Posts made by Texas Hawk 10

Ian Premer to Notre Dame, that’s gotta sting for the Kitties who many thought would land him.

Reading Matt Tait’s site earlier and a few days ago he posted an article about Elmarko Jackson stepping up as a leader for the team next season. This is huge because he is a different style of leader from Harris and if the team takes on his attitude and personality.

Zeke Mayo has signed a deal with the Washington Wizards to be part of their Summer League team and Dajuan Harris will be playing with the Charlotte Hornets during Summer League.

@DCHawker KU has more than two potential NBA players in 2026. Tre White and Bryson Tiller have also shown up in different mocks and Elmarko Jackson was thought of as a OAD when he committed so he could play his way into that realm as well.

KU has the talent, the last two signings have been the needed depth for next season.

@BShark The NBA has had 7 different champs in the 7 seasons. They’ve done a better job at creating parity than the NFL has.

@approxinfinity Don’t know enough about the Pelicans roster construction to know their needs. A two-way contract doesn’t guarantee Hunter will spend any time in the NBA. He could spend up to 50 games in the NBA though.

Hunter Dickinson has signed a two way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Should be hearing about Dejuan Harris and Zeke Mayo in the next few days as well as each should at least be playing in Summer League.

@dylans Yes, unless there’s been an unknown setback in the past couple of weeks, Tiller should good to go full speed next week.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in KU Roster for 25-26:

Waddya all think? Adding one or two more guys?

The Noah Shelby redshirt/DSA situation still unclear?

One, Shelby is on scholarship this season.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in KU Roster for 25-26:

****** With the recent House v NCAA settlement, things are complicated with roster size. It’s hard to say if KU has three more spots to fill, or less. Also, apparently there’s a new fule for “designated student athletes.” These are players who would have been removed given the new roster rules, but now may stick around until they run out of eligibility, but may not count against roster size. This could easily be ALL the KU walkons. ******

May as well look ahead to see what’s in store for next season.

I’ll try to keep track of the offseason drama here. I’ll keep this mostly official, so no portal projections here.

But the portal window is: March 24 to April 22

Roster size: 14 (includes ALL but DSA players. Normally it’s 15, but we lost one to NCAA sanctions)

Roster size at the moment: 11 (a bit sketchy given the DSA rules)

RETURNEES (4)

G Elmarko Jackson

G/F Jamari McDowell

PF Bryson Tiller

C Flory Bidunga

RETURNING WALK ONS? (4 – and potential “designated student athletes”)

G Noah Shelby

G Wilder Evers

G Will Thengvall

F Justin Cross

IMCOMING FRESHMEN (4)

G Darryn Peterson

F Samis Calderon

G Corbin Allen – Oak Park High School

SG Kohl Rosario

PORTAL ADDITIONS (3)

G Jayden Dawson via Loyola Chicago. One year of eligibility left.

G/F Tre White via Illinois – previous stops at Louisville, USC. One year of eligibility left.

G Melvin Council Jr. via St. Bonaventure – previous stop at Wagner. One year of eligibility left.

BIG QUESTION MARK (1)

SF Jaden Nickens – A football player who may play hoops. May have to count against the roster before the season begins.

HAVE ENTERED PORTAL (6 initially – Bidunga entered, but will return)

G/F AJ Storr – signed with Ole Miss

G/F Rylan Griffen — signed with Texas AM

G/F Rakease Passmore — signed with Maryland

PF/C Zach Clemence – signed with Texas A&M

G David Coit – signed with Maryland

Nickens can still basketball play and would count against the 15 player roster limit, but KU would still be in compliance with the scholarship reduction they still owe the NCAA because his scholarship is coming from football and not basketball.

@Kcmatt7 If Mbyia commits here, it’s not because Self outbid Wade. Mbyia got recruited over plain and simple. NC State allegedly took some of Mbyia’s NIL money and reallocated for Van Lubin who they coveted more and Mbyia left when NC State landed Scottie Ebube from Wyoming.

@approxinfinity said in The portal.:

@Texas-Hawk-10 ive watched the near perfect game durant had against us several times where we still beat him. Also, we shut down Flagg didnt we? Granted that was early in the season, before he got good and we got bad. Anyway, yeah Mobley was special.

KJ shut shut down Flagg, KJ wasn’t on the team when Mobley helped end that season.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in The portal.:

@MR11 said in The portal.:

Tre at 6-7 right? Couldn’t tell you how big he plays though.

Give up some top end size but looks to be an extremely switchable lineup so not all bad.

yea i’m in the dark on Tre’s game as well. I thought i read somewhere that he was really 6-5. Hopefully he can rebound at whatever his size/spot on the floor.

Hopefully if Tiller is serviceable, that will help give us some size.

I still have nightmares from those USC freaks…

Evan Mobley was the 3rd pick in the draft. You don’t run up against players like him very often.

@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:

@MR11

Hearing Elmarko has been really good and could push to start. Dawson is a really good 6th man if needed.

Elmarko was going to start last year before he got hurt which is one of the reasons I’m much higher in him than most others. It’s also why Self hasn’t pushed as hard for a PG in the portal the way he has for the 2-4 spots.

I drove by the stadium earlier today and it’s definitely unique. Still not sure how I feel about the overall design.

And Indiana couldn’t overcome losing Haliburton to a ruptured achilles.

Nick Collison is a member of the Thunder’s front office so there is at least one Jayhawk getting a ring this season.

Really wish Haliburton hadn’t gotten injured because this had been a great series and may have had a different outcome if he doesn’t get hurt.

Johnny Furphy is potentially 24 minutes away from an NBA title. Pacers were up 1 at halftime despite losing Haliburton to a likely ruptured achilles. Pacers president is also former Jayhawk Kevin Pritchard.

@nuleafjhawk said in Jayhawk football schedule. Wissox Forecast.:

@Texas-Hawk-10 probably not a lot of KU football fans that would be upset with that

I believe their FPI also has KU as the 3rd best chance to win the Big 12 likely because KU has a relatively soft conference schedule on paper. That was also true last year and we ended up with toughest conference schedule I believe.

Mike Vernon actually just posted to Reddit. KU is actively recruiting Mbyia, Demir, and Konan. Says Oregon is the early leader for Mbyia and KU was interested earlier in this cycle, but Mbyia’s price was too high at the time.

There’s mutual interest with Demir, but the eligibility issues with getting into UCLA few years ago could still be a problem although KU doesn’t have as high of standards as UCLA.

ESPN’s FPI has KU as the 4th best team in the Big 12 and predicting an 8-4 record.

Paul Mbyia has decommitted from NC State. 6-11, 240 lbs. with a 7-7 wingspan. Anyone know if KU is going to make a run after him.

He would be a back up option for Flory.

College basketball will have a couple of significant rule changes for next season.

Coaches will be allowed one challenge per game as long as they have a timeout. The three things that can be challenged are out of bounds calls, goaltending, and restricted arc calls. If a coach is successful, they will get another challenge. Officials can still use replay for everything they previously have been allowed to.

Another big change the NCAA is introducing a continuation rule for fouls similar to what the NBA has. Another rule change is that incidental contact to the groin area can now be deemed a Flagrant 1 whereas before it was an automatic Flagrant 2 and ejection.

One rule that has been discussed and is not changing yet is game format. Games will still be two 20 minute halves. There’s been a lot of discussion about moving to quarters in recent years, but advertisers have been the big hold up on that as they would lose a TV timeout each half.

@dylans said in The portal.:

I think that kid from miss st is back as well.

Shak Moore is not returning.

https://kuathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/2025-26

Current roster is:

1 - Jayden Dawson

2 - Corbin Allen

3 - Tre White

6 - Samis Calderon

7 - Noah Shelby

11 - Jamari McDowell

12 - Wilder Evers

13 - Elmarko Jackson

14 - Melvin Council

15 - Will Thengvall (likely getting another new number)

15 - Bryson Tiller

22 - Darryn Peterson

25 - Justin Cross

40 - Flory Bidunga

@SlimShaddy54 said in The portal.:

@BeddieKU23 Well if then is true then why and how is K/State and Utah now going after him so hard ?

Not every school has the same admissions standards if there’s some academic stuff. If it’s visa issues, it may not have been worth the efforts on KU’s end for someone who wasn’t likely going to be in the regular rotation. For KSU and Utah, it may be worth it to them if they think Dessert would be in their rotations.

If Suemnick was going to play real minutes here, KU was already going to be in big trouble.

This case has finally been officially ruled on. Beginning in July 1, schools can now directly pay their athletes. Athletic departments can now distribute about $20.5 million in NIL beginning this season.

It also imposes roster limits across the board in all sports. The concern this raised with the judge overseeing the case was walk-ons losing roster spots. This was resolved with an amendment allowing current walk ons or partial scholarship recipients in non-revenue sports to finish out their eligibility at either their current school or able to transfer elsewhere. These players will not count against roster limits during that time.

The way this impacts KU basketball is that Wilder Evers, Will Thengvall, Dillon Wilhite, and Justin Cross can all continue playing D1 ball as walk-ons either here or another school. In theory, Noah Shelby could also go back to walk-on status and give KU 4 more scholarships, but that probably won’t happen.

@approxinfinity said in The portal.:

Any of these guys still on our radar? https://www.si.com/college/kansas/basketball/five-players-bill-self-and-kansas-can-still-add-to-the-jayhawks-roster

Rosario would have to reclassify and is a Nike product whose stock is rising a bit, but would still be a back up at best at KU next season.

Ven-Allen Lubin committed to NC State earlier this week.

KU appears out of the running for Claude as they haven’t really been connected to him for a few weeks now.

See previous conversation on Suemnick, but he’s nothing more than a practice player.

Ivan Bogdonvic is the name from that list to watch. The other names, not in that article, but also from SI are Ognjen Stankovic and Luka Skoric. All 3 are 6-8 or 6-9 wings with guard skill sets (think Svi) that could come in and impact right away.

@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:

Vernon is reporting the Student Visa thing could also be part of the hold up on Dessert @mayjay but who knows, he’s not a trustworthy source.

Pat Suemnick is still another potential addition that visited for front court depth. I’d take both if we can afford it.

We don’t need both Dessert and Suemnick. Suemnick is nothing but a warm body. There is the possibility that judge overseeing this process could grandfather in walk ons not counting against roster limits per Swain at the Phog.

“Now, there are questions about walk-ons and how those spots will be handled. The House Settlement was initially going to limit roster spots and opportunities for walk-ons. But, the judge overseeing the settlement has made grandfathering in walk-ons a priority. If the walk-ons are grandfathered in, it would allow players like Wilder Evers and Justin Cross to remain on the roster without counting against a roster limit spot.”

If the judge ends up grand fathering in walk ons, then Suemnick is fine to add.

@drgnslayr said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@Texas-Hawk-10 Flory received sponsorship from Freddy’s. It was NOT from KU.

Never said players weren’t getting other NIL deals outside of what they’re getting from KU. Whatever the financial details of that are, I will 100% guarantee that money doesn’t come anywhere near what he’s getting from his KU deal.

I’d guess this deal is probably about $25,000 at best because it’s for sure not a national deal and probably only applies to their Lawrence store and whatever other locations that franchisee owns, if any.

This case is going to heard by a US District judge on Friday. The NCAA’s response is actually pretty good. They basically said that of Zeigler had an NBA future, he would’ve already gone pro and wouldn’t be worried about this. The US DOJ pretty much agrees with the NCAA on telling Zeigler it’s time to move on.

https://www.on3.com/teams/kentucky-wildcats/news/u-s-department-of-justice-ncaa-to-zakai-zeigler-get-a-job/

@SlimShaddy54 said in KU Roster for 25-26:

Here we good, possibly check in late addition hit him hard. Dorian Jones has de committed from Ohio State and is re-opening his recruitment, 6’3 SG and the # one player coming out of the State of Ohio

Sub 100 ranked player with academic issues who’s either headed to a prep school or JuCo next season. Only way he’s playing in D1 this upcoming season is if he finds a school with very low standards.

@drgnslayr said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@Texas-Hawk-10

Flory wasn’t much last year and he did a sweet deal. Don’t pretend to know it all.

Flory’s biggest NIL deal is directly with KU (or at least KU’s NIL collective). He’s not going to be making an additional $2 million on top of what he’s getting from KU. Peterson is going to clear close to, if not more than $10 million in deals because of the deals he signed with Adidas and Fanatics 2 years ago.

My thoughts on this come from what I see in regards to NIL involving UH here in Houston. Unless a player has a national deal with a brand, only the elite of the elite get those, they aren’t clearing 7 figures in NIL on top of whatever they’re getting from their school. Good players can usually clear low to mid six figures on top of what they get from the school, but most players are clearing five figures to very low six figures depending on the market they’re in.

The primary exception to this is social media and influencer deals such as female athletes who pretty near universally considered good looking who use their looks to secure influencer deals like Livvy Dunne or the Cavinder twins.

@BeddieKU23 Bryson is 6-10, 240 lbs. with limited shooting range, he’s not a college 4.

Tre White will be just fine at the 4 spot. Jalen Wilson ended up measuring 6-6 and was fine in that spot, Marcus Garrett and Ochai manned that spot as well at different times figuring what many consider Self’s best stretch of teams at KU.

If KU runs into a situation where a team plays two traditional bigs, then sure, play Tiller some at the 4 if White is getting abused defensively, but that’s not likely to happen.

The defense this season is going to be back to being elite level which will mask some of the weaknesses of this group. KU does have 3 players capable of playing lead guard right now with Dawson, Jackson, and Peterson which will help a lot as at least two of those 3 should be on the court together pretty much at all times. This is a vintage Bill Self roster with positional flexibility as all 7 players currently on the roster that should be in the rotation next year can play multiple spots on the floor.

@drgnslayr said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@Texas-Hawk-10

There is some valid points there. But I guess you know a lot more than Freddy’s marketing.

KU basketball is the only winning basketball in the KC area and, once again, we scored the best player in the KC area. Royals and Chiefs are great but no basketball fans in KC? KC is a big fan base for college sports… a major reason why they own the B12 basketball tournament.

Hell… how about selling KU to Lawrence businesses?

Any NIL deals with Lawrence businesses are likely to be low 5 figures at best and likely to come from the corporate partners/sponsors of KU Athletics and be spread around to different sports.

Darryn Peterson is the only player on KU who should be making significant NIL endorsement money with his Adidas and Fanatics deals that he signed 2 years ago in 2023. Nobody else on the team is going to be making significantly more than whatever their deal with KU is.

(Edited)Here’s what’s known about KU’s 2025-26 schedule so far. KU actually just posted the full non-conference schedule today

Oct. 24 - @Louisville (Exhibition)

Oct. 28 - Fort Hays St. (Exhibition)

Nov. 3 - Green Bay

Nov. 7 - @North Carolina

Nov. 11 - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Nov. 15 - Princeton

Nov. 18 - Duke (Champions Classic in New York)

Nov. 24-27 - (Players Era Championship in Las Vegas) KU will have 3 games

Dec. 2 - UConn

Dec. 7 - Missouri (Kansas City)

Dec. 13 - @NC State

Dec. 16 - Towson

Dec. 22 - Davidson

The Big 12 will be back to 18 games this season since KU has 13 non-conference games with Big 12 play likely starting either Dec. 27 or 29.

This is a pretty loaded non-conference slate as usual without factoring in the 3 opponents in the Players Era Festival. UConn is expected is to be preseason top 5, Duke is expected to be preseason top 10, and UNC and NC State are fringe top 25 teams. Louisville is expected to be somewhere around 10th as well so we should get a good feel for this team immediately in exhibition play.

As far as the Player’s Era, potential top 25 teams that could be opponents for KU include Alabama, Auburn, Creighton, Gonzaga, Michigan, Oregon, San Diego St., St. John’s, and Tennessee. KU figures to have at least 1 game in Vegas against a top 25, potentially 2 or 3 depending KU’s draw and performance out there.

In Big 12 play, Houston, Texas Tech, BYU, Arizona, Baylor, and Iowa St. are all potential ranked games as of now as well.

@approxinfinity said in The portal.:

@kuballin10 I think we will be fine with Flory playing some 4. Not terribly worried about that; Flory can guard anyone as long as he avoids fouls.

Flory, Tiller, and Dessert (if he commits) should not play a single minute at the 4 this season unless any of the have significantly extended their shooting range. All 3 have more limited range than KJ and with the primary offensive skill set of this team being the ability the drive the ball, you can’t have two non shooting post players on the floor together.

Right now, we know Peterson, White, and Flory are starters while Council, Dawson, and Jackson are fighting for a starting spot (probably Dawson and Jackson in reality). This is why Self has been targeting starting caliber 3’s so hard because KU doesn’t have one right now and is a huge hole in the line up.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in KU Roster for 25-26:

We may have to have a board-wide wager as to when the last time somebody will mention KJ or Dajuan.

KJ is on staff now.

@TYOHawk said in Recruiting Notes:

Nike just driving up these bidding wars and losing lol.

Flagg’s shoe deal is with New Balance, not Nike.

KJ Adams will officially be joining the coaching staff in some capacity yet to be determined.

@drgnslayr said in KU Roster for 25-26:

I guess why I’m frustrated is because I come from the business world. KU AD comes from education/not-for-profit perspective. It seems like such a no-brainer to me that KU leaves a fortune on the table by not fully utilizing the marketing potential of the athletes. We LOVE our guys! When I see an ad with a player I don’t change the channel. And I think more favorable towards the sponsor. I feel positive every starter on our team would make at least a cool million every year through private endorsements. Perhaps two or three times that amount. I feel certain it would help relieve some of the financial pressure on the AD.

You are way over valuing the marketability of college athletes, especially in a market like KC that is a pro-sports town. Darryn Peterson isn’t going to have anywhere near the sway that Witt, Salvy, Mahomes, or Kelce have. If I’m a KC based company looking for an athlete endorsement, I’m looking at someone from the Chiefs or Royals, not KU, KState, or Missouri because if you go the college route for an endorsement in KC, you have to get people from all 3 schools to not alienate 1/3 of the customer base in KC.

So no, KU isn’t leaving a bunch of money on the table, those types of companies just aren’t interested because the return they get from a college athlete the majority of people won’t recognize isn’t there compared to someone who plays pro sports in the city and adds more value than any college athlete would.

I live in a major city with a Big 12 school that also has pro sports. There’s only two places I’ve ever seen a UH athlete used in an add campaign over someone from the Astros, Texans, or Rockets. One is Raising Cane’s because they are a corporate sponsor for UH athletics (and many other college towns because that’s their origin), and a personal injury lawyer group that does the same thing in a couple other cities in Texas (UT athletes in Austin and SMU athletes in Dallas).

If you’re a company in KC that has a $250k budget for an endorsement deal, who are you realistically going to target for a marketing campaign? 3 college athletes (from KU, KSU, and Missouri because you can’t alienate 2/3 of your customer base) who may not be around the next year, or do you after someone on the Chiefs or Royals that’s more likely to still be in KC 2-3 years down the line and can do multiple ad spots for your company?

@approxinfinity said in KU Roster for 25-26:

@drgnslayr it is confusing to me when people say KU doesnt have the money other schools do. Why would that be? How is our budget not competitive? I appreciate you trying to put a finger on it, because it seems like fiction or correctable.

KU does have more money than most schools, including other top schools, but we don’t have unlimited funds. KU’s total NIL spending this season should still be top 10, but the two most expensive players for KU weren’t directly from the portal. Darryn Peterson is somewhere around $3 million, Flory is somewhere between $1.5-2 million. That’s the biggest chunk of KU’s NIL spending. As a team, KU is spending at least $10 million in NIL, probably closer to $15 million.

KU’s season is over, fell 4-3 to NDSU today.

KU fell 11-4 against Creighton tonight and will face North Dakota St. in an elimination game tomorrow at 2pm.

@Crimsonorblue22 said in The portal.:

Tell us about him, size, position and age. He could start for me. Chance? Can he take nil?

Looks like the third post player.

Coach Q is leaving the program. His role opening up is the closest thing Self had to GM. Definitely curious to see how Self fills this spot because his role of community relations and building the culture within the program could very easily be transitioned into a GM role.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in The portal.:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in The portal.:

@approxinfinity said in The portal.:

Can we get 2 more decent role players? We have 4 open schollies is it? Shouldnt we be waiting on 2 guys instead of 4 at this point, even if they may be impact guys?

Three more to go. 11 onboard so far. 14 total with the penalty this season.

But, that two way football player is part of the roster? Confuses me.

15 player rosters, can divide scholarships up however. Nickens counts towards the roster limit, but KU basketball isn’t spending scholarship on him since his scholarship is from football.

Essentially, you can still have non-scholarship players, they just still count towards the 15 player roster limit.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in The portal.:

@mayjay said in The portal.:

Not political…just a question on procedures. Visas for international college students are held up currently as the State Dept reviews social media (hasn’t said for what). Could that be putting a hold on announcing any recruiting efforts?

International recruiting just can’t be working well in this climate. I’d focus more on US players so not to complicate matters. Can’t be easy.

There aren’t really any other good options left among HS or portal players unless someone unexpectedly withdraws from the draft at this point that hasn’t already said where they’re playing next season.

The international market is all that’s left to find another impact player.

@mayjay said in Nets fans reflect on Vaughn as head coach:

@approxinfinity IIRC, the Nets dumped salary and tanked right after JV was made permanent coach. Nets fans are nuts.

He was HC while they were breaking up their Big 3 of Durant, Harden, and Kyrie.

KU to the Fayetteville regional and will play Creighton in their first game.

Haggerty is now off the table and is headed KSU.