Transfer Rumblings



  • Some Zeke Mayo talk ramping up lately. Might be nothing. We do need shot takers for next year though.



  • Seems to have to meat to it, actually.



  • @BShark said in Transfer Rumblings:

    Seems to have to meat to it, actually.

    Still don’t know who Zeke Mayo is lol. - -Big man Guard , what ?



  • He’s from Lawrence, KS btw



  • I’m so 100% on board at this point. Guy can put the basketball in the hoop. We have the bodies for 2023, but we need someone who can give us double digits night in and night out.



  • Looks like a volume scored similar to Wilson. Not efficient shooting and 3 turnovers a game, but unafraid to shoot. Judging by his free throw percentage Mayo is a good shooter and could become much more efficient if surrounded by better talent and coaching.



  • @BShark could be valuable if was right with the number scholarships. I don’t think he would be a guy we would normally go after. Would be cool him being from Lawrence tho.



  • @BShark

    Seems similar to Mosley last year, high level scoring ability with that “hero ball” feel to it. Seems like a bit better of an athlete. Hard to tell if he does anything else that Self would like.



  • @BeddieKU23 said in Transfer Rumblings:

    @BShark

    Seems similar to Mosley last year, high level scoring ability with that “hero ball” feel to it. Seems like a bit better of an athlete. Hard to tell if he does anything else that Self would like.

    Yeah I think it makes sense because we need to add a shot taker to this roster imo unless we think we can get that from one of the FR but I have my doubts there.

    Don’t think he would be the “top” transfer but he would be a good piece. Theoretically Juan/Zeke/Big Wing Transfer/Marcus/KJ is a very sound line-up. Work in MJ Rice* if he stays but I have my doubts that he will. The change from SDSU to KU would be massive. They ask him to be their main creator on offense and he wouldn’t have to do that here.

    I don’t think there is any way KJ moves to the bench or the 4. Udeh will have more PT than this year by a lot though.

    *Really unfortunate that it’s not exactly working out with him because it puts us in a spot where all our likely returning players are guards bigs. Literally all our wing types on the roster would be leaving if he transfers. KJ has that kind of build but not skill set. So that definitely has to be our priority and clearly it is with the way the Marcus Adams recruitment was handled.



  • @BShark You don’t think Elmarko starts? Also, I think there’s a good chance Juan is taking 10-20 shots a game next year. He could average 14 pts, 7 assists, and 2.5 steals and challenge for big 12 player of the year. This is just the way things go at Kansas. He’s next up. He’s spent the last half of this year preparing to THE MAN next year.



  • Absolutely not. Dajuan isn’t getting ANYWHERE NEAR 20 shots a game I would bet anything on that. Over 11 would shock me. Jalen at 16 a game is as high as we’ve seen under Self, for reference. Plus Jalen has jack shots DNA whereas Dajuan does not. My guess is 9-10 shots a game for him.

    Elmarko could start, we will see. Don’t think we’d start all three though, not enough length. If we didn’t get Zeke or another shooter type for the off ball guard I think Elmarko would be the favorite to start. Don’t think it can be Bobby and I’m not sure if Joe will be on the roster next year but Joe is also a guy that needs the ball in his hands to play his game.



  • @BShark The way the roster looks right now I’m not holding out hope to get a 2nd wing transfer. Would definitely require some churn.

    You are definitely higher on Marcus Adams than me if you have him starting… Not sure I am on board there.



  • @BShark

    Definitely need to find scoring in the portal but I know Self isn’t going to take someone that cannot defend or play within a team structure as a “starter level guy” so I’m guessing Mayo doesn’t check some of those boxes? I don’t really know much about him, his film is good, but I have more questions than answers. If he hits the portal, he’ll certainly have his options with his scoring ability. His rebound & assist numbers point to someone that impacts the game more than scoring. If Joe or Bobby do not return then you absolutely look at him.

    Agree KJ will start every game he plays here the rest of his career. He either stays where he is or they experiment with him some at the 4, out of necessity or because it potentially gives Udeh & Zuby a chance to shine. I do think we could see KJ at the 4 depending on what the roster looks like. Self has schemed him into a double-digit scorer at the 5. I will never doubt his ability to do the same if he played the 4. KJ should be expected to improve even further on his game this offseason and has the chance to take the mantle that Jalen will leave behind for the taking.

    I’ve held off on the MJ stuff. I can’t get a read but the read I do have isn’t positive. If he leaves he’s soft. That’s all I got for now there.



  • @BShark 20 may have been a stretch. He’s not going to AVERAGE 20 shots a game. But there will be games where he gets there or close. He had one game where he shot 19 this year, right? He’s at almost 8 per game this year with a significant uptick here at the end of the year.

    WVU - 6/11 UT - 2/12 TCU 3/9 WVU - 7/9 Tech - 7/12

    Maybe this stretch is the best of what he can do. As aggressive as he can be. But my guess is that Dajuan shoots 14+ shots more games than he shoots under 10 next year. It may not be in his DNA, but Self guards just get better. He will be the undeniable leader of that team. Self has been encouraging him to shoot and score more ALL year. I could be wrong, but that’s my guess. My big hope is he does something to get his 3 ball release quicker. If he could do that, he’d get 2-3 more shots a game easy. He has openings, but takes so long to load it up that the opening is gone. Maybe I’m dreaming. I just like the kid and want the world for him!



  • @BShark said in Transfer Rumblings:

    Absolutely not. Dajuan isn’t getting ANYWHERE NEAR 20 shots a game I would bet anything on that. Over 11 would shock me. Jalen at 16 a game is as high as we’ve seen under Self, for reference. Plus Jalen has jack shots DNA whereas Dajuan does not. My guess is 9-10 shots a game for him.

    Elmarko could start, we will see. Don’t think we’d start all three though, not enough length. If we didn’t get Zeke or another shooter type for the off ball guard I think Elmarko would be the favorite to start. Don’t think it can be Bobby and I’m not sure if Joe will be on the roster next year but Joe is also a guy that needs the ball in his hands to play his game.

    the problem with Joe having the ball in his hands is - - it doesn’t stay in his hands very long. - -Don’t think there is a shot he doesn’t like. - Na I like Joe , I do think me might be pressing still thinking that when he goes in , Coach is looking for instant offense from him , causing him to take some ill advised shots at ill advised times - -I still think transfer’s of Zach - - chances are Joe more then Bobby I just think unless Bobby is showed the door he just wants KU and will stay for whatever minutes he can get. - -Kyle is gone I’m sure that’s too bad I think he was just in the wrong place , at the wrong time.



  • The building will be rocking tonight. We might want to do better at hitting at the rim shots. The first half had eight misses and this can lead to getting down by double digits early which is our path to some/most of our defeats. I am glad to see the 47 points second half last night.



  • @Kcmatt7 I LOVE what I see with him but of course I’ve missed on evaluating guys before. I think it depends how active we are in the portal but if we lose Rice and only add one longer guy I wouldn’t mind working through it with him. My only real concern with him is defensively but he’s big and long enough (PHRASING) which should help mitigate things on that end at least. I’ll definitely wait to see the final roster before giving real line-up predictions.

    I do think we are big churning this offseason. We are already oversigned by 2 if Marcus Adams reclassifies as expected.

    @BeddieKU23 Yeah I would not call him an ideal fit but he’s more of a fit than Mosley would have been for sure. I think you are right that we likely see some minutes with KJ at the 4 just to make sure Udeh/Zuby get more time. Stop gap minutes mostly, and he won’t start there IMO unless he really develops.



  • @BShark

    His PER is Jalen level on high volume (20) so that’s something that’s worth noting here. Let’s me know he’s impacting the game. His steal % would compare to KJ, rebound numbers are really solid for his size, get’s to the FT line and shoots 90%. There’s more value here then I first thought.

    Here’s my thoughts on KJ moving to the 4. You’re losing your 3 best rebounders off the team and KJ is not even an average rebounder for his size/athletic ability so unless Self can surround KJ again with strong rebounders, he’ll have no choice but to experiment with lineup combinations to get size and guys that can get boards. I do not see KJ being a 4 full time by any means.

    My other thought is if Udeh ascends further this offseason, he’s potentially one of your 5 best players and you’re now in a pickle.



  • Zeke Mayo’s TS% (true shooting percentage) is .577 career. As a freshman it was .608. That’s very good. To put that number in perspective, Gradey Dick’s TS% is .590 and Jalen Wilson’s TS% is .530. Better competition in the B12 might bring number down, but better teammates on Kansas should help bring that number back up.



  • I don’t want to run anybody off but with this class and rumors of Zeke. What’s the point of having both Bobby and Yesefu on the team next year?



  • @TYOHawk said in Transfer Rumblings:

    I don’t want to run anybody off but with this class and rumors of Zeke. What’s the point of having both Bobby and Yesefu on the team next year?

    See personally I do want to run off Cam/Cuffe/Zach at a minimum. It’s business and we need contributors for next year tbh. Joe is just never going to work here the fact that he can’t even play any kind of decent off ball defense after two years under Self is wild. I’m very intrigued to see what happens this offseason because we shouldn’t be going into next year with just two transfers out to account for the current FR class. There is too big of a void at the wing spots plus we need shooting.



  • @BShark Churn that roster. Bottom 1/3 needs relocated and the top 1/3 will head to the draft/graduate. Build on the middle 1/3. The portal is amazing for instant team building, add transfers and a nice group of freshmen; you’ve got a contender.



  • @BShark LMAO I was trying to be nice man. But yeah I think we can clearly upgrade from Yesefu, Pettiford, Zach, Cam and Cuffe. Get a vet wing or two from the portal with some athleticism…get a veteran guard and I’d like a combo forward in case Adams can’t come next year.



  • Aimaq is transferring from tech, could be useful here



  • I find it interesting as far as Kyle goes that how people can judge him as to whether they want him here or not without him ever playing any minutes here , talking about upgrades. - How do we know it’s an upgrade - -you haven’t even seen him play , he has been hurt. -That to me is just one of those things that make you go hmm.

    Bobby - -Joe Ya sure we have seen how they operate how they play and ya we can move on but to kick a kid out where you haven’t seen any display of what he might be able to do. Pretty tough judgement on a kid without any evidence. - -Having said that just looks like wrong place at the wrong time. I hope he if he does get forced out hope he goes out and has a dynamite career



  • @jayballer67 We have seen Kyle play briefly. He is not good at basketball. He’s the worst player on our roster other than maybe Cam. Quote me on that one down the line if you want.



  • @BShark said in Transfer Rumblings:

    @jayballer67 We have seen Kyle play briefly. He is not good at basketball. He’s the worst player on our roster other than maybe Cam. Quote me on that one down the line if you want.

    thats kind of interestig. - -IF he is not good at basketball then WHY did a major p-5 offer him a Scholi



  • @jayballer67 We gave scholarships to Jack Whitman, Zach Peters, Rio Adams the list goes on and on. It just means there was something there that the staff thought they could work with. In Cuffe’s case athleticism. If Cuffe were about 5 inches taller…



  • @BShark Zach Peters looked really good until he got the concussions.



  • @mayjay He looked really good in 8th grade tbh. The danger of SUPER early commitments.



  • @jayballer67

    Took a shot on him due to defense/athleticism and remember at the time we had negative recruiting going against us. When Covid canceled his Jr season, he reclassified down to join early, got hurt freshman year and redshirted, got hurt again this season, he’s 3 years with no opportunity to develop consistently. It’s unfortunate but he’ll have to move down several levels to find somewhere to play.



  • @TYOHawk said in Transfer Rumblings:

    I don’t want to run anybody off but with this class and rumors of Zeke. What’s the point of having both Bobby and Yesefu on the team next year?

    Zero. I think it’s important to keep 1 of them, my preference is Yesufu despite his madness. He does try and impact the game on offense. I can’t see Self letting both go but who knows.

    Bobby needs a reset. It’s been very disappointing seeing how poorly he’s played for a majority of the season. He’s got a laundry list of issues plaguing him.



  • @BShark said in Transfer Rumblings:

    @TYOHawk said in Transfer Rumblings:

    I don’t want to run anybody off but with this class and rumors of Zeke. What’s the point of having both Bobby and Yesefu on the team next year?

    See personally I do want to run off Cam/Cuffe/Zach at a minimum. It’s business and we need contributors for next year tbh. Joe is just never going to work here the fact that he can’t even play any kind of decent off ball defense after two years under Self is wild. I’m very intrigued to see what happens this offseason because we shouldn’t be going into next year with just two transfers out to account for the current FR class. There is too big of a void at the wing spots plus we need shooting.

    That point about joe is spot on. He can look so good getting up under his man and picking up full court you know the defensive mentality is there.

    Sometimes I wonder how the coaches teach some of the more complex concepts that are really foundational pieces to getting playing time and being a contributor for bill self. Because there are clearly several guys on the team right now that just aren’t getting it and it appears to be more mental than physical. With this much young talent on the bench I do think it has to be considered more of a coaching problem. Did the staff get spoiled by Och and company? Does the transfer portal make it easier to focus on experienced guys like Kevin and cause you not to drill to the level necessary to teach guys like MJ, Udeh, and zuby what it looks like to play as a connected team? I know Joe has more experience now but he still came here pretty young. Feel like I could add him to that list. And apart from MJ, you can’t say these guys haven’t been giving it their all from the moment they got here.

    Just a baffling bench. Guess that’s why that has its own thread…



  • @benshawks08 I don’t want to say mean things about Joe but at some point it’s on the player. With FR it’s to be expected and just look at Udeh early compared to now. He still makes some mistakes but it’s night and day.



  • @BShark I imagine Joe is so, so good in practice too tbh. Wonder if it is the bright lights that really cause some of his issues.



  • Don’t know what to make of the Zeke talk now. Was told by someone that would know that we are not looking to grab a guard in the portal. Two wings. Do we view him as a wing? Probably not. Shooting and defense are the top priority aspects for who we will target.



  • @BShark I think the staff figures if you can add 18ppg, you do it. And the figure out the rest later.

    I do think you can treat Elmarko like he’s closer to 6’6 with how athletic he is. So you could play the three of Zeke, Elmarko and Juan together imo.



  • @BShark

    I get the sense it’s early still with targeting a guard without knowing what Bobby/Joe will do?

    We know our wing/4 needs because those guys have already made their intentions known.



  • @BeddieKU23 said in Transfer Rumblings:

    @BShark

    I get the sense it’s early still with targeting a guard without knowing what Bobby/Joe will do?

    We know our wing/4 needs because those guys have already made their intentions known.

    Do think there is probably still some stuff up in the air at this point.



  • @BShark

    As you’ve mentioned, the staff is unlikely to put pressure on Joe/Bobby/MJ to look elsewhere so it would have to come from them which is an unknown at the moment.

    Personally I’d like to see 1 of them look for a fresh start so we could bring in a fresh face potentially or use that scholarship to load up on wing/4 men.



  • @BeddieKU23 I don’t know why I kept forgetting about MJ.

    I am hopeful that if he’s here next year maybe he can be a bench spark… Or even edge out a transfer we thought would start into that role.





  • @BShark

    Ingram was a 5 star we recruited as well. Haven’t been tickled to death at his development at Stanford but no doubt he’s talented.



  • Frosh season highlights for those unfamiliar. We recruited him out of HS and have good ties to his people.



  • @BShark I can’t say he doesn’t fit… Clearly the right size and athletic profile to plug right in.



  • Looking at his stats - almost 4 assists per game. Still has a ton of upside. Multiple years left to develop if needed… Okay Bill I sees you



  • @Kcmatt7 Defensive rebounding rate is nice too. Just a bit shy of what Jalen and Kevin were at.



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  • Think we lose 3-5 guys to the portal. I feel very confident in 3 guys transferring at the least



  • @TYOHawk said in Transfer Rumblings:

    Think we lose 3-5 guys to the portal. I feel very confident in 3 guys transferring at the least

    Agree. 2 gentle nudges for sure then between 1-3 guys decide to look for greener pastures. That opens up the needed space.


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