My First Late Night - and Observations !!

My brother and I drove to Lawrence to take his sophomore son to dinner. Completely forgot it was late night. We drove by Allen for fun, and realized what was happening. We parked illegally at Naismith Hall (sorry), then snuck in a back door at Allen, and got there in time for the videos, rap concert and scrimmage. I live in Phoenix and will likely never be back for another Late Night, so I'm so happy to have made this one. Here are my observations:

1. The entire evening seemed to be directly geared to recruiting. Every video sold the program, the history, the guys in the NBA, etc. It was enjoyable for sure, but clearly just a big recruiting event. I'm not a rap guy, but it was really fun to see all the students singing along, and they even did a Rock Chalk Jayhawk rap song. It was great.

2. What a thrill to be there in person for the singing of the alma mater and the Rock Chalk Chant! Haven't heard that for a while in person, and it still gave me chills.

3. We were in the student section under the "beware of the Phog" banner. It was loud and fun, but as soon as the videos and rap concert were over and the scrimmage started, 75% of the students left. Maybe it was time for the bars, but they left en masse and saw almost nothing of the scrimmage.

4. Scrimmage. It was really fun to see them play in person, and it wasn't entirely sloppy playground ball. They ended in a tie with - I think - Frank making a shot at the buzzer. Player observations are as follows:

Frank Mason: An absolute beast. He penetrated at will, took tons of contact, and completed three "and ones". He looked supremely confident, and destroyed whoever was guarding him. He was almost unstoppable when he wanted to get to the basket. When the offense broke down, he calmly hit a couple threes.

Devonte: Didn't seem to be taking it too seriously, but looked like the most complete player. He looks bigger in person, and my brother and I both saw glimpses of very high level talent waiting to be shown. Very smooth three point shot. He should be tough to guard.

Svi: Looked much more confident with the ball in his hand, especially when attacking his defender. His shot was bad though. Clanked one three and airballed another, missing the rim by over a foot. He made one, or maybe two, but he looked the same as last year with the game pressure seeming to alter his shot mechanics with every shot, and I'm not sure we'll get the sharpshooter that was promised a few years ago.

Lagerald Vick (not sure I got the spelling right): Absolutely a FREAK athlete. Amazing to watch, and he seemed to be holding back even more explosive moves, jumps, etc. He looked very ready to participate and get involved in the rotation. He jumps out of the gym, quick and like a gnat - all over the court. He went on a tear and made three or four shots in a row, a couple of them being threes. I think he's one of those streak scorers who once or twice a game will drop six or eight points in a row. On one in bounds play in the corner, the inbounder just threw the ball ten feet in the air and LG jumped straight up over his guy and grabbed it. He was the highlight of the evening for me.

Lucas: This was not a night for the bigs. The guards dominated everything. He did get a couple post moves in, but airballed a two foot shot, then jammed one into the rim on another. We don't expect offense from him, and his skill set wasn't going to come out in a scrimmage. I think he'll be as solid as last year, but don't expect much on the offensive end.

Newman: What a shame he wasted a year (two, with his transfer year) going to MSU. He looks like the purest, smoothest athlete of the bunch. Has a smooth shot, is good sized, and almost glides around the court. I think he will be a great player.

Azubuke: Didn't play, but man is he big. standing in the huddle he just towered over everyone else.

Jackson: Honestly, he didn't stand out much, other than a few plays where he flew in for a rebound and maybe a few layups. He scored most of his points late, but by then it was pretty sloppy play and it didn't stand out. His outside shot is funky - as advertised - and clanked more than it went in. Nothing to fret about at all - it just seemed like he was letting the older guys carry the scrimmage.

Lightfoot - bigger than expected. He looks like a toothpick in pictures, but is bigger than that. Nasty. he got a foul for basically punching Newman in the back to get better position. Didn't seem to care it was an all KU scrimmage.

Bragg: Tough to describe him last night. Kinda like Jackson in that he held back for a while, and didn't seem to be exerting a ton of effort. However, he scored a ton of points and still has that so soft shot that looks very good. He had outside and inside scoring plays, with a few alleyoop dunks. Laughed the entire time and looked like he was having a great time.

Big guys: All blended together, and big guys were ignored a lot in this scrimmage. Coleby looked to be playing very gingerly on his knee. I've read he's struggling to get his confidence back, and it showed. I had a hard time telling who the other three or four guys were, but Maxwell played pretty solid under the basket on rebounds and putbacks.

That's all I remember for now. My brother and I both walked away thinking there is a TON of talent on this team. It will be exciting to see it all come together.

Rock Chalk !