A buddy of mine took some time to compile a list of KU recruiting targets for 2006. It’s tough to know exactly how many openings we’ll have, but my guess is between 2 and 3. In any case, I thought it was a pretty good roundup, so I got permission from him to post it here. If any of you have any updates, let me know and I’ll update the post.

Here’s a list of names that appear to be on our radar. In some cases there are folks claiming we have already offered. In other cases, someone is claiming we could offer and the recruit has interest.

The list totaled 12 by the time I got done tonight. I’m sure there are more out there, but I’m pretty comfortable there is interest on both sides with these recruits. I’ve added the most current rankings I could find. Maybe others here can find more rankings or info. At least 1 of the rankings hasn’t been updated since winter.

Brandon Wright 6′9″ 200 lbs from Nashville, TN. He’s ranked #3 in 2 polls and #2 in another.
Thaddeus Young 6′8″ 205lbs from Memphis, TN. He’s ranked #4 to #7.
Darrell Arthur 6′9″ 200lbs from South Oak Cliff in Dallas. He’s ranked from #4 to #9 and I know he’s a target.
Spencer Hawes 6′11″ 225lbs from Seattle, WA. He’s ranked from #8 to #21 and is said to have KU in his final 4 with CCoC.
Lance Thomas 6′8″ 195lbs from St. Benedict’s in NJ. He’s ranked from #13 to #21.
Wayne Ellington 6′4″ 190lbs from Merion Station, PA. He’s ranked from #16 to #23.
Chase Budinger 6′5″ 180lbs from Carlsbad, CA. He’s ranked from #28 to #33.
Bryan Davis 6′8″ 225lbs from Grand Prairie, TX. He’s ranked from #29 to #40 and he’s.
Jeremiah Rivers 6′4″ 180lbs from Winter Park, FL. He’s ranked from #32 to #75 and is the only one I found listed as a PG.
Christian Polk 6′3″ 170 lbs from Glendale, AZ. He’s ranked from #37 to #58 (listed as a Shooting Guard)
Bryce Webster 6′9″ 245lbs from St. Thomas Academy in MN. He’s ranked #42 to #72.
Dwight Lewis 6′5″ 190lbs from Metairie, LA. He’s ranked #84 to outside the Top 100.

I didn’t see anything definitive on Keith Clark from OKC, but he has KU listed among several others. He’s ranked from #11 to #34.

Lots of others are “linked to KU”, of course, but I only listed the ones where there was something that sounded definitive about interest on both sides. We’ve seen Bill’s recruiting approach, so we know there are going to be “1st tier”, “2nd tier”, “whoever signs first”, and “conditional” type offers developing.

I don’t pretend to know anything specific (except maybe a bit about Arthur and Hawes), just passing along this homework assignment to anyone that’s interested. We’ll probably start to know more about 2006 recruiting targets by the time the Kingwood Invitational takes place in late April.

Below is over seven minutes of video highlight footage kindly provided by Tom at Different Angle Video Productions (he does weddings too folks, and he does them well). This is a rough version and we hope to have a slightly better version up tomorrow. If you’re browsing the Phog Blog homepage, you’ll need to click ‘more’ to see the video. It will take a few minutes to load as it’s, as I mentioned over seven minutes long, but if you press play, it should come up for you pretty quick. You will need at least Windows Media Player 9 to watch for now. For all y’all Mac users, I hope to have a downloadable Quicktime version available before too long.

(more…)

The NBA Scouts love Julian Wright:

NBA scouts considered Wright one of the most impressive players in the game and in the scrimmages held earlier in the week.

“I’m still going to Kansas,'’ Wright said. “I’m gonna go to college and have a good time there. I have to get stronger. It’s hard boarding with those big guys. I don’t think I’ll be getting too many double-doubles — unless it’s with points and steals.'’

And all of Alaska loves Mario Chalmers, so much they include a goofy picture of him.

I watched the first half of the McD’s game last night, and I will watch the second half in a few hours. There will be plenty of highlights, though, I can assure you of that. About 10 minutes into the game, a tall, thin player for the West squad gets the ball off a steal on the other end just passed the half court line. One man is waiting for him in the lane, preparing to cut off his path to the basket.

Instead of pulling back and waiting for help, as some players might do, he drove towards the basket, taking off from a few feet inside the free throw line and soaring in for a thunderous dunk.

The player was Julian Wright, and he’s going to be a star at Kansas.

In the first few minutes of the second half, Mario Chalmers took over the game, scoring 16 points in less than 5 minutes and single-handedly pulling his team back into the game. Says KUsports:

his(Chalmers’) biggest moment of the night came on his bread-and-butter play. It started with a repeat performance of Monday night, when Chalmers, a KU signee, claimed the crown in the three-point competition.

Wednesday, he hit one at the top of the key after coming off a screen with 15:46 left, and then stole the inbounds pass, and within seconds drained one in the corner. As the crowd got on its feet, Chalmers showed his enthusiasm with a chest-pounding and screaming display.

“That’s my patented move right there off the steal. I always run back for the three,” Chalmers said with a grin.

Though he didn’t score as many points, Wright had an excellent game as well, including a couple of absolutely sick dunks. Downs played well in the first half, though not spectacularly well, and sat most of the second half, much to his dismay. Here’s the part that KU folks will be discussing for the next 4 months - is Micah Downs the next David Padgett:

Every time coach Al Rhodes put someone else in the game and passed Downs up, Downs put his hands in the air in frustration. His body language showed that attitude in the second half, as he shook his head in disbelief a few times. He sat for about the final 15 minutes of the contest.

“I was frustrated,” Downs said. “I don’t know why I wasn’t getting minutes. When I was out there, I was hitting threes and getting assists and stuff. I was just like, ‘Why aren’t I getting in there, you know? I’m just as good as anybody here.’

This smacks an awful lot of his concern that he hadn’t made First Team All State. I think Micah’s a good kid, and I’m not overly worried about it, since he is after all, 18 years old, but my advice to the Downs family is to try not to vent your frustrations about such things, however understandable (Micah did score 8 points in 11 minutes of play), on the public stage. Suck it up, take your lumps and play good, team basketball. His comments are also not repeated in full. If you read this article, you’ll discover that he was also discussing their trip to the Ronald McDonald House and in my opinion, his quotes don’t seem nearly as bad. I for one am very excited about these three playing for Kansas. Here’s the McDonalds High School All-America game box score if you’re interested:

EAST 115, WEST 110

WEST - Ellis 3-10 1-3 8, Zeller 0-2 0-0 0, Webster 6-15 2-2 16, Frasor 0-4 2-4 2, Hansbrough 4-7 6-6 15, Eaton 2-3 2-8 7, Johnson 0-5 1-2 1, Chalmers 8-16 1-3 20, Downs 3-5 0-0 8, Wright 7-9 0-1 14, Miles 5-10 0-0 13, Brockman 3-6 0-0 6. Totals 41-92 15-29 110.

EAST - D.Green 2-6 2-2 7, Paulus 2-6 9-10 13, Williams 5-10 3-3 14, Hendrix 2-3 2-4 6, McRoberts 7-8 1-3 17, Devendorf 4-9 4-6 13, G.Green 8-12 2-3 24, Barber 0-0 4-6 4, Bynum 3-5 3-3 9, Costner 1-8 0-0 2, Mitchell 3-5 0-2 6, Boateng 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-72 30-42 115.

Halftime - East 65-43. Three-point goals - West 13-35 (Miles 3-5, Chalmers 3-9, Downs 2-3, Webster 2-7, Hansbrough 1-1, Eaton 1-2, Ellis 1-5, Wright 0-1, Frazor 0-2), East 11-25 (G.Green 6-9, McRoberts 2-3, D.Green 1-2, Devendorf 1-2, Williams 1-3, Paulus 0-2, Costner 0-4). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - West 50 (Hansbrough , East 52 (McRoberts 12). Assists - West 21 (Chalmers 5), East 20 (Paulus 9). Total fouls - West 27, East 24.

I’m sorry for the dearth of posting of late. I’ve had other committments such as a sick wife to attend to and, well, I’ve been consumed by a lack of things to say. But I have emerged from a week of not really saying anything decidely ungrumpy about KU basketball. My friend and former KU Golfer John S_____ says that every day is a good day to be a Jayhawk, but some days are just a little bit better than others.

Today is one of these days.

If you want a little morning reading, I suggest you read about Bill Self’s return from vacation. I like Self’s honesty, and I like the fact that he’s honestly not sounding the panic bell.

Traditionally, that majestic day on which I throw open all the windows and rev up the old attic fan falls on the first day of the NCAA Tournament. This year such was not my luck. That honor instead fell on yesterday, or at least a brief part of yesterday. I take this as a symbolic fortelling of the Spring of Jayhawks hoops that we’ll all experience next year.

Because for me, KU’s next year season starts today, with the 2005 McDonald’s High School All America Game. The game starts at 7 on ESPN, but the Dunk Contest / Three point Contest airs from 6 to 7. You probably already know who wins, but if you don’t, you should definitely watch, it will get you excited.

As I said earlier, I’ll have a ‘highlight’ video of the game up on Phog Blog up before too long, with a little help from the Phog Blog videography department. All three KU recruits are on the same squad, which gives a good chance, I think, of seeing them all on the court at the same time for at least a few minutes. I’m predicting a Mario Chalmers alley-oop to Micah Downs, and I’m predicting a really good game for Julian Wright. I hope it’s not too good though, because you know that South Bend receipts will be all over the expense accounts of pretty much every NBA scout living.

The updated tournament standings are up, and Illinois and UNC pickers are rising. Gotta love Sean May:

“Coach Robinson has been wearing this awful T-shirt from Kansas when they went to the Final Four,” May said, “and I told him before the game if we win, I get to rip it up. That was my main motivation.”

The McDonalds All-American game is this week, and I’ll be posting highlights from KU-bound players here on the Phog Blog. The game starts at 7 on Wednesday and the Dunk Contest/3 point contest, both of which feature Micah Downs and the former of which features Julian Wright as well.

I’m impressed. The Big 10, what I thought all year to be just above a mid-major conference, has impressed me greatly. I was never much of a Duke believer, but I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told me that Wisconsin and Michigan State would be in the elite 8. The tourney results are up, and those who picked Illinois are rising. Oh, and one guy who picked Louisville - he could be the winner!

Good games today, but probably no live-blogging.

Now I realize that the Phog Blog is in danger of becoming a rather pedestrian variety of an MU-Hating site, but all of this Bucknell schadenfraude madness is beyond the pale. Take today’s article in today’s LJW - Mizzou fans are actually gobbling up Bucknell gear. This is pointless. Stop now. This rather silly ploy is more likely to bring the wrath of KU upon you than it is to evoke any level of shame from next year’s players. But here’s a snippet none-the-less.

One Missouri fan who ordered a shirt posted his intentions on the www.tigerboard.com Web site Thursday: “I’ll be sure to wear mine around the KC metro area.” Another said the KU-Mizzou game next year in Columbia, Mo., should be declared “Bucknell Day.”

The Tourney Pick’em Standings have been updated, and for the first time, some pickers can no longer earn points. Todd is still at the top, with Phog Blog contributor Ryan Riggin close behind. My Kansas-OSU final will not happen. And as much as Salim Stoudamire ran his mouth yesterday, I suppose that it is everyone else who is eating humble pie. I can admire his shooting in the second half, but I don’t have to like him. Here’s what he said yesterday, hat tip to Yoni:

“I’m a humble person. Everyone on the team is humble, too. We just want our game to show for itself…Some reporter just told me the white guy [6-foot-6 Daniel Bobik] is going to guard me. I don’t know his name. I don’t think anybody can guard me. I’m the only one who can stop me.”

I have received many comments, emails and personal assurances from folks who are interested in what started as a bit of a joke - the Mizzou Shirt. I’ve decided to see if we can’t get some of these printed. I haven’t finalized the design, but it will look something along the lines of this:

I think there were at least 5 of you who had remarked that you had interest in one of these shirts via the comments, but unfortunately that data was lost with yesterday’s hacking attack. If you wouldn’t mind either dropping me an email at phogblog@gmail.com or dropping a line in the comments section, I would be much obliged. I think we have about 10 of these shirts ready for pre-order. If I can get that to about 20 or so I can get high quality shirts for less than $15, and that’s not a bad deal. A lot cleverer dig at Mizzou than the silly Muck Fizzou T-shirts, if you ask me. Let me know, I’d like to place the order by sometime next week.

-Jeremy

By the way, if you want to post a link to this so that your friends, colleagues and internet friends can see it, simply click the link to the title, that’s the permalink to this post and will always take them here.

Jason King reveals some of what Self is thinking and feeling in this must read article today. Two snippets for the time-deprived:

He thought about seniors such as Aaron Miles and Wayne Simien, who had played their final game. Had Self let them down? He envisioned all the times he’d have to sit through replays of the loss on television, and about the criticism he was sure to receive. What could he have done differently?

In the solitude of his hotel room, Self’s emotions finally got the best of him.

“I cried,” he said. “I’m not a guy that does that a lot. But that night I felt like it was OK.”

and, in something that I think tells of why we lost more than anything:

Perhaps it has to do with the conversation he had with Miles and Simien on Monday, when the seniors stopped by Self’s office. The twosome had been an integral part of KU squads that had won three Big 12 titles and reached two Final Fours and an Elite Eight.

As the three rehashed the season and the loss that ultimately led to its conclusion, Miles gave his opinion on what may have caused KU’s late crumble.

“All of us,” Miles told his coach, “thought we would just turn it on at the end.”

Read the whole thing. And a little message to those calling for Self’s job: It is better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you are a jackass than to open it and remove all doubt. There are many things about this year that none of us know about this season. Bill Self cannot be judged fairly until we see him coach his own team.

This video was originally posted elsewhere, but because of the hackers, it was deleted. It is here now, hopefully permanently.
Click here to watch it. The link requires Windows Media Player - I apologize to you Mac folks. I don’t have a good .mov encoder on this machine and the .mov was pretty large. I suppose that I could convert it to .avi, but it is still pretty large. Please don’t distribute this file without permission - I just don’t have the bandwidth.