Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Is Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Running Out of Time to Build a Bench + KU Football Offseason Decisions

Episode Date: December 13, 2023

Is the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team running out of time to build a bench or when is the cutoff for needing players like Johnny Furphy and Nick Timberlake to step up for Bill Self's squad? KU Football offseason decisions have begun with Mello Dotson. When will Devin Neal make his decision for Lance Leipold's team. Whose Stat Line is it Anyway featuring Craig Young, Marvin Grant and Hunter Dickinson.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. Terms and conditions apply.eBay MotorsWith all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to turn your car into the MVP and bring home that win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedoncollege and use code lockedoncollege for a first deposit match up to $100! Daily Fantasy Sports Made Easy!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked on Jayhawks, we're going to be joined by Nick Schwert. We're talking about the KU basketball bench. When do they need to get their act together? Are we approaching on the deadline for when that needs to happen? More on Melo Dotson and some KU football offseason news. We'll finish up with whose stat line is it anyway? You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.

I'm Derek Johnson. Thanks for making Locked On Jayhawks your first listen every day. You can hear me as well Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. on KLWN in Lawrence. And you can also find our podcast here with Locked on Jayhawks on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. We're joined on this episode of the show by Nick Schwert, and we're going to be talking some KU hoops off the top, followed by some KU football after that,

and specifically want to dive a little bit deeper into the bench in this conversation of the 5 through 9 specifically for KU. First, this episode of the show is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 Moneyline bet. That's $150 if your team wins. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. So right now, the bench, I thought that Elmarco Jackson

kind of played a little bit better over these last three games. I don't know that the stats for El Marco are ever going to jump off the page because he's the fifth option on the floor. But at least that's going in the right direction, maybe it feels like. But Johnny Furphy had a nice game, I guess, against UConn. Last game, he only plays like seven minutes. It feels like we are not much further with the bench in trying to figure out who's going to be the sixth guy,

who's going to be the seventh guy, how many minutes is this going to play. Do you have somebody reliably who's going to play 15, 20 minutes per game off the bench? It doesn't feel like we're much further than that than from where we were at the beginning of the season. And I'm curious when that needs to be fixed. Obviously, we have examples like Malik Newman, like Remy Martin of guys who, in the case of Malik, he was a starter,

but guys who just blew up in the month of March and figured it out in the final month of play. But I think for the most part, those are more rarities. Those are more exceptions to the rule. When do you feel like they need to have figured out the bench? I would say I'm like, definitely not this, like I'm not close to being worried about it right now. Like non-com play really doesn't even cross my mind. I like to think of non-com play as like you're figuring stuff out.

And even early into conference play, that's maybe when the screws get tightened a little bit. If you're Bill Self, where the leash gets shorter on some guys, and if you're waiting for someone to have that breakout, maybe the leash gets a little bit shorter. You're saying, okay, I'm not going to give you the next two months to figure this out. Eventually, I think maybe with about a month to go in the regular season, you want to have a good idea of who you are. One thing I would say, though, is that over the last, I don't know, what would you say, five or six years, I feel like we've seen Bill get a little bit more flexible, right? little less rigid in when things are supposed to happen, who he trusts, being able to maybe throw out a guy like Remy Martin.

That's the perfect example of just saying, I know I haven't seen enough from you up until this point to make me believe that I can trust you to be that guy, but you give us the best chance to win. Your ceiling is higher than anybody else who we could possibly play. I was actually looking this up last week, and I don't know if we talked about this. Did we talk about the Isaiah Moss situation last week, or was that with somebody else?

Yeah, we talked a little bit about it, that he shot it as well, like 34.8% from three. Well, not just that, but at this point in time in that 2020 season KU was still starting Yudoka Azebuki and David McCormick right and at that point like revision history is everything but you can go back to those sorts of seasons and say yeah but they knew that wasn't going to last. Did they? Like Bill Self, Bill Self loves playing two bigs. He's always loved playing two bigs.

KU was trotting out David McCormick next to Yudoka Azubu. And we look back on that and say, why did they ever think that was going to work? And I think people were saying that at the time. But I only bring it up to say that, say that we forget about that stuff when you change. Isaiah Boss was coming off the bench. We forget about those sorts of things in hindsight because of how it worked out. We're not still looking back and saying, I can't believe Bill Self was playing David McCormick next to Doak. So whatever we're seeing right now, it feels like the thing we need to be discussing.

But I also think there's a very good chance that by the end of January, this is ancient history because at that point in time, maybe they have figured out the rotation. Maybe it has tightened up. Maybe it's Johnny Furphy and Nick Timberlake coming off the bench and Parker Brown playing spot minutes when Hunter needs a breather and that's your rotation. So I'm not there yet. I would say I would get probably even two weeks to a month into conference play before I really

start bringing this up as like a legitimate concern if it hasn't crystallized by then yeah so I just looked and Moss had some spot starts here and there throughout the year but he he really became the full-time starter where he's starting every game back to back uh February 14th so if if that's the the path you want to follow then that gives you to the middle of February like how do you think this dude, February 14th is like two weeks left in the regular season. That's like six games left on the schedule. That's a long time from now. Well, I think it's interesting because Nick Timberlake, I think, is the guy.

Nick Timberlake is the guy that would follow that path, I think, more so than anyone else. I mean, with Furphy, maybe a little bit. Anytime you have freshmen, you're just expecting, okay, as things go on, like maybe they get more comfortable. And I do think like the thing that's keeping Nick Timberlake off the floor is probably the defense. And I think that's what is maybe limiting the minutes for Johnny Furphy too.

With Furphy, it's like, okay, are you struggling on defense because you're just young you're just a freshman because he's athletic in six nine like he should be of a uh at some point in his career at least able to be like a fine defender uh with timberlake like he was in the fourth percentile on synergy last year in defense and that was a towson playing against caa opponents so like i don't know how much better that is ever going to get this year. Like at some point does Bill self just need to say, you know what? Screw it.

Like I'm playing him 15, 20 minutes a night and getting, I know he's not really making shots right now. And so if you're not making shots and you're not defending, that's the problem. But like, is that the guys Nick Timberlake, the guy where not to the same level as Malik Newman or Remy Martin,

or maybe even Isaiah Moss, but the same idea of, okay, maybe this guy come the middle of February, come the end of January, can be that difference maker and hit a couple threes for you again. I'm just curious, before I give my answer, why do you lean Nick Timberlake over Johnny Furphy? What does he have or what can he do at his ceiling at his peak that you think Johnny Furphy doesn't provide because based off what we've seen so far this season

I can't name one thing that Nick Timberlake's better at than Johnny Furphy that's the problem yeah so no I I am more on the Furphy over Timberlake bandwagon in general. Like I think he's a better player. I think he has a higher ceiling. I'm just saying from the standpoint of, and I guess this goes back into a different question. Like how deep are we talking here for the bench? Because if you're talking the five starters,

let's say you're talking Furphy as a sixth guy. Let's say you're talking Parker Brown as like a semi-seventh guy, like we saw in the UConn game when it's nut-cutting time, like Hunter Dickinson's going to play 38 minutes. He gives you that luxury that most other centers don't have. So, like, Parker Brown is in that rotation in a sense. Like, he is the backup center, but later in the season, I don't know how many minutes that's going to be.

So the question is, does the rotation cut off there? Like in the UConn game where Murphy was the sixth guy and nobody else played more than two minutes? Or does the rotation cut off for one more where you have a seventh guy, basically, which is one of Timberlake or McDowell at that point. And from that point, I think there's enough for both Furphy and Timberlake to where I think right now,

when you're looking at what is, what is the actualized version of this guy I think we're kind of seeing that with Furphy like I said maybe it gets a little more refined maybe it gets better as the season goes on because he's a freshman but I think with Timberlake we haven't seen anything close to it because you're right I mean right now Furphy's shooting better than Nick Timberlake which makes it impossible um ideally you're getting Nick Timberlake to shoot you know high 30s 40 percent from three yeah that would be the ceiling, right? And I'm not convinced we're going to see that ceiling with Nick Timberlake because, I mean, going from Towson to Kansas is like if you or I move to China and we're expected to be able like make our way from city to city and know

exactly where we're going and be able to read all the street signs. Like he's speaking a different language than what they were doing. They ran the offense through him at Towson, a bad Towson team. They were running the offense through him. And now he is adjusting to life of, hey, you're the fourth option. Best case scenario. Maybe you're the fifth option. Can you still thrive? Can you still find a way to make an impact? And I think that's where he's struggling. His role is very simple. Yes, play defense, but that's the role for everybody. There's nobody who's going to be allowed to take the court for Bill Self and say, hey, we don't really care what you do on that end of the court. But offensively, a guy who is used to getting what six or seven threes a game last year is like, Hey, you may only get one or two looks. Is that enough to keep you engaged? Are you still going to be confident? Are you still going to be ready when those opportunities present themselves?

So I'm not, I'm not convinced that like, we're going to see this big growth. It would be great if he did. It would be great if he could just say, Hey, you know what? I'm not convinced that we're going to see this big growth. It would be great if he did. It would be great if he could just say, hey, you know what? I'm comfortable being the fifth guy when I'm open. If they leave me, I'll be ready. I can even be a distraction, somebody that the defense has to account for. But again, how is that any different than what Johnny Furphy's situation would be? You brought up the UConn game.

I think that's the perfect game to look at because that was a top five matchup. Felt like a Final Four game, right? Felt like an Elite Eight game. And when you talk about what the rotation will look like in March, that is typically what a Bill Self rotation is going to look like in the biggest moments of the season,

at the end of the season. I'm playing the guys I trust. Hey, we play UMKC. That's when I can get guys extra minutes. That's when I can tinker and experiment with lineups. But in these big games, I'm not messing around with that. I'm playing the guys I trust. And we saw that list is very, very short for Bill Self right now. So yeah, I do think by the end of the season, that is closer to what this rotation will look like. Doesn't mean that'll be Furphy in the sixth man spot against anybody's right now. Anybody who wants to step up, show growth, show maturity over the course of the season, that role can be yours. But if I'm having to like put my money on one of those horses,

I go with Furphy and it's simply because who has the highest ceiling. If they're all playing their best, who do I think brings the most to this team? And for me, as young as he is, I still think Furphy's the most skilled out of that bunch. All right, let's move on to some KU football here in just a moment with Locked on Jayhawks. This episode of Locked on Jayhawks. This episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets

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You can mix and match, put a parlay together with bowl game action going on and college basketball going on. So visit Fanduel.com slash locked on and kick off the NFL season. FDuel, an official partner of the NFL. All right, continuing on with some KU football stuff. Mello Dotson announced that he is back. Back for revenge, I think was the name of his caption there. KU also added a tight end to Sean Hanneke from Topeka and from Iowa State, and he said unfinished business.

Which of those captions do you like better better back for revenge or unfinished business? I'm going to go with back for revenge, unfinished business. If we're being honest is a little tired. It's a little overused. That's basically what every single college athlete over the last decade has said when they announced we have unfinished business to do, but back for revenge,

it's like, okay, that sounds a little sinister, right? Who are you going after? Who are we seeking revenge against? So that's an easy one for me. Yeah,

absolutely. So, uh, Melo dots and, uh, being back, obviously is the big move here. He was,

uh, all big 12 honorable mention. I think I, one side had him as a third team, all American in the country for interception this year by pro football focus he was actually the highest graded corner he was number one Kobe Bryant was number two in the big 12 this season so what do you think the importance of this having Melo Dotson back is for the KU defense and the KU team as a whole headed into

2024 I mean it's definitely huge I think just based off what he does, it sucks that Dylan Gabriel is not going to be back in the big 12 because, you know, that seems to be where he gets a lot of his production. So that's a bit of a buzzkill. I was hoping, I was hoping we would get Dylan Gabriel, I guess. No, Oklahoma is not even going to be in the big 12. So what do I care? Well, he could have transferred to like, I don't know, Baylor or something.

That would have been sick. But no, it's big. I think for the growth of this program, when you talk about you building off what you did a season ago, it has been incremental steps year after year after year. And for the first time in a long time, KU's best players aren't looking for an emergency exit. They're not looking for that valve to say,

get me the hell out of here. I think that speaks to what we already know, what we've seen, which is that Lance Leipold is building something here, a culture that guys want to be a part of. It's no longer a place where you say, hey, I'm actually a good player. Problem is everybody around me stinks. And I want to be recognized by playing on competitive teams, by playing games

that people want to watch. Well, Kansas is already providing you that opportunity. So what Mello Dodson brings to the field, like I don't want to just completely dismiss that because he is a really good player. But for me, it's more about the program. The fact that you were able to retain your best players because you have built something in Lawrence that guys want to be a part of. And as I look towards the future, not just next year, but in the next three to four years, Melo Dodson, he wasn't a big recruit. Wasn't he between like Central Michigan and Rutgers? Like he, Kansas was the biggest program, oddly enough, that he had on his list of finalists.

Like he was not a blue chip recruit, but look at what he's become at Kansas. So he is a perfect story of like, hey, I am an example of the player development at Kansas. So he is a perfect story of like, Hey, I am an example of the player development at Kansas and him wanting to stick around for another year when you know, he had opportunities to go elsewhere. That to me is a big step in the continued growth of Kansas's program. So I think this was the first of four really big decisions. Obviously, everybody has a decision to make, and that kind of makes the transfer portal from a certain standpoint

a little frustrating and a little, I don't know, tiring because you almost need – remember when David McCormick, like after his – it was either his freshman or sophomore year when he did not put up like big numbers at all, like announced a video, and then he's like, I'm coming back. And everybody's like, wait, this was in question? I almost felt like Wayne Selden did it three times, by the way. I almost feel like we need that with just like every starter, every starter in every sport. Now you just have to like post a video, like what are your intentions or push a button or something?

And then everybody knows what's going to happen. But I think the big ones that you would expect to have those biggest decisions at this point, it's Kobe Bryant, it's Devin Neal, it's going to happen. But I think the big ones that you expect to have those biggest decisions at this point, it's Kobe Bryant, it's Devin Neal, it's Austin Booker. And again, everybody still has to make a decision. Do you want to enter the transfer portal? Do you want to go pro? Do you want to do this or that? But those are the three big ones here.

This was the other big one, I think. And you started off in the right way. I think the one that I'm most interested in at this point is probably Devin Neal. Obviously, he had an unbelievable season, over 1,200 rushing yards. Sounds like he's going to play in the bowl game and everything. And he's a Lawrence native. If he comes back for another year, he's going to be on pace to break the all-time rushing record at Kansas. But you would understand that running back position is, I mean, it's so tough to have a long, long career in the NFL,

and sometimes it's best to just start your clock. Then again, it's, you know, if you're not one of those top, I don't know, three, four, five running backs, you're probably not going to be picked till like the fifth, sixth, seventh round. But in running back terms, fifth, sixth, seventh round pick, you could be a starter on a team like right away honestly so i where do you kind of go with the devon neal decision like what do you think would be the right move for devon neal man that's tough without knowing like exactly the type of feedback that he's getting from let's say it's being a fifth to sixth round pick okay let me i'll let me ask let me ask you a question before I give my answer do you think

based off the season that he just had which was incredible do you think there's a chance that Devin Neal could come back next year and have an even better season at Kansas like statistically do you think he could top what he just did yes I do and i think a reason why is he didn't have a ton of carries i always yeah like 170 180 carries i mean that's so few uh when you look at i i was looking at this this was at the end of the regular season i think this was before the conference championships i don't know if that that has changed it um but he was one of 11 runners in the power five running backs. Cause Jaden Daniels was like a quarterback who did it. He was one of 11 running backs in the power five to have 1100 or more rushing yards. And of those 11, he was first in yards per carry, but he was also like

further down the list of total rushing yards because he didn't have that many carries. And maybe with the different offensive coordinator with Jeff Grimes I don't know maybe he ends up with 200 250 touches maybe maybe you're in the Heisman discussion if the team does well enough I don't know yeah I'm while you were talking I was just kind of looking at like these aggregate projected NFL draft and like they're showing him being anywhere from like a fifth to a seventh round pick which is kind of interesting because that's usually where the guys who are sort of one-trick ponies go like if you're like a deuce Vaughn where yeah you're very skilled but you're undersized and guys like that just don't really work or if you're just more of like a one cutback, if you're like a bruiser, who's maybe good as like a power runner,

Devin Neal, like to me, and obviously we're both biased here, but I have a, I have a tough time imagining him just like not working at all in the NFL. I'm not saying he's going to be Jonathan Taylor. Like he's not going to be a workhorse back, but what does he do at a below average level? Like he's not the fastest guy in the world, but he's got incredible

vision. He shows athleticism in the past game, like great catching screens and turning up field. I think he's what he, we don't ever talk about it, but like, he's really good, like setting the edge, like he's a useful blocker as well. So like he's gonna work in the NFL. And for a lot of guys, that's all it takes. It's, I don't care where I'm drafted. Just give me a chance. And like my work ethic and my talent is going to shine through and the running back position in the NFL on like, like wide receiver, wide receiver. If you're good, you'll play. Whereas running back, it's more about opportunity. You may be the third string and then boom, two guys in front of you go down, you get your opportunity and they realize we have a hidden gem here. We have a guy who we can sort of build an offense around. So it's tough because if he's going to get a look in the NFL

in the fifth round, if there's a team saying, Hey, if you're there, we'll take you. I, I, in good conscience, I couldn't sit here and say, yeah, he needs to come back for another season because selfishly I want him to come back. So I really think it's a 50, 50 split. It's all going to come down to the feedback that he's getting. I would say the flip side is because he doesn't have like that one elite trait that would make you say, we can't pass on this guy. I'm not sure how much room he has to grow his draft stock. That's kind of why I asked you about like, could you see him building on it? Because whatever we're saying about him now is there anything he could do next season to where all of a sudden he's like a day two pick all of a sudden he's getting second round buzz third round buzz like the production's there he's got three years of tape to show that

like yeah i'm one of the best running backs in the country him coming back and having an Ollie Gordon season, like him coming back and rushing for 1700 yards and 19 touchdowns. Is that going to do anything from the NFL's perspective to say, oh, wow, you're way better than we thought? No, he showed those traits last year. That's why I think his draft stock may be pretty similar next year if he comes back to what it is right now. Yeah. I think it's less about the stock where it is and more about do you want to start your timer in the NFL in a limited time, or do you want to come back and become the all-time leading rusher at Kansas? And if you become the all-time leading rusher, there are statues of all-time legend KU running back. If you become the all-time leading rusher and you have a dominant season, and let's say KU does win the big 12 without Texas and Oklahoma next year.

It really is statue conversation at that point. So it's just a legacy conversation. And now that there's NIL, maybe that becomes more of a thing where, you know, maybe if you are fifth round pick, I mean, maybe you are making more money off NIL coming back for this year than next

year. So I think it's going to be very fascinating. And what's interesting too, by the way, is like you talk about the draft clock starting. He's only 20 years old. So he would be 21 if he came back for another season. And just to like,

put that in perspective, the best running back in the country, or one of the best running backs in the country, Blake Corum. He's 23. He was born in in 2000 like three years older than I think that's where it starts when he was a freshman right that's what starts to make a difference is when you talk about okay statistically you look at the age 26 27 that is historically where running backs production nosedives. I mean, it's not gradual. It falls off the face of a cliff. Being able to hit the NFL at 21 saying like, I've got five, six years

of my prime running backs usually play their best football in the first four years of their career. That's still a pretty good window. If he was 22 or 23, this is a different conversation. And as for the statue stuff, like being the all-time leading rusher at Kansas, some guys care about that. Some guys don't. I would say a guy who's from Lawrence who chose to stay home and play for his hometown school, it may mean a little bit more to him. Yeah, for sure.

All right, let's finish up. Whose stat line is it anyway with Locked on Jayhawks? This episode of the show is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. When you're hiring for your small business, you want to have as many top tier candidates as possible to interview, which is why you have to check out LinkedIn and jobs. LinkedIn jobs is the tools to help you find the right professionals for your team faster and for free.

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That is linkedin.com slash lockedoncollege. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash lockedoncollege. Terms and conditions apply. All right, we're going to finish things up here with whose stat line is it anyway. We'll start with a football one here. So go into some of the analytics sites, I guess. So KU has two players who are tied for the best missed tackle percentage, which would be the lowest missed tackle percentage among players with at least 10 tackles.

So I didn't, you know, somebody who has one tackle on one attempt didn't do that. At least 10 tackles, two players are tied 7.3%. That's a really low number of a missed tackle percentage. Would you like to guess one of the two or both? By the way, saying that you cut it off at 10 tackles, like as if that helps me, there could be a guy who's 10 for 11.

Okay. Well, I'll tell you this. I just, it was 10 to make it easy, but both of these guys have over 30 tackles. Okay. Um, but like, I don't feel

like, I don't feel like Rich, I feel like I saw Rich Miller miss some tackles and I know he was up there. Let me go because you brought him up earlier. Let me go. Austin Booker. Austin Booker is incorrect. You were on the, the prowl with the linebacker. Craig Young was one of them. Okay.

Let me, let me get, let me get, don't, don't, don't, don't tell me. Um,

OJ Burrows? On the same again with it is a safety. Marvin Grant is the other one, which I think that one becomes important. Kenny Logan going to be graduating. You expect even more PT from Marvin Grant. So there's KU's two best tacklers on the season. By the way, you're getting creative because I'm so good at this game. You're giving me now analytics and stuff. I don't like it.

Well, here's one that's really analytic. This is basketball. Are you aware of Evan Miyakawa's website, evanmiya.com? Yeah, he sends me DMs like once a week. Okay. There we go. Love it. So this will work out perfectly then. He has this

OBPR, DBPR, BPR. It's basically a Bayesian performance rating. It's basically a measure of how a team does, how a player does when you're on the court on one side of the ball. So DBPR is basically how good of a defensive player this is or how big of a defensive impact the team has when they are on the court. Now, some of those can be a bit of team stats,

so maybe take these with a grain of salt. Number one on KU and DBPR is Kevin McCuller. He has a 3.35 right now. By the way, for what it's worth, we were talking about Nick Timberlake earlier. KU has two players who have qualified who are negative in DBPR. That would be Michael Jankovic and Nick Timberlake.

But who is second on KU and DBPR with a 3.00 rating? First off, I don't know how Michael Jankovic qualifies. Like what does it put like six minutes this year? So what are the qualification standards there? Okay, so I actually, I don't have this backed up by any data. So I'm just going off vibes here. But I think I feel really good about this I think the answer is Hunter Dickinson you know I said Nichols and yes Hunter Dickinson is the

correct answer which when he came in the idea wasn't he's a great defender or anything like that and you know he's still gonna struggle if you get him out in space or if you get him switched onto a center who can shoot or anything. But I think he's done a really good job defensively so far. Dude, and it's not even really about the fact that he's done a good job defensively. It's about the fact that he's 7'2", Derek. And Bill Self says this all the time. Defense isn't about skill.

It's not about talent or traits. It's like, do you want to play defense? Do you want to try? Want to try hard? Because if you try hard, then you can be a good defender. And the beautiful thing that Hunter Dickinson has going for him, and it's very similar to, well, not very similar, but it's somewhat similar to when Jeff Withey was here in 2013, which is that if you have capable defenders on the perimeter, all you're really asking to be is the last line of defense. Like when, when Withey was there,

guys would, you know, they would be a little bit overaggressive going for steals and things like that, because they knew if their guy got past him, you had the best shot blocker in the country behind it. Well, now the flip,

the script is a little bit different in that you actually have really high level defenders on the perimeter. So the likelihood of like Kevin McCuller or DeJuan Harris getting beat is much lower. But if they do seven foot two guy waiting in front of the basket that's going to give you something to think about so I think that him paired with those two guys on the perimeter and the fact that you've got the best defensive coach in college basketball like it's going to bring the best out of you, the system. And Dickinson's a worker.

Like he came here to work and he competes very hard. So like that fits the mold of what Bill Self needs. I don't need you to have a crazy vertical. Can you just be a little active? Can you give the drivers and the slashers something to think about? And that's what he does. I liken him and I think we should maybe really ramp up this campaign and get it going and make it become a thing.

Hunter Dickinson to me, like he is a seven foot two orangutan the way he'd like, just, he just swings his arms around. How many rebounds has he got just by here? I'm going to get out of frame so you can see it for those who are watching. How many rebounds has he got?

Like by not jumping and just doing this, like he'll just do this. and somehow KU gets the rebound. He just swings his arms around like a monkey, but it works. So they have tapped into something with Hunter Dickinson, and it's fun to watch. All right, I love that. I'll start getting on board with that, the orangutan for Hunter Dickinson. All right, he's Nick Schwert.

Nick, what can you check out right now with some of your stuff? Yeah, check out our podcast wherever you get them and on YouTube. It's the Could Be Wrong Podcast, putting out episodes every single week. Alright, at Nick underscore Schwert on Twitter. I'm at DJohnsonRadio. You can find our show here with Locked on Jayhawks anywhere you get your podcasts as well as on our YouTube page.

See you next time with LOJ.