Trae Young
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@Crimsonorblue22 scoring up and consistent.
Seems his RB’ing is down. (Which is okay)
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probably a good thing he missed today’s game (speaking of Trae) but our back-court did have 43 points and 79 of 87 came from our 5 guards.
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We are in the lead for young
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@Hawk8086 Why would we have to lose Graham and Svi? We will definitely lose Frank to graduation. I don’t think we have to lose three key players. If we do, then maybe Young is a bit too expensive? I’d love to have him and I believe he will play with or without Graham and Svi, but we don’t have to lose the entire back court to gain him.
What does it take to gain the #3 recruit? He will take all of Frank’s minutes and that’s too many as it is, especially as an incoming freshman. Frank didn’t play that many his freshman year and if Young is patient (if and when) he arrives, he’ll get PLENTY of PT.
He needs to trust Bill Self.
Besides, why would a top ranked bball player go to a football school? I may be wrong, and it won’t be the last time, but if Young is the basketball player he seems to be, he picks KU. He won’t get exposure at OU or OSU. Buddy Hield and Blake Griffin are 4-5 year rarities at football schools. It would be like Blake Bell choosing KU to play QB. Trae Young is a winner and winners want to win. You go to the program with the longest win streak and become part of history.
I believe there is a dorm room reserved at McCarthy Hall for Trae Young.
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I do think that losing Graham and gaining Young are one in the same.
With these top point guards they don’t go to schools that don’t promise them spots. Not that Young wouldn’t earn the spot anyway, I’m just pointing out that in general the top point guards go where they know they will start from day 1. I imagine Self has said he will start at either guard position (most likely Mason’s spot). And by all accounts he’s good enough to earn the start as a freshman. With the situation we are potentially in, a freshman could be starting at either guard position next year.
If Graham was returning its hard to imagine Young would still be coming here because of the presence of Newman who’s a shoe-in for one of the two guard positions. The what if scenario of Graham coming back and Young still going to KU anyway would give Self a lot of options like he has this year. It would seem a bit crowded though with Graham, Newman, Young competing for 2 spots. That’s without even mentioning Garrett who is going to be a position-less type guard at KU at 6’6.
The staff prepared for losing Svi by getting Cunliffe. If Svi returns then we have a really good core of wings in Svi, Vick & Cunliffe who will be eligible in December. More than likely I think Svi will jump, he’s having a solid year and his age makes him attractive to NBA teams looking for a 3 point specialist. Svi may end up stashed in Europe for a while if a team didn’t think he was ready next year. If Svi does jump then the staff should definitely be on the lookout for another wing. Self should have at least 6 guards on scholarship next year as we’ve seen 5 this year is just cutting it a little to thin with running a 4 guard offense.
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@truehawk93 IMO the way these kids think…if Newman, Graham, Svi, and Garrett join him in the backcourt…might not be enough minutes. These kids seem to want to go to a situation where they are, as much as possible, guaranteed minutes. Maybe it is only Graham in his mind…but who knows, for sure.
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Young had a Triple Double in 3 quarters last night. 40 points, 10 assists, 11 rebounds.
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I kind of wonder if this is the reason why Devonte isn’t moved into the primary PG spot now. If he was and if he stayed it wouldn’t be likely we sign Young.
But with Frank leaving and leaving Kansas from the PG spot, it clearly illustrates a starting spot open at point.
Gosh… If we can sign Young we will have one arse-kicking team next year! A fairly young team but with plenty of experience, too.
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@drgnslayr so you think Devonte stays?
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I agree signing Young means the staff knows Graham’s intentions. I think his intentions have been known since the season started to make it easier for Self to recruit.
But another way to look at it is Young is the type of player that can be the “other” primary ball-handler as Devonte is this year. Young is the ultimate stretch the floor guard. Devonte would slide over to that primary pg spot if he came back.
I really hope Svi decides to finish his career as a Hawk. That to me is the most important question facing this team next year. The NBA will still love him at age 20 and he’d have a real chance to have a feature role next year.
I’m pessimistic about next year because there’s a good possibility we lose all 5 starters. We’ve replaced 5 starters before but those teams had depth to absorb loses. This team has Vick, Bragg, Newman & Doke. A solid core but we’ll be relying on freshman to fill in the other pieces. Svi would give this team a solid 5. Cunliffe should make it 6
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I think Devonte stays unless we win the NC or at least we make it to the championship game.
I think Bill better know Trae inside and out right now. If we don’t sign him and we lose Devonte, next year will probably be a down year.
I think Bill could hold the string right now on Devonte. Promising to shift him over into our starting PG next year would keep him here. Devonte will become a PG in the league. His leadership skills are unknown as of now. If we know we aren’t going to sign Trae then Bill should do whatever he can to keep Devonte next year.
Giving Devonte the PG spot next year, clear and free, probably makes him a lottery pick next year.
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All these small guards need to understand the reality of their situation.
It is almost impossible to make a NBA roster being a small two. It just is.
So if you want a real shot at the league, you better build your PG resume in college. Just thinking it is enough to be a shooter and ball handler will earn you a NBA PG slot is outrageously unrealistic.
PGs need to show leadership skills. They need to show they can read defenses and attack them. They need to be able to create offense for themselves, but more, create offense with their teammates. How do they show that while playing the 2-spot in college?
I would say Devonte has done a remarkable job of showing how he can create some offense while playing the two. His assist numbers are solid. Makes me wonder what he would do if he was our PG and we ran our offense a bit more through the point.
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You definitely made a great pitch for why Devonte should come back and run this team next year. That would alleviate all the pressure this off-season would have about replacing Frank. And by the week those shoe’s seem to be getting bigger and bigger to fill.
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@BeddieKU23 I agree with you. I feel to the fullest extent the coaching staff already knows that Devonte more likely then not is gone. Kind of like the same scenario like Wayne last year, I fully believe that they knew Wayne was history after last year, and with them knowing that during the year they made even a harder push on Josh, telling Josh that position was his, WHY? cause they knew Wayne was leaving. Even though surprised some fans I would be willing to bet anything they knew a long time in advance - - -Same thing with Devonte, I bet you anything they already know that he is gone. He may have already even told them as much, which in a way is a good thing, pretty sweet IF Devonte is leaving that he would man up enough to say like hey Coach after this year I’m out. Huge bonus for the staff knowing 100% that you have this spot to fill AND we will never know, no one will if they already know they can be telling Trae hey this spot is open you can come in and take it over- - he is THAT GOOD where he can come in and start for the get go.
As far as SVI - -another like you I think he is gone - -latest mock draft has him as a late 1st round, I really don’t see him raising up much more – so he is probably also gone - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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Garret is a multi-year player and Newman is not a sure thing, as far as I know. If Trae is afraid of competition from fellow freshman Garret or even Newman, then he probably is not as good as we think he is and does not need to come to KU. I like players with the…I fear no one and I can beat anybody…attitude.
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@JayHawkFanToo Ideally, yes. But it seems most of these kids want to come in and fill an empty spot and play right away…the exception might be the Kentucky kids.
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Trae will play major minutes and I doubt he is afraid of competition. The dynamic of Young and Newman might be a bit rough at first since neither likes playing off the ball but the talent is tremendous.
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Here’s my thoughts, for what its worth.
Trae Young or no, Devonte’s tenure as a Jayhawk depends on how far KU goes in the “March Carney” KU gets upset before the sweet 16, He’ll be back.
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BTW: I usually guess wrong on players staying or going.
But I’m usually right about what follows. Most of these guys either don’t make it in the league, or have to put in a lot of time and effort just to have a shot, and that shot is LONG SHOT!
This idea that the longer a player hangs out in college then the more likely he can’t make it at the next level is 100% bull snit. If a player continues to IMPROVE at the college level he is raising his stock except under extreme conditions… like if this year is a weak draft year and next year is a megaboom draft.
Sure, the NBA gambles on “potential.” But no one can tell me they will not accept the reality of watching a kid blossom in college.
Devonte proving himself at point at Kansas is huge. If he can do that it will definitely help his stock. Definitely.
Turning speculative “potential” into “tried and tested” is a major step up in the draft and how much a team is really willing to invest in a player.
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As much as I love to see our players achieve their NBA dreams, it is indeed, a very rough road to success. Looking back on the past, I see all but 2 or 3 KU players chosen in the 2nd round or beyond, have not faired well in their NBA pursuits. Even a few chosen in the 1st round have had minimal success.
I would love to see Devonte and Svi stay for a banner year next year, but it’s not my life, and not my call. Either way, they will always be Jayhawks, and I will always be rooting for them!
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Newman is a double digit scorer, possibly our best player next year if all of our draft eligible kids leave. We’ll need him to be a “sure thing” if that situation happens.
Name a Top 20 kid that goes somewhere where playing time isn’t available? They are rare, Self is selling him a starting spot because honestly he’s good enough to earn it.
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All excellent points.
If Devonte was a normal Junior maybe he would have a good chance of being back next year. Devonte is basically a red-shirt junior after doing the post-grad year after High School. He would be 23 next year and that really doesn’t help him if he wants to be drafted.
Would he benefit from another year? At this point in the season I would say 100% yes. He’s deferred to Mason and hasn’t given this team as many individual moments as he was giving us last year. He’s certainly played better in my opinion in the last 4 games but we are still not seeing consistent excellence. Maybe we expected too much out of him this year. He’s been solid but I think he can give more. The good thing is there is still plenty of time for him to step up to that next level. March will be important for Graham’s draft stock.
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A big part of making it in the NBA is just getting a REAL opportunity. Playing D-league is not a real opportunity.
The more established a player is when entering the draft, the harder teams look at him for a fit. When they decide a player fits, they are willing to make some level of commitment. The more commitment they make, the easier path the player has to actually make it.
Look at JoJo. Before he showed what he could do in the league, the Sixers had to step up big time.
I’m not so certain Devonte will show enough traction with NBA scouts this year to be desired enough for a real investment in his future. But there is a lot of basketball to be played still.
I don’t think his age is a factor. I’m not one of those people. He will still enter the league as a puppy, and what is the “life expectancy” in the league anyways?
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Good discussion.
I’ll start with your last point about his age. I do think age is a factor for him in regards to his decision to stay or go. These kids know their perceived “potential” to teams once they hit a certain age. It’s why its so hard for juniors and seniors to get consistently drafted high.
This years draft is going to be one of the best ever. There are legitimately 15-20 freshman who can play in the league next year. Some game changers are going to teams next year. Graham leaving this year puts him in that 2nd round discussion unless he finds a team that really wants him at the end of the 1st round. “Team fit” will be huge for him.
I think most GM’s look at Graham and see solid backup point guard. Above average shooter, above average defender, above average passer, average athlete, average size. The last two really seem to matter when assessing how high you can go. If he was 6’4 with good hops he’d be a sure-fire 1st rounder. I think Graham will be coveted because he defends and he can shoot. That should “fit” a lot of boxes with teams.
As we discussed March will be important for Devonte. He shows well and gets this team to the Final 4 its likely his stock is high and his name will get momentum as the off-season comes. If he declares, the combine will be important as well.
It’s great that a kid that was once supposed to end up at a no-named school has a chance at a real professional career. KU has elevated his status as much as Devonte himself has made it happen. I really hope he gets the opportunity to find a team willing to invest in his future.
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TL;DR Trae’s dad tweeted he won’t be going to OU then quickly deleted it.
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Interesting comments.
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Yep. Not exactly earth shattering given that it’s been known his dad favoured him getting out of Oklahoma whereas his mom wants him close to home but still. Seems like KU could be the best of both worlds in that it’s out of Oklahoma but also a big time hoops program (iirc his dad also tweeted some stuff about hoop recruits wanting to go to a school where bball is king and football is in the background).
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I just find it hard to believe that of all the reasons his son might choose to leave the state that the Sports writers would be the Top reason.
IMO Young will face worse from KU writers/fans etc then he’d ever face staying home in Oklahoma where Basketball is not front page news.
I think his father needs to learn to filter out all this talk and let his son make his own decision which is best for him. Of course I do think that decision ultimately will be for KU so if the OU writers are helping us, please keep doing so guys!
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Agree it’s weird that this would be a reason but then his dad wants him at a school that is 100% bball what does he expect? And UK is even worse in that regard.
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Trae Young would probably be treated similarly to how Blake Griffin was treated at OU and he may not want that much attention or pressure. At OU, he’d be viewed as a savior of the program type guy whereas at KU, he’d just be the next guy in the list of guards that have rolled through Lawrence under Self. Young would likely be scrutinized more on the court than at OU, but he also wouldn’t be the only one in the spotlight because he wouldn’t necessarily be the best player on the floor for his team at all times like he would at OU.
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Ha… I’m just showing my age. I still think old school about the league. I might be way off base. I watch a little bit here and there, but to me this pro sport passed its prime time long ago.
Here is a question for you… When the league had Bird, Magic, Isiah, and what seemed like at least 100 super star players… I thought it would only continue to go up from there. It seems more like it did nothing but go down. Very few NBA games today are even watchable. There are some talented players… but really… boring!
I used to mostly watch NBA for my pro sports habit. These days I watch NFL and MLB (and sometimes some NHL).
I think part of it is the addition of so many extra games. But I would like to read some posts from you and others on this.
Why is the NBA so friggin’ boring?
And how do we keep college basketball from falling into the same situation?
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@drgnslayr agree about the length of the season. Way too many games and not enough preparation or concern goes into each game. With half of the teams making the playoffs a lot of the regular season games are often irrelevant, and the split between the crappy east and the stronger west makes the fate of the 8 that are in on each side all the more certain early in the regular season. Also the top heavy league means only a couple teams really have a prayer of winning playoff series at the end of the season. And the lottery system encourages tanking to rebuild. Everywhere you look there are reasons that make the NBA boring. It’s rough.
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I honestly feel the same way about the NBA. I’m a Bulls fan but since Jordan it’s been hard to really invest myself emotionally. I don’t enjoy how “boring” the game feels. And I know it’s high level basketball because the game is played light years differently. When I watch games I’m truly amazed how easy guys make scoring, pushing the pace of the game, making the simplest play look compared to the college level. We don’t even know half the time if lucas can make a layup or Josh can make a free throw. But in the NBA these guys make it look so routine. So I guess in a weird way I love the college game so much because it is so imperfect, so different from team to team. There is literally a 100 ways to scheme in college. In the NBA today if your not becoming Golden State, San Antonio or Cleveland your just not competing. What is fun about a league where you can predict the 3 best teams by a mile. The 3 best college teams can go play inferior teams and lose, so unpredictable, so amazing at the same time.
I also think part of the reason why you don’t see what feels like 100 great players these days is because the level of athletes in the game is just unprecedented. What these guys do to keep in peak physical condition is just crazy. The game is saturated with so many athletic freaks these days that the truly standout talents stick out in character, their mental makeup and their competitiveness to be great. Those select few that tirelessly perfect the art of competing at a high level every single night are our today’s stars. That level is hard to reach and stay at because next year theres 40 athletes joining the league.
A guy like Embiid is really catching my attention not only because he’s a beloved Jayhawk but because his talent level is on another planet from what we saw at Kansas . He’s captivated a whole city in 4 months time to love basketball again. And he’s showing he can single handily change the culture with his team. Joel has it, that drive inside to make his team better and make himself great too. He’s just so exciting to watch, it makes me want to follow the sixers. If there is one player in the NBA that has a chance to be the next superstar it’s him.
Any thoughts?
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Young and his father tweeted “Time to be honest OU fans, these two writers will be the reason my son cant go to school here”…
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Already posted but yeah it’s relevant.
No one should be surprised if and when it’s KU that Trae announces for.
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Saw they are meeting w/kruger
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Link please
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Outstanding post!
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@BShark DeanBlevins) 1/23/17, 11:04 PM Rayford Young tells me son @TheTraeYoung is still considering @OU_MBBall, that the Youngs talked w @LonKruger today & meeting Tues. @NEWS9
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From that article -
"But of course, if media scrutiny is Young’s deciding factor, he should come play for OU. The spotlight on Jayhawks basketball is ten times brighter than the one down here, and Young’s game will be picked apart from the instant he steps on campus. If Young comes to OU, he’s just not going to hear that much criticism. The fans will just be glad he’s here.
I understand the emotion behind Young’s tweet. But if he thinks that going to Kansas will get him away from critical media, he’s sorely mistaken. I think Young understands that at the end of the day. Young may yet go to Kansas—his father has long been rumored to favor a traditional power, while his mother would prefer him at home—but if he does, it won’t be because of Clay Horning.
In Lawrence, articles like that may be too numerous to retweet them all."
What a crock of hooey.
First… no one knows college basketball better than the Kansas fan base. Even my Duke inlaws agree about that. Players coming to Kansas are treated extremely well, but not totally babied.
We’ve held hands of several players that didn’t work out and we still care about them.
We are NOT into blind, emotional criticism of players. We do offer constructive criticism… and if a recruit is just looking for an easy path in college, he shouldn’t go to Kansas. But what school situation will make him better? What school situation will better prepare him for a shot at the league?
Let’s show a simple example. Landen and his past habit of “over-gathering.” Wasn’t it our critical analysis of his flaw helpful to him making the change? And look at the results… it added probably 4 points to his stat average.
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@Crimsonorblue22 I just really feel when it’s all said and done - -he is ours now to lose - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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@Crimsonorblue22 said:
@BShark DeanBlevins) 1/23/17, 11:04 PM Rayford Young tells me son @TheTraeYoung is still considering @OU_MBBall, that the Youngs talked w @LonKruger today & meeting Tues. @NEWS9
Interesting. Supposedly he gave KU the ole “silent verbal” a little bit ago. This obviously conflicts with that.
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@BShark maybe they were being polite
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@Crimsonorblue22 hope so. That would be good for KU on a couple of levels. High character and high talent.
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Five-star Trae Young tells @NEWS9 he’s down to three schools. Will announce mid-February. Looking to release his decision date this week …
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FYI Young was at the Oklahoma game over the weekend. Yeah that one where they lost by 30+ points. Had to be exciting to see your hometown school get mauled with you court-side.
Now he gets to come see KU put on a show this weekend in Allen Fieldhouse. Can’t imagine he leaves there not sold on where he’s playing basketball next year.
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He mentioned in that clip that playing in a packed gym is important to him.
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@BShark Well if that’s a big part then If it’s Ku & Oklahoma that would be a no brainer. Oklahoma has packed arena’s how again? - -Can some one enlighten me on that. Seems like about the only time they come close is when we are theire - -maybe Texas shows up that’s about it, Us? - - EVERY GAME for how long have we sold out? - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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Yeah it bodes well for KU as does he dad wanting him at a blue blood. KU is still close enough that they could go to all his games and make momma happy too.
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@BShark Wondering who the 3rd school he still might be considering? - -Surely NOT Kentucky. - From the people I’ve been talking with these Kentucky people ALL have said they are not even a player of consideration/nor have they been for some time. Something to the effect Coach Cal had kind of cooled on the recruitment of Trae with all the commitments they had received. - -Makes me wonder, as far as I knew it was down to us & Oklahoma – ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
