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Just curious, where do those numbers come from? I'm wondering where MU's numbers fall this year and I'm guessing in the 18-25 range.

JP will enter the draft and sign with an agent. I'm sad to see him go but I wish him nothing but the best.

It's the right choice, he has lottery potential and will go first round. The big east should want their bonafide 1st round picks leaving early and getting drafted as it reflects well with recruits. Creighton will be fine I am sure Coach Mac saw this coming.

Definitely in the hunt for a grad transfer big now, we will be in a world of hurt if we cant find one.

Does Epperson start now or does McD give the starting 5 spot to Hegner?

JohnW22 wrote:Does Epperson start now or does McD give the starting 5 spot to Hegner?

We have two scholies open, we are in the market for a grad transfer big. It will depend on who we get I think. Epperson has talent but like Patton as a freshmen, is rail thin. He could us a redshirt year but if he has to play, I would be Hegner starts at the 5 w/Epperson backing him up and Harrell starts at the 4 w/Krampelj backing up both Harrell and Hegner. If we get a suitable grad transfer big, Epperson will probably redshirt.

this should be celebrated. great job by McD and staff finding an NBA prospect and putting him in position to be picked in the 1st rd. if you want to become a national power you have to think like one. just go get the next one.

IMO, Patton had to go. His reputation was made in the first half of the season with Watson feeding him the ball and throwing alleyoop passes at the rim. If he comes back and does not approve on this year, and still gets pushed around inside, his stock probably falls. Have you ever seen a 12 pt, 6 rbs per game college kid go in the top 15 picks? Maybe there are, I don't really follow the draft or the NBA. The way he was pushed around by many of the BE's bigs, few of whom will play in the NBA, I just don't see him going above 20. But, Still, that's probably $7-8MM over the next four years, so its kind of a no-brainer for him. I am happy for him. I hope he surrounds himself with very ethical people, because he strikes me as being pretty immature.

Time to move on. Many in CU land are really concerned about our inside game next year, but I am not so concerned. I think we will be fine. Certainly, what we have coming back can defend in the post and rebound as well as Patton did, and we played long stretches without him this season anyway when he would get into foul trouble. Krampelj is actually pretty close to Patton in terms of athleticism, but just a couple inches shorter. If our PGs next year learn to run pick and roll as well as Watson did, Krampelj can finish at the rim. But, it would be nice to get a really good grad transfer to come in so that Hegner can move back out to the 4.

cu blujs wrote:IMO, Patton had to go. His reputation was made in the first half of the season with Watson feeding him the ball and throwing alleyoop passes at the rim. If he comes back and does not approve on this year, and still gets pushed around inside, his stock probably falls.

Maybe. I don't think he made a bad decision, but he still has a ways to go before he's an impact NBA player. Honestly, Patton scared me more than Watson when we rolled into Omaha. Of course, Watson had just been lost, but I still wasn't overly optimistic in that one. Instead, Luke Fischer owned Patton by giving an up-fake and getting him in the air constantly. Kid is athletic as all get out, but man he bit on that up-fake every time. Foul trouble completely neutralized him. He was better in Milwaukee, but so were we as a team and that one never really felt that close to me.

A grad transfer could change things, but expecting a bit player in Krampelj to replace a borderline lottery pick is quite the expectation. Especially because while I like Hegner's game, he's not suited to play on the inside too much. Far better when he can step out and pop shots like Wragge used to.

cu blujs wrote:IMO, Patton had to go. His reputation was made in the first half of the season with Watson feeding him the ball and throwing alleyoop passes at the rim. If he comes back and does not approve on this year, and still gets pushed around inside, his stock probably falls. Have you ever seen a 12 pt, 6 rbs per game college kid go in the top 15 picks? Maybe there are, I don't really follow the draft or the NBA. The way he was pushed around by many of the BE's bigs, few of whom will play in the NBA, I just don't see him going above 20. But, Still, that's probably $7-8MM over the next four years, so its kind of a no-brainer for him. I am happy for him. I hope he surrounds himself with very ethical people, because he strikes me as being pretty immature.

Time to move on. Many in CU land are really concerned about our inside game next year, but I am not so concerned. I think we will be fine. Certainly, what we have coming back can defend in the post and rebound as well as Patton did, and we played long stretches without him this season anyway when he would get into foul trouble. Krampelj is actually pretty close to Patton in terms of athleticism, but just a couple inches shorter. If our PGs next year learn to run pick and roll as well as Watson did, Krampelj can finish at the rim. But, it would be nice to get a really good grad transfer to come in so that Hegner can move back out to the 4.

While I don't know JP personally, my wife and I are close friends with a family who had two sons play AAU with JP (both boys are now at a DII school playing hoops)--had him to the house for dinner, drove him to practice, games, tourneys, etc. Apparently he's really a great kid--polite, look you in the eye kind of kid. There was no mention of immaturity. His decision was driven in large part by his family's financial situation--single mother (grandma in the picture too), pretty poor. He's a first rounder, and even if he's not a lottery pick (all the better if he is), the money is too big for him to pass up. From what I've been told, he's not the type to have a 'posse' that will drain his earnings as fast or faster than he can bring it in. I hope that for him. He could endow his life with his rookie contract if he saves/invests it wisely and doesn't blow it on 'shtuff.'

There are obviously many aspects of his game which require significant improvement for him to be successful in the NBA, but as I argued in another thread, he has the intangibles--good hands, feet and motor, and he's tremendously coachable. I hope that translates into a lottery pick and a bright future for him. Good luck to him.

And while it isn't surprising to me that he's leaving for the NBA, this hurts CU going forward. Hegner is not a 5 in the BEast. We've seen that the past two years. I love the effort and team first attitude that he brings, but he can only really be effective as a four. Krampelj has potential, but he needs weight. If we don't get a Luke Fisher-type big, we're in trouble. McD is not prone to playing freshman--even highly touted freshman. Remember, JP was in the program one year as a red shirt before he played this year. Khyri did play a lot as a frosh last year, but that is not McD's preference. Hopefully there are a number of newcomers who can convince him that they deserve to be on the court. And I hope Kaleb Joseph is everything we need him to be.