[JoeWolf1]

Well, with Tyshawn Taylor and Elijah Johnson serving a suspension for a team violation during the off season ( I don’t know for what and Bill Self said it was before school started ) and Thomas Robinson taking precaution and sitting with a slight knee injury, there wasn’t as much insight as far as 2012 NBA draft prospects, but Jeff Withey did his best Cole Aldrich impression and going for a triple double and I’ll go ahead and give a scouting report anyways.

Jeff Withey – Well, he’s over 7 feet tall in shoes and he’s going to block a lot of shots this season. He’s still rail thin, but he appears to be a little stronger this season.  He went for 18 points 12 rebounds and 10 blocks last night against a much smaller team; however, there were signs of improvement when looking at his footwork and he seems to established a nice hook as a go to move.  He’s gonna get pushed around by stronger players as his competition gets better, but he’ll also be a huge deterrant for anyone thinking about driving the lane.  I expect he’ll be about a 8-10 point 5-7 rebound 3 block player this year and potentially a 2nd round pick in 2013.

Nadier Tharpe- He had a rough start turning the ball over to start the game, but his playmaking ability is hard to miss.  He just has a knack at getting people shots, he had 8 assists, but in a perfect world where everyone makes all of their open shots, he would have had 15 easy.  He has a nice stroke from outside that surprised me a bit.  He was 2-3 from downtown and his miss was a heave before the half.  The down fall was 9 TO’s but it was his first college game, so he’ll get a pass.  With Elijah not being a pure point guard I see him getting some good minutes backing up Taylor and playing next to both Taylor and Johnson. He has all the tools to be an NBA player, but he’ll be at least a 3 year college player.

Kevin Young – This kid is long and athletic, he’s gonna be a great glue guy and probably get a lot of minutes with KU’s weak frontcourt. He only had 4 points, but he had 8 rebounds and a hand full of hustle plays to go with it.  He reminds me a bit of a poor man’s Kwahi Leonard, but I suspect he’ll be a very valued glue player with Travis Releford for the next two years in Lawrence.

Travis Releford – I don’t really see him as a pro prospect (NBA anyways) but he appears to have added some nice midrange elements to his game.  KU’s best overall defender that suited up last night and a great athlete.  He’s improving but not polished enough on the offensive end for me to consider him a NBA prospect yet. 

Side note: Connor Teahan, the last hold over from the 2008 Championship season, did his best Reggie Miller impression last night nailing 3 3 pointers in the first two minutes and finishing with 21 points.

[JoeWolf1]

 KU had their 2nd exhibition last night vs Fort Hays State and I’m just adding this in because Thomas Robinson was playing last night. He had a monster line, as you’d expect playing a D2 school, and finished with 22 points 12 rebounds 5 assists and 4 blocks in just 28 minutes, but the aspects of his game you can tell he’s worked on is his face up game.  He is a very quick player for his size and you can tell he’s continued to work on his ball handling and jump shot.  He hit a nice step back jumper from about 12 feet away on the base line, but he still doesn’t have a good 3 pointer.  You can really tell he’s worked on his footwork, he looks way better in that aspect of his game.  Again, it’s kinda hard to tell a whole lot from 1 game vs a much inferior opponent, but he’s got a better jumper, better footwork and better handles while still being a beast on the boards, and it looks like he’s got a nice handle on the high/ low passing game.  He’s kind of looked at in the 2nd or 3rd teir of prospects this season, but I feel this guy is going to end up going in the lottery.  He’s a more polished player than last year while still being an athletic freak.

 

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