You are right Tharpe vs Tyshawn re: defense.

I still don't like losing a senior when the bulk of the team will be sophomores and freshmen.

Except he doesn't look like the leaning tower of Piza when he shoots a jumper. Always hated Tyshawn's form.

I thought the same thing.

Damn, some people have to work and can't be updated the op all the time, lol. I'll change it when I get to my office. At a client now.

Please quit your job so that you can be available for any & all future updates regarding the roster & schedule. kthxbai

Updated

Kansas lands PG Devonte’ Graham
By J-W Staff Report
Kansas University basketball recruiting.
Kansas University basketball recruiting.
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Less than 24 hours after learning that it was losing its starting point guard, the Kansas University men's basketball program landed another, when Devonte' Graham, a 6-foot-2 senior point guard from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire announced his plans to join the KU program.

Brewster basketball coach Jason Smith confirmed Graham's decision via Twitter just before noon today.

Graham, the No. 36 rated player in the Class of 2014 according to Rivals.com, had a final list of KU, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Providence and officially chose Kansas over NC State roughly 23 hours after senior-to-be Naadir Tharpe announced that he was leaving the program.

Graham originally signed with Appalachian State in the fall of 2012, his senior year at Broughton High in Raleigh, N.C. Eventually he asked out of his letter-of-intent, but was not granted a release by coach Jason Capel. So he enrolled at Brewster Academy and finally received a release after Capel was fired and Jim Fox hired at Appy State on April 10.

He visited KU April 18-20, then headed to N.C. State and Virginia within a week’s time.

“When he (Devonte) first contacted me last spring, when he made up his mind that he wasn’t going to App State, I saw video and talked to people and they said it was a no-brainer. Those people told me that he was a guard that could play at the highest level. From coaching Devonte all year, that is very evident,” Brewster coach Jason Smith told jayhawkslant.com.

“He’s as good as any point guard we've had during my tenure at Brewster,” Smith added. “He’s kind of a combination of a few different guys. He’s explosive like Semaj Christon (Xavier). He runs the team and makes decisions well. He guards like Dogus Balbay, who played at Texas, so I knew once Devonte received his release, he’d be recruited by the highest level programs.”

Of his game, Smith said: “He’s a little bit of both (point guard/shooting guard). Devonte can score if you need him to score, but he really shoots the ball well and he can defend. He was our leading scorer this year, but he still shot over 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from behind the arc and nearly 80 percent from the foul line.”

Graham said he has “true point guard skills. I control the game, I can pass and run the offense, but I can also make plays for myself and others. Most people call me a play making point guard.”

What are you doing on CP while you're meeting with a client?

ROFL

I was leaving at that point.

Yeah, he played PG in HS. Because, by definition he had the ball in his hands all the time. But he was mainly a scorer with tons of scrubs on his team. He carried his team by scoring & shooting, not from being this amazing floor general.

Exactly this. I got to watch him play some games in HS and he was a point guard in the sense that he always had the ball in his hands. Defenses would double and even triple team him at times. Most of the time the easiest way to get him the ball was to do it right off. Also, I agree with an early post that he is probably a better off the dribble shooter than spot up, because he regularly had to create the shot for himself.

Frankamp's just not a playmaker, he doesn't have that skill. At least not at this point in his career. Doesn't mean he can't be a contributor.

Preseason #1 at this point?

Paul Biancardi likes Graham a lot:

What he brings: As a lead guard with excellent athletic ability, Graham shows the balance between being a facilitator who is thinking about setting up his teammates and being a scorer. His basketball IQ is what stands out; he understands spacing and flow within his floor game, or he can turn it up a notch and play at a faster tempo. He can be trusted by his coaches because he is more of a decision-maker versus a risk-taker, and has vision and passing accuracy to connect with his teammates. He led his Brewster team in assists (171 in 33 games) and his assist-to-turnover ratio was terrific at 5-1.

As a 3-point shooter, he shines by knocking down shots on a fairly consistent basis, which complements his floor game so well. Once inside the arc, watch out for his dribble pull-up game and floaters, as he is equally adept in those areas. Defensively he levels the drive well as he stays in front of his man and will step in and take charges off the ball, which is uncommon for most high school players.



How he fits: The biggest void for Kansas was a floor general who can make an assist and/or score from the point guard spot. Graham is efficient and effective in both categories. First and foremost, he is a determined defender on the ball, and defense is where it always starts with Kansas. He can set the tone by how he pressures the ball along with a group of elite athletes who are big, strong, fast and quick, which will lead to many easy points in transition. In the half-court offense, he will run the show by being an extension of Self on the floor, initiating Self’s signature high-low offense or side and middle ball-screen actions. With Graham’s shooting prowess, his man cannot leave him to double Cliff Alexander or Perry Ellis inside or Graham will make them pay. He was the main reason Brewster Academy won the prestigious NEPSAC title and national prep school championship, and that fits Kansas' winning tradition just fine.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncbrecruiting/on-t he-trail/post?id=10088

He's not fast or quick, but he can handle the ball and shoot.

I believe once he gets his confidence together, and it looked like he started to get it a little in this past NCAA tourney, he's going to start draining 3's.

But he's def a spot up shooter..he's not going to beat anybody at this level penetrating to the glass unless he has a wide open lane.

But damn I'm going to miss seeing Embiid play. I know the money is there in the top part of the 1st rd, esp top5, but I personally think he could have used another year under his belt at the college level. NBA doesn't use true centers like they used to 20yrs ago, and he's so raw, I can see him get frustrated against more experienced talent. His footwork is unbelievable though..so he has that going for him.

Damn this team is going to miss that guy. Sucks that Turner is going to UT. He won't accomplish shit there, surprised that Barnes even still has a job.