KU Players Leaving/Staying Tracker



  • Gone - Mason, Lucas, Josh, Bragg

    ??? - Svi

    Staying - Doke, Mitch, Vick, Graham, Newman

    Sad tweet from Frank: https://twitter.com/FrankMason0/status/845856529622454272

    You have nothing to apologize for Landen: https://twitter.com/LandenLucas33/status/845851346855186432

    As soon as I see anything concrete on players I will post it here.



  • I would bet Bragg leaves, DG as well. We could have short bench again next year.



  • I Have this feeling Bragg will transfer out - - SVI will leave either for NBA possibility OR return back home and play ball at home. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • Why would Newman leave? He wasn’t good enough to after his freshman year and has done nothing to show NBA people those issues are fixed (scouts don’t care what you look like in practice). Graham’s not leaving. His play in the middle of the season killed those chances, and after the way he played last night, there’s no way a projected late 2nd rounder at best should want his career to end that way. Svi’s play all year killed his chances.

    Bragg is definitely a question mark at this point, especially with the DNP last night and the reduction in minutes over the past few games and getting jumped by Coleby in the rotation.



  • @jayballer54 Gosh I hope Bragg comes back…I think he can be a good player. IMO whatever happened off court really affected his play.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 Just because Graham and Svi should stay does not necessarily mean they will.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10

    I think Newman is staying, but there were swirling rumours/fake news that he would test the waters. He and his dad promised Self 1 year, which is why I put him in a different group than the bigger question marks.



  • @Hawk8086 Svi isn’t graduating in May and with parents being educators, he’s not leavimg without a degree unless he’s a lottery pick and that’s not happening.

    Graham’s draft stock has done nothing but plummet this year. He’s a PG who played less and less of his position as the year went on. Graham needs next year running the show to be a 1st round guy.



  • @Hawk8086 Ya I’m sure that could of had some to do with it - -that may not be over for him either, I’m not saying one way or another time will tell, I hope he comes back - -BUT I am thinking he may in his mind think he wants out, go somewhere get a fresh start, he has potential, question is will we ever see it at KU? - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • Svi has said he is currently undecided when he was asked. That was very shortly after the game though.



  • @BShark I don’t think he is going anywhere, big reason he came to KU was because the NBA pretty much told him he wasn’t ready & because the way things turned out for him at his other school. - -Welp he didn’t play this year so nothing has changed as far as the NBA goes. - -I fully expect him at KU next season. ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • IMO only FM, LL and JJ are leaving.



  • @Eric-san I hope your right. We could have a tough club or a rebuild on who returns.



  • Frank’s tweet breaks my heart. He deserved a better ending than his friends all wetting their pants.



  • Bragg is gone. No PT, much like Greene last season. Cannot imagine him returning. There seems to be other priorities in his life …

    And remember last spring when we signed Newman? I suggested that his dad’s word was not something we should totally bank on. I got a very large dose of anger on that one. But it is still in flux. I heard from a friend who is semi-connected, and his view was that it is “in play” that Newman may look to play professionally. Just that it is not cemented that he’ll be here. We’ll see. The likelihood of course is that he stays.

    @Fightsongwriter Frank did deserve better. My all-time favorite Jayhawk. What a terrifically talented and humble player. THE PERFECT JAYHAWK.



  • I’m staying



  • @BShark so true cause hell even we already known and have known all year about his - -Josh said he was uncertain wasn’t thinking about the NBA - -that’s typical - -same with Devonte. – -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • Dwight still has a year.

    Sam will help after 9 games



  • @BShark said:

    Svi has said he is currently undecided when he was asked. That was very shortly after the game though.

    Respectful thing to say unlike Lonzo Ball who pissed off his teammates yapping about the NBA right after the game. The Apple didn’t fall far from the tree



  • @wissox

    Me too! A lot of KU “fans” should go try being a Missouri fan.

    @BeddieKU23 said:

    Dwight still has a year.

    Sam will help after 9 games

    Admittedly I forgot about Coleby. Didn’t list Cunliffe since I figured there is no way he could possibly leave given the circumstances.



  • Im still sad we lost. But much more so that I dont get to see FM in a KU jersey any more. That is heartbreaking and maybe a person shouldn’t become that invested. But how can you not with a guy like Frank… There’s been alot of kids I was sad to see go. But nothing like this. FM is my favorite all time. Of every kid I ever watched play here. He just is. A great guy and even better role model for others. The kind of story you love to hear about let alone watching unfold. If there’s any justice in this world FM is player of the year



  • @cragarhawk sun didn’t come up here ! I wanted the final 4 solely for frank!



  • @Crimsonorblue22 I’m selfish. I wanted it for me too. And for the program and all the other fans. And for the entire team and for Coach. But no question about it. I wanted it the most for Frank



  • @BShark

    Woops, sorry I missed the point of this thread.

    Funny, I had a feeling people would post fake news about Newman right after the season ended. If Newman didn’t have a reputation that would cause this type of rumors to be started in the first place we would have no reason for concern but yet there is the slightest doubt put out there. He’d be crucified by his coach if he did leave. Which I can’t imagine would look good on him after all the talk of him coming here and his commitment to play here at least 1 season. I hope for Malik and for KU he’s putting on a Jersey this fall



  • It seems clear to me that Bragg might be moving on somewhere else. Not getting into the Oregon game doesn’t seem coincidental. That will really suck but maybe its best. I’ll wait to see what happens to comment further…



  • @HighEliteMajor I remember the conflict over his dad’s word. I think at the time I raised the possibility that changed circumstances could lead to Malik leaving without it meaning his dad was acting in bad faith when he said it.

    It might depend purely on whether HCBS thinks Newman has a good chance to catch an NBA contract. Bill is pretty adamant that when a player is ready and wants to go, he should go and Bill won’t hold him back. I doubt, though, that he could have made that much progress without playing.

    I think Newman did the combine thing last year, didn’t he? And I thought someone said you can’t do it and retain eligibility 2 years in a row, so it seems that there aren’t a lot of ways for Malik to explore NBA options other than through his coach.

    An unrelated topic for everyone to chime in on: do you think Udoka should attend big man camp this summer? I believe Withey benefited from one, and others have, too, but would it be too much in light of the trip to Italy coming so soon after the wrist injury?



  • @wissox said:

    I’m staying

    Whew!





  • @BShark

    Hopefully that settles that.

    And for those who don’t Twitter.

    Malik said “don’t believe the rumors”



  • @mayjay

    I know this was addressed to HEM but I wanted to chime in as well.

    If Healthy, Udoka would be a prime candidate for camps especially if invited. I think the kid needs all the experience, coaching and tips he can get. He basically only got his feet wet and lost an entire season of progression. It sucks he wasn’t able to learn with Lucas for the entire season on all the fundamental things Landen did well for this team. Going to be an important off-season for Doke



  • @BeddieKU23 Thanks–really to everyone but especially to those of you who seem to have a better knowledge of bb preparation than I do!



  • @BeddieKU23

    Udoka would be staying regardless. He is not old enough to be eligible for this year’s draft. He was always going to be a two year player. It sucks that he got hurt, but he was coming back either way.



  • My guess

    Jackson goes (DUH).

    Graham and Svi stay (they might “declare” but won’t hire an agent and will come back).

    Bragg transfers to a nice mid-major.



  • @justanotherfan

    What will be interesting to see with Doke is how the injury effects his plan to basically be a 2AD. That was his goal coming in as he knew his age prevented him from leaving regardless of his health or how well he performed as a freshman.

    It would seem all the lost time from this year would put him further behind to reaching that 2AD goal. With the NBA going further away from the Doke’s of the world it will be very interesting to see how the NBA is going to value him for what he is. An extremely raw player with a high ceiling and size you just can’t teach, Does the NBA label him sort of like Diallo or do they take his age into consideration and figure he’s 2-4 years of development away from becoming something.

    I don’t follow the NBA enough to know exactly where his value would be but I would figure a 7 footer who can’t shoot and is extremely limited in his knowledge of the game would warrant a first round pick. Again I could find a slew of things GM’s might be intrigued with but that would have been the thinking of where the NBA was 10-15 years ago instead of where it is today.

    And part of me is selfishly holding out that 2 years won’t be enough for him but I’m wondering will he be labeled a high “potential” prospect or an “raw prospect” with down the line potential…



  • @HighEliteMajor said:

    Frank did deserve better. My all-time favorite Jayhawk.

    Mine Too. I’m going to retire “Where there’s a Wilt, there’s a way”



  • @BeddieKU23 How many games didnhe play in this year? Can’t be that many.

    The reason I ask is say he does become a project and he stays for all 4 years could he get an extra year due to a medical hardship like Gonzagas Karnowski did afternolaying just 6 games last season???

    Not say Dome will be a guy who is here that long but just a question.



  • @FarNrthJHwk

    11 games.

    I suppose they could apply for a medical waiver, not sure the amount of games you can play in and get it.

    I would tend to believe Doke won’t be here 4 years, from what he said coming here to him being from another country, his goal is probably to get to the NBA and provide for his family. Maybe his mindset will change but Doke is probably smart enough to know his athleticism, size, and age will get him some hard looks from teams that are looking for a project to work with. And there was signs he was starting to improve rather quickly as well before the injury… This off-season will tell a lot of how much he can improve



  • @BeddieKU23 No I didn’t think he’d stay for his entirety but was just wondering.

    Never know though. Maybe he loves the experience of campus life?

    Oh who am I kidding.



  • Yeah there is no point in applying for the extra year if you don’t plan to be around 5 years.



  • I am going to go all Bobby Knight, but we might of tried some shot fakes on bell. That and switching to 2 bigs with Bragg stretching the D could have worked wonders. Simple adjustments Were lacking from the coach I was bragging about for being the KOA (king of adjustments).

    2 shot fakes getting bell in the air for 2 early fouls and we may not be crying in our beer. But then that may have been beyond Landens repotoir.



  • @Fightsongwriter You wouldn’t have had to shot fake to try and draw fouls on Bell. Plant Bragg in the high post in the middle of the zone and force Bell off the basline to help on the weakside. Even with all his struggles this year that was something Bragg was still pretty good at and tended to have his most success playing in the high post.



  • @FarNrthJHwk said:

    could he get an extra year due to a medical hardship like Gonzagas Karnowski did…

    Not eligible for a waiver. Here are the relevant portions of the criteria:

    An athlete must not have participated in more than three contests or 30 percent of their season schedule (whichever is greater)… Karnoski played in 5 for the Zags, so he easily qualified.

    Unfortunately, Udoka played in 11 out of 35 games, or about 31.4%. If the NCAA doesn’t do rounding, he might have been eligible for one if we had reached the championship (29.72972973%).



  • @BeddieKU23 For some reason I just have this feel that Doke will still be with us for two full more seasons, I feel that with his injury, it set his development back and he needs time to mature develop - I thought originally that he would stay for two years, now with the injury seeing as how he was not able to get that game time exposure/experience I just feel he will end up staying through his Junior year. - -That is unless he comes out this next season and just has a monsterous season offensively AND defensively, otherwise feel like he needs it to take the time to really develop improve ALL phases of his game. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @BShark hmmmm, maybe /Bragg transfer to Wichita State lol. - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @cragarhawk Agree. I mean I know ALL the players took the loss hard - - maybe I’m reading to much into it, but the vibe I got or that I felt seems to me that Frank more so then anyone would really take this rough. - -Frank was through and through, like you said a true role model will go down as one of my all time favorites, I know he loves his son and wants the best definitely will always be welcome in Jayhawk Nation. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @jayballer54

    Marsha would eat him alive.



  • @BShark LOL, oh well he wouldn’t be our concern anymore. - -maybe just me BUT I still would like to see him come back here next season - -Do I think it’s gonna happen? - - probably not. - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • Interesting post on the Phog about Graham. If true his mom wants him to stay and get his degree.



  • just checked out a couple of the NBA draft sites: - - Draft Net has Josh as the # 1 pick going to the Celtics - - -Frank as the # 48 going to Milwaukee, - - -NBA Draft Express has Josh as # 3, - - -Devonte # 50 going to the Nuggets, - - & Frank # 59 going to San Antonio. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @BeddieKU23

    The NBA is going super small, but Doke isn’t an immobile guy. He moves quite well. He’s much more similar to a guy like DeAndre Jordan. He runs the floor well, can elevate and finish and can easily play as the lone big man because of his size, strength and shot blocking ability.

    The NBA trend to go smaller helps a guy like Doke that is mobile, but it hurts the pro prospects of a guy like Landen that isn’t as mobile and would have trouble switching on the PnR. 10 years ago, a guy like Landen would get a very long look in an NBA training camp because of his size and bball IQ, and would probably have a career somewhere. Now, because most NBA teams don’t play two true bigs at the same time and Landen isn’t a shotblocker, it’s tough to play a big that can’t either switch onto smaller guys on the PnR or play as the lone rim protector in a small lineup. But that change helps a guy like Doke.

    I don’t know that the injury changes that plan for Doke. He can block shots and can probably handle some switches. He doesn’t need to be a scorer because he won’t be in lineups as a stretch four. He will be an anchor 5 (similar to a guy like Jordan or Capela for the Rockets). The NBA would probably prefer that Doke not try and be a scorer because they don’t have to create post touches for him if that’s the case. Rebound, defend and dunk. That’s what they want from a guy like Doke. He can already do all of those things.


Log in to reply