Ok so lets see if new recruiting thread
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Good call on Williams.
The handler that is running his recruitment is the same fella that made Antonio Blakeney go from Adidas to Nike (Louisville to LSU). He’s a Nike kid. I can definitely see him going to Oregon if he’s open to leaving the state because he fits the Jordan Bell comparison to a T. If he stays closer to home look for Duke or LSU to turn up the heat. Slater has alluded too many times about the “other stuff” in Williams recruitment.
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Being a diehard fan of Florida St football I can shed some light on Florida fans. They are an absolute delusional bunch from insider to common fan. I cannot stress that enough.
Florida is a legitimate option for him, always has been. It’s also of note Florida is after other PG’s because I think they know beating KU in this one will be hard to overcome. I feel that’s a sign they know the writing is on the wall. We’ll see I highly doubt Slater would have said KU to Dotson was done weeks ago if it wasn’t true
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@mayjay LOL so very true. - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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De Sousa has had an interesting trajectory so far. Was as high as the #2 recruit. Then he dipped I think to the 40s/50s and is trending back up to the top 25 after a good summer.
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@BeddieKU23 Well thanks for that bit of info. - The y seemed pretty confident, but yet I too feel pretty good with Devon, I think in the end he lands here, but yet still that itsy bitsy piece of human element of the un-expected keeps wantin to crawl into my head lol. - -I mean look at Silvio, who here really thought we were even in any kind of serious contention for him & then BAM - - I mean most predicts and most people agreed thought he was a heavy heavy lean to Maryland - - Then another example - -Ayton, ya know we all felt we were in really really great shape with him and then BAM - -he lands at Arizona and sweat boy. So even though I feel like 98% - -KU & 2 % Florida – I I will sleep and feel a lot better when he actually comes out and says - - I’m announcing I will be attending the University of Kansas next year and playing Ball for Coach Self. - -I say again if he just doesn’t somehow get overwhelmed by his visit to Florida on the 8th - which I don’t really believe that will be the case - -if he doesn’t commit on the 8th on his visit - then DONE he coming here for sure. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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It’s about time we got someone that wasn’t a dragged out recruitment.
If you think about it a good majority of foreign-born bigs that KU has landed over the years have committed without much knowledge to the fan-base.
Embiid we swooped in late, Azubuike was a long-time FSU lean and we came in late there and now De Sousa which really was a weekend honeymoon and now he’s committed. I knew we offered De Sousa back in the spring but there really wasn’t much information on his recruitment for a while and when Maryland became the favorite I kind of lost track of him. It’s crazy that a 5 star talent has kind of gone under the radar on the national spotlight but that is what De Sousa has largely done.
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OMG, what a stable of bigs next year. We will simply have a front line that will be tough as nails.
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2019 Rankings update on Rivals.
Malik Hall has surged for 49th.
JRE 16, Chandler 19, Harvey 38, Jacobs 74.
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Does anyone think we would have gotten him without an open scholarship?
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@approxinfinity well I was really surprised at him committing but as far as the open scholarship don’t think that played into it because he is next year anyways so we would have multiple scholi’s to offer. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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@approxinfinity I don’t think that factored in. I think he was told that Preston and Doke are gone and that he would immediately be a top 2 post on the roster.
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@approxinfinity I do. If we have Mitchell Robinson on the roster right now, I’m sure that scares some guys away.
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Kcmatt7 said:
@approxinfinity I do. If we have Mitchell Robinson on the roster right now, I’m sure that scares some guys away.
In that case yes, I agree. But if it were, say, Jack Whitman or some other scrub I don’t think it matters.
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I would say Whitman no bc he’d graduate but some other project, I think yes. Having a scholie in hand made it easy for Self.
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Having only 3 eligible post players on the roster and potentially losing 2 of them probably played a big factor in De Sousa’s decision.
The way his body and game is built right now we could definitely see him starting alongside Dedric next season. Unless we land Big Dave there probably isn’t going to be a signing that impacts Silvio starting next year
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Matt Scott mentioned on the shiver that Grimes’ visit situation “might get a little weird”. Whatever that means.
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After a few days of letting the De Sousa signing settle in, this is just a home run get by Self.
We’ll have a Jr Lawson, Jr Lightfoot, R-Soph Lawson and FR De Sousa at the minimum to rotate in the post. We don’t have elite size or length but this is a front court tailor made for how the game is changing.
I had some real doubt about who Self would get in the post in this class and he put that to bed real quick. The last remaining puzzle will be the Doke situation and Big Dave. If Big Dave comes here we know the outcome for Doke after the year. De Sousa/Big Dave duo is a home run between development and ready to play now.
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Recruiting is funny. It was believed last year that by far KU’s best shot at a big in 2018 was Carte’are Gordon. Then Self’s nemesis Pig Face slams the door on that one. So of course Self gets a long perceived Maryland lean and then it comes out later that De Sousa had been long interested in KU and was hoping for an offer/visit.
Anyway I agree I think he is a tremendous player and if he had been active in the AAU circuit more he’d still be top 15 I think. Not that rankings change what kind of player he is. Just like Garrett though I think he could be undervalued. Though Garrett was on a different scale, they bumped him up to the 50 range just about right before his commitment to KU iirc.
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Hmm, Florida really does have a lot of PGs visiting. Including a top 100 in state prospect that they are probably a lock for. Hopefully this means something…
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Good point about Gordon.
I’m really excited that we had little clue what was going on with De Sousa until he was already committed. We rarely have that happen nowadays.
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They have a great chance at Devoe and Weaver from what I gather. Of course Florida fans etc will downplay what that means with Dotson but it’s definitely significant. I also don’t think Florida could have afforded to recruit just one PG with how much of a need they have at the position. We don’t see KU getting involved with other PG’s at this point which gives me even more assurance the Dotson deal has been done for as long as its been reported by Slater
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It definitely appears as if the staff is confident. Haven’t seen a redoubled effort on a kid such as Dosunmu or Carey.
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The Adidas part of this I think makes it even more assuring. I think we’d definitely see Self on more kids if they needed to be
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@BeddieKU23 Yep, Adidas should be helpful this year. I think Maryland did have an inclination about De Sousa as they started showing interest in a couple post players in the 200 ranking range.
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They also signed Smith who’s a Top 40 big and it looks like they relied too much on the Fernando connection here. I can understand them being upset but wow that’s a salty bunch that has gotten way ahead of itself in where it stands in the pecking order of College Basketball. KU flexed its muscle here with De Sousa and I’m glad the kid fell in love with everything KU on his visit.
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Ok, maybe cause it’s labor day weekend the last major holiday of the summer, maybe it’s the coolness of the upcoming fall morning air - - BUT for some reason I’m starting to get this little feel good about McCormack. - -Call me crazy, but for some reason I’m just starting to get this feeling, that maybe we might be in a little better shape then what we thought. - -I dunno maybe the Silvio De Sousa commit, coming out of left field beyond the fence, has giving me ne inspired hope - -some confidence. - Could it be? - -Could we pull off a 2nd recruit where others were considered the favorites or at least strong leans for other schools? - -Last I knew was McCormack was pretty involved with Duke. - Now McCormack gives us an un- official AND is coming back on an official. - -Any time a kid uses their own money for a visit - means they have to have a decent amount of interest anyways - -then to return on an official? - -I know I’m looney probably - -BUT question is just how looney lol. - I’m mean JUMPIN - - GEE - -HOSSIE - - TOADS - -wouldn’t be a sweet landing, very solid big - -time will tell, probably just me, whatcha think - -think we have a legitimate shot at this guy? - - - ROCK CHALK AL DAY LONG BABY
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BeddieKU23 said:
They also signed Smith who’s a Top 40 big and it looks like they relied too much on the Fernando connection here. I can understand them being upset but wow that’s a salty bunch that has gotten way ahead of itself in where it stands in the pecking order of College Basketball. KU flexed its muscle here with De Sousa and I’m glad the kid fell in love with everything KU on his visit.
Yeah and honestly Jalen Smith is very good. They should be happy they had such a great talent sitting in their back yard. Such a heavy lean that Turg couldn’t blow it. Lol.
Plus Fernando is definitely a multi-year player aaaand MD is making a hard push for Moses Brown. If you are De Sousa honestly the path to playing time looks easier at KU. Especially if he was told Preston and Doke are leaving. He will be the #1 option at C in that scenario.
@jayballer54 He decided to come back for a 2nd visit so I’d say he is interested in KU.
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BShark said:
Matt Scott mentioned on the shiver that Grimes’ visit situation “might get a little weird”. Whatever that means.
Does it have anything to do with Hurricane Harvey since Grimes is a Houston area kid and lives in a part of Houston that got hit harder than most.
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Could be @Texas-Hawk-10
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That’s good to hear. The next one up is Kansas. How did the Jayhawks
make the list? What impact does Silvio De Sousa choosing them have on
your recruitment at all?
Well, Kansas is a much bigger school. Coach Self is a great coach.
Coach Howard is a guy I have a close relationship with. They’ve done a
good job with bigs and fours with my playing style, so it was
definitely a program that I could see myself in and see myself playing
in. As far as Silvio De Sousa, I won’t see it as affecting my decision.
I know his playing style. He’s a stretch four player, much more
athletic, so I could see him playing more on the outside than being a
post player like myself.
You’re more of a skilled low-post guy.
Right.
How was that unofficial to Kansas? What was that experience like?
It was a really good experience. They’re more of a college town
probably, a really good college town. It’s really nice. It’s not only
there for a school, but it fits my style of basketball cause Coach
Naismith…
Lots of great players. When you went, did you go both to a game or go
off-season and went around campus?
Just off-season.
In terms of how they see you fitting in, do they see you as more of a
four-five? What’s the plan there?
They definitely see me as more of a four-five, treating my position as
a low-post player.
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@BShark Just came off 247 - -after reading the interview, I have to say that I feel better yet, he went quite in depth about our Program, the city, the Coaches - - -pretty lengthy - all sound pretty positive from the interview to me. - I think when it’s all said and done it’s going to come down to a KU-Duke battle to see who lands him Okla St with maybe an outside shot - but I just gotta feel from reading all the others in his final 6 this is how it will shake out - -KU/Duke. - -He is concerned about the De Sousa commitment - -plays more outside, the stretch four, would be nice to pair him up - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY - Oh he is a pretty big boy that’s always nice bulk
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@jayballer54 I took his comment to mean that he is NOT concerned about the De Sousa signing. I am wondering how serious the Quickley visit is, and how that might affect Dotson or Grimes. Sure would be nice to get two of the three plus Z. Williamson. That would be a super class to put with the Lawson’s, Garrett, Mitch, Moore, Cunliffe, and hopefully Vick. Big Dave or anyone else that might be back would be frosting on the cake.
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Not serious. Quickley is a wildcat, he just hasn’t announced it yet.
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@Big-Clyde52 Ya sorry about that. - -After I read your reply to me, I went back and saw my post. - I typed wrong your exactly right, I went to say that McCormack wasn’t concerned about Silvio committing for us, said De Sousa would be or so he thought would be playing more outside where McCormack would be playing down low, my bad lol. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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The recruiting world was surprised on Wednesday afternoon when the news of Silvio De Sousa’s commitment to KU broke. It wasn’t surprise that De Sousa committed to Kansas, it was more surprising that he did it without visiting Maryland - who has long been thought to be the leader for De Sousa.
Now the De Sousa has committed to Kansas it’s time to look ahead and see what he will bring to Kansas once he arrives in June. According to 247Sports Director of Scouting Jerry Meyer, De Sousa will be a terrific fit in Coach Self’s system at KU.
“De Sousa found a great fit in the traditional high-low attack of Kansas,” said Meyer. “He does a great job of controlling space down low and is also effective with the basketball in the high post,” he added.
Meyer also thinks that playing in a structured offense will help De Sousa thrive at the next level.
“I would expect him to thrive in a structured system that values touches in the low post,” said Meyer.
247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Andrew Slater also thinks the Jayhawks landing a perfect fit in De Sousa.
“Silvio De Sousa is a tremendous pick-up for the Jayhawks. With his mix of a high motor, very good athleticism, and strength, he’s one of the premier two-way rebounders in the class,” said Slater.
Slater says De Sousa’s athleticism and versatility are two reasons why De Sousa is able to guard multiple positions on the defensive end of the court. “He’s a good rim-running big man, who can defend both the four and the five,” said Slater. De Sousa has worked hard to improve many aspects of his game, something that Slater has taken note of while watching him over the last year. “The Angola native used to be more turnover and foul-prone, but both of those areas have been dramatically cut down on, as he adjusted to American basketball. Defensively, he uses his active hands and good lateral quickness to generate steals and as a good weak-side shot-blocker. His weakness right now is with his face-up game and similarly at the free throw line, but, with his work ethic, I fully expect him to become a more complete big man. His preferred uptempo style fits with what coach Bill Self has historically been so successful with,” added Slater.
Author Matt Scott @
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@KUSTEVE That steals part is pretty spot on. I watched his U19 games with Angola and he extremely active and disruptive on the defensive end. Self is gonna love this kid.
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@BShark We’ve needed a guy like him for awhile.
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Jamari with skills would be nice. A point forward player would do really well in the high-low. Jamari almost got it, but he wasn’t skilled enough. You’d see flashes where he’d drive the lane, but that was his limit.
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@KUSTEVE That highlight video I saw had him knocking down 3 pointers. Seemed like he had a good release, nice and smooth. Should translate to the freethrow line…
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@dylans He is an elite rebounder - Jamari wasn’t. He has some pretty good ball handling skills - Jamari didn’t. He can score with his back to the basket -Jamari couldn’t. He can defend the rim - Jamari did average a block a game, but I wouldn’t classify him as a rim defender. He can shoot from 3 - Jamari couldn’t. He can drive to the basket - Jamari could as well. He can steal the ball - Jamari had quick hands, but not in the same league as Silvio. The hi-lo with Tarik and Jamari was a thing of beauty …those short passes were sweet. Beyond that, I don’t see an equivilance between Silvio and Jamari. With this kid’s nose for rebounds, I would venture to say we have a mini TRob. They are calling him an elite rebounder on both sides of the court.
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@KUSTEVE TRob was pretty limited offensively. I hope Silvio is more well rounded, but we shall see.
(Love me some TRob, but Simien was better.)
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@KUSTEVE We also tend to forget that Jamari really only played a little while in organized ball before attending IMG. I think he never developed ball handling skills and the eye for shooting at an early enough age for those things to become instinctive.
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@dylans Any question of TRob gets my interest.
Comparing Simien vs. TRob, both in their junior seasons – TRob obviously didn’t have a senior season.
Simien - 17.8 pts, 9.3 reb, .9 blocks, 1.2 assists, .9 steals
TRob - 17.7, 11.9 reb, .9 blocks, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals
Simien’s senior season was terrific as well, 20.3/11.0/.6/1.4/.6
Obviously different players. Simien could really hit that turn around 12-15 footer and was more diverse offensively. TRob had the benefit of Withey down low with him.
For my money, I’d go with TRob at the 4 spot. Simien was obviously smaller. Don’t know what a senior season would have brought for TRob. Can’t go wrong either way.
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Simien was also a very good FT shooter and you did not have to worry having him in the game at the end of close games; he shot 0.816 in his senior year and his career average at KU was 0.784. I don’t believe has had a big shoot that well from the FT since he left.
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@JayHawkFanToo Withey took it up high his junior year, 79.5%, but fell back to 71.4% senior year. Simien was great. Too bad injuries curtailed both college and pro opportunities for greatness (if only vs Syracuse…Simien and Graves both out there…sigh.)
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Well just got my fix on KU Basketball to help carry me through – lol, watched a high lite reel talking about and showing clips of beware of the Phog - -showed where Robinson blocked ol boys last second lay up attempt from Mizzery - showed Mario’s last second shot to tie the game against Memphis in the NCAA Championship game - fans reaction back at the phog during that game - -Damm can ya feel it? - - -It’s coming. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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@dylans TRob averaged 17 ppg and over 11 rebounds a game his junior year. He had his offensive limitations, but…he has been the best rebounder in the modern era, better than even Collison. Our interior defense has not been the same caliber since him and Withey left. Now, we got some flashes with Embiid, and Perry and Landen did a solid job (for the most part) down low, but nothing like TRob/ Withey.
I want a kid described by scouts as an “elite rebounder on both ends”. It’s good he has quick hands, has great fundamentals, and is an offensive threat, but I want the boards, man. Pair him with Dedric down low, and that is an elite rebounding tandem.
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Some early names to keep an eye on for future 2020 : - – # 1 Isaiah Todd 6’10 PF- - N Carol 50 %- - KU 50%- - - - -# 6 R J Hampton 6’4 PG- - Current Texas 100%- - - - # 7 Greg Brown 6’7 PF- - KU 100%- - - - - -# 16 N’ faly Donte 6’11 C- - only KU showing warm interest at present.- - - - # 26 Adam Miller 6’3 PG- - KU warm interest- - - - #32 Jabri Abdur - Rahim 6’5 SF - - already big time offers, 16 offers already, looks to big time - for sure gonna move up - offers from Ariz, Cal, U Conn, Florida, & KU listed right now of top 5 of interest- - - - # 35 Nicco Mannion 6’1 PG - -from schools shown looks like he will stay back on coast only KU the lone exception at this point. Others Ariz 100% - -right now on the CB - - UCLA , Utah , Oregon.
So there you go, just a few - - -will definitely change - -very , very , early with these kids - -a lot of the top 60 haven’t even received offers yet or showed where they have - -obviously things will change as time goes by - -a lot more of these top 60 KU might /probably has interest in, just not offered yet, so it doesn’t show - - -just passing time guys patiently waiting lol - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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When you look at the entire body of work while at KU, I would have to give Simien the edge. He was unstoppable inside and when fouled he was gold at the FT line and he did not have Jeff Whitey protecting the rim behind him. Both great KU players with amazing personal stories.
