Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Decision Ahead: Kansas Awaits Taylen Kinney’s Choice | Will Bill Self Land the 2026 5-Star Guard?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Taylin Kenny, a five-star player in the class of 2026, is committing this Sunday. Some experts think that Kansas could be the school. We're going to break that down ahead of the big weekend for the Jayhawks. 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 to Eric Johnson here? This is a bonus episode of Locked on Jayhawks. Thanks for making it your first listen every day.

Starting point is 00:00:35 And I guess in this case, bonus episode, second listen every day. And thank you every day. We're catching each and every episode of the show, including our bonus episodes for you here. We've broken down the KU Cincinnati game at nauseam throughout the week here. Talking a little KU basketball in this bonus episode of the show is Taylon Kinney, who is a five-star recruit in the class of 2026. He's going to be announcing this weekend. That announcement will come on.

Starting point is 00:01:00 Sunday afternoon. And, you know, some experts are assuming that Kansas could be the school for Taylin Kenney. There were, I don't know, a week or two ago, like did some different, I don't know, people like on three, for instance, that gave crystal balls for Kansas, seemingly some of the scuttlebutt. Now, that doesn't guarantee things we've seen it before where it felt like, okay, a player, you know, is trending to KU, and then he picks another school. So you never know until they actually commit, but it does seem like Kansas has put them in a favorable decision. So he's going to make in his announcement on Sunday, September 28th, and he is the number one point guard on 24-7 sports. He is the 13th nationally rated player over on 24-7 sports as a five-star

Starting point is 00:01:43 crew. Now, if you look at the 24-7 composite, he is the number two point guard, still top 20 player there, but he's between Kansas, Arkansas, Indiana, Oregon, Kentucky, Louisville, I mean, who's who, as you would imagine, for the number one point guard in the class. It does seem like, I don't know, KU, maybe Arkansas, maybe Louisville, kind of distance themselves among the top. And, you know, KU was seen as somebody who was maybe on the outside looking in. Then they had their visit. And then some of the scuttlebutt kind of came in that the visit went so well that it put Kansas in at least a real shot to land this kid on Sunday. But he's a 6-1 point guard.

Starting point is 00:02:21 He's known as a strong scoring point guard as good pull-up game ability, drive-and-kick ability. and he's a physical player. He doesn't weigh the most in the world. He's 6-1, but he has 6-6-6-wing span. He knows how to use his body and use it physically. So what would this mean for KU? What if they get him? What if they don't?

Starting point is 00:02:40 And would this officially establish a pipeline for KU with overtime elite, which would be a pretty good place to have a pipeline with KU. We'll get to that in a second with Locked on Jayhawks. This bonus episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by Mazda. You can just move through life, or you can find the things that move you. It's your choice. You can choose to get out there, choose your people. You can choose to go for it.

Starting point is 00:03:04 Like, really, go for it. Just choose to do something that moves you. Mazda crafts cars for those who choose to do more than simply move. Mazda, move, and be moved. Thanks for joining us on this bonus episode of Locked on Jayhawks. Again, check out our episodes preview in the KU Cincinnati game. So what happens if KU lands, Taylor, and Kenya? what if they don't let's start with the good news uh if they do land him right i think automatically

Starting point is 00:03:31 you're looking to the roster in 2026 and um the expectation is obviously for darren peterson to be a one and done with how good he's expected to be okay so he would be gone melvin counsel junior i think technically like this is again where i get weird with like the could you make all the juco years not count because then technically could you argue melvin counsel should have another year but i know he's listed as a senior. So I'm just going to assume he's gone, even though, again, if you made that argument in court, if neither of his Jucco years counted, then technically he could, but again, I don't expect that to be the case. So counsel would be gone. Jaden Dawson's a senior. Trey White's a senior. Um, you have a six year senior in,

Starting point is 00:04:11 in G and Gala. The idea on Floyd Bedunga is going to, he's going to have a big enough season that he's going to be able to go pro after the season two. So now you're looking at the 2026 roster. And who knows, maybe a guy like Cole Rosario, if he breaks out and becomes starter does he become a one and done possibly for Kansas but you look to the 2026 to 2027 roster for KU and you start to get to like okay who's going to be the guy like Jamari McDowell can be back and Corbyn Allen can be back that year and stuff and it's like okay but those are more you know program type guys okay Paul and Bia could be back and whatever but like you get to a point where it's like okay maybe Colrosario is sophomore or something maybe it's

Starting point is 00:04:48 all Marco Jackson is a fourth year junior at that point in time but it's like who is the go-to option for next year's team when you look at it on paper. And the answer is you don't have to know right now because most of these rosters are going to be constructed via the transfer portal and via high school recruiting, which is just kind of getting rolling out for when these players are committing. But it's really nice that if you land this kid, you'll be able to feel like you have the answer to who is the guy on this team, who is the alpha guard on this team? And you feel like Taylin Kenny can come in and be another one of those stud freshman point guards that Bill self has had, just somebody else that you feel like would give you more coverage to

Starting point is 00:05:29 depending on what El Marco Jackson's going to look like this year. Because I've kind of said, I think the idea here would be, can El Marco give you enough this year, you know, whether it plays 20, 25 minutes per game? Can El Marco Jackson give you enough this year that you at least see flashes to where you go into the following season going, yeah, I'm ready for El Marco to play 32 minutes per game and he's going to be a stud? And if that doesn't happen, it gives you coverage. If not, if it does happen, then you feel.

Starting point is 00:05:52 even better because then you're like, oh, I think El Marco is going to be a stud and we got the number one point guard in the class. And then you're going to feel really good about your one two punch at the guard position. But it gives you another per. Like, that's the thing. As much as I think El Marco is going to show those flashes and I do think El Marco is going to take that jump and then we are going to be saying, hey, I think El Marco is going to be a really good player in 26, 27. There's not an obvious answer on the roster right now. Again, you have the transfer portal and high score recruiting, so plenty to be had of who is going to be the bucket getters. on the 2026 to 2027 roster.

Starting point is 00:06:26 And Kenny is definitely a guard that can get his and be a bucket getter. And that would be so important for KU. It also would get the class of 2026 rolling for KU, a class that seems to have very promising potential at this point for Kansas based on the fact of who they're having visits from, who they're talking to, who they're offering the hire of Tony Bland in the offseason. It seems like this has the potential to be a very good class.

Starting point is 00:06:50 This would get it rolling and start that momentum. The other thing is, is there a chance if KU lands him? Is that indicative that Bill Self will be back for another year? You know, as much as we heard that the health stuff, like, isn't going to impact him. I don't know. As a family, do you have this conversations that this could be your last year or not? And I don't know that that's my expectation at this point in time based on how Bill Self has responded to it. But is this just further proof?

Starting point is 00:07:14 Because if you're Bill Self and you're not going to be here the following year, why even bother going through, you know, all these recruiting visits with some of these guys? you want to leave the program in good standing, but theoretically, if he commits to you and then you retire, is he going to stay committed or is he going to go somewhere else? And I don't know, I guess if you have an internal hire, if it were Jock Vaughn at that point, then maybe you're setting him up for success. But point being, I don't know, maybe that's a better indication that Billsoff will be back for another year if you do land him. Now, if he doesn't, um, KU is still going to have a lot of available targets in the class. This is still early on. They're still going

Starting point is 00:07:48 have guys that they seem to be at least in striking distance with. It also means just different ways of, because I'd imagine to get Taylin Kenney probably takes a good amount of, you know, I'd say NIL, but really RevShare money to be able to bring him on. It just means moving and maneuvering money in different ways. But, you know, make no mistake. I don't want to make it like, oh, if they don't land him, they'll be fine. They still view the money in other ways. Like, yes, they will be fine. It's Kansas. Kansas will recover well. They'll find another good prospect. But will they find the number one point guard in the country? No. So it's like one of those things that's like, if he doesn't pick KU, it's not the end of the world. Time will go on. KU.

Starting point is 00:08:24 We'll find other good players. But it would still be a missed opportunity because the other good player you might get might be a good player. Taylor and Kenny could come in and be a great player. Wouldn't you rather have the great player? And Taylin Kinney has the opportunity to do that and be a really, really talented player. And if you're losing to, you know, we get caught up in all these things about, okay, well, what about the defense? What about the three-point shooting? And, you know, I do it too, obviously, right? But sometimes at the end of the day, the easiest way to do this thing, and I get it, there are other things that go into it too.

Starting point is 00:08:54 But do you have dudes? Do you have enough talent? And sometimes that's, you know, I certainly, again, we'll get ingrained in, oh, they don't have enough space scene or they don't. But at the end of the day, too, the team the last couple years didn't really have enough NBA talent on the roster. And that's what Kenny keeps going, right? You feel like Darren Peterson and Florey are both going to be NBA players on this year's team,

Starting point is 00:09:14 who are going to be the NBA players on next year. team, right? Is Florida going to be back? Is he not? That'll be kind of part of that. So Marco Jackson going to eventually be an NBA player. Is Colrosario? Will he be on the team? Is Samis Calderon? You know, guys like that? But Taylin Kinney, you feel like that would be the case? Get the talented guys and that Bill Self figured out from there. All right. So if KU does land Kenny, would this officially establish a pipeline with OT? We'll get to that next. Today's episode of LOJ is brought to you by DoorDash. It's almost the weekend. Time to look back and crown this week's MVP on Who Delivered.

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Starting point is 00:11:48 Again, Taylin Kinney commits this weekend. If he does pick KU, we'll have another bonus episode for that. If not, then on to the next one, I guess. So if KU does land Kinney, is OTE officially a pipeline for KU? These are all the players that Kansas has landed from overtime elite. That's what OTE stands for. It's basically the, it's like a professional prep league, so to speak, where basically like kids can go from being, okay, instead of playing.

Starting point is 00:12:15 you know, senior year of high school varsity basketball, I can go play against other future pros and high-level prospects and get recruited and get paid in some of these instances to do this sort of thing. So, Bryson Tiller was at O.T. Cole Rosario was at O.T. Semis Calderon was at O.T. So Kansas has three players on their roster, basically a quarter of their roster coming from O.T. I guess a little less than that. But especially, too, if you look at like guys, I don't know, it seems like Colrizareos Mies Calderon and Bryson Taylor are all players with bright futures at the very least for KU2. And now if you landed Kenny, you would be adding to that. And I first of all, like, is this a good place you want a pipeline for? It's interesting because typically you think of pipelines

Starting point is 00:12:58 as, you know, a state. Like, this is where you're breading your butter in buttering your bread, breading your butter in recruiting. And this is like a place that you consistently own and are finding really good recruits and are consistently bringing kids out of it and like it's it's almost fostering itself where like a younger player sees that kid go to your school and have success and it makes them want to go there right um you don't think of it in this instance is like a place where people come from around the country where it's not just but like that almost makes it better that almost makes it better that it's not just like a region that it's a a i don't know basketball league because you're basically getting a centralized basketball league where you would have a

Starting point is 00:13:42 pipeline, but it's some of the best players from across the country. And so you're basically already, by being in OTE, you know, not all of the best, some of the best prospects are still going to play high school. Some of the best prospects are going to go play prep school somewhere. But some of the best prospects, as we've seen, again, those are all got like Cole Rosario, top 50 recruit basically. Bryson Tiller are like top 40 recruit in the country. And you look at some East Calderon, like, you know, four star recruit. You're talking about guys who are highly recruited players. And so you're filtering them down into this one league. And if you can have a pipeline there, probably makes it a lot easier from a standpoint of recruiting. And yes, again,

Starting point is 00:14:19 like, Darren Peterson wasn't playing for OTE. So like, you're not, not every good player goes to OTE. But if you're bringing on a bunch of good players from OTE, you're going to end up with pretty talented rosters year over year. Second off, I kind of be interested to know, is there like just a great relationship there between Bill Self or maybe Curtis Townsend or whoever? On the KU staff and some people at OTE, or is this just kind of, you know, coincidence that a lot of these players have happened to go to KU? Like, how is that exactly working? And, and third, like, is it helpful for KU on the money side of recruiting now to continuously go back to one well? I can't get my head out of that as well, especially again, you go back here and say that you have a lot of talent that's

Starting point is 00:15:00 coming into this area where, you know, you can make multiple offers. It's not like, hey, you go recruit a high school. Maybe you're only offering one kid in the whole district or something, for or in the whole state sometimes at OTE might be offering three or four kids. And maybe that makes it easier from scouting. I think it might make it easier from a money side, right? You think about in recruiting nowadays where money is so important in all this and whether it's RevShare, whether it's NIL, envision this. Like it's a more uniform way of a bidding process, I think.

Starting point is 00:15:30 Like I think sometimes agents can try to bid schools almost against themselves to get their player the most money possible. If you're working out of the same league every time, I don't know how the agency process works. Is it always the same agent? I don't know. Probably not. But if it's always the same league, you probably have a more uniform price. It's like, imagine if you, imagine if you went to the farmer's market to pick up something, but then you also went to Dillon's and then you went to Hy V and then you went to Sprouts and you went to all these different grocery stores, you might get different prices on the same items. Some items might be cheaper at one place. Other items might be cheaper in another place. And that makes it kind of, you know, sometimes, and even that's not a

Starting point is 00:16:13 perfect simile or analogy because of the fact that, like, grocery stores do have more set prices, but you get them saying that it can be a bit more complicated versus if you're at the same store every time, you know the prices. You know what you're getting into. And even if it's, you know, even if it ends up being a little pricier, if you know what you're getting into, you can budget for it a little bit better. And I wonder if that's a good thing for KU too. But yeah, it would certainly be a good place to have a pipeline. And if they land Kenny, I would come away with it. Maybe they already have it by having those three players. But I would certainly think because then you're adding another year of players coming in from OTE as well.

Starting point is 00:16:47 All right, that'll do with this bonus episode of Locked on Jayhawks again. We'll be back on Sunday if Kenny picks KU. We also have a episode coming later this weekend to recap whatever happens in the KU Cincinnati game. And don't forget to check out all our KU Cincinnati preview right here with Locked on Jayhawks. See you next time.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Decision Ahead: Kansas Awaits Taylen Kinney’s Choice | Will Bill Self Land the 2026 5-Star Guard?

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