Posts made by Wishawk

@elpoyo You have many good points. And I like the points you made, but please keep the language clean. Cheers.

Along the line of Alcohol and Tobacco,

On the front, “Coming to the ball game without KUbuckets is like drinking at the bar without beer.”

On the back, "Come On You Kubucketeers

kubuckets.com"

COYG

@globaljaybird Better yet. Share it on YouTube.

Sorry, but I lost my access to ESPN2.

Speak Russian or Ukrainian? Святослава Михайлюка

##Smart kid

KUSports article on Svi interview with hoopshype.com

Source: hoopshype.com original article

Svi made the best of steal high light, but was only 1 for 4 from the floor and 2 of 5 from the line in the game against Finland. He didn’t play in the first game against Dominican Republic.

Svi stats and highlight

The entire video is from 2013 against U16 competition. Is there one that is against U18 competition from this year? Conner Frankamp won the U16 championship with the USA and also was the top scorer on Team USA, but Conner struggled to get on the floor at KU. I think Svi has higher ceiling than Conner, but it’s yet to be seen what he can bring when he gets on campus. It will be great if he can be as good as Oubre in his sophomore year.

I’m glad Coach Williams is coming back. I had such a heartache when he left and thought it was a great loss for KU. I’m very happy Coach Self took over and think no one better presently, but I also think Coach Williams made tremendous contribution during his 15 years. He was a great ambassador for KU too.

Welcome back, Coach Williams!

Now the handlers appear to be fashionable. I’m seeing more of them in the forefront now instead of the background in the past. Are we look for trouble? Piggie anyone?

KUsports.com, Bedore 8/12/2014, Kasongo needs minutes

Kasongo not a KU recruit: Ray Kasongo, a 6-foot-9 forward from Canada who visited KU last weekend, is no longer being recruited by the Jayhawks, his mentor, Brandon Bender, confirmed Monday.

Bender told Rivals.com that the unranked Kasongo will visit Indiana Sunday and Monday and may visit LSU. Michigan State remains on his list.

“You’re talking about a 6-9 player (with 7-1 wingspan) who needs the minutes. Kansas has five bigs that are older than him. You can go to Indiana and possibly start as a freshman,” Bender told Peegs.com, a Rivals.com site. “LSU is making a push. Michigan State is making a push, but Indiana is our focus because we feel that’s where the majority of the opportunity is.

“You’re looking at a ridiculous, unbelievable tradition,” Bender added of IU. “A lot of people have gone there and been successful. They have a big-time fan base, but the biggest thing is opportunity.”

KUsports.com, Bedore, 8/10/2014 Lots of love for Bragg Bragg

“As far as Kansas, they think that he’s one of the best skilled forwards in the nation. They love him,” Bragg’s mentor, Michael Graves, told Zagsblog.com. “We’ve been in touch with (Kentucky assistant) Kenny Payne and he just loves Carlton. Cal (John Calipari) loves him and they’re just ready to get him on campus.”

“He’s a stretch four, he can shoot the jumper, run the floor real well, and that’s what people love about him,” Graves told Zagsblog. “His upside is unlimited. He’s just gotta keep doing the hard work and stay hungry and humble.”

KUsports.com, Bedore, 8/7/2014 Mentor of Kasongo speaks

Former Oregon signee Ray Kasongo, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound unranked power forward from Canada who will visit Kansas University with his parents Friday through Sunday, as a freshman will be able to hold his own physically against top college talent.

So said his mentor, former Louisville player Brandon Bender, in a Wednesday Facebook chat with the Journal-World.

“He’s super-chiseled,” Bender said, also referring to the former Faith Christian School (Mesa, Arizona) standout as a “powerful dunker and physically athletic specimen.”

“If you look at Serge Ibaka’s body now, that’s what Ray looks like,” Bender told ESPN-affiliated radio station 92.9 FM/680 AM of Memphis. “He’s like Amar’e Stoudemire when he first got in the NBA. That’s what he is.”

“It’s totally an Oregon admissions issue,” Bender told the Memphis radio station. “Every coach involved in recruiting the kid say they’ve never heard the story I told them (about allegedly being turned away for his grades in non-core courses). It shocked them. … The coaches at Oregon are devastated and heartbroken. Ray would’ve started for Oregon.”

@JayHawkFanToo That may work if the players can be disciplined. But in college, what matters the most is the last game of the season. I can’t see anyone being punished after season is over. I’d say the punishment to the offending team must be in the game and immediate.

@approxinfinity Well, the floppers will be caught on TV and there are already gazillion video reviews, a few more won’t hurt. Besides the floppers also have the negative effects on the game just like the hackers. I wouldn’t mind seeing them get carded and thrown out of the games too.

The only downside of this is that it favors the teams that have deeper bench. So the Kentuckys of the world won’t be hurt by this rule, but Ohios might. How about implementing the hockey rule, make the offending team play short and give the other team a 2 minute power play?

@drgnslayr and @approxinfinity I’d love to see basketball implement a rule on intentional fouls toward the end of the game. For the first one, the offender is given a yellow card, and a second yellow puts the player on the ejected seat. I really don’t care for the end of game fouling just to manage time or “get back into the game”. The most disgusting offense is fouling someone to prevent the last attempt to tie or win the game. In soccer that is called for a red card/sendoff for denying an obvious scoring opportunity.

@JayHawkFanToo You have all good points. I certainly agree with you that the grass root is taking a hold in America. It’s similar to KC, but not as much in Wisconsin. We have many kids playing soccer. But we don’t have any pro team here other than indoor. So once the players reach 16, they must make tough decisions to go into either basketball, football or baseball because there is no semi-pro or little league for soccer for them to go. So the soccer talents stop developing and don’t make to the next level.

It’s really a great article you found on the distance players run in different sports. Many people still don’t want to admit soccer players are as much athletes as all the other sports. It’s not easy to run all over the field.

I love Jamari’s energy, but I agree with you that he won’t last long on a soccer field at the present shape. Basketball requires different body shape and build. Had Jamari trained for soccer, he could very well be 180lb of all muscle at 6’7", and that would be a very imposing center forward!

@JayHawkFanToo I have to respectfully disagree that the foreign based players don’t help raising the over all level of play in the US. If you look at the less than die hard soccer fans, you will see many following the US national team rather than the MLS teams. The level of competition in US is incomparable to Europe or Latin America. This is not just limited to MLS, but also USL, and the lower club level. Like the debate of the shoe companies, I think the level of play in the US is directly related to the market share and the owners/league’s investment in the teams. The more soccer fans there are here, the better TV or market share soccer will have and more money will be spent on soccer, and more young talent will stay in soccer longer instead of moving on to football, baseball or basketball. If there is a viable professional outlet in soccer in the US, I’m sure more and more young talent in the US will stay with soccer. It is true what Jurgen Klinsman was forced to bandage the US team for this World Cup, but he had no choice. Most of the starters on the team were near or over 30. And the next crop was not quite there. Also it’s not like he brought teamful of foreign legions. We just need a few key players playing the lead roles. The US is missing key pieces in almost all of the positions, especially the strikers. Altidore is not a good striker, but the was all there was. And Dempsey is a midfielder and probably would have been better partnered with Bradley in the middle. The one bright spot is Tim Howard. But the reset of the team is mostly hard workers rather high talent. Based on the number of players in the NBA and NFL, as well as in the universities, there is no shortage of top athletes in the US. We just need ways to divert some toward soccer. In my opinion, MLS is getting more recognition, but at the present is not attractive to many athletic kids because it doesn’t provide nearly the same level of outlook to become professional athletes. Many should have never pursued basketball or football because their bodies are just not suited for either sports. Had soccer been an outlet, the level of play in the US would be much higher. Just think how many soccer teams you can have had some of the 100+ ranked high school basketball players chosen to play soccer instead? I think Jamari Traylor would have made a better striker than Jozy Altidore.

I think Jurgen Klinsman is heading in the right direction by promoting US soccer and gain market share for the sport of soccer. In the end it will benefit the sport in the US in the long run.

@JayHawkFanToo Yes, Germany has a really good system developing soccer talent from young ages. And soccer is getting more an more popular in America, but it is still a long way from the three major sports here. Hopefully the World Cup generated enough interest and more people will learn and enjoy soccer.

You got a good point about relying on dual citizenship. Until we develop the market in America, the foreign imports like Julian Green have their purpose and may help raise the level of the American soccer team. I’m hoping Gedion Zelalam of Arsenal will choose to wear the US jersey. He (17), Julian Green (19) and DeAndre Yedlin (20) may form the core of a young and exciting American team in four years. I’m looking forward to Jorgen Klinksman doing his magic again.

Germany didn’t qualify for the upcoming FIBA World Cup. Maybe Germany hasn’t been top notch in the recent times. According to Wiki, Ukraine is ranked 6th in Europe while Germany is 17th.

Svi was MVP on the Division B all tournament team according to FIBA Europe’s tweet. Hope it carries over to KU.

Football is King! I meant soccer.

#Manchester United - Real Madrid smashes attendance record in USA

3 Aug 2014 00:20:00

Over 109,000 fans were packed into the stadium in Michigan to watch the Red Devils’ 3-1 win - more than the previous record set in the 1984 Olympics

Manchester United vs Real Madrid at University of Michigan

A fan of USA basketball.

7/30/2014

U18 European Championship Men 2014 - DIVISION B Ukraine vs. Sweden on 30.07.2014

10 Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Ukraine)

Photographer: FIBA Europe/Ville Vuorinen

8/13/2013

U16 European Championship Men 2013 - DIVISION A Ukraine vs. Montenegro on 13.08.2013

10 Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Ukraine)

Photographer: FIBA Europe/ Ciamillo-Castoria

Svi matured quite a bit since last year. It’s great sign and he might contribute significantly this year. We shall see.

@HighEliteMajor I really hope Svi is truly as talented as everyone believe. And I’d love Svi provide competition to Selden, Greene, and Oubre, but I think he is behind these three. I’m looking forward to seeing him to be a star on our team when he is a Sophomore.

@Crimsonorblue22 I understand your concern, but my original reply was about him playing with the national team, not red shirt or playing pro ball. I didn’t really think about that being a possibility.

Back to playing for his country, in my opinion, he is playing organized basketball on the national team. He’d benefit from the experience more than he would playing unorganized pickup games. He is coached every day with the Ukraine team, but probably can only work with KU coaches a few hours a week if he were here. I’d say it is beneficial to his development to be on the national team. And if he is truly a top level talent, he will have no problem meshing with the KU players in a couple of months on campus. I’d prefer he develops as much as possible before the season if I were Coach Self because he is so young. Also if he were selected to the senior national team and play in FIBA World Cup in August, he’d be playing/learning/testing against the NBA or Euroleague pro players. I think it’s a win-win situation.

@Statmachine I think you meant the University Game. Olympics is 2016 in Brazil. But I get what you meant, and it’d be great if KU wins the tournament as Team USA.

@Crimsonorblue22 By the way, I also saw your question to HEM about going to school. And I agree with HEM that the goal is to have a good job and a better life. A college experience is great if it enhances that prospect. Otherwise it is just a side note. Most of the professional athletes (NBA, NFL, MLB, etc.) don’t need the college degree after their playing career though many do choose to have it. But the reason probably isn’t because they are lack of money.

@Crimsonorblue22 Yes. It is the highest honor to represent my country. It may not benefit the club or make one more money, but it is a great honor. For many of the stars who shone in the World Cup in Brazil, the benefit is huge also. For example, a number of south American soccer players did very well while helping their national teams advance in the tournament, and now they are offered big contracts in Europe. Another young American player, DeAndre Yedlin who was relatively unknown before WC and is making $80k a year at Seattle, received a lot of attention for his brilliant play and may move to Europe and make millions soon. If Svi didn’t play for Ukraine U18 national team, KU probably wouldn’t have paid any attention to him. So the benefit is huge for him. How many 17 year olds get national TV time every week?

It appears there are 2 divisions in FIBA U18 European Championship. There are 16 teams in Division A and 22 teams in Division B. According to the Division A website’s Competition system, the last three teams will be relegated to Division B for the next season. Likewise, the top 3 finishing teams in the Division B championship will advance to Division A for the next season.

Ukraine is in Division B. Looks like Ukraine being undefeated is in a strong position to qualify for Division A next season. Svi is the second leading scorer on the team. Hope he makes the senior national team. It will be a great experience and honor to play for his country.

@icthawkfan316 I think from a skill set point of view, Oubre is more suited for SF while Greene is more of SG. From the recent videos, Oubre appeared to have a pretty balance game of attacking the rim and also shooting from 3s while Greene is known to be a shooter. Will Greene be involved more in the driving force this year? I don’t know. We already have a driving PG in Mason and a driving SG in Selden. How do we have both Oubre and Greene attacking the paint? Someone got to stay (more) on the outside and stretch the defense. Will that be CF, Svi and Greene?

@HighEliteMajor I’ve been on the CF wagon since his Team USA experience. It got to translate somewhere and sometimes. I really hope he plays, but the competition is tough with the talented back court group, Mason, Selden, CF, and Graham.

Of all the people who played last year, I’d have to agree with @bskeet that Conner Frankamp may have the most improvement. Mason started a few game as a Freshman and played rotation minutes last season. This year he will probably be the starting PG. With a year of maturing, he should have a much productive second season. And we already saw some of the maturing by the end of last season. His assists and decision making were much improved toward the end last year. So it won’t be any surprise Mason will be a major factor in this year’s team. But on the other hand, Frankamp only had a couple of memorable games last season. He may bring the most surprises IF he can break into the rotation this year.

Hunter didn’t play last year. And from the camp game videos, he show some skills and shooting touch, but no defense or rebounding. Don’t know if the camp games were all for scoring. After all, we don’t want the little kids to see all the bloody noses, right? So I’m hoping Mickelson will step up and take the starting center position and Cliff starts as the PF. Elis may be the most skilled player, but might have to settle as just a rotation player for being a tweener, not quite strong and tall enough to beat out Alexander, yet not skilled enough to be an effective SF.

So what surprises do we have among, Oubre, Greene, Selden, and Svi? Does Selden have the tri-gun to play 2/1, or the handle to play 1/2? Does Svi really have all the hyped skills to out play the others from position 1 to 3? He is certainly tall enough at 6’8". It’s kind of odd, but I still haven’t seen any picture of him playing against guys who are 20 or older. Does anyone have any link to the “pro” team pictures or videos?

There is no doubt there will be a fight for playing time among the 2 groups, bigs and smalls. Can’t wait.

Here are a few KU videos to bridge over the slow news days of the summer.

6.18.14 Pt. 1 KU ALumni Game Bill Self Camp

6.18.14 Pt. 2 KU ALumni Game Bill Self Camp

6.18.14 Pt. 3 KU ALumni Game Bill Self Camp

6.11.14 KU Alumni Game - 1st half - Bill Self Camp

6.11.14 KU Alumni Game - 2nd half - Bill Self Camp

@icthawkfan316 and @ralster You both made great points. I think Frankamp has the smarts and I like how he finished the season strong.

@ralster Rush certainly outclassed Downs, but I’m not sure if he would fail to shine if Rush had left after one year and he had stuck out all 4 years at KU. Downs was a 28th rated player just like Brannen Greene and about the same physical aspects. If Greene is capable going to the NBA per Coach Self, Downs might have as well. Guess the difference might be the desire and competitiveness. We will have to see what Greene is made of and whether he will be successful enough to get drafted.

Rod Stewart came before Downs and I don’t remember he was more effective than Downs. He was injured big time.

By the way. I updated KU recruiting 2002-2014

@JayHawkFanToo Looking at the euroleague.net stat page, Downs started 4 of 5 games he played and average 40% from 3. Not bad. He was a shooting guard at KU, and still is in the pros. Based on the current stat, he is 1.95 meters or about 6’5" instead of 6’8" with the KU inches. So Svi probably is comparable in the height (6’6" in shoes) and build, and athletic ability. We will have to wait and see how Svi develops and adapts to the physical game at KU.

Here is the statshee.com stats of Micah Downs in college, http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/gonzaga/micah-downs

@wrwlumpy Svi spoke good English from the interview at Nike. If he is as smart as his pedigree suggests, he’d do quite well. Svi speaks better English than Sasha did when he got to KU, and Sasha graduated with a solid GPA (Academic All American?) majoring in Computer Science. Not sure if Svi can top that.

@dylans Micah Downs I remember was a player who was golden from the wrist. He had a beautiful stroke from deep, but didn’t take advantage of his 6’8" height. And he was somewhat a soft kid who couldn’t take Self ball and was home sick. So he went back home to Gonzaga. Interestingly according to euroleague.net, he played professionally in Kiev, Ukraine recently.

http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=002015&seasoncode=E2013

Draftexpress.com lists Mykhailiuk as 6-foot-6 in shoes, citing a Nike Hoops Summit measurement.

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/may/22/self-says-ukrainian-recruit-will-provide-immediate/?mens_basketball

6’8" is definitely with 3 KU inches added.

And per Fran, “He handles the ball well for his size.” So I’d expect Mason to blow by him or pick his pocket every other possession.

#Fantastic news! Welcome to KU family, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk!#

By the way, Sviatos just grew 2 KU inches as soon as he committed.

A native of Cherkasy, Ukraine, Mykhailiuk is a 6-foot-8, 195-pound shooting guard/small forward. The 16-year old will be eligible to play in the upcoming 2014-15 season.

And now he no longer is a combo guard, but a guard/forward.

@wissoxfan83 I think you meant during high school.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinal: Frank Kaminsky

“I got into high school at 6-2 and left high school at 6-10,” Kaminsky, who is listed at 7-0 and 234 pounds, said as UW prepared for its second-round NCAA tournament game against American University. “I had a lot of growing to do both physically and mentally…

Kaminsky will be a senior and now is listed as 6’11" and 234 lb. http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/frank-kaminsky-1.html

So players don’t just grow KU inches at Kansas.

I think a 6’6" 16 year old skinny beanpole will be even more of a beanpole after growing 4 inches. And he will become less coordinated with the added height, and possibly less effective handling the ball. He will need to relearn some of the mechanics because his mind probably still thinks he’s a 6’6" jumping jack. I’ve never seen him, but I’d be surprised he looks anything like Anthony Davis. Davis was not skinny to begin with. I think Micah Downs might be a better comparison.

This news makes me sad. I thought White was the perfect type of player for Kansas and still do.

Best wishes to Andrew. You are always a Jayhawk.

@wissoxfan83 Ah, it’s the dilemma.

Actually I do watch the Bears, but only when they don’t play Green Bay. I love going down to Chicago, especially on the sunny weekends when they have soccer at Soldier Field.

@dylans Me too.

eurobasket.com Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk Profile

I wonder why UConn didn’t have a season like WSU if they were out to avenge anything from the start of the season. They were the reason why my bracket was busted, and I think they got lucky at the end.

@HighEliteMajor

Don’t think so. Or hope not.

@Statmachine Yes, I watched a couple of the U17 games on TV. Conner had good exposure before going to college. And I was really expecting he’d have better season than Frank. It didn’t surprise me that he had a good run in the post season because he had the same demeanor and did quite well during the U17 games. And the international game was not all offense like the Mc or Jordan all star games. Guess we will have to wait and see how Graham performs and who might get bumped since it’s probably too crowded in the back court having Frank, Conner, Wayne and Devonte, plus Greene and White.

@Statmachine By the way I got all my numbers off http://statsheet.com/mcb/teams/kansas/. I didn’t look for the high school stats, and don’t even know where to begin. Sorry.

@Statmachine I don’t have any analysis, but was just curious, so I pulled up the stats. By the way, the past a few Rivals 30 or so rated players were Thomas Robinson (31), Ben McLemore (34), Jeff Withey (36), Sasha Kaun (34). Not bad company.

Here are Elijah’s 4 year numbers. Johnson was a Rival 24th rated player out of high school, and is much taller than Conner. So it might not be the right comparison, but right off the bat, Conner already fell behind with 2.67 assists per 40 minutes as a Freshman.

Here is Tyshawn Taylor’s number over 4 years. Taylor was 77 rated player while Mason was 76 rated. So they may be comparable.

@Statmachine Here are some of the recent comparisons.

Elijah’s senior numbers

Tyshawn’s senior numbers

Josh Selby’s OAD

@Statmachine I will have to find all the stats, but I don’t think we are comparing Conner and Frank against the high performers in the past. It’s not fair especially Conner wasn’t a rotational player. We might be able to connect the dots after next season.