***** Official ‘25/‘26 KU Men's Basketball Repository Thread *****
 

Let’s get things back to normal.

Disclaimer:

Any type of argumentative mentions of DH, KJA, or HD will result in a ban from the thread.

Perfectly fine to mention them if it’s relevant to the discussion.

Darryn Peterson SZN

Have no clue what to expect from this program anymore….bit I’m in!

Jalil Bethea from Miami is entering the portal.

KU recruited him last year. I’d assume we’re a team to watch.

I didn’t get much of a chance to watch him this year, but the stats are nothing special.

He's so nice....hadn't seen this one yet but we got a 1 v 2 matchup and it was impressive.

Big 12 gonna have both them both next year

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I trust Darryn and Bill to deliver us from evil. I really do.

Darryn Peterson is better than Michael Jordan and LeBron James IMHO

Here's hoping next year is head & shoulders better than this last debacle!

Akright! Let's get this back to elite status...where we belong.

You gonna play the Jayhawks? You gonna lose!

RCJH.

In before this thread turns into insufferable Canadian diarrhea.


And like AIDS to Ebola, flies to shit, whisper the devil and the devil appears. Was fun while it lasted. Those three hours felt good.

The success of this season probably depends on convincing Flory to pass up the NBA to be a college star first and foremost, but I’m personally looking forward to watching shooting and spacing again on the floor for the first time since 2022. Time to become a modern basketball team again.

If Bill goes for Bethea and lands a starting point guard in the portal, the starting lineup could look really nice

Transfer PG
Peterson
Bethea (assuming a Malik Newman jump)
Tiller
Bidunga

Flory is sitting watching Peterson’s game right now in Lawrence. I’m confident if he returns they’ll be a good defensive team with him starting (he’ll be among the leaders in blocked shots in the country without question).

Just please recruit an offensive PG so that the offense around Peterson can be unlocked. There will be plenty available who fit that bill.

You keep referencing Flory leaving.....
I dont even see him listed in any mock drafts....

Where is he going?

Braden Smith from Purdue is my guy. Not a good defender as some have mentioned, but beggers and choosers.

Great shooter and distributor.

Pull out all the dirty tricks, Bill.

I wasn’t aware that NBA teams published their own draft lists?

If a player as raw as Johnny Furphy was in his time at KU can go to the league after one year, you can guarantee that’s a possibility for Flory too.

Smith would be a tremendous add and would bring everything this team has lacked for a while now. His defense is less of an issue for me if you have someone like Flory under the basket as well.

I’m here for the rape.

I mentioned it before but the rumor was that he wanted more money last year.

We need to every back channel possible to communicate he has big money waiting on him comparable to several of the guys who won’t be here next year.

Time to pull out all the tricks.

Well the millions we were paying combined to Dickinson and Storr just opened up (I’m assuming Storr will want out just about as badly as we want him gone), so I don’t think that’ll be an issue any longer.

Can someone on the KU coaching staff how BYU plays offensive basketball and try to replicate that next year? Closest we ever came to being like this was 2018.

DP is the point guard but we do need another ball handler to go next to him

Mike Vernon emailed me

HEARINGS: PORTAL MODE ACTIVATED 🌀
We've officially activated KU Hearings PORTAL MODE as the transfer season begins. It’s going to be a BUSY few weeks for KU with a ton of Hearings to come.

I’ll soon have a transfer portal tracker up and running for VIP subscribers.

Early KU Interest
With the NCAA expanding scholarship totals from 13 to 15 per team, KU will take some players who may not be the buzzy types we’ve experienced before. KU (and every school) will factor in its NIL budget and find players willing to take on a smaller role.

I’m Hearing KU contacted the following players:

Treysen Eaglestaff - 6'6" junior G (North Dakota) | 18.9 PPG

Eaglestaff told me he is very interested in KU.

Cooper Schwieger - 6'10" soph F (Valpo) | 15.8 PPG & 7.8 RPG

Local talent who played at Blue Valley Southwest HS

Deuce Jones - 6’2” freshman G (La Salle) | 12.5 PPG

I’m Hearing there is some early mutual interest here.

Major Decisions Developing 🫣🔒
Unlock the complete breakdown below with Hearings on:

Unexpected developments for Rylan Griffen and Diggy Coit

Why AJ Storr and Zach Clemence are likely leaving

The latest on Flory Bidunga and one other player on the fence

SOON for VIP: The KU Transfer Portal Interest Tracker

Do we assume DP, Flory and Elmarko likely start?

DP and Flory, yes. Elmarko, no.

Vernon’s text says Bidunga is a toss up to transfer. If he just goes to another school, that’s an awful sign for the program.

Have to wonder if the rumors about Self losing the locker room were true if that happens.

Eaglestaff was the guy who scored 40 against Bama

Schwieger is an intriguing one.

He’s 6’10” and can shoot. A big trio of Bidunga, Tiller, and Schwieger could work pretty well. Have to assume Tiller is the bench big in that scenario.

Check out who Peterson said tonight he most wanted to play with next year. Perhaps he can salvage any issues there with Flory.

If he can’t…well I’m not liking our chances in 2025-2026.

Bidunga is at a blue blood program, probably getting paid plenty, and is an obvious starter next year alongside a likely top 3 NBA draft pick.

If he leaves THAT to go to another school, we have big problems.

He and his handlers are likely well aware he should have been playing 30 minutes a game for this KU team for most of the season given how good he got. Probably not all that unsurprising there could be some feelings about it (personally I was surprised he even stuck with his decision to come here in the first place given it was obvious that HD and KJ had those starting spots on lock; if he wanted a guaranteed spot, this was never gonna be the place for that).

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Furphy was in all the mocks in Rd 1.....

IF Flory does transfer, and that's a big IF (imo) this program will be even worse next year.

Agreed with that....
I dont see Flory going the NBA draft route....
He isnt ready and the mocks reflect that.
Transferring is a whole different real possibility.

I'd love to see Flory with another year in college, at KU, preferably. LMAO

If he can get a little mid-range game going, man, this kid is going to be solid in the league.

He knows he should have been on the court way more time than he was given. All of the fans and I'm sure his teammates knew he should have been playing more.

If I was him I'd leave. How can he think this is the best place for me?

I suspect NIL money may play a factor on what he decides to do....

Why do people want Bethea so bad and want to get rid of Elmarko?

Elmarko also a former 5 star. One year older and knows the system. Im absolutely fine giving him a shot.

I don’t think anyone is pounding the table for Bethea.

I’d just think KU would have interest since they recruited him out of high school. We saw something similar with Malik Newman.

If they get him, great. If they don’t, that’s fine.

Either way, Elmarko would have major question marks coming off an injury and not being too impressive the year he did play.

Does Devonte Graham or Frank Mason have a younger brother or clone?

We need a point guard with balls again.

Obviously the landscape will change in the upcoming weeks, but anyone with a list of players already transferring or potential transfers they'd like to see at KU?

Your Elmarko love doesn’t add up. He was terrible last year in basically every respect and a horrible shooter.

Doesn’t mean he will be bad going forward but there’s no reason to bank on him contributing.

He will become a good shooter.

He's athletic.

Can get to the rim. Talented.

Yes he did suck his first year but I can see him being much much better two years later.

I don't think he's even considering going to the draft. What I have heard is that he's listening to offers from other teams. But it sounds like he'll probably be back.

I'm pretty sure Peterson will be the lead guard.

I've heard that Hall from UCF has interest in KU. That would be a great start to filling out the roster.

There were glimpses of what Elmarko can be his freshman year. I was excited to see him as a sophomore. He seemed like the kind of kid who has taken big jumps for Bill in the past.

If so, great. You want the ball in his hands as much as possible.

Rumor is to watch Josh Dix from Iowa.

Shot 40+ percent from 3 every year so far. Damn close to 50-40-80 for his career.

Was pretty consistently good for 12-20 points. A few duds, but that happens.

The difference is that, by this point, Furphy was already listed on several mock drafts. He's a shooting specialist, which is always tempting for the league.

I saw Flory briefly make an appearance on one mock draft about midway through the season. Two weeks later he was off it. Every article I saw evaluating potential NBA players in the tournament omitted any mention of Flory.

He might leave Kansas, but I'm pretty confident it won't be to go league this year.

Yeah, I've heard there's high mutual interest. I'd definitely take him, but I hope they prioritize athleticism/strength at other spots.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happy Portal Day everyone <a href="https://t.co/gUAB3Rk6fp">pic.twitter.com/gUAB3Rk6fp</a></p>&mdash; Penfield (@BpenfieldJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BpenfieldJ/status/1904141991274836406?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here are the top 25 players in the transfer portal at <a href="https://t.co/cegyfz96ax">https://t.co/cegyfz96ax</a>, headlined by Donovan Dent and Bennett Stirtz: <a href="https://t.co/1opJu6FDtF">pic.twitter.com/1opJu6FDtF</a></p>&mdash; Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanMiya/status/1904597902997283154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dix? Make another run at Mgbako?

I want Josh Dix because he will make Self so mad.

Also where is AJ Storr? We better not have had to sign him to some 2 year NIL deal.

That would SUUUUCK.

AJ Storr is transferring to the Lawrence rec league

Why? Because he doesnt pump his fists after a good play?

No because Dix used to play for Fran McCaffrey who is one of the worst defensive power 5 coaches in America, or was. Dix plays no defense of any kind.

Dent
DP
Dix
------
Flory

Whatever happens, So be it! Just know that we gotta get this shit corrected!

I'd take him back if he's willing to be coached.

Storr was playing better towards the end of the season. He was playing much better than Griffen was down the stretch.

Maybe the light finally went off and he was listening to HCBS more?

Maybe?

The worst season in the history of Bill Selfs KU has to be between AJ Storr or Charlie Moore.

I would PAY MONEY to ensure AJ Storr does not come back.

Clemence to the portal.

Watch him average 20/10 next year.

What is he now.... a 8th year senior?

He’ll probably be older than some of the coaches in the NAIA next year

I'm super pissed I was outta town and missed Peterson at Haskell.

The last time I watched a KU recruit in high school was Kirk Hinrich and he became an alltime KU great. I was a freshman at the rival school and hated his guts though.

Pay anything for Keyshawn Hall.

Dent to UCLA.

RJ Luis in the portal.

Ugly projection from Vernon. This season may have done some major damage.

I’m sure we have enough $ to still bring some good players in but it turns out benching your best/only NBA prospect seemingly out of pure stubborn loyalty might have consequences.

Guessing Pitino benching him in their final game didn’t help there. Exactly the kind of player we could use.

I love bad news after back to back shit years.

Fun.

Who is Vernon????

If we do, in fact, need a C now, I’d target Magoon Gwath out of SDSU. Had an even higher block rate than Flory as a freshman. He’s gonna end up at a top program and it might as well be us now.

Ugh, the damage that this season and Self have done is crazy. All because we just HAD to play KJ.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEWS: Kansas big man Flory Bidunga has informed the staff that he intends to enter the transfer portal, per sources. Returning to Kansas remains a strong option. Bidunga is a former Top 20 recruit who played well as a freshman at Kansas, averaging 5.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. <a href="https://t.co/aCVv9A82X4">pic.twitter.com/aCVv9A82X4</a></p>&mdash; Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/1906051996039209454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

And there's the official word. What a season.

If that's it, my favorite memory of Flory will be him completely dominating one of the best teams in college basketball against Houston in nearly 40 minutes of action and then never getting even close to that level of playing time the rest of the season.

So, according to this article, it sounds like KJ is done for KU.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/oth...d=BingNewsSerp

Welp…I guess I’ll continue remember the “good ‘ol days” for another season.