Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Top 10 Available Options for Kansas Jayhawks Basketball at Center in the Transfer Portal

Episode Date: April 21, 2023

The top 10 center options available in the transfer portal for Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, led by Hunter Dickinson and Graham Ike.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked on Jayhawks, we're going to be breaking down the top 10 center options or big men for KU to go after in the portal. I don't know how many they actually are going to or have been. It seems like it's all on one guy, but let's go through the rankings anyway. You are locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Johnson, you can hear me as well Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m.

on KLWN in Lawrence. Thanks for making Locked On Jayhawks your first listen every day. We are free and available wherever you get any of your podcasts. And on today's edition of the show, we are going to be breaking down the top 10 center options available to KU right now via the portal and recruiting. Don't forget, you can find us on YouTube also, like and subscribe to the show. So let's just get right into it uh so we have four tiers of players here for the center position and I will say you know when we

we've done these other lists like with the combo guards there was kind of like KU wasn't recruiting that many of the guys maybe on that list with the wings there were a lot more guys where it was like oh KU has reached out to or has interest makes a lot of sense, right? At the center position, this is without a doubt the list that I'm going to give you the top 10. And it might be like, okay, he was like, no, not interested, not interested, not interested, not interested, like on and on and on down the line. But we got to get to 10 anyway. So let's start with tier four. Jamarian Sharp would be on tier four for me here. He is a seven foot five elite rim protector he does struggle to defend in

in space or um any stretch players or whatnot but you know you're talking about a gigantic human who bill self would love to i'm sure run some duckings for him to just get easy dunks down low at seven five and having that rim protector on the inside the other way why he's not a better tier though he was just in the 17th percentile in post-up scoring. So he's not someone you're going to post up at all. He's just going to basically be in the dunker spot. And again, Bill Self would run those pin downs to get him to me looks. He scored just seven and a half points per game.

That was in the Conference USA. You don't bring him in to be really a scorer. And when you look at what KU had last year from the big positions, they didn't really get scoring from the center position, which is kind of what you're looking to do here in this go-around and so that doesn't really solve that issue basically a guy that we're going to be talking about later in this Musa Cisse sharp is Musa Cisse but taller slower and worse on offense so that's why he is tier four here where it's like yeah if you just wanted to add another body that could add, you know,

give you an extra fouls per game and play good defense down low, he would make sense. But I don't know that KU is really looking to do that. That said, you could make the argument that KU just needs another body in there. I know with 12 scholarships, it gets a little stickier, but we saw in the Arkansas game, two big men got in foul trail. You ended up being your next two guys. What if you have an injury to, you know, what if like Ernest or Zuby, one of them got injured

and now you're down to just one of those guys in KJ. And then one of them gets in foul trouble. Now you're down to one center in a specific game. So ideally you'd like to have a fourth guy who can at least play center. You don't want Marcus Adams at 205 pounds having to slide to the small ball five. If they were to land a guy like Harrison Ingram, I think it covers you here because I'm not saying Harrison Ingram is a small ball five, but if Harrison Ingram is your emergency small ball five, where he's your fourth center,

essentially, I think that's doable with a seven foot wingspan, 230 pounds in case all those things I said happen where one center gets injured and then another center gets in foul trouble that you feel like you still have a backup to the one guy that is remaining. That could be a reason to bring in a body like Jamarian Sharp or these next couple guys. But yeah, keep that in mind. John, I don't know if it's Huggley or Hughley the fourth. He is a transfer from Pittsburgh. Why he would fit is he does play really good post-up defense. 80th percentile in post-up defense on Synergy. Strong overall in that end. He was 81st percentile in overall defense the year prior. So last year, he gets injured and only plays single-digit games.

Year before, he had a full season. 81st percentile overall in defense with a full sample size. He's a good post-up scorer. He can spot up shoot some and even a little bit from three. We saw that a little bit last season. You look at the stats, you average nine points, three rebounds per game, basically. But the year before when he, you know, before the injury average is like 15 and eight. So you have real production there at a power five level in the ACC. Why he's not a better tier. He is coming off that season ending knee injury. And so if you're

getting the guy that averaged 15.8 at Pitt, he would be in a higher tier. But coming off a year where he averaged 8.3.5, out for the season with a knee injury, you have to worry about how he bounces back from that, similar to when KU brought in Dwight Colby. I'm not sure how much interest there is there from KU, and that is why he is in Tier 4.

Jalen Deloach, a transfer from VCU, is also in Tier 4aylen deloach a transfer from vcu is also in tier four he's more of a power forward type but i think on ku you'd play him at the five six foot nine only 215 pounds average 10 points about seven rebounds per game solid defensive numbers over a block and steal per game for vcu for a tournament team he could compete in that role as being like if you were just looking to bring on a big as being like, hey, we need another body in case of all those things I've already mentioned happen or just to compete and give a more veteran experience to some of the young guys with multiple years left too that maybe he could work into a bigger role eventually

to add depth, that would be Jalen Deloach. Just kind of gives you that extra body. So why he's not a better fit. It's not like one of those star bigs who's going to come in. Also, KU is not in his final six, which impacts things here. And I will say if KU were to all of a sudden call Jalen Deloach and be like, Hey, we have this NIL money and this opportunity, then maybe he'd reconsider his top list. And I think that's the case for maybe some other kids,

but he's undersized at the five at 215 pounds. He't shoot it has never made a three in his college career uh so you can't really play him at the three or four next to uh you know when you already have some of those issues and situations um so you don't love that but again if you're just looking for depth at a big man spot i think any of these guys would qualify there okay let's get to tier three tier three musa c say why he would fit and honestly i thought about making him tier two but the offense uh maybe keeps it back so he's a great rim protector he's a great defender did it in the big 12 you don't have to worry about how it translates over he's also a good offensive rebounder um that's something that can really help you as an offense and if you have

you know a lineup of c saying adams out there kj i should say that's going to can really help you as an offense. And if you have, you know, a lineup of Cissé and Adams out there, KJ, I should say, that's going to be a really good offensive rebounding unit. But why he's not a better tier, he's not a big scorer. Just 6.8 points per game, 34th percentile in post-up scoring. Is he that different than an ideal version of Zuby or Orste? Right? Like, I don't know that he is. And I think Ernest or Zuby have maybe a higher ceiling at this point for what they could maybe add to their offensive game

than what Moussa Cisse is. So to me, you're almost better off going in Tier 4. Cisse's a better player than those first three bigs we mentioned and more impactful. But I think those first three bigs we mentioned, maybe they'd be more okay being a depth big, whereas with Cissé, he's probably looking to go somewhere and be the guy.

BJ Mack is on Tier 3. He is a transfer from Wofford. He's listed by some sites as a power forward, which maybe shows you he does have a little bit of more juice to him than a center, but he's like 6'8", 245 pounds. So, I mean, ideally, he's going to be playing center for you. But he is a stretch big. He averaged 16.5 points per game at Wofford this past season.

He's a career 36% three-point shooter on three attempts per game. And in three years at Wofford and one year at South Florida, he's an experienced player. He also ranked last season in the 90th percentile per synergy 73rd percentile and spot up 66th percentile in pick and roll role man he would be a because to me it's if you're bringing in the center it either needs to be a star i.e hunter dickinson or somebody who's comfortable with depth or somebody who's a change of pace right to where you can say we can throw earnest due day to do this this and that for 20 minutes, or Zuby, this, this, and that,

as being a rim roller, a dunker, a lob threat, a rebounder, a defender. When we have this other guy in there, he's going to be our post-up guy. And I think that's what BJ Mack can do. He can stretch it, as I mentioned, as well. So why he's not a better fit up there? Well, one, I don't know how much KU interest there is there. Two, you have to worry about the translation up from Wofford. Keep in mind, Wofford was not very good last year. They ranked in the 200s on Ken Palm, and that was with their guard, Pavalecki, who's going to Iowa

State and is seen as one of the top transfer portal pickups. And you have this kid, Mack. If both these guys were so good why were they not good as a team you know what I mean he's only six foot eight also he's not a great rebounder or defender so you have those translating up levels but uh realistically if if you brought in BJ Mac and he's giving you 10-15 minutes a game with a change of pace from your bigs I think that could be okay for KU I just don't really expect any of these guys we mentioned so far to happen. Daniel Baccio from Texas Tech. Why he would fit. He

has had solid production at a Big 12 school and has multiple years left. He's a good rebounder. He's a solid rim protector. He's in the 95th percentile last season in post-up defense, and he showed big flashes in non-con last season. He was averaging like 12 and 8 at one point through non-con and looked really good in the maui invitational but why he's not a better tier

he is just 32nd percentile in post-up scoring not a great offensive threat he did most of his work on putbacks and pick and roll which is good with the one but it's not different than earnest and zoobie so it almost feels like you're just repeating what you kind of already have which is why he's in tier three but you know again he would add depth to that room and he would give you another quality big in doing what you already do. The last one that we have here for tier three is Johan Traore. He is more of a long-term guy, which that's the reason he's in tier three from a long-term potential. He might be in tier two of this list, maybe even higher than that. But, you know, for Kansas,

it almost feels like what they're trying to add from the center position is more of a, like, that's part of it too is a sure thing to push the young centers and to be like, well, if Ernest or Zuby don't figure it out in year two, you at least have a veteran presence. That's not Traore. This would be, you know, swinging for a home run with the possibility of a strikeout. Here's why he'd fit. This is an excerpt from The Athletic,

which ranks him as one of the top transfers in the portal. At the prep level, Traore was the kind of big you typically see at a place like Kansas. He was a post player with a strong face up game. He had good footwork and solid touch out to about 12 to 15 feet. He had good hands and an ability to get his man deep on the block in order to create easier chances. His hands allowed him to play out of ball screens and be successful, but it's not the best part of the game either. Then he'd carve out space on the offensive glass and get put back. So this year, he operated a lot out of the dunker spot

and even showcased the occasional ability to step out and hit a three. All those things sound great, but why he's not in a better tier, he wasn't ready enough to play at Auburn. Why would he be at Kansas? Would more so be an option for KU to just have that other center body and a chance to develop, but they already are going through that right now

with Ernest Uday and Zuby Ejifer and maybe going for that veteran presence a little bit more. All right, we'll get to the top two tiers here in just a second. But first, this episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by Built Bar. Are you looking for a delicious snack but don't want all the sugars and calories? Then you need to try the best tasting protein bar ever built.

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can order them online at built.com they've got a wide selection of all your specialty flavors at built.com you can also run into the store to get them with a more select version of the flavors go to walmart head to the pharmacy section grab yourself a four bar box of cookies and cream double chocolate bar or coconut puff head to sam's club stock up with a 13 bar box with hit flavors like brownie bar brownie batter puff and churro puff you can thank me later tier two of our top 10 centers um these are guys that i think you'd be a little more comfortable taking and uh kate and shedrick which to be clear as we've gone through all this list i'm not sure how much interest ku has in really any of these guys,

which I think shows that there's not maybe as much as that depth of center. I think it also tells you that KU is comfortable where if they miss on Hunter Dickinson, they're probably just going to use that scholarship on another wing or another guard instead and be comfortable with what they're running through, unless like another big center enters the portal kind of on that same tier um but anyway we're doing the list so kate and shedrick already eliminated his list kansas not on it maybe hypothetically if you know let's say hunter digginson picked a different school and ku all of a sudden starts to go back to shedrick and say says hey any way we could you know work back in here again it's kansas maybe that becomes more

possible so why shedrick would fit um he's an experienced player was still two years left. He played at a high level, uh, being in the ACC with Virginia. He's a good role, man works well with the one good cutter gets good positioning without the ball. He can stretch it a tad from three, which is nice. Also good defender, 81st percentile on synergy, good rim protector. Why he's not in Tier 1, though. He was up and down playing time at Virginia. He did finish strong in the NCAA tournament and down the stretch, but you're up and down playing time at Virginia.

You don't have a ton of collegiate production, and you only took three post-up shots last season. So, again, you're not really getting something different with Shedrick than Uday and Zuby. The reason he's in Tier 2, though though is because he is someone you feel like has a high floor in case Zuby or Uday or Zuby or Ernest end up not you know coming to fruition that you would have that floor of what Caden Shedrick can do of what those guys ideally might eventually do the other two-tier guy or is uh graham ek the transfer from wyoming six foot nine got good size around 250 pounds and he is nice because he is a uh i guess change of pace to what

earnest and zuby are now it sounds like he's getting late in his recruiting game there were some rumors about providence now there's some rumors about gonzaga and stuff and who knows if ku would be able to get in there um but he would be a great fit from a standpoint of he's great at posting up. He's great back to the basket big, which would have Bill Self salivating there. In his last year at Wyoming, so last year he was injured. Year before, Wyoming did a ton of post-ups. He was in the 100th percentile of the amount of times that he posted up, and he shot about 50% on post-ups, so a really good number for Graham Ekay in that season. He's also a good offensive rebounder.

He's a good rebounder overall. He had a very high production, 19 points, 9 rebounds per game, on an NCAA tournament team, so he's impacting winning. And in that tournament game, he played well against Trace Jackson Davis of Indiana. He was also a solid defender in his last year of play at Wyoming, which was the 2021 to 22 season. And he was a really good post defender.

He's got good strength down low. Why he's not tier one, though, because the production certainly is there. It is because he's coming off a season ending injury. You don't know how he's going to bounce back off of that. What if he is still a productive player but not quite as good? What if it makes him a little bit slower on the defensive end? One of the weaknesses is defending in space. And now if you're even slower, that could make it tougher.

You're also making the jump from the mountain west. Those are the big issues there. But in terms of an offensive fit, the back-to-the-basket fit, having a post score, which KU didn't have last year, it would be Tier 1 from that perspective. It's just some of those other questions that keeps him down in tier two. Also, again, this is the case for like all these guys. It doesn't seem like KU is that interested because KU is all aboard with one guy.

Talk about it next with Locked on Jayhawks. All right, on to tier one. This is the guy that KU is all in on, pushing all their chips to the center on. And if they miss out on, who knows if they'll pivot to a different center. Who knows if they'll just pivot to using that scholarship at the wing or another guard position. That would be Hunter Dickinson, Hunter Dickinson by far tier one. If you missed it, we did a Hunter Dickinson deep dive on yesterday's show.

So highly recommend checking that out. You can find that with locked on Jayhawks, Hunter Dickinson, how he'd fit in with KU. Obviously, he'd fit in very well. Why he's tier one, he'd be a first-team All-American candidate when he comes in. He would put up some huge numbers for you after putting up huge numbers in three years at Michigan, two of those being on second weekend

NCAA tournament teams. He would allow you to play him next to KJ because he can shoot a little bit. He's a really good passer, So if he gets double teams, it's going to make some of your players that maybe aren't great shooters a little bit better. It's going to add to, you know, you already got Nicholas Timberlake earlier this week with the commitment. It would make him more dangerous having a big man that you throw it down to. I mean, there was so often that in the 2020 season, Kansas would set up a play where they would throw it to Udoka in the post, and they would do it on the same side that they had Isaiah Moss sitting in the corner. And so then it was the defense had to decide, do we double with Isaiah Moss's guy and leave him

open for three, or do we let Udoka go one-on-one? And that became a problem. You could do that with Hunter Dickinson and Nicholas Timberlake, and it would be a real problem for defenses. He also is just a great post-up scorer who's done it a lot. KU certainly needs that and is looking for that. He is everything you're looking for in terms of, you know, you look at Bart Torvik, he would raise KU to the number one team in the country. He's everything that would change you from being just one of the teams that should be a top 10 team next season to being like one of the very best would be the expectations

if you add him. So yes, absolutely fit. Throw as big of an NIL bag as you possibly can, Adam. He would obviously have a huge role on the team. He would get a ton of production and opportunity at Kansas. Any hesitations, if we do have them, again, check it out on the deep dive. But defending in space and everything, but I'm fully confident that Bill Self would figure it out.

All right, that's our top 10 center options in the transfer portal, in my opinion, for Kansas right now. Again, seems like they're really only laser focused on one guy. Is that because they truly only would want an impact guy like hunter dickinson or is it because you know they are trying to put all focus in him and then if they don't get him they'll start focusing on other guys that's something will kind of remain to be seen i think part of it will also depend are there going to be other centers that we don't really know about right now that enter the transfer portal that you know leave the draft process or last minute enter the portal and after hunter dickinson

his courting goes by with all these teams that the ku ends up um you know going for somebody else i kind of think they go for another wing at that point or uh another guard if they don't get hunter dickinson i think for them it's more about they want impact players than just getting a specific position. But I think it's certainly interesting what they would do in the aftermath of that. And keep in mind with Hunter Dickinson, it seemed like for a while, Maryland and Kansas, those might be the top two. Well, we just heard that he'll be getting on a visit to Kentucky. And if Oscar Sheboy ends up not coming back to Kentucky, that could be very, very interesting. And that, you know, I had this pointed out to me by somebody that KU hasn't won a ton of recruiting battles against Kentucky. I mean, Andrew Wiggins, maybe.

Gosh, maybe Kelly Oubre. But a lot of times Kentucky's winning those recruiting battles. Now, maybe that's just selective for KU, but that would certainly be interesting to see how that monitors. And who knows? What if Oscar Sheboy comes back from the draft and he transfers, and then it opens up a spot, and Dickinson goes to Kentucky, and then all of a sudden there's another big out there. I don't know.

I don't know what Sheboy's going to do. Is he going to go to draft? Is he going to transfer? Is he staying? I have no idea. So that is not something that I'm super knowledgeable on. But nonetheless, Hunter Dickinson, the top guy. All right, that'll do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks.

We'll be back on Monday to recap anything that happens over the weekend. Otherwise, we'll be doing maybe some more player deep dives coming up next week. You can find us wherever you find any of your podcasts. You can hit me up on Twitter at D. Johnson Radio. You can find us on YouTube as well. Like and subscribe to the show. Have a good rest of your day. See you next time.