Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - RECLASSIFY NOW? Could Kansas Jayhawks & Javon Bardwell Link Up for 2026-2027 Season Now?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Should KU want Javon Bardwell to reclass or should they want him to stay in the class of 2027? 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, today's episode is brought to you by Fandwell. Right now new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins at defandwill.com to get started. And on today's episode of the show, we're going to break down some of the latest news and bad news for KU baseball. TBT is back with KU involved. Good news for KU baseball as well. Also get into the running back position preview.

Starting point is 00:00:44 Who could take off the running back position for KU this year? Very interesting position group. I think one of the better ones on the team. But we're going to start right here for KU hoops with Javan Bardwell. Could he reclass? Should he reclass for both him from KU's perspective? Let's get to all that. So Bardwell is the 37th ranked player by ESPN, which I think is way too low.

Starting point is 00:01:07 And honestly, like ESPN is the one that I put the least stock in anyway with these recruiting ranks. But just going to give it to you for the sake of doing it, 18th on three. And he is 12th at 247 sports, which is the one that I put the most stock in. So, you know, that's great, right? He's a 98 rated five star for the class of 2027 right now, right? And if you look at the 247 composite, it has him ranked 21st National. So again, you're talking about one of the best players in the country in the class of 2027. Now, I do think he's a little older for that class, and he does have the potential that he could reclassify into this class of 2026.

Starting point is 00:01:44 I do think that is an option that is on the table for him. I don't think this is a situation where it's just not possible, right? And if you're unfamiliar with Bardwell's game, he is a super athletic, like, six foot six wing. He can really drive it. He can kill it in transition because of how well. much of a good athlete he is. The outside shot is more kind of hit or miss for him, been a bit more inconsistent to this point in time. He is somebody who committed to KU last offseason. And obviously, we knew this was going to be a conversation this offseason. Is he

Starting point is 00:02:16 going to reclass? Is he not? Probably a lot of it dependent on what happened this offseason for KU. But now, Kansas is sitting on a situation where they have two open scholarships. And it doesn't seem like there's a lot of noise or momentum moving anywhere with any particular player that Kansas might be done in the offseason. So if that's the case, well, you got potential to add a player who has a really high ceiling. Why not just look in your own backyard, so to speak, right? Now, I do find it interesting from a standpoint of, you know, if you compare Jvonne Bardwell's 2024 to 2025 season, playing for OTE to his 2025 to 226 season playing for OTE just to compare like what are some areas that he got better at this season for instance, right?

Starting point is 00:03:03 He actually played a couple less minutes per game. Yet the rebound per game numbers went up by almost one rebound per game. Stealing block numbers were slightly better this season for him. He also in terms of two point percentage was a lot better this year. You're talking 52% on twos this season compared to a, about 46% the season before, so you like to see that growth. The overall field goal percentage was about two points higher. The plus minus was way better.

Starting point is 00:03:31 He was negative plus minus his first year, but he was a huge positive. Over seven points better per game for his plus minus in terms of what he did. He also became more aggressive. He averaged more fouls per game, but I think that came from being more aggressive on the defensive end of the floor. Now, and again, he did average slightly more steals and blocks per game. Unfortunately, that one question we have, what is the three point shot, got worse from year one to year two. He was 20 of 64 on threes in his first year at OTE.

Starting point is 00:04:07 That's 31%. This past year, he goes 12 of 55, which is just 22%. So if you total it up over the course of his two years at OTE, you're talking 27% from three. That'll be kind of the big question here, right? And I think that's kind of a big question coming into this because if Javon Bardwell is in a situation where he would reclassify and come up to Kansas, if the shot ain't fallen from three, is it a little tougher to get him on the court? Is he better off at a lower stakes environment continuing to work on that shot? I think the case for him to reclassify if you're Kansas is this. You're looking at a situation where with these two open scholarships, who knows if you fill both, maybe you only fill one. Maybe you feel none, right?

Starting point is 00:04:50 But if you're looking at adding potentially one more player, outside of getting like a stud European player, which that's probably going to cost even more money that you probably don't have, this is probably the most accessible, easily available player for KU that has real upside potential. You know, if you want to go out and get another player who's kind of developmental piece that maybe isn't costing NIL is just on scholarship, or if you want to go out there and, you know, bring on a G.

Starting point is 00:05:17 and Gala type player. Like sure, that's one thing. But if you want a player who does have like real upside like Bardwell, this is probably the best way to go. It would also give you more competition for guys like Rizar. Like as much as I think Rosario is going to take a step up, what if he doesn't, you know? Would it be nice to have a guy like Bargwell to give you extra competition in case he steps up and Rosario does not, right?

Starting point is 00:05:38 Or what if Parker doesn't translate? What are Trent Perry, right? You know, and here's the other thing. like, I know the Bryson Tiller saga didn't totally work out at the end of Kansas. He transferred away to Missouri and everything, but all things considered, I think with what the expectations were before the season started for Bryson Tiller to if you just looked at the overall season output, what he wound up doing, he exceeded the expectations from where we were last summer, right?

Starting point is 00:06:06 And that came after, he wasn't even practicing, but he was at least around the program taking like a medical redshirt for a semester. Did that help him adjust and hit the ground running in his first season? It might have. So at the very least, you could view it as like, okay, you get him in the program for a year and have him develop under what Bill Self would kind of want him to do, right? And those could all be good things from KU's perspective. It would deepen your team.

Starting point is 00:06:31 It would make you, you know, better and everything. The reason you wouldn't want to do this from KU is, you know, do you even have enough money to afford this reclassification? And the other side of this is what if Bardellelik, you could come to the agreement right now and say, hey, listen, you might wind up the eighth or ninth man on this year's team. So we can't guarantee that you're going to play a ton, but we're going to develop you for a year and then you'll play more than next year. And his camp might be like, yeah, that makes sense. We get that.

Starting point is 00:06:59 But then all of a sudden we get to the end of the year and he's not playing as much. And then you actually live through it and you're like, no, I don't want to. Like, for instance, perfect example. Flory Bedunga came to Kansas knowing Hunter Dickinson was there, you know, coming back for another. year and yep they signed up for it and then by the end of the year you're hearing all this stuff from florrie's guardian who you know is a bit of a weasel but kind of talking about you know um we thought he should have played more and you know like all the all the sort of stuff what's that where it's like but you knew you were you were signing up for well somewhere along the way you get this idea that

Starting point is 00:07:37 that's not the case and it almost caused him to transfer after his freshman year right so that would be the worry that are you better off just keeping him in the class of 2027 where it wouldn't be as much of a log jam for playing time by the time he joins the team as opposed to bringing him on now and you risk him transferring away and then you don't get him for the 2027 season when you would have had him to play even more right that is the risk if you are k u here right and from bardwell's perspective um i think the case for reclassing to kansas i mean he already has a good connection with Kenny, who he played with. He was on the visit when Tyrone Sokes was around.

Starting point is 00:08:15 I'd imagine they have, I don't know, at least some sort of connection as well because of that. From his perspective to OTE is shutting down. So he wouldn't have to worry about finding his new place to play basketball next year. He could just go to Kansas and he's probably going to make more money. Like even if Kansas doesn't have a ton of money to spend, he's still probably going to make more money at Kansas than in high school. Like even if he's getting 300K from Kansas, which is probably on the lower end of players on their roster, that's more than you're probably going to make from the high school level.

Starting point is 00:08:46 At least I'd imagine, I mean, to my knowledge, I don't know. Are these robust like high school salaries that are out there that I don't know about maybe? But so that would be good for him, right? And he would get to develop and everything. In best case scenario, if you kill it, you are in the rotation already as a young player and can kind of hit the ground running. The negative side for him is that he does start that clock already. But with the new potential ruling of the five and five thing, I believe his clock would be starting anyway, whether he joins KU or not for this upcoming season. And if that's the case, you might as well be on college to do it, I guess.

Starting point is 00:09:23 But then again, there's an argument to be, you know, continue to develop the three point shot and hit the ground running when you get to college. And that, you know, from Bardwell's perspective as a five-star recruit, he's probably like, well, I'm going to be a one and none or a two. and done. So I don't really care about the five and five thing because I'm not going to use all those years anyway. So I do think it's interesting, whatever KU would want to do. I could see the case for him staying in 2027 in terms of, you know, you spread out your talent a little bit more and there's no guarantee impacts this roster. But here's here's also how I'm viewing it. You don't even know how many more years Bill Self is going to coach. And you also have another number one recruit coming in, which you don't get that many of, right, with Tyron Stokes. I know it's back to back now for Kansas. So it, you know, it feels like he keeps happening. But before Darren Peterson, your last number one recruit, you had to go back, you know, almost a decade with Josh Jackson. So wouldn't you want to maximize the roster on the number one accru? Wouldn't you want to maximize the roster in what could potentially be Bill's health last season? So I would, I would try to classify him up even at risk of the transfer thing. And here's the deal. At the end

Starting point is 00:10:30 of the day, if Javon Bardwell is good enough, you know, to not be transferring at the end of the year. He should be able to earn rotation minutes at least, you know. So I'd be in on him joining. And I do think he's a good player. Obviously, the three-point shot would be kind of a swing skill. But like, there's a lot of athleticism there. There's a lot of driving transition ability. He's a fun athlete. I'd be all about reclassing for Kansas this year. All right, let's move on to a little KU football. Get to our running back position preview next. Today's episode is brought to you by Fandual. The NBA playoffs are here and every possession matters. If you're looking to get even closer to the action on Fandual, they have a great.

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Starting point is 00:11:49 I don't know, Gonzaga at 30 to 1 seems kind of interesting there. Vanderbilt will Tanner come back 40 to 1? I don't know. You can judge for yourself. You can also get, do you think the thunder even after losing to Victor Wembeyanama in game 1 can come from behind? down 1-0, you can probably get them better odds now than you could ever before all postseason. So head to FanDwell.com to get started. FanDwell play your game with the official sportswork partner of the Lockdown Podcast Network.

Starting point is 00:12:19 Don't forget you join the Everyday Air Club to get the ad-free version of the show at Lockdownjahawks. Dot supercast.com. All right, KU Football Running Back Position Preview. This is a position that I think is one of the best positions on the team. And so it becomes very interesting. The reason I think that is because I think they go four deep of players. that I would all be comfortable as potential starters for KU. That's how good I feel about this room.

Starting point is 00:12:43 Now, that does lead to the big question here. Who does start for the running back room if you're KU? Because, and is it just kind of a starter in name, right? You have Dylan Edwards, who, I don't know, he's the most explosive. He's the speediest of the backs. But he's also not the type of like Belkow who's going to get 20 touches a game. You have you seen Willis, who is more of the bell cow, who could probably afford that.

Starting point is 00:13:09 Then again, he's had some injury issues and concussion issues in his times. He probably don't want to give him 20 carries a game, right? Jalen Dupree is a guy that I loved his all-around game at Colorado State, but he was injured in Springball. So that throws a wrench in. And then you have Corey McRey, who might be the most balanced best all-around back of the bunch, at least long-term, as just a true freshman

Starting point is 00:13:29 and seems to be already really performing and impressing people as a freshman and early enrollee in Springball. And that seems to set him up that he could get some. carries this upcoming season, but he still is a freshman and there's a lot of other talented backs kind of around him and in front of him. Of course, you also have Justin Thurman as a redshirt freshman who I believe had to have surgery. So that's going to limit his upcoming season here. And then John Kelly, who will be a redshirt freshman as well. The realistic answer is it probably doesn't really matter who starts. We've heard when Andy Codalnicki got here, he mentioned for the running game,

Starting point is 00:14:07 He liked to have a pair and a spare. And that's how I've tried to continue to view things for KU from the running back position. The pair are basically two guys that are going to get a bulk load of the carries that are going to, you know, if not split carries, even it's going to be pretty close. And then you have the spare, which is your third running back, which, you know, if one of the guys gets hurt or one of the guys gets tired, they might come in here or there. But for the most part, it's going to be that pair. And that even went over to Penn State with Ketron Allen and Nick Singleton.

Starting point is 00:14:34 And that was still a thing with Andy Codal Nikki there, right? So I just wonder, like, is Edwards and Willis, is that just the pair that we're talking about here? I mean, it really works from a lightning and thunder type approach where Willis is kind of the thunder and Edwards is kind of the lightning. It would allow you to limit, you know, touches on both guys in terms of having some durability questions with both of them for different reasons. And then your spare is whoever wins the competition between Dupree and a mockery, right? that seems to be the easy way to go about it. But like what happens if a mockery is that? Like I go back to the very first year,

Starting point is 00:15:10 the Lancelight Poldera, Felton Gardner's like starting game one, it was by, I don't know, game two or game three where it seemed like they realized, yeah, Devin Neal is our best running back as a freshman. So maybe Emacri doesn't get the call right off the bat, but would it shock me if Corey Amokri, who I've been high on since KU got him to commit,

Starting point is 00:15:26 wound up being the starting running back by week four or something? Honestly, it really wouldn't. But I also think it's interesting because, these running backs all have like different traits that they're really good at. Now, to be clear, like, it's not the only thing that they're good at. Like you've seen Willis does have more speed and athleticism than he gets credit for as being a powerback. He does have more than, you know, he deserves and stuff. Like, you know, Dylan Edwards does have more ability to run between tackles than just a speedback like a D. Anthony Thomas. He does have more of that than you might think. So like,

Starting point is 00:16:00 they do have these other skills. But when you look at their main skills, Dylan Edwards, is the fast one. Willis is kind of the strong one. The one cutability is kind of the Dupree area. And the highest ceiling, I don't know, that might be Edwards. It might be a mockery, you know, and then the best balanced might be a mockery. So it does kind of throw another wrench into this that, like, you're not just comparing apples to apples in terms of the same running style. You are a little bit comparing apples to oranges to bananas in terms of how some of these players want to run. And I think that'll make it very down in distance for, information, personnel dependent, in terms of who is getting kind of what.

Starting point is 00:16:39 But let's not forget to, in the 2022 season, in the early part of the season, the first half of the season, when Daniel Hyshaw was healthy, him and Devin Neal were pretty much splitting carries, you know. And so it wouldn't shock me if we see Edwards as a 10 to 12 touch per game guy. Willis is a 10 per 12 to 12 touch per game guy. And then whoever the third is is getting a handful of touches per game. I could see that kind of being the split of how we're going about here. It is interesting because even though I think Edwards and Willis are probably the leaders in the clubhouse right now to be that pair, I'm doing these in the position groups. Like, who is my guy? I couldn't pick between these.

Starting point is 00:17:17 It is Dupree or a mockery. And the thing that stinks for me here is that it seems like it's more of a battle between those two for getting in the top three because Dupree was injured in Springball. And I don't know if that will have any impact. or carryover at all into fall camp or the season, whether it does or doesn't, it did cause him to miss a lot of valuable reps and time that Willis and Edwards were able to accrue, right? And that makes things more difficult there. And it stinks because I am super high on Dupree's game. He really good one one cut running back was really good vision, always seems to fall forward.

Starting point is 00:17:54 A lot of things I really like out of the running back position. I love to mockery out of high school. And it seems like those reports are kind of backing themselves up. But it seems like only one of the. these guys is going to be in that top three. So maybe something changes. You never entirely know, but I think in general, I view this running back room as one of the best positions on the team. I also view it as a position group that is better than a season ago. And, you know, Hyshaugh finished the season strong for KU. Well, Sean Williams had a really underrated season for Kansas,

Starting point is 00:18:22 but it wasn't as deep of a room as this year's room is. Like I said, if you told me Cory McCormick, he's a starter, I'd feel fine about it. If you told me Jalen Dupree's a starter, I'd feel good about it, right? Same with Willis or Edwards. And I think Edwards is going to really be unlocked with Andy Kodlnicki. And I think he'll do a really good job of unlocking a lot of these guys in a real way to where I think this is going to be a more productive running game for KU in general. I think the running backs will be more productive. And so I do think this is an upgraded running back room for KU, which comes at a really important time because there are questions about what the passing game and the quarterback position is going to bring for Kansas this season.

Starting point is 00:18:59 they're going to have to lean on these guys. And so it is important that you have multiple bodies that can handle that over the course of the season. I think they have just that. And I really do like this room. And I think there's a lot of underrated additions to say the least from what KU was able to do in the off season. All right, let's finish up with some of the latest news, little KU baseball, good and bad news, a little bit on the TBT, and then we'll get to our trivia question. This is Lockdown Jayhawks.

Starting point is 00:19:26 Thanks you ever joining us here on Lockdown Jayhawks. And don't forget you enjoying the everydayer club to get the ad-free version of the show. on Jayhawks.supercast.com. Meanwhile, KU got a new commit at the safety position. So if you want to check you that out, we did a bonus episode on Graves, the three-star safety they brought in as well. You can find that right here on Locked on Jayhawks. All right, the bad news, we'll start with for KU baseball.

Starting point is 00:19:49 This comes from Noah Darling. Kansas left fielder Brady Bollinger is expected to miss the entire Big 12 tournament due to injury. Bollinger suffered a handmaid injury mid at bat against BYU on Saturday. He's expected to return for. the NCAA tournament. So I guess the good news out of that is expected to be back for the NCAA tournament, but, you know, is that more if he's going to have to tough through it? He's not going to be the same guy. That would certainly stink. Obviously, KU could use some, you know, at least a win in the Big 12 tournament to try to secure hosting in the NCAA tournament because they are kind of close to that

Starting point is 00:20:22 line. They could really use at least a win, if not two this week. And, you know, why not just go win the Big 12th tournament sweep both the big 12 titles this year and then maybe even be in the chance to host a super regional. So you're not going to have one of your big boppers. You know, Bollinger was, was the best hitter on the team a season ago this year. Statistically, he hasn't been the best. And part of that has been maybe people pitching around him a little bit more. Tyson LeBlanc's been unbelievable, right? He still had a really good season though. And so he will desperately be missed in the lineup for KU and you hope that he can get back to his timing in the NCAA tournament and can play through whatever this severity of this injury is once we get to that point. Now, some of the good

Starting point is 00:21:07 news for KU baseball outside of, I guess, that he could be ready for the NCAA tournament is the list of KU baseball's All Big 12 honors, which came out. Dan Fitzgerald, one coach of the year in in the Big 12 for the second straight season. They're really going to have to work this offseason on keeping Dan Fitzgerald here. Not from the same, like, I do think Dan Fitzgerald likes being here. It seems like his family likes being here. He's a great guy. But like there's going to be some real programs, like real, real programs that are going to be calling and trying to lure him with not just a big salary, but a big NIL player pool, one that KU probably doesn't have. So get the, get the pocketbooks out, right? Like get the checkbooks out, right? Because Dan Fitzgerald has been a godsend on the KU.

Starting point is 00:21:55 U baseball program. First team honorees, Tyson LeBlanc mentioned him. Unbelievable season he's had Bodey Ray, who's been a nails closer for KU so far this year. On the second team was K. Baldridge, Josh Dykoff, and Dominic Vagley. And then on the honorable mention team was Brady Bollinger and Mason Cook. So good representation from KU baseball there on the All Big 12 Awards. The TBT is coming back this year, but with a different format.

Starting point is 00:22:21 This has been an event I've certainly loved over the years. much different now. They're going to a $2 million prize pool for the winner instead of one now. It's only going to be 16 teams. There's going to be eight teams in an alumni bracket, eight teams and basically the all-star team bracket. And the winner of the alumni and the all-stars, I believe, will play each other in the championship. The first round, though, so everything is single elimination except for the first round. The first round is the best of three series. And they have these alumni teams playing against like rival alumni teams. So you've got Kansas State that's going to play the Kansas alumni teams. Game one will be at Bramledge Coliseum.

Starting point is 00:22:57 Game two will be at Lee Arena. Whichever team, I believe, sells more tickets for their game is going to get the home game for game three if there is a game three. So actually, I think that's the case for one of them. It looks like Bram Lynch Coliseum will be the spot for game three of this one specifically. But it's already been announced that Frank Mason will be playing again for KU. Michael Beasley will be playing for K-State. I always love this event and should be another fun one this year, especially with those guys, kind of leading the way for both teams.

Starting point is 00:23:32 All right, trivia question. Once again, you can sign up for a trivia event at Johnny's Tavern, Wednesday, June 3rd. It's at 6.30 p.m. There's a sign-up fee. Half of it goes to the prize pool. The other half goes to the Rock Truck Roundball Classic. Awesome charity.

Starting point is 00:23:45 But you can find more out about at rock truck, roundball classic.com. So if you want to join that, just hit us up, Jayhawk Trivia at gmail.com. trivia question of the day. Yesterday's, let's go to that. Tishon Taylor began his KU career wearing what jersey number. So he finished his career wearing number 10, but Tyshawn actually started his career wearing the number 15 uniforms. There's your answer to the question from yesterday.

Starting point is 00:24:10 Our question for today that we'll get to on tomorrow's episode, Kansas won 72 to 57 in the 2008 suite 16 against what 12-seated school. So again, Kansas won 72-50. in the 2008 suite 16 against what 12-seated school. All right. See you tomorrow on another episode of Lockdown Jayhawks. Anywhere, get your podcast, including on our YouTube page. Later.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - RECLASSIFY NOW? Could Kansas Jayhawks & Javon Bardwell Link Up for 2026-2027 Season Now?

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