Today’s KU Jayhawks Q&A leads with update on Tyran Stokes recruitment sweepstakes
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tyran Stokes' decision is expected relatively soon, possibly this week or next.
- Kansas has a good shot after reports the Kentucky visit went poorly.
- Flory Bidunga reportedly received upward of $5 million from Louisville.
The Tyran Stokes recruitment process has been a wild ride.
Candidly, I cannot believe it has dragged on this long. There were a couple of moments over the last 6-7 months when I thought he would announce, but then something would happen behind the scenes and things would change.
All that said, I believe an announcement from Stokes is coming relatively soon. I’m writing this on Thursday night, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we know his decision by the end of this week or sometime next week.
He’s hinted a few times on social media that the big reveal is coming soon. Early last week, a source close to the situation told The Star that was the case.
As for where things stand now ... I’m not in the prediction business, but I think KU has a good shot at landing him. An NBA source told The Star that Stokes’ visit to Kentucky was bad all around. KU was also aware that Stokes was visiting Kentucky — and from what I understood KU wasn’t overly concerned. I was told Stokes has done visits in the past to help himself in NIL negotiations.
The biggest impediment to Stokes becoming a Jayhawk could be that he’s a Nike athlete and KU is an Adidas school. An NBA scout said Stokes doesn’t seem to love Adidas gear, but how much that really matters, I’m not sure.
CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein mentioned Thursday that if KU weren’t an Adidas school, Stokes would be a Jayhawk by now. From what I’ve gathered, I don’t think that sentiment is wrong. According to a source close to the situation, Nike is putting up a real fight to make sure Stokes ends up at a Nike school.
The latest rumor is that it’s not a two-program race between KU and UK — Oregon has a real shot at him as well. One NBA insider has long believed the Ducks have a good shot. It’s hard to count out Oregon because it’s basically Nike’s flagship school.
Then again, a source involved with Stokes’ recruitment told The Star he isn’t sure what to make of Oregon’s involvement. This source’s gut instinct is that “Oregon is not really involved.”
Stokes seems to enjoy trolling the media and public a bit, too. On Wednesday night, he dropped a video of himself getting a tattoo with Kentucky basketball highlights playing in the background. He was wearing an Adidas jacket at the end of the video. And he threw up the Oregon “O” on TikTok live on Tuesday night.
The way Kansas is operating in the transfer portal, it appears they expect to land Stokes. A spot in the starting lineup remains open for him. The Jayhawks have not been linked to a star wing or brought one on campus this offseason.
As for the backup plan if KU doesn’t get Stokes?
An NBA source told The Star in mid-March that the Jayhawks were interested in Santa Clara star Allen Graves. Graves is currently in the NBA Draft process, but if he returns for another year of college he may well be headed to LSU, per a couple of NBA sources.
Maybe KU gets back into the race for Graves, or looks at someone like recent transfer-portal entrant Tounde Yessoufou, a guard/forward who formerly played at Baylor.
With that, let’s jump into another Kansas Jayhawks Q&A. Thanks, as always, for your questions …
Why has the men’s basketball team been so slow to get out of the gate with portal signings? Do they have anyone on staff running analytics to help them identify targets? @MrBradleyTodd
The biggest reason is that the Jayhawks are waiting on Stokes’ decision. The way KU’s currently building its roster, they’re prioritizing the right fit around Stokes.
That much is clear from the fact that KU has not brought many wings for visits or reached out to many either. I think once the Stokes’ recruitment finishes one way or the other, stuff will move faster for the Jayhawks.
As for analytics, they’re absolutely involved. It’s hard to find a men’s basketball staff in the country that doesn’t use analytics to some degree.
Is Marshall in the lead for QB1 coming out of spring ball? Best educated guess? @just_Bundy
From what I’ve gathered, the competition is very close. I expect it to extend into fall camp before we learn head coach Lance Leipold’s starter.
The winner of this battle will be the quarterback who is more consistent. The Jayhawks have to make sure mistakes on offense don’t compound and build upon themselves. It’s something both quarterbacks have pointed out.
Marshall has improved from last season, but so has Ballard. Right now, I think Ballard has a slight edge because he seems to have better command of the offense. But it’s really too early to tell.
Am I crazy for assuming KU was going all-in on this upcoming basketball season and that was partly the reason Self is returning? And now we’ve lost Bidunga & Tiller and may lose Stokes and no big name to replace these. What happened? @chilsergeant
KU is trying to go all-in for next season, but the Stokes recruitment and overall transfer portal market are very different from last season.
The loss of Tiller wasn’t surprising. His benching near the end of the year made things difficult. The KU coaching staff wanted more aggressiveness and physicality from Tiller this season.
After the Houston benching, things seemed to fall apart. As Tiller noted when he committed to Missouri last week, he wanted a new start. The Jayhawks, meanwhile, are hopeful his replacement, former Utah forward Keanu Dawes, will provide the rebounding and overall physicality he didn’t.
As for Flory Bidunga, he left because of money-related reasons. I had two NBA sources tell me that the KU big man got paid upwards of $5 million by Louisville. Another source confirmed as much.
Candidly, I don’t think KU wanted to pay that amount for Bidunga, no matter how much they wanted him back. His replacement will probably be either a big from the portal or Paul Mbiya, depending on who wins the starting job.
The sentiment seems to be that the 1-4 positions matter more for KU’s staff — the right center will provide things the Jayhawks need, such as rim protection and rebounding.
