In this Hearings newsletter:

1. Quick KU hoops roster update 🏁

2. Realignment news is brewing 🦬

3. Kansas and the B1G 👀

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EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.

Quick KU Roster Update

One of the top players in the transfer portal, Grant Nelson, withdrew from the NBA Draft on Tuesday. It’s a move a lot of big-time college basketball programs have been waiting for.

I’m Hearing it’s unlikely Nelson will join the Jayhawks despite mutual interest. KU doesn’t plan on adding additional scholarship players at this moment. The roster is likely done.

There are ultimately a few reasons why it didn’t work out with Nelson:

1. Nelson’s goal is to play in the NBA next year. He needs to show his skill — and improve — against Power Five competition. I don’t think KU can offer the offensive role he’s looking for this year. The roster is stacked and already built around another big man.

2. Kevin McCullar’s return made it unlikely for Nelson to come to Kansas. McCullar is another veteran Jayhawk looking to prove himself for NBA teams. McCullar is a better fit for this team (and coaching staff) than Nelson.

3. Lastly, I don’t think the staff wanted to recruit over KJ Adams so blatantly. It’s not the deciding factor in this, but it matters to the staff.

I’ll keep you posted if anything changes. As always, thank you for sharing the scoop.

Realignment Hearings 🦬

I’ve been waiting to write this one 😏. This is my first Realignment Hearing since starting the newsletter — and it won’t be my last. I’ll explain that in a bit.

Here’s the latest:

• I’m Hearing Colorado is seriously considering joining the Big 12. I put the chances of this happening at greater than 50% right now. And it’s not just me Hearing this.

• CBSSports’ Dennis Dodd said the following on Tuesday afternoon:

• The Oklahoman’s longtime reporter Berry Tramel recently echoed a similar sentiment, saying Colorado is ready to commit to joining the Big 12 “soon.”

• I’m curious what Scoopsmafia thinks about the possibility here…

• We’ll likely know sometime in June (and possibly this week). No decision has been made… yet. Until then, the Pac-12 still has a chance to keep things together.

• If Colorado goes to the Big 12, all eyes turn to Arizona. They’ll be the next school with tremendous pressure to make a decision. From there, Arizona State and Utah come into the picture.

• A financial squeeze on remaining Pac-12 schools is behind this latest wave of realignment. The conference doesn’t have a long-term media rights deal, and it’s unlikely to get one that gives schools both the money and exposure they’re hoping for.

  • Remember that NIL redirects donations from traditional athletic department contributions as well.

    • A simplified example: Lets say a school can get $10M from a donor. The entire pot used to go straight to the athletic department. Now, maybe $7M goes to the AD and $3M goes to NIL Collectives.

    • I’ve Heard this financial strain nudged USC to leave the Pac-12 in the first place.

• I think Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark also wants to make a play out East. I’ll be watching UConn very closely, depending on how this plays out with Colorado and Arizona.

What About Kansas and the B1G?

I’ll keep this brief: I’ve Heard Kansas has been proactive in realignment conversations. If the B1G wants to expand, it won’t be the first time its heard from KU. The conversation isn’t dead, and it never was.

Yup, this is Scoopsmafia 😂