Bill RE: Next Season
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Rivals update. Preston #8, Garrett #37, Trae Young #14.
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Interesting Preston is that high, honestly I think Young is a better player overall. Nice to see Garrett get a nice bump.
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I think it’s going to create some undue hype for Preston if he ends up universally in the top 10 across the services. He can be a good player for KU (esp if he somehow stayed 2 years) but it could just as easily blow up while he and Self have a clash of wills. It’s not going to be a Josh type situation and while some KU fans will understand it the majority will not.
With Garrett he had always been a bit better than his ranking imo but I wonder if the recent bumps are due to actual scouting or just because he is signed with KU. Regardless I feel good about him as a multi-year player.
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Excellent post, couldn’t agree more.
That’s the thing with Preston, he’s talented enough to start as a freshman and go lottery in the draft because he can simply do things other guys at 6’10 can’t even dream about. But will he be a team player and take hard nosed coaching.
It makes it even more interesting that Preston chose KU to play for a guy that will push him to the max everyday. Maybe that says something about how Preston wants to be treated at the next level as opposed to being given everything. Jackson choose KU in part because he knew Self wouldn’t hand him anything, he had to earn it. Will be an interesting dynamic with Newman who I feel is a similar minded player.
Garrett is a really interesting player. The lack of AAU exposure can be a gift and curse. I think he’s a high character kid that will be one of Self’s favorite players. And his versatility to play multiple positions is going to be exciting. I hope we get 3 years out of him because the NBA will be very intrigued with his size for the PG/SG position.
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Saw some possible KU targets make the top 150.
#24 Grimes
#34 Dotson
#76 Oturu
#112 Fitzmorris
Weird class to date. KU likely only has a chance with 1 top 10 player (Langford) and he’s a longshot right now…
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Chris Smith checked in at #90 on the re-classify
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@BeddieKU23 If they bring home a couple of top 50 and a couple more top 100 and then another solid transfer then it’ll still be a solid class.
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@BeddieKU23 is that for 2017?
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@Kcmatt7 everything I have seen on him is that TCU was leading on him - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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yes
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@BeddieKU23 said:
Saw some possible KU targets make the top 150.
#24 Grimes
#34 Dotson
#76 Oturu
#112 Fitzmorris
Weird class to date. KU likely only has a chance with 1 top 10 player (Langford) and he’s a longshot right now…
18 is such a weak class and KU isn’t really in a great spot for many bigs (and will need 2-3) so maybe it works out with Fitzmorris.
I’d take this class in a 2nd. I’m high on Oturu though.
@jayballer54 said:
@Kcmatt7 everything I have seen on him is that TCU was leading on him - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
If KU and UK turn up the heat he isn’t going to TCU.
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@BShark I agree about our class. Cunliffe helps but we need two or three more
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Definitely. 2 srs, 2 open scholarships after Maxwell left, Josh leaving 100% and probably losing 2/3 of Bragg, Svi, Graham (I bet Bragg stays but saying 2/3 because I feel that is most likely even if Bragg did leave and somehow Svi stays or something). Right now two commits and an incoming transfer. Most like 4 more as we know Self likes to fill all the scholarships. Maybe he leaves one spot open though for class balance reasons. Young, Smith and a mystery/filler post recruit would be a great ending to the class. Going to be hard to get any kind of impact post recruit including a grad transfer if Bragg does stay.
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Weak is probably an understatement right now. Just as weird is the lack of interest in KU from any in the top 20. I know things are going to change because there is going to be a lot of potential roster movement over the next year. Self will likely be selling starting spots and that will be attractive to some of these kids.
I really hope Self pushes for early commits out of Grimes and either Dotson/Oturu if that is the guys he targets over the summer. I’m sure he’ll shadow Quickley, Langford, Williams. I would love for him to get David McCormack who is a guy that if he hit the Hudy weight room for a summer would become a beast. Emmitt Williams is a guy who’s intriguing but I don’t know if KU has been interested in him yet.
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Just gotta survive and bridge to 2019. I daresay I could recruit that class (but not really). A rare convergence of local talent and pretty heavy KU leans.
Sherfield, Harvey, Leech, Hurt and JRE. Then of course Jacobs is already committed. That’s an entire team. Might not have the open scholarships to pull it off but damn.
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Also Sherfield is old for his class. Not sure if his academics would be in order to do it but he could in theory reclass to 2018 and he would be the best possible PG option for KU in the class if it happened.
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It would seem that we have to survive 2018.
Sherfield if he did re-classify would be a home-run. First we must find out what Young does so we know whether 2018 we even need a PG. I’d feel really confident going forward with Young/Garrett.
Grimes seems like a must have for 2018 and obviously quality bigs (wherever those may be).
I want to see us get a big center like Doke.
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2018 quality bigs: Bagley.
That’d be my 2018 list and KU isn’t in the race. Everyone else is a project to an extent. I do like Oturu long term, and Gordon long term would have been a fan favourite.
I do agree we will need a center. Hopefully Fitzmorris will develop nicely.
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Well put, Bagley is a man among kids out there. Still wonder if he will even go to College.
I need to see Oturu more but was his/or the staff’s interest tied to Hurt?
I still think McCormack & Emmitt Williams are others the staff should be on.
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He was offered about a week after Gordon popped for SLU. I think it was a situation where the staff wanted to start exploring other options after a perceived KU lean spurned them.
I agree. McCormack isn’t the type of center Self usually goes after (he’s fat).
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New name on the radar. No offer but “interest” apparently
De’Quon Lake 6’10 (2017) Juco of Iowa Western CC had 38 and 13 in his last game. Arizona St and Old Dominion have offered. Interest from West Virginia, Creighton, Oregon St and KU.
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@BeddieKU23 Would he be a 2 or 3 year guy?
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Oh boy a Juco. Let me list off all the jucos that made an impact under Self: .
I was trying to find old HS recruiting profiles and couldn’t.
@Kcmatt7 said:
@BeddieKU23 Would he be a 2 or 3 year guy?
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@BShark If it’s only 2 I’m not interested… Although we will need a guy for some depth 2 years from now. At this point we would only have Lightfoot as a guarantee on the roster. I’d feel better about taking a grad transfer to fill a gap if we needed to find a stop gap.
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He is a SO. So he would have 3 years to play 2 if he RS but only 2 years to play regardless.
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@BShark Mario Little?
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Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. seems to be doing well at Baylor…
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Kinda I suppose.
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@BShark ben ? Played at hutch, ku a year?
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@BShark not him duh!
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Ben Davis! Went to Arizona
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I said under Self. Plus that was KU to JUCO to Zona I was talking about players that were at JUCO then came to KU.
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@BShark sorry!
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It’s okay. I was just trying to think of a JUCO player that was a major contributor for KU during Self’s tenure.
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@BShark Mario Little.
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We have a different definition of major. He was an okay end of the rotation player imo.
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@BShark That was the only juco player I could remember that even played for our team. not major at all.
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Tyrone Appleton!
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@KUSTEVE @BShark Can we split the difference? Not major contributor, but not end of the rotation? Solid contributor? I have fairly favorable memories of his contributions. His senior year, he averaged about 14 minutes per game, scoring about 5 ppg with 3 rbg. Scored double figures a handful of times. Played bigger than his size. Definitely don’t think he was end of the rotation, but obviously not a major contributor, either…
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Sure my only real point was not to expect to much out of a JUCO. KU might need a post body though. There are exceptions where a JUCO player might be pretty good, those would be cases where the player was ranked coming out of HS but had to go JUCO due to grades. Does not appear to be the case here. KU still hasn’t offered yet of course so it’s hard to say what “interest” means.
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@BShark John Douglas was a JUCO, I believe. Only 40 years and 3 coaches prior to Bill…
“His 46 points on the road against Iowa State in 1978 broke the legendary Wilt Chamberlain’s record for most points scored by a visiting player in the Big Eight Conference. John went on to earn All Big Eight Honors, Honorable Mention All American, Newcomer of the Year and MVP at KU.” (Wikipedia)
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I’m assuming 2 year guy.
if you search iowa western basketball you’ll find some recent highlights with him in it. Doesn’t look like anything special. Just seems like KU is getting out there looking for a spring-time big. Juco’s haven’t really been needed at KU. He must be okay if he’s got 2 D-1 offers already with 4 other bigger programs looking at him.
Definitely he’s doing great. He also had the benefit of a red-shirt year but Acuil Jr was one of the top 5 JUCO’s 2 years ago.
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If Huggy is interested I figure he is at least a hard worker.
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Let’s assume a few things for a moment to discuss.
Assume that Coleby’s injury is one that forces him to retire from basketball or he looks for more opportunity as a grad transfer.
Billy Preston’s grades become a hot topic of discussion in the spring and there’s general concern for his eligibility.
Carlton Bragg still decides to pursue a professional career or a fresh start after an up & down year.
Doke is recovering from Wrist Injury until early summer. Conditioning/skill development cut a good 2+ months into his off-season.
Lightfoot continues to play sparingly the rest of the season.
How far off is all of this from what might happen or is going to happen? Obviously the worst case scenario of everything I have layed out but if I’m Self I’m going into the Spring saying I’ve got 1 starting spot in the post available and plenty of rotation minutes. Self needs to find athletes and size.
We expect Doke to be a rock at the 5 next year but the 4 spot is far from settled right now. And who’s going to back them up?
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Yeah I get why Self is looking for bodies. It’s a weird situation where we might have 5 bigs or we might have only 3 or 4. Gotta take one for sure whether it’s a JUCO, grad transfer or HS project. Personally I hope for a player with only 1-2 years left as to not mess with the 2019 class.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Coleby left and Self took two post players.
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It is a very weird situation.
I would put the % that Coleby isn’t playing next year at 50%. Just a hunch the way they’ve kept him out of games. Let’s say best scenario for Coleby is he gets healthy enough to play next year. Best case would be what Hunter Mickelson minutes of out him? That injury changed the whole complexion of why he was brought here. We may be better off finding a replacement who’s 100% ready to go.
Preston if eligible is obviously a 15-25 minute player. A Bragg/Preston rotation at the 4 is good enough.
Bragg should be back. With the way Self is making him play out of position it could really help his development this off-season. If he played like he did against Iowa St the rest of the season I would have a totally different view of him. Going back to the 3 out 2 in would really benefit him.
But will Self go that way? He’s looking to get Young and Svi is a wildcard to leave. Cunliffe signed on as well gives him another athletic 6’6 type. A 4 guard lineup of Young/Newman/Vick/Svi/Cunliffe with Garrett mixed in is very intriguing again. That is assuming Graham leaves.
Lightfoot is still a bit away from impacting the team. Going to be a big off-season for him.
Doke’s injury has bigger implications then some may realize. And that’s assuming he’s back in the time-frame they gave. This team needs a legit backup to him because Doke was foul prone and that’s not going to change over night.
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Yeah the worst part for Doke is most likely the experience lost by not playing this year. I think if everything else is equal Self snaps back to 3 out 2 in. Getting a back-up center for Doke is extremely important for that happening though. I want ZERO part of Zach Brown though and I would bet the staff feels the same way. Not worth it.
