echoing the “B Turn” tweet, turning it from “me” into “people”.
So there’s just one unknown individual: we have to believe that he actually heard Cheick and that he isn’t misinterpreting what he heard - or else we ignore and hope.
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This could be a great Monday!
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@Statmachine Cheick must be a really good student. There’d be no way I’d be awake before 10 to tell anyone anything back in college.
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very doubtful this report is true. no twitter guys talking about it…
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BUT…if it should be true, dawggone right it is cause for a press conference! Bill Self usually holds back on kudos to freshmen; but the Diallo Situation is essential and vital to fan hopes, dreams and expectations for this season. I feel absolutely certain that this recruit is the real deal. If he does get cleared, but then bombs, I will crawl into a dark corner with my hands over my ears!
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@REHawk better be a big corner!
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Geeze, I posted this a week ago, and am still waiting.
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Does anyone know how many others are still waiting for clearance? Surely Cheick isn’t the only one?
How many decisions come out per day / week / month?
Who announces them?
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I’ve checked all the major teams that I can think of, Diallo is the only top player out there still waiting that I can see.
I’m sure others will come talking about Skal but he’s eligible until proven otherwise.
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@BeddieKU23 Thanks!
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I will go on record this morning as saying this - Cheick Diallo will never play a second of college basketball as a Kansas Jayhawk.
This accomplishes one of two things:
A) I turn out to be right and look like I know what I’m talking about
B ) As usually happens, the complete opposite of what I say, think and believe happens and he will be cleared TODAY.
If you’re betting - bet on " B ".
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@BeddieKU23 Thanks. I meant only academic clearances anyway, so Skal would not be relevant.
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Then Diallo is the only guy left awaiting clearance at this point. Syracuse had a PF #58 in ESPN that isn’t enrolled.
But yes Self found the only guy that’s being held out right now.
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Well, as stated above I’m a pessimist and I’m always right about my pessimism so I say he doesn’t play and we lose again in the 2nd round after finishing off another Big 12 championship.
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@wissoxfan83
that will not cut it, this team cannot bail out early in the tourney again.
There’s still a few weeks until I’ll start to get really mad about the situation. I already dislike the NCAA enough so I don’t need another reason.
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@BeddieKU23 I am always curious about the dislike for the NCAA. Without a rules enforcer, there would be no rules. And the NCAA only enforces the rules made by its member schools, like Kansas.
I guess my position is that if Diallo doesn’t qualify, then there is probably a very good reason. We may selfishly not like how it impacts Kansas, but I’m wondering why as general policy we should support any kid playing that doesn’t meet the very minimalist standards now in place? Self said, in hindsight, he supported the ruling on McLemore, as I recall.
All that said, we don’t know yet. But it seems any negative ruling would deem him a partial qualifier like McLemore and Traylor. I wonder if they could split the baby and make him ineligible for just the first half of the season (that would suck too)?
If Diallo is deemed ineligible this season, I would then revert to my position before Diallo signed regarding our failed efforts to secure talent before getting Diallo’s late commitment – but that would be premature comment on recruiting at this point.
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“I wonder if they could split the baby and make him ineligible for just the first half of the season (that would suck too)?”
It MAYBE would suck. It also could be a case where we get Diallo for 1 1/2 seasons instead of just 1. Imagine having him for an entire season next year after getting some “seasoning?”
I can see that happening as a possibility.
I think we need to look at what year is our best shot at a NC? Is it this year, or next year? (with or without Cheick)
For next year, we will lose Perry and our backup post guys, but that is about it. We may lose Wayne. Maybe. I kind of think Wayne will have a much better year this year if we have Cheick for the full year and he gives us another potent weapon that other teams have to focus on, so they can’t entirely focus on Wayne.
Imagine another year of experience for all the guys who will return?!
It is hard to say because we know we can’t predict the future accurately. Injuries, off-court stuff, elite recruiting… so much at play.
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@HighEliteMajor said:
I guess my position is that if Diallo doesn’t qualify, then there is probably a very good reason.
I certainly can’t speak for @BeddieKU23, but I think the phrase very good reason is the crux of the issue. From what we know right now, which admittedly is arguing from some level of ignorance, it certainly doesn’t seem like there is anything inherently wrong with Diallo as a student. He has good grades. He has completed some college level courses. Even if the course work that he did at Our Savior wouldn’t necessarily be up to the standards the NCAA would like, the potential lack of quality doesn’t seem to have impacted Diallo as an individual student.
In that case, is it fair to penalize him (especially when others who attended the school, although not as long, were granted passage)? Do we regard students as part an parcel with the schools that they attend or do we evaluate them directly? If Our Savior is guilty of malfeasance, what is Diallo’s culpability and how do they (the NCAA) come to that conclusion? I am not asking those questions rhetorically. I just think they’re fair questions to ask, and I don’t know what the answer ought to be, regardless of what it is. I also don’t think it is inherently selfish, even if it is beneficial to us as fans, to think that Diallo’s situation merits qualification (which I do). I would probably hold that opinion regardless of where he chose to go to school simply because I admire him so greatly as a player.
Now if something else comes out about Diallo and the folks that have attached themselves to him, I’d be with you about disqualification. I certainly wasn’t upset at the NCAA when Cliff Alexander’s family engaged in Verhalten verboten and got him disqualified. That was totally on them. It’s just from the outside looking in, this doesn’t seem to be anything comparable, so if Diallo doesn’t qualify, a very good reason is precisely what I’ll demand.
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@konkeyDong What if Diallo attended core classes that were determined to be insufficient – let’s say three of them, hypothetically? Is that a “very good reason”?
Diallo’s culpability here is should not be the issue.
Your position, as I read it, basically, is that if the school taught core classes that were inadequate, then Diallo should be cleared because he was (presumably) ignorant of the deficiencies, correct?
I can’t bite on that. It sucks for Diallo. But such is the risk created by his parents, mentor, benefactor, or who the hell ever sent him to that school. And kids are punished for the sins of the parents (mentors and benefactors). Fair? Maybe not. But reality.
If you don’t want that risk, send him to Blue Valley Northwest, or Shawnee Mission West, or even Schlagle. You know, a real school.
You also refer to “others” being granted passage and comparing fairness. You acknowledged that those granted hadn’t attended the school as long as Diallo. That’s the rub – apples to oranges. If Diallo is deemed to not qualify, my guess is it is related to items that weren’t the same.
I’d like “very good reason” too if he is ineligible. My guess is if that happens, there will be.
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Your right without a rules enforcer it would be chaos. I don’t argue that without some system in place there would be no College Athletics, it wouldn’t exist in the capacity it does today.
What I don’t agree with is the NCAA being the FBI, CIA, (you get the message) into dealings that it has no business being in. The whole structure is just biased, unfair, & doesn’t make sense.
KU had no problem accepting Diallo as a student, but the NCAA has a problem with him playing Basketball because of the High School or schooling he received. If the NCAA has an issue with his school or classwork, KU should have had the same issue. There should be absolutely no grey area when it comes to academics & athletics. Why has this “investigation” dragged on for months & months like he’s on trial. Why is he allowed to be in College and take classes but can’t play a game of Basketball. What’s the gain for the NCAA in denying good kids to play a game?
Lets take Cliff for example:
Was Cliff being held out of playing because he did something wrong??? NO. KU was scared to play him & have infractions placed on their program for playing a possible ineligible player for which he was never ruled
. From all we know Cliff’s mom acted without his consent or knowledge of doing what she did. Regardless if he knew or not, he didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t cheat in school, he didn’t skip class, he didn’t do something to jeopardize his standing with his teammates & coach.
How can a player be punished for something he didn’t physically/mentally do? His mom didn’t commit some crime but to the NCAA it was like some criminal act that only Cliff was punished for in the end.
The same can be somewhat applied to Diallo.
He came to the USA for a better life/education. He enrolled at school, he just so happened to become a good player playing a sport. Years later into his education when he’s all but graduated the NCAA now is going to investigate you like you committed a crime. He graduated, he enrolled in Summer School, he’s been cleared by KU for academics, he’s taking classes. What more does a kid need to do?? Why is the kid going to be (possibly) punished for something he has no control over??
Obviously we don’t know the whole story, and I’m sure what I’ve written can be picked apart and explained a thousand ways from Sunday. I guess my whole stance with the NCAA is “Who do they think they are” deciding what kids can and can’t do all for a GAME!
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@HighEliteMajor said:
Your position, as I read it, basically, is that if the school taught core classes that were inadequate, then Diallo should be cleared because he was (presumably) ignorant of the deficiencies, correct?
That’s not quite it. What I’m asking is, regardless of whether Diallo knew, should have known, or was completely ignorant and prevented from being able to find out that Our Savior might have a problem in the eyes of the NCAA, what should the goal of the clearinghouse be (setting aside, for the moment, what it appears to be today), and how should that affect him?
If the goal of the clearinghouse is to only admit players who are academically prepared for college, then I think it would take an extraordinary reason beyond what we can say we now know in order to disqualify Diallo. In all respects, again, from the outside looking in, he appears to be ready for that aspect of participating in college athletics. If the goal of the clearinghouse is to weed out institutions that don’t adequately prepare players, then there is the question of whether or not a player who is (or at least appears to be) prepared should be penalized for the institution’s shortcomings, or if that specific player should be given a pass based on their own merit?
I’ll freely admit that Diallo’s situation and that of those who also attended Our Savior for a lesser time isn’t a 1 to 1 situation, but I don’t quite buy it’s apples to oranges. It might be Granny Smith to Braeburn. After all, most of the classes that anyone takes in HS that are in any way college preparatory usually happen in their junior and senior years. Would you find it reasonable to conclude that a person wasn’t ready for the rigors of college based on a puff class they took as a freshman or sophomore provided the classes they took thereafter met the standards?
I understand that there needs to be some sort of rules and some sort of enforcement. I understand that member institutions agree to the rules and enforcement mechanisms are a condition of membership. And even when those things come out to bite us, I don’t have a problem with that. Comparing Diallo to McClemore, however, I can clearly see why the NCAA had doubts about Ben’s potential as a college student (I mean, just listen to him speak. Yikes!), and I can’t really argue that they didn’t make the right choice in that case, even though it potentially cost us a national title. But what is the point of investigating potentially mitigating circumstances if you’re not going to consider what I would hope would be the most important criterion?
I’m also not one to stomp my foot and expect everything to be absolutely fair and equal 100% of the time. You’re right, the reality of the moment is what it is, fair or not. Still, that doesn’t oblige me to censor my opposition to the status quo (should I come to oppose it), nor should I be made to accept it in the face of what I think it ought to become. Hopefully the NCAA will see things my way, and give Diallo the benefit of the doubt based on his own merit, regardless of what they decide to do with Our Savior and future prospects from that school. If they don’t, however, as I stated, it will take a reason beyond what I currently know (or at least think I know) for me to be satisfied with that outcome.
