Frankamp for Ojeleye?
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Duke has released Semi Ojeleye to transfer. They had him listed at 6’8" and 230 lbs. Ojeleye was interested in KU, but never recruited as we had an overabundance of wings (also, it’s well known that Self has some enemies within the in state AAU world). As far as recruiting goes, this is significant for three reasons: 1) we’re unlikely to sign a SF in this class, 2) it frees up some room for Brandon Ingram to commit to Duke (which I think will now be incredibly likely), 3) given his size and skill set, he’d be an excellent back up if we miss on Bragg, which is looking more and more likely each day. I’d love to sign some size in the next class, but getting Ojeleye now and having him sit out a season means he can slot right in after Ellis leaves and alleviates some of the need for another big, as he can play both forward spots. I’d easily take him and a good center for the year. He hasn’t named any potential schools just yet.
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This is one of the reasons I love this site. Thx for posting not only the fact of the transfer, but the insight and speculation added by you.
What is Self’s problem with in-state AAU teams? This is new to me, though that is not saying much as I know next to nothing of Kansas summer league ball. Fill me in if you can.
And while we’re at it, would there be any reason to suspect that summer league trolls operate on this and/or other KU basketball related sites grinding the agenda of these folks?
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When you can’t cut it at the elite school and you burn eligibility does Ojeleye end up down grading his pool of choices like AWIII did going to Nebraska?
Since you are talking Frankamp you are talking Point Guard too. I would like to add the Graham medical redshirt to this speculation scenario. I’m training my brain to think of KU as being point guard depleted this year. I watched KU vs Utah again tonight to think of ways Self will pace Mason’s stamina. For instance, in the first half during our run to close the half, I looked at how we guarded the ball on the inbounds after a make:
- Mason pressured the ball a few times
- KU did not pressure the ball at all a few times
- Selden picked up soft pressure
- Oubre picked up pressure
- The team picked up full court pressure several times too
Bill Self paced Sherron Collins as the mega-minutes man at the point for a couple of years and he did the same with Tyshawn his Senior year.
I’m also thinking about the upside of a Graham redshirt. This puts two years between Mason and Graham. From what I’ve seen from Graham this year I like the upside of him having a redshirt. Please sit a Freshman point guard who can not practice over winter break. Re-orientating Graham to the rotation as we enter Big XII play seems less optimal than extending Graham out to be a 5th year senior.
I think missing Graham will become less of a headache if Oubre emerges as a good Big XII guard. My guess is that Oubre emerges even more after finals with Lafayette and Kent State being ripe. I’m not saying that Oubre would be a primary ball handler or be responsible for getting the offense started, though he can emerge as a wing threat that distorts defenses. At this point I’m also thinking about how to make Selden’s job less complicated, more space, simpler options when he is running the point. Svi has some handles too though I wouldn’t want to put this kind of pressure on him at this time of his career; I don’t trust Greene to take on anymore than what he’s trying to accomplish now.
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@jaybate-1.0 I don’t know all the particulars of the beef, but the staff of M0-Kan Elite/Spiece has no love lost for Bill Self and has directed a number of players that took unofficials as jrs to other teams including Ojeleye, Clayton Custer (ISU), and the big one WCS (UK). They’re pretty much in control of the JoCo/eastern KS pipeline. You’ll be shocked to know Mo-Kan is also in Nike’s back pocket. If I can find it, there was a brief video of Cauley-Stein shortly after he committed to UK talking about how much he hated KU fans. It was made after an AAU game by some recruiting hobbyist, so who knows if it’s still around (I mean surely it is somewhere, but who knows if it can be found), so this goes beyond the normal shoe influence. They really don’t like him and take extra measures to poison the well of potential targets.
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Thx so much for the fill-in!!
Anomalies like WCS always make more sense when the on the ground stuff gets filled in.
The more I learn about all this stuff the more I worry this may all one day lead basketball into the Rico Act. So far I suspect that all the parties can play this charade in ways that are within the rules, or in realms that have no rules to violate, but over time competition and cunning and avarice seem to push shrewd actors beyond the limits. I so hope this does not lead basketball into boxing with a ball.
Very sad to contemplate.
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Ojeleye’s brother played at K-State, so I wouldn’t be too surprised if he ended up in purple. That said, part of the reason we have lost out on the Mo-Kan guys is that we have under-recruited many of their elite players for years. Early on, the Spiece guys reached out to KU to get some of their kids recruited and got a cold shoulder. Now that they have had some big time guys come through the program KU wants to get in but hasn’t had much success. Also, there’s a pretty heated AAU rivalry between that program and Pump N Run. KU has landed a lot of Pump N Run (Releford, Morningstar, Frankamp and I think Tyrel Reed were all Pump N Runs) guys but missed on the Spiece guys.
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Hmmm … wonder if Ojeleye pairs with Frankamp and goes to WSU?
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Here is a good article that summarizes his capabilities and situation at Duke…
Out of HS he was ranked where a lot of KU players that have done well were ranked, and although he had KU in his final 11 schools, he was not really recruited by KU and it was not in his final 4 list, FWIW, Duke was no either. I seem to recall someone posting at the time that he had problems getting along with other students, although this is often said about top students. He is a very good student and like Ellis he was his class valedictorian. He is a well above average 3-point shooter and leaper but he would be playing Sf or undersize PF, again, A lot like Perry Ellis.
His brother played at KSU but I understand his mom does not like Weber. If he values academics more than sports, maybe he should have stayed at Duke, otherwise Stanford, one of his finalist during recruiting, could be an option. Also, Gonzaga had shown interest in players leaving top programs and Iowas State has taken on an number of transfers and would be close to home, although he might not be enough of a troublemaker to end up there.
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@HighEliteMajor I imagine that every top recruit in this galaxy, and maybe even in OTHER galaxies, are chomping at the bit to play for Gregg Marshall and live in beautiful Wichita, Ks.
Probably as soon as 2016, John Calipari will be sobbing on Marshall’s doorstep, BEGGING for his McD roster back.
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Howling!
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@nuleafjhawk good one! I’m in beautiful wichita ks, as we speak, well, more like maize.
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I am optimistic to a fault sometimes and I realize that. But I want this kid BAD! The reason why he left Duke was probably because he isn’t as talented as we thought, or he doesn’t get along well with teammates. Although it could be he just did not fit the system of coach K. If that’s the case, then lets make an attempt to get this guy!
Much to my chagrin, KU wings seem to pass the ball around the perimeter until they can feed it in the post or have an open 3. After watching Ojeleye is limited minutes, this is exactly what he excels at. He is a long wing that can hit the trey or grab an offensive rebound.
As much as we need a center, you can’t teach the kind of gifts that Ojeleye has. Hopefully we can land a center or Alexander can develop quicker than we anticipated. To not at least put our hat in the ring with a talented in-state kid kills me. But in the end, I trust in Self and his vision for putting together a roster more than my amateur analysis.
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@Crimsonorblue22 I live in TX but am originally from Maize. Wandering who you are now?
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@nuleafjhawk I always appreciate a subtle slam, as I pick myself back up …
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@HighEliteMajor No, no, no !! I hold you in high regard my friend.
But I always like a good opportunity to slam WSU…
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“But I always like a good opportunity to slam WSU…”
That’s why I like you nuleaf… you call it straight!
Good thread! I’ve suspected for quite a while that Self (or KU) is not liked by some of the local AAU circuit. I tend to think it is more about Self. I’m guessing some toes were stepped on in the first years Self was at Kansas. Part of it could be Nike “making investments” in local AAU ball.
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@Statmachine I don’t live there.
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If Ojeleye is transferring from Duke due to playing time…would it make sense to come to KU, where the competition is just as stiff? I would think he would go to some of the schools the articles have mentioned. I recall Indiana, maybe Oregon…schools like that.
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@Hawk8086 With Ojeleye having to sit a year, he’d give us a head start on replacements for Svi/Oubre/Selden when they leave. He can also play the 4, so that helps with Perry and Traylor leaving next season. It’s not that the competition isn’t just as stiff, but the timing/opportunity might be better. He could be a Mickelson. He could be a Jeff Withey. It’s impossible to know. But one way or another, according to the LJW, KU has reached out to him. We’ll see what happens if he responds.
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Ojeleye was listed at 6’-6" 215 in his senior year and the official Duke roster listed him at 6’7", 230 and many of the article have him at 6’-8"; in short, and despite his athleticism, he is best suited as a SF, since he is a good long range shooter and he would be an undersized PF…and we have a few of those. Here are a few articles with perspectives from other schools.
KU did not offer a scholarship so I would think the interest is not that great. On the other hand it is ironic that MU would be interested since he clearly indicated that he wants to go to a school that makes it to the NCAA…
