Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football Transfer Target Bryce Foster + Furphy Update + KU WBB Adds Jordan Webster

Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's Locked On Jayhawks, Bryce Foster, the former Texas A&M Starting Center, visiting KU in an update on Johnny Furphy and the NBA Draft Combine, and KU Women's Basketball landing a 17-point-per-game transfer. 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 on Twitter at DJohnsonRadio. Find our show anywhere you get your podcasts,

Starting point is 00:00:34 including on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. And on today's edition of Locked On Jayhawks, it's a loaded episode. Texas A&M's starting center Bryce Foster is in the transfer portal. He's going to be visiting KU, according to Jayhawk Slant, an NBA draft combine update, including with Johnny Furphy, how he's doing, and an update on that. And KU women's basketball added a transfer who was averaging 17 points per game last season.

Starting point is 00:00:59 We're going to start with Foster, get to the combine stuff, and then finish up with the KU women's hoops on this episode of the show. Thank you, The Everdayers. Tune in to each and every episode. We had some deep dives earlier this week on a couple of possible transfer targets for KU basketball. Here's a transfer target for KU football. It is Bryce Foster, Jayhawk slant confirming earlier today,

Starting point is 00:01:19 which I'm recording this on Tuesday, airing on Wednesday, that Bryce Foster is going to be visiting Kansas. And when, I'm not totally sure on that because he is going through kind of the track regionals and everything that finishes out the track and field season as he is a thrower for the Texas A&M Aggies track and field team. So that maybe complicates things a little bit here, but he is a six foot five,

Starting point is 00:01:46 330 pound offensive lineman play center. Originally from Katie, Texas, his nickname is the mountain, which if you've watched game of Thrones, that'll, I don't know, honestly,

Starting point is 00:01:57 like, is that too small to be the mountain and game with her? But anyway, if that is your nickname as an offensive lineman bodes pretty well, doesn't it? So after coming in as a four-star recruit by some, I think some places might have even listed him as a five-star, he was top 90 nationally on 24-7 sports coming out of high school,

Starting point is 00:02:15 came into Texas A&M right away, and started 12 games in their 2021 season. And that was honestly his best season overall I mean if you're looking at I guess PFF grade and also if you just went by like games played for instance because I think he's had to deal with some injuries Texas A&M was pretty good that year eight and four season for the Aggies that year and he finished with a 69.2 PFF grade that included 58 pass blocking 73 run blocking so was better as a run blocker. Although I will say, you know, some of the pro football focus numbers,

Starting point is 00:02:49 we've talked about this before, you have to take them with a grain of salt. But also part of what they are grading on is splash plays and like NFL draft worthy plays. Whereas, you know, that's not always going to be applicable to the college game, especially at the center level where a lot of times you might be double teaming with a guard on a certain player and you're not going to get bonus points for that. It's just going to be like a generic grade of what you're going to get if you double team with a guard and took care of business.

Starting point is 00:03:15 So you're not going to get as much credit as maybe you should for that. But I will say if he had that 69.2 grade this past season in the big 12, he would have been a top five center in the Big 12 by that PFF grade. But that was his best season, which correlates with his healthiest season. He wound up earning 2021 All-SEC Freshman Team and Freshman All-America honors from the FWAA. I think that's the Football Writers Association of America and the Athletic. Then in year two, 2022, he started four games, but then he had a season-ending injury. Good news is by playing in the four games, he was able to still preserve a redshirt.

Starting point is 00:03:51 So that made him a redshirt sophomore come last season in 2023 when he started eight games, which again, I think that would imply, because he started all eight games that he played in, that he had to deal with some injuries again throughout. He wound up with a 60 PFF grade, which right around in line with what Mike Nowitzki had this past season. Nowitzki was graded as a 61, and Nowitzki was kind of dealing with some injuries too. So you're looking at kind of similar grades there.

Starting point is 00:04:17 And again, take it with a grain of salt. But it was actually the flip of his freshman season. He had a 67 grade as a pass blocker, 56 in run blocking, and he was middle of the pack, kind of right around the midpoint, right below the midpoint in terms of SEC graded center. So about middle of the pack SEC center this past season, even dealing with the injury. He's going to be a redshirt junior come the fall with two years left to play.

Starting point is 00:04:45 He's listed as a three-star 88 graded transfer, which 88 is a good number. KU has seen a lot of guys come in as the 87, 88, 89 in that range and had a lot of success for KU. So this would be a big time get for KU. And one of the biggest pieces of his recruitment that makes this more unique and interesting than a lot of other guys isn't just the football side. It is his track and field career that I kind of mentioned at the outset of this episode. He was the Texas 6A shot put title winner in high school, and he's been throwing at Texas A&M where he has a top 10 all-time indoor throw and a top 10 all-time outdoor throw for the shot put in Aggie school history. He's still going through kind of the postseason here for track and field with Texas A&M and that throws a wrench in things in a couple of

Starting point is 00:05:37 ways. One, the schedule is a little bit tighter as I talked about. You don't just have a bunch of openings for when he's going to be able to go out and do these visits because he's still in season with something now I guess hypothetically if you brought him on for a visit after the track and field season ended doesn't matter that much because over these next two months you're not actually having organized team practices anyway so what's the rush in waiting another month right as long as you're here for fall camp I guess that's the most important part. But certainly the sooner the better, because if you're going to be the center on a football team, you want to be, I don't know,

Starting point is 00:06:10 understand all the blocking schemes and the plays and the packages and all that sort of stuff that obviously takes some time at that position. Two, though, it has to be an important part of the recruitment. This isn't the situation. And, you know know we've seen um Devin Neal play baseball and football though I believe that was before the Lance Leipold staff I can't remember on that for sure um Trevor Cardell kind of the same thing but both those guys eventually transitioned to football and maybe that coincides with Lance Leipold point being I

Starting point is 00:06:40 don't know how much Lance Leipold is a true fan of you're going to play both sports. I wonder how much of it is he's just like, no, pick this sport. And if that's kind of a stern thought, then I don't know. This is probably a no-go because he seems to really like it so much. So, I mean, it probably is what it seems to be the stories of what led to him leaving Texas A&M. That might not be all of it, but like, it seems like that is kind of a big part of it in that Mike Elko, their new coach, comes in and maybe wants him to focus on football or maybe wants him to be around more for spring football with the new system

Starting point is 00:07:16 and the new everything they're bringing into the program. And he says, no, I love doing this. I'm going to continue to be a two-star sport player. And you end up transferring away. Well, then you're not going to continue to be a two-star sport player and you end up transferring away. Well, then you're not going to go to your next school and be in that situation where the coach isn't going to be okay with that. The coach has to be okay because he still has next year.

Starting point is 00:07:34 So he still would have another year of spring ball. He would have 2024 and 2025. So you'd have the spring of 2025. You would have to be okay with him missing a lot of spring ball to participate in shot put and throwing. And so that kind of complicates things a little bit more. And three, Oregon is one of the schools recruiting him. And I think Oregon is tight on scholarships, just as Kansas is. But when you think of track and field meccas of college athletics,

Starting point is 00:08:01 Oregon certainly comes to mind for me because I mean, a Phil Knight, their biggest donor and Oregon alum is the owner of Nike, but that has become like, like the Oregon Eugene, Oregon, their campus, it is like the, the creme de la creme of track facilities. They host like the U S qualifiers for the Olympics. Right? So if you're really into track and fields, okay, that makes Oregon very enticing. Now, the good news for Kansas is obviously they do have a really good track and field program too. Stanley Redwine has been an excellent coach, and he's been part of coaching staffs for the U.S. Olympics, and he's coached some really great throwers, whether it was, I know this was in the hammer throw, but like Gleb Dudarev recently, Mason Finley, who was like an All-American and Big 12 champion,

Starting point is 00:08:46 Nikolai Saban was a really good thrower, among some others that he's been able to coach that he'll be able to point to and say, yeah, we can do this. And Rock Chalk Park is a state-of-the-art facility that's got to host a lot of big events. So that certainly has to help. But yeah, Oregon is kind of that, like, when you think of track and field bluebloods, you think of Oregon, certainly. So regardless of how this gets done, to which I believe beyond the track and field stuff and the football stuff, I think NIL is probably also playing a big factor here.

Starting point is 00:09:13 I would imagine he was taken care of pretty well NIL-wise at Texas A&M because they just do that. They have all that money out there. So you're going to have to find a way. It's not necessarily a thing where you're going to have to outdo it, but can you get to a certain number probably plays a big factor there. This would be gigantic for Kansas if they could pull it off. I'm not entirely sure how they'd make it work from a scholarship perspective.

Starting point is 00:09:34 As we've discussed before, if you're an everyday or you've tuned in, you know that there are workarounds to it, even if they are full, right? You can basically give a guy enough nil money that he pays for his own school right um you could have somebody gray shirt maybe jeff grimes talks to his kid and says hey uh we're gonna have you gray shirt and you're gonna join in the spring of the following year and then we'll take care of you with the scholarships i don't know maybe you have somebody medically retired who knows there are a lot of workarounds enough so that i guess just don't worry about it and we'll cross that bridge when it happens.

Starting point is 00:10:06 But this is someone who comes in and is likely an immediate starter for you at center. Obviously, there would be the early season trying to figure out the system and everything like that, and that is part of it. But the fact that he came on as a true freshman at an SEC school in Texas A&M and started all 12 games for them tells me that he's one of those kids who figures things out quickly that he's somebody who would be able to join in fall camp and be able to hit the ground running and still be able to be one of your starting centers and that would allow you to make you know right now it seems like Michael Ford would be your starting center Shane Baumgartner would be more of your quality depth well that would allow Michael Ford to move to his guard position where he was one of the top-rated guards in the Big 12

Starting point is 00:10:47 and play his elite position of guard. And then that also strengthens the rest of your interior and the rest of your offensive line depth and the rest of your offensive line competition. It's kind of that final piece and that final push with a really strong player to try to give you that cherry on top for what could be a really fun 2024. So we'll keep an eye on this one with Bryce Foster.

Starting point is 00:11:07 Let's get into the NBA Draft Combine Update. How's Johnny Furphy doing? What does it mean on this episode of Locked on Jayhawks? First, this episode of the show is brought to you by eBay Motors. Passion, drive, and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more.

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Starting point is 00:12:17 So the biggest name of note right now just is Furphy. Like Kevin McCuller is exhausted eligibility. There are some transfer targets we'll get to here, but Furphy is the big one from the KU perspective. He's not participating in the scrimmages, which I think is a smart move on his end. You could convince me that, okay,

Starting point is 00:12:35 he's a player who's good in transition, and because those scrimmages are open court, maybe it is a lot of transition scoring and that would help him. You could also convince me though that a kid who clearly has high potential is a lot of transition scoring and that would help him. You could also convince me, though, that a kid who clearly has high potential is a really good athlete, but is still figuring out the game, is still figuring out the intricacies of the game and the small things, going up against the guys who are playing in those scrimmages,

Starting point is 00:12:59 which is a lot of the kids who are working to get drafted, a lot of the guys who are juniors, 22 23 24 years old who do know more of the intricacies but don't have the potential the ceiling or the future of Johnny Furphy but they're scrappers and they're going to out experience you that might not be the best setting for him to perform his best so I think that makes a lot of sense there as far as the measurements he measured in at six foot seven and a half without shoes. So, I mean, KU's listed him at like six, nine. That's probably about right. He's probably about six, eight and a half, six, nine with shoes on, which basketball

Starting point is 00:13:34 is played with shoes on, measured in at 189 pounds. So that certainly was not accurate that he was listed at like, wasn't he listed at like 205 or something like that? And a six foot eight wingspan. That one surprised me a little bit that he didn't have, I wasn't expecting like some huge wingspan, but certainly more than just a plus half inch on what he had there. Especially considering how good of a like offensive rebounder he was for the team. I thought that would have been bigger. He ended up because of, only 10th among the 14 small forwards there in max vertical reach and standing vertical reach.

Starting point is 00:14:10 So kind of below average in both of those. You look at some of the speed numbers there, kind of middle of the pack in some of those numbers. But he performed really well in the stationary shooting, which you would expect him to do. I think it was 19 of 25. He made it 1.12 straight three-pointers in the stationary shooting drills, which that's going to be a part of it. I even saw he had some interviews,

Starting point is 00:14:30 and people were asking him about looking like Timothee Charlemagne, or Charlemagne. So, you know, full litmus test of everything going on for Johnny Furphy. I don't know that this has one huge impact one way or another. Like, the shooting is great, and it certainly jumps off the page to see a guy do really well in the shooting, but it's like, weren't you expecting Johnny Furphy to be a good shooter?

Starting point is 00:14:50 So I don't know that that changes a ton. Honestly, the measurements, you know, that might lower it a little bit, but I think he's going to test. Well, I think he's going to interview well,

Starting point is 00:14:59 that it's going to be kind of a complete wash and we're going to end around the same spot. Like I don't expect Johnny Furphy's draft stock after this to be like, oh, it's five spots higher or be like, oh, it's 10 spots lower. I think it's going to be about the same from where it is, which is kind of a fringe first round prospect right now, which means that it's just kind of all based on what guarantee or guarantees can you get? Others of note, Kevin McCuller measured six, five and a quarter without shoes.

Starting point is 00:15:24 206 pounds had a six, nine wingspan. Honestly, crazy saying that Kevin is measured six five and a quarter without shoes 206 pounds had a six nine wingspan honestly crazy saying that kevin is six five and a quarter without shoes i guess that goes up to six six six six and a half with you but how good he was defending and rebounding and being able to play the four despite not having uh you know overwhelming size this one's of interesting so uh jackson robinson who's a ku basketball portal target check out the deep dive if you missed it thank you the everydayers who caught it already. 6'4 and 3 quarters without shoes. So probably around 6'6 with shoes.

Starting point is 00:15:51 189 pounds and a 6'11 and 3 quarters wingspan. So he almost has a 7 foot wingspan, does Jackson Robinson. And it's actually interesting to me because if you were to bring on, let's say Furphy stays in the draft, you could almost view Robinson as a like-for-like replacement of Furphy. There are differences in the game, certainly. But in terms of Furphy's a wing who could play the three or the four, I think Robinson's a wing who could play the three or the four. He has a seven-foot wingspan.

Starting point is 00:16:18 Kevin McCullough had a 6'9 wingspan and measured only half an inch taller than Jackson Robinson. And I guess he had, you know, 18 pounds on him, but Furphy played, you know, some four for Kansas when they took like KJ Adams out of the game. And Jackson Robinson was about the same weight, 0.2 pounds less than Furphy with almost a four inch bigger wingspan. And it's not that I think he will play the four that much because KU will have KJ Adams play there and AJ store play there, but it's nice to have more players who could play there in a pinch. And that would give you more opportunity with Robinson. And I think mostly play at the two and three, but I give you the option there, which speaking of him, it does sound like it's

Starting point is 00:16:57 a battle between Kentucky, Kansas, and Arkansas. So buckle your chin strap up on that one. The last thing here, Chaz Lanier, who had a deep dive yesterday. Wuga Poplar, we had a deep dive last week. They were not called up to the NBA Combine from the G League Combine, which probably wraps up the idea that they will not be staying in the NBA draft. I guess you never know for sure. Sometimes there has been. I forget who it was.

Starting point is 00:17:19 There was a guy in one of the recent drafts who wasn't called up from the G League Combine. And it's because some NBA teams really liked him and didn't want others to get a hold of him or see him as much. And he ended up being like drafted. So, you know, that can happen. But I think realistically, the expectation would be to go back to college and both are in the transfer portal. Both could be possible targets for KU.

Starting point is 00:17:38 So certainly that is of interest. All right. You know who was a target, but now is a Jayhawk. Got a new 17 points per game score. The KU women's team, Jordan Webster. We're going to talk about it next. First, this episode of the show is brought to you by GameTime. GameTime's an authorized ticket marketplace of the NBA,

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Starting point is 00:18:43 Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-C-O-L-L-E-G-E, all one word, for $20 off. Download GameTime today. Last-minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Finishing things up with KU Women's Basketball landing another transfer. Jordan Webster is their latest pickup. 5'10 guard, originally from Dallas, Texas.

Starting point is 00:19:08 She was last at UC Riverside, who is in the Big West Conference. She was All-Big West freshman pick in her first season, which was the COVID year in 2020-21. Averaged over 10 points per game that year. Her second year dropped off a little over 6 points per game. Then by year three, she wound up scoring 13 points and over four rebounds per game. And then this past season was her best over about 34 minutes per game, averaged 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and two and a half steals per game with UC Riverside.

Starting point is 00:19:43 The shooting efficiency has never really been there for Webster in her college career. You go back and look and you know this past year she shot 36.6% from the field. She only shot 29.6% from three. That's on 5.9 attempts per game. So a lot of her shots were coming there. That's going to drag down the overall field goal percentage and that's not that different from her career. Her career she's at 34% from the field and 29% from three. Those are both well below average. I think the hope here is that she was on kind of a bad team that didn't have a ton of other options and bad relative. I think they were third in the Big West. So for their league, they were pretty good. And it forced her to take a lot of tough shots that now on a team that has

Starting point is 00:20:24 Samaya Nichols and Wyvett Mayberry and some of the other transfer pickups that KU has already added that she's going to get more open shots. And it's one thing to shoot 29.6% from three on like two, three point attempts per game. That means that you're not confident in taking them. You're not taking them. You're not making them either. This wasn't a high efficiency making, but if you're not confident in taking them. You're not taking them. You're not making them either. This wasn't a high efficiency making, but if you're taking six a game, clearly it shows some sort of level of three. Maybe it was just a shot selection thing.

Starting point is 00:20:51 Or like I said, you were the one who had to be counted on. So you're taking more contested shots each and every game. Probably gonna get more open shots in the role you're gonna play at Kansas. So I'd imagine the efficiency is going to go up. Maybe she becomes more of just a spot-up three-point shooter and kind of a three and D player. Five foot 10 gives you solid size. It's kind of a guard-wing combo. Two and a half steals per game. That gets you excited about what she can bring on that end

Starting point is 00:21:14 of the court. And if she just becomes a solid three and D, I think that's a perfect compliment for everything you have with the creation and the ball handling you already have with what's on the roster. So I think she'll have a chance to start um she'll be in her final season so I think probably that's the expectation from her end she wants to come in and start at a power five uh but if she's coming off the bench then she'll be one of the top rotation players off the bench I think regardless it adds to the depth it adds to the overall roster of KU and so um I do like this fit for Kansas and I think they've done a good job so far in the transfer portal to kind of build around Samaya Nichols and build off of all the stuff that they've lost,

Starting point is 00:21:50 which certainly is a lot. All right, that'll do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcasts, including on our YouTube page. Back tomorrow with Nick Schwartz.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football Transfer Target Bryce Foster + Furphy Update + KU WBB Adds Jordan Webster

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