Post Recruiting Tea Leaves
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According to KUSports:
“Sources said the Jayhawks backed off on the No. 34-ranked (by Rivals.com) Herard recently with KU having landed 6-9 Mitch Lightfoot and still in the running for several other big men including Jarrett Allen, Udoka Azubuike, Marques Bolden and Harry Giles.”
How do we all interpret that?
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Cheick Diallo will be back next year because he was found to be ineligible or partially ineligible this year.
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Lightfoot is so under-ranked that Self (and others) see Herard as being behind Lightfoot in a future lineup.
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One of the elite undecideds above (or two) have given Self enough optimism to back down on the 34th ranked Herard.
We’ve been down this road before. Self said he learned his lesson after botching the Tarc recruitment. The botch was we pulled off of other post recruits because we thought we had Tarc in the bag.
I’m totally guessing here… but I project that we have a very firm private verbal from Marques and perhaps it is based on not signing Herard.
The rest of this list… who knows? I’m curious if we could sign 2 off this list. Maybe Self is happy with Marques and Mitch as being enough for our post recruiting.
Many of you guys know a lot more about this than I and it would be great to read your thoughts.
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I saw the article and wondered the same thing. #34 is the highest I have sen Herard ranked; most ranking I have seen have him below #50, although in all likelihood, , the ranking will change by the end of the season.
In answer to your question, 2 likely, 3 possibly and we will know about 1 in the near future.
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We need at least one uber elite post player next year. And if that isn’t going to happen, we could have at least been solid by having both Herard and Lightfoot.
I know I am making an inference, but it seems like either 1 or 3 must be very likely.
Am I missing something?
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@drgnslayr I have to agree with you. I think we just might be in pretty good shape with Marques, very well could be coaches already or pretty well know just how we are standing with him. Again as we have said before seems kinda simple to me, bottom line if Giles goes to Duke- - - Marques comes here. they say Giles injury won’t effect his recruitment, we will find out tomorrow at noon , if he goes, could be Marques will announce shortly after, as it looks like Allen is Kentucky. so if it all plays out, I mean Giles to Duke, Allen to Kentucky, then I for sure can’t see Bolden not coming here. I dunno, I just don’t feel the Diallo return, I Still feel he will be cleared, call me stupid, just my gut. Just another gut and I know people say it’s a done deal he is Michigan State, but I feel we are still right there for Josh Jackson, seen another prediction today from a recruiting anyalyst predicting commitment to KU. we shall see. I know Arizona has lost ground with him, so that’s always good. If by some way we could end up with a Lightfoot- -Bolden- - Jackson group , that would be awesome. ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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I don’t want to jinx the Cheick situation… but imagine next year turns out:
Diallo, Bragg, Lightfoot, Bolden, Coleby, Lucas…
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@drgnslayr ya, I could imagine that. I could live with that FORE SURE. ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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Maybe you know the answer to this…
Is there something fishy going on at Arizona? I caught just a bleep from a conversation that mentioned the Wildcats in a negative light. I know Cal is turning up the heat on recruiting out west. Is Stumpy under investigation?
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An interesting caveat following Herard’s commitment to Ole Miss was that KU jumped from 29% to 41% in the Crystal Ball for Bolden.
Crystal Ball is imperfect and completely reliant upon perception… Typically one predictor comes across insider information (or the perception thereof), changes his pick and then others begin to follow his lead if/when they come to question whether their info is as good as the new Guy’s info.
None-the-less something happened yesterday to cause a few people to shift their choices from Duke to KU in the Bolden prediction…and it Happened after Herard went elsewhere…take it for what it is worth.
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@drgnslayr no sorry buddy, I don’t know, but would be nice to find out if there is. I know a lot of people thought because Josh played for miller this summer it was going to be a huge plus for them, which maybe it was for awhile, but just I thought, as the newness wore of from that, and other college coaches, coach Self included still constantly recruiting Josh their lead started to dwindle, now actually I think it’s a crap shoot, although the one THING that might hurt is family at home, plus Izzo pretty good coach, STILL I just got this feel, call me nuts it’s ok but would be sweet. ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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Giles announces tomorrow – dominoes might start falling. Just saw that Giles tore his ACL a few days ago, too. Not sure how that will impact things.
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@HighEliteMajor people are saying it will not hurt his recruitment in the least. that the coaches will continue to keep recruiting him. they say take 8-9 months for recovery, but should be ok. expect full commit to DUKE on ESPN tomorrow at noon
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@jayballer54 Right … I’d take him. Depending on the circumstances, like Rush, six months is even reasonable.
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The most important thing is that Bolden appears to be trending towards Kansas again, at least according to the rumor mill. The only thing that could really throw shade on that is Giles somehow not committing to Duke, but does anyone actually see that happening? The only major front court player Duke looks likely to lose after this season is Brandon Ingram (depending on whether you count a SF as front or back court and depending on how K plays him, since he’s fond of 3s as 4s) as Jeter doesn’t even show as a 2nd rounder in most mock drafts, and with Delaurier already committed, Giles would take away anything but scrap minutes in the post.
The situation with UK is similar. Poythress and Labissierre are gone, but Wynyard (who will join in time for the KU/UK game), Hump, Lee, and Willis are all likely to return. Add in Gabriel and Killeya-Jones, and I think Cal will have a harder time attracting another top post prospect now that platooning is so passe. The one guy that looks like he might try his luck there right now is Jarret Allen.
Udoka Azubuike is going to be a tough fight, however. It’s not that he’s not winnable, but he’s giving UNC and NCST real consideration, and the Florida schools are hardly out of the running. As much as I’d kill for an Azubuike/Bolden front court, I’m not going to hold my breath on that happening. In fact, a Bolden commit could well turn off Azubuike (even though Bolden wants to play the 4), simply because of the minutes UNC and NCST can offer. The aces we have up our collective sleeves at this point are, of course, Stormin’ Norman and Lightfoot, who’s putting in the work.
As long as we land Bolden, I think we’ll come out okay, even if we miss on other preferred guys. Self almost always comes up big on the proverbial waiver wire when we’ve missed on other recruits. Tyshawn, the Morris Twins, Henry, Young, Black, Mason, Graham, and Vick were all rabbits Self managed to pull, and if he keeps bringing what he was last night, we’ll no doubt be adding Mickleson to that list of late-signing impact guys we’ve poached in the Self era.
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Last season it was Bragg … this season it is Bolden. Most important recruit.
“As long as we land Bolden, I think we’ll come out okay, even if we miss on other preferred guys. Self almost always comes up big on the proverbial waiver wire when we’ve missed on other recruits.” @konkeyDong – Right on. Let’s get him signed.
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Stumpy didn’t getter done for two straight seasons, when given the kitchen sink.
Big Shoe and Big Agent have apparently instituted a 2-year window rule.
Gotta get a ring when talent is being dumped on you, or the valve is diverted to others?
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@konkeyDong and @HighEliteMajor
The way to sign Udoka is to put a Fuller Dome over Lawrence and plant a lot of palm trees.
He has to be a warm weather guy to be considering NCSU.
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@drgnslayr if Diallo ends up not playing at all this season, do you think he declares for the NBA next year anyway?
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@Lulufulu I would say the only way Diallo ends up staying is if he winds up eligible, but his draft stock slips. To say that would not be the happiest of circumstances is an understatement. If he maintains a late lotto draft projection into the summer, there’s very little he’d gain by returning. The only way it could come out in his favor is if he develops at an Embiid like rate after the draft.
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“if Diallo ends up not playing at all this season, do you think he declares for the NBA next year anyway?”
It then depends on other factors… how other D1 players perform… and most of all, it depends who he talks to and influences him.
How he would actually do in the draft would largely be determined by who he hires as his agent. I’m always amazed why more basketball “experts” don’t realize this. The real reason why a college player loses his eligibility for D1 the second he “hires” an agent (who is working on future commissions) is because those agents immediately start investing money and effort (benefits) into the player. Agents send them to development camps, and on all kinds of appearances, and individual team workouts, etc. The better agents really understand basketball, and a big chunk of the league coaches and upper brass are known like family. They know exactly what teams are looking for.
Every time you read a story about a player hiring his cousin or early handler as his agent, you know that player has no concept of what mistake he just made. He has just dropped his potential (probably in half). He might be able to work through it and still get to where he belongs, but very very doubtful.
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Giles to Duke. Official.
Let the dominos begin! Mr. Bolden, your move.
