Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Transfer Portal Target Deep Dive: Miami Hurricanes Wing Wooga Poplar

Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's Locked on Jayhawks deep dive into KU basketball transfer portal target, Wuga Poplar. 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. You can find me as well on Twitter at DJohnsonRadio. Thanks for making Locked on Jayhawks your first listen every day. I'm Derek Johnson. You can find me as well on Twitter at D Johnson radio. Thanks for making locked on Jayhawks. Your first listen every day. We are free and available anywhere that you get your podcast, including on our YouTube page where you can like,

Starting point is 00:00:35 and subscribe to the show. And on today's edition of LOJ, we're talking Wuga Poplar, another deep dive into a transfer portal target for KU. Wuga Poplar, the transfer from Miami. We'll get to his scouting report, fit with KU, and the latest going on with the Jayhawks on this episode of Locked on Jayhawks.

Starting point is 00:00:53 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 bet. That's $150 with any winning money line or spread or whatever bet that you want. Obviously, certain terms apply, so check that out. Visit fanduel.com slash locked on to get started. Let's start with Wuga Poplar. Who is he? What's going on here?

Starting point is 00:01:20 All that sort of stuff. Well, Wuga Poplar, first of all, great name. I mean, the first name Wuga, like where?'t know love it absolutely love it and then poplar just adds to it uh he is a wing shooting guard type six foot five 200 pounder from philadelphia pennsylvania who spent his last three seasons at the university of miami florida and this was according to dushan london of the athletic a little bit ago that he said Miami transfer Wuga Poplar has heard from the following schools. St. John's, Kansas, Villanova, Kentucky, Temple, Ole Miss,

Starting point is 00:01:54 Florida State, Arizona State. As we talked about before, you don't entirely know all the time. It's very vague to say has heard from, right? That could be as simple as a coach checking on him. That could be a coach saying, hey, if this happens, we'd love to bring you on, or we'd just love to get you to visit or set up a Zoom call. It could be or something more serious where it's like, hey,

Starting point is 00:02:13 we're offering you a scholarship right now, right? There can be differing degrees, and I don't know where Kansas is and where some of those other schools certainly are on that list. But I think an interesting player to say the least, and for a couple reasons in terms of the fit and especially as you're kind of waiting what's going to happen with Johnny Furphy or waiting what's going to happen with Riley Kugel right it doesn't hurt to kick the tires on another player who can kind of play wing minutes if that is the possibility so he played

Starting point is 00:02:40 his first year at Miami as a true freshman he He was on that Elite Eight team that lost to Kansas in the Elite Eight, obviously. He played single-digit minutes per game on that team, played in a lot of the games for that team, but didn't end up making a huge impact on that team. I wonder if he actually played. I should go back and look at this. If he actually played during the Elite Eight game. I don't remember him being a part of that game in which Kansas had to uh come from behind yeah it looks like he did get in there for 13 minutes in that game and had a

Starting point is 00:03:13 uh resounding 0 for 2 with four rebounds and a foul so uh I don't know not his best work but that wasn't his best season then he was awesome his sophomore year when Miami went to the Final Four. He started 36 out of 37 games for Hurricane's Final Four team, in which he scored 8.4 points per game on 37.5% from three. So he was kind of the role-playing fourth, fifth man on the team. And then this past year ended up being a worse Miami team than the pundits were expecting. They still finished top 100 in Ken Palm, so they weren't like a disaster, but finished right around 500. They had some injuries they had to deal with and stuff, but he averaged 13.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1

Starting point is 00:03:56 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks. That was on 42.6% shooting, 38.5% from three, so again, good three-point shooting on 5.6 attempts per game and 86% at the foul line. So good shooter, plays wing minutes. Obviously he's been on some winning teams, most notably that sophomore season. And honestly, if he would have transferred after his sophomore season when they went to the final four and he averaged eight and a half points per game and shot nearly 38% from three, it would have been a little bit similar to what rylan griffin just did right where rylan griffin started on a final four team and griffin had even better numbers so i'm not trying to say you know this or that like griffin still i think would be probably ranked

Starting point is 00:04:38 higher on like the transfer rankings but would be eerily similar good shooter on a starting final four team that entered the portal, right? And now you have another year of development under that with even more production. He did have a bit of a shooting slump in ACC play where he shot just 32% from three-point range, which kind of balanced out from where he began the year starting, where he shot much better in the non-con. And also, I guess it balanced out from the year before an ACC play because an ACC play as a sophomore, he shot 45% from three. So I don't know, just kind of a weird thing.

Starting point is 00:05:12 I think that happened. This was, uh, from the athletics transfer portal rankings, which is done by CJ Moore and Sam Vecini. Good work. Check that out. Give it a subscribe, whatever. Um, this past season was supposed to be a breakout for Poplar, who was a fifth option on the final four team. Poplar was someone NBA folks had their eyes on because of his athleticism,

Starting point is 00:05:30 size and ability to shoot. He did improve his scoring, but he was Miami's fourth leading scorer and didn't actually exactly live up to the preseason hype, nor did the Canes. Poplar has shown that he can be a starter on a really good team and has a solid track record of making shots the last two years. What he does best is spot up for jumpers and attack the rim in transition or on long closeouts. He can be a starter on a really good team and has a solid track record of making shots the last two years. What he does best is spot up for jumpers and attack the rim in transition or on long closeouts.

Starting point is 00:05:56 And he's actually ranked 89th on Sam Vecini's Top 100 Big Board for the 2024 NBA Draft, which means that he is at least on the radar of NBA people, which means you come into your next school and you play well in whatever role you're asked to play. Your team does well, you do well, all that sort of stuff. You're a potential NBA draft pick. And if you have the opportunity to add a potential NBA draft pick to your team, there is a clear level of talent that you can have there, right? What about some of the synergy numbers of note here for Wuga Poplar? He is in the 71st percentile in spot-up shooting, going 33 of 85 from three-point range on spot-ups. That's good for 39%, so good numbers. Most of the guys we've talked about here in our deep dives have had good spot-up shooting numbers. I don't think that's a coincidence, I guess. I'm sure Bill Self and the staff are like, yeah,

Starting point is 00:06:45 we need guys who can shoot on spot-up because what are they going to be doing? They're going to be spotting up. Dwan Harris is going to have the ball in his hand. Hunter Dickinson is going to have the ball on the block. We need guys who can spot-up. So, Wooka Poplar goes in line with another one of these. And we've talked about some guys who are like 89th or like 97th percentile in spot-up shooting.

Starting point is 00:07:00 So, he's good there. Maybe not as elite as some of those other guys, but still good. 79th percentile on catch-and-shoot opportunities is Wuka Poplar, going at 46 of 114. That's 40% from three on catch-and-shoot opportunities. So he was even better on catch-and-shoot opportunities, which, again, would be something that you're going to be asked to do if you do decide to come to Kansas with what they currently have on the roster.

Starting point is 00:07:24 He shot 43 and a half percent from three on unguarded catch and shoots too. And that's something I always like to look at with both the guarded and unguarded. Like they're both important. 38% for what it's worth on, on, on a guarded catch and shoot threes. So 38% on guarded catch and shoot threes, 43 and a half percent on unguarded catch and shoot threes. The guarded ones tell me that can you make tough shots, right? Like sometimes you're not going to have a perfect setup. Can you still get the shot off and can you still make them? And that's important. The unguarded ones are also important when you're looking at a player translating up to Kansas, because in theory, I mean, how many wide open corner threes did Kansas, you know, they made

Starting point is 00:08:01 some of them, but how many did they miss last season that they got open because the other team was condensing the court and, you know, working their way in on a hundred Dickinson or double teaming. And then somebody got an open corn three and they just missed it. You know, this past season, like you're going to get more open threes based on the talent you're playing with at Kansas. So are you shooting those at a high percentage too?

Starting point is 00:08:23 And that was certainly the case for Luca Poplar. He was in the 51st percentile on dribble jumpers. So basically average on dribble jumpers, something you're not going to ask to do a lot, but at least he can do at an average level, a 78th percentile in transition, which makes sense. Six, five, good athlete. So able to get out in transition. And that's something that Kansas likes to do. They like to, they don't always run. They're not one of the fastest teams in the country. Usually they're a team that plays like at average, above average pace. Last year was a bit of a faster team. But when they have the transition opportunities,

Starting point is 00:08:53 they like to take them and he would be good in transition. 70th percentile as a pick and roll ball handler, 78th percentile at the rim. I think that's something of note that one transition certainly goes into that. But I think he is somebody who, because of his athleticism, if you attack a closeout when he's spotting up or something, and you overemphasize the three-point shot, which we know he can hit reliably, he's going to drive to the rim and he's going to finish at the rim at a high efficiency. And that's something he's shown to have a nice counter in his game. A couple of things he hasn't done as well.

Starting point is 00:09:26 24th percentile on handoffs, which is not good. And that's something Kansas likes to do. Also only fifth percentile off of screens. But both of those are off of smaller sample size. Both are under 30 shots. So I guess take both of those with a grain of salt. What about the defense? What about the defense?

Starting point is 00:09:43 What about the defense? Well, 61st percentile defensively this year according to synergy but the year prior he was only in the seventh percentile on synergy what the heck do i make of those i don't know the thing is if you ask scouts about it or i guess like coaches or based on you know what kind of the intel on this kid is he was known for being a solid defender the year before on a Miami team that made the Final Four. It's just that I think there's some similarities there with, again, Ryland Griffin, where you go back to the numbers on Ryland Griffin

Starting point is 00:10:17 on the Alabama team from 2023 that was the number one overall seed. They had a really good defense. And Ryland Griffin's efficiency, defensive defensive numbers liked what he did that year but then this past season on an alabama team that was 111th on ken palm in defensive efficiency they didn't like rylan griffin's numbers and it's kind of the same for wuga poplar like you look at what mi, the year they made the final four in 2023, they were 99th in the country defensively on Ken Palm, you know? And so even though he ranked poorly there, how much of that was him? How much of that was team context? Maybe get left out to dry in certain ways.

Starting point is 00:11:01 I say all the time, I think some of these defensive numbers are helpful, but they're not the be all end all. We haven't figured out as good of defensive numbers as maybe offensive numbers yet, but still, I do think I would value him as being a, basically what I'm going with based on some of the numbers stuff combined with some scouting stuff and what I've kind of seen, I would view him as being a above average defender at worst with a chance to under Bill self system being like a good defender. So I wouldn't worry about the defense, I guess. And honestly, in a lot of ways,

Starting point is 00:11:30 a lot of these guys we've talked about in the deep dives, you have had to worry a little bit about the defense or maybe it's not great defense. I don't feel that way with Wuga Poplar. Let's get onto how he would fit with KU on this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. First, this episode is brought to on Jayhawks. First, this episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. It's winner take all time in the NBA and NHL and FanDuel is giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own.

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Starting point is 00:12:34 Be a part of it. Visit FanDuel again, FanDuel.com slash LockedOn. FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook and official sportsbook partner of the LockedOn Network. All right, how exactly would Wuga Poplar fit in with KU? So Poplar can play the two or the three. At 6'5", 200, he's got good enough size to play either, and he's a good enough athlete that he can, you know,

Starting point is 00:12:56 either use his athleticism to guard smaller guards at the two or to, you know, play up in terms of a jumping ability at the three. And I think given the athleticism and the potential, he would probably, I know I made some comparisons to Rylan Griffin, and I think some of those are apt. I also think maybe you view this as this is a guy that you bring in if you're not confident that the Riley Kugel situation is going to work itself out. Because keep in mind, again, Riley Kugel, even though he's committed to KU, has not signed.

Starting point is 00:13:29 And it sounds like there's some, I guess, hoops that they're jumping through right now, whether it's academics or whatever, that I'm sure they'd still love to have Riley Kugel. But if it doesn't work out, you have to be prepared for something else. If you're comparing him to Riley Kugel, he's not as good of a shot creator as Riley Kugel. Even though Poplar is a good athlete, I think Kugel is even another level of the athlete, but I do think Poplar is a more reliable, better shooter than Riley Kugel. Now Kugel, again, better at making maybe like tough shots, whereas Poplar more is making, I guess like off the ball threes, catch and shoot, spot up, stuff like that.

Starting point is 00:14:05 So it's like a different type of shooting. I think Poplar probably the better defender. Kugel, you have more creation there and more like dribbling ability. So I guess this is one that I don't know if it makes sense to, well, let me put it this way. This is a good enough player that I would take him and almost figure it out from there. We had the deep dive on Jordan Ivey-Curry the other day. Like, if you're making me choose, I'm taking Muga Poplar. But from Muga Poplar's perspective, you're sitting there going, hey, they have Ryland Griffin and A.J. Storr who are going to play on the wing.

Starting point is 00:14:38 K.J. Adams is going to play some four. There's some more minutes gone. Rakeesh Passmore might play. I don't know. We'll see how well that translates right away. But it seems like a lot of people are very high on what he's going to bring to the table right away. So that could certainly happen. You could get some minutes of smaller guards at the two.

Starting point is 00:14:52 I don't know. Maybe Kansas even plays like a three-guard lineup of DeJuan, El Marco, and Zeke Mayo is technically your three for, you know, minutes at a time here or there. There are a lot of wings on this K roster, and that's before even getting to Riley Google. And so maybe if you're Wuga Poplar, Poplar you're going yeah I don't know because I think Wuga Poplar would be certainly in competition to be a starter on this team like that's how highly I view him and that's also

Starting point is 00:15:13 something where I think it goes back to the idea that I think he is a good defender and has potential to be an even better defender and when you look at what Kansas has added so far it hasn't been more defensive focus which I've been fine with because the offense was so bad last year, and you just trust Bill Self to figure out the defense enough to be within range of being good enough to win a title as long as you have that good offense. And so I've understood it, and knowing that you are bringing Hunter Dickinson back,

Starting point is 00:15:44 there's, I think, a bit of a ceiling of what your defense can be, knowing you might struggle guarding, you know, the three-point line and struggle guarding ball screens with a slow-footed big man in there. So just play up with it. Try to outscore the opposition like I can understand all of that. But still, it wouldn't hurt to add somebody with the type of defense that Poplar could bring in. So I think you would be in competition to start at the very least come off the bench, but because I don't know that it makes sense for both parties if Kugel is coming

Starting point is 00:16:13 on, I think this one might be dependent on that type of thing happening. Like obviously Poplar would add shooting and athleticism and be a three and D wing and all those sorts of things. And I think he would be a great fit and he can be a really good player for you. But because of the Kugel situation where you kind of are log jammed with, with minutes and everything, I guess I would say, I don't know, but I would still have probably Jackson Robinson ahead here, though. Honestly, you could make an argument to me that Poplar ahead of Robinson, I think Robinson, the even better offensive player score.

Starting point is 00:16:46 But I think Poplar, again, the defense makes this very enticing to me that maybe I would just say, hey, let's do it and figure out the rest later. So I'm kind of going back and forth and somewhere in between. But either way, I'll put it this way. Wiggle Poplar is a very good player. And wherever he winds up is going to be very happy. I think that they end up with the kid, not just because it's an awesome name, but also because he's a good player who can shoot and defend.

Starting point is 00:17:09 And those are two things right there that is modern basketball, you know, not an up to a tee. Oh, and he's a good athlete and you're looking to always be more athletic and everything like that. So I guess right now, based on the latest deep depth we've had of guys that are like uncommitted, I'd probably go, I don't know, back and forth on Wuga Poplar, Jackson Robinson for one and two. You know what, we're doing the Wuga Poplar deep dive right now.

Starting point is 00:17:31 Let's have him number one, Jackson Robinson number two, and then Jordan Ivey Curry would be number three for what I'd be looking to bring on. But we're going to have another deep dive upcoming later this week, so be in the lookout for that right here with Locked on Jayhawks. We're going to continue on with the show in just a moment. All right, game off. We got to pause here to talk more about Monopoly Go.

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Starting point is 00:18:55 with what's kind of the latest here. And thank you to the everydayers tuning in to each and every episode of the show. We'll have more deep dives throughout the week. We'll have another Football Friday upcoming on Friday here. Obviously, waiting to see with some i don't know other ku basketball visits and news and you're waiting on johnny furphy to go through uh the nba draft combine and everything that that's going to behold and maybe going back to the wuga poplar discussion here like maybe it's not even just about riley kugel like what is he going to do maybe it's not even just about Riley Kugel. Like, what is he going to do?

Starting point is 00:19:25 Maybe it's a little bit about, you know, Johnny Furphy. And right now, Kansas sitting at 11 scholarships. They can continue to be active. But what exactly are you looking for here? The one beauty, if you do bring on a guy like, say, Jordan Ivey Curry, as opposed to Poplar, is let's say Kugel does end up making it over. Maybe that makes it easier to figure out the logjam of minutes versus if you brought on Wuga Poplar and then Kugel still comes

Starting point is 00:19:49 or Furphy were to come back. Then it gets a little bit more difficult in trying to make everybody happy and get everybody minutes. And I know at the end of the day, you're trying to just put out the best product and let the competition lay out. But there is an element of wanting to keep the locker room happy. So keep an eye out for that. Kansas having an unofficial visit this week with Noah Shelby. We'll try to competition lay out. But there is an element of wanting to keep the locker room happy. So keep an eye out for that. Kansas having an unofficial visit this week with Noah Shelby.

Starting point is 00:20:08 We'll try to get into that at some point this week, who is the transfer from Rice. And I think he's a friend of Ryland Griffin, may have played with him at some point at the youth level. I don't know if it was high school or AAU or something like that. So that wouldn't hurt either. But KU certainly continues to fill out the roster and try to load up the roster as deep as possible.

Starting point is 00:20:28 And there is a part of me that kind of wonders if how this all goes together from Bill South, if there's a little bit of, hey, we don't know that every transfer is going to translate. We saw that last year, right? Hunter Dickinson did translate. He was second team All-American. But Nick Timberlake didn't really translate and timberlake had a good ncaa tournament for kansas so like deserves credit there for sure um but over

Starting point is 00:20:51 the course of the season you know you didn't get exactly what you were hoping for there and so if you're bill self do you view it as the more guys we bring on from the portal the more dart throws we get it's like having extra draft picks in the n draft or NBA draft where it's like, you know, chances are not all of these are going to work, but the more darts we throw, the more of them are going to hit the board. Better chance we have hitting a bullseye. And maybe that's what this is that, yeah, that one or two of these guys may not end up living up to the hype that you hope for. It might not end up being as big in the rotation or starting lineup as you might've thought. But if a couple of them hit, that's all we need. That's all we need when you combine the guys we have coming back and the guys we're asking to progress from year one to year two.

Starting point is 00:21:32 So we'll keep it with any breaking news right here with Locked on Jayhawks. Anything upcoming, you can find it right here with the show. So make sure you're subscribed anywhere you get your podcasts, including on our YouTube page. We'll see you next time with LOJ.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Transfer Portal Target Deep Dive: Miami Hurricanes Wing Wooga Poplar

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