Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Jayhawks Offseason Overhaul: Decisions Ahead for Bill Self and Kansas + Darryn Peterson in Lawrence!

Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's Locked on Jayhawks, what offseason decisions are ahead both with the current roster, the possible external roster for KU Basketball and Bill Self? 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 J-Hawks. Thanks for making it your first listen every day. Thank you to every dayers catching each and every episode of the show. You can find us anywhere you get your podcasts including on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. And on today's edition of LOJ, we're going over the offseason overhaul that is probably going to come to the

Starting point is 00:00:47 KU basketball roster. And we're going to kind of preview the big decisions ahead for Bill self and kids basketball also finish up with a little bit of talk about Darren Peterson, who was just in Lawrence plane at Haskell for a concluded tournament in which his team ended up winning and you know, I guess the importance of Darren Peterson coming into this this roster for KU and maybe some interesting guys for KU who showed up as well some comments from Darren Peterson. So we're going to get into the internal decisions the

Starting point is 00:01:17 guys on the current roster or who could stay on the current roster, then we'll get into external decisions that Bill self and the team has to make first this episode of the show is brought to you by game time, download the game time app, create an account and use code locked on college for $20 off your first purchase with game time. Okay, let's start with the current roster. Who's in tow for KU from this year's roster moving forward to next year. So already, you know, DeJuan Harris, Shaquille Moore, KJ Adams, Hunter Dickinson, Zeke Mayo, those players have graduated. Sure, there's that possible rule looming of the fifth year thing, but doesn't

Starting point is 00:01:54 seem like that's happening at this point. Or if it does, I don't know, feels like it'd be later in the game. So I think it is the easy assumption just to say that, you know, those guys are gone. You look at the high school recruits that you have committed into we're gonna talk about Darren Peterson later on in the show. Well, he obviously is the big one that you have coming into the program as a freshman. You also do have some East Calderon. And then you have

Starting point is 00:02:18 Bryson tiller, technically, he red shirted this year, basically, you know, just had medical procedures and stuff. If you want to count him as a returner, if you want to count him as an incoming high school player, I think either one is valid. And then the last one technically would be Jaden Nickens, the two sport player for the KU football team, who's a receiver, basketball player. I think his scholarship will count for football though, so it won't count there. One thing to keep in mind, KU still does have one scholarship to give as part of the self-imposed penalties that were accepted by the NCAA and IRP and whatever

Starting point is 00:02:47 the I don't even remember the name of the review process that came after that. Nonetheless, with the new whole rev share thing, basketball is up to 15 scholarships. That basically means Kansas is at 14 scholarships for his upcoming season, which even though it's less than the 15 originally, it's actually more than you would have originally had. 13 was the previous number for scholarships. That said, the one thing that goes away with this

Starting point is 00:03:10 is kind of walk-on. So it'll be interesting to see how KU fills out the backend of that roster, right? Because realistically, you might only be playing a seven, eight or nine man rotation. Do you really want your 12th guy being somebody who's expecting big minutes from you, right? And so do you put a couple walk ons on

Starting point is 00:03:26 scholarship, so to speak at the back end of that roster, Jada Nickens, interesting how that's going to work out with that whole scholarship thing, from that perspective, because there are really walk ons. So I guess to see just count to a scholarship in football and basketball, I'm not entirely sure on how that works. But honestly, doesn't really matter for the importance of this conversation. So you have those guys coming in,

Starting point is 00:03:46 that would mean basically three scholarships. If we're not counting Nickens, which I'm not going to right now, then you look at the possible returners to the team. Let's start with the guys that it seems like the word, the scuttlebutt, is that these guys seem likely to return. I think El Marco Jackson, right? I mean, redshirt sophomore more part of the process here for

Starting point is 00:04:07 is a player going to transfer away. It's a two way street. It's the player street of, Hey, I want more. And that more could be minutes. It could be stardom. It could be opportunity at a, at a school that's going to give you more limelight, which that doesn't really apply for Kansas because you're not

Starting point is 00:04:28 going to get more than Kansas. It applies for other schools. So that one, again, doesn't apply for kids, but more money and another school, right? And the role in the money, those are kind of the two big ones. So and then there's the Kansas Street of things, which is, you know, we think we can get a better player than you in the portal, or we think you've stalled out in development, we don't think we can get anything else out of

Starting point is 00:04:48 you. The, hey, you can stick around, but you're not going to play next year, because you're going to be behind all these guys that we bring in. So it's probably in your best interest. And it would help us out too. If you leave, there's that view. There's also now the new view of things with the current portal era where it's like, yeah, we like you. Oh, wait, you and your agency are asking

Starting point is 00:05:08 for how much money now? You're wanting to double what you made last year? Yeah, at that point you should go. You should enter into the portal. And that becomes a difficult thing too because it's like our agents just asking for more, just to ask for more because they think they can get it. Are they asking for more?

Starting point is 00:05:22 Because they're actually all like, oh, we're gonna test this kid in the portal. But I do feel like El Marco will be back. And I think from the Kansas perspective too, you don't bring this kid in and play him as much as he did as a freshman and stick through them with all this out for the season with injury

Starting point is 00:05:38 to not see the fruits of your labor. So El Marco, we'll see what jump he can make this next year. The thing that sucks is I feel like a year three, technically year two, Marco would make a jump. But the question is, is that jump negated by overcoming an injury as bad as he had? But he showed up to the Darren Peterson event. I don't know if that's like telling at all

Starting point is 00:06:00 of like guys who are going to stick around and that the guys that showed up to that, I don't know, but that would certainly be of interest there. Then you have at this point, all of like guys who are going to stick around and that the guys that showed up to that, I don't know, but that would certainly be of interest there. Then you have at this point, kind of in that same group like Jamari McDowell, Rakesh Passmore, feels like those guys would be back. Would it be shocking if either transferred to say,

Starting point is 00:06:15 hey, I want to chase a bigger role? No, it would not, but that's kind of where we are in the pool. Well, nothing would be shocking at this point in time for anybody leaving. So I'm under the assumption both of you back. That brings you up to six scholarship players between the three freshmen coming on and then Jackson McDowell and pass more. Then you get into the this player is going to

Starting point is 00:06:37 have an opportunity to do you know what he kind of wants and that's Flory Budunga. He could go to the NBA draft combine. He could kill it in tests. I mean, obviously the freaky athlete and uh, uh, incredible measurements and stuff on the wingspan. I would imagine, um, he could even test the portal and see how much money he can get somewhere else. I lean toward Flory being back just from a standpoint of it feels like he has a lot to gain this season when in theory he would be the starting center and you know if he has a very productive season probably turns into a first round draft pick and I think things would set up for that to happen.

Starting point is 00:07:15 So I lean toward him being back. But again, you never really know in the portal. So that would give you seven scholarship players. give you seven scholarship players. And then we get to the list of just like, okay, dinghy coy is somebody who has voiced his, um, you know, pleasures of wanting to come back. And Kansas has mentioned they've liked him in terms of the hard work he puts in and that he is kind of a, a dog, so to speak, in a good way that, you know,

Starting point is 00:07:38 he has that good mentality to him. The only question is, does his side of things want more than what Kansas wants to do for a guy that they probably view as hey, if you can be somewhere between our sixth and ninth man, that's kind of what we're looking for here. And does he view it as oh, it's your tune the program now like now I'm going to be the guy right that that becomes the big question there. But he could be back and then the other ones that it's

Starting point is 00:08:04 like, okay, this is either a coin flip or probably not coming back. I feel like with Clements. It's a coin flip We just don't know does he want to go somewhere for what would be his final season called rascal? I guess he maybe he could have two years if he gets a medical redshirt for this year But you know, does he want to start getting more playing time? He almost left a couple years ago. Does it actually happen now? AJ store feels like though. Yeah, he's probably gone in that bucket Like that was probably a decision made from his camp before the season even ended at this point in time.

Starting point is 00:08:29 And then the Rylan Griffin one, I feel like is the ultimate 50 50. It could go either way. He showed up to the Darren Peterson event that went on in Lawrence. Is that indicative of him? You know, one to stick around? Is that indicative of him being like, oh, cool. The player might be the number one pick in next year's draft is coming to town. I want to see him play. I like

Starting point is 00:08:49 basketball. I play basketball. Cool. We'll watch this guy play could be that. But maybe that is something that is a little bit telling there. And I'll be very interested with that one, specifically because going back to the two way street thing, just Kansas want him back, right? I would think that from a standpoint of, hey, you're going to need shooters around Darren Peterson, you would want Ryland Griffin back. And from a standpoint of players typically do better, the more years

Starting point is 00:09:14 they've been in the bill self system, I would think they would want Ryland Griffin back. At the same point in time, doesn't feel like the players who it's like you're kind of one trick ponies, which in the case of Ryland Griffin, that that one trick is a very good one when he's on obviously didn't finish the season on but it's shooting the three ball. Those players haven't typically enamored Bill self and so does he want to go away from that. So I think that's the most interesting of the internal decisions. What do you do with Ryland Griffin that is beyond that It is, you know, how much of your NIL budget

Starting point is 00:09:45 do you spend on retaining players? I think that's super important when you look at Pills off teams. I would spend more money almost on, I guess it depends year to year, right? With this year, you don't have like, besides Flory, you don't have like a bunch of returning players that you should have to pay

Starting point is 00:10:03 like a million dollars each or something. But you got to make sure you get flurry back. I wouldn't hate to have Ryland Griffin back. I know the season it almost felt like kind of checked out over the last month and didn't end the way that you probably wanted it to but you know, I still think he could benefit playing with Darren Peterson. Okay, what are some of the external decisions that you have to make about the transfer portal? Today's episode of the show is brought to you by five hour

Starting point is 00:10:28 energy daylight savings snuck up on us again. And if you're feeling a lost hour sleep, five hour energy has your back the extra sunshine means more time for fun. Sometimes you need a little boost to power through whether you're staying up late watching the NCAA tournament, squeezing in around a golf after work or just trying to keep up with your busy day. Five hour energy gives you that quick refreshing pick me up wherever you need it. I've been staying up late watching basketball games, and

Starting point is 00:10:53 AI tournament, NCAA tournament, all of it, and need a little pick me up both in the morning and cover around that like nap time during the day. Five hour energy helps keep you going through the day head to five hour energy, find over 15 flavors to choose from, including watermelon, blue raspberry, and peach mango. You can even build your own 12-pack or 24-pack delivered right to your door. You know one right now? Grab a 20-hour or a 5-hour energy shot at your local grocery or convenience store. They are everywhere. Stock up today and stay energized with 5-Hour Energy. What are some of the external decisions KU has to

Starting point is 00:11:27 make about Transfer Portal and Bill Self here? Obviously, they have to make decisions and all the guys returning, do they want them back? You know, what role do they want them in? What how much NIL money are they comfortable spending on them before they say, okay, just leave town and go somewhere else. But the external decisions are maybe even more interesting because it's how do you fill the roster out around Darren Peterson? I do think the Flory conversation of, you know,

Starting point is 00:11:50 doing everything in your power to make sure he comes back is probably the most pertinent of all of these here. Right. I mean, if you're looking for guys in the transfer portal, guys who could potentially be first round draft picks as soon as the following NBA draft, they would be at the top of everyone's list. Well, you have the opportunity to bring a guy back in flurry, if you take care of him the right way, maybe over the off season, right? So that

Starting point is 00:12:14 that's the most important but externally, this is less about and I think in the intricate way of looking at it is yes, you do have all the individual decisions that you will make that will lead to sliding door moments of, oh, you took this player over this player. And those are so important. Kansas has to hit this year. They have not hit the past couple of years.

Starting point is 00:12:35 There's so many other sliding door moments. There's the Harrison Ingram moments, right? There's the Kobe Bray moments. There's the LeBaron Phylon moments. There's the, I guess maybe even like the Grant Nelson moments. There's so many moments you could go to with, they took player X over player Y

Starting point is 00:12:50 and it did or did not work out. And so you mean over the last couple of years, it has not worked out more than it has worked out, right? That's how you get to a point where Kansas has been over these last two years compared to where the expectations are for the program. So yes, those are the intricate decisions. But I think one big one here is how many transfers

Starting point is 00:13:06 in do you want, right? Part of that is going to be dependent on how many guys stick around the program. But going back to the idea of who do you stay, who do you tell to let go and those sort of things. Do you have a set number where you're like, yeah, I'm cool overpaying to keep some more guys around so we have to bring in less transfers.

Starting point is 00:13:26 And then what do you do with the high school level? Right. You already have three high school recruits coming in. And who knows if all of them make it here? We've seen in the past couple of years, right? I mean, LeBaron Filon last year, Marcus Adams a couple of years ago. We've seen this happen now over recent years where Kansas has players committed. I don't know why this one just popped in mind Sydney Curry from the Juco ranks, but they have them committed.

Starting point is 00:13:48 And then all of a sudden, once it gets closer to the season maybe they bring in some extra transfers. All of a sudden that player goes, oh, I'm not really going to play this year. And they say, I'm going to ask out of my NLI. I'm going to go somewhere else, right? That's entirely possible. But do you look for some more high school recruits

Starting point is 00:14:02 as opposed to saying, hey cause I was going through those scholarship numbers and that was, you know, I got to six or seven and then we kind of got to the point where it was like, okay, some of these guys are maybe more coin flips, right? Let's say you even brought back eight players, I would leave you six open scholarships, you know, and are you really wanting to fill all six in the transfer portal when a that almost feels like it increases your chance of having a flub.

Starting point is 00:14:25 B, it's going to be hard because you're not going to want all six of those guys to be star players. You're going to want some of those players to come in and understand that their role is to be the seventh guy. Is to maybe even just be depth who's a tenth guy who has a chance to, you'll compete. You tell them they have a chance to compete to get in the rotation, and they honestly do, but that there is a chance that you just be playing spot minutes game to game. You want guys who are comfortable in those roles if it happens so that you don't have a situation like this year where there are probably guys who are unhappy in the locker room, given their role,

Starting point is 00:14:56 you want guys who are happy with their role kind of no matter what it ends up being. And so those are specific types of players that aren't always available in the portal. When you cross the guys who are both good enough to play Kansas, even in a backup role, along with the money you'd be spending and along with that specific role. So that's where it kind of becomes difficult of making those decisions. So are you better off just going out and getting a couple kids from the high school race? And this is a tough thing too, because in today's day and age, if you spend a year or two developing a high school kid who you might be thinking nowadays, hey, he could be a good player by the time he's a junior, by the time he's a senior, by the time he's a redshirt junior, but by the time that happens, he's going to transfer after a year or two just because the playing time wasn't there by the time

Starting point is 00:15:39 he was a second year player, or by the time he's a third year player. So why even bother bringing that player in? But I just look at it and see how well Bill Self has done developing players inside the program. Let's say you do have six scholarships in the end to give out. I wouldn't hate if you said, hey, four of those are gonna go to transfer portal players. Two of them are gonna go to high school kids.

Starting point is 00:15:58 And again, it can't just be a, I don't think you can just go into it saying, okay, we're doing exactly this many this way, exactly this many this way. You do have to let it come to you a little bit, right? If there's only one high school kid that is uncommitted or available that you actually feel like can turn into a good player,

Starting point is 00:16:14 yeah, you don't take two just to take two in that situation. But I wouldn't hate for some of those, at least one or two of those, to maybe go to a developmental high school kid, especially with the extended scholarships, so to speak, that you have the opportunity to kind of do just that. Then beyond that, the other decisions come into what types of transfers should they be going after,

Starting point is 00:16:35 are they going after? I think there's two ways to look at this. The type of player and the positions of player. So here's what I mean by the type of player. When I say what type of player are they going for, I kind of brought up earlier, it hasn't really worked with Bill South, the one trick pony, so to speak, right?

Starting point is 00:16:52 There are a lot of teams where if they bring in a player who he's just out there to be a sniper, to be a shooter, right, he's gonna have that specific role and that's gonna fit perfectly on that team. Unfortunately, that hasn't really worked for Canada. It feels like the one guy who's been able to make that work was Isaiah Moss. And I don't know, that maybe was just a very dependent

Starting point is 00:17:12 to the team specifics, right? Because you had three basically non-shooters with Dotson, Marcus Garrett, Yudoke Azabuke, who were all to different levels, like Doke and Garrett were big 12 defensive player of the year level. Good Dotson was a ball hocking, get some steals point guard that would turn it quickly into two points that you really needed that shooting to another desperate level. So maybe that's just what makes that one a little bit different.

Starting point is 00:17:39 But those players typically have not been in the favor. It seems like of Bill Self and so I'm to a point where I'm just like, okay, listen, I want to see modern basketball. I want to see shooting. I want to see offense. But at the end of the day, if that's going to lead to friction between Bill Self and that player, that's just going to hurt the rest of the locker room or be a storyline over the, at a black cloud over the course of the season, don't do it. Just go for the guy you trust. Go for the guy that you are going to enjoy playing with. Go for a team of, right, like

Starting point is 00:18:15 hypothetically, if you have the option between, you know, a, and this is, this doesn't work because Kevin McColler was, you know, a third- know, 13 all American his last year and Ryland Griffin, you know, struggled mightily at the end of the season. But just in terms of player archetype, right? Let's say you have the option between Marcus Garrett. Maybe that's a better example or Ryland Griffin as much as I would. And again, maybe that's a bad one because he's defensive player of the year. But like if you have the option here between the archetype of a player who's tough, who's who's a dog, who's going to rebound, but he's only 30% from three versus a player who's 38% from three, but he doesn't do anything else. At this point, give me the guy who's a dog, because I know that guy's going

Starting point is 00:19:01 to have a much smoother transition with Bill Self, but we don't have to worry about all the crap we had this year. Because the team that trusts each other, a team that plays the way Bill Self wants it to, even if it's not the prettiest, even if they're not the best three point shooting team, we know those teams can at least grind out wins and do what he wants to do,

Starting point is 00:19:17 and they're gonna be on the same page. And I'd rather everybody be on the same page and maybe not be as offensively talented than the flip side where they have talent, but it doesn't come together because it doesn't fit into what Billsov wants. Now in an ideal world, you have somebody who can do both, right? You have somebody who can play defense and shoot or can shoot and rebound, right? Then you get multifaceted players.

Starting point is 00:19:35 That would be the most ideal. But I'm just saying, if you have to pick one or the other, I'm at a point where I would kind of save that. Now as far as what types of positions they bring in, that question here is going to be very interesting to see because I think it definitely makes sense to bring in like some sort of guard. Do you go for more of a true point guard, right? Where he can help set up Darren Peterson? Sounds like they want Darren Peterson to have the ball in his hands a lot, though, and to play even a little bit of point guard. Now, it feels like some of that was the

Starting point is 00:20:01 plan with Quinton Grimes. And then De'Von Dotson was basically the point guard the whole way through. And that's part of why Quinton Grimes. And then Devon Dodson was basically the point guard the whole way through. And that's part of why Quinton Grimes transferred because he wanted to play more point guard. The irony there is he became a basically 3D wing in Houston and turned into a first round draft pick. But that's neither here nor there. If you want Jaren Peterson more as playing to point guard, I think it makes sense to bring in a guard who's like a combo guard. You can say, hey, when Peterson goes to the bench, you take over the point guard duties and maybe El Marco Jackson can be that guy for you. But I think you need to bring somebody else in both to give you another

Starting point is 00:20:32 experienced player and a score, because with El Marco, we don't know for sure that the shots going to come around. We don't know for sure how he's going to do off the injury. I think an ideal world, you bring in a really good combo guard that can play next to Darren Peterson. One of them can be the one one play. One of them can be the two that play the then they can switch another play Or later in the game or when once to the bench the others the point guard and then you're in a role without Marco Where you can play the one or the two and he's giving you 20 25 minutes per game of really good

Starting point is 00:20:57 rim pressure athleticism and defense to where then all the sudden you see flashes from El Marco in that specific role, where he's basically your third guard playing two positions, to where then the next season, Darren Peterson's gone, maybe the combo guard's gone because maybe he's a senior, and then all of a sudden you're feeling great that El Marco, at that point is Richard Jr., is going to have a breakout season. That's the ideal path for me with what you do there. Then you look at the wing. They certainly need to bring in a wing to some respect.

Starting point is 00:21:25 And if you know, Ryland Griffin ends up leaving too, you definitely need one at that point in time. The question is, do you bring somebody in who's a bench wing or do you bring somebody in who's a good enough wing to start? And what do you do with the four position? Because that ties in the wing position. But does Bill Self want to go for more of a true wing?

Starting point is 00:21:42 Does he want to go for more of a power forward? Does he want to go for somebody who is a four, five man who can play the four or the five, right? That's gonna be interesting. I almost feel like Bill Self wants to play too big basketball, right? So maybe it's gonna be a traditional power forward, but I would personally like a wing, but you know what?

Starting point is 00:21:58 That's kind of my thinking of how it's gonna go. And then the last one here is just like, I think you need a backup center to Flory, right? You need somebody who, because Flory is gonna be in his first year starting. If Flory gets in foul trouble game, you have to have somebody dependable who can come in. And at the very least,

Starting point is 00:22:12 even if Flory is starting and avoids that foul trouble, and he's playing 25, 28 minutes a night, still leaves 12 to 15 minutes that you need from backup center. And maybe that some of that is Bryson Tiller. Maybe all of it is Bryson Tiller, but you'd like to have that veteran option you can go to just in case you can have a little bit more in that situation.

Starting point is 00:22:30 Let's finish up here. Darren Peterson was just playing at Haskell. This episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by Game Time, where you can get tickets to all sorts of sporting events or music or comedy or theater near you. And imagine watching your favorite team live, feeling the energy of the crowd and witnessing unforgettable moments. There's nothing like experiencing a big game in person.

Starting point is 00:22:53 Getting tickets shouldn't be stressful. That's where game time comes in, making it easier than ever to grab last minute seats at unbeatable prices. With Game Time Picks, their curation makes it easier to find better value for tickets, sports, concerts, comedy, theater, and more. And they have easy ticket shopping. I mean, you can just check the Game Time app

Starting point is 00:23:10 and you're talking amazing deals on some huge matchups upcoming whether you're looking into all this action going on right now on the court, or you're looking into, you know, getting something for baseball with the Royals coming up here and opening day coming up. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time download the game time app great and count and use code locked on college for $20 off the first purchase that's locked on college L o C K E D O N C O L L E G E for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed

Starting point is 00:23:44 The NCAA tournament is here and so is the bracket breakdown. Locked On podcast network and the Amazon Fire TV channels are teaming up to deliver NCAA tournament coverage like never before. Watch studio shows featuring former players and Locked On's local experts as they guide you through every upset, buzzer beater, and bracket matchup. Stream it all for free on Amazon Fire TV channel. Search bracket breakdown to see it all for free. It's your team every day. Well, don't forget to make locked on Jay Hawks,

Starting point is 00:24:15 who are first listen every day. You can check out Locked on College of Basketball for your second listen every day. So Darren Peterson was just in Lawrence. He got to visit Allen Fieldhouse, maybe get some shots up. His team was playing prolific prep in a tournament where the semi-finals and finals were in Haskell.

Starting point is 00:24:31 His team won the semi-final round and it wasn't the biggest stats of the world for Darren Peterson. He was just four for 12 from the floor. But this is the beauty. Like to me, as much as you want to judge a player on his best day, which might've been that game against AJ DeBansa,

Starting point is 00:24:45 the number one recruit where he had like 60 points and did everything and making game winning shots and stuff, that does matter. But I love judging players based on honestly their worst game. Because if you still are producing in your worst game or your middle games, like the consistency, that's when you know you are a star. Like you think about, if you were watching

Starting point is 00:25:06 the NCAA tournament, like the second round, like Walter Clayton, who's first team All-American for Florida, he didn't have his best game, right? He was struggling for the first, I don't know, 25, 30 minutes of that game, 35 maybe even. And then he gets like two huge, or I forget if it was one or two threes down the stretch, but he's also making like a big pass on the,

Starting point is 00:25:22 he's making big plays. And the three that he makes, a 60 or 70 64 still find a way to impact the game. And that was always the thing with like, you know, Frank Mason, for instance, you would look up and it's like, Oh, you know, you look up at the stat sheet and Frank Mason would have a down game, you have 16 points in like five assists or something. And then it's these normal games, you get 20 and then the big games you're getting 25 or 30. Well, Darren Peterson went four of 12 in this game.

Starting point is 00:25:47 He still had 21 points, four rebounds and two assists. And he still makes a half court shot. He still was like making plays when his team really needs it, when the game is getting to a moment where he can play. And then in the championship round, the shooting percentage goes back up, I think nine of 16, he has 23 points.

Starting point is 00:26:03 Like he was just a do-it-all player who. I how could you not be worried that the hype is getting like too much that like it almost feels like the hype has gotten to a certain point where like it's almost like with Andrew Williams Andrew Williams put up like 17 and six per game, you know, I'm like pretty good splits like 45 44 percent something like that and you know mids from 30 from three. But because of the way he went out, the final game wasn't good.

Starting point is 00:26:28 And because it always felt like there was more meat on the bone because he didn't have that like alpha mentality that it was like, oh, he should have been averaging 28. Instead of just being like, holy cow, this freshman just gave us 17 and six per game. And that's why I worry with Darren Peterson. He's gonna come in and score like 16 and six per game with three and a half assists. And it's like, wow,

Starting point is 00:26:47 that would be a really good freshman season. But it's like, the hype has gotten to a point where it's like, you're expecting this dude to be Danny Manning or Wilt Chamberlain, you know? Which is probably unfair to him. But like, I am buying into that. I am buying into the hype that this dude is gonna come in right away and be, you know,

Starting point is 00:27:00 a first team All-American, that he's gonna be one of the five best players. And that is scary. That is scary to take that leap of faith. I think as a fan with with freshmen who hasn't played a game of college basketball. But I did find this quote interesting because he was asked after the semifinal game, which KU basketball player is most excited to play with next year? He said, Flory Badunga. And there's some weird like behind the scenes rumblings about right now, like,

Starting point is 00:27:21 oh, is Flory going to test the waters or is Flory going to test the portal and see what his price should be for Kansas, things like that. I don't know how true any of that is, right? Right now it's ultimate rumor season. And part of the difficulty with rumors, I think right now, our agents create a lot of them. I think as much as everybody wants to blame this or that

Starting point is 00:27:40 or whatever in the landscape of college basketball, I think agents are a big reason why we have as much chaos as we do. They are the shadow puppeteers orchestrating a lot of stuff that makes a lot of this chaotic and a mess to be completely honest with you. And a lot of them are just very greedy in it for the money. And, you know, I don't mean to degrade because I'm sure there's some good wielding agents out there that you know that that's not the case. But like, you know, that's kind of the thing. So tough to tell some of those rumors up but

Starting point is 00:28:10 floor was at the game too. Right. And how could you not if you're some of these players be like, Oh, I want to play with this dude, right? Like I'd make me want to come back right if you if you were on the borderline, like, are we gonna get you some open shots? You know, it's gonna be really cool to tell your grandkids, hey, I played with that dude, ends up being like future NBA Hall of Fame or something like that. All right, I need to slow down the, the expectations again here. Anyway, that'll be for this episode of Lockdown J-Hawks. You can find the show anywhere you get your podcasts, including on our YouTube page, where you can like and subscribe to the show. We're going to get into some transfer portal targets on tomorrow's episode of the show. So stick around for that right here with LLJ.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Jayhawks Offseason Overhaul: Decisions Ahead for Bill Self and Kansas + Darryn Peterson in Lawrence!

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.