Draft Declarations Thread
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justanotherfan said:
KJ Lawson is probably going to be the guy that makes most of our lineups work because of his versatility. We can go big or small with KJ on the floor because he can slide up or down (and defend basically anyone but the biggest fives and quickest ones.
Against a big team, KJ plays the 3 and gives us ball handling. Imagine a lineup of Grimes-Langford-KJ-Dedric-Doke. That’s a four out lineup that not many college teams can deal with. Switch Silvio or Big Dave for Doke and that’s still a tough lineup to work with.
But KJ can also slide down the scale if we need him to. Imagine a small lineup with Dedric at the 5, KJ at the 4, then Grimes, Dotson and Moore. As @Kcmatt7 said, Dedric is big enough and strong enough to handle the 5 against everyone but the best 7 footers. KJ rebounds well enough to lock down the 4, and that lineup is a nightmare to guard because everyone can shoot and handle. I think we played a team like that one time… (probably too soon).
With the ability to plug KJ, Grimes and Agbaji into a variety of lineups because of their size, skill and athleticism, KU isn’t locked into specific lineups. That’s one benefit of KJ having been here all year. He knows the responsibilities of the different spots and will probably play almost all of those spots over the next year.
I’m with you on KJ. At first when he came here I wasn’t but he was solid on the Italy trip and I’ve been hearing only good things. I think he’s going to play, and play a lot. The kind of player that just finds minutes on a Self team.
Oh and I think you actually named the early starting line-up, provided Romeo isn’t landed.
Dotson - Moore- Grimes - KJ - Dedric.
Maybe Garrett sneaks in there instead of Moore.
With Garrett it could easily be an elite defensive line-up. Moore makes it a little better offensively but probably slightly worse overall. Though, against opposing line-ups where you can try to hide Moore defensively it might be better.
That’s a lot of length and disruption of passing lanes. Dedric has a freak show 7’2.5’’ wingspan. KJ is no slouch either with a 7’ wingspan. Grimes for a guard fooling around with a 6’7’’ wingspan should be disruptive as well. In the Garrett line-up, well we know about his D already. He had some lapses but is a willing defender and is also rangy and long (though I don’t know his wingspan measurement). Then you have Dotson at PG at 6’2’’ with good lateral quickness and from everything I’ve seen he is a willing defender as well. Dotson would be the only player out there under 6’5’’. That’s a nightmare for opposing offenses if everybody is locked in and committed on D.
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Unfortunately for us, I think there will be some lucrative offers for Doke overseas. He is a project with a huge potential payoff. But besides that, he has a bit of a “circus side show” effect going for him as well.
“Come one come all and see this giant freak Dunk everything!” He will, at the very least, sell some tickets. I think that makes him a valuable commodity for an overseas team trying to get people to gain an interest in basketball.
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Also something to note is that KJ will be 22 by the time KU plays its first game next season.
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Kcmatt7 said:
Unfortunately for us, I think there will be some lucrative offers for Doke overseas. He is a project with a huge potential payoff. But besides that, he has a bit of a “circus side show” effect going for him as well.
“Come one come all and see this giant freak Dunk everything!” He will, at the very least, sell some tickets. I think that makes him a valuable commodity for an overseas team trying to get people to gain an interest in basketball.
There may be, but they’ll be more lucrative a year from now. Self and company are terrific at developing bigs (Silvio being the recent example) and this will be Doke’s first healthy summer in Lawrence. Look out.
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FarmerJayhawk said:
Kcmatt7 said:
Unfortunately for us, I think there will be some lucrative offers for Doke overseas. He is a project with a huge potential payoff. But besides that, he has a bit of a “circus side show” effect going for him as well.
“Come one come all and see this giant freak Dunk everything!” He will, at the very least, sell some tickets. I think that makes him a valuable commodity for an overseas team trying to get people to gain an interest in basketball.
There may be, but they’ll be more lucrative a year from now. Self and company are terrific at developing bigs (Silvio being the recent example) and this will be Doke’s first healthy summer in Lawrence. Look out.
Would you rather have Doke or Bassey?
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Doke without question. No eligibility questions and he’s going to have a fantastic year. I will say though that I love Bassey’s game. He’s a better passer, rebounder, and shot blocker than Doke. Just not a good interior scorer or defender yet.
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@FarmerJayhawk I’m not arguing that. I’m just saying he is going to have tempting offers come in and he is in a rough spot as far as decisions go.
I hope he stays. I really, really hope he stays. But I don’t know what I would do in the same position as him.
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Doke of course.
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@Kcmatt7 he’s only 18. Will his guardians follow him?
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@Crimsonorblue22 There are kids younger than him playing pro ball in Europe.
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@Kcmatt7 he seems so immature
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@Crimsonorblue22 I don’t know that it changes from 18 to 19 lol.
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Euro basketball has changed a lot in recent years and the better Leagues now develop their own players. The time when American players would star is long gone. Most players that go there, like Preston and the Ball brothers, end up playing in the smaller Leagues where pay is not that good and conditions are poor. Better opportunities in the Middle and Far East, particularly China, but I read the living conditions are particularly bad.
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@JayHawkFanToo Perry loves it in Australia and Landen is having a great time in Japan. Those would seem like two solid options depending on salary. Nice, highly developed countries. Australia has the added benefit of English being the primary language too.
And yeah the money is good in China but ugh the living conditions there.
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The only thing that changes from 18 to 19 is that parents are usually too far away to keep you from doing the dumb stuff you came up with at 18.
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Australia is a new but small market. Landen grew up in Japan and speaks Japanese so I imagine it is a lot easier for him than for the average foreign player.
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@JayHawkFanToo I’m just saying there are good options in developed countries. Agree it might be tougher to go to Japan given their culture towards outsiders.
Basketball has exploded in Europe so you are right that teams have a lot more home grown talent. Still there is money to be made for a good US player.
I have confidence that the KU staff will help outgoing players try and find the best situation for them.
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One thing not being considered, Doke might technically be worth more. I don’t know if the rules limit Americans, or just foreign players. I think it is just American players. That would give Doke a lot more options and potentially drive his price up a bit, being as how he isn’t technically an “American.”
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The Michael Jordan of Delaware declares for the Draft without an agent
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BeddieKU23 said:
The Michael Jordan of Delaware declares for the Draft without an agent
Hope him and Spellman stay in.
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There are some leagues that limit American’s only. Doke would be a big advantage in those leagues. Others are foreigners, period, and Doke would not qualify for that. However, if Doke can get citizenship in one of the countries, he could then fetch a big pay day.
I have no doubt Doke could make a good living playing ball in Europe.
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I am not saying there are no opportunities overseas, only that there are considerably fewer in the better Euro Leagues than before, otherwise, a player like Preston with a higher ceiling than Doke would not be playing in the Bosnian League for nominal pay. Keep in mind that the stretch PF and bigs that can shoot from outside are popular in Europe.
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BShark said:
BeddieKU23 said:
The Michael Jordan of Delaware declares for the Draft without an agent
Hope him and Spellman stay in.
Would make our home game against them this yr a little bit easier!
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HE GONE
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Holy smokes! A record 236 underclassmen declare for the draft. 181 US college students and 55 international players. This doesn’t include senior hopefulls like Svi and Devonte’. Only 60 spots…
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I wonder if there is any possibility of Vick returning? Is he welcome back?
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Vick is done at KU.
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No harm in testing the waters and getting feedback. More than half of those guys know they are going to return, but it helps them understand what skills they need to work on over the next year or so.
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@justanotherfan No doubt, but I’ve never once heard the possibility of Vick returning to KU in spite of him not hiring an agent. Also most articles (if they mention him) say he should return to school, but I don’t get the feeling he’s welcome back.
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Newman has an Agent now I see. Only one left that we haven’t heard is Vick. Who knows he’ll probably use La La
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Combine Invites go out today. Could be as many as 6 KU players invited… We’ll see.
The most interest will be whether Doke gets one or not
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I highly doubt Doke, Preston, or Vick get an invite. I assume Graham, Svi, and Malik will.
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I think Preston gets an invite. NBA people will want to see him compete. He was a highly ranked player, so they will want to see where he is at. Combine invites are for those players that most teams would want to see work out anyway. I think Preston fits that category.
Doke is a tough call. NBA folks probably want to see if he’s healthy, but there are significant questions about whether he is still a year away. He may get some individual workouts, but may not get a combine invite.
I don’t think Vick will get an invite, but he should also get some individual team workouts, probably in a group setting as teams decide who to use 2nd round picks on.
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I expect Preston to get an invite actually.
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I expect Svi, Devonte, Malik, and Billy to get invited. Vick should start looking for international flights.
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I agree, too much upside with Preston to not get an invite. With a good showing he is probably first round.
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Svi Devonte and malik get combine invites
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Doke too. Everyone but Vick. Doke getting an invite feels like a favor.
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Color me surprised.
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Billy?
I’d want to see Dok too if I was an NBA exec just in case he stays in.
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dylans said:
Billy?
I’d want to see Dok too if I was an NBA exec just in case he stays in.
Yeah, Billy got invited.
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Very surprised as well. Johnathan Givony doesn’t even have Doke in his top 100 prospect list. I believe he has Billy at 86.
Also Vick is a alternate so if some guys decline the invite which happens by top prospects he could get to go.
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Actually Vick was invited as an alternate and in case on of the invitees decides not to go (many of the top players pass) or there are injuries he would be attending the combine.
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BShark said:
Doke too. Everyone but Vick. Doke getting an invite feels like a favor.
Just a sign he’s not returning
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BeddieKU23 said:
BShark said:
Doke too. Everyone but Vick. Doke getting an invite feels like a favor.
Just a sign he’s not returning
Probably right.
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BeddieKU23 said:
BShark said:
Doke too. Everyone but Vick. Doke getting an invite feels like a favor.
Just a sign he’s not returning
#BasseyWatch2k18
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I’m shocked Doke was invited but I guess the interest in him was greater then anything written about him. He’ll get his chance and he’ll get workouts etc. This seems like one we are seeing the first step to him finding a professional career.
The power of KU’s brand definitely helped him here.
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With Doke, evaluators want to know two things.
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Is he healthy
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Can he play as a rim running, PnR 5 in today’s NBA.
He was good catching lobs at KU, the question now is can he catch lobs off the PnR, and can he hold his own in isolation against guards since he will have to defend PnR switches. If he answers both of those questions positively, I can certainly see him staying in the draft. Doke will need a year in the G League before he’s ready for the NBA whether he stays at KU or not. If he’s close to ready now, he should spend that year in the G League now rather than a year from now.
Vick is going to be okay. He’s heading to the G League most likely. Teams just have to decide what priority to assign him (i.e., do you want to be sure you get him by drafting him in the second round, or do you think you can snag him as a free agent signee). Vick can play in the NBA. I think he likely will. Just not for probably two more years.
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Doke is now a one dimensional player with a still developing feel for the game and many holes in his game that I will guess the combine will expose. He really has no offensive game outside a few feet from the basket, is a below average rebounder for his size and his defense ouside the paint needs work.
Having said that, you can’t teach size and he is got plenty of that and he seems to be a quick learner and a hard worker. He probably will not get drafted but I am sure several team will want to extend a free agent contract to see if he can improve in the G League.
The question is does he want to come back for an additional year to improve his game and get most of his degree completed or make limited money in the G League with the hope of a larger pay check in the near future?
