Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - 5-STAR EXIT: Javon Bardwell DECOMMITS from Kansas - Could Bill Self & Jayhawks Turn to Tre White?

Starting point is 00:00:00 KU lost a five-star, J-Varvon Bardwell decommits, but could it mean that another Jayhawk could be coming to town who had some good success this past season. You are Locked-on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's going on? Derek Johnson here, this is Locked-on Jayhawks, and on today's edition of the show, we're breaking down J-Var-Bardwell, decommitting from Kansas reclassifying what it means for KU.

Starting point is 00:00:38 Could there be good news on the horizon that this is kind of, I don't know, a warning has a negative connotation, but hinting about for KU to come. So let's start right there because it is unfortunate. I like Javon Bardwell's game. And the news is that Javon Bardwell, who is a five-star, top 20 recruit in the class of 2027, has announced he's going to reclassify, which that would potentially be big news for Kansas, because KU has two scholarships open.

Starting point is 00:01:06 So it'd be like, oh, is he could reclass? It's like the, if you've ever seen Star Wars, I guess you don't actually have to have seen Star Wars to know the Star Wars meme where it's like, is it this? And it's continued like Padmeh looking at Anakin. And it's like, it's like, no. So Javon Bardwell reclassified, right? He reclassified to join KU?

Starting point is 00:01:26 And it's like, oh, no, he just reclassified and decommitted. He said, quote, he posted on, or I think this came from Paul Bion and Cardi from ESPN. I have nothing but respect and appreciation for Kansas and its staff. Coach Bill Self, coach Tony Bland, and coach Jeremy Case. Thank you for believing in me and for the genuine relationships you developed with me and my family throughout this process. I'm excited about what lies ahead and my recruitment is now officially reopened as a member of the class of 2026. So there's that little nugget about, you know, that part of it, right? And it stinks because like I said, I mean, this is a five-star career. He's a top 20 player in the country. He made a big deal when he

Starting point is 00:02:02 committed for good reason right um he was six foot six really really athletic wing guard type put up over 17 points over six rebounds per game at oTE uh 45 percent from the floor now the three point shooting was not to the liking that you want only 22 percent from three um you know 68 percent at the foul line i i do wonder if the three point shooting was better the shooting i guess just in general was better does this ever happen you know like for instance if giovon bardwell even shoots 32% from three what does that make him as a prospect instead of being you know top 20 prospect to see a top 10 prospect potentially and then at that point if you're kansas or you like moving mountains to make sure he joins your team reclassifying i don't know i guess that's an answer that will never really know but you know i do kind of understand why this is happening even though like i said i liked bardwell's game and i seem to be somebody who thought that he could have come in and um at least competed with guys like Cole Rosario and Dennis Parker to see who wound up the best and who wound up in the rotation. Would he have been facing an uphill battle against Rosario who had similar, if not slightly better OTE numbers and has a year in the system?

Starting point is 00:03:15 Yes. Would he have been facing an uphill battle against Dennis Parker Jr.? Who's an older player and has played a role at the Powerful Lout League? Yes. But that doesn't mean he couldn't have done it. Again, it's a five-star crew. Like you don't necessarily count those guys out. But I get it for this reason, right?

Starting point is 00:03:30 even before we get into the conversation of what is k u going to use these final two scholarships on do they have a chance to get somebody like tray white who would be at his position right another wing coming in it's an uphill battle for for playing time because like i said you just have to even if you beat out one of those two guys risario or dennis parker if you lose to the other you still might be the eighth man and then if you lose to both of them you might be the ninth or tenth man so uphill battle for playing time because the five and five is ongoing um his year counts against him regardless. So whether he played this final year at the high school level, at the prep level,

Starting point is 00:04:07 or he decided to come to college enrolling here in a couple weeks, this year is going to count against him from his collegiate perspective. Add to it that OTE folded, shut down, makes it a little more difficult for him to find a spot, right? And so you get to this point where basically he's in a position where, hey, if I'm losing this year anyway, my home basically, I can't play there again. I want to go somewhere and start making money and start getting playing time.

Starting point is 00:04:37 Well, it's a little bit harder for KU to offer playing time. And then if KU is able to get, you know, a Melvin counselor, Trey White back, it gets even more complicated with giving out playing time for him. And so you end up in a situation where, you know, it's better for him to where he can, you know, pick somewhere else to go to and try to ball out. No, who knows? I mean, hopefully this is, hopefully this is not. a burnt bridge. Hopefully this is a, you know, good peace offering and sending away. Like,

Starting point is 00:05:04 who's the say, Javon Bardwell doesn't go to some school and, you know, show pretty good things? And then KU next year's like, hey, we'll double what you're making. Come here under the transfer portal, right? But I do think it's funny because because there were a lot of people who were worried about, you know, oh, you can't take him as a reclassify because what if he comes in as a reclassify player doesn't play and decides, oh, I'm going to transfer away? And you're like, well, we sure just kept them in the class of 2027. Well, now the irony in all of that is that he does reclassify, but he's not coming to KU anyway, right?

Starting point is 00:05:37 I think the key for me is this. Does KU know that they can't take him? Or did they just have to keep pushing it off till his camp was tired of waiting? Here's what I mean by that. In fact, let's take a break and then I'll explain what that means a little bit more and what some of the options are for KU. This is locked on Jayhawks. Our episode of the show is brought to you by Fanduals Sportsbook,

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Starting point is 00:07:15 Play ball and swing for the fences on Fandul, an official partner of the MLB and the Lockdown Podcast Network. Okay, so what exactly does this mean for KU? What other options can they go to? And what I was basically saying there is if this is a situation of KU knows something, if this is the Brian Windhorse meme of I'm just doing a bunch of you know me this is probably like horrible podcasting to describe a meme but nonetheless um of what's going on right is this a situation where k you said hey it might be in your best interest like if you if you really are wanting to reclassify

Starting point is 00:07:51 it might be in your best interest to go somewhere else otherwise we'll keep you committed in the class of 2027 because we think we're going to be able to land this player and if you want to you know if you want to say it's like Trey White to fill in the blank or you want to say it's somebody else, that would be good news for KU if they're basically saying, hey, you know, the reason we're comfortable letting you go is because we know we have Trey White for another year. And I get it, you know, you might be thinking, oh, but what's more valuable? Five potential years of Dvonne Bardwell or one year of Trey White? Well, you don't know you're going to get five years of Javon Bardwell. He could very easily have come on and transferred away. It could be one in one

Starting point is 00:08:30 year anyway. So you take the guy that's going to help you more right away. And that's just unfortunately kind of how things work now. But the flip side of it is, and I could see this being the situation, if you're Javon Bardwell and you're telling, you know, KU and Bill Self, hey, we want to reclassify. We want to join this team. And Bill Self in Kansas, they keep responding like, listen, we're open to it, but we just need this court stuff to play out. We need to see because if Trey White and Melvin counsel both get eligible, we need to take both those guys and we need to keep you in the class of 20 and more days pass and more days pass and more days pass. And if you're Javon Bardwell,

Starting point is 00:09:09 you're getting close to your high school year starting. You're getting close to when you would need to enroll in your college classes. And you're going, coach, I'm sorry, I'd love to keep waiting, but I can't anymore. I can't wait on these court cases in the NCAA to figure out what the heck they're doing. I've got to just make a decision. And then you come to this. That's kind of my thought and guess of what would probably be happening there, right? So what option are left for KU at this point in time. Well, there are plenty of players emerging seemingly, you know, every few days with some new court cases and stuff

Starting point is 00:09:42 that are trying to gain eligibility or are gaining eligibility from the NCAA with basically, you know, suing to win a retroactive 5 and 5. So there are expanding options on that front for what you could go to. I think the most obvious and most common ones that you would look at would be the guys that you already have in-house, I say, because it's guys who just played for you or somebody you already have a commit from. Mahalo Musa Kitch, who's already committed, but you don't know if you're going to be able to get him eligible. Trey White, who played for you last year and Melvin Council who played for you last year, right?

Starting point is 00:10:15 You still have two scholarships open. Could you get two of those players, you know? And like I said, if this is a world where not getting Javon Bardwell means that you're lined up to get Trey White, as much as I really like Javon Bardwell's game, you make that trade off because Trey White would come in and be one. of the probably, I don't know, 15, 20 best players in the Big 12 next season. All right. So what kind of impact does this have, though, beyond 2026, that is, you know, 2027 and beyond?

Starting point is 00:10:45 What does it mean for KU? We'll get to that next. Thanks to join us on Locked on Jayhawks. And what is the 2027 impact for the Jvonne Bardwell news here? Well, for one, it gives you one less item that you can kind of point to headed into that 2027 season where you felt like, you know, you were going to have all this time to get ready. I don't know, just having something in your back pocket. It was kind of nice to potentially have, right?

Starting point is 00:11:17 So that's no longer a thing. I will say this, because of the five and five, it kind of lessens the blow for, I don't know, losing a what could be a key player in 2027. And as much as we talk about Javon Bardwell potentially, you know, he would have faced an uphill battle. Could he have been the seventh. for KU this year. Yeah, he could have been, but it's also possible he would have been the 10th man. I don't know how much that would change going into the following season because think about it. Taylin Kinney, Leroy Blighton, Keanu, Kianna Doz, Cole Rosario, Dennis Parker, Davion Adkins, Paul and Biel.

Starting point is 00:11:57 Like all of those guys are guys who can come back for another year beyond just this year, right? Because of the 5 and 5, Dennis Parker and Keanu Dawes can both have not just this upcoming season, but another season after. And potentially those guys could be in front of you, right? So that complicates things a little bit. Now there will be more players in the transfer portal potentially. So it does lessen the blow a little bit there. The question is like how much money were you going to be giving to Bardwell? And what can you do with that with some of the other, you know, 2027 recruits that you're kind of in on at this point in time?

Starting point is 00:12:29 I think the big question is it'll be interesting to monitor the career of Javon Bardwell. Obviously, you're hoping it's not another, well, it's in. interesting because if you if if I say I'm hoping it's not then it's like I'm wishing it will on the kid and I don't want that but um you know you're looking at the situation that just happened at Alabama with le baron phylon where you lose him and he goes and balls right away I don't think that's going to happen I think phylon was probably a bit more of complete of a player I think bard well's lack of shooting um is going to make things a little bit more of a it won't be as smooth of a transition as as Phylon coming into college.

Starting point is 00:13:06 But like point being, you know, that'll be the big question. You know, come 20, 28 and beyond, if this dude turns into a star down the road, are you going to be regretting it? I will say this. If you have success right away, if you do use this scholarship to get a key player, whether it's somebody back like Trey White or somebody else, and let's say you make a final four, you know, at that point you can't complain no matter what Javon Bartwell turns into because that's what you're kind of going for at this point of time.

Starting point is 00:13:32 And especially given Bill Self's lack of. uncertainty of how many more years is he going to be the coach? Would he even be there to coach Duvonne Bardwell in 2027? You know, would you just get a new coach and he would have decommitted anyway? That adds another kind of question mark to this where it's like, again, I would have preferred Javon Bardwell to stay committed. I would have liked to even see him reclassify, you know, but in a world where you could potentially get counsel and Trey White, you have to take those and I can understand for both parties involved why this ended up being the way it is. All right, that'll do for this episode of Lockdown, Jayhawks.

Starting point is 00:14:05 You can find our show anywhere podcast, including on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. See you next time.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - 5-STAR EXIT: Javon Bardwell DECOMMITS from Kansas - Could Bill Self & Jayhawks Turn to Tre White?

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