Bill RE: Next Season
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Definitely, sometimes these 5-star players don’t want the attention. This one seems to be the case. If he holds out until NBA decisions that’s probably KU’s only hope.
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Ok, that makes more sense. No sanctions yet because UNC has put a full court defense that has tied up the NCAA with legal paperwork. I am guessing that given Coach Williams health, he is not that far away from retirement and the school is hoping for one more NC before he retires and the program goes down the crapper because of the effect of the likely sanctions and the new coaching staff; a cosch like Roy Williams is not easy to replace…not many Bill Selfs around…
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Matt Scott posted a VIP thread about a couple potential spring offers. Derrick Walker and Francesco Badocchi.
Walker is a junkyard daawwwwwwg PF. Scott mentioned he might pop soon but if he waits KU would likely be a player.
Badocchi sounds like a freak athlete that is learning to hoop. KU checked in on him while watching JRE last night.
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Matt went a little overboard on use of freak athlete with Badocchi. Andrew Wiggins is a freak athlete, Badocchi is not.
Honestly we can do better than both but if I was choosing, Walker and red-shirt
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Agree. Walker could be a good 5 year guy like Lucas.
And yeah I assume they are plan Z but we’ve been there before.
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Certainly, Walker’s size alone would be a plus. Investing in a red-shirt these days is risky. Jerry Meyer just CB’s him to St Johns yesterday btw
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Yeah if he commits soon it isn’t KU.
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I imagine this will be the last we hear of him in that case
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Hell of a game for Duval to watch.
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So just waxing a bit here… Preston is likely to be frustrating at times due to his effort, but man, after seeing Josh this year it is likely to make it seem even worse than it normally would be.
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Is it just me? This win seems more satisfying than the win over UK…
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@JayHawkFanToo I thought the UK win was more satisfying. We beat a good team in their building. A blue blood team that competes with us for the hearts and minds of top recruits, the media, and the nation. No doubt this win over Baylor is huge and when we hold B12 trophy #13, we will look back at this one. But I felt that UK victory was one of the best KU wins in recent memory. As much as Baylor is a good team this year, I fully expected to punk Drew in the second half. The foul disparity makes it easy for Fran and like-minded trolls to discredit this win. Nobody in the nation can say we didn’t make a statement beating UK at Rupp.
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I agree. To take Self’s words the Kentucky game was a Showcase event. The Big-12 game was big boy ball.
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@approxinfinity @JayHawkFanToo @BeddieKU23
I think without the UK win, we would have not had the confidence and grit needed to beat Baylor, plus it also gave Baylor reason to seriously doubt our vulnerability under pressure.
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Good point.
I think what was important about the Kentucky win besides erasing the loss in Morgantown was taking the momentum from the win. Self was right, the Kentucky game would have been meaningless if the team didn’t take something from it and use it positively. I think we got a resounding answer to that question. Baylor brought everything they had, was a great overall game!
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anyone know about Chris Smith. looks like he moved from the 2018 class to 2017.
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@BeddieKU23 said:
Couldn’t have played out any better.
Imagine JRE & Harvey were impressed last night!
The atmosphere was electric for sure.
@kraken said:
anyone know about Chris Smith. looks like he moved from the 2018 class to 2017.
KU is involved. Nice combo forward with a solid stroke. Looks like Slater (reputable guy) crystal ball picked him to KU after he changed classes so it’s possible KU is driving this reclass. UK is interested but he doesn’t have a UK offer yet, while he does have a KU offer.
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He’s a definite want as we head towards spring.
Really good athlete and can shoot from the perimeter.
I also like his ability to possibly be a small 4 in the 4 guard lineup. Not saying next year we would be playing this way again but he’s the type of player that in time would allow Self to explore
He’s young so his best basketball is ahead of him. I think he’s a top 50 type personally.
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New name per Matt Scott: http://247sports.com/Player/Jermaine-Couisnard-46038749
Snacks will be checking him out Thursday.
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@BShark so we still leading for young or not?
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This kid is more a 2/3. Staff definitely needs ANOTHER guard/wing in addition to getting a PG imho.
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@BShark I meant is trae young coming here?
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@Crimsonorblue22 Looks more like a depth move in my eyes. We still have open scholarships. Like 2 or 3 depending on who stays and leaves. And transfers plus an open scholarship kind of hurt us depth wise this season. As we have seen. So I think Bill will try to land a few end of bench guys with athleticism that can become rotation guys in a couple of years.
I would think Trae will come here still. Even if we landed this guy.
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Best case scenario imo is one of Trae/Duval and then Chris Smith on top of that. If the staff strikes out on Young and Duval then Mark Smith becomes a name to watch. Seems up in the air with Trae at this point.
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@Crimsonorblue22 said:
@BShark so we still leading for young or not?
Matt says it’s 50/50 which to me says he doesn’t want to let out what he might know one way or the other due to respect and the relationship that he has with the family. He’s giving tidbits here and there.
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@BeddieKU23 tidbits our way?
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Duval is a done deal to Duke, I see no reason to say otherwise.
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I believe so. I’m sticking with it
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Below is the projected Starting Lineup’s for next year’s Big-12.
At the top are incoming Freshman/Transfers (in green are Top 150 prospects according to recruiting services)
Below is possible additions at this moment. Note Young & Smith are listed for multiple Big-12 teams until decisions are made.
Below that is projected starting 5 and the rest of the projected roster.
You will notice the biggest question for any team going into next year is who will be the starting PG at Kansas. I would love nothing more than to put Trae Young’s name (or Duval) but I’m leaving Duval off the addition list unless some better intel comes out saying KU is really in it.
For other notes of Interest I have the following declaring for the NBA draft:
KU- Josh Jackson, Devonte Graham, Svi Mykhailuik. (obviously the last 2 have been discussed at length. At minimum we can expect they’ll be in the combine.
Texas- Jarrett Allen, Andrew Jones (recent addition to ESPN’s top 30 draft prospects)
Baylor- Jonathan Motley
Oklahoma St- Juwan Evans
I have also removed Tevin Mack from Texas’s roster. Suspended since January and can’t imagine he’ll be back.
I have also kept Carlton Bragg on KU’s roster until we get further clarity on his suspension length. The more games he misses the less likely he’ll be here next season.
On paper it would seem Baylor & West Virginia could be considered the favorites for next season. Iowa St is losing the kitchen sink and Kansas without a PG right now will be a very inexperienced squad possibly going for the consecutive conference championship record with a new starting 5.
Thoughts?
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@BeddieKU23 Wow. That’s some analysis. Agree that on paper (with certain assumptions) Baylor and WVU are up there…but I would put us right there with them. Self has proven that he can deliver late in the recruiting game. But if the above scenario happens with us…and your assumptions are logical, but who knows…we will be unproven.
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@BeddieKU23 Next season the Big XII will legitimately be the toughest conference in basketball.
WVU will be tough.
Baylor starting 5 seniors might be the team to beat.
TTU with 5 seniors will be tough.
TCU with a So. Fisher and bringing in guys that Dixon actually wants and recruited is also scary.
ISU will struggle.
OSU will struggle.
OU will be 10x better next year than this year.
K-State should be just as solid next season. Bubble team.
UT is a guessing game. But based on this season I don’t expect much.
KU is stacked if we can find a PG. 3 top 30 recruits starting. A Jr. Vick. A Jr. Bragg. A Good bench wing in Cunliffe. We just need to find a PG.
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@BeddieKU23 We should have 5 or 6 ranked teams all season next year. And I’d bet that 3 or 4 can crack the top 10.
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Thanks, This will be updated when there’s information to add.
Yes Self has to hit a home-run this spring and everything starts with the PG issue. There will be anywhere from 2-5 open spots depending on departures. That is a lot of open space he can offer to late signee’s/transfers etc.
Ideally KU should get to 12 scholarship players for 17-18 and maybe find another sit-out transfer with as much upside as Newman/Cunliffe. Because looking further down next year Doke, Newman, Vick, Preston will have draft decisions.
What guys sign with KU late and how returning players improve will determine a lot for next year. Newman/Vick/Doke will have to make big jumps
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Will be interesting to say the least. With Baylor/WVU returning what looks like 3 starters each they will definitely be the biggest competition again.
Is Baylor really that good without Motley? I would say no right now. Will be an experienced team though and Drew snuck in 2 red-shirt years from Vital/Jolly both Top 100ish kids.
How will WVU do without Adrian? I have no idea how any of the transfers/freshman will be but I bet Huggins found at least one gem in that bunch.
TCU looks like it could take the biggest jump forward. Brodziansky could be a 1st team All Big-12.
Oklahoma should improve simply because everyone but Woodard will be back. Hard to replace Woodward though.
The league might actually be down a bit. The league has been consistent this year with great PG play but next year we are looking at half the league with a new PG.
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@BeddieKU23 My thoughts on OU are that they have the athletes on that team and I have faith in Kruger.
TTU should surprise. I like their coach as well. Passion for the school feeds into guys. Especially seniors. Not to mention a couple of his newcomers should be able to play.
I do think Baylor will be that good without Motley. Drew has been finding guys for that spot for years now. If there is one thing he knows how to do it is get big athletes on the block.
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I’d call Garrett a CG. Otherwise agree with most points. Need a PG badly. Get Young or Duval and KU is a top 5 team.
Ryan posted on the Phog that if we get Duval then it is thanks to Adidas.
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It sure is hard to criticize Drew’s ability as a recruiter. He has always found great players, many not well known before coming to Baylor.
Baylor continues to creep up in quality, a little at a time.
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His sneaky move was getting Vital and Jolly to red-shirt this season. Vital is a great athlete and Jolly was highly recruited wing originally committed to Cal. Drew gets these kids to invest in the long game and take full advantage of the sit-out year
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Yeah I only did normal positions, Garrett is a unique player. I’d call him simply a player (utility type) that can play the 1-3. They don’t make 6’6 guards on tree’s that can run the point like him. I think that aspect is forgotten with him, Marcus has run point for years
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Evans and Smith for Tech are studs. Next year I can see them taking another step. Not sure about the rest of the team though.
Motley is a All-American candidate, if Baylor doesn’t skip a beat next season I’ll tip my cap to them.
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Well, that is part of coaching. Drew seems to be good at recruiting and decent in developing players.
It is hard for me to flip the switch and start respecting Drew, because I think he got to where he is the same way Cal did.
And both Cal and Drew are at a success level now that they don’t have to rely on a bag of dirty tricks. As they start working with higher ethics they are both bound to win over a lot more followers.
But what about coaches like Lon Kruger? He is a man of principles (and not just recently acquired). He has worked his butt off for a long, long time to get where he is today. He didn’t take any short cuts.
Coaches like Lon help me keep the perspective on who I choose to respect.
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Having seen the Duke board mention Marcus Keene as a possible grad transfer guard, got me thinking KU would definitely throw their hat after him. Can’t imagine he stays where he is, either leaving for the NBA or grad transferring. 30 point scorers don’t grow on tree’s. Would be an interesting get if all available options fail…
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Talk about a kid that has fought his way up, started at Youngstown State. He looks like he would be a solid stop gap option.
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@BeddieKU23 If we whiff on recruits, he would be a fantastic backup plan. Imagine the offense with him and Newman on the same team…
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I have caught a few of his games this year and he’s electric. The game winner he had the other night was a typical performance from him. Has some toughness and flair to him. He rebounds and passes the ball as well so its not like he’s getting 30 a night because he’s Kobe’sque shooting every night. He’s shooting 47% from the field on 21 fg attempts per game.
He would be the most sought after transfer if he does go that way. It would be interesting to see how he transferred his ability to a Power 5 school though. Illinois is the best team they have played all year which isn’t saying much for his competition.
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Chris Smith taking an official visit to UCLA.
Will have to pay attention to him after if he doesn’t schedule other visits…
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@BeddieKU23 FWIW, I have seen that we might have some interest in this Chris Smith, I personal don’t know much on him, haven’t kept up on what we are saying on him BUT - -FWIW, I just read that the last two CB’S from 247 predicted him to UCLA - -shows us up 60- 40 over UCLA but like I said they just gave the last two predicts to them. - - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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Seems like the smoke is for UCLA as they are getting him to visit this week. Wouldn’t be surprised if he commits
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@BeddieKU23 ya, go figure. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
