For God's sake... let them out!

I grimaced reading how they think they are keeping college sports alive. They have been perhaps the single worst culprit for tearing college sports down!

https://www.foxsports.com/articles/cfb/could-the-sec-really-break-away-commish-says-conversations-are-real-but-thats-not-what-they-want

@approxinfinity said in Darryn Peterson:

I have a feeling passing on Peterson for Dybantsa, who will be an All Star, will not age well.

You could be right. I always heard that DPs game was a perfect fit for the NBA, more than Dybantsa or Boozer. I think this will really show through in summer league, where no one plays defense or even knows what defense is. Watch DPs highlights. Looks like high school defense against him. It's like he went back to high school. Let's pass judgment after he makes it through a real season. Defense starts happening in late spring. Also... can he play through injuries? That same question is valid for all 3 comparison guys. It should be fun watching these guys translate their game to the league!

@bskeet Yes... would have loved his defense. But we might improve at the 5 on offense!

@stoptheflop said in Darryn Peterson:

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stoptheflop
about 3 hours ago

I saw an article pointing out Darryn's low 2.2 assists per game as a big negative for NBA purposes. But, we know that's not all on him because all the KU players just stood around when DP had the ball and I don't think I saw any type of offensive sets run while DP had the ball.

True... but DP could have hit them a few times while they were opened and encouraged them to try to get open. Everyone was at fault.

It points to poor communication. Even though DP was out for many games, it's hard to believe we had this many games and the guys couldn't communicate and click better.

I point the finger at Self. He overhyped DP. It made the other guys feel inferior. And DP is a cool kid that wasn't about ego. There should have been better connection!

What position where DP goes in the draft is usually more about what teams get to pick first and what are their needs. Or a team that wants DP badly might not be at the top of the draft choosing so will trade for him. Those details have already started with teams. DP could go first and then be traded immediately.

@FarmerJayhawk

I don't know how much I even believe that number. We just landed another recruit today and it didn't seem like we still had NIL available if it was only $14 mil.

@FarmerJayhawk

Sounds logical. But why is everyone throwing around this number of $14 mil NIL budget we have this year?

I was just reading about Louisville's high reliance of private NIL for their basketball program. It looks like their institutional direct-revenue sharing NIL for this campaign is $20.5 mil. I wonder what their total spending on NIL will be? Didn't we recently receive a huge donation directly to our AD from the Booth family? I'm reading that our rev share to basketball players is a little over $14 mil. I know we have the cost of the football stadium dampening our balance sheet but this could be Self's last year and it seems weird we don't show more appreciation.

I don't know... seems like we gave up on playing defense anyways after our last nattie. The exception being Flory. Even Flory didn't go after every ball. Granted, he was also trying to stay out of foul trouble.

@wissox83 said in KU ROSTER 2026-27:

BBN a rare breed?

"Rare" doesn't imply quality.... just uniqueness... including bad!

I could be way off base here... but I have a feeling Self hasn't shown his hand yet. I've heard all the rumors we have maxed out on our $14-$15mil budget (if that is the amount). It just makes no sense Self would come back for this year with that budget... a budget limiting us to a middle-of-the-pack roster. Maybe we need the current drama to play out a bit more so we can get a late donor or two to kick in some big bucks. We could do some real damage with another $5mil to spend. There are plenty of nice pieces left. I wouldn't mind pairing Momcilovic with Stokes. Imagine Stokes hard drives and pass outs to Milan for the easy trey. My biggest concern is at the 5.

Last, Self is the master of picking up someone special late in the game. He's done it before... but we do have to have financial incentive available.

I see Bashir as an option if we are down to spending very little. Isn't his defense in question?

I've been following the Stokes saga this entire time, and I do so by blogging both KU and UK ball. The BBN is a rare breed. They make Mizzou fans seem tame. Thank God our fanbase has a bit more class and also has limited fanaticism. The BBN tormented Stokes this entire time... piercing what limited privacy he had and harrassed him constantly. So when you read about Stokes smacking down UK, you know why. Stokes is a fighter! I know we were all high on our dawg last year, but Stokes is on a different level. Some say he goes overboard because he'll rip his own teammates and coaches a new one at times. It's the next level of dawg. Hopefully, we will all adjust to this level of scrap. Personally, I'm psyched! And my ex would never call Stokes a p*ssy! lol

@Jayhawk_69 said in KU ROSTER 2026-27:

Thought experiment: Would you rather Stokes commit or would you rather 5for5 pass and Tre White return?

How about both?

I feel certain the Stokes decision will come down this week. Both UK and KU... the loser loses bigger now as the options dwindle.

@Kcmatt7 said in KU ROSTER 2026-27:

The issue is that this was supposed to be regulated but it basically hasn’t been. Collectives aren’t supposed to exist anymore.

Whole thing is a mess.

I don't think the NCAA is wise to step into regulating private NIL. The lawsuits will come and I don't see how this is their jurisdiction of control.

@MR11 said in KU ROSTER 2026-27:

Louisville is reported to be throwing stupid money around, so I don't know that it was ever feasible to get Flory back especially knowing he had one foot out the door already. Definitely wasn't going to be

I've heard Louisville has the benefit of private NIL... something I mentioned in here last year and had few believers in it. Private NIL has not limits... no institutional $22 mil cap. Nothing. If we really want to compete, we need to create a private NIL structure and then go build a budget at least twice what we have now.

For some reason our basketball culture has been damaged. Why don't we have situations like this:

I like PF Allen Graves. He's not outrageously athletic, but the kid can play. It would be costly NIL, because he could stay in the draft, but I think he comes back for another year. I know we signed Dawes... but their styles are completely different and in most games, we can play without a footer in the paint.

@wissox83 Yes.. we "rent a player" for one year periods. But doesn't that mean we have an opportunity to win them over as true Jayhawks in that one year? From this last year, I zero in on Melvin... that guy acted more like a Jayhawk than many 4-year, old school players. Wish he had another year of eligibility... not only in hopes he would stay a Jayhawk but test if he was that influenced by Kansas during his stay. We will never know the answer to that one.

CBB has changed. We don't have any other option except to accept it or leave. I was still attracted to March Madness... I think I just have to recondition my thinking to build my fanaticism around a 1-year clock only. I will accept supporting our team on a 12-month clock. Then, hopefully, continue the same practice in following years.

Kansas... just like Kentucky... should have long since hired GMs.

Simple Jayhawk poll:

1. We are taking our time on signings because we are being very careful to coordinate a team with chemistry.

2. Our budget dollars have to stretch out enough to pay at least 8 players, so we are thrift shopping.

3. We are screwed! Half the good recruits are gone, and we will have to piecemeal together a team with marginal talent.

I'm still hoping for #1... but I am nervous.