Dog and pony show
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Now the handlers appear to be fashionable. I’m seeing more of them in the forefront now instead of the background in the past. Are we look for trouble? Piggie anyone?
KUsports.com, Bedore 8/12/2014, Kasongo needs minutes
Kasongo not a KU recruit: Ray Kasongo, a 6-foot-9 forward from Canada who visited KU last weekend, is no longer being recruited by the Jayhawks, his mentor, Brandon Bender, confirmed Monday.
Bender told Rivals.com that the unranked Kasongo will visit Indiana Sunday and Monday and may visit LSU. Michigan State remains on his list.
“You’re talking about a 6-9 player (with 7-1 wingspan) who needs the minutes. Kansas has five bigs that are older than him. You can go to Indiana and possibly start as a freshman,” Bender told Peegs.com, a Rivals.com site. “LSU is making a push. Michigan State is making a push, but Indiana is our focus because we feel that’s where the majority of the opportunity is.
“You’re looking at a ridiculous, unbelievable tradition,” Bender added of IU. “A lot of people have gone there and been successful. They have a big-time fan base, but the biggest thing is opportunity.”
KUsports.com, Bedore, 8/10/2014 Lots of love for Bragg Bragg
“As far as Kansas, they think that he’s one of the best skilled forwards in the nation. They love him,” Bragg’s mentor, Michael Graves, told Zagsblog.com. “We’ve been in touch with (Kentucky assistant) Kenny Payne and he just loves Carlton. Cal (John Calipari) loves him and they’re just ready to get him on campus.”
“He’s a stretch four, he can shoot the jumper, run the floor real well, and that’s what people love about him,” Graves told Zagsblog. “His upside is unlimited. He’s just gotta keep doing the hard work and stay hungry and humble.”
KUsports.com, Bedore, 8/7/2014 Mentor of Kasongo speaks
Former Oregon signee Ray Kasongo, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound unranked power forward from Canada who will visit Kansas University with his parents Friday through Sunday, as a freshman will be able to hold his own physically against top college talent.
So said his mentor, former Louisville player Brandon Bender, in a Wednesday Facebook chat with the Journal-World.
“He’s super-chiseled,” Bender said, also referring to the former Faith Christian School (Mesa, Arizona) standout as a “powerful dunker and physically athletic specimen.”
“If you look at Serge Ibaka’s body now, that’s what Ray looks like,” Bender told ESPN-affiliated radio station 92.9 FM/680 AM of Memphis. “He’s like Amar’e Stoudemire when he first got in the NBA. That’s what he is.”
“It’s totally an Oregon admissions issue,” Bender told the Memphis radio station. “Every coach involved in recruiting the kid say they’ve never heard the story I told them (about allegedly being turned away for his grades in non-core courses). It shocked them. … The coaches at Oregon are devastated and heartbroken. Ray would’ve started for Oregon.”
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I am relieved that KU is no longer pursuing Kasongo. I believe there is more to the story and to me he looks like a gigantic, walking red flag.
Interesting that his handler is constantly talking about his build and comparing him to other elite pro-athletes, but he does not talk much about his actual game. Equally interesting that an unranked, unproven player wants to start as a freshman at an elite school…he sure has an inflated opinion of himself.
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Here is 3 years old link to Bender…he is bad news…
He might be the actual reason why Kasongo was not admitted to Oregon.
Here is a recent link with more details about Bender…
And here is another one with more details…
After reading the links above, I am not surprised KU would pass, and I would be really surprised if any major program takes him.
