What could have been

C.J. Giles dismissed from team. Textbook example of someone who had all the talent in the world, but squandered it with a seemingly endless tally of stupid decisions. Au revoir, Chester.

Seth Davis picks KU to win it all

Right here. Last year, we had this approach that was all like, "Don't worry about not getting love, we'll get better and stay under the radar." That was good enough to get us a first-round exit at the NCAAs. So what can be said for the opposite approach? Stay tuned.

Jayhawks struggle, but beat UL-Monroe

SCENE--I was sitting on the hill in the early 3rd quarter looking down at what appeared to be a done deal--the Jayhawks were on the verge of going up 3 scores on the valiant yet grossly undersized UL-Monroe Warhawks. But in the end, the field goal the Warhawks missed mid-1st quarter came back to cost them as they went on to lose 21-19.

For me, the Jayhawks created a lot of concern, especially in regards to Friday night's upcoming Toledo road game. The secondary was atrocious. The playcalling was as creative as a Jim Belushi sitcom. Kerry Meier was inconsistent and looked a little flustered at times. The front seven had trouble containing Warhawk QB Kinsmon Lancaster, a converted WR that kept making plays to keep the Sun Belt co-champs in it. There aren't many positives to extract. The Jayhawks were flat, inconsistent, and unimpressive.

However, this could be a device for them. If they put up an effort like that again this season, they're gonna get buried. Kerry Meier, who I am far from calling the program savior, needs to show more poise and confidence--something the playcalling is not exactly reinforcing. In Mangino's spread offense, an offense that RARELY employs a big, double tight formation, all offense is filtered through the quarterback. Meyer is an ideal choice for the system, but I'm not ready to call him the next Steve Young. He's going to struggle. He's going to have some games on his arm that he will throw away. This is Big 12 football--if you're struggling, there's rarely any kind of reprieve.

Friday's Toledo game, while only the third game of the season, is going to be our earliest definitive statement of what this team is made of. Toledo is a good program in a recruiting hotbed. If they were planted into the Big 12, they'd be very comparable to...Kansas.

Hopefully Saturday, this post will have a different tone.

JUJU NOT GOING ANYWHERE

Julian Wright is staying put, at least through his Junior season, reports Dow Tate protegee and SM East journalism room veteran Jason King. Julian claims he made his decision based on his willingness to excel in the SF slot, the position he would likely play for an NBA team. NBAdraft.net, a website championed by yours truly, has Julian going 8th in the 2007 draft.

As a Jayhawk fan, this is terrific news. Julian's uncanny vision and elite athleticism are intangibles, but Wright hopes to gain polish on his shot and ballhandling ability. Everybody knows the dude can pass. He finds guys better than the FBI. He hits dudes who didn't know they were open. You get the picture.

But when I think if I were Julian...that's where I think he almost has to leave. If you're a lottery pick, GO. It's too good an opportunity, and if you're in the lottery, your stock is as high as it's going to get. Julian Wright's stock is already soaring. That's a hard opportunity to pass up. But if Julian can do it, no one will ever doubt his character.

Hawks hoops article

Andy Katz.

NBAdraft.net

NBAdraft.net is a fantastically informative website. It is put together by NBA scouts so knuckleheads like PJ Tucker and Curtis Stinson could check their draft status by simply checking the page every once in a while. The page uses a very nice interface which is easy to navigate, as you can then click on individual players and read a brief scouting report conducted by actual NBA scouts, not those crappy Rivals beat writers. Go there. Now.

Since the 2006 NBA Draft is now history, the 2007 board is up--and the 2008 one. You see, NBADraft.net plugs in players who should probably wait another draft before they forfeit their amateur status. One Jayhawk is on the 2007 Draft Board--Julian "Earvin Magic Johnson" Wright. Five Jayhawks--RussRob, B Rush, Sasha, Mario, and CJ "I swear he's got upside!" Giles--are on the 2008 mock draft board. Now, no doubt your inferences are already drawn, but I will elaborate further, which is the nature of the sports blog.

NBA scouts don't think Brandon Rush will be ready for the 2007 draft...and they don't even have him pegged in the top 20 prospects for 2008. Brandon's lack of assertiveness has cost him, and the way PJ Tucker manhandled him in Austin was damaging also. But, word is Brandon Rush has improved a lot and is committed to filling out his game. He is not blessed with the pure athleticism and vision of Julian Wright (still wanted: jumper). But the dude can play, that's for sure. But can he be effective with the James Poseys/Marquis Danielses/Bruce Bowens of the league in his face? Or can he stop NBA 2 guards from taking it to the house?

The scouts say no, and it is up to Brandon to prove himself worthy of an NBA team's guranteed contract.

Moody not selected

Ha, like you were expecting a news story? No, Christian Moody was not selected in the 2006 NBA Draft, although I was holding out hope that the Knicks would pick him to fill up their frontcourt after that egregious Renaldo Balkman selection in the first round (was this guy even going to get drafted?!). But, alas, they didn't, and Mr. Moody must now consider a career overseas, and my sources tell me he is actually doing this.

What got me most excited about the draft (besides the horrendous interviews) was the way the Celtics postured themselves to collect AI, perhaps trying to package two of these three players--Sebastian Telfair, Al Jefferson, or Theo Ratliff. Pierce could then move to the 3...but would there be enough shots? Certainly they would look better on paper, especially with the improvements Delonte West has made and the emergence of Ryan Gomes, the Celts have some solid role players--now they just need Kendrick Perkins to get his act together and they have a playoff team. But throw Iverson into the mix, the results could either be splendid or catastrophic. Let's hope for the former for our boy The Truth. But I'm rooting for the deal.

Unfortunately, Raef Lafrentz was dealt away from Paul to the Jailblazers, who also picked up Aldridge, English former grocery-sacker Joel Freeland, and Brandon Roy--when you can snare perhaps the two best ready-to-go guys in the draft(Aldridge and Roy, no offense Joel), I'd call it a good night. Oh, and did I mention the man pulling the strings for the TrailBlazers was none other than former Jayhawk KEVIN PRITCHARD!!! So at least Raef's got that goin' for him. Which is nice.

On the Kirk Hinrich front, the Bulls originally drafted LaMarcus Aldridge (who planted a Longhorns cap on David Stern on the podium--grrrrrr) but traded him to the Blazers for the fourth selection, Tyrus Thomas. Now Hinrich has a super athlete that can be on the receiving end of his flawless lobs and intentionally-left-short jumpers. Beautiful.

For the NBA Champion Miami Heat and Big Dub, they had no draft picks...but it's because they traded them for Shaq. And if you haven't caught amnesia in the last two weeks, you all know what happened with that. Even if they had draft picks, they wouldn't play 'till '07-'08, right Pat Riley? You are a terrible dancer.

Billy Thomas may be on the Wizards again...I dunno, July 1 is the big roster day. Some question marks about where Jacque will find himself...the Nets picked up PG Marcus Williams, which I imagine would significantly curtail Jacque's minutes. I just hope he locks his laptop up safe.

Scot Pollard...guys I didn't bother to look up Scot Pollard. If you HAVE to know about him, please e-mail me at cgoble@ku.edu.

Well, as you can probably see, no Jayhawks were selected (no Jeff Hawkins? Didn't they see that TCU game 2 years ago? En fuego!), but the Jayhawks helped shape this draft. From Kevin Pritchard to how low PJ Tucker and Daniel Gibson were drafted to the dramatic rise of Bradley FC Patrick O'Bryant, the Jayhawks left a huge impression on this draft. Well, in an analytical sense. You get it, don't you? Cuz you wouldn't read this far if you didn't get it, right?

Uh, Rock Chalk
-Corby nation

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