Recruiting Rumors
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Kansas Jayhawks Recruiting Rumors:
Georgios Papagiannis Is A Dark Horse
by Joel Wagler
The Kansas Jayhawks recruiting rumors continue to swirl around the top ranked recruits, but center Georgios Papagiannis could be a dark horse. If Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks miss out on some of the higher ranked big men, Papagiannis may be a player that could thrive at Kansas.
Georgios Papagiannis stands 7’1″, and weighs in at 235. He is not ranked on ESPN’s Top 100 list of recruits, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t make a fine center for the Jayhawks.
There are some different opinions of just where the big fellow might land. ESPN has Kansas high on Papagiannis’ school list, but does not show that Self has offered a scholarship. 247 Sports has Kansas high on his list, but indicates Oregon (who isn’t even listed on ESPN) and Maryland may be the favorites to land him.
Here is a snippet from the ESPN scouting report:
He has an incredible combination of size and skill. He’s got a super soft touch around the basket and is typically able to shoot over the top of most contesting defenders. He also owns a legit jump hook and shooting range that extends to the three-point arc
This reports mentions some skills that might be appealing to Self. If he has range out to the three-point line, this would fit into Kansas’ secondary break that sometimes features a big man who can come up the court and pop off a three-pointer .
Given his size, and the fact he is not considered a top recruit, might indicate he would be a bit of a project for Kansas. It also indicates he isn’t a one-and-done, and might have a few years to develop into a player who can earn a living in the NBA.
It is no secret that the Kansas Jayhawks need at least one dominant big man. They are recruiting prospects Cheik Diallo, Stephen Zimmerman, and senior transfer from Charlotte, Mike Thorne Jr.
KUSports.com reported this morning that Perry Ellis, the Jayhawks’ leading scorer this past season, is returning for his senior campaign. This is probably the best move for Ellis himself, and it is certainly the best move for Kansas Jayhawks basketball.
With Ellis still in the fold, the second starting spot opposite Ellis is wide open. Landen Lucas filled in nicely after Cliff Alexander was shut down by an NCAA investigation, and could be the forerunner for the spot next season for this Kansas Jayhawks basketball team.
Lucas is a player that is hard not to root for, as he seems to give it all, but he may be approaching his ceiling. He is not a dominant scorer, but he did show flashes of being a force on defense at times.
If Self doesn’t land one of the remaining big men, Lucas may very well be the starter.
Georgios Papagiannis could challenge Lucas, if he is the big man Self brings in. It would not be surprising if several of the remaining centers or power forwards decided to make Kentucky their group destination. If that happens, Self may be scrambling.
The big guy from Greece may just be a dark horse recruit with a lot of upside for the Jayhawks.
Enjoy some international highlights of Georgios Papagiannis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1bFF9SNjtW4
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@RockChalkinTexas I like it!
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@RockChalkinTexas He looks excellent. Doesn’t look like he plays with his back to the basket at all, so that will be new for him. Who knows…maybe we have another Withey on our hands…
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I couldn’t get your link to work.
Here he is this past season playing for Greece:
This page has him listed at 7’1", 260 lbs. He is definitely bigger than 235.
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Dont think the youtube video shows too much, but it does show some shotblocking skill… ! We need a whithey - like defensive 3 or 4 year type guy that can develop… !!!
Not another under-performing OAD that dissapears in the tough league play and tournament … We’ve had our share of those
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@Bosthawk but, remember those times we had to sit Withey 'cause he couldn’t guard an ISU, mizzo 5? I’d still take a Withey though. We need a scorer and rim protecter.
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@Crimsonorblue22 He had a lot of trouble when teams went small.
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George leaves his feet too much for a footer. He’ll foul out in the NCAA unless he gets coached up. Looks like he’s got potiental though.
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I have all of my feeds up and HOLY COW its tmi to sift through. There does seam to be a crap load of Chieck to KU posts but only on the account where I am following experts only.
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I hope Diallo hurrys up and signs. It would be great for Self to know how hard he needs to pursue these other bigs. I just don’t want another Braedon Anderson, Landon Lucas, 'Rio Adams class.
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@dylans That class also included Perry Ellis and Andrew White, so there was some value in that class!
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@wissoxfan83 Yes, Perry is fantastic. And Landon is a body down low. Unfortunately White had less impact on the team than Connor Frankamp. I had high hopes for White. I still love his work ethic.
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From KUSport.com
Atlantic 10 Conference rookie of the year Eric Paschall of Fordham, who is considering a transfer, has cut his list to KU, Providence, Florida and Villanova, as well as Fordham, he announced on Twitter.
The 6-foot-6 Paschall averaged 15.9 points off 41.9 percent shooting (45 of 143 threes for 31.5 percent) and 5.5 rebounds a game his freshman season. He announced plans to explore all options March 24 after Fordham fired coach Tom Pecora. He would have to sit out next season and be eligible to play in 2016-17.
Paschall has visited Villanova and Florida and will visit Providence this weekend, CBSsports.com reports. He was an unranked three-star player coming out of Dobbs Ferry (New York) High. KU director of student-athlete development Fred Quartlebaum played collegiately at Fordham and is a native of Dobbs Ferry, New York.
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kind of like this 7 ft kid, ya kinda raw but hey let him develop, I agree leaves his feet to much but is correctible, looks like nice shot blocker, a friend of mine said he was 235 , then another post has him 260 I think I have to agree with the 260 looks bigger then 235. hey he would definitely be a 3 year player at least I’m sure, not necessarily a bad thing take him let him develop. you can see he DOES have some skills
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We discussed Papagiannis a week a go. Nice to see the rest of the world is catching up…:)
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@JayHawkFanToo Yeah I did say if we miss on all of the OAD types HCBS would make a full court press for Georgios Papagiannis last week. I guess my clandestine operations are good for something.
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@RockChalkinTexas I like his work in the paint. He has a great feel for the paint. He seems to understand his role. I like how he bodies up to players and moves them around. I like his screens. He will be perfect in the hi/lo and pick and role game at KU. I’ll take him, Diallo and Ingram. We would pretty much be top 4 or 5 to win NC with this kid.
If Self has this kid on his radar, he must be doubting both Diallo and Thorne.
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Nice work, guys! Again, I’m keeping myself “grounded” regarding major contributions from FROSH, regardless of who we get.
Instead of calling Georgios a “dark horse”, let’s call him the Trojan horse: we show up & while opposing teams are scheming & plotting against our 7’1 guy…we butcher them with the “little guys” like Perry, Selden, Devonte, Mason, Jamari, and Svi…!
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Interesting that Paschall is looking at KU. Maybe we will get an Offical Visit from him. His 15pts a game as a Freshman look pretty good. If you dig deeper though you do see he wasn’t a great shooter and was on a horrible team. He would be the candidate for sitting out the upcoming year. Honestly would rather find a big who can sit out.
I see we have thrown our hats into 2 former VCU signee’s Tevin Mack & Kenny Williams. Mack could definitely help from Day 1 especially if Greene is slow to recover. Some more Wing Depth wouldn’t hurt.
This Greek guy we offered a while back didn’t we? If we strike out on the others I’m assuming we might get involved.
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“I see we have thrown our hats into 2 former VCU signee’s Tevin Mack & Kenny Williams.”
Wouldn’t that be something… we go at Chaka Khan with his own ex players!
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@BeddieKU23 It wouldn’t hurt to have more depth everywhere for '16-17. You are right a big is a more pressing need as they seem to take longer to develop and are integral to the hi-low.
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@BeddieKU23 why wouldn’t the vcu guys follow smart?
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Interesting… so Shaka’s players from VCU want to leave… but none of Barne’s players from Texas want to leave?
Doesn’t that say a lot?!
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@drgnslayr Taylor and Turner declared, I’m guessing the rest didn’t want to sit a year. So what do you think it means?
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@drgnslayr I like it: Chaka Khan!
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@REHawk can you dig it!
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@Crimsonorblue22 DUG!
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@Crimsonorblue22 I don’t think Taylor has declared. Holmes is a Sr. so he is gone and Turner has declared. Shaka was on the radio yesterday afternoon talking about what talent Taylor had. Found nothing on the Longhorn Sports site either.
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I am surprised of that myself but Texas has a lot of returning guys if nobody decides to leave from the current team. The 2 guys Texas has signed are Top 50 guards so I can see why they would want to stay. I think if anyone follows Smart it will be Tevin Mack who was a huge score for Smart over UConn. I think Mack picked VCU solely to play under Smart but now that he bolted now he’s going to get a lot of attention like (KU) is showing. Mack would be great depth on the wing, can shoot and can play the 2/3.
Williams was a huge get over UNC, not sure what he’s going to do or the level of interest in KU he might have. He’s a shooter but is a pg in College, not a position we have a need for unless Self is planning to run both Graham & Mason together in the starting lineup. Those 2 together seemed to work best so I wonder if Self needs a 3rd small guard to spell them.
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I’m not sure. Maybe the existing players are looking at Shaka as an opportunity?
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@RockChalkinTexas read it somewhere, maybe he changed his mind?
http://www.burntorangenation.com/2015/4/6/8354455/isaiah-taylor-will-enter-nba-draft
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Just saw this. Good news:
JayhawkSlant @JayhawkSlant · 15m15 minutes ago Olathe, KS
@b_greene14 has made it out of surgery and is doing well. He can return to the basketball court in 4 months full speed. #kubball
More from his dad:
Gary Bedore @GaryBedore · 20m20 minutes ago
He’ll be on crutches two months and be pain free in about 4 months will “be back 110 percent pain free” dad Jeff said.
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BurntOrange is always out there trying to be first but never really ever right. That was dated 10 days ago. Believe me, if he had announced I would have heard the loudest hurrahs from the office 3 doors down the hall from me from one season ticket holder that did NOT like him or his game.
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@drgnslayr Where else they gonna go? And who would want them?
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Gotta Share This Gorgeous Picture. Great Bluebonnet Season. Look what a little rain brings!!
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I’d take Isaiah Taylor in a heartbeat.
Wow… can you send me out some steer paddies with blue blooms out the top?
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@RockChalkinTexas I sure hope you get more heavy stuff west of Austin for the the Colorado and Lake Austin flood plain. It looks like the heavy stuff went East of Austin AGAIN today.
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@Crimsonorblue22 http://www.burntorangenation.com/2015/4/16/8428399/isaiah-taylor-texas-longhorns-nba-draft-returning
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hmm. just noticed this version of the board you dont need to use the markdown syntax around a hyperlink. just pasting it, it’s recognized and handled as a link. convenient. although I kind of always enjoyed the communal aspect of people fixing each others’ links.
Dang…I am out of a job… ")
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I wonder what Shaka promised (or gave him) to come back???
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@approxinfinity me too! Thanks!
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Well, Zim made it official. No surprises, though.
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! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (clap)
JayhawkSlant @JayhawkSlant · 18m18 minutes ago Olathe, KS
#kubball will conduct an in-home visit with .@B_Ingram13 (Brandon Ingram) tomorrow. Big time player and immediate difference maker.
From SB Nation:
Brandon Ingram – SF, Kinston High School, Kinston, NC
There is no doubt that plucking the North Carolina native from Duke, UNC or other state schools will be hard, but there is also no doubt the lanky, but super-athletic Ingram likes what he sees from the Jayhawks.
Rob Harrington, in an article from ScoutHoops.com, said Ingram “always speaks with a reverence toward his official visit to Kansas last October.” Ingram, who said he considers former UNC players Jerry Stackhouse and Reggie Bullock mentors, isn’t letting that influence his decision according to the article.
“I don’t feel any pressure at all to stay in the state,” Ingram said. “Jerry and Reggie both support me 100 percent, and they just tell me to make the decision that’s best for me and my family.”
On the flip side, the Jayhawks really like the top-15 prospect as well. JayhawkSlant has been reporting that Self has been very active with Ingram, telling him “Kansas needs him” directly after its tournament loss.
Again, it won’t be easy but the Jayhawks always have their history and tradition in their back pocket. One thing they do not have is a small forward on the roster. Ingram could come in and make an immediate impact for a team that could use a slashing No. 3 who can get to the basket with ease, but also hit from the outside if called upon.
In-state schools have led the way in most expert predictions, but the Jayhawks are starting to trend upward in 247’s rankings. Just one week ago, Duke had a 53 percent chance to land him, followed by UNC at 25 and KU at 16. Today, the Jayhawks are tied for second with UNC at 18 percent.
It can’t be said enough that sometimes decisions are literally made at the last minute by these top recruits, although Ingram has said he will make a decision before the end of the month.
If it were up to Bragg, Ingram would join him in Lawrence along with No. 2 overall prospect, Jaylen Brown.
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We are visiting Diallo this weekend as well. I expect he’ll make his decision by end of next week…
Article makes it sound very appealing for KU with Ingram. I’ve thought that if he did go out of state it would be KU. The in-home visit is encouraging sign but we all know that we are fighting against 2 in-state schools…
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@BeddieKU23 What I wonder about Ingram is the “reverence” he speaks of on his visit last Oct. Is it the same thing that Kelly mentioned in his goodbye tape about the type of feeling he got on his Late Night visit? That’s been a good thing for lots of players throughout the years.
Do you know the proper pronunciation of Diallo’s first name? Is it like “check” book or “cheek” bone?
Kansas recruits Carlton Bragg, Tyler Dorsey, Stephen Zimmerman and Brandon Ingram watch the action during Late Night.
From 10/13/14 KUSports.com article:
Ingram update:
Ingram, a 6-8 forward from Kinston (North Carolina) High, tweeted: “Visiting Kansas was a great experience. I had a wonderful time. Shoutout to everyone who made it special! #RockChalkJayhawk.”
No. 18-rated Ingram has visited Duke and will visit Kentucky this weekend and North Carolina on Jan. 24. UCLA and N.C. State also are on his list. He will be a spring signee.
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The 4 star Papagiannis is currently considering Maryland, Oregon, KU, NC State, and PSU. No true leaders in his recruitment currently.
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Papagiannis is in the same situation as Maker with about a 50/50 chance of playing in college next year. Could be a great 3-4 year player.
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So if we get Ingram and he is being promised to start (ala Oubre), Greene or Svi will have to sit. Do we really want that?
If he is someone, that will come in and sit a year and be ready the following year, then it makes sense. That’s when we’ll most likely lose Svi and possibly Selden.
We will also lose a lot of our bigs (Perry, Jamari, Hunter). But though Ingram has the height, he doesn’t have the body to play inside (maybe he will in Year 2).
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@RockChalkinTexas Do you know the proper pronunciation of Diallo’s first name? Is it like “check” book or “cheek” bone?"
Great question. I believe it is “Check.” I remember during one of his interviews I think he said that a lot of people pronounce his name wrong and he actually stopped trying to correct them but it might have been his last name that was the tough part. I would certainly feel better knowing that I’m saying it right though. Maybe someone with more time on their hands than I can try to dig up that interview where he tells us how it is supposed to be pronounced.
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@RockkChalkk This was from USA Today:
PSA: Cheick is pronounced SHECK; not CHECK or CHEEK.
(I’ll think of Shecky Green - shows how old I am :-))
So now we know.
