Jayhawk Talk: The Big Commit and A Spring of Swings

Warning: long, meandering college hoops recruiting talk ahead. Just skip if that’s not your thing.

I haven’t looked back to track this exactly, but it feels like there have been a lot of springs in the last 10 years or so where KU basketball seemed hopeless, the up-coming season a disaster waiting to happen, and that’s all been salvaged by a spate of spring recruiting.

Sometimes, as in the case of Andrew Wiggins committing in May 2013, it was more about how the previous season ended than what the actual prospects for the next season were. Wiggins deciding to be a Jayhawk finally busting the malaise that had gripped me since that awful, overtime loss to Michigan in the Sweet 16, a game that KU won 15 times and then pissed away 15 times.

Other years it has been genuine yeoman’s work by Bill Self to bring in a host of players to replace those who had graduated, declared for the draft, or transferred out.

This year is the most extreme example of that second category.

Two players remain from last year’s roster. TWO. Which is dumb because KU did not have 13 seniors or NBA prospects. Nope, it is 2026 and EVERYONE goes into the portal, searching for a better deal or greener pastures. Don’t get me started. Nothing makes me feel more old man-ish than the state of college sports. I don’t want to get into it now, in hopes that I keep my blood pressure in a good place. I’ll just repeat what I’ve said to friends several times recently: if I didn’t have over 45 years of intense college sports fandom in my blood,[1] I would be looking for ways to get out of it. Hell, if someone can’t get some rules in place in the next couple years, I may turn my back on college games anyway. I listen to enough NBA podcasts; that transition would be seamless.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, only Kohl Rosario and Paul Mbiya were left from last season’s KU squad. Neither of them were guys who played a ton. Now, KU did have a very good high school recruiting class lined up, including four top 150 players and a fifth top 20–30-ish player from the next class who is expected to reclassify. Even if they all show up, this was not a complete roster. There was spring work to do.

For some reason, hopefully a good one, KU was very slow to sign players in the portal. While Flory Bidunga was getting $5 million plus from Louisville, Bryson Tiller was making the ultimate dick move and taking his talents to Columbia, MO, Elmarko Jackson was going to Georgetown, Jamari McDowell was going to Wake Forest, Samis Calderon was going to Butler, and even local redshirt Corbin Allen was fleeing, no one was coming in. And all the big names in the portal were signing elsewhere.

How was this possible??? Blue blood Kansas, with one of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport, the top dog in Adidas’ collection of schools, was getting shut out while fellow Adidas schools Louisville and Indiana apparently had twice the NIL budgets and were grabbing the best players to hit the portal.[2]

I kept hoping that meant KU was biding its time, waiting for better values and better fits rather than going after the splashiest names. Still, it was disappointing KU basically had no chance of keeping either Bidunga or Tiller. Flory was a pure money play, with KU not interested in paying him what he was asking.[3] The writing was on the wall with Tiller, who got benched late in the season when his game fell apart and seemed destined to leave.

A lot of the rumored players KU was going after weren’t ones that got my blood pumping. Surely there were better guys who hadn’t formally entered the portal but had quietly been exploring their options, and KU was just waiting for those players to make it official before scheduling visits.

Things finally started moving two weeks ago. Keanu Dawes, a big forward who tore KU up when Utah visited Lawrence last year, committed. Not the defensive player Flory is, not close. But an effective rebounder and a more rounded offensive player. I’m not saying that’s an even trade, but he at least brings something to the table. Dawes also plays with an edge, something KU has lacked.

Next was Leroy Blyden Jr. from Toledo, one of the best mid-major freshmen in the country last year. A little undersized and you wonder about the jump in competition. However, he’s the classic bet you make on a guy to level up that KU has been unwilling to take with young guys.

Finally, gigantic Christian Reeves of Charleston to join Mbiya at the 5 spot. He’s a gamble, but the Jayhawks needed another true big and there weren’t many making it to the open market.

So at least there were bodies on the roster, even if Dawes was the only one of the three additions I was totally confident in.

There was a massive elephant in the room, though. That was #1 high school recruit Tyran Stokes, who had been dragging his process for months. He visited KU about a year ago, and had been their top priority since. A Louisville native, the Cards and Kentucky were going to be tough to beat, and if KU couldn’t get a commitment from him last summer, it was expected they would finish second or third.

But Stokes drug things out all year. He switched high schools. He dropped Louisville and added Oregon. He visited KU in January. And again this spring. He matched those with visits to Kentucky. Word was he did not like Kentucky head coach Mark Pope and was angling for one of his advisors to be added to the UK staff. Word was that while he preferred KU and Self, he did not want to wear Adidas and already had a Nike deal. This week rumors floated that he had been negotiating with BOTH Nike and Adidas to sign agreements with each company, which seems insane. Again, I might be done with college sports.

Finally, last night, it all came to an end. He went on ESPN and pulled out a copy of NBA 2K with a picture of him in a red KU jersey and said “Rock Chalk” over and over.

He better be worth it.

He’s not the player Darryn Peterson was at the same age. But if Stokes plays 36 minutes a game, he might have a bigger impact. Stokes is a massive talent, but far from as polished as either DP or AJ Dybantsa. He’s a little volatile, to the point where some folks thought the real winner in the Stokes sweepstakes would be the team that finished second. I’m hoping that’s just because of immaturity and high school being easy for him. And I’ll take a player who has the mood swings of Josh Jackson if he has similar ability.[4]

At this point KU didn’t have the luxury of passing. They had a nice roster, but nice in the Big 12 means you’re struggling to go 9–9. They needed at least one high-level talent to build around. Stokes is that player. Fingers crossed.

The Jayhawks are still missing one or two players that would round out the roster. There are plenty of rumors about who might fill those holes. Sadly it seems like KU doesn’t have a lot of money left to spend, so it is a mystery whether those final pieces will be deeply flawed players who come cheap or guys willing to take less than their market value for the chance to play at KU, for Self, and with Stokes.

I’m not going to sweat the details yet. There’s a whole summer to do that.

For today I’m going to be excited that KU got another elite recruit and there is hope for the coming season.