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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3 , 2014
PAGE 2B
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SEASON OUTLOOK
Talented freshman trio, returners look to fill the void left by departed players
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self speaks to the crowd at Late Night on Oct. 10 in Allen Fieldhouse. Self's recruits for the 2014-15 season include freshmen Cliff Alexander, Devonte' Graham and Kelly Oubre, Jr. Self hopes the trio will help fill the gaps of former players Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins.
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Kansas has been here before, leading into a new season with major question marks after losing several key players is nothing new for the Jayhawks. Last season, they lost Ben McLemore and Jeff Withey. This season, it's Andrew Wiggins, Joel Imbiid and Naadir Tharpe. Rosters always change — it's college basketball, and that's the nature of the business at this level.
Still, losing two players of Wiggins and Embiid's caliber would cripple most programs, but those programs aren't Kansas. While it certainly hurts, the hawkys routinely boast some of the best recruiting classes in the nation — no loss is too big to recover from.
"[Wiggins and Embiid] are pretty tremendous talents," junior forward Jamari Traylor aid. "It's a long season and everybody is going to have to step on occasion. Some games, he guy is going to have a good game, then it's going to be an either guy who steps up in the text game. We're pretty talentd, so it could be anybody."
"Anybody" could wind up being one of Kansas' new impact freshmen. Forward Cliff Alexander is the most talked-about of the bunch and with good reason — he was ESPN's No. 3 prospect in the Class of 2014. Coach Bill Self compares him to a young Thomas Robinson.
"I see some similarities with Cliff and Thomas," Self said. Cliff is probably a little bigger at the same stage, about the same athletically. Offensively, about the same. There's a lot of similarities in him."
While Alexander will be asked with replacing some of the rebounds and post presence lost with Embiid, freshman guards Devonte' Graham and Kelly Oubre, Jr., should help use the loss of Wiggins.
Graham, a four-star recruit out of North Carolina, was voted the team's best leader at its preseason boot camp and is someone Self said "will be a hard guy to keep out of the lineup" His measurables
aren't off the charts, but he's a solid all-around player who doesn't turn the ball over often — something Kansas has struggled with at the point in seasons past.
Oubre, a five-star recruit from Nevada, was ESPN's No. 11 prospect in the Class of 2014 and described as "one of the two best wing prospects" at LeBron James' Skills Academy in Las Vegas over the summer. He'll provide an immediate impact in what could be his lone season in Lawrence.
"We've got to be able to plug [Oubre] in to take advantage of what he does," Self said. "He can score the ball, but he's so good around the rim, he's so good defensively getting out in the passing lanes, he's such a good offensive rebounder. There are a lot of things he can do well that are not your typical two or three-guard type things."
While the addition of these three freshmen should provide a boost, Self also expects contributions from some players who saw limited minutes last season.
"Landen [Lucas] may have had the best spring and summer of anybody." Self said. "He's going to play. He's fighting for major minutes. He and Cliff are probably, right now, based on what I've seen, going head-to-head for a lot of major minutes."
What exactly the redshirt sophomore forward brings to the table is a bit of an unknown for many. After redshirting his first year, he carved out a tiny niche in Kansas' rotation last season, averaging just under five minutes per game while spelling the lahawks' big men.
At 6 feet 10 inches tall, he's the tallest player on the roster and his rebounding prowess should ensure him significant playing time.
Another returning player who could provide an impact is junior forward Hunter Mickelson.
"He's our best shot blocker," Self said. "Cliff is going to be a good one, but Hunter blocked more shots his last year at Arkansas than Joel [Embiid] did last year, in less minutes."
Following his transfer from Arkansas after the 2012-13 season, Mickelson sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. He was the Razorbacks most proficient shot blocker during his two years in Fayetteville — he even set an Arkansas record for consecutive games with a blocked shot to begin a career. Though Self said Mickelson must refine other aspects of his game to see major minutes, he could serve as a nice plug-in when Self wants more length in the paint.
While this Kansas squad doesn't boast any shoe-in lottery picks like last year, it certainly has all of the pieces to compete for its 11th-straight Big 12 title and possibly more. With a desirable blend of newcomers and returnees, it's simply a matter of fitting those pieces together. Given Self's track record with developing new talent, there's little reason to believe this team won't work its way deep in to March.
- Edited by Drew Parks
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