Bobman1

Trending toward Assembly being at full tilt a week from Saturday for the Jayhawks…

It was especially nice to see Ware block the cheese!

Round these here parts we call that “a Kevin Wilson problem.”

Ware is by far the best player on this team. 

There really aren't that many questions.
The starting guard line of X and Gallo isn't dominant, but is as proven as it gets. Reneau has already shown he's good, has a knack for the ball finding him, and will likely be a steady, plus player. Mbako and Cupps have very low floors as freshmen. Sparks will bang around and set screens. Walker is a proven P5 athletic complimentary backup. That leaves three questions with major upside:
Ware; first, foremost, and as discussed above. CJ Gunn, who was not good last year, but has upside as a lanky shooter, and Jakai Newton, who could be the surprise star of the freshman class if his health allows for it.  

Coaching confidential provides a much rosier outlook. I'm *pretty* sure "College Head Coach 3" is Juwan:
Jalen Hood-Schifino
College Assistant Coach 3 (his team played Indiana): We love this kid. … He is a midrange nightmare. If he beats you to the elbows, he’s got the size to raise and shoot over you. (He’s ) 6-6, about 215. Played point guard for them after Xavier Johnson got hurt, and they were better with him because he was more dynamic with the ball. He is a little bit turnover-prone. But he loves the screen-roll dribble into his own shot, as long as he’s going right. If he’s going right, he’s deadly. You can’t let him get downhill; you’ve got to get the ball out of his hands. If they did that, they had Trayce Jackson-Davis on the short roll. But he is a really dynamic player. He’s not as good defensively as he was offensively, but he’s such a good player. …
That’s about all (Indiana coach Mike Woodson) does, simple pro stuff: turnouts, floppy, get the ball back to him on a high screen-roll to the right elbow. I know Woody is a fairly demanding defensive coach. I think he is just young, being a freshman. He reminds me a little bit of Chauncey Billups. He’s got similar size — I don’t know if he’s the leader Chauncey is, because they had Trayce there, and this kid’s a freshman. But, a really good player.
College Head Coach 3 (his team played Indiana): I think he could be one of those guys you look up and he’s an All-Star. Because at his size, with his ability, and his IQ, he’s one of those guys that can make the game easy for himself and easy for other people. When we played them, he was the difference. He won the game. … We led most of the game … (but) when it came down to winning time, Hood-Schifino took it to another level. I was like, ‘Man, that’s pretty good.’ As he continues to grow in his game and grow just in his craft, he’s going to be one of those guys that you look up, and it’s not going to be a surprise that he’s an All-Star. I don’t know his work ethic, things like that. If he works, it’s scary how good he can be.
At that guard spot, he has size, but he also has skill. He would have been one of those guys that, back in the day, like Eric Snow played with (Allen) Iverson. He would have been one of those big point guards that can guard a two, to allow the smaller two guard to guard the point guard. I look at his ability not only to create for himself but to create for others. That’s what makes him really intriguing.
The other part is he has that ‘big play’ type of ability. He’s not afraid of the moment. I think you can play him on the ball, you can play him off the ball. I think with more time, depending on where he goes, but every NBA team, for the most part, does a great job with player development, I think he can, his shooting is only going to improve too. I think he has a chance to be really, really good.
College Assistant Coach 4 (his team played Indiana): Super talented. He’s one of the guys, he’ll be a pro for a while.  One of the very few guys that, he actually improved his shooting in the course of the season. Came into the season as a non-shooter. But he made a lot of big baskets for them, played with a lot of composure. Very big for them down the stretch of the season. Their season sort of when, if he played well, the team usually played well. Great size and handle, good feel for the game, made plays out of the pick-and-roll. I think he’s going to be a solid pro.
I think he played well with Trayce. He probably deferred more when Trayce was playing because Trayce was who he was for that team. When Trayce was out, it really opened up the floor for him more, made him more of a scorer and driver, as opposed to playing with Trayce, who is a guy that was always around the basket. I don’t see him having a problem making the transition. He is a complete problem in transition. I think he’ll be a better pro than he was in college. He was solid with dribble handoffs, pick-and-rolls, had a good feel, made good reads, made the right plays. I think he’s going to be really good. And because of his size, he’s a point guard for sure, but he can guard multiple positions because he’s got good size, has a strong body.

Also I understand some are more in-the-know with these recruitments but watching from afar, it is damn hard to convince myself he is not Indiana bound.
Recruitment has been kept under wraps completely by him, his family, and Slater. Takes three visits, the last being Indiana and cancels the remaining one two days after leaving Bloomington. Was thoroughly photographed with his entire family (Dad included!) and Woody at IU. Staff was smart enough to recognize his playing career with the Nigerian nat'l team and honored the family with a flag. Decommits from Duke because Filipowski and company stay in school and there's a logjam for shots and minutes. Dickinson commits to KU along with Timberlake to join their already loaded roster where guys are competing for shots and minutes against other former five stars. Indiana has a MASSIVE need for a 3 who can shoot it and @Chris007 even stated that he's never heard Woody want a player more. 
He's gotta be ours, somebody play devils advocate to me on this. 

Also I understand some are more in-the-know with these recruitments but watching from afar, it is damn hard to convince myself he is not Indiana bound.
Recruitment has been kept under wraps completely by him, his family, and Slater. Takes three visits, the last being Indiana and cancels the remaining one two days after leaving Bloomington. Was thoroughly photographed with his entire family (Dad included!) and Woody at IU. Staff was smart enough to recognize his playing career with the Nigerian nat'l team and honored the family with a flag. Decommits from Duke because Filipowski and company stay in school and there's a logjam for shots and minutes. Dickinson commits to KU along with Timberlake to join their already loaded roster where guys are competing for shots and minutes against other former five stars. Indiana has a MASSIVE need for a 3 who can shoot it and @Chris007 even stated that he's never heard Woody want a player more. 
He's gotta be ours, somebody play devils advocate to me on this. 

Have been following this recruitment and thread as much as anyone over the last several days, but 53 pages for a two week recruitment is just absurd lol.
Props to BtB, let's hope this goes our way Friday. 

Have been following this recruitment and thread as much as anyone over the last several days, but 53 pages for a two week recruitment is just absurd lol.
Props to BtB, let's hope this goes our way Friday. 

Also I understand some are more in-the-know with these recruitments but watching from afar, it is damn hard to convince myself he is not Indiana bound.
Recruitment has been kept under wraps completely by him, his family, and Slater. Takes three visits, the last being Indiana and cancels the remaining one two days after leaving Bloomington. Was thoroughly photographed with his entire family (Dad included!) and Woody at IU. Staff was smart enough to recognize his playing career with the Nigerian nat'l team and honored the family with a flag. Decommits from Duke because Filipowski and company stay in school and there's a logjam for shots and minutes. Dickinson commits to KU along with Timberlake to join their already loaded roster where guys are competing for shots and minutes against other former five stars. Indiana has a MASSIVE need for a 3 who can shoot it and @Chris007 even stated that he's never heard Woody want a player more. 
He's gotta be ours, somebody play devils advocate to me on this. 

Also I understand some are more in-the-know with these recruitments but watching from afar, it is damn hard to convince myself he is not Indiana bound.
Recruitment has been kept under wraps completely by him, his family, and Slater. Takes three visits, the last being Indiana and cancels the remaining one two days after leaving Bloomington. Was thoroughly photographed with his entire family (Dad included!) and Woody at IU. Staff was smart enough to recognize his playing career with the Nigerian nat'l team and honored the family with a flag. Decommits from Duke because Filipowski and company stay in school and there's a logjam for shots and minutes. Dickinson commits to KU along with Timberlake to join their already loaded roster where guys are competing for shots and minutes against other former five stars. Indiana has a MASSIVE need for a 3 who can shoot it and @Chris007 even stated that he's never heard Woody want a player more. 
He's gotta be ours, somebody play devils advocate to me on this. 

Also I understand some are more in-the-know with these recruitments but watching from afar, it is damn hard to convince myself he is not Indiana bound.
Recruitment has been kept under wraps completely by him, his family, and Slater. Takes three visits, the last being Indiana and cancels the remaining one two days after leaving Bloomington. Was thoroughly photographed with his entire family (Dad included!) and Woody at IU. Staff was smart enough to recognize his playing career with the Nigerian nat'l team and honored the family with a flag. Decommits from Duke because Filipowski and company stay in school and there's a logjam for shots and minutes. Dickinson commits to KU along with Timberlake to join their already loaded roster where guys are competing for shots and minutes against other former five stars. Indiana has a MASSIVE need for a 3 who can shoot it and @Chris007 even stated that he's never heard Woody want a player more. 
He's gotta be ours, somebody play devils advocate to me on this. 

We have Gunn, Banks, Leal, Newton... Not a lot but if Xavier Johnson has a great year, Reneau steps up and Ware plays to his potential, those 2-3 positions will be fine as role players on a team that'll fight for an NCAA bid.

Why did I read this with Bill Walton's voice?

Have been following this recruitment and thread as much as anyone over the last several days, but 53 pages for a two week recruitment is just absurd lol.
Props to BtB, let's hope this goes our way Friday. 

Short turnaround to decision after cancelling the last visit and IU still being the most recent...my gut....
 
Kansas
I say this for two reasons. 1. Its how nearly all of these high profile recruitments end up for us, especially against the big dogs. 2. I love reverse psychoology 

Makes you wonder if they (NIL providers) were just tired of Dickinson's s--t. It's not like they were winning anything with him.

Other than the fact that he's white, I don't know how similar his game is to recent Badgers or Hawkeyes. His highlights make him look more athletic, versatile, and skilled than really any player from those schools recently besides Johnny Davis and the Murray bros. (Obviously post-Dekker Wisco)

The hit rate on top 10-ranked bigs is VERY good.
Here’s everyone 6’11” and taller in the 247 composite top ten since 2014. I’ve included a few notable players 6’10” and taller and noted them.
Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns, Harry Giles, Thon Maker, Mo Bamba, Deandre Ayton, Mitchell Robinson, Bol Bol, James Wiseman, Evan Mobley, Chet Holmgren, Dereck Lively, Kyle Filipowski, and Ware.
(Under 6’11” notables: Marvin Bagley missed by 0.5”, while Myles Turner, Skal Labissiere, Diamond Stone, Ivan Rabb, Henry Ellenson, Michael Porter, Wendell Carter, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jalen Duren, and Jabari Smith Jr. all missed by 1”.)
Every player was picked in the top 40 of the draft after their freshman season except Rabb, who was after his sophomore season. Lively and Filipowski will join that group this summer. All except Robinson, Stone, Ware (so far) , and Rabb were first round picks.
There’s a range of outcomes, clearly, but basically everyone on the list was either 1. a good college player, 2. a good pro, or 3. both. Even Skal was something better than a total bust.

I’m going to date myself a bit but I’m going need us to recruit a guy named Kenan if we get this kid. Just saying it needs to happen 

Him and cliff are now mutual followers lol

“Photo courtesy of Kel’el Ware”
As you might say; seems to be a ‘special delivery.’ 
that some solid freaking dot connecting Usps. For the love of all, just make it official already.

Could he be the mystery recruit that the all-knowing Sam Story was referring to?
 

All I have read and heard is how "elite" Kent State's defense is, yet no one has been talking about how is Kent State going to score against us? Or better yet, how will Kent State stop/slow us down?

IU Bart Torvik: Overall 33 (O: 34/D: 46)
Kent State Bart Torvik: Overall 79 (O: 117/D: 45)

In their 3 most recent losses:

Gave up 82 points to Ball State (170 overall/121 O/243 D) (Lost 82-70)
Gave up 67 points to Akron (108 overall/96 O/144 D) (Lost 67-55)
Gave up 86 points to Northern Illinois (241 overall/257 O/210 D) (Lost 86-76)

They gave up an average of 78 points to teams rated an average 157 on O, IU is 123 spots higher on O than that.

Ball State beat them by 12 by only hitting 7 3's, but they shot 34 free throws.

Lastly, in the only common opponent the two teams have played, Miami (OH) (BT: 267 overall/O: 217/D: 312):

IU won 86-56
Kent State won 69-66, they scored 69 points against the 312th worst defense in the country (according to Torvik) and only had two players score in double figures.

I understand not taking a team lightly but comparing them to Rutgers (36 overall/O: 161/D: 36) might be a stretch. No chance their center is as active and athletic as Cliff Omoruyi (6'11" 240), or their two lead defensive guards are as good on the ball as 6'7" 213 Mulcahy or 6'7" 200 McConnell (they aren't, their guards are 6'1" 185 and 6'3" 194). Trey (6'4" 203) and JHS (6'6" 215) will have their problems from time to time but over the course of a game, no way those smaller guards hold up against our bigger guards who have played against Big Ten/Power 5 caliber guards and ball pressure all season long.

I'm sure they are a solid team, to win the MAC tournament you have to be. But I am not here to contribute to the overall hype train that is rolling for Kent State. I do appreciate it though hoping that this motivates IU and makes it less likely they overlook Kent State with the media all jumping on that bandwagon.