All in on Brown
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AW3 will play at Nebraska this season. I expect he will be a very solid player for the Huskers. AW3 is a good basketball player. My comments above were not meant to say that he isn’t a good player. He is absolutely a major college player, no doubt.
But he is not a difference maker. There are probably 30 guys from AW3’s own class that can contribute roughly what he will contribute to the Huskers next season. There are probably 25-40 guys every season that come in with a profile similar to AW3 (tall wing with some shooting ability). Every year, some of those guys blossom (hello, Ron Baker) and some tank. There’s no telling which will be which. I expect AW3 will have two strong years at Nebraska and will probably average double figures at least one season.
But I also think AW3 never would have started at KU and would have been a fringe rotation player at best, even if Wiggins and Oubre hadn’t come. He’s a solid player, not a great player. He might be able to start at Nebraska, but he’s not really a starting caliber player at Kansas.
The thing that worries me with Mack is that he is merely an average athlete on the wing. He doesn’t have a lot of pop or explosion in his game or his frame. When he drives, he can’t separate. That’s at the high school level. I’m guessing that will mean that he will struggle to drive at the collegiate level as well.
Watching his highlights, he has very few dunks. In the highlight I posted above, the very first clip is him dunking, but look at the dunk and remember that he is 6-7. His head barely gets to net level. He’s got long arms and that’s great, but he didn’t really elevate on that dunk. At the 0:24 mark, he hits a nice pull up jumper, but look at the lack of separation from the defense there. The next few highlights have him pushing the ball, but notice that he doesn’t have the speed to accelerate past most players. He’s merely keeping pace. In literally every dribble move you see, he doesn’t blow by guys. He just gets them off balance and pulls up. That air space will vanish in the Big XII and he will become just a spot up shooter.
Compare that to the Brown video that @drgnslayr posted. Brown literally explodes off the floor. The difference is stark. Also notice the number of different types of plays you see in the Brown highlight versus the Mack highlight. Just in the first minute you see a few alley oops, a couple of nice passes, some great drives finished with dunks, a nifty reverse layup, a couple of jumpers. Mack had mostly spot up jumpers and a few basic dribble moves, plus one blocked shot in his mix. At the 1:36 mark compare the head height on his dunk to the dunk that Mack executes. Brown is at least six inches higher than Mack got on his dunk. That difference in athleticism will be enormous on the defensive end.
The last couple of years we have been shaky defensively, but our OADs have been some of our better defenders. Wiggins was the best defender his year. Embiid was our best interior defender. Oubre was our best wing defender last year. Despite the OAD’s not living up to everything we hoped, they have brought it defensively and been solid teammates with the exception of Alexander and Selby’s eligibility issues.
I think Brown is the way to go. Mack would just be more of what we already have.
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@justanotherfan Did you happen to watch AW3 in the first part of 2013-14? Did you review his stats during the time frame where he got regular minutes? I think he stacked up very well.
He was not a starter here for the same reason Traylor started … Self’s choice.
All that provides an insight into what Self is thinking. Traylor is a player that is way down on the talent food chain, and I would say flat out that he is bad most of the time. Yet Self started him.
If Wiggins wouldn’t have come to Kansas, AW3 would have been the starter.
The question is whether he could have become a Travis Releford player. I think he would have scored more, and been a lesser defensive player than Releford. But certainly a guy you could win a national title with at the 3.
It’s all speculation, to be sure. But I think it is really unwise for anyone to assume that the parade of Wiggins, Oubre, and potentially Brown would have been better for Kansas than three seasons of AW3.
We revere Travis Releford as a Kansas basketball player. We are interested in Wiggins mainly because of his NBA exploits. There is a big difference.
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I love Releford for everything he did at KU, but I would have loved to have had McLemore in that title game instead of Travis. Not because Travis couldn’t contribute, because obviously he could (and did), but because McLemore could have pushed KU over the top. The ring potential is what changes my viewpoint. Brown makes next years team a potential ring team. There isn’t another wing out there that can do that.
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@justanotherfan maybe instead of Teahan?
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@Crimsonorblue22 That works too.
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Yes…but…
How good were White and Frankamp that could not beat the players that ended up in the rotation? Coach Self is no dummy and he will play whoever gives him the best chance of winning; White and Frankamp just were not it. You can cite early stats or any stats, but the reality is that neither was good enough to earn substantial playing time much less start.
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“I think Brown is the way to go.”
Brown makes us easily be the team to beat for the NC.
Look at the video carefully. I know videos often don’t tell the story. But if you compare him a bit to Wiggins, you will see that this kid can actually deliver a lot more offense than Wigs could while he was at KU. Brown can score from either side and has a crossover good enough to throw at most NBA defenders NOW!
Wigs brought a one-sided spin move with him to KU… only. Brown brings a spin move from both sides, a crossover to both sides, a step back jumper, a fadeaway jumper, and several other things. His toolbox is already full. His adjustment to college ball will be very very quick. Once defenders figured out Wigs one-sided spin, they had him pegged and he then had to try to learn on the fly. Brown will keep defenders guessing from day 1 in college. Plus… he has some serious handles… much better than Wigs had.
If we land Brown… hard to imagine us not making the FF, unless we get some untimely injuries late in the year.
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What can Brown do for you?
How about delivering a national champoinship?
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I feel like the greatest benefit offered by OADs is to give a team that extra bump to cross over the finish line for a NC in that one year. I see Brown giving us that bump. It can be the difference from an Elite 8 finish to a National Title.
That is a great reason to sign an OAD player. Not just to fill a roster with revolving door talent.
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@Statmachine ALL IN … LOCK STOCK AND BARREL.
Why not get Brown if we have a chance? Some other team will take him. Also, did you hear what the squid and little blue nation said of Brown? They need him because they have no 3 or shooting forward. WOW…if I were Poythress or Matthews, I’d be pretty offended.
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Look at the projected starters for UK…talk about going from feast to famine…
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@drgnslayr After reading Brown’s comments on Zagsblog about Michigan I think we can forget about him. He likes how the Mich HC takes lower ranked players and turns them into lottery picks. Not that he should be concerned about that. So who else is available?
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@brooksmd wonder why he’s taking so long?
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That story is based on one from the Detroit News that is based on a story on Scout.com that seems to be several days old and before the latest developments in the recruiting world. Don’t forget that Wiggins had strong family ties with FSU and ended up at kU.
Interesting that Desmond Eastmond, the guy that is been quoted extensively and apparent;y is his coach since he was 12 is now in big trouble with the NCAA for klinks with agents….Link here… I don’t believe it affects the players but the teams cannot compete in NCAA sanctioned events and will need to reform with different names and coaches.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Basking in all the attention since he’s the last of the big name recruits.
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@JayHawkFanToo But to say you don’t have a 3 is an insult to who you already have. This is Calipari recruiting at it’s finest. He doesn’t recruit based on need. He brings in whoever he can get, but if he can get the better of the players, he’ll get them and bench his faithful.
I think Lee and Willis are getting screwed by Calipari, twice now. He went on national television and sang their praises for waiting their time. Then his platoon system went into effect. He started winning and screwed Lee and Willis yet again. The dumb and dumber thing is, they’re still with him. So, if they are dumb enough to stay with him after he lied, they deserve what they don’t get at uk. If I were Lee and Willis, I’d transfer asap.
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@truehawk93 kids and parents are starting to figure this out, some are slower and some were already good enough to go nba.
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@Crimsonorblue22 I hope so.
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@brooksmd Bill Self has taken as many if not more than Behline and developed them to the NBA. Self is the master. I don’t think there’s a better coach. The twins, TRob, and Embiid to name a few. TRob wasn’t invited to the McDs AA game. Embiid wasn’t even ranked in the top 100 until he committed to KU. Then he went all the way to a top pick by draft time.
Self has a proven track record of developing under developed players or unranked players to the NBA.
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Pretty talented lineup and they have a good bench too. It’s not a platoon. UK is spoiled rotten. They may not clear Skal.
Tyler Ulis- Point Guard
Isaiah Briscoe- Shooting Guard/Point Guard
Alex Poythress- Small Forward
Marcus Lee- Power Forward
Skal Labissiere- Center
Oh how the chickens have come home to roost in Lexington. The stables are bare and Calipari is leftover with the horse sh*t in the stables.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Thorne was, is, and has been signed with IU for over a month now.
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I think the stables are on fire in Lexington. I found it interesting that Rhorrsen (sp) left…just up and left with little to no comment. He may know something. It’s almost like a ship sinking and he was the first to jump.
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@truehawk93 yep, I knew that.
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@truehawk93 Yeah, I was surprised he didn’t mention the lottery picks out of KU, which leads me more to think he commits to Mich as I’m sure HCBS pointed that out to him. Again, in his case it has little to do with him come draft time next year.
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@truehawk93 What’s this about?
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At risk of coming across like a negative nancy, I’m going to wade in on the Brannen Greene Issue. Brannen and Bill Self are not a comfortable fit. Outside of his 3 ball, what does Brannen bring to Bill Self Basketball? And will Bill ever adjust his offense to rely on the long range shooting game? Brannen brought his strength to the wrong program. For me, this Jaylen Brown Question is a no-brainer. If Self and Co. can fetch him, then BRING HIM ON! Granted, I have been convoluted about this OAD Business. But, hey, OADs are the reality of 2015-16 NCAA basketball. Traditional hoops powers have been dominated by the Anthony Davis/Jahlil Okafor “rent a player” wonder-kind. This J. Brown kid is a born-ready force. I’ve great respect for the likes of Lucas, Mickelson, Traylor. But if we are to count on those three and a questionable Brannen Greene to push us to the Final Four, then we’re bound for another frustrating Jayhawk season. Svi is still a MAYBE, and Selden’s consistency still more than somewhat in doubt. BRING BROWN ABOARD!
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“After reading Brown’s comments on Zagsblog about Michigan I think we can forget about him. He likes how the Mich HC takes lower ranked players and turns them into lottery picks. Not that he should be concerned about that. So who else is available?”
We just experienced Coach K’s full court press for a guy pay off. Lets see how Self’s late game pressure does. I believe we are hammering down on Brown now. Maybe we can roll with some momentum after signing Diallo and suddenly showing up on the national radar screen again.
You said it right. Brown is a difference maker and we stand a great chance of being FF-bound if we land him. He is the missing piece left.
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I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but how good Poythress really is? If he would be that good he would not be playing ball in his senior year, wouldn’t you agree. Brown will likely leave after one year and will be drafted higher.
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Didn’t Michigan lose to New Jersey Institute of Technology last year? Come on down Jaylen.
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@REHawk boys are neg. Ned’s. Girls are nancy! I keep telling you Ned’s that.
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Just heard we’re off browns list.
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Guess the question for Brown is… does he want to maybe be a Sweet 16 team (at the most), or possibly win a National Championship? I doubt Michigan has a chance at that.
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Is that based on twitter post from a friend of his? I saw that earlier and a couple of other sources said it was not credible but I really don’t know one way or the other…
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@Crimsonorblue22 Thanks for the delineation. I’m almost too old and nearsighted to recognize the difference between a Ned and a Nancy!
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@JayHawkFanToo a couple of tweets, 24/7, probably heard it about 6-7 times. So who knows!
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