🔜 Transfer Portal: Griffen, Philon, and Small

• 🔜 Portal Latest: Philon, Griffen, and Small 

• 📝 Mike’s Quick Links: KU vs. Creighton

• 🔒 Hearing: More roster changes and a VIP Commitment Prediction 🔮👀 

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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.

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Transfer Portal Madness Continues

Something had to give…

🏀 2024 PG Labaron Philon decommitted from Kansas on Tuesday evening. The four-star would’ve been a backup PG on this year’s increasingly crowded roster.

I broke the news for VIP subscribers about an hour before anyone else had it. There’s more news coming. You can upgrade here to get the latest in real-time, including roster departure chatter at the bottom of today’s email.

• I’m Hearing the Philon decommittment was a bit of a surprise. I’d Heard his camp privately expressed some concerns around playing time last week but backed off those issues over the weekend.

  • I believe Philon’s camp indicated he was still coming. So Tuesday’s news surprised some people around KU.

    • I even shared those concerns and updates with VIP subscribers last week. I didn’t share them wider because the whole thing seemed… off. Turns out, it was.

  • Philon is a promising talent. This isn’t a “no big deal” loss like we’ve seen in the past (like Chris Johnson last year… he just transferred to Stephen F. Austin).

    • In other words, KU wanted Philon here.

  • Ultimately, losing Philon is the kind of risk you have to take if you’re Kansas. The Jayhawks hope to land Rylan Griffen, who started on a Final Four team this year (more below).

  • If a player like that scares Philon away, he might not have been a good fit for Bill Self and the Jayhawks, after all.

    • I’m curious.. let me know what you think of the loss below 👇

🏀 Kansas hosted Alabama transfer Rylan Griffen this weekend.

• I’m Hearing promising chatter after the Griffen visit. I’m Hearing some chatter we’ll find out for sure by the end of the week. 🤫

  • I made a VIP prediction on April 17 that Griffen would commit to Kansas. I’m not backing off that prediction.

• Griffen would be a monster pickup for the Jayhawks. He’s a promising, three-and-D wing with two years of eligibility remaining.

• I don’t know if this is the case, but if KU just made a Philon for Griffen trade, it’s a good deal for the Jayhawks. It’s one any school hoping to compete for a national title would make.

🏀 Kansas also hosted 2025’s No. 1 PG Darius Acuff for a visit.

• The Jayhawks also brought in Darius Acuff, 247Sports’ top PG for next season’s class.

• I’ve Heard things look good for KU here, but I wouldn’t expect a commitment in the middle of transfer portal chaos. Everything I Heard was optimistic following the visit.

  • There’s a chance the Acuff visit scared Philon’s camp off. It would make sense considering the timing of his decommittment.

  • Once again, this is a risk worth taking for KU. Acuff is the kind of freshman to get excited about.

🏀 So What Now for the Jayhawks?

• Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re done with unexpected roster changes this offseason. I’ve Heard one player is becoming increasingly likely to not make it on campus this year. Read more in the VIP section below (upgrade here).

• If that’s the case, KU will have two more scholarship spots, which is how the staff is currently recruiting.

  • The Jayhawks have one scholarship penalty remaining between the next two years, meaning they can pick this season or next to have 12 players instead of 13.

    • I think KU is willing to go up to 13 scholarships this year. It’ll just depend on who is available.

• KU has also made the final list of schools for Dayton transfer wing Koby Brea, but I think this is gonna be a tough one for KU to pull off.

  • I don’t think KU can offer Brea the starting spot time he’s looking for with Storr and (likely) Griffen on the team.

• I’ve mentioned before that the Jayhawks are targeting Oklahoma State transfer guard Javon Small. They’re hoping to bring him in for a visit.

  • While KU still has a lot of work to do, I’m watching this recruitment seriously. The guard averaged 14.8 ppg in the Big 12 last year and is another high-quality shooter.

• The big indicator will be whether or not Small comes in for a visit. I’m hoping to find out if that’s happening soon.

As always, I’ll keep you posted.

Poll Results: Grade KU Landing AJ Storr

• 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 A (645)

  🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ B (127)

  ⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ C (17)

  ⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ D (3)

  ⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ F (7)

🏀🏈 My KU podcast “The Could Be Wrong Show” is doing our first-ever live stream tonight at 9pm CT! You can watch or set up a reminder via the YouTube link below!

The episode will be recorded if you prefer to watch or listen later.

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 🏀 Kansas will play at Creighton in the Big 12-Big East Battle. Look how crazy KU’s non-conference schedule is this year!

🏀 KU is one of SEVEN teams to not have a player enter the transfer portal this year. I’m so curious to see if this leads to a better bench.

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