Recruiting Thread
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“I talked with my family after I had been offered and it was just like, ‘What else are we really looking for,’” Agbaji told the Journal-World. “We didn’t have a specific school in mind and we could easily see this being the right fit for me.”
“That’s a strength for me,” Agbaji said of his versatility. “I can post up, I can drive, I can shoot. But something that I really want to work on is handling the ball better. I wouldn’t say I’m bad but to get around elite defenders and stuff like that, I really need to work on that.”
This kind of self-awareness is good and is in line with everything I’ve heard about him being coachable.
“I just feel like I can come in and be tough and be a sit-down defender and just work hard to make the team better,” Agbaji said. “That’s what they’re really looking for and I can shoot the ball, too. Coach Self said when he watched me that my defense was one thing he saw, that I have a good stance, good slide and stuff like that. It’s an honor, honestly, to receive that praise from the best of the best. It’s just exciting.”
Agbaji, whose father is from Nigeria and whose sister, Orie, plays volleyball at Texas, said he made up his mind on Sunday night — just over 24 hours after the offer came from Self and KU assistant Norm Roberts — and spent the next few days both looking forward to his commitment ceremony and preparing for Friday’s rematch with North Kansas City, one of the two teams to beat Oak Park this season.
“That’s the reason why I kind of cut it off short and said KU,” said Agbaji, whose name means “King of Children” in Nigerian. “I just wanted to get all that pressure off and focus on going as far as we can in the postseason.”
Whoever was wondering, his dad is from Africa.
@HighEliteMajor Kind of unreal going from no P5 offers to 7 in about a week.
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Statement from his twitter. He is all over local radio right now. Will be on 1320 AM at 3pm.
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Good nugget on him from Matt Scott
“AAU teams don’t have the opportunity to practice together every day like a high school team can. AAU teams have a little time during the months of March, April, May and July. A lot of players go to various camps in June so there isn’t much time to practice. When teams do get to practice together the practices are usually long, tough and demanding because there aren’t a lot of opportunities to practice. Over the years I’ve seen a lot complaining. A lot of whining and a lot of excuses. I never once saw Ochai complain, whine or have an excuse. All I saw him do was go as hard as he possibly could every single minute he was on the court. Every drill, every play, every minute. He is easily one of the more impressive kids I’ve been around on the AAU circuit.”
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Really been loving our recruiting for 2018. Seems like we are getting guys that want to play for the name on the front of the jersey instead of the back. Big Dave clearly has his head on straight. Dotson and Grimes fell in love with KU. Ochai seems to be level-headed. It’s fantastic.
Add that group plus Jacobs in 2019 and we have been, it seems at least, prioritized high character kids over talent. Of course some of these guys obviously have both. But I’m really liking this wave of future Jayhawks we have coming in.
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Just a rumor, but I hear he has two or three transcript issues; a booster might have helped with some travel money a while back; he drives a late model car given to him by his cousin’s, half-sister’s, domestic partner; his mom may have borrowed some money from a “friend” within the last week; he enjoys shooting at passers-by with his airsoft rifle; and, of course, he partakes in a bong every so often.
Now, of course, I could just be confusing this kid with someone else.
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BShark said:
“I just feel like I can come in and be tough and be a sit-down defender and just work hard to make the team better,” Agbaji said. >
We already have plenty of sit-down defenders, sitting down as the other team drives right past them. I think he meant “shut-down” defender which is hopefully what he will become because this team can badly use it.
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Sounds like he might be a bit like Garrett?
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Agbaji will probably end up reminding a lot of people around here of Travis Releford. He’s a great HS scorer, but that will likely not be his role in college. I think he understands that and will make defense and versatility his calling card. He will be a four year guy that may well end up having a career not that dissimilar from other versatile, somewhat local wing guys like Steve Woodberry and Travis Releford.
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I like his shooting ability, he should be someone that can make 3s etc. I like it!
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I’d take another T-Rel!
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Hawk8086 said:
Sounds like he might be a bit like Garrett?
MUCH better shooter. Not even in the same stratosphere. His ball handling is what he needs to work on which he seems to be rather aware of which is good. But in terms of work ethic, being coachable, junkyard dog and just a quality kid, definitely!
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justanotherfan said:
Agbaji will probably end up reminding a lot of people around here of Travis Releford. He’s a great HS scorer, but that will likely not be his role in college. I think he understands that and will make defense and versatility his calling card. He will be a four year guy that may well end up having a career not that dissimilar from other versatile, somewhat local wing guys like Steve Woodberry and Travis Releford.
Seen the Releford comp thrown around a lot with the caveat of “better shooter”.
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“It had gotten to the point where it was getting overwhelming,” said Olofu Agbaji, Ochai’s father. “He had said he wanted to wait until the end of the season, but once KU was interested, everyone started calling. “We said (that) we might have to considering committing sooner rather than letting the flood gates open. And he knew what he wanted after KU offered.
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KU signs Ochai Agbaji (pronounced Och-eye Uh-bah-gee), currently unranked by Rivals.com and listed as a 3-star, No. 328-ranked player in the country by 247 Sports’ composite rankings, picked KU just five days after receiving a scholarship offer from Bill Self and the Jayhawks. He hails from KC and prob will be a 4 year guy. Does this mean no Langford?
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@BShark can’t wait to hear Fran pronounce his name since he still can’t say Mykhailiuk right- thank heavens for spell check since I can’t spell it either
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Releford wasn’t as good of a shooter out of HS, but by the time he left KU, he was a 40% three point guy. Agbaji is probably going to come in able to shoot close to that. If he can clean up his ball handling, I could certainly see him being an improved version of Releford by the end of his career. This is a good get for KU, that could end up being a great get.
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@kjayhawks I don’t think this hurts our chances of landing Romeo because theres no way this kid starts over him. This does create an interesting scholarship situation though, especially if Romeo does commit because someone’s definitely getting the boot.
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@BShark i love this kid, everything about him!
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He has a certain old man style of play I enjoy. I like the mid-range jumpers, I like seeing him dunk off a lob. I think it’s going to take him some time to be able to play at the college level, but I like getting a good potential 4 year guy who will develop as he goes along. He might be Sam’s replacement.
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Great get for KU. The kid sounds like the perfect system player that will produce for more than a couple of years and his statement shows a pretty level headed and thoughtful individual. Good athlete, good person, I like him.
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Grimes won the Houston area POTY award. No surprise there.
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Hair game gonna fit in at KU lol
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@BeddieKU23 The in dorm barber has to be a sick recruiting advantage.
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CB’s for Markese’s brother to Illinois. Wonder if he follows him when its all said and done
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BeddieKU23 said:
CB’s for Markese’s brother to Illinois. Wonder if he follows him when its all said and done
If he does, I think it would be more of KU moving on. I’d rather not see that happen though, I like Markese long term.
KU has a lot of good options in 2019 and will probably have no seniors.
Interesting question, let’s say Vick and Newman (or Cunliffe) leave so there is an open scholarship. We don’t land Romeo in this scenario. Would you rather just leave the scholarship open? I would, unless it’s a grad transfer which seems super unlikely given the stacked roster. 12 eligible players is more than enough and leaves room for 2019.
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BShark said:
BeddieKU23 said:
CB’s for Markese’s brother to Illinois. Wonder if he follows him when its all said and done
If he does, I think it would be more of KU moving on. I’d rather not see that happen though, I like Markese long term.
KU has a lot of good options in 2019 and will probably have no seniors.
Interesting question, let’s say Vick and Newman (or Cunliffe) leave so there is an open scholarship. We don’t land Romeo in this scenario. Would you rather just leave the scholarship open? I would, unless it’s a grad transfer which seems super unlikely given the stacked roster. 12 eligible players is more than enough and leaves room for 2019.
I think you go after the best available perimeter player if All 3 leave and Romeo doesn’t come. I would not let a scholarship go to waste without vetting what’s available in the spring. I’d be looking for a shooter with athleticism and another ball handler. Of course if Doke leaves as well we better start calling EJ Montgomery today…
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@BeddieKU23 Part of why I feel good about Doke staying is that we haven’t heard anything about KU even kicking the tires around on available post players.
I guess it could be that Self is content with 2x Lawson, Mitch, Silvio and McCormack but I have a feeling Doke will be back.
EJ is already visiting UNC, Duke and UK. I doubt we bother.
I’m sure Self will look at guard options but if it isn’t a one year player I’d like to have the slot open. Romeo is the best option by a lot.
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@BeddieKU23 I remember you said you had a contact at Brewster. Could you ask him about https://247sports.com/Player/Walter-Ellis-46045199
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BShark said:
@BeddieKU23 Part of why I feel good about Doke staying is that we haven’t heard anything about KU even kicking the tires around on available post players.
I guess it could be that Self is content with 2x Lawson, Mitch, Silvio and McCormack but I have a feeling Doke will be back.
EJ is already visiting UNC, Duke and UK. I doubt we bother.
I’m sure Self will look at guard options but if it isn’t a one year player I’d like to have the slot open. Romeo is the best option by a lot.
I hope he returns, he’ll finally have someone to play beside.
I agree Romeo is the best option by a mile. And if we miss on him its in the “Ayton, Young” category. I think missing on him if the guys leave that might get nudged out etc would be a gigantic miss. Romeo can help this team win games with how many guys could potentially leaving the program at season’s end. Talent can overcome experience.
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BShark said:
@BeddieKU23 I remember you said you had a contact at Brewster. Could you ask him about https://247sports.com/Player/Walter-Ellis-46045199
He was mentioned as someone that would do better at a Mid-Major D-1 school. A few P5 teams have kicked the bucket on him but he has mostly outside P5 offers. My contact has always said KU should have pursued Isiah Mucius harder. He’s mentioned that Manning’s job might not be as safe as it was weeks ago…
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@BeddieKU23 I don’t think he is as much of a need as Ayton but of course we would be better with him. I also don’t think he is Trae Young in terms of impact but of course I didn’t think Trae Young was in HS either lol. The “worst case scenario” of Dotson, Grimes, Garrett, Moore, Cunliffe and Agbaji is pretty good.
If Danny get canned (good lord he is 9-16 this year and 52-65 overall at Wake so I could see it) I’d hope the staff takes a real look at Mucius if he becomes available.
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BShark said:
@BeddieKU23 I don’t think he is as much of a need as Ayton but of course we would be better with him. I also don’t think he is Trae Young in terms of impact but of course I didn’t think Trae Young was in HS either lol. The “worst case scenario” of Dotson, Grimes, Garrett, Moore, Cunliffe and Agbaji is pretty good.
If Danny get canned (good lord he is 9-16 this year and 52-65 overall at Wake so I could see it) I’d hope the staff takes a real look at Mucius if he becomes available.
The more time that passes I see Langford having a big impact if he came to KU. And I don’t necessary mean Romeo stands out individually like a Wiggins/Embiid/JJ did. I don’t think he’s that type of prospect, more in the mold of Oubre IMO. We are potentially losing so much on the perimeter that you want to replace those guys with the best available talent and we both agree he’s that. I just love his size for the perimeter and he’d be another shooter on a squad that could struggle without him. At this moment I’m considering Romeo a must have signing.
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My contact said Mucius loves the academic portion of Wake as well which KU can’t really compete with…Even if Manning is gone he’s the type of kid that would be hard to sway away unless the new coach wasn’t someone he got along with. We’ll see what happens. Mucius is kind of in the mold of KJ but probably shoots better from the perimeter. We’ll see I’m hoping KJ has put a ton of work into his shooting this year
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@BeddieKU23 Okay interesting to know and yeah KU can’t compete with WF academically. I wonder if Chaundee Brown would be a transfer candidate. We were obviously very interested in him out of HS. Of course, he couldn’t help next year…
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I’d take Brown in a heartbeat if he was available.
Mucius was big on relationship and academics. Hoard would be someone we’d have a better chance with if he opened up.
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Jaylen Hoard would be an incredible Self steal.
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BShark said:
Jaylen Hoard would be an incredible Self steal.
Hoard really didn’t visit many other schools either which is part of the reason I mentioned him. I think his father played overseas and Jaylen came to the states a few years ago. Had a KU offer as well
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Manning seat is getting very hot. The good thing he has going for him is that most of the remanint games are agains felllow bottom teams. WF is 2-11 with 5 games left; less than 3 wins in the last 5 games (not counting tournament) and his job is in serious jeopardy.
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JayHawkFanToo said:
Manning seat is getting very hot. The good thing he has going for him is that most of the remanint games are agains felllow bottom teams. WF is 2-11 with 5 games left; less than 3 wins in the last 5 games (not counting tournament) and his job is in serious jeopardy.
It’s definitely getting hot with the losses piling up. I have a good friend who’s connected with Brewster Academy in NH (T-Rob, Tharpe, Graham alum from the school) and Wake has a Top 100 kid signed from Brewster. Just a few weeks ago that recruit was pretty sure he was going to be back despite the struggles. That isn’t what my friend is hearing now.
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After reading the Wisconsin board a bit I kinda feel bad for them. Didn’t realize how bad they were this season and how atrocious their recruiting has been lately. They really wanted Ochai but 99% of them knew it was over immediately if the KU offer was commit-able.
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BShark said:
After reading the Wisconsin board a bit I kinda feel bad for them. Didn’t realize how bad they were this season and how atrocious their recruiting has been lately. They really wanted Ochai but 99% of them knew it was over immediately if the KU offer was commit-able.
Losing Herro is probably going to haunt their fans for a long time…
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No question Wisconsin has fallen on hard times; short of winning the Big 10 tournament it will miss the Big Dance.
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@BeddieKU23 The worst part has to be that it was fairly obvious even back in May/June. He was always interested in UK and then once it was apparent to UK that they weren’t getting Grimes and Cal was kind of luke warm on Romeo they immediately pounced on a kid they knew they could get. Meanwhile it apparently blindsided the UW staff, but not their fanbase. They should have been still evaluating and keeping some fires warm for what was a very real possibility.
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BShark said:
@BeddieKU23 The worst part has to be that it was fairly obvious even back in May/June. He was always interested in UK and then once it was apparent to UK that they weren’t getting Grimes and Cal was kind of luke warm on Romeo they immediately pounced on a kid they knew they could get. Meanwhile it apparently blindsided the UW staff, but not their fanbase. They should have been still evaluating and keeping some fires warm for what was a very real possibility.
Not sure their coach is going to survive much longer. I think Wisconsin has had some injury issues as well which haven’t made things any easier
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Latest 2019 NBA Mock Draft.
Grimes # 8
Vick #56
Langford #5
Zhaire Smith (Tech) #16
Konate (WVU) #40
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@BeddieKU23 You’re right. Kobe King, a talented freshman starter and Dimitric Trice a sophomore point guard both out for the season. They have no one that is a real point guard because of the injuries. They lost four times to decent teams in very close games early in the year. Lost to the aholes from Xavier who had the nerve to taunt the Wisconsin crowd at the end of the game, lost to UCLA on a last second shot, lost in the final seconds to Baylor, lost on road at tough Temple and really tough Virginia. Then the injuries hit and things really fell apart.
The jury is out on Gard. He keeps swinging and missing on recruits. His juniors this year other than Happ are complete flops. This years freshmen are good, but no one really to build a program around.
The 4th longest streak of making the dance, a 17 year streak of 4th or better in the big10, and back to the mid 90’s streak of a winning record, plus longest streak to the sweet 16 are going to end this year. Been tough to watch. I feel worst for Ethan Happ, a wonderful talent.
But on the bright side, I’ve watched less basketball this year because I don’t feel the urge to watch UW games as much.
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BeddieKU23 said:
Latest 2019 NBA Mock Draft.
Grimes # 8
Vick #56
Langford #5
Zhaire Smith (Tech) #16
Konate (WVU) #40
Well if this holds up for Grimes he will have to go unless he has some kind of Miles Bridge moment.
