Morning report 2024-05-02 Moving forward

Yesterday 2024-05-01 was the last day for any men's basketball D1 student-athlete to enter the transfer portal and be able to play for his new team next fall without needing an NCAA waiver.

KANSAS lost no one to the portal, and gained at least 3 promising experienced players from it.

In the transfer portal game +3 is a GREAT score, especially when it's all adds and zero losses, indicating a solid returning foundation that promises to get better being augmented with some well chosen newcomers to round out the team's skillsets.

After checking some of his sources last night, this morning Shay WIldeboor reports that it is his impression that KANSAS is moving ahead as if Johnny Furphy is gone and Florida sophomore transfer guard Riley Kugel will not qualify. Note that I consider this to be a restatement of his earlier, similar assessment from last week. And note that although it is likely Riley and KU already know what his Spring term grades will be, those grades are not officially due in until this coming Monday. So we still wait to see "what goes on?"

Can Riley make the grade with UF summer school if he does not with his spring grades?

Inquiring minds want to know!

That means that for now at least the KUMBB scholarship roster for next AY looks like this:

RETURNING
F KJ Adams
F Zach Clemence
C Hunter Dickinson
G Dajuan Harris
G Elmarko Jackson
G Jamari McDowell
TRANSFERS IN
G Rylan Griffen
G Zeko Mayo
G AJ Storr
FRESHMEN
C Flory Bidunga
G Rakease Passmore

With 11 scholarships filled, KU still has 2 more that can be used this year.

Wednesday 2024-05-29 is the last day for NBA draft testers to withdraw from the draft and retain their remaining eligibility to play in college this fall.

Based solely on what I've been reading from Shay at JayhawkSlant and Mike Vernon in his KUHearings, I would not be surprised if KANSAS keeps at least one ride open until Johnny has made his Rubicon decision. Looking at the mock drafts out there from a variety of sources I have seen Johnny as high as 20 and as low as top third Round 2. Those who make note of it at all do opine the belief that "raw" Johnny would significantly move up in the draft next year if he returned for one more year of college play at KU. So it's not a slam dunk that Johnny is gone, but it is a real possibility. The NBA Combine and team interviews are going to be huge factors for our long range Thunder from Down Under to consider in making his decision.

And if Bill is holding "RIDE 13 FOR FURPHY", it's practically a win-win no matter Johnny's decision.

Coming back to KANSAS is the better option for KU for sure. Return and KANSAS is loaded for bear - and buffalo and bearcats and frogs and sun devils and cowboys and Utes and mountaineers and knights and raiders and several varieties of cougars and wildcats. I can't even see a cyclone blow them off course!

But even if Johnny is gone, Ride 13 will not go to waste.

IF after the draft withdrawal deadline passes Bill has someone interested in taking that ride, excellent!

If he doesn't, then the final scholarship penalty gets used this year and KANSAS recruits for AY2025-26 with a full quiver of scholarships to use.

But between now and May 29, Vernon is reporting in his KUHearings VIP section (which I do NOT subscribe to, he asks too much for something I will learn of for free within a week) that KU is talking with at least two other transfer possibilities that might -- MIGHT -- yield something as early as this week. We shall see.