Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - REVAMPED: Kansas Offseason Complete? Recapping the Jayhawks Haul Led by Tyran Stokes & Keanu Dawes

Starting point is 00:00:00 Is the off season over for KU basketball at this point? And if so, what would we grade it? You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Derek Johnson here. Thanks for joining us on Locked on Jayhawks. And on today's episode, we'll get to some of the latest news for KU, including the official word on Dennis Parker Jr., KU Baseball, KU Football News.

Starting point is 00:00:34 we'll get to some of the superlatives of the off season, like who I think the best shooter is that they added in, the best defender, the best athlete, best player overall. We're getting to all those conversations. And we'll start right here. Is the offseason done for Kansas at this point in time? So right now they're sitting on 13 scholarship players, which again, you have 15 scholarships to use with the current NCAA rules.

Starting point is 00:00:57 But those cost money. And I guess it could just be a scholarship thing, right? If you're just bringing on a player's developmental piece, who's just going to be on scholarship, then, you know, it's not costing you the NIL money and stuff where that makes sense. But realistically,

Starting point is 00:01:14 even then, KU's been used to having, you know, 12, 13, 14 man rosters over recent years. So they might be content with the 13 and just say, hey, we got what we got,

Starting point is 00:01:23 right? And maybe you view it from a standpoint, if we look at some of the past off seasons for KU, they've made like one late edition, right? Like last year, late in the game, they went and added KOR, are you? You know, a year before that, you're, you're adding what? I guess Bryson Taylor technically

Starting point is 00:01:38 at semester, but Johnny Furphy to the fold, or maybe that was two years ago, whatever. You're adding him late. I guess, you know, two years ago would have been Deke Hoyt, you added in like August. Johnny Furfee was late, late August the year before that. So we've seen KU basically be like, hey, if somebody falls in our laps and we get the right price and maybe, you know, by then, that gives us, you know, a few months to fundraise a little bit more money from an NIL perspective, then we can add one more player. And I think that would make sense for KU. You know, if we get to July or early August and they feel like the Christian Reeves injury,

Starting point is 00:02:15 the surgery is going to put you behind the eight ball at the center position, maybe you can go out and grab another center body, right? Or maybe you feel like you need another ball handler in there. And you try to find that next diggy-coit situation, right? Or maybe you're just looking for that Johnny Furphy situation where you're like, is there going to be an international prospect or, I guess, Furfie or Rosario situation, a 2027 prospect that can reclass up into 2026, right? And maybe it's even a guy you already have committed in Javon Bardwell, who is in the class

Starting point is 00:02:44 of 2027 and could reclassify to 2026, right? So there are some options for what KU wants to do. I do think regardless, it's going to be a patient approach to what they do, but it would not surprise me if they're done at this point in time. And maybe they do add one more player, but maybe it's more of the ilk of. the Grant Mordini, Atticus Richmond, where it is more of that developmental, you know, practice type of player that can get you that next body in there. But overall, the recap for KU this off-season, in our a bunch of freshmen, Taelin Kinney, Tyron Stokes, Trent Perry, Davion Adkins, Luke Barnett,

Starting point is 00:03:17 Grant Mortini, and Atticus Richmond. And then he brought in transfers with Leroyd-Blyden Jr., Dennis Parker, Jr., Keanu Dawes, and Christian Reeves. It's a top three freshman class coming in on 24-7 sports. It is a top 11 transfer portal class when you look at Evan Miyakawa. That's a pretty good offseason, right? Now, obviously, you lost some key pieces going out. Darren Peterson, Chief amongst them, who's going to be a top four pick in the NBA draft. Florida Bedunga transfers away to Louisville, Marco Jackson, to Georgetown, Jamari McDowell to Wake Forest, Samis Calderon, to Butler and Bryson Tiller to,

Starting point is 00:03:52 dare I say, the Missouri Tigers. And then you graduate a couple players with Gingala, Jaden Dawson and Trey White, Melvin Council probably joins the fold there, though we are still waiting on that. And going back to the patient approach, like maybe part of that patient approach is what's going to happen with Melvin Council. And maybe that's what it comes down to for Kansas. Maybe it comes down to, hey, if counsel does, you know, win his waiver with the NCAA will make him our last edition. If not, we'll reclassify Javan Bargwell. Like maybe it's something like that.

Starting point is 00:04:25 Who knows? And then you have just two returning players, Colorsar Sari. and Paulumbia if you're Kansas. But again, two scholarships left if you are KU. Now, let's compare and contrast this, where you were at with that roster in your top eight versus your projected top eight this year. Okay, the number one player in last year's team,

Starting point is 00:04:46 you know, if you want to talk from a value standpoint, then you could argue for you. But let's just say it's Darren Peterson. Stokes v. Darren Peterson is a very interesting discussion of which you would take because I think in all likelihood, Peterson, like Peterson to me will be the better pro. And Peterson will be the guy that, I don't know, like the shot making is so good. But if we're just talking about from a standpoint of what they are going to provide for you in their one season of college basketball,

Starting point is 00:05:13 because of all the missed minutes and missed games and the headaches that caused in and out of the lineup and the chemistry on the court of Kansas in and out of the lineup, because of some of those, because the shot didn't fall nearly as much over the last couple of months, even though I think Darren Peterson in a vacuum is a better player than Tyron Stokes and will be a better pro, I could see a world where Tyron Stokes has a more impactful season on Kansas basketball, if that kind of makes sense, more things that he brings to the table, right? But if we just want to call that a wash and say, okay, you're washed with the first one. The number two player on last year's team would be Florida Bidunga then. I think the number two player, you could probably argue a couple guys.

Starting point is 00:05:57 I'm going to put Keanu Doss there. I'm high on what Keanu Daz is going to do. You're talking about somebody who had basically even better defensive rebound rate than 100 Dickinson did at Kansas. So he's an elite defensive rebounder. He was scoring 13 points per game for Utah and with another year college basketball, maybe that goes up to 15. He shot 37% from 3 in Big 12 play and is working on that in the offseason with the same trainer that coached up O'Chai in his final offseason before his senior year at Kansas.

Starting point is 00:06:26 So I'm really high on Dawes. I do think you go with Flory in that discussion. Daw's the better rebounder, Daw's more offensive game and the three-point shooting. But Florey is just so freakish defensively that I would lean that one there. Now, if we're looking at the number three player on each team, again, you could argue a couple guys for, I mean, both teams, honestly. I put Melvin Council at number three for last year's Kansas team comparing him to Leroyd-Blyden. This is an interesting one because, you know, counsel had a pretty good season

Starting point is 00:06:56 for Kansas, right? But because of the shooting of Leroy-Blyden, because that makes him a more versatile piece in what you can do with him and makes him a better fit around. Like, Blighton becomes a better fit around Stokes than counsel was a fit next to Peterson, if that makes sense. So I'm tempted to lead Blyden, but because of the fact that we don't totally know how it'll translate from the Mac. Maybe you would call that one a wash as well. For player number four, I did Taylin Kinney against Trey White. Now, I think there was a very real world where like one of Paul and B. or Cole Rosario ends up surprising us and ends up being in this top four for Kansas, right? But we'll call it Kinney versus White. That would obviously be a lean to Trey White.

Starting point is 00:07:40 And I think Trey Kenney or Talen Kinney is going to, you know, come in, be a good passer, be a good three-point shooter for KU. But Trey White had a really good season for Kansas. So I'd probably lean that way there. Now you have, you know, I'll go Paul Mbia versus Bryson Tiller, because I think with the surgery stuff on Reeves, I have Mbia being the starter at the center with the cause missed time. And I think on paper you would say, well, Paul Mbia was behind Bryson Tiller.

Starting point is 00:08:06 So how can you pick Bryson Tiller? Or I'm sorry, how can you pick Paul Mbia if he was behind Bryson Tiller all season? I would actually lean Paul Mbia this year over Bryson Tiller last year. Here's the reason why. It's not comparing freshman year Bryson Tiller versus freshman year Paul Mbia, where Tiller was ahead of him. It's comparing what you got as a freshman from Bryson Tiller versus what you'll get as a sophomore from Paul Mbia, which I think you'll get more. I think the rebounding and the rim protection will be more out of Mbia this year than it was out of Tiller last year. And heck, even by season's end, you could argue Tiller was the worst player than Mbia over the last couple of weeks of the season.

Starting point is 00:08:45 So I don't think that's crazy to say that Mbia is an upgrade over Tiller if you're looking at that. So we're basically looking at through the first five spots. We're looking at two advantages for last year's team and one advantage for this year's team with two basically ties. Basically is what we call them, right? Then you look at Col Rosario versus Jemarri McDowell. There is a world where if Cole Rosario does not figure out the shooting and it's the same as this past year, the McDowell becomes the higher floor player. I do think Rosario is going to take a step up in shooting.

Starting point is 00:09:15 I don't know what that step up will be. It will be 33%, will be 37%. But I think it's going to be enough that when you look at McDowell, he was basically just a shooter. He tried hard. He brought hustle. He tried on the defensive end. It's just sometimes, you know, he'd be guarding a more athletic or a bigger player,

Starting point is 00:09:32 especially with the switch-heavy scheme for KU. I think Rosario, though, profiles is having more to his game, the ability to get up, the ability to get in transition, to throw down dunks, the ability to get some steals, the ability to get offensive rebounds. So I do think that's a checkmark for this year's team as well with Rosario. Then you look at Dennis Parker Jr. versus O'Marco Jackson.

Starting point is 00:09:51 Again, there's a chance Dennis Parker comes in and the three-point shot isn't what it was before. But we know Dennis Parker Jr. is going to give you more size. He is going to, I think, also be a solid defender like El Marco was. And I also think much better rebounding with Dennis Parker Jr. Plus, you get more versatility with the wing. And I think more potential from three-point range. So I would still check Mark Dennis Parker Jr. And then you look at Christian Reeves against no one.

Starting point is 00:10:18 I guess you would say Christian Reeves versus Paul M. Bia as a freshman. And I'm taking this version of Christian Reeves over last year's version of Paul Mbia for the majority of the season. So it's interesting because in the starting lineup, it's a slight lean to last year's team. But once you add the depth pieces, the rotation pieces, and that's not even accounting for that I do think KU has some interesting freshmen in terms of being guys who could, you know, maybe play five minutes a game in a specific role. You need a three-point shot. You need a defensive stop. Like,

Starting point is 00:10:49 or you need Davy on Adkins just to come in for energy and rebounding, right? That you can look at some of those things and say, I think this team is going to be deeper. I think this team has some advantages over last year's team from that standpoint. And you look at the rebounding. You look at at least having an average to better shooter, basically every spot besides center. Yeah, I kind of talked about this on Monday as well.

Starting point is 00:11:13 I think this team is going to be better than last year's team. And I guess going through it there, too, kind of lines that up for me as well. All right, let's continue on some superlatives among some of the additions for KU and the offseason next. This episode is brought to you by Rocket Money. If you've ever opened your bank account and thought, where it all my money go, you're not alone. Keeping track of subscriptions, spending, and bills, it can get overwhelming fast. That's where Rocket Money comes in, helping you take control of your finances all in one place. It tracks all your subscriptions in one spot.

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Starting point is 00:13:13 sponsor jobs. You can join the everyday air club to get the ad free version of the show at lock on jhawks. Dot supercast.com. All right. We're going to go over some superlatives for the KU additions here. Let's start here. Best edition for KU. It's obviously Tyron Stokes from so many levels. He's your best player. He was the difference in, you know, what your off season was. If we are doing a non-tyrant Stokes category, though, just to make it a little more muddled, I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of the season, we're saying Leroy Blyden. And I think he's, he's almost the player on most excited C of the newcomers besides Stokes, because I'm going to see how it translates. And if it does translate, he's going to be such a fun player for KU. But my answer here for the non-stokes category

Starting point is 00:14:00 is going to be Dawes because, like, first of all, Dawes was like your first edition when nobody else was signing up to that point. We were all feeling the hysteria and the panic of what was going to happen. Dawes became that guy. You look at some advantages that this year's team has on last year's team. Defensive rebounding is one big one and a big reason why is Keanu Dawes. He also adds a offensive element from your big spot and a shooting element that I don't think you had on this past year's team. And then there's this part of it as well is the versatility part of it. Adding a player like Keanu Dawes who could play the four or the five for you is going to unlock what you want to do.

Starting point is 00:14:40 Right. Like, Pollymia is a five. right um christian reeves is a five you know but with dawes if you want to play small and play him at the five you can or if you want to play big and play dawes at the four next to one of those centers you can having that versatile piece that can do a little bit of both i think is going to unlock k u from being able to do different things and test different things throughout the season the best value add for kansas i think this was dennis parker junior right um i guess we don't know the official like salaries and stuff. But honestly, if I could count like retaining players, it might be one of Paul and Pierre,

Starting point is 00:15:15 Colrisario, because I could see one, if not both, breaking out. And that could be your best value, you know, have. But a value add, I would go Parker Jr. And here's why. I think going back to the idea that, yes, the shot at NC State was under 30% from three. There was 38 at Radford. Was that just product of competition being worse? It could be. But he also talked a lot about like, in last off season working with this like, you know, well-known trainer and figuring out some mechanics with his jump shot that made him better. But here's the beauty of it. Even if the shot is not falling at 38%. Let's say it's 32%, 33%, he still can be an impactful player because he gets the free throw line. He rebounds the crap out of the basketball and he's a good defender. And he's a good enough athlete

Starting point is 00:16:02 that he can be a transition score and dunker for you, right? So I think there is a world. I'm not saying I'm expecting it to happen. But I even don't discount the world where KU winds up starting, let's say, one of your guards, or what if they even start with a small, like what if we see, maybe it's not starting, but like what if we see KU's best lineup end up as like Dawes at the five, Stokes at the four, Parker at the three, and then whatever two guards you want to talk about at the one and two? That would not completely shock me.

Starting point is 00:16:34 I think that'd be a really fun offensive lineup. So I felt there was a really good value at. Padding Parker. The best shooter, though, is Leroyd-Blidean, 40% from 3 at Toledo. That feels like a home run there for KU, though. Don't sleep on tail and Kenny in this category. Best rebounder, it's Dawes on defense, for sure. Dawes is the best defensive rebounder. He's one of the best in the country there. I think if you're looking overall rebounding, though, it's probably Christian Reeves. Even going back to his time at Duke and Clemson, he was a good rebounder. He was excellent at it at Charleston this year. If you wanted to say pound for pound

Starting point is 00:17:07 rebounder or like given their position you could argue stokes for a wing or parker for a two three guard are about as good of rebounders as you can ask for for those positions but yeah i think reeves is the best overall rebounder you added does the best defensive rebounder strictly that you added best passer on the team i really love tyrant stokes passing so i i would probably go with that but the answer might also be taylin kinney i think stokes excellent passer but you're probably going to get a little bit more turnovers there than you will with Taylin Kinney. I think Kinney has excellent vision and passing ability too and they should be able to use that to their benefit. The best defender, I have this split up into a couple different areas. As a playmaker, I think it's Tyron Stokes. So getting

Starting point is 00:17:51 blocks, getting steals. I think that will be a Stokes special. As an on ball defender, I might go with Parker. He's long, he's lengthy, he's a good athlete. He can be a really good defender for you, right? Honestly, Trent Perry might be the answer here too when it's also. sudden done, who knows. But overall, the best or the most impactful defender, I think it's going to end being Paul and Bia. I think his rim protection, I think his shot blocking, I think the defensive rebounding, it's going to total together and make him a really impactful defender for KU. Best athlete, Tyron Stokes, still the answer there. If you weren't going with Stokes, though, it would be a difficult conversation. Do we go through? Sorry, well, if we're talking about additions,

Starting point is 00:18:33 you can't go there. Do we go with Parker? Do we go with? Do we go? with Perry maybe that might be the answer there uh I don't know some interesting athletes on the team does a pretty good athlete for the four anyway a player who I'm really excited about if they stay in 2027 to 2028 this is our last category here is leroy blighton now theoretically with the five and five all these players could be back I believe um for not just you know this upcoming season the season after and that's another season's problem and obviously with the portal the way it is like you never know what to expect with players being at a school for more than one year um But with Blyan, he feels like a player to me who's going to be impactful this year and be a starter for KU and be a solid play.

Starting point is 00:19:17 I could see him averaging 12 points per game, shooting well from three, like being a Ficey defender, getting some steals. And then I could see him like if he sticks around for multiple years, being like a guy who in his second or third year, Kansas is like a big 12 player of the year candidate. So I really hope that you get him for multiple year. He's still just a sophomore. And I guess theoretically, because of the five and five, you could have four more years with Leroyblyden as long as, you know, he's happy and taking care of monetarily and stuff. But in today's day and age, I guess we probably shouldn't plan that far in advance. All right, let's get to some of the latest news. This is Locked on Jayhawks.

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Starting point is 00:20:51 Dot supercast.com. Locked on Jayhawks. Dot supercast. Dot com. All right. So Dennis Parker, Jr., officially signed with KU. So that allowed Bill's health to talk about him. Here's what he said.

Starting point is 00:21:01 At Radford, Dennis proved that he was one of the best scores in the country. He's more than capable shooter with range. He's got great size, and anybody that can get 53 in a division one game certainly has potential to get hot and carry a team in stretches. We're very excited to add him to the mix. Now, I did find it interesting. This quote was mostly talking about the scoring and the shooting. And obviously, that'll be a big part of his role coming off the bench. But again, I keep going back to the idea that he is a good defender, that he is a good rebounder,

Starting point is 00:21:30 that make him a valuable piece beyond just the scoring impact, that he has been known to be a good teammate and a hard worker. Like, I think there's a lot of valuable stuff here for Dennis Parker Jr. outside of just, you know, the point total, so to speak. Meanwhile, KU Baseball, after getting swept by West Virginia, losing all four games last week, they dropped to number 14 at D1 Baseball and the athletic, the number 16 at Baseball America. So that puts them right on the fringe. I know those aren't the ones that are deciding if they're hosting in the, you know, first round of the NCAA tournament or the first, whatever you want to call it, the opening week. But that basically does tell a tale that they're on the fringe of doing so because of what happened last week. So they need to take care of business this week against BYU and then maybe do a little bit of damage in the big 12th tournament the week after that as well. KU Football News, former Jayhawks linebacker, Bengali Kamara, has signed with the Minnesota Vikings after he got a tryout during minicamp.

Starting point is 00:22:30 So good news there for Kamara, who is an unbelievable athlete from the linebacker position. and we'll see if you can end up making the roster for Minnesota. Last bid here, mentioned this on Monday. We're doing a trivia event over at Johnny's Tavern and West Lawrence coming up on June 3rd. It's going to be at six three doors. We'll open at 530. You can have teams up to six people on your teams. And half of the 50% of the entry fee is going to the prize pot.

Starting point is 00:22:57 50% of the entry fee is going to the Rock Truck Roundball Classic, which benefits families whose young children have. cancer and to help them afford some of the medical bills and some of the difficulties that that brings in their lives. So it's going to an absolutely great cause. And it's going to be a fun night. We're going to do Jayhawk trivia. You can even come home winning some money as a part of it as well. So if you're interested in signing up for that, go to Jayhawk trivia at gmail.com. Jayhawk trivia at gmail.com. All right, that'll do it for this episode of Lockdown Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcast, including on our YouTube page. We can like and

Starting point is 00:23:33 subscribe to the show. time.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - REVAMPED: Kansas Offseason Complete? Recapping the Jayhawks Haul Led by Tyran Stokes & Keanu Dawes

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