Posts made by Texas Hawk 10

@FarmerJayhawk said in Transfer Rumblings:

Heard a destination for Diggy could be Bama. Which is wild

Bama doesn’t play defense so he’d be fine in that system letting the 3’s fly.

Something I want to say for next season while deep diving the issues this season on the court woth the offense.

Talent evaluation absolutely killed KU this season. Zeke and Coit were good fits on offense, but their ceilings were low enough to keep them from being true star players. Missing on the scouting of AJ and Rylan absolutely killed KU because they were supposed to be the NBA level talent to lift Dejuan and KJ up because those two were always supposed to be the role/support starters. Below is my breakdown of the offense and the fits of everyone in the offense.

AJ was known to be a terrible fit from day 1, Rylan was a bit more surprising, but less so after a deep dive on his skills and background. We all know Self’s offense is based off a motion offense. There’s rules to a motion offense to make it successful with the most important one being players that know how/when to cut and move without the ball, and a post player that is good passer.

I’ll probably get some disagreements here, but Hunter Dickinson was an ideal 5 for Self’s system. He was a top level passer amd could stretch the floor. When he got the ball at the top of the key, teams had to respect that Hunter could and would take that shot.

I’ll also probably get even more disagreements here by say that Dejuan Harris was a good fit for Self’s offense. He was good at probing defenses and forcing them to react and was generally pretty good at kicking out to the perimeter.

KJ was an okay fit for the offense. He was a good cutter which led to a lot of easy baskets and a solid ball handler, but his lack of outside shooting is what limited him and hurt the offense because teams didn’t have to respect that because he never shot 3’s.

Zeke was a very good fit on offense because he was great a moving without the ball and getting himself open for catch and shoot 3’s, or if he had the ball in his possession, his step back 3 was also a very strong weapon. Diggy Coit was the same boat as Zeke on offense as their games are very similar to each other.

The reason AJ Storr was a terrible fit on offense was because he is an iso player. There’s a reason I comped him to James Harden so frequently and that’s because Storr needed the ball in his hands and everyone else to clear out so he could take his man one on one. That’s not Self’s offense and why AJ struggled so much here. I assume Storr is still planning on leaving, but if he stays for whatever reason, he’s just not a good fit for Self’s offense unless he works to reinvent his game this offseason.

Now to Rylan Griffen and why he didn’t work out despite seemingly being an ideal fit on paper. Nate Oats doesn’t run much real offense. It’s very free flowing and simplistic which has it’s pros and cons, but it’s something that doesn’t require a lot of knowledge on cutting and reading defenses. This is why Griffen struggled so much this year. He wasn’t good at reading defenses or his teammates and would frequently either not move and camp in the corner (I tell my players all the time a statue is the easiest thing to guard), or he’s would make the wrong read and make a bad cut and end up out of position. Griffen didn’t have a high enough basketball IQ to pick up Self’s system which is why he frequently looked lost on the floor.

For next season, we have Darryn Peterson and possibly Elmarko Jackson as starters and that’s it. Peterson is a star and could thrive in any system, but what should make him lethal under Self is his ability woth or without the ball. He understands how to make cuts and create his own shots without the ball in his hands. He’s a perfect fit for a motion offense.

As for everyone else, we saw Elmarko struggle playing off the ball because he wasn’t great at making the right reads and cuts, but as a lead guard, he is a playmaker.

But it sounds like Self is looking to add another starting caliber point guard, but as of now, there’s not much out there. A lead guard who run a motion offense and understands passing angles is a must. This was something Dejuan thrived at so we’ll see if Self ends up running Elmarko out there or finding someone else.

As for the 3 and 4 spots, Josh Dix a as good a fit for a Self offense as there is. Fran McCaffery didn’t run a motion offense, but ran a zone offense that utilized a lot of cutting to get players to their spots so there might be a small learning curve with Dix, but noting he shouldn’t be able to pick up quickly. Players that know how to cut and move without the ball are vital to Self’s offense and we saw what happens to it this season when there’s a wing that doesn’t understand those concepts.

As for a 5, Malik Reneau would be a pretty good fit for Self and KU as he can play in the high or low post and is an above average passer. His lack of 3 point shooting shouldn’t be an issue unless there’s other players out there that can’t shoot 3’s either.

@wissox said in The portal.:

Tweet just said ‘KU fans like to complain about NIL hurting the program, but KU has more NIL to spend than anyone else. This is a program problem.’ What do you think.

I partially agree with this statement. NIL is hurting the program because Self can’t build a program his preferred way of letting players develop. Too many freshmen don’t have the patience to wait their turn anymore as we’ve seen.

John Calipari said after Arkansas lost to Tech I think, or at least sometime during the tournament, that NIL has largely killed high school recruiting. Most top programs value experience over everything and since they’re in win now mode every year instead of being allowed “rebuid” years, programs aren’t recruiting HS kids the same way anymore.

A couple of schools are still largely building, retaining, and developing their own players rather than building through the portal and those Purdue and Marquette. It can be done, but KU isn’t a place where fans are patient enough for that anymore. If this fanbase was collectively patient enough for that, Self probably could make that still happen.

@TYOHawk said in Recruiting Notes:

@kuballin10 said in Recruiting Notes:

@TYOHawk Haha 6-3 190 lb at best a Baker or William Jewel product - D2 would have destroyed me in 1 on 1 lol

Guys don’t sign overnight - roster will fill out but the Flory and Diggy news plus others exiting is confirmation of what many could see

I can’t lie to you man. He competed and gave it what he had. But after seeing how Duke succeeded with positional size…I’m not sad about Diggy leaving. Now Flory is different.

The competitiveness and fire he had was why most wanted him back in a back up role. His size absolutely limited him at this level because I know he’s listed at 5-11, he’s about 5-8. Since Diggy wanted starters minutes, and I don’t blame him for that after being gifted another year, it just wasn’t going to happen here. I hope he finds a good landing spot.

@dylans said in Recruiting Notes:

@Texas-Hawk-10 Someone should tell the “world wide leader in sports” they say his recruitment is not very advanced. lol

Check the date on the article, it’s from December when he reclassified before he committed in January.

@drgnslayr One thing I want to push back against with your thoughts on UH is that they have absolutely had NBA talent during this run. Since 2019, they’ve had 8 players drafted so he hasn’t had this run without NBA talent.

Also, I know some here think Hurley is the current best coach in college basketball, but outside of two titles, he’s never been past the first weekend in the NCAA Tournament. This year is also Bruce Pearl’s first time past the first weekend since 2019.

@dylans said in Recruiting Notes:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/42756580/gilbert-arenas-son-alijah-top-5-recruit-reclassifying-25

Any chance for Alijah Arenas? Would be salty pairing him with DP!

He committed to USC 2 months ago.

@Gorilla72 said in Swirling Bill Rumors:

@Texas-Hawk-10 - My thought is that Self would be very good at fund raising and management. He could leave the higher stress jobs of recruiting and coaching to others (but still shake hands” with recruits).

That side of the job is the whole reason Self is considering retirement right now and why Wright, Bennett, and Larranaga all retired despite being in very good jobs with access to top recruits/transfers and having all recently won national championships or been to Final Fours.

@wissox I actually have Duke winning in that bracket.

@wissox said in NCAA Tournament Discussion:

IMHO Michigan St. could do us all a favor and knock off Auburn today giving us only one SEC team in the FF. Had TTech known how to make FT’s and a MSU win SEC could’ve been shut out and the Big12 had two! But pulling for Sparty, although i like Pearl, thinking he’s changed quite a bit and is a fun coach to watch and listen to, more of a Valvano type now.

I’m pulling for Sparty. In my bracket that I was trying and not making homer or AI animal picks, I got 6 of the 8 Elite 8 team right amd so far am 3 for 3 on Final Four picks with Sparty over Auburn in the 4th game.

Houston by 19 over Tennessee to advance to their 7th Final Four. Three of the four 1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four so far with Auburn’s shot coming up next to make it 4 of 4.

@TYOHawk said in NCAA Tournament Discussion:

@Crimsonorblue22 said in NCAA Tournament Discussion:

@TYOHawk they’re almost always perfect, don’t think they have to recruit to hard. Do you?

They’re Nike and ESPN’s favorite. They get to select who they want…

Kentucky has re-entered that chat.

UH is putting on a defensive clinic against Tennessee right now. Vols only had 15 points at halftime and are 20 points 5 minutes into the 2nd half.

@Gorilla72 said in Swirling Bill Rumors:

Would Self entertain the GM position? Also heard somewhere Frank Mason is interested in becoming a member of the recruiting staff? FWIW.

No, because a GM position in college basketball has nothing/very little to do with scouting or recruiting. A GM in college basketball manages the NIL/business side of the program which is what’s potentially driving Self into retirement.

Another name I would go get for an assistant coaching position is Sherron Collins. He just led Oak Park to a Missouri state championship amd we know he’s someone who bleeds crimson and blue.

Jay Wright, Tony Bennett, Jim Larranaga all made this decision.

If Bill decides to make it as well, hopefully it’s very soon to give the university appropriate time to replace him. I can’t say I’m overly thrilled with the replacement list due to the off court baggage attached to each of them and already gone back and forth on why all three could truly derail Kansas Basketball.

Jalil Bethea has a final four of Alabama, KState, NCState, and a return to Miami.

Tech choked that one away at the FT line.

@approxinfinity Of the 3 players at the center of the NCAA investigation against KU, 2 of them were African players whose handlers were too damn greedy.

I’m not saying this as a blanket statement, but there’s just a lot of shadiness involving African recruits and their handlers because many of these kids come from pretty impoverished backgrounds. This makes it pretty easy to financially exploit those kids and their families by greedy handlers that only care about money and not what’s best for the kid.

@FarmerJayhawk After this, I’d be fine with never dealing with an African recruit again because it seems like way too many have so much unnecessary drama attached to them through their handlers and KU has been screwed over multiple times by the handlers of African recruits.

This fanbase across various sites, including some here, are truly living down to some of the most negative stereotypes about KU fans being snobs. I don’t understand the ego and mentality it takes (including some here) to be more happy and gloating about potentially being right about the demise of Bill Self than caring more about having a successful team and program. To those people, all I have to say is fuck off, KU doesn’t need or want you as fans.

@BShark said in The portal.:

Broken trust and lack of developmental coaching…

This is the red flag for Self to shake up the coaching staff and hire a GM to manage NIL for the program.

@RockkChalkk said in What does “faith in Bill” mean?:

Who would be top target to replace?

Every assistant but KT at this point is expendable to me.

@Jhawk69 said in The portal.:

On the bright side, whomever we get to play the 5 next year will be an upgrade over Hunter

That’s not a guarantee.

Is Bill planning on making changes to the coaching staff or is he going to keep the staff the same. If he’s not changing the staff, that’s a big problem at this point because it sounds like it’s going to cost him at least two current players in Flory and Passmore.

@Jhawk69 said in The portal.:

We should really recruit Quimari Peterson to form a dangerous double Peterson backcourt.

He’s going to Florida or Missouri.

@wissox said in The portal.:

Morez Johnson, surprised Underwood by leaving Illinois. A Bill Self guy if there ever was one. Big rebounder, high energy, runs the floor well, offensive game not spectacular though. Thornton HS, Harvey IL, a mile from where I teach.

Very bright future, not trading Flory for him though.

@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:

Tourney choker RJ Luis in the portal. Big one

I would take him in a heartbeat if Dix doesn’t workout. And since he’s going through the draft process, he’s likely not looking for a destination immediately. I think being a #2 option behind Peterson would be good for him and he’s very good defender which you can never have too much of. I do think his efficiency numbers would go up at KU surrounded by better offensive players because St. John’s offense last season made KU’s look competent by comparison.

@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:

@Texas-Hawk-10

Always a concern but the dude put up nearly 250 3s this yr and shot 44%. 37 and 34% his first two years and big improvement this yr so perhaps it was a product of role/experience etc. His 2pt % and efg % both higher then Timberlakes best year. It sounds like a lot of other big programs are interested as well

Sounds a lot like Timberlake who also had a 10% jump in 3 point shooting at a pretty high volume (200+) and if I’m remembering correctly, KU had to fight off UConn for Timberlake so he had plenty of interest from top programs as well.

He could end up being a good high major player, I’m just always skeptical about low major players with his type of profile translating to a P5 program.

@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:

@BShark said in The portal.:

@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:

Lamar Wilkerson- eyes on…

This is real right now, will have to see where it goes.

Liked his film. Another really good shooter. I see interest is high outside of us too

I’m skeptical how his shooting would translate because he’s a one hit wonder as far as shooting a high percentage and I’m always skeptical about players like that. This was always my concern with Timberlake as well which played out where he couldn’t come close to duplicating his shooting numbers.

@BShark said in The portal.:

Zach Clemence is in the portal officially.

Hope he finds the right fit and can be successful next season.

@Jhawk69 said in Other games 2024-2025:

UNI earned that win. We were intimidated by the pressure of the tourney and they were not. But there was some luck that factored into the outcome. They could not miss a three all game. A stat that has haunted me ever since was that their center, who had hit 1 career three before that game, went 2-3 from downtown against us.

UNI was 9-26 from 3, KU was 6-23 from 3 with our star player going 0-6. If Sherron shoots his average (37%), KU wins that game and likely wins a national title.

@SlimShaddy54 said in NCAA Tournament Discussion:

@Texas-Hawk-10 so is he Coaching Maryland for the remainder of the Season or did he just up and leave ?

I think he is, but he also skipped the team dinner last night and pretty much trashed the university on the way out the door. If I was a Maryland player, I wouldn’t put forth much effort tonight after what Willard has said and done.

@approxinfinity said in Other games 2024-2025:

@wissox yeah. Brass cajones, that shot. As a fan of basketball, you have to tip the hat. As I remember it, we werent horrible that day, and they didnt job us with bad calls, Northern Iowa executed brilliantly and earned the win.

Sherron and Tyshawn were terrible that game. Sherron was 4-15, including 0-6 from 3 for 10 points and 5 turnovers. Tyshawn was 0-5 from 3 and had 2 points.

@wissox said in Other games 2024-2025:

@Texas-Hawk-10 I suppose you were joking a bit but I admire the heck out of that guy for that shot!

I’m still very salty about that game because that was my last KU game as a student and that was a team that should’ve won a national championship even more than the 2011 team. That 2010 team only lost 2 games entering the NCAA Tournament and was an overwhelming favorite to win it.

Rataj isn’t a star and I would expect most of his numbers to look more like they did his sophomore season against P12 teams, but he can play the 4 and has enough 3 point shooting ability that opponents shouldn’t be able to ignore him out there. On paper, he appears to be a good fit so I can get behind this one.

Something very interesting has happened. Maryland coach Kevin Willard has accepted the Villanova job right before Maryland plays in a Sweet 16 game. That is absolute trash behavior. It may have been announced publicly as of yet, but there’s already stories from both sides confirming this. Maryland has advised their search firm to add a basketball HC on top of their AD search and Villanova people are reporting Willard is already recruiting the transfer portal for players to bring to Villanova.

@wissox said in Other games 2024-2025:

Anyone remember this name? Ali Farokmanesh hired as coach of Colorado St.

Never had anything against CSU before, now hope they go 0-30 every year.

Anybody know if KJ will be around the program next season while he’s rehabbing? Seems like he’d make a great GA for a year while he’s rehabbing and getting back into basketball shape.

@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:

Perhaps a big one for us to follow. New Mexico guard Donovan Dent in the portal, Mountain West POY averaged 20ppg, 6.4 assists & 41% from 3. He’s really good and will have a Christmas list of suitors.

I love his game, but I’d be concerned about fit because he doesn’t shoot very many 3 pointers. He shot fewer 3’s than Dejuan did last season. If Peterson ends up not being a good 3 point shooter next season, I’d be concerned about the offense next year because it would be more of teams packing the paint to take away KU’s ability to drive.

@wissox Fran was also a chronic underachiever and we had success with a previous Fran transfer in Isaiah Moss. I’m not opposed to an Iowa player, especially since the one KU is getting involved in addresses a dire need for shooting and scoring next season.

With Jackson, Peterson, and Flory, I think KU is going to be pretty salty defensively next season.

@dylans Where do those players come from? Players like that don’t enter the portal, they enter the draft. Players in the portal are flawed players that have holes in their games. Top transfers might have 2 out of those 3 things you want, but there’s a tradeoff somewhere in their skill sets.

The women’s tournament took a big blow last night as USC star JuJu Watkins tore her ACL in USC’s win over Miss. St.

Her and Paige Bueckers have been the two biggest reasons to watch the women’s tournament this year.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in The portal.:

@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:

Christopher Tilly- mutual interest

I may not be exaggerating by saying that dude has like a 1 inch vertical. glued to the ground.

I’d prefer more mobile, springy bigs. Remember when USC kicked our ass with the tall, athletic, mobile Mobley brothers? Like that, please.

Those kind of players don’t enter the portal. Evan Mobley was the #3 pick in the draft after his freshman year and his brother was drafted the next season after playing 3 years.

@approxinfinity Zuby has been there for 2 years, his transformation wasn’t overnight. KU essentially returned 3 guys from 2 year ago that played this season. And to answer that question, KJ had a similar body transformation over the same time as Zuby.

Let me return some questions. Dr. Nijem has been KU’s S&C director since 2019. Did he hurt the 2020 team? Were there questions about the 2022 team’s S&C development? Did Dr. Nijem suddenly forget how to be a S&C coach because people are looking to blame someone for KU’s lack of on court success the past two years while ignoring the obvious decline in overall talent within the program because of the NCAA investigation that was hanging over the program for the past 5 years

The most important time of year for physical development for these kids is the summer time when they are unsupervised by anyone on staff. This is why I mentioned players that hire personal trainers over the summer versus players who couldn’t control themselves.

There’s also plenty of examples under Hudy as well of players not developing to their full potential because they didn’t have the self discipline during the summer months to do the work needed. Sherron Collins is the prime example of that. Jeff Withey never bulked up the way many though he would.

@SlickRockJayhawk said in Off-season Conditioning:

Hello Jayhawk fans,

One thing that bugged me this year is the lack of bulk on anyone other than KJ (excluding anyone that just transferred in last year). Specifically DeJuan and Hunter, but also Zeke.

What the heck is Ramsey Nijem doing with these guys?!? It didn’t look like DeJuan put on an ounce of muscle in his 5 years in Lawrence. Hunter totally lacked an athletic build.

How does a player spend 5 years in the program and still be skinny and lack bulk/muscle? No way that should be allowed.

Ramsey is doing our players and team a complete disservice.

Maybe in the day of NIL and getting guys for 1 year, you don’t mess with their physique, much like you wouldn’t try and change their shooting motion for just one year. But guys that have been around for 2-5 years?

Do we need a new strength and conditioning coach?

No we don’t. Genetics also plays a big role in player development. Some people simply don’t have frames that can handle/support a lot of muscle mass and Dejuan has one those body types. Even as long as KD has been in the league, he’s still only 240 lbs. despite being a 7 footer.

Too many people, and I think you’re doing this here also put too much focus and emphasis on how toned a person looks as the final say on strength. Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic will never win a physique contest, but that hasn’t stopped them from being top 3 players in the NBA today.

Also, players are unsupervised during the summer. Not everyone has the self discipline to carry out the nutrition and S&C plan laid out for them before the summer. Players that don’t put in that work to hire a personal trainer over the summer usually don’t see the same results as those who do.

@BShark The chatter I’ve seen on it isn’t comimg from Kentucky sources. Did is going to be one of the most sought after players in the portal so I would expect all the bog name programs with a need to be in on Dix.

@BShark said in The portal.:

Josh Dix situation is ramping up. All the KU writers saying he is a major target.

There’s apparently a lot of chatter about him to Kentucky as well.

@BShark said in The portal.:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/christoph-tilly-1.html Another to monitor for the back-up 5 spot

Solid option, concerned about his rebounding though.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in KU Roster for 25-26:

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.

Scholarships available: 12 (lost one to NCAA sanctions)

Roster size at the moment: 7 (some assumptions in here to start off)

RETURNEES (5) – some assumptions in here to start off

G Elmarko Jackson

G/F Rakease Passmore

G/F Jamari McDowell

C Flory Bidunga

PF Bryson Tiller

POSSIBLE RETURNEES (5)

PF/C Zach Clemence

G David Coit

G/F Rylan Griffen

G/F AJ Storr (gotta assume he’s out the door)

G Noah Shelby

IMCOMING FRESHMEN (2)

G Darryn Peterson

F Samis Calderon

@rockchalkjayhawk said in KU Roster for 25-26:

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.

Scholarships available: 12 (lost one to NCAA sanctions)

Roster size at the moment: 7 (some assumptions in here to start off)

RETURNEES (5) – some assumptions in here to start off

G Elmarko Jackson

G/F Rakease Passmore

G/F Jamari McDowell

C Flory Bidunga

PF Bryson Tiller

POSSIBLE RETURNEES (5)

PF/C Zach Clemence

G David Coit

G/F Rylan Griffen

G/F AJ Storr (gotta assume he’s out the door)

G Noah Shelby

IMCOMING FRESHMEN (2)

G Darryn Peterson

F Samis Calderon

Scholarship and roster limit is 15 beginning next season. I would also put Noah Shelby in the returnee category since he also took a redshirt this season like McDowell. There’s no point in his situation to come in redshirt for a year and transfer out.