Recruits: Diallo, Bragg, and Vick to join the Kansas Jayhawks

Under Bill Self, the Kansas Jayhawks have won the Big 12 Conference 11 consecutive times. The Jayhawks consistent success stems from developing great recruits among a mix of experienced role players, great coaching, and a home court advantage unlike any other in college basketball, Allen Fieldhouse.

In the 2014-15 season the Jayhawks had their share of ups and downs. Without a single senior on his squad Self had a difficult time helping top recruits Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre Jr mature. Unfortunately for Kansas, the lack of maturity and consistency cost them and despite the Big 12 Title and an impressive record their season couldn’t have ended much worse than it did at the hands of Wichita St in the Round of 32.

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Throughout most of last season KU seemed to follow one of two trends:

1. Hanging on by a thread late in games while opponents came battling back or…

2. Losing. Bad.

They were blown out of the water by Kentucky and Temple. Although sometimes Kansas was more talented, they struggled to hold leads and get themselves back into games at home and on the road. Kelly Oubre Jr., the talented athletic player that will probably thrive in the NBA, spent his year with Kansas forcing drives, chucking up bricks, and sitting on the bench. Alongside him the young and raw, Cliff Alexander lacked maturity and spent more time picking his nose than getting back on D or sliding over on help assignments. Due to ineligibility he wasn’t able to play for the Big 12 or NCAA Tournaments.

As these two depart for the 2015 NBA Draft, 3 ESPN Top-100 recruits take their spots. Big men Cheick Diallo (6’9″) and Carlton Bragg(6’9″) team up with swingman Legerald Vick – a combination of hard working mature players that will give the Kansas Jayhawks what they lacked in maturity and consistency a year ago.

Cheick Diallo, who said he felt “Kansas was the place for me,” is a work horse and will get along great with the likes of Jamari Traylor who has some serious hustle, so much that Bill Self called this the best play he’s seen at Kansas. Diallo will be able to learn from their experienced leader Perry Ellis who actually has some pretty nifty moves down low despite the fact he looks like someone Bill Self could have recruited from the local YMCA charity invitational. Together they will gel giving the Kansas front line chemistry and size allowing the Jayhawks to get position and work from the inside out; as opposed to last year where the Jayhawks seemed to spend a lot more time playing the three man weave around the top of the key.

Carlton Bragg will come off the bench and help stretch the floor for the Jayhawks. Bragg is a poor mans Kevin Love that can stretch the defense with long range shooting and open up driving lanes for improving guards Wayne Selden Jr and Frank Mason III.

Bragg has a great attitude and understands his role, “I don’t really care for minutes, I just want to be a part of the team.” Unselfish, he will work well with great coaching that will develop his talents into valuable role minutes that spark the Jayhawks second unit.

Legerald Vick is the cherry on top. With a group of capable bigs (Diallo, Ellis, and Traylor), and versatile guards (Selden Jr, Mason III, and Graham) the question marks are with players like Sviatoslov Mykhailiuk and Brennen Greene who round out the lineup and are in charge of knocking down open 3 pointers. Greene had his moments in the 2014-15 season but none of them were on the defensive end. One thing the Jayhawks lack is a scorer, someone that can create their own shot at any time. Selden Jr and Mason III are both good at creating shots for others but Vick who averaged 27 points per game at Douglass High School will be an immediate scoring threat.

Mykhailiuk, who played considerable minutes during the start of the season while Self figured out what to do with Oubre Jr., spent a majority of the conference season on the bench and still has a lot to improve to reach his potential. Vick will be a more versatile swingman that isn’t limited to just the 3 point shot or a liability on the defensive end like Brennen Greene.

With a rise in competition in the Big 12, many are predicting that the Jayhawks fail to claim their 12th straight Conference title. This has been the talk for the past 11 years. There’s a reason why Kansas is so hard to knock off and the recent additions of these three recruits will do more than just put them in the mix for consecutive Big 12 title number 12, it will boost them to the top.

Next: Noah Dickerson Chooses the Washington Huskies

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