The Allen Fieldhouse trash cans went unused for the first day of Kansas basketball boot camp.
The two-week conditioning program — a staple of coach Bill Self’s 12 seasons in Lawrence — began Monday without any Jayhawks losing their breakfasts.
“We made it through day one just fine,” KU sophomore forward Landen Lucas said.
Freshman Kelly Oubre — sitting next to Lucas at an interview table Monday afternoon — chimed in as well.
“You’re right,” he said with a smile. “We’re tough, man.”
…KU freshman Svi Mykhailiuk, who only arrived on KU’s campus last week, participated in Monday’s boot camp.
“He’s in great shape. I don’t know what they feed him over there … ” Oubre said with a grin. “He’s in great shape man. He’s good.”
Oubre said KU’s players welcomed the Ukraine native “with open arms.”
“He’s been getting along great,” Oubre said. “He’s a young, young, young kid, but he’s maturing fast. That’s all we can really ask for.”
TCJ
Trey Burke’s heroics may not have been the only thing that led to Kansas’ loss to Michigan in the 2013 Sweet 16.
A scientific study by a group of KU researchers confirms what many might have already assumed: Stress — both on and off the court — affected the Jayhawks during the most crucial point of the season.
After testing for hormone levels in athletes, KU researcher Matt Andre and coinvestigator Dr. Andrew Fry believe they’ve taken a crucial first step in researching the physiology of basketball players.
So what did they find out about KU’s players? And could this change how basketball is played for years to come?
…When strength and conditioning coach Andrea Hudy first told Traylor and his teammates they’d be popping a cotton ball in their mouth every Thursday to collect saliva and check their stress levels … well, Traylor’s imagination went a little crazy.
“We were just all thinking, ‘Man, what if we’re tired, but the cotton balls say we’re not tired? Coach is going to go harder on us,’” Traylor said with a laugh. “Crazy stuff like that.”
In actuality, Hudy wasn’t looking for a way to pick on her players — or even immediate results.
After consulting with Fry — a professor in KU’s department of health, sport & exercise sciences — Hudy had volunteered her basketball players to be part of a funded study that would test their hormone levels for each week throughout the season.
…After completing the study, Andre saw that KU’s players had all different types of stress levels, as some dealt with pressure better than others.
One thing was most interesting, though: The athletes, as a whole, had their stress levels peaking and dipping at the same points in the season — enough so that Andre could be 95-percent sure that the relationship in the players’ stress levels were not due to chance.
“For that to happen,” Andre said, “you have to have enough people having a similar response.”
…With the current technology in KU’s weight room, Hudy has instant data on each of her athletes’ lifts. With hormone levels, though, findings aren’t available until after the fact because of the time needed for testing, meaning an NBA combine that tests players’ hormone levels alongside their vertical jump probably remains in the distant future.
“It’s a process right now,” Hudy said. “But did I learn from it? Absolutely. Did the guys learn from it? Yes. Did coach learn from it? Yes.”
And if nothing else, former KU guard Elijah Johnson appreciates the efforts that KU Athletics — in teaming up with the health, sports & exercise science department — will go to in search of the best information as it relates to athletes.
“At the time, I didn’t really understand how much we were doing that a lot of people weren’t,” said Johnson, who was part of the study his senior year. “But once you leave, you start to realize this is like the league. This is like the NBA.
“There’s a lot of stuff that we have here that a lot of NBA teams don’t have.”
TCJ (much more at the link)
As I was leaning against a wall and talking to Kansas coach Bill Self in July at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam, we started discussing the team he will be putting on the floor next season. “You know,” I told him, “you didn’t really lose much from last year.”
Self looked at me sideways, flashed that hillbilly grin of his and quipped, “You mean besides two of the top three picks in the draft?”
It was a fair point, but it doesn’t mean I was wrong. Yes, Andrew Wiggins (who was selected No. 1 overall by the Cavaliers before he was traded to the Timberwolves) and Joel Embiid (No. 3 to the Sixers) have moved on, as have seniors Naadir Tharpe, a 5-foot-11 point guard, and Tarik Black, a 6-foot-9 forward. But KU will still be one of the deepest and most talented teams in the country next season because … well, because it’s Kansas, and it’s a new season, and Bill Self is still the coach. Lather, rinse, repeat.
...And yet, when it comes to discussing the best recruiters in the game, it seems the list is only allowed to include two people – Mike Krzyzewski and John Calipari, with the occasional Sean Miller tossed in. But Self is just as successful as those powerhouse procurers. His classes might not always have the same one-and-done sizzle (heading into last season very few basketball people believed Embiid would be gone after his freshman year), but Self almost never has an “off” year on the trail. And that means no “down” years during the season.
...So yes, some of the names on the back of the jerseys will be different in Lawrence, Kansas, next season, but not much else is going to change. Assuming the Jayhawks stay healthy, they will likely win another Big 12 title, contend for the national championship, lose a bunch of players to the NBA draft and bring in another top-flight recruiting class. Lather, rinse, repeat. Whether it’s winter games or summer recruiting, Self is the cleanest cat in the gym.
Seth Davis for SI
Former UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland and former Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg will be featured speakers at Bill Self’s Kansas Basketball Coaches Clinic on Oct. 18-19 in Allen Fieldhouse.
For more information on the clinic go to http://ljw.bz/1qdXiQJ
…Andrea Hudy, KU’s assistant athletic director for sports performance, will sign copies of her book, “Power Positions,” from 5 to 7 p.m., Sept. 25, at Oread Hotel. Books will be on sale at the event and free tickets can be obtained at http://ljw.bz/ZoWaV7
LJW
The question at the heart of Insider's College Basketball Future Power Rankings project is simple: Which college hoops programs will have the most success over the next three seasons (2014-15, '15-16, '16-17)?
To come up with the answer, we had a panel of experts rate programs on a 1-to-10 scale in five different categories: Coaching, Current Talent, Recruiting, Program Power and Stability. We compiled the results and weighted the categories (for a more in-depth description of the category weighting and the methodology behind the rankings, see the inline at right or click here) to produce the top 25 rankings you see below.
Our panel: Andy Katz, Jeff Goodman, John Gasaway, Paul Biancardi, Jay Bilas, Eamonn Brennan.
#1 Duke 98.1 overall score
#2 Kansas 97.5 overall score
Why they are here: The Jayhawks have a future Hall of Fame coach in Bill Self, who has dominated the Big 12 during his tenure. The Jayhawks are now starting to land the one-and-done recruits, and Self has consistently been able to mold teams that might have a possible question mark at a key position (see point guard) but still win the league. Kansas is one of the most stable programs in the country in terms of prestige and support, and that's a main reason Self hasn't been enticed to leave for the NBA. The Jayhawks have also done a tremendous job developing talent and turning role players into conference all-stars to complement the future first-round draft picks on the roster. Kansas will be a perennial title contender. -- Andy Katz
Dilemma: Self has established himself as one of the elite recruiters and also X's-and-O's guys in the game. If he left for the NBA (he was in the mix for the Cavs job this past offseason and is well regarded at the next level), the program would certainly take a step back. The only other way the Jayhawks experience a setback is if they are placed on probation -- as was the case due to NCAA violations under Larry Brown's watch. But it's difficult to imagine KU taking much of a step back as long as the 51-year-old Self is in Lawrence, Kansas. -- Jeff Goodman
Pipeline: Kansas pulled in a loaded recruiting class. Kelly Oubre is filling the slot of Andrew Wiggins, and Cliff Alexander comes in as one of the nation's best rebounders and shot-blockers. Perhaps the most important recruit is point guard DeVonte Graham, a much-needed floor leader who reads the game, distributes and scores. Shooting guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk from the Ukraine is a big-time shooter with size. The Jayhawks haven't locked in talent for 2015, but they have great young talent.
ESPN Insider ($)
ESPN Video 3pt shot: Talking KU and pro days
Grantland's Mark Titus (@clubtrillion) will be seeing a lot of the Jayhawks.
The Pizza Guys chain announced Monday it has named Sacramento Kings shooting guard Ben McLemore as the company’s spokesman, hoping to continue the momentum generated by point guard Isaiah Thomas endorsing their product the last two years.
Sac Bee
The MinnesotaTimberwolves will open their 2014-15 Training Camp, with a “Dunks After Dark” event at Bresnan Arena in the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato. Doors will open to the public at 11:00 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 29 with the Wolves expected to take the floor shortly after midnight.
Modeled after a traditional collegiate “Midnight Madness,” the Wolves’ Dunks After Dark event will be free and open to the public, featuring over an hour of Wolves entertainment, headlined by a scrimmage and a dunk contest involving Wolves’ rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine. NBA TV will be on hand to provide live coverage throughout the night. Media availability will follow the conclusion of the event.
NBA.com
“Pay Heed. The game you love began here. Respect those who came before you. Make their legacy your own. Because destiny favors the dedicated. And rings don’t replace work. In this game you don’t get what you want. You get what you earn. We are Kansas. Together we rise. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
Big 12 / College News
"We were one of the worst defensive teams I've ever had," he said.
That's not a bad way of summarizing the Hoyas' roller-coaster season, which included a five-game losing streak in January before dropping six of their last nine games.
Georgetown was expected to reign supreme in the new Big East Conference like it so often did in the old one, but last year's seventh-place finish was the product of a string of injuries and the midseason loss of big man Josh Smith, who was ruled academically ineligible.
USA Today Countdown: #37 Georgetown
New rules philosophy emphasizes student-athlete support
September 15, 2014 11:27amStacey Osburn
To better support student-athletes, compliance professionals across the country are working with the NCAA national office to empower campuses and conferences when deciding how Division I rules are applied.
The NCAA Academic and Membership Affairs and Enforcement staffs, the Collegiate Commissioners Association Compliance Administrators (CCACA) and the National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC) worked collaboratively to develop the new philosophy.
“It is impossible to foresee every possible situation during the membership-led rules-making process,” said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs. “We recognize that some situations are simply outside the intended scope of the rules, and campus administrators are closer to the situation and should have the discretion to determine whether the spirit of the rules applies.”
With a goal of developing a sense of shared responsibility for interpreting the rules, the approach is a direct result of membership feedback during ongoing conversations about improving the Association.
NCAA
CBSSports.com attempted to find out how many of last year's top 25 football and men's basketball schools awarded multiyear scholarships in all sports during 2013-14. Acquiring those numbers from a handful of schools produced obstacles.
In some instances, public universities cited state laws as justification for not providing data from open-records requests, or sought exorbitantly high fees resulting in CBSSports.com not paying for the information. CBSSports.com asked for six pieces of information from universities based on 2013-14 data:
- Total number of scholarship athletes
- Number of athletes in all sports who received a multiyear scholarship
- Length of each multiyear scholarship
- Number of scholarships in all sports that were non-renewed (not counting players who graduated or whose eligibility expired)
- Generic copies of one-year and multiyear scholarship agreements
- Documentation of non-renewal policies
LSU and North Carolina would not provide their scholarship numbers. In a letter, North Carolina wrote “there is no obligation under the North Carolina Public Records Act requiring a state agency to create or compile a record that does not exist when responding to a public records request.” LSU claimed it did not have documents responsive to the request and “it would be overly burdensome to generate any new documents to provide the details you request.”
…CBSSports.com also did not pay for information from Kansas, which sought $266.49 to fulfill the request. Kansas said its estimated amount was based on four hours of work “due to the extensive nature of your questions” and that the school follows state open-record guidelines. Within the same state, Wichita State charged no amount for the same information.
CBS
Recruiting
9/15/14, 9:38 PM
Awsome visit with @CoachBillSelf & Coach Townsend tonight.GREAT coaches & GREAT program.So blessed 2 be in this GREAT situation. #RockChalk
@BIGG_ZIMM
“The coaching staff showed us a couple of videos,” Zimmerman, a 7-foot, 240-pound senior, told Jayhawkslant.com. “One of the videos was a digital tour of what things will look like if I decide to attend Kansas. They showed a video of some of the past big men that have played at Kansas and how they performed. Coach Self also showed us a video of what the atmosphere is like at Kansas during a game. It was pretty cool. Kansas really, really covered everything.”
Zimmerman will visit North Carolina (Oct. 4), KU (for the Oct. 10 Late Night), Kentucky (Oct. 17), UCLA (Oct. 24) and Arizona (Nov. 7).
“This is one of the big things that will help me decide where I want to go. I think five visits will be good, and that will be it. Distance really isn’t a big deal,” Zimmerman said.
LJW
9/15/14, 10:42 AM
JC prospect Malik Dime will visit Arkansas Friday, and Washington next weekend. Working on a date for Kansas. Has visited Iowa St., Rutgers.
@jeffborzello
Following in-home visits this week from Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, N.C. State and UCLA, Brandon Ingram has three Midnight Madness trips planned.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Kinston (N.C.) will hit Midnight Madness at North Carolina (Oct. 3), Kansas (Oct. 10) and Kentucky (Oct. 17), with the latter two serving as official visits.
“We’re going to Late Night With Roy Oct. 3, Oct. 10 we’re going to fly to Kansas [for Late Night in the Phog] and then Oct. 17 we’re going to go to Kentucky [for Big Blue Madness],” Donald Ingram, Brandon’s father, told SNY.tv.
…Kansas 9/10: “Bill Self from University of Kansas came in. He was telling us that they’d had great production from big guards, such as Brandon. Guys his size had gone on to do well in the NBA and in college, and they would use him at the University of Kansas, and a prime example would be Andrew Wiggins.”
Zags Blog
This year’s top recruits, Ivan Rabb, Malik Newman and Diamond Stone, are looking to play college ball together. The trio roomed together for Team USA in 2013.
“We saw it at the USA games,” Rabb said. “We’re all really efficient, we love playing together. In USA, it’s us three all the time, no matter what, we’re always together. We’re like best friends. We talk to each other every day on the phone.”
The three players are looking at three schools right now: Kansas, Kentucky and UConn.
“The two biggest ones are Kentucky and Kansas,” Rabb said.
With or without his potential future teammates, he plans to give both Kansas and Kentucky a visit.
“I’m really interested in that school, so I think I might end up at least taking a look at them if not taking an official [visit],” he said of Kansas.
Newman and Stone are more set on playing together than Rabb is. The two are looking at NC State and Miami as well.
Stone said he will make his announcement Nov. 12, while the other two have not yet made their dates public.
UDK
Rick Barnes reeled in his first 2015 commit with Eric Davis announcing Tuesday that he will become a Longhorn. Davis is ranked as the No. 41 overall recruit, according to ESPN, and the four-star shooting guard has some serious game that that the prominence-seeking Texas basketball program is surely thrilled to have aboard.
SI
Freshman guard JaQuan Lyle was removed from the Oregon men’s basketball roster Tuesday and it remains unclear when he might join the team.
“JaQuan is not on our roster, we removed him today,” Greg Walker, Associate Director of Athletic Communications, told SNY.tv late Tuesday.
Sources said Lyle was cleared by the NCAA but was not admitted to the University. Walker could not comment on the specifics.
Oregon coach Dana Altman did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment.
“Something in the admission process is where the hangup is,” one source said. “I wouldn’t expect him to be part of the team, at least for now.”
Lyle, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard out of Huntington (W.V.) Prep, later Tweeted, “I’m good, y’all! I promise, just wait!!”
Zag’s Blog
Recruiting Calendar
My Late Night in the Phog videos, KU Alumni games videos, 2011-12 Border War videos, Legends of the Phog videos, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos and more now on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/kcjcjhawk