First Ever @KansasSports Twitter Mailbag

Welcome to my first ever Twitter mailbag. I’ll hopefully be doing this at least twice a month during Kansas basketball season and possibly beyond, if it is popular enough.

If you want to be included in a future edition, just tweet me your question and I’ll keep it in my queue.

Here we go:

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Answer: Braeden Anderson couldn’t stay at Kansas because partial qualifiers are required to find another way to get financial aid to stay enrolled in classes (pay for their classes out of pocket either by getting loans or straight-up paying for it). Since Anderson is from Canada, he was not able to get any type of student loan or grant, especially on such short notice. He couldn’t afford out of state tuition of his pocket, so he was forced to transfer. This is really the Big 12’s fault for not allowing partial qualifiers.

As you mentioned, Anderson is now going to Fresno State. This is a great get for Fresno State and a really unfortunate incident for Bill Self and Kansas. Anderson has no hard feelings towards Kansas and I’m sure he feels awful about it and wishes he could stay at Kansas.

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Love Rush the Court, by the way. He’s got a great blog and you should check it out if you have a chance. He’s also worth a follow.

I think the team that scares Kansas the most is Baylor. I know this seems like the obvious choice because they’re ranked higher but Perry Jones III, Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller three talented forwards and they have a size advantage over Kansas.

Jones had 20 points against the Jayhawks last season and with his 6′ 11″ frame, he will keep Withey and Robinson busy. Good news for Kansas is that they face Baylor for the first time at home and it is on Big Monday. Since the Big 12 was formed, the Jayhawks are 23-1 at home on Big Monday.  However, that return game will be tough for the Jayhawks. That February 8th game will be really fun to watch.

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I think Kevin Young has to be a difference maker for KU if they want to succeed in the Big 12. After Withey and Robinson, Kansas is pretty thin in the big man category. Merv Lindsay doesn’t seem like he will get any playing time this season after Self hardly used him in the first exhibition game. Justin Wesley and Young will be fighting to be the first forward off the bench. Self compared him to Julian Wright back in July. If he can provide something similar to Julian, KU will be fine. If not, Kansas is in trouble if T-Rob and Withey get into foul trouble.  He’s going to get an opportunity to play but because of depth. Once he settles in and buys into Self’s defensive scheme, he has some serious upside.

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Tough to say at this point. I think Wesley has the better shot as he’s played with this team longer and has better chemistry with everyone. Also, Wesley has got Jayhawk blood in him (he is Keith Langford’s brother). I think he gets it and he won’t be intimidated. Young probably has the better offensive upside but Wesley is the better defender so he probably ends up playing and contributing more.

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If they do, Bill Self will sit those players. Just not going to happen. If they get into foul trouble, will Withey and T-Rob have to be less aggressive on defense? Yeah. But Self isn’t going to let them go out there and play less aggressively.

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Freak out if they start losing. However, the depth “problem” is overblown. Self uses an 8-9 man rotation in conference play anyway. This isn’t as big of a problem as people are making it out to be. If Self can keep winning with dud recruits and recruits not making it to their first game, who really cares? The man is a coaching genius.

Anonymous Twitter question:

Who stands the best chance of being the “out of nowhere” player to emerge for KU basketball?

I think the player that will surprise people the most is Travis Releford. I’ll have an article up on Releford next week explaining why. So stay tuned!

BONUS! Football question!

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4-4. Mangino never lets Texas Tech get away with that… Also, Mangino doesn’t allow Kansas State to kick that field goal at the end of the first half and let it get out of hand in the second half.

The Fighting Manginos would finish the season at 6-6 and get a bowl berth. The two other wins? Iowa State and Missouri.