Recruiting Master Thread Part Deux
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@BShark I clicked on this and couldn’t find anything but a picture “slideshow”. Is there an actual interview? I’d like to hear what he has to say!
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Seems like 247 is having some issues. I watched the video already, basically he said KU was recruiting him since 8th grade, he loves Self and Townsend, would like Duval to come to KU of course.
I would just check back later maybe it will be fixed.
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@justanotherfan You expect Bragg to be here?
Preston getting NCAA clearance concerns me.
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The Weathers brothers are transferring from Miami Ohio. NE Kansas natives.
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@BShark Doesn’t sound like bad options for spots 12 and 13 on the bench… Either one could end up being a solid rotation player two years from now. Especially after meeting Hudy.
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Bragg is a significant concern.
If we don’t have Preston for academic reasons, we are back to playing four out again next year, except without Josh Jackson, whose skillset made that possible (tall enough and athletic enough to handle the defensive assignment against just about every 4 in the country). That would be… less than ideal.
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I’m learning a lot about recruits and having a good time looking them up.
Thanks for all those with insight on all of this.
Can’t wait to see how it all unfolds for next season.
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Michael seems like a baller PG but with no trey ball. Was the FOY in the MAC.
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They want KU, not surprising but good to know.
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/article141309513.html
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@BShark Miami was bad this past season, but they were solid. They would ve good insurance pieces if they don’t get better opportunities elsewhere.
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We have certainly had worse at the bottom of the roster.
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Graham was listed as a mid to late second round before the tournament and if he had continued playing like he did against MSU and Purdue and KU advanced he could have moved to early second round to late first round; however, his play against Oregon probably hurt him big time and now he is probably a late second to not-drafted. I would expect him to come back and aim for a Mason-like season to improve his stock.
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word is Barrett will be re-classifying into the 2018 class. KU will have plenty of room to sell to him… I know we are in it, but the “shady” side of recruiting is going to be a factor with him
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To quote Princess Bride, “It would take a miracle”.
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reading all that Andrew Slater posts, man its a miracle KU is able to get anyone with how much influence there is behind the scenes.
Loved that post where its better to not know “how its made”.
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Yeah pretty much.
With what I’ve seen at Bamba it makes me sad that he never considered KU.
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He better not end up at Texas
But agreed he’s going to be a problem defensively wherever he goes. Insane Wingspan
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What a waste he would be under Shaka. And yeah…preferably he won’t play KU 2-3 times next year…
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Definitely a waste. Seems like he’s big on relationships.
Shaka knew him from Team USA…
He’s friends with Quade & Diallo. I think Kentucky has the edge but they do have Richards which kind of limits his ability to play a lot. Texas, Duke can all offer him PT
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If I’m a big I run away from Duke but no doubt they will continue to land just about whoever they want.
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@BShark seems like they’ve had more sit and transfer lately than usual.
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Giles and Bolden massively underperformed. Jeter looks like a Bragg situation where people were just wrong.
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@BShark I think Bragg problem is off the court issues.
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Also playing out of position.
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@BShark yeah, still gotta catch a ball!
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@BeddieKU23 said:
He better not end up at Texas
But agreed he’s going to be a problem defensively wherever he goes. Insane Wingspan
I get the sentiment, but I kind of hope he/other top talent pick the Big12 so KU is more battle tested late in the season. KU always gets everyone’s best shot. I just wish it was a bit better to push KU to higher heights. Juices our team up to play a Durant, Beasley, Griffin, or even Heild.
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Bamba is just going to be an absolute pest for any team that plays against him. He could defensively have the impact that a Anthony Davis had. If he ends up at Kentucky we’ll play him next year anyway. He’ll make Kentucky really scary in the front-court again.
He’s not a polished offensive player so he’s really not in the mold of the players you mentioned above. He might have the most potential of anyone in the class because he plays hard and if his offensive game catches up he’s going to be a major problem for any big.
If he was going to end up in the Big-12 I wish it was anyone but Texas. Just can’t get on board liking Smart or wishing he gets talent that keeps him around
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Yeah Smart can eat dirt. Big 12 is going to be way down next year and I don’t think late recruits can change that.
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@BeddieKU23 @BShark I took a look at 247 to find out more about Bamba. Under the list all teams page, we are included but it say KU has not made an offer.
Is that true? I do not know much about recruiting sites, but this cannot be a reliable site, in my opinion: they show KU as still having C Diallo on the roster at Bamba’s position.
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We offered but Bamba never showed any interest back. Word is Bamba is an interesting dude and has really been slow with his recruiting process and doesn’t talk much to the media. He established some relationships early with Texas due to playing on Team USA, Duke, Kentucky and just stuck with them. The Michigan visit was interesting but they were never really in it.
He plays defense with a motor like Josh Jackson with a near 8 foot wingspan. It’s just not fair.
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Well I know Quinton Grimes and then the Dotson kid is surpose to be heavy KU leans - - I rad off Zags blog that Kentucky had just offered Grimes. – -So what’s peoples feelings o these guys, what’s your gut telling you on Grimes? - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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Man maybe just me, but I don’t think I have ever seen the amount of transfers as I’m seeing this year, seems quite a bit higher - -am I imaging this or is there an excess this year?
Just read of ESPN where there are three UNLV players transferring this yr - -not graduate transfers these are still in school : - - - Troy Baxter Jr - -A freshman guard , Zion Morgan , A freshman guard & Jalen Poyser , a Sophomore guard. - - I can’t begin to name them all, just seems like a lot of kids.
I know Freeman from Baylor - - -The guard from Oklahoma- - - plus another player from the league from the Big 12 just many many players.- - -What you think is going on? – Why so many? - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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@jayballer54 The number of transfers has been increasing every year. I did a Google search on “increase in basketball transfers” and there was an article in 2012 about the increase, then another one from 2014, and this 2017 Sports Illustrated article on how it is changing things:
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Like @BeddieKU23 said KU was interested in Bamba, he just never reciprocated that interest.
Oh and https://twitter.com/coreyevans_10/status/847569195533385728 I would bet it’s VCU, but good that KU has shown interest.
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There are more transfers every year.
Part of it is the widely-held perception on transfers. They used to be viewed very negatively, like divorced people used to be treated.
But as it has become more common, the negative perception has died down, just like with divorced people, too.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 I agree with your basic take on Graham and Svi. However, Svi is holding and believe he can improve his stock next year. He’ll be fine and will at least get some of that European money.
I do want to address your 4 spot issue. We will have a complete nightmare match-up with Billy P at the 4. He is 6-10 and plays like a freakin 3 guard. IF HCBS tries to play him at the 5, it will be a huge mistake. We have plenty of size with the other bigs at the 5. We don’t need BP at the 5. BP is looking more and more like a LeBron/KD type player.
Lastly, I guess you’re basing your academic issues on past history? I think we learned our lesson with Ayton. We tried to land Ayton and were the only team that showed any interest with him. Zona came in at the last minute and snatched him maybe due to our pause with his “academic” eligibility.
I’m not convinced Bragg can and will ever develop at this point. I do like your idea with Lightfoot and see him follow a 5th year senior type experience, call it the LL experience. Lightfoot is too light to bang inside right now. Hudy needs to Hudy-ize him. Remember, Jeff Withey never quite developed into the 5 that we all wanted. Withey never gained the weight needed to really bang, even though he did. However, Withey had those volleyball blocking skills that were perfect for his game. We also had a nasty bruiser in that little guy named Thomas Robinson.
I’m really really curious about Cunliffe. I am completely holding my breath and hope this kid is worth the transfer.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Reminds me of Mario Little. I also remember that year and how Bill Self really forced Rio into the 4. It never quite worked real well. He had moments against smaller teams, but to me Little looked like a fish out of water at the 4. Mario Little was also a 3, NOT a 4 and it showed in his game too.
Maybe it was Rio’s juco game that never quite translated to the D1 stage. He was overall a good player, but each time he slipped into the 3, his game always showed flashes of what could’ve been. We also got a little guard from the juco ranks name Tyrone Appleton. No disrespect to Appleton, but he was a total waste of transfer. I’m not completely sold on juco transfers yet. I’m not saying they can’t work, I’m saying it’s yet to be determined for HCBS. The only juco transfer that shined at the D1 was the kid at WSU that beat us in the 2015 tourney. Cleanthony Early was one of the best juco transfers that translated fairly well for WSU.
This is my way of saying that I’m not sure about Bill Self and juco transfer. I’m a little concerned that we even have to scour the juco ranks, but gotta do what you gotta do…I guess.
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@BeddieKU23 Exactly. HCBS will not play that crap either. He shouldn’t have to play that kind of recruiting non-sense to get a recruit. Let’s leave it to the sleaze ball coaches and you can name them all.
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I think that hutch juco kid will be good.
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YA, so very true- - -ha boy do I know about the way a divorcee was kind of looked at, but now it seems almost TO easy for a divorce, just seems a lot of times couple argue and the 1st thought crosses the kids minds - -the hell with this I’ll just get a divorce. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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Grimes and Dotson are probably the two recruits we have the best chance with right now, and I stress right now.
Grimes has a lot of big programs after him because he’s a top player, his Jr year was really good and he’s the prototypical combo guard that Bill Self loves. Grimes came off a visit to Kentucky last year and said KU was his favorite. I’m sure things have changed, like Duke getting involved as well as Arizona. Although Duke is also targeting other point guard types Grimes is one of their options. Kentucky is also after some other kids but is keeping Grimes in the loop. Arizona seems like the other main program that has prioritized Grimes and that will be interesting to monitor. I’m sure Bill will be following him all summer
Dotson on the other hand is a kid KU has a really good chance to get. He’s from an area where you would expect UNC/Duke to be all over that but UNC locked up 2 guards already and as mentioned before Duke is after a few other guards. Most notably Darius Garland, who KU just offered is one that is probably locked up to Duke. Actually Duke people are surprised why he hasn’t already committed. Dotson paying his own dime to visit during the season says we have to be his favorite if one was to read between the lines. Dotson had a great Jr year and is the type of point guard that could become a fan favorite like Frank Mason. I expect he’ll be a 3-4 year type that can really impact a program. Dotson has other schools after him, maybe most notably Villanova but I would say at this moment Dotson is KU’s to lose.
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It’s the culture we live in today. Coaches have been doing this for a long time and it seems that the kids have finally caught on.
I would say contributing factors are the AAU scene, the OAD rule and the graduate transfer rule which basically makes you a free agent.
Billy Preston went to five high schools for example and played on a few AAU squads as well. The constant moving around starts at a young age.
The OAD rule has created this culture where kids want to prove they are good enough in one year, not 4. The development curve these kids think is best has changed significantly.
If kids don’t get the situation they want and are forced to sit the bench, chances are your at risk of losing him. If Mitch Lightfoot wasn’t a lifetime Jayhawk fan he would be a prime candidate of someone looking for more opportunity today.
One of the main issues I see with the high number of transfers is how many are transferring from lower level D-1 schools and crippling those teams that cannot find someone they have spent 2-3-4 years developing. You see a lot of the best players from smaller schools trying to “level up” and get to a high major. As @drgnslayr has said, the reputation of transfers has completely changed recently. Bill Self has taken how many transfers in the past 5 years? The number seems to be increasing by the year. It’s almost an necessity to include transfers in the discussion of recruiting. The game has definitely changed, for better or for worse.
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I agree, with Barrett, Nike is going to do its best to influence where he ends up. It’s just the truth nobody wants to talk about.
Barrett is a future NBA SG/SF and the next star from Canada. He loves Andrew Wiggins and that’s a big part of why KU has any chance of landing him next year if he does drop down a class. Adidas doesn’t help KU, at least we don’t seem to hear about them pushing kids our way. Maybe that’s Self keeping his hands clean from that aspect of recruiting, or he’s just really good at keeping it hush. There are a lot of 2018 top kids that are not Nike which is rare and a sign of how things have changed.
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@truehawk93 Preston has legitimate academic eligibility issues because of how long he was at API which has a long history of producing players who failed to academically qualify for NCAA competition.
You’re also backwards on Ayton. KU was the only major program recruiting him while Ayton was dealing with his issues. Once it appeared like that would no longer be a stumbling block for him, the usual suspects got involved and he chose Arizona over Kansas and Kentucky.
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Have to close Grimes.
(original post) offered grimes tonightWould have included Grimes on that list but hear Kansas leads and by maybe a wide margin.
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Yeah it’s definitely harder to find program players now. Even the “mighty” Kentucky, both their recent program players are Kentucky boys Willis and Hawkins.
Duke until recently, seemed to have 5 stars be content to be bench warmers. But now we are finally seeing some transfers.
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FYI Shakur Juiston is the #1 ranked Juco player according to Jucorecruiting.com
Other notables
Jordan Brangers #3 going to Texas Tech- lethal scorer from the perimeter.
Shawn Olden #11 going to TCU
D’Angelo Hunter #14 going to West Virginia
Josh Webster #17 going to Texas Tech
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Must be so difficult to recruit to Lubbock. Sorry @KUSTEVE !
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@jayballer54 I actually wish more couples would divorce if they think about it when they have their first big fight if it means they split before having kids, because all too many get married before they are ready, then have kids thinking that will make things better, then divorce anyway, then fight over custody and money forever ruining the kids’ childhoods.
