I spent Saturday at a youth camp with a few of the Jayhawks and even Sherron came down. Been doing this for a few years now and I get a kick out of watching the KU guys coaching up the kids. I also get to watch them interact with each other and shoot a bit.

Things that caught my eye this year;

They all got along well Dedric, Doke, Moore, Grimes, and Silvio were there and hung together pretty tight when they had the time. that is not always the case.

No one has told Charlie he isn’t going to be the leader. He is not an alpha dog like Frank but he has guys looking to him. He spent quite a bit of time talking with Sherron, I count that as a plus. He is very very quick has a good shot and a ton of confidence.

Doke has found a 10’ shot that actually looks decent and goes in the hoop regularly. Shocked me when I looked over and saw him knocking in down. He also shot some FT’s at better than 50% with a bunch of screaming kids running amuck around him. I was to busy to get an accurate count but his elbow was staying where it belonged. He looks lean and strong as an ox too.

Grimes is smooth, but pretty much took a backseat to the others, true freshman that he is I kind of like that.

Sherron needs to be a coach someplace down the road! The team he coached went undefeated and the way he worked with the kids was special. Talked to him awhile, he just moved his family to Lawrence, his knees are back to full health, and he is working on getting back into playing shape and make another run at playing for money.

No real insight on Silvio his enthusiasm for the game is obvious. He ran the floor with the kids he was coaching cheering them on and lived and died with each shot they took. I can’t help but like the guy and his teammates appear to feel the same way. I kind of wondered if the rumors would make him a bit of an outcast but that is not the case.

No earth shaking info there but you get what you pay for

I read that other KU site this morning, even the comments which I do at time for the comic content. This signing has created the typical level of hate and discontent that drove me away from there in the first place. What I see here is a kid with a reputation of being hard working, has decent footwork, some skill, and a lot of hustle. The type of player that can be used to push that one and done to practice and play with effort. Sometimes it is the type of player that as his body matures turns into a valuable rotation player. The kind of player that Self has turned into serious players in the past.

As far as his current ranking I’ve noticed that kids that commit early in HS are sometimes ignored a bit by the ranking services. I am curious to see what will happen now that he has been brought back into notice. I would not be surprised to see him bounce up into the mid 70’s, which for what I see as a redshirt four year player would be about right. I believe KU needs a couple of 3-4 year players. It brings some year to year continuity and leadership potential down the road.

Basically Self see’s a lot of holes opening up for big guys and he just filled his “four year guy” spot.

I expected a let down from Ochai in his second game. I was wrong, I’m jumping on the bandwagon.

I have tried to do the live chat but it distracts me from yelling at the tv.

The RPI is a tool to measure the capability of a team. However it is only one of many such tools and I think those that take it seriously on it’s own have a flawed view of the world.

A more balanced approach is needed. I consider W/L, RPI, and a Ouija Board to determine my picks.

http://www.nba.com/kings/news/kings-sign-frank-mason

http://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball-men/2015-01-27/behind-the-rpi-kansas-jayhawks-kentucky-wildcats-virginia-cavaliers

I like the way they think, other than the fact UK kicked our rear soundly.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vxqaRsdpzjQ

Franks highlights

http://www.todaysfastbreak.com/nba-west/utah-jazz/utah-jazz-should-start-jeff-withey-in-rudy-goberts-absence/

I found this interesting and thought I would pass it on.

I like his attitude, Coach could say “Mitch go play point” and Mitch would do his damned best to pull it off and then be upset he didn’t match Franks stats and let down the team!

I am still having difficulty seeing Preston as an issue. Yes he got money I don’t doubt that however when it came to light he was instantly benched before ever playing a game, right? So can’t KU say yep he got paid and almost snuck that by us but once we got a clue, the car thing, our compliance people were on it in a flash, found the problem, and we reacted accordingly. Isn’t that how things are supposed to work?

How about when we run into one of those teams that historically have given us trouble. Five guys that can shoot with a big man that is just big enough and plenty fast enough to slow down our big defensively and is too quick for our big to defend tight and can shoot over him if he don’t. I think Mitch will be able to guard those bigs and shoot just well enough from outside to force them to play him honest. I don’t trust Enaruna to play that kind of defense as of yet and don’t think anyone else will have both the inside D and the outside shot to counter that kind of threat. I’d give Mitch 15 minutes a game just to be ready for that situation to come up to send us home early in the tourney once more.

After seeing some comments about him scattered here and there I decided he needed his own thread.

My main thought on Mitch is we can not judge him on what we seen from him last time he played. We do of course know quite a bit about him, he is a decent rim protector, is not afraid to take a charge or dive for a loose ball, and he will play his heart out for KU. But what has happened to his skill set over the past year?

If I had to guess, which is what I am doing, he is going to show up in superb condition. Probably a valid guess from how he looks. I also guess he has spent a lot of time working on his shot from 10 feet out. Which I am confident he has. Now how that will affect his game is something that eludes me.

What is your thoughts? Will we see a 30%+ guy on 3-5 shots from 3 per game? Can he make 70% of his free throws? Will he even get 10 minutes per game? Hell I don’t know, fill me in!

I didn’t watch pro ball at all this year, who is Devonte’s backup now and could dotson beat him out? Hell here i sit in Charlotte where I had planned to catch a game or two! Poor damn timing on this job dang it.

Man I hope Doke heals enough to get on the floor.

Sadly I don’t have the option to stay home as of yet. Won’t bore ya with details but “essential worker essential business” stuff. As I have been traveling the last few weeks I have noticed a huge change in behaviors. More masks, often even worn correctly, gloves and sanitizer. Much more effort at social distancing. Easy on planes now as looking about I think there are 10 of us on this 120ish seat plane. 2 rooms sold in a 200 room hotel is kinda crazy but also gives you a chance to stay healthy because staff is cut as well.

Perhaps not everywhere and everybody but there is a behavioral shift going on. Let’s just hope it is not too little to late and those cut workers survive until they can get back to work.

Also it is damn difficult to get a decent meal on the road these days!!

Be safe people

IF we get enough low cost test kits to get a handle on how many people have actually gotten ill without showing symptoms serious enough to know they have even been exposed we can get a true count. If that count represents 60+% of the population having a decent shot of having some immunity or we get a vaccine things will loosen up for next season. Otherwise I think things will be delayed and tbh I do not expect any of the above to happen before the end of the year.

I’d take Paul’s team as is. I can think of a couple of different point guards but Mario knows how to win. That would be an inside outside nightmare of a bunch to guard. I can’t imagine Wilt could not hit a 3, he did everything else! Probably shoot it as a fall away baby hook.

All I can say is great work, and you’re a mean one. Stacking my favorites against each other is cruel!

@truehawk93 said in NCAA Tournament: Should it happen?:

@Kubie Sorry, all cancelled. Your life is cancelled. You are confined to house quarantine. I hope I’m sounding pathetic, because as serious as this is, I believe it’s reached some ridiculous proportions.

I am actually in a hotel in Charlotte I only wish I was confined to my house!!

Work trip, for some dang reason I’m considered an essential employee you’d think they’d know better by now. Airports are about dead, you could see from one end of ATL term C to the other it was so empty. Now they have shut down dine in at all restaurants but door dash and the rest are up and going for the most part.

I will admit to being more cautious then normal and practicing good hygiene is never a bad idea.