Perspective

As we all know by now Kansas missed out on landing Randle today. I don't think that Wiggins is going to come to Kansas either so there is a really good chance that the recruiting class is set. Although it would have been great to have either of them playing for the Jayhawks next year, I still really like the team that Kansas is going to have next year. They are bringing back Ellis, Traylor, Tharpe, White III, hopefully Rio Adams if the whole transfer rumors were untrue, and someone like Landen Lucas who is a bit of an unknown along with whatever Justin Wesley can contibute.

Kansas is bringing in Frankamp who will probably be a two guard with the ability to handle the ball, Embiid who is raw but has a high ceiling from what people say, Selden who is the most athletic player Kansas has coming in, Greene who is a highly rated shooting guard, and Mason who will push for playing time at the point.

I don't know what the starting lineup will look like but I figure Tharpe is the point guard, Ellis is a starter along with probably Selden, and the other two positions will be up for grabs. Kansas will be very young next year with their most experienced player being Tharpe, but I expect they will be very good at some point in the year. The perspective I named the thread after is the fact that the starting five at Kansas next year has a really good chance of being the starting five the year after that. I like the way that sounds.

Yeah, this has every indication of being a "down year"....but we've said that practically every year Self has been here and it hasn't quite worked out that way (that's a good thing!).  One of the hallmarks of Self teams is that most players are 3-4 year players.  Admittedly, BMac probably came along at a bad time given he was playing with 4 seniors but the rest of the "supporting cast" has some serious potential.

Tharpe is going to be good.  He showed some good signs this year and will continue to build no doubt.  Ellis is coming on strong.  I see him just like a Shady clone...slow to come on but once he does, which he's doing, he's gonna be a double double machine. 

Traylor is just an athlete period.  Pie in the sky he's gonna be a combination of Young and Darnel Jackson; guy that does the dirty work that can be a significant contributor on offense.

White III has a stupid good stroke....once he gets a little more work in the gym, he good bring a lot of what BMac brings...not that level but even a fraction of that would be awesome.

After that there are some ?'s but like I started off, Self seemingly finds away every year to put out a first class team!     

The great thing about recruiting is there is no exact science on who is or isn't a great player.  Coaches and teams often make players better.  I like how Self is recruiting right now.  He puts kids on the court that bust their tails and player for the name on the front of the jersey.  Who really knows if Randle or Wiggins are that great.  Its a gamble.  We miss some, but since the whole Selby thing, I don't really buy into alot of big name recruits.  I really never did, but that even made things more apparent.

We have good players here returning.  Ellis, Traylor, Tharpe, Adams and White are going to be solid players.  With what we are adding we are loaded with some really diverse players and talented ones at that.

"I like how Self is recruiting right now.  He puts kids on the court that bust their tails and player for the name on the front of the jersey."

You do realize that Slef is recuiting all thes one and done players. He just hasn't landed as many of them. To say he is just going after lower ranked guys that play "for the name on the front of the jersey" is simply ignoring the facts. Trust me, he'd much RATHER be landing a good chunk of the elite talent he has been recruiting. But he has doner a great job wioth whatever roster he has started the year with. LEt's just drop the dramatic focus on some big difference in what Self is doing.

"We miss some, but since the whole Selby thing, I don't really buy into alot of big name recruits.  I really never did, but that even made things more apparent."

You'd but into them a lot more if we had landed more of them. It's easy to say "I don't want those guys anyways" once they aren't coming here, but to think we're better off without someone like Randle is foolish. If he changed his mind and came to KU you would be elated and Ku would be even more of a threat to do well than they already are.

We still have an excellent team for next year, no doubt. But the fact is that we ARE thin up front and we need to get a nother body up there to contribute. If that body happens to be an excellent player, that's even better. Self and the coaches will find someone. No way are they finished. Plenty of time to go.

Most unemotional, objective post I have seen from you twocoach.

We still have an excellent team for next year, no doubt. But the fact is that we ARE thin up front and we need to get a nother body up there to contribute. If that body happens to be an excellent player, that's even better. Self and the coaches will find someone. No way are they finished. Plenty of time to go.

What do you think the chances are of the KU coaching staff looking at and possibly trying to pick up a <gulp> ...juco transfer?  I wound't be a big fan of another Jeff Graves but you do see occasional juco success stories like Pierre Jackson with Baylor this year.  We wouldn't find a Randle type player in juco but we are so thin next year with so much uncertainty, I wonder if the coaching staff might be considering this just for another big body that might be able to contribute.

I think that's a real possibility Gilded.

I don't see why everyone thinks that Kansas is going to be so thin at forward next year. From an offensive production standpoit the frontline may even be better, although the Jayhawks will miss Withey's defensive presence which is something you can't replace. Kansas is going to be four deep at the frontline position next year which is exactly how deep they are this year. Ellis will be more productive offensively than Withey, Traylor will be at least as productive as Young, Embiid is a bit of an unknown but is a high level talent, and Wesley can give as much as Traylor has this year with a player like Lucas in reserve as an unknown.

It's not perfect, but it's not awful either. The mood of the message board has become so doom and gloom because Randle picked Kentucky. Sure it would have been nice to see him at Kansas and he would have filled a need, but I still think that Kansas will be just fine next year without him. The last two years I have thought to myself, what is Kansas going to do next year and look what has happened. I felt worse about those two teams then I do about next years squad. I'm not saying that they are going to be a top 10 team or win the Big 12 (it has to end sometime), but I'm saying they have just as much chance to be both of those as they have the last two years. The thing that worries me most is the inexperience not the pieces of the puzzle.

Kansas can't replace what McLemore has brought offensively and Kansas can't replace what Travis and Jeff brought defensively, but that doesn't mean that the Jayhawks won't be good just different is all. Kansas has the number 3 recruiting class right now with the possibility of picking up a few more players. I for one feel pretty good about that.

I will amend my earlier statement to say that Kansas will be thin up front, but no thinner than they have been the last few years. That was the point I was trying to make.

Thinner than Kevin Young?

Well, we'll see. it should be another fun year with another fun batch of players, that's for sure. I am a big Traylor fan as a person. Perhaps he will answer the call now that he will be given the opportunity to step to the next level. He's got a LOT of work to do over the summer. Considering how much he has already overcome just to be where he is now, I think he can do it. I am certainly rooting for him to do it.

The ultimate wildcards will be Lucas and Embiid. Self has talked up Lucas and seems to be pleased with his progress to date, so I am guardedly optimistic with him. And I am looking forward to seeing Embiid in person. He shot up the recruiting charts last year, so it will be fun to see why and to see just how bg a project he will be. If we get any quasi-dependable minutes out of these two next year KU will be in good shape.

And what a backcourt we will have. With Tharpe, Adams, Frankamp, Greene and Selden, we should have one of the best perimeter shooting teams we have had at KU in a long time. And we still have more schollys available. It will be exciting to see what happens in the remainder of the recruiting season.

Thinner than Kevin Young?

Thin is a reference to lack of proven depth with our bigs next year.  

I think it was Self who said not to long ago that the starting 5 are just now understanding their rolls. (I can't remember if it was before or after their 3 game Los in a row.) point being, I can see T-Rob potential in Traylor. KU is going to be fine. It's just a matter of time.

The last time Kansas had proven depth in the front line was when the Morris twins played. Who would have known that Robinson would mature into the player he did. I thought he was going to be good, but not that good. The same goes for Withey who has exceeded every expectation for what he would have been able to accomplish in his time at Kansas. It may not work out, Ellis may take a step back next year or someone could get hurt. All I'm saying is that next years situation is no different from what it has been for the last two years. That's why I'm not too concerned about it. We as fans will know by December whether we need to worry about it or not, but although I don't feel great about it I don't feel horrible either.

If I was going to worry about anything it is how young the team will be.

Right now, we have 3 bigs that are contributing.  Ellis was late to the party but he looks to have gained confidence and is hitting stride at the right time.

On day one of next season we have exactly one big who will be proven.

Sure there are a lotta "ifs" and "thens" with Traylor, Wesely, Embiid, and Lucas.  But what I'm going with is what we know right now.

Trob / Withey was deeper than what we have starting next season.

Withey didn't seriously contribute until late in the season, but T Rob was the kind of player that made up for lack of frontline depth. I agree that Kansas probably will not have a player that is going to be that dominant next year inside, but I still think that the depth situation is about the same. We have to remember that team had only Young and Wesley as their backups inside. Not only that but Kansas really wasn't sure how good Trob could be, he was far from proven just like Withey was far from proven this year. They both showed flashes of what they could do, but they didn't do it on a consistent basis.

I'm not trying to change your mind Gilded, and your opinion is no less valid than mine. I dig ditches for a living for goodness sake, and honestly I'm wrong about my analysis half of the time. I just really hop I'm right about this.

I'm not trying to change your mind Gilded, and your opinion is no less valid than mine. I dig ditches for a living for goodness sake, and honestly I'm wrong about my analysis half of the time. I just really hop I'm right about this.

no prob - we're just discussin'

I hope you're right too - would love to see Traylor become an offensive force! And Lucas / Embiid to surprise us all.

Well shazaam,  That'd be zero without Ellis or Traylor. Not much for discussion then right?