Probably just because we’ve seen so many bigs develop into All Americans under Self after just showing flashes as freshmen.

That said, it sucks but doesn’t change my opinion of this team too much as long as we land Mgbako.

Udeh and Dickinson probably wouldn’t see the floor together too much, and Dickinson is clearly better right now.

Based on what I saw out of him last year, I think Udeh is likely to be one of the best defensive bigs in the country before his college career is over. But this is the price of getting Dickinson, which makes us better now.

Yes

Definitely need another bid body from the portal now. Could Zuby be convinced to come back or is even playing 3rd string behind HD and KJ not enough. We are hosting the #1 center in the 2024 class on campus tomorrow. He was rumored to be a reclass candidate but recently said he will stay with the class. Will we try to change his mind? I don't know, certainly don't want something like that happen to then have KJ think about leaving as well. However, we need a body for injury contingency, so even more portal hunting for Bill.

We really needed Udehs rim protection TBH. From all accounts HD is very avg at that as well as Mgbako

I just don’t see Udeh and Dickinson on the floor together much if Udeh stayed.

Dickinson averaged 32 minutes per game each of the last two seasons. How much would/should we cut into that to get Udeh on the floor?

Sounds like having both would be the law of diminishing returns.

Agreed, which is why probably Udeh recognized he had to go.

Im souring a bit on the no sit out transfer thing and Free agents every year. I get that it is probably beneficial to KU as they have mofe power than anyone to go get new ppl but part of the allure of CBB was getting to see kids get better and progress every year like Frank Mason. You feel as if you get to see them grow into men while at KU.

I disagree. Athletically he was really good. And at the beginning he obviously had no clue what he was doing out there but figured some stuff out by the end. No reason to believe his skills couldn’t grow into his athleticism.

Or these.

Weirdest offseason I can remember. A week or two ago, we were worried about having enough scholarships for all the players Self's pursuing. Now I'm wondering how they're going to fill the last couple scholarships.

So the first guy we lose that stings you sour on it?

The portal giveth, the portal taketh away.


We'll be fine.

Its GOOD for us. Doesn't mean I can't like it

Outside of Juan -

how bad is this defense going to be next year?

Since we have schollies still available even after Mgbako are we in the running for any back up defensive first centers?

The worst defensive team of the Self era (2018, 47th in adjusted defensive efficiency) won the conference by two games and made the FF. If we can score, it probably won't matter.

How great was it this year? McCullar was nails, Jalen was fine. But Dick certainly didn’t guard and outside Udeh our bench didn’t guard a soul

And KJ is back obv so he should be the same

This is correct. Self can coach up the defense, especially when he has a deeper bench and young guys with fresh legs.

We’ll be fine. Land Mgbako tomorrow, and this is a national champion contender. Probably already is.

We are already the #1 team in the nation. And it’s a legit #1 without adding any more top shelf talent.

Glass half empty guy, eh?

Why are you even assuming this will be a bad defensive team? Dickinson may not be a great pick and roll defender, but even he averages a couple blocks per game.

I don't know about that. I wouldn't doubt that Self could get the current roster to the overall 1 seed, but there are other rosters that are up there.

But they're not done. Mgbako will commit tomorrow, and hopefully they'll add at least one more decent player.

Mgbako and a decent bench big who can defend is all we need from here.

Even if that bench big is just a Lightfoot caliber player, that’s enough. Just need a guy who can play 10+ minutes without being a liability.

Not at all.

It was an observation.

Should’ve kept Cam then. He could’ve served that role as bruiser

I’d rather have someone who can jump.

My only memory of Cam is when he cost Pablo all that money against Indiana lol

Ok but we are not getting anyone good with the offer of 8mpg

And at least he knew the system and could avoid making dumb turnovers

Honestly athleticism was not Cams issue, it was Jalens. Cam could dunk easily.

I have never seen a stiffer basketball player on a KU team. He simply could not dribble in a contested lane vs D1 competition.

I would suggest watching the few games Cam actually got into again then. He was maybe the worst athlete I’ve ever seen actually getting any minutes on a Self team (which is likely why Self didn’t give him many).

Not sure how u could tell in limited minutes. He was a prototypical offensive guy with horrid defense and lack of lateral quickness

He was a waaaaay better athlete than Jalen Wilson. Jalen wishes he was athletic Cam. Cam has a weird bosy type and weird game. Decent vert and jumping terrible quickness

Jalen is craft af. Best footwork Ive ever seen at KU. Terrible athlete

Yeah, this isn’t even close to accurate. Wilson was a fine athlete by NCAA standards. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to defend at the level Self needed him to for years.

Martin couldn’t even get on the floor whatsoever on a team with no bench precisely because he was the worst athlete on the team.

How many dunks did Wilson have last year? Wilson is one of the smartest players Ive ever seen.

The only reason Jalen isn't a lotto pick is because hes a god awful athlete

There’s more to being athletic than dunks. And I would say Jalen Wilson being unable to shoot efficiently from distance or drive to his left whatsover has a lot more to do with his not being a lottery pick.

Jalen is one of the worst athletes Self has ever had play the 4

Nah. Although even if he was, he's still not Cam Martin.

And here I thought we had something from Mgbako with all these posts

I mean, if Jalen Wilson somehow ever played in the NBA, he'd definitely be one of the worst athletes in the league. But at the college level? He's more than fine in that regard.

That'll be at 5 central.

Indiana.

Damn. That sucks.

He’ll at least have a short drive home when KU beats Indiana by 20+ again this year.

Mark Cuban can go **** himself. Stole Mgbako out from under us

Self was at a donor event this afternoon and said “today is gonna be a good day”. We just got fleeced.

Assistant coach that I play in golf league with confirmed Mgbako on Wednesday night. The entire staff expected him to announce KU.

You gotta think several of these kids are just listing certain programs to up their NIL deals.

I’d expect more in the future.

Yep.

They been doing that for the last 10-15 years too. Every kid starts out with KU, UK, UNC, Duke on their lists for the financial competition.

Well yeah, but I imagine it will be a bit more blatant and public now.

I’m pretty sure something similar happened with Romeo Langford a few years back. That was Indiana too.

And Kaleb Tarejesweiskeiisidoswi

Guess Indiana upped their offer at the very end. We may never recover from this one.

Or when RJ Hampton used us to get more money from that Australian team

What is that rich guy Booth doing with his billions if not spending on directing college basketball recruits to KU?

They found a way to get money donated from Mark Cuban to lure him to Indiana within the last few days. Word is it’s a nice chunk of change. Kids are gonna go to the highest bidder. It is what it is.

I heard Mgbako and Woodson really hit it off.

But I’m sure the money helped.

One thing I'm wondering about is how Dajuan Harris feels about Hunter making like 10x more than him. Hes busted his ass 3 years. Won a natty. And probably barely scrapes the surface in NIL compared to HD and other big time frosh like Mgbako would have got. Has to be frustrating

It was over when Cuban followed his instagram

Are you being sarcastic? I was pissed about the last-second switcheroo, but I don’t think missing on one freshman that they’d recruited for two weeks is going to kill the program’s momentum.

This team would likely be damn good if the season started today, and they still have three scholarships to give. Personally, I think this could end up being a blessing in disguise. It might force them to pivot to Kaluma or Grant Nelson, both of which have a good chance to be better than Mgbako next season, I think. It also might allow Marcus Adams to get a lot more minutes. Adams apparently thinks he’s a OAD. And he might even be right. He’s been killing it lately.

Mgbako will most likely have a decent but unspectacular freshman year and bail. Would’ve been a nice piece to have but not a necessity. Plus, there’s always the chance that he’s another Grimes. A guy who badly underperforms but is given a million opportunities due to his hype and potential.

I’m certain he was being sarcastic.

We really just need another proven shooter and defensive big. Mgbako could have filled that role as the proven shooter, but he’s out.

Even if we just get the equivalent of like a Jalen Coleman Lands and a Jamari Traylor, that’s enough.

We’ve got a great rotation as it is. Self never really plays more than 8 deep anyway. I’d just like to see us have another guy to defend the post and rebound if Dickinson and/or Adams have foul trouble and one more guy who can make a couple 3’s in a tight game without being a liability on the court.

As it sits today, I’d guess this is our rotation:

Harris
Morris or Elmarko
Timberlake
KJ Adams
Dickinson

Marcus Adams
Morris or Elmarko
Chris Johnson or McDowell

KJ is the back up 5 when Marcus Adams plays the stretch 4.

Yeah, this is an easy top 5 team as is and a 1 or 2 seed as usual. I trust Self will find others of quality (although perhaps not Mgbako's quality) to fill the remaining spots.

Grant Nelson would be a nice fit.

He could also provide outside shooting. He shot like 35% from 3 a couple years ago, but that percentage has gone down.

Unlike Udeh, you could play Nelson at the 4 next to Dickinson or at the 5.

I heard we had made contact with Aziz Bandaogo.

I think he presents the Udeh problem though. He wouldn’t really play the 4 next to Dickinson, so he’d just play in relief. His minutes would be very limited, but he’s a big time shot blocker.

He's probably more likely to accept that role though, as an unheralded recruit from Utah Valley. He'd probably be ecstatic to just have a role on a top team.

If so, I’m in.

Harris, Adams, and Aziz could lock teams down late in close games.

Papa Kante decommited from Michigan. We weren’t in on home before, but that’s another potential option.

Lol Michigan a bunch of broke asses

Always said if i was a rapper I’d call myself Papa Cap

Michigan's NIL sponsors are putting everything into football (I think they might even be more focused on hockey than basketball). Their basketball program is going to go down the tubes, especially with Howard at HC.

What’s up KU boys? Touching dicks on a Saturday and giggling like usual?

Not only do we have an incredible basketball season to look forward to - One actually having play in the NCAA tournament in the end. But we also get to look forward to a season of Football, with a real football team. How's life as a Wichita St fan treating you? Will you make the tourney this year? Or any talks of football being recreated at your shit school, in your shit town?

Didn't think so. STFU

If ChiefaRoo posts in this thread again, we will accept that as confirmation that he has a micro penis

KU went 6-7 last year and wasn’t really that good.

Basketball? Well thanks for asking WSU has a new coach and is loading up a new talented roster as we speak. NIL is strong and I anticipate a return to the National rankings for the Shockers.

Six wins last season is six more than you've had in 37 or so years.

Confirmed.

Micro? Well your Mom/sister/wife couldn’t wrangle it down… just sayin’

Ladies and Gentlemen, we got him

You’re right. Hard seltzer on me … but I won’t touch dicks with you no matter how many times you ask.

You guys are alright. I like most of you….
Except the dick touching part. Keep that to yourselves.

What more do you have to do to confirm you have a micropeen

Its ok. I get it. Its how you cope. May I suggest taping a banana to it

Joel Embiid is the embodiment of Jayhawk basketball.