By my count, and I'm still surprised if I'm reading this right...ku is only gonna have 8 available scholarship players on hand to trot out against us.
They have three transfers sitting out who will be playing next year (including Cuonzo's Cal point guard last year, Charlie Moore) who will make them absolutely loaded again next season. But for now that's 3 scholies being eaten up. And they have another transfer Sam Cunliffe who has to sit out the first semester of this season so he won't be available for this game either.
Of the 8 scholarship players ku would be trotting out against us, only three are traditional frontcourt players. Udoka Azubike seems to be a defensive shot blocking monster in the making but raw offensively, Billy Preston is a talented multiskilled five star freshman big man but that basically makes him a very poor man's MPJ, and Mitch Lightfoot...well, will do whatever it is he is capable of doing, jury is still out. I guess maybe you put Mykhailuk on MPJ and see what happens? Interesting call for Self to have to make.
The ku backcourt is still on paper way way way ahead of ours with talent and experience, Devonte Graham of course leading the way. Our guards are gonna have to find a way to keep up, and they may not be able. But I'll be damned if, in the frontcourt, Mizzou might not just have the edge in both depth and talent at the moment...strange to say, but ku seems really thin up there. I'd assume Self may go with the 3 or 4 guard lineup again this year, and it has been effective for them...but do you really want to let a bunch of shorter guards try to match up with MPJ, Jontay, Barnett, KP? Will be fascinating to watch if so.
They have three transfers sitting out who will be playing next year (including Cuonzo's Cal point guard last year, Charlie Moore) who will make them absolutely loaded again next season. But for now that's 3 scholies being eaten up. And they have another transfer Sam Cunliffe who has to sit out the first semester of this season so he won't be available for this game either.
Of the 8 scholarship players ku would be trotting out against us, only three are traditional frontcourt players. Udoka Azubike seems to be a defensive shot blocking monster in the making but raw offensively, Billy Preston is a talented multiskilled five star freshman big man but that basically makes him a very poor man's MPJ, and Mitch Lightfoot...well, will do whatever it is he is capable of doing, jury is still out. I guess maybe you put Mykhailuk on MPJ and see what happens? Interesting call for Self to have to make.
The ku backcourt is still on paper way way way ahead of ours with talent and experience, Devonte Graham of course leading the way. Our guards are gonna have to find a way to keep up, and they may not be able. But I'll be damned if, in the frontcourt, Mizzou might not just have the edge in both depth and talent at the moment...strange to say, but ku seems really thin up there. I'd assume Self may go with the 3 or 4 guard lineup again this year, and it has been effective for them...but do you really want to let a bunch of shorter guards try to match up with MPJ, Jontay, Barnett, KP? Will be fascinating to watch if so.
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