Kansas Jayhawk News and Notes 12.26.11

and Weis is an interesting one. I think, yes, it may be a bit of a stretch but there are some parallels going on there. The most interesting thing to hear is how before Brown was hired the Fieldhouse was only about half full. As someone who was just born, I obviously don’t remember those years. Sometimes they seem almost impossible to fathom.

The 08-09 comparison is an interesting one. However, one of the reasons the 08-09 squad had so much potential was because we knew we had Cole (and likely Sheron) coming back and the Morri were only freshman.

If T-Rob was a sophomore, I’d feel great about an 08-09 type season. But there is basically zero chance he’ll be back next season, and EJ isn’t running the show like Sheron was. Looking at the lineup, I’d feel a heck of a lot better about this season if Traylor and McLemore were playing. But that brings up an entirely different question…with Ben and Jamari, would this year’s team look more like 09-10? A talented extra big body plus a scoring guard would take considerable pressure off of both T-Rob and Taylor.

So what does next year look like for us?

Returning:

• Elijah Johnson
• Travis Releford
• Naadir Tharpe
• Ben McLemore
• Merv Lindsay

• Jeff Withey
• Justin Wesley
• Kevin Young
• Jamari Trailer

Recruits:

• Conner Frankamp
• Andrew White
• Anrio Adams

• Perry Ellis
• Landon Lucas
• Zach Peters

Lineup:

• Tharpe → Adams/Frankamp
• Johnson → McLemore
• Releford → White
• Ellis → Wesley → Peters
• Withey → Traylor → Lucas

But even then, HCBS really rotates 4 guards and 4 bigs…

Guards:

• Johnson
• Tharpe
• Releford
• McLemore

Bigs:

• Withey
• Ellis
• Wesley/Lucas
• Traylor

The way Lucas has been playing out here is nuts (through 5 games, he’s scored 27-30-12-24-30 with 20, 16 and 15 rebound games)….he could certainly outplay (but not out-experience) Wesley for that 4th big spot.

I also think there’s a possibility that shooters like Andrew White or Conner Frankamp could eat into Releford’s minutes.

And my guess is that Lindsay transfers. If there was any year for a freshman shooting guard with an (allegedly) great shot to get any playing time, this would be it.
Next season will be REALLY interesting.