I don’t understand how the NCAA had a year to prepare for this and didn’t plan to have a 14 day period of team bubble isolation after selected teams made the field. Some reason college basketball can’t figure this out. Every other sport has been smooth sailing. it’s not just ku but Virginia maybe too, and easily could happen to others. They had no plan in place to figure this out if this happened, no flex schedule etc. fingers crossed we can go and our players remain safe

I hope ochi isn’t gone. This team gets significantly worse if ochi is gone. Also from what I’ve seen, auburn is the front runner for ty ty. Not sure why we need another mediocre big guy in Christian bishop. This transfer portal is loaded and we are going to end up with cam Martin and Christian bishop?? Seems super underwhelming!!

Dave had a good end to the season and he’s not terrible. He’s got some good offensive moves in the post but he’s not a good shot blocker, struggles to score against length, not a great shooter past the free throw line distance, and he struggled defending pick and rolls. I think the point was, we got a little over focused on playing through him and against elite teams that wasn’t going to pull an upset… I felt like we created a ton of turnovers and were more sound defensively with the small lineup. I would have loved to see a full year commitment to an up tempo style with a small lineup. I think that would have opened up more driving lanes for Garret and wilson. Allowed better spacing for improved looks for braun and ochi. Mix in half court trap and zone like Villanova does occasionally… but Self is an amazing coach so what do I know. I just think the other style had more of a chance to pull some upsets in March. Oh well on to next year!

I wouldn’t knock the guy too much yet. He’s a top 80 recruit for a reason. What I saw was a very athletic muscular frame but maybe not the explosive vertical you are wanting lol. The kid had very good handles, nice mid range jump shot, and good passing ability. I think he would be a good get. Sure we missed on the 5star KBrown. Brown would have been here 1 year, this kid is a 3-4 year guy. Sometimes we are better off with quality 3-4 year guys anyway. Besides Brown could dunk but he couldn’t shoot a lick.

Hey everyone I know it’s early, but what are your thoughts on the freshman/newcomers so far!

Here are mine so far:

Harris (I’m including him since he didn’t play last year): looks like a 4 year guy and a mix between russell Robinson/Aaron miles. Team seems better when he’s on the floor. Improved defensive pressure and ball movement. He needs to get his shot to be at least Russell Robinson’s level and continue to work on drive moves/floaters. He never has to be a scorer but he has to keep defenses honest.

Thompson: looks like a 2-3 year guy. Needs to develop his body and fill out his athleticism . Seems focused and has a good work ethic. I don’t love how his elbow wings out on his shot but the mid range looks pure. Reminds me of rip Hamilton. By the end of the year his scoring will be key. Defensively he doesn’t seem bad but not exceptional.

TGF: a little disappointing so far. NBA athlete and has shown good rebounding and shot blocking ability. His ball handling is holding him back. He can drive but he loses the ball too much or can’t complete the dribble smoothly. Haven’t seen enough of his jumper yet. Disappointing how raw offensively he is. He will be here another year for sure. I like 5 guard lineup look this year and I rather have him be the back up 15 min a game center in the small lineup.

Gethro M: wow he has the body type of a ku age Embiid, But he is so uncoordinated. I knew he was raw but he’s so much further away from being a contributor then I thought. Not sure if he will last at ku but I could be wrong and he might take a huge leap forward

Latrell jossell: not talked about really, very little video on him, we were his only serious offer at the time, many on here have discounted him. He hasn’t played much but my goodness he looks so much better then I thought. I sneakily think he’s being held back some to keep him hungry for more. The kid has reportedly the best shot on the team and that’s saying something with ku having Braun. His shot looks pure. He has good speed and he’s stronger then I thought. He looks like he has a good handle and can pass. I’m not saying I think he should be starting or playing huge minutes necessarily. But man he does look more like frank/Devonte then a guy people assume will just be recruited over. Obviously we need to see him play more to really know.

It’s fun to read about the ku band. As a member of the band for 4 years it’s always good to know how much the band is appreciated. As of last year they still played “in the stone” and many of the other songs listed in this post. Rock chalk!

We will have shooters next year. Braun is obviously still on the roster and Thompson is an awesome 3 point shooter. Wilson has a good three point shot as well. Ochi has been inconsistent but I think his shot will be more and more consistent with each year.

Villanova had nba talent but there guys were like Devonte or svi they weren’t top 20 recruits across the board. they developed into nba players

The key is Hickman. You get 2 great players. Plus there is always someone really good late in the cycle. Still not shocking with the NCAA stuff going on and no reigning in of Nike and under armor schools on stuff. I’m sure we can’t match there offers right now

I guarantee he will shoot 38% or higher from 3. And what’s the negative attitude on a top 25 recruit? The kid is a stud! If we want to break down a player, Kendall brown had a high dribble and no outside shot lol. Red flags right there

@Texas-Hawk-10 I guess agree to disagree. I don’t think we attack a zone any better with McCormick. I also believe Garret defends the post about as well as anyone and him and wilson would have defended 4-5 not braun. I believe we turnover other teams much higher, drive better, and play more uptempo. But who really knows bc we never did it.

Dave had a good end to the season and he’s not terrible. He’s got some good offensive moves in the post but he’s not a good shot blocker, struggles to score against length, not a great shooter past the free throw line distance, and he struggled defending pick and rolls. I think the point was, we got a little over focused on playing through him and against elite teams that wasn’t going to pull an upset… I felt like we created a ton of turnovers and were more sound defensively with the small lineup. I would have loved to see a full year commitment to an up tempo style with a small lineup. I think that would have opened up more driving lanes for Garret and wilson. Allowed better spacing for improved looks for braun and ochi. Mix in half court trap and zone like Villanova does occasionally… but Self is an amazing coach so what do I know. I just think the other style had more of a chance to pull some upsets in March. Oh well on to next year!

He’s still a central part to this team going forward. He has great upside still. I’m not writing him off bc of a sub par end to the season. Svi was like that a lot his sophomore year. Look at guys like grimes etc. you have to let some guys grow. Braun is a perfect 4 year guy. Braun is not a nba guy. He’s a perfect role player. And there’s no one out there we are landing that’s better. This team lacked a PG, bench scorer, and an elite center

@Crimsonorblue22 ?? He’s not being recruited over. He averaged 14 pts per game and will be one of the best guards in the big 12 next year… and Christian braun is a good player. He will be better as a junior. maybe on a top 5 team, he’s more of a 6th man but we are so much worse if those two leave.

Our top 50 rated big guy needs a red shirt year? He can’t be good enough for 15min per game? That’s super sad if that’s true. I get adding one big guy but it’s super disappointing if we go to 2 big guys. I don’t get why self would. Modern game has moved past that. He’s had a lot of success the past 6-7 years playing 4 guards… also he said in the post game conference about becoming more athletic/ longer etc. neither of those two bigs fit that criteria lol

That’s my thing though, like why do we need to add 2 big guys. We have 3 big guy recruits coming in. 4 guards and 1 big is a much more effective lineup anyway… I get if we added length with a big time shot blocker but neither of these 2 guys are. What we lacked last year was a PG, but really it was no elite athlete shot creators. Our offense lacked a guy like Dotson, who had the ability to get to the rim whenever.

I hope ochi isn’t gone. This team gets significantly worse if ochi is gone. Also from what I’ve seen, auburn is the front runner for ty ty. Not sure why we need another mediocre big guy in Christian bishop. This transfer portal is loaded and we are going to end up with cam Martin and Christian bishop?? Seems super underwhelming!!

McCormick was a mixed bag this year. Positives: he showed upside on his back to the basket game with hook shots with either hand. He’s a great free throw shooter. His shot looks ugly but free throw distance and in he’s pretty good.

Negatives: struggles to score over length. His shot mechanics don’t let him really extend out to the three point line. He is an average passer but not great. Defensively he is a below average shot blocker as a center. Not as quick on his feet as he should be for someone his size. Which leads to struggles in pick and roll situations. Average rebounder.

McCormick will be better next year but he’s not an nba talent. He will have big games against lesser opponents but against nba caliber big guys he will struggle

Not a bad player but for us to be elite we need some elite players around him

This would be a huge signing if we could land him!

I don’t understand how the NCAA had a year to prepare for this and didn’t plan to have a 14 day period of team bubble isolation after selected teams made the field. Some reason college basketball can’t figure this out. Every other sport has been smooth sailing. it’s not just ku but Virginia maybe too, and easily could happen to others. They had no plan in place to figure this out if this happened, no flex schedule etc. fingers crossed we can go and our players remain safe