10 Days to Late Night in the Phog!

Kansas Jayhawks

Conner Frankcamp, Perry Ellis, Andrew Wiggins, Nick Wiggins, Frank Mason, and Cleanthony Early in El Dorado this morning for Basketball Camp!
@visiteldoradoks


Check out this interview by @KAKEnews from this weekend featuring me and @22wiggins
@Wiggys_WORLD15 (Video at link below)

Some Kansas and Wichita St. basketball players teamed up Sunday to put on a basketball camp for kids in Wichita.

After the camp, kids had the opportunity to take pictures with the players and get the players autographs.

Kansas Freshman Forward Andrew Wiggins said that he enjoyed seeing the kids having so much fun, and then went on to talk about the college basketball season ahead.

"We're trying to win this year, we're trying to win big, we're trying to go for it all...we have a championship team."
KAKE


Another camp video via Vimeo

Andrew Wiggins, Kansas Jayhawks

He enters the season as the consensus projected No. 1 overall pick. The long, athletic Canadian wing thrives in transition, and while he’ll be erratic for Bill Self this season, he won't ever fall too far down draft boards -- even if he doesn’t dominate on most nights. Wiggins has a mediocre perimeter shot and his motor is questionable at times, but the NBA drafts on potential, which Wiggins has no shortage of. He’s basically a lock to leave Lawrence after one season.

Replacement Plan: Self would love for freshman Wayne Selden to return for a starring role in his sophomore season, but with that seeming more and more unlikely, Brannen Greene is the best internal candidate to step into that role a season from now. Kansas is in the mix for a couple of the top wings: Justise Winslow (Houston/St. John’s) and Kelly Oubre (Fort Bend, Texas/Findlay Prep). The Jayhawks would have to beat out Duke and a few others for Winslow, and it looks as though Self is battling John Calipari and Kentucky for Oubre.
ESPN Goodman($)


Kansas freshman guard Andrew Wiggins has earned his first preseason accolade by donning the cover of the 2013-14 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.



He is joined on the Blue Ribbon cover by Oklahoma State sophomore Marcus Smart, Creighton senior Doug McDermott, Louisville senior Russ Smith and Michigan State junior Adreian Payne.



Ranked the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2013 by every recruiting service, Wiggins, a 6-8 forward from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, averaged 23.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.5 assists last season for Huntington (W. Va.) Prep leading his team to a 30-3 record and a No. 7 finish in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings.



Wiggins was named the 2013 Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year in July after earning numerous national basketball high school All-American and player of the year accolades along the way.



"This is a great honor, but really means nothing since I have yet to play a game in college," Wiggins said. "We're working hard every day to get better as a team and get ready for the season."
KUAD

BOOT CAMP complete<<< TURN UP!!!! TURN UP Love my teammates and the coaching staff and can 't forget about the fans #KUCMB
@jojo_embiid


Boot Camp is COMPLETE! #ItAintEasyBeingKUCMB
‏@b_greene14


Man it feels good to be done with bootcamp!! ✔️👌 Proud of everyone! Getting closer to Late Night and that first game! 😁🏀 #RCJH
@LandenLucas33


9/20/13, 8:37 AM
By the grace of God 🙏we made it thru boot camp....😆 Shoutout to the my brothas ✊ we can't do nothing but TURN UP NOW!!!!
@TarikBlack25


Boot Camp 2013-2014 officially over
@WayneSeldenJr


9/20/13, 7:40 AM
Proud of our guys. Leaders were made this week. Maximum effort is the price of success. #bootcamp…
@Coachjhoward


“The guys did great. I mean really good. It’s probably as good a group as we’ve ever had,” KU coach Bill Self assessed after all of his players made their times during their 30 “suicide sprints” — that is, running halfcourt and back, 3/4 court and back and fullcourt and back.

“Everybody made it. I was very pleased and impressed with how hard they worked and how hard they went all week,” Self added.

Self, KU’s 11th-year coach, quickly said “all of them,” when asked which players stood out during Monday-to-Friday conditioning workouts from 6 to 7 a.m. Junior Naadir Tharpe actually ran 36 suicide sprints this morning because as point guard/team leader he was asked to help lead two groups of players.

“The new guys did great. Everybody did well. I was pleased with them all. I would say the most consistent guy we had all week was probably Andrew White. I thought Naadir Tharpe was really good. Of course, Tarik Black. I would say to me, those may be the ones who stood out the most, but they all did good.

“They all helped each other out. Today got a little long and tough for them. They pulled it back together and helped each other. I thought it was a pretty good team building experience.”
LJW

This Is How You Do It

Kansas

– One hyphen (Louisiana-Monroe)

– One State that’s not a state (San Diego State, a quality opponent)

Yes, yes, 1,000 times yes. And this schedule was in place before the Jayhawks even knew they were getting Andrew Wiggins, so good on them. Beastly slate. I’m going to watch the heck out of this.

Even the “easy” games at home are against quality mids like Iona and Towson. They play Duke in Chicago, play true road games at Colorado and Florida, and also host New Mexico, San Diego State and Georgetown. Love it. Easily the best nonconference schedule in the country. The young, talented Jayhawks will be extremely battle-hardened for the Big 12 race.
SI: Non-con scheduling standouts


I surveyed more than 50 NBA sources (a mix of coaches and front-office guys) for their off-the-record thoughts on who they would hire if they could select any current college head coach to run their NBA franchise. I've ranked the top 5 based on the coaches who stood out, complete with comments from several of the NBA sources.

1. Bill Self, Kansas

“He does everything well -- player relations, game plan, booster/press/corporate, and has a big-time presence," said one source. "I also think he is smart enough to know that he can’t be as hard on guys as he is in practice in the NBA.”

“He has a great demeanor, holds the kids accountable, it’s not all about him -- like a lot of college guys," said another.

“He’s an outstanding teacher, but not too much of a dictator that would turn guys off," a third source said. "He is strong enough and has the right kind of personality to get guys to buy in. He’s coached a ton of NBA picks -- and has played pick and roll in his system.”
ESPN Goodman ($)

After reading that a 1,000-piece collection of Jayhawk memorabilia at the Kansas Union was going up for auction, James J. Ascher Sr., went to see it for what would have been the first time. But he was too late. An employee at the Kansas University book store told him the collection of historical Jayhawk fare had already been boxed up and carted away.

He should be getting his chance soon, though. Ascher donated $130,000 to the KU Endowment so that the union could purchase the collection, effectively making it a permanent part of the union. Some of the pieces could return to display at the union in a matter of days.
LJW


As he pulled on his new red Kansas sweatshirt before leaving for school the morning of Sept. 12, Ben Kastner said to his mother, “Mom, it’s September 12.”

Gina Defeo Kastner, n’89, instantly understood the reference: Her youngest son, 12-year-old Ben, had completed his yearlong quest to wear KU gear every day for an entire year.

As first reported in kualumni.org’s Alumni News blog of July 10, Ben last year chose to make a sartorial statement about his true blue feelings for all things KU and do whatever he had to to become known as the most ardent and loyal Jayhawks fan in Michigan.

Though his stated quest is now complete, Ben says he sees no need to bring it to an end.
“It did make me feel good that I could support the team I love,” he says. “So I’m going to try for another year, I think.”
Link


9/23/13, 5:08 PM
Cleared for full contact
@BRush_4


9/22/13, 10:59 PM
@NumbersNBA: PF Darnell Jackson (@DBlock_Official) will wear number 2. #Pacers
@damien23


Kansas women's basketball hosts the 10th annual Bonnie Henrickson Coaching Clinic on Sunday, Oct. 20.    



Coaches will get a chance to view KU women's basketball practice and then participate in a coaching clinic led by Henrickson and her staff, who have guided the Jayhawks to back-to-back NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances.



The clinic includes a free on-court demo followed by Rock Chalk Talk, which will include offensive and defensive concepts.

The open practice will run from 12-3 p.m. with the clinic to follow from 2-5 p.m. The clinic is free to all coaches. Registration forms need to be filled out and mailed to the women's basketball office by Oct. 14. Click here for the registration form.
KUAD


NYT: Gary Woodland, Working on His Inner Game

Big 12/College News

According to multiple outlets New Mexico JC point guard Jeff Newberry, who began his collegiate career at Ole Miss, verbally committed to attend (OK State)

Newberry, who joins shooting guard Jared Terrell in Oklahoma State’s 2014 haul, chose the Cowboys over UConn and Texas Tech. In a story written by Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, Newberry acknowledged that Smart’s status did have an impact on his decision.

Newberry didn’t play in a single game at Ole Miss, redshirting in 2011-12 before transferring to Northeast Oklahoma A&M. There, Newberry averaged 14.8 points and 4.3 assists per game with arguably his best performance coming in a 108-99 win over Eastern Oklahoma JC on February 25. In the victory Newberry accounted for 24 points (8-for-12 FG), ten assists and just one turnover.

In regards to Oklahoma State’s depth at the point guard position, this is an important commitment. With Smart seemingly headed to the next level after this season, the Cowboys will be able to pair Newberry with current freshman Stevie Clark.
NBC Sports


That big-time college sports programs are dirty when it comes to NCAA compliance should come as no surprise to anyone, given the number of scandals that have emerged involving so-called student-athletes. Whether NCAA rules make sense is of course an entirely other matter.

Upon hearing the Foster news, an admittedly upset Vitale took to Twitter yesterday to compare a college athlete who takes money to a prostitute. (It appears that the original tweet has been deleted but it read “When they put their hand out like a prostitute & take it they don’t say a word – moaning yrs later = SAD!”) Today, presumably after taking a lot of heat on social media, Dickie V tweeted out an apology for using the p-word.

ProFootball Talk notes there might be some hypocrisy in play: “While his choice of words may have been unwise, Vitale’s initial reaction was an interesting look at the way so many people within the college sports establishment view players making money. Vitale himself has become a multimillionaire thanks to college athletics, but it angers him when he hears about a player taking a little money… And when a player like Foster pulls back the curtain and reveals that ‘amateur’ athletics aren’t really about amateurism, sometimes those multimillionaires fear that their golden goose is being threatened.” Deadspin put the controversy in more stark terms: “If Foster is a prostitute, Vitale and his colleagues are the pimps… But is Dick Vitale a pimp? No. Dick Vitale is an old dude who still thinks college kids should play for the team, school and love for the game.”
Link


The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has formally started the process to identify the next round of Men’s Final Four locations for 2017-2020.

The committee made bid specifications available this week to prospective Final Four hosts, with the intention of announcing in November 2014 the next round of Final Four cities.

The 2014 Men’s Final Four will be played in North Texas, followed by Indianapolis in 2015 and Houston in 2016.

“We’re excited to begin what we expect to be a competitive bid process,” said Ron Wellman, chair of the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and director of athletics at Wake Forest University.

“Through the years the Final Four has evolved from one of the country’s favorite events into one of the world’s most popular events, so it’s a tremendous opportunity for cities to be the center of the sporting universe.”

Prospective bid cities have until Oct. 11 to submit a declaration of intent to bid, and they must submit a draft budget, hotel rates and confirmation of adherence to the NCAA’s bid specifications by Nov. 15.  After the NCAA men’s basketball staff meets with representatives of each city’s host committee in December, the men’s basketball committee will announce finalists in January 2014.

Completed bids are due in May 2014, and the committee and staff will spend the summer reviewing each bid before making site visits to each finalist city next fall. Representatives from each finalist city will make in-person presentations to the committee during its annual fall meeting, followed by the announcement of the winning bids in November.

When evaluating prospective hosts, the committee will review each city’s competition venue, transportation and lodging, and the region’s overall commitment to the event. Venues must hold a minimum of 60,000 fans, and host cities or regions must be able to provide at least 10,000 full-service hotel rooms within reasonable proximity to the competition venue.

“The selection of future Final Four sites is an awesome responsibility for the committee and staff, as it determines the end of the road for student-athletes and coaches competing for a national championship,” said Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s vice president of men’s basketball. “We look forward to working with the great host cities and NCAA member institutions who will bid for the opportunity to host the Final Four and provide the experience of a lifetime for student-athletes and basketball fans.”
NCAA


Grantland: The Forgotten Phenom Korleone Young


Wichita State men’s basketball coach Gregg Marshall took his team to the Final Four. His most recent reward is a salary increase that boosts him closer to the top of his profession.

Marshall’s base salary will rise to $1.6 million in November and $1.75 million in April under terms of a contract amendment announced Monday. His previous base salary was $1.03 million, without incentives. In 2012-13, a salary of $1.6 million would rank among the top 25 of all college basketball coaches in a comparison with a USA Today database of salaries.

While Marshall’s raise gives him a salary comparable to coaches at schools such as Gonzaga, Missouri and Kansas State, athletic director Eric Sexton said the goal is to find the right number, not the right ranking.

“We’re working with him on what is a fair compensation with a program that is of national prominence,” Sexton said. “That’s the focus. How do we fairly compensate, within what is reasonable for Wichita State University, to support a first-class, national-level program?”
KC Star


Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, an active iconic figure in sports, made headlines this week when he said Division I transfers should be treated equally without exception.

"There should be no exceptions," Krzyzewski told ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil. "Everybody should have to sit out, that includes a fifth-year player, just to make it equal."

Or ...

"If [the NCAA wants] to let everybody play right away [after transferring], then let everybody play right away," Krzyzewski added. "Everybody should be treated the same. I don't understand why there are exceptions to this rule."

So, to summarize, Mike Krzyzewski, arguably the most powerful man in basketball at any level, is OK with all transfers having to sit out a year or all transfers being allowed to play immediately. He just wants a clear-cut rule, one that will eliminate questions and remove the NCAA from the business of trying to determine which student-athletes should and should not receive a waiver to play immediately.

I agree with Coach K -- as long as the NCAA someday reaches his latter conclusion.

Yes, the transfer-waiver situation has gotten ridiculous. Some kids get them. Others don't. And it's not always clear why. But eliminating waivers and making every Division I transfer sit an entire season isn't the answer. The answer is to stop restricting unpaid amateurs and let players come and go as they choose, you know, like every other unpaid amateur who attends college in this country gets to do.
CBS Parrish


CBS college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg is going back to the bright lights of the studio.

CBS Sports named Greg Anthony the lead analyst for the network's college basketball game telecasts, replacing Kellogg. Kellogg will replace Anthony in the studio.

Kellogg has been the lead college basketball analyst for CBS since the network parted ways with Billy Packer in 2008.

Anthony, who also works NBA coverage for NBA TV and TNT, has never called an NCAA tournament game in his 10-year career. Regardless, he is expected to work alongside Jim Nantz and Steve Kerr on CBS/Turner Sports coverage for the Final Four.

Is Turner Sports behind this?
Link


Tony Barbee faces a crucial campaign in 2013-14, as his seat at Auburn could be heating up after going 35-50 in his first three seasons with the Tigers.

Barbee is making an effort to ramp up enthusiasm for the season by blowing out the Jungle Jam – Auburn's version of Midnight Madness. First, the Tigers will welcome comedian Mike Epps to host the festivities.

And the musical entertainment will be Atlanta-based rapper Ludacris, who confirmed his appearance via Twitter on Tuesday.
CBS


Doug Vance has been named the new executive director of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He begins his role on Oct. 1.

Vance is a former media relations director at the University of Kansas, where he spent 20 years. Most recently, he worked as the executive director of the Kansas Recreation and Park Association. Before his time at Kansas, he worked at Murray State and Austin Peay State University.

CoSIDA is the national organization that includes college athletic communications specialists, as well as sports public relations and media relations professionals. There are nearly 3,000 members of the organization.
ESPN


Former Oregon coach Ernie Kent has joined the Kansas City-based National Association of Basketball Coaches as associate executive director.
KC Star


Big XII composite schedule


ESPN College GameDay Schedule


2013-14 Early-season events schedule

Recruiting

Cliff Alexander

9/23/13, 12:49 PM
My top 6 schools NO ORDER

Michigan state
Illinois
Memphis
DePaul
Kansas
Arizona
@humblekid11


In this video interview with Scott Burgess of ChicagoHoops.com, Alexander had said Kentucky is no longer on his list.

“No, they’re not anymore,” he said.

Asked who was on his list, Alexander said, “It’s pretty much the same, everybody except Kentucky.”
Alexander’s mother, Latillia, later told SNY.tv that Kentucky stopped calling him.

Kentucky does remain involved with Jahlil Okafor and Myles Turner, two of the other top big men in the Class of 2014.

Okafor, Turner and Alexander are currently 1-2-3 on the DraftExpress.com 2015 NBA Mock Draft.
Asked when he might pick a school, he said, “middle of December,” meaning he wouldn’t sign until the late period in the spring.

Alexander reiterated that he wants to play college ball with guard JaQuan Lyle, who recently decommitted from Louisville.

“We’ve been saying it since he played with me with D-Rose, we’ve been saying we want to play college together,” Alexander said.

“It’s a great experience, I think we can win a national championship if we end up at the same school.”

…On Kansas:  ”It’s going pretty good so far. I been knowing coach [Jerrance] Howard since he was at Illinois. He’s the guy that offered me my first scholarship so  I love him for that.

“Coach [Bill] Self was at my house last week taking to my parents, building a relationship with my parents.”
Zags Blog

Kelly Oubre (Brooklyn Eagle image)

There's a common respect between the two peers that Oubre Sr. claims makes the recruiting process more tolerable for his son, whom Rivals ranks as the No. 12 player in the Class of 2014.

"The nice thing is that Coach Calipari and Coach Self respect each other," Oubre Sr. said. "They've been in this situation plenty of times before over top players. No one badmouths the other to try and get an advantage."

The only advantage in this recruitment is going to be through hard work, as both schools are doing everything they can to try and lock up a commitment from Oubre, one of the nation's premier wing guards.
Kentucky Rivals


Q. Power forward Cliff Alexander and guard JaQuan Lyle apparently want to be like Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones in teaming up in college. With friendships that can form on the AAU circuit, will we be seeing more of these decisions in the future?

DeCourcy: I'd like to see one or two of them actually happen before I'm convinced it's a trend.

Before I wrote about the expected pairing in college of center Jahlil Okafor (from Chicago) and point guard Tyus Jones (from the Minneapolis area), I asked Jones what the protocol would be for the two making their decision. Would they discuss it with each other beforehand? With their parents? Would one guy make up his mind first and try to talk the other into his favored school?

Jones didn't really have an answer. So it wouldn't be shocking if they failed to agree on the school where they wanted to play.

The next couple of months likely will show whether these players can agree with one another on their preferred choices. If they can figure it out, perhaps we'll have something. In the meantime, I'm going to make one final pitch to my colleagues in the media to stop referring to these as "package deals." It's like calling a base on balls a "single." The terminology is wrong.

Okafor and Jones are not a "package deal." If you get them both, that's a bonanza or a jackpot, or something. A package deal is when a program takes one middling or unqualified recruit to land a star player. That practice has been operational for decades. And we know that it still goes on.
Sporting News DeCourcy

Myles Turner

The Arizona Wildcats will likely get a chance to host five-star center Myles Turner during this season, after the coaching staff made an in-home recruiting visit on Wednesday night, Turner’s father said.

David Turner told the Star today that his family was impressed after Sean Miller visited with assistants Joe Pasternack and Damon Stoudamire at their home in Bedford, Texas.

Miller "let us know what he expects of his players and how Myles fits into those plans,” David Turner said. “More than likely we’ll take a visit. He showed us a lot of pictures of campus and it looks beautiful.”

David Turner said his son is seeking both the ability to pursue a line of study involving counseling psychology, as well as a coach who allows big men the versatility to pick and pop.

Because of a USA Basketball commitment, Myles Turner postponed his only scheduled visit of the fall -- he had planned to go to Kansas on Oct. 5 – but David Turner said his son wants to take his visits during the basketball season anyway, and make a decision by the spring signing period.

Turner is down to eight schools, also including Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Texas.
Arizona Daily Star


New Hampton '15 F Tyler Lydon has heard from Duke, Kansas, UNC, Notre Dame, & Maryland this week per @NE_Playaz
@NERRHoops


Charles Matthews, a 6-foot-4 junior combo guard from Chicago St. Rita High School who is ranked No. 11 in the recruiting Class of 2015 by Rivals.com, on Saturday included Kansas University on his revised list of 10 schools.

Matthews via Twitter listed KU, Duke, Illinois, Kentucky, Marquette, Michigan State, Ohio State, SMU, Stanford and Wisconsin.

“It has been exciting to see the growth of Charles over the past few years,” St. Rita coach Gary Decesare told Zagsblog.com. “He is a very hard worker who tries to get better every day. He can play anywhere in the country and is one of the best players in his class. He can control a game in so many ways with his tremendous versatility.”
LJW


Recruiting Calendar (Updated for 2013-14)


My KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube