IDK how true this is, but supposedly we aren't the highest offer for Stokes so if he does end up signing here, that gives me more confidence that he buys in and could end up being worth it. Still putting a lot of eggs in that basket which I'm not crazy about but it would make me feel a little better if that is true.

Our guard room has question marks but there are enough bodies there that we don't need all of them to hit. On paper it does have potential shooting there to space the floor and let Stokes work, so I see the vision for the roster. If the last two years have taught us anything, we shouldn't rely on transfer rankings to tell the whole story. Need players that will buy in to playing for Self, so hopefully the staff has fully learned that lesson. Starting center is still a question mark, but just having one major spot left to fill doesn't seem like an unsurmountable task.

Louisville is reported to be throwing stupid money around, so I don't know that it was ever feasible to get Flory back especially knowing he had one foot out the door already. Definitely wasn't going to be

Last year was inconsistent, but that team was good enough to win vs anyone (except prob Michigan). I would call doing it again insanity if that team was like 2024-25 and a shit show. Even then, if DP was fully healthy for the full season and they could have jelled a little more, maybe it ends up better? Or if just Kohl had been the 3 pt shooter he was billed as when recruited, we could have played Tiller less and more small ball.

@bskeet Yeah the main downside to putting your name in the portal is you could get recruited over. Players coming from P5 level teams likely find landing spots, but I'm sure there will be mid major players thinking they could get a raise and find they don't have a home once everything plays out.

@DanR Agreed, outside of Tech who we can't play, St. Johns is the 5 seed I would want to play the most. Duke is probably the 3rd #1 seed with the injuries they have so can't complain about pulling them. Uconn is the weakest 2 seed and while Michigan St. is a good 3 seed, KU can only play one of those two.

Yeah it is definitely for PR, DP seems to be somewhat private/awkward with the media so wouldn't expect him to put something out if it wasn't for the negativity around him. Doesn't mean there isn't truth to it though. If he shows out and we make a run in the tournament, no one is going to care too much about how he handled the regular season.

I think you guys are watching a different DP than I am though when it comes to draft stock. He has slumped a bit lately, but he still makes plays no one else in this draft class is doing. Maybe he doesn't progress and falls short of becoming an all star level player, but to say he a NBA bench level prospect is laughable.

@drgnslayr Yeah I feel much better about this team than I did for 2022, they have played like a top tier team in spurts this season.

Usually I don't care too much how we do in the B12 tournament, but think it is important for this team if they can get 3 games and work out the consistency issues.

Anything done with an EO is worthless here. The court rulings are driving the NCAA currently, so any changes to those rulings would need to come from laws passed by congress, not EOs.

Yeah listened to it as well and it is more believable than I was thinking just reading the post. The details don't necessarily give it too much credibility for me, but learned it was directly from someone one of the hosts knew and not some random fan. But am still far from sold that it happened, especially if they had other media duties after the game ended.

@JoJoAndMe said in Darryn Peterson:

Let me make a prediction. This will be Bill's last season, and I think DP will have been the catalyst.
I have stated before that I admired Bill's willingness to continue coaching during the new NIL / Portal era when most of his contemporaries retired. So much has changed. Notice how Elmarko and Jamari have improved. That's what Bill's always been good at. Player development. i.e. Travis Releford who took a redshirt after his soph season. Unheard of, but it gave him a chance to develop into a very good college player. SO few players today stay long enough to be developed. Now, Bill has the DP drama to manage. And, to his credit, he's managed it amazingly well. BUT . . . as much as he wants another national championship (and with it a statue in front of AFH), I think Bill will conclude that he's made more money than he can ever spend, has grandkids, and needs to take care of his health. I think this will be it. Great run. (But who's next??)

As much as the DP situation frustrates Self, I think coaching Melvin does the opposite. I feel like the chances this is his last season are <5% unless his heart condition is bothering him more than he lets on or he continues to have new scares there.

@kjayhawks2.0 said in Darryn Peterson:

I say with how my mind works right or wrong if we continue down this path and get bounced in the first weekend yet again while DP plays sparingly. Would we have been better off getting a Flamings, Brown Jr, Wagler or Acuff Jr. instead of DP? Those guys are out there playing every game and good players all projected lottery picks.

If he doesn't play much and we get bounced the first weekend? Yeah, I think we confidently say we would have been better off putting our chips in on someone else.

Personally, I still wouldn't trade DP for any of them though. He fits this team well and gives us the best chance at a championship. I would maybe feel differently if the rest of the team gave off indications that DP coming in and out of the lineup bothered them. You can tell Bill is frustrated as all hell but the vibes with everyone else seem good still.

@wissox83 Just shows how much more competitive the B12 has been for KU lately that Bill isn't comfortable spotting them a game

I don't think anything in the message would be too surprising. We know Self rides his players, especially when he thinks they aren't giving full effort. Sounds like DP wasn't feeling 100% yet and it was showing, and Self expects that if you make yourself available, you give 100% effort. Is a little concerning given how often DP has missed time and his ongoing hesitancy to play though small knocks, but I'm sure clashes like this happen more than we know between Self and players.

@kjayhawks2.0 Yeah health is this team's only major weakness lol. That and would like a more consistent bench, but both Mari and Elmarko have shown they can make an impact at times.

May be an unpopular take, but DP is good enough that he can call the shots on how much he plays and think Self should continue to let him as long as there is an understanding he will be fully available/play through pain a bit more come the tournament. The team seems to have adapted well to him being in and out of the lineup so I don't even mind it too much anymore.

@stoptheflop You're worried about dropping a game vs Utah and I'm over here thinking if we can sweep zona, a B12 champ isn't off the table.

Don't disagree with your thought process, but also think KU would have to play their worst game of the season for Utah to have a chance to win. This team hasn't shown that they routinely sleepwalk through games, so I'm not worried too much about that happening.

@wissox83 I think credit would have been given that the inbounder didn't give melvin a chance to clear the area after he got up. This wasn't the typical play that the technical foul rule you are referencing covers where a defender is set guarding the ball or there is intent to hit the ball early. So while yes, the rules could perhaps call for a tech on the play, I think it is also fair to say the spirit of the rules would not call for that.

Yeah chemistry was still high when he is on the court last night for maybe the first time. Assumed it would happen given time as the other players adjust to DP, but good to see it actually play out. Still need to work on the defensive rebounding a bit but otherwise loving this team.

No NFL games to compete against on Friday

I don't think these rule suggestions are bad, but the courts seem likely to strike down anything restricting player movement unless there are contracts or it is collectively bargained for and I haven't seen any movement on the NCAA side to put either in place

@Jayhawk_69 I think everyone is assuming that but no official word.

Will be at the game so selfishly hoping he plays a bit. If not, won't be too bothered though as long as the rest of the team comes to play. I feel like we always sleepwalk through the last game before Christmas, so hoping we can avoid that this year.

@BeddieKU23 I would agree his stock hasn't been impacted by his injury yet. Key word there is yet though. If he sits out the rest of the season that won't be the case though and some front offices will have long term durability concerns along with questions on whether he will be overly cautious with injuries when he get to the NBA or if he will be willing to play through minor injuries in the playoffs. Maybe in some years that doesn't matter, but you have AJ with a similar long term upside and Boozer whose floor is probably a plus starter in the NBA. Even then it still depends on the team picking, but sinking money into an injury prone star is an easy way to take yourself out of running for a championship, especially with the new CBA. DP has plenty of reason to show this isn't going to be a lingering issue the rest of his career if he can.

Also add in that these players are aware that their marketability is important. Showing out in conference play and the NCAA tournament is the best way for DP to gain there.

Plenty of reason for him to play, and once his hamstring is fully healed not much downside to playing. Not like he is going to stop training/practicing leading up to the draft and there isn't a significant difference in injury risk between that and games.