KU ROSTER 2026-27
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Regarding his bad game against Michigan State, I agree that him only having one game against P5 competition last year is a bit concerning. However, there are a couple of things that should be noted. Michigan State had the best defensive point guard in the country last year in Jeremy Fears. Struggling against him is not the same as struggling against an average P5 defense. Also, that was early in the season and Toledo fans seem to unanimously agree that Blyden got better and better throughout the season. Who knows how late-season Blyden would have performed against MSU.
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@Jayhawk_69 I'm not suggesting putting too much stock in the MSU game - more that he simply did not have to go against high major competition the entire season.
The question is whether his skills/numbers will translate as well against bigger, more athletic guards? Apart from scoring or distributing, can he defend 6'5" guys who have 20+ lbs on him?
Again, the track record generally and for us specifically suggests no. Have any of our mid-major transfers matched their former school stats? Mayo and Council close, but others have not with most barely getting off the bench.
I do hope that Blyden is the exception...
Btw - Blyden and Dawes get us up to #32 in the 247 transfer rankings - behind 5 other B12 schools (and with virtually nothing coming back).
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I agree it is possible that Blyden does not adjust well to playing with us. However, he does have the tools to: good shooting stroke, quickness, and court vision.
As for our transfer class rating, worrying about that right now is like criticizing a cake for tasting bad when you haven't even put it in the oven yet.
I'm not all sunshine and rainbows about our upcoming season. It might not go well at all but I think we need to hold our horses instead of panicking.
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Feeling more and more like we will have Mbiya and Reeves rotation at the 5. Don’t love it but if it allows you to add Stokes and Miller I’m cool with it.
Still fear this team doesn’t have a true PG, but maybe because I’m just not that high on Kinney.
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Why are we interested in Miller??? Can't be as a starter??? <11ppg scorer for Okie State, a second division team. In 2 B12 tournament games he is was 1-11. In a first round blowout loss in the NIT, he scored 8 pts. 6'5" but doesn't rebound - <3pg. Not a distributor - <2pg. Simply because he's affordable?
Mbiya/Reeves at the 5? Dawes at the 4. Stokes, if we get him at the 3? Kinney and Blyden as the 2 starting guards? Where does Kohl fit in? Miller off the bench? Young and small. Not sure that line-up can defend anyone. Relying on another freshman to score the ball? That's when I would start panicking....
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Let's say for the sake of argument that we land Stokes, Miller, and Reeves and nobody else who is good enough to crack the rotation. That gives us a likely starting 5 of:
Kinney
Blyden
Stokes
Dawes
Reeveswith Rosario, Miller, and Mbiya as key bench players.
I think that leaves us with a team that is above average on both offense and defense but is elite at neither (should be top 25 in both but not top 10). It would be a step-up from last year but still not good enough to truly challenge for a title. My guess is a 2 or 3 seed and 2nd or 3rd place in the conference. Hopefully we do add a little more firepower than that. If we get one really good wing AND one really good big we are in business.
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Reeves isn't close to be a P5 starter-caliber big. Couldn't get off the bench in 3 years at Duke and Clemson. Averaged 5 minutes per game year prior at Clemson. Just 21 minutes per game for the Cougars. Okay against lower tier competition, but that's it. Have a place near Charleston and follow the Cougars. No way should he be starting for the Jayhawks - at best a 10-12 minutes back-up against B12 competition.
Sadly, I don't see that line-up being any improvement over the past 3-4 years - arguably worse. One starter who would have P5 experience...
ESPN assessment on "blue bloods" today:
"Work to do: Kansas has a massive amount of work to build a roster that can compete next season. The Jayhawks' top target is No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes, who they appeared on track to land until a recent trip to Kentucky cast doubt on their status as the front-runners.
Kansas has hosted a long list of players from the portal, although Terrence Hill Jr. (Tennessee) and DeSean Goode (Miami) have committed elsewhere. Charlotte big man Anton Bonke was on campus last week, as was Utah transfer Terrence Brown, though UNC appears to be the favorite for Brown.
With Blyden committed, Self needs a scorer with size on the wing. Vyctorius Miller (Oklahoma State) is among the players on the Jayhawks' list for that role. In the frontcourt, Cincinnati transfer Moustapha Thiam -- one of the best bigs left in the portal -- is among their targets, though he is visiting Michigan this week."
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I’m getting higher on Reeves. The advanced numbers are really good. He led the SoCon in PER, TS%, Rebound%, Block%, ORtg, WS/40, and OBPM.
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Same here. I just looked at his game log and it looks like something clicked with him about halfway through the season. The second half of the season he was elite but his season stats are dragged down by a poor first half
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@Jayhawk_69 16/10/2 his last 13 games, 12 as a starter. That changes things for sure.
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But we do have to wonder whether it was a legit breakthrough or a Linsanity situation
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Very excited for Blyden actually. I expect big things out of him. Analytics put him as a top 20 ish overall portal get. We will see if he translates up seamlessly
