BleedGopher
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per the AP:
Ochai Agbaji is not supposed to happen in the modern era of college basketball.
Not at Kansas. Not really anywhere.
The 6-foot-5 guard’s explosive athleticism was supposed to have been uncovered on the AAU circuit by one of the hundreds of scouts and recruiting services. His energetic defense was supposed to have been courted by every blue blood coach. His versatile ability to get to the basket, knock down 3s and distribute the ball was supposed to have made him a coveted freshman phenom.
He certainly wasn’t supposed to arrive as the least-heralded member of the Jayhawks’ recruiting class, and he certainly wasn’t supposed to have been so overlooked that he was redshirting.
But that was the plan at Kansas. With a stacked roster that was rewarded with the preseason No. 1 ranking, the Jayhawks figured they could stash Agbaji on the bench. Let him develop. Have him ready to go when a couple of potential one-and-dones headed to the NBA after this season.
But in an age of 24-hour news services, recruiting-specific websites, AAU all-stars and social media phenomenon, Agbaji is proof that surprises still exist in college basketball.
That mistakes still happen.
You see, the Jayhawks ran into injury trouble earlier this season, losing star big man Udoka Azubuike to season-ending wrist surgery. Defensive stopper Marcus Garrett hurt his ankle, and senior guard Lagerald Vick took a leave of absence, leaving the roster relatively depleted.
And long before any of that took place, Agbaji had proven himself in practice, and a pleasantly horrible realization hit Bill Self that there was no way the kid should be on the bench.
So when January rolled around, the Hall of Fame coach decided to yank Agbaji’s redshirt, and he has been arguably the Jayhawks’ best player as they tried to pursue another Big 12 title.
He poured in 25 points in a road game against Texas. He scored 23 against Oklahoma State. He had his first double-double in a crucial win over Texas Tech, and his second with 20 points and 11 rebounds while playing 41 minutes in an overtime victory at TCU.
“It was such a poor decision on my part,” Self admitted last week. “He went along with it, with his family, thinking he probably wouldn’t have very many opportunities to impact us on a gamely basis — not waste age 23 when you could waste age 18.
“It wasn’t that he wasn’t good enough to play,” Self added. “It was a crowded house and there were no other candidates to not redshirt because the other ones already had. That was it. It didn’t have anything to do with him. It was the situation of it being a crowded house.”
https://apnews.com/b291ffda391940c3bade92e826dd0782
Go Gophers!!
Ochai Agbaji is not supposed to happen in the modern era of college basketball.
Not at Kansas. Not really anywhere.
The 6-foot-5 guard’s explosive athleticism was supposed to have been uncovered on the AAU circuit by one of the hundreds of scouts and recruiting services. His energetic defense was supposed to have been courted by every blue blood coach. His versatile ability to get to the basket, knock down 3s and distribute the ball was supposed to have made him a coveted freshman phenom.
He certainly wasn’t supposed to arrive as the least-heralded member of the Jayhawks’ recruiting class, and he certainly wasn’t supposed to have been so overlooked that he was redshirting.
But that was the plan at Kansas. With a stacked roster that was rewarded with the preseason No. 1 ranking, the Jayhawks figured they could stash Agbaji on the bench. Let him develop. Have him ready to go when a couple of potential one-and-dones headed to the NBA after this season.
But in an age of 24-hour news services, recruiting-specific websites, AAU all-stars and social media phenomenon, Agbaji is proof that surprises still exist in college basketball.
That mistakes still happen.
You see, the Jayhawks ran into injury trouble earlier this season, losing star big man Udoka Azubuike to season-ending wrist surgery. Defensive stopper Marcus Garrett hurt his ankle, and senior guard Lagerald Vick took a leave of absence, leaving the roster relatively depleted.
And long before any of that took place, Agbaji had proven himself in practice, and a pleasantly horrible realization hit Bill Self that there was no way the kid should be on the bench.
So when January rolled around, the Hall of Fame coach decided to yank Agbaji’s redshirt, and he has been arguably the Jayhawks’ best player as they tried to pursue another Big 12 title.
He poured in 25 points in a road game against Texas. He scored 23 against Oklahoma State. He had his first double-double in a crucial win over Texas Tech, and his second with 20 points and 11 rebounds while playing 41 minutes in an overtime victory at TCU.
“It was such a poor decision on my part,” Self admitted last week. “He went along with it, with his family, thinking he probably wouldn’t have very many opportunities to impact us on a gamely basis — not waste age 23 when you could waste age 18.
“It wasn’t that he wasn’t good enough to play,” Self added. “It was a crowded house and there were no other candidates to not redshirt because the other ones already had. That was it. It didn’t have anything to do with him. It was the situation of it being a crowded house.”
https://apnews.com/b291ffda391940c3bade92e826dd0782
Go Gophers!!