BShark said:

No idea what Simi Shittu is gonna do but he had a rough year at Vandy and they fired their coach. If he does transfer I’d be super interested.

The Garland injury really messed up everything at Vandy. The PG makes that whole situation go (or not).

I still think you should have to be at least .500 in your conference to qualify for the tournament. Like I have said on here before, teams would be playing must win games in February if they knew one or two more losses would knock them out of at large consideration.

After all, if you are 7-11 in conference, why should you get an at large bid?

If brackets are truly fair, the Big 12 should only get 6 or 7 teams in. There’s no reason that all three of Texas, Oklahoma and TCU should make the field. Similarly, both Clemson and NC State from the ACC should have some work to do to get into the tournament. I’d have similar questions for Minnesota, Ohio State and Indiana. Of those 8 major conference teams, I would argue that maybe 4 should make the field instead of all 8 (For me, it would be TCU, NC State and Minnesota only, but the committee probably picks more).

Being mediocre in a major conference should not get you into the tournament. Indiana is mediocre. So is Oklahoma. So is basically everyone in the PAC-12. If the PAC-12 wasn’t considered a major conference, they would only be sending their champ to the dance.

It’s time for the NCAA tournament to stop rewarding the mediocre teams in major conferences. I watched Murray State and Belmont on Saturday. Both of those teams looked like NCAA tournament teams (9 losses between them). And yet some major conference team with 13 losses will probably go to the tournament ahead of Belmont (the loser in the conf. title game). Mid majors and low majors only get two or three shots at good wins each year, usually on the road. Look at Oklahoma’s road record against potential tournament teams - lost at KU, Texas, K-State, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Baylor, won at TCU. Didn’t play another non-con road game against a potential tourney team. You can do this with almost every “bubble team” from a major conference and find almost no quality road wins. Why should Oklahoma get credit for going 1-5 against KU, K-State and Tech. NC State’s best conference win is either Clemson at home or Syracuse at home. If you gave Belmont home games with UNC, Virginia, and Virginia Tech and road games at Duke, Florida State, Louisville and UNC, they would do no worse than 0-7, which is exactly the mark that NC State posted in those games.

kjayhawks said:

@justanotherfan Raimey looked like the best player on the court for much of that game to me.

Raimey is a KCK kid. I haven’t seen him play live since he was in middle school (he was well ahead of his peers then). It looks like he has been rounding out his game quite a bit.

He and Braun are two very different style of players. Braun is a true wing player. Raimey is much more of a lead/combo guard. They would look very good in the same backcourt.

As far as I know, Raimey is being recruited by a lot of the local programs right now (Creighton, Wichita State, etc.) but he has been to late night, so he is definitely on KU’s radar.

I like some things from the video @BShark posted, but also see some concerns. Braun looks bigger than 6-5 or 6-6 in the video, which is always nice. He also showed a nice stroke, and the ability to finish in the paint.

I am a bit concerned with his handle. He got his pocket picked on back to back plays in the highlight. One was a straight pick, the other was sloppy handling on his part. I didn’t see poor ball handling throughout the clip, but it was there on those two plays.

Otherwise, he gets where he wants to get and can really shoot it.

I didn’t see a lot of his defense or rebounding.

KT Raimey (#0 for Olathe North) also looked sharp in this game. He had some sloppy plays in the game, but also that big time throw down, and a couple of nice finishes around the basket. His shooting touch has also improved from the outside. He could be a nice local target (was at late night in 2018).

Dotson’s performance yesterday was a perfect example of the gaps in his game that he has to address before he is NBA ready.

At his size, he can’t be just a slasher. He will get banged up that way even if he does get stronger.

Gorilla72 said:

Lord, please don’t let KSU win the Big XII outright. Their fans will be insufferable! 🙏

Probably, but at last check, 14 is more than 1.

The bigger concern is how this affects him going forward. His defense is a big part of his value. Without that, he’s a pretty average player.

FarmerJayhawk said:

Another thing to keep in mind is Grimes is almost a year younger than most freshmen. He doesn’t turn 19 until May. Cassius Stanley is actually almost a year older than Grimes. I think he’ll take a big step forward in his age 19 season. And it’ll be his first full offseason at KU. More time with Hudy and the coaches working on his shot and getting more comfortable around Dotson and Agbaji will be really helpful.

Grimes’ age is a factor in his development, particularly his strength. As he continues to mature, that will come. Grimes could explode at any moment because he already has lots of skills.

If Dotson’s shooting continues to develop he leaves after next season. @dylans pointed out a common thread with the small guards - injuries. At the pro level, these guys take a beating. Dotson’s best chance to earn a good pro salary is to grab that chance ASAP because injury could effectively end his NBA career.

Even a small erosion in his speed or explosiveness probably means he can’t play at the NBA level. That’s just the way it is for a player his size or smaller.