oljhwk (anonymous) says...

WOW! Josh Selby, Roscoe Smith, Bradley Beal, Doron Lamb,Brandon Knight. I can't remember a time when the majority of KU recruits were of this caliber. Having a good 2009-2010 season can only help this recruiting season. I can't wait for late nite!

September 11, 2009 at 7:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says...

You've got to cast a big net to snare a few fish.

Just getting "in-houses" with these kids is a significant recruiting coup. It's obvious most will go other directions but don't think for one minute that the Top Twenty Five 5-Stars aren't talking and texting each other regarding their recruiting experiences. The more guys HCBS visits, the more other guys will want to be onboard, the more exposure KU gets, the more chance for signings etc., etc., ......

September 11, 2009 at 8:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

DocBean (anonymous) says...

I think after this year KU will be the clear number 1 in the minds of most of these young recruits. Which is right where it should be. Bill Self and his staff are the best in the business.

September 11, 2009 at 8:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

100 (anonymous) says...

oljhwk,

Thats a good list. I have a few more to tack on: Harrison Barnes & Terrence Jones (whose stock will be top 10 before the year is over), and Royce Woolridge who we all know is much better than his current ranking.

September 11, 2009 at 9 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

tstanlick1909 (anonymous) says...

Joe Jackson to Memphis: Official

September 11, 2009 at 10:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

suttonku (anonymous) says...

No one listed Aderean Payne? I think we have Payne all but locked up.

September 11, 2009 at 11:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says...

Good call, suttonku.....it appears Mr. Payne sees Daniel Manning's resume [ Kahn, Jackson, Arthur, Aldrich, Morris & Morris, etc.] and likes what he sees.

just for fun, everyone......including Woolridge, list who will sign with KU this coming season;

My list: Woolridge, Payne, Beal, Barnes [if X leaves] and, maybe, just maybe Lamb.

C'mon down guys and gals and give it your best shots!!!!!!!!

September 11, 2009 at 12:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

suttonku (anonymous) says...

Beal is a 2011 guy but I do think he will sign eventually.

I think its going to be Woolridge, Payne, and either Lamb or Knight...but it's too early to tell right now.

September 11, 2009 at 1:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

tstanlick1909 (anonymous) says...

I think we are one of three schools in the running for Barnes. I also think that we'll get Knight or Selby, one or the other. And yes, I think Payne is a Hawk, but if not, I would love Terrence Jones

September 11, 2009 at 1:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

suttonku (anonymous) says...

Personally I think Selby is UCONN bound...Knight I think we have a shot but we have to get Payne to have a shot at Knight...Knight is a guard and he needs a solid surrounding cast to succeed and I think the more we add to that cast the better shot we have at Knight

September 11, 2009 at 1:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says...

Suttonku

OOPS...guess I'm showing my enthusiasm for a another fellow St Louisan that will reach out for Lawrence, "The Promised Land" and avoid that "Den of Iniquity" in Columbia!! :}

WOW..do we really have a shot at Knight!!?? I'm with you, though, Shelby would be a heck of a consolation prize!!!

September 11, 2009 at 1:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

100 (anonymous) says...

Oakville,

Do we "really have a shot at Knight?"

As long as ten time nba mvp Wilt Chamberlain's jersey hangs in the rafters...

As long as two time NBA Finals MVP Jo Jo White's jersey hangs in the rafters...

As long as the 2008 NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce hangs in the rafters...

As long as "the best college player to ever play the game" named Danny (according to Dick Vitale) is coaching the kids everyday in practice...

As long as the inventor of the game of basketball is buried in Lawrence

And the banners smile down like blue lightening bolts on the reigning AP coach of the year...

Then Brandon Knight, like any thoughtful human being who loves basketball, most certainly is...

Very interested indeed in being a Jayhawk, playing in a living burnt down & rebuilt history book, in the city of "Free State Headquarters", the town that Dr. Naismith, Larry Brown, Roy Williams & Bill Self fell in love with...

The basketball capital of the world...

Of course Coach Self has a shot.

September 11, 2009 at 4:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

drgnslayr (anonymous) says...

The best recruiting tool for KU is the current team play. Bigs have to consider KU after seeing how much Cole improves each year... and this year the twins will leap up in play. Recruits see how much these players improve and realize that KU is the school that will prepare them for the NBA. Danny Manning factor.

September 11, 2009 at 4:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kvskubball (anonymous) says...

I think it is amazing, in a head-scratching, puzzling kind of way, that Josh Pastner, who has never coached a college game as a head coach can get not one, but 2 top 10 recruits in the '10 recruiting class, and Bill Self, who has won, won big, and with increasing regularity, at the four different colleges that he has been the head coach hasn't signed even one.

I know part of that is the fact that Memphis is just like KU was last year, with big holes to fill and lots of PT to go around. But KU will have at least two starting positions available next year, maybe three...

Coach Self has only rarely had a top 10 athlete verbal his commitment with more than a year to go before the athlete was to enroll....

I guess that I'm really puzzled by the way college basketball recruiting goes. It seems that Self has to work his rear off to get the best players, while slip-skirts like Calimari and youngsters like Pastner line them up. What gives???

Self is a winner, he gets players to the pros, he's signed a 10 year deal. Color me puzzled.

The only thing that I come up with is that Self requires players to buy into a team approach and play defense. Do those two things negate all of his positives in many recruits' eyes? Are most of the top recruits really that much, me first, last, and always me????

I'm definitely not complaining about Coach's ability to recruit, it just seems like he has to sweat a lot more to get the top guys to come....

What do you think???

September 11, 2009 at 4:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

bayareajhawk (anonymous) says...

kvskubball, Pastner may not have coached a game yet, but he has recruited top talent before. He was Lute Olsen's top recruiter in Lute's last season and he was the top assistant for Kevin O'Neill during the interim period. After that, he went to Memphis and started recruiting for them. He doesn't have a lot of experience, but what he does have is right out of the top drawer. He also has a lot of playing time to offer, as you note. It will be interesting to see how this 31 year old coach does at a big program.

And you're darn right that Bill is doing a great job recruiting for us. Remember the days of Roy? There's no comparison. We will always be loaded as long as Self is at the helm.

September 11, 2009 at 6:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

100 (anonymous) says...

Drgnslyr,

You're right KU's current skilled group which will be plastered all over ESPN again this year is just about the best recruiting tool.

However, when it comes time to have a sitdown with the Dad it's nice to know in your backpocket is your home stadium which was built for the guy who owns nearly all of the big NBA records & this guy's son could learn to play the game there, just like Wilt did, coached by the hands down best big man coach in America, Danny Manning.

Coach Self's noted friendships with multiple NBA GM's doesn't hurt either -- in this regard a guy like Calipari loses out as all NBA GM circles I've read have said in so many words "it's no irony half of Kentucky's fans & 99% of the basketball world inside the Continental United States thinks Calipari is slime because we GM's think the same thing -- the guy is something you'd pick out of your roll at a C- sushibar."

September 11, 2009 at 6:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says...

Drgnslyr

Your last line is the best description of Coach Cal I have ever seen...I will no longer call him Coach Calimari...it's an insult to the innocent squid!!!!!

100

All points well taken, but if so, why do so many recruits pass on KU!!?? We understand what KU can provide, but do the kids today actually "get it"?

DocBean

Interesting point. There is a lot of pressure for KU to fulfill the preseason hype not the least of which is top dog status on the recruiting totem pole for the immediate future!!!

Bayareajhawk

You couldn't be closer to the truth!!!! Compare Bill's full court recruiting press, coast to coast, 24/7/365 to Uncle Roy's every other year and don't recruit East of the Mississippi so Dean Smith won't throw a tantrum recruiting strategy.

September 12, 2009 at 11:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jkilgore (anonymous) says...

Whether or not we get top 10 kids doesn't always matter. Self, in the great KU tradition, makes a team out of very good kids (who sign pro contracts). While at Kansas, they get the best basketball lesson there is: the sum is greater than the parts. What is true in bball is truer in life.

September 13, 2009 at 12:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )