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Roundtable with MJ Rice, Gradey Dick, Ernest Udeh, Jr., and Zuby Ejiofor

So, I recently exchanged text messages, in a group text, with MJ Rice, Gradey Dick, Ernest Udeh, Jr., and Zuby Ejiofor. Basically, it was just a chat about the season so far, what took place during Christmas Break, the goals for the rest of the season, and things of that nature. All of the guys, if I remember correctly, were playing the day the group text/chat started, so not all of them were able to respond at once. However, MJ Rice, following a break in the action, responded and had this to about his immediate future. Going to share exactly what he said.

"What's going on family! How y'all doing? Everything is good on this side, man. I'm just finishing out the season strong & ready to come to Kansas wit da bros 💯💪. Same goal different mindset. Keep grindin, keep growing on and off the court, keep my same killa mentality, be a great teammate, uplift my brothers and grind with em every day & lastly, I plan on smiling more."

There was a time when I thought Rice would seriously consider making the move to the professional ranks after Prolific Prep, but after this exchange and after talking to a couple of people, I don't believe that to be the case at all. I think he's absolutely sold on attending Kansas next year and making the most of the opportunity to shine at the highest level college basketball has to offer.

Obviously, this isn't breaking news or anything big, but just wanted to share this exchange with all of you. There was a time when some folks believed that Rice would ultimately decide to skip college. He signed a National Letter-of-Intent with Kansas and I fully expect to see him in Lawrence this summer.

Recruiting class rankings.

First, I am not looking to replace my JayhawkSlant/MoKan Football subscription with another, but (second) has anyone found a good site that ranks incoming classes with the transfer portal considered? Rivals does not appear to have the manpower to come up with a ranking system that considers transfers. Obviously the transfer portal is huge and can bring a significant level of talent to a team or even hurt a team. I'd sort of like to have an easy spot (other than this message board) to find the transfers and their rankings and to then be able to do a comparison of such transfers across conferences, etc. Anyone have any suggested sites? TIA

Recruiting Update KU coaches going top-notch on the hosts

They are going with the big guns as hosts.

Devin Neal will host Ky Thomas on the visit and Kenny Logan is hosting Lonnie Phelps.

Phelps father said they love everything they have seen so far. He said he likes how close the the coaching staff is and their plans to use Lonnie in the defense.

He said he believes in the turn-around of the program.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS

WEST VIRGINIA BASKETBALL:

Overall: 13-2

Home: 10-0

Away: 1-1

Neutral: 2-1

Winning Streak: W2


WINS:


Oakland: W, 60-53

Pittsburgh: W, 74-59

Elon (Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic): W, 87-68

Clemson (Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic): W, 66-59

Eastern Kentucky: W, 80-77

Bellarmine: W, 74-55

Radford: W, 67-51

No. 15 Connecticut: W, 56-53

Kent State: W, 63-50

UAB: W, 65-59

Youngstown State: W, 82-52

Kansas State: W, 71-68

Oklahoma State: W, 70-60


LOSSES:


Marquette (Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic): L, 82-71

No. 17 Texas (Away): L, 74-59


UPCOMING SCHEDULE:


Kansas (Away)

Baylor

Texas Tech (Away)

Oklahoma

Arkansas (Away; Big 12/SEC Challenge)

Baylor (Away)

Texas Tech

Iowa State

Oklahoma State (Away)

Kansas State (Away)

Kansas

TCU (Away)

Iowa State (Away)

Texas

Oklahoma (Away)

TCU


TEAM STATS:

SCORING:


Total Points Scored: 1,045

Points Per Game: 69.7

Scoring Margin: +8.4


SHOOTING:


FG: Made-Attempted: 380-of-863

FG: Percentage: 44%

FG: Per Game: 25.3

3PT: Made-Attempted: 87-of-272

3PT: Percentage: 32%

3PT: Per Game: 5.8

FT: Made-Attempted: 198-of-300

FT: Percentage: 66%

FT: Per Game: 13.2


REBOUNDING:


Total: 514

Per Game: 34.3

Margin: -0.9


ASSISTS:


Total: 166

Per Game: 11.1


TURNOVERS:


Total: 184

Per Game: 12.3

Margin: +5.1

Assist/Turnover Ratio: 0.9

Points Off Turnovers: 18.0


STEALS:


Total: 126

Per Game: 8.4


BLOCKS:


Total: 8.3

Per Game: 5.5


INDIVIDUAL STATS:


SCORING LEADERS:


Taz Sherman: 19.9

Sean McNeil: 14.6

Jalen Bridges: 8.6

Malik Curry: 6.9


REBOUNDING LEADERS:


Gabe Osabuohien: 5.6

Jalen Bridges: 5.1

Pauly Paulicap: 3.7


FIELD GOAL SHOOTING PERCENTAGE LEADERS:


Jalen Bridges: 45-of-96 (46.9%)

Sean McNeil: 75-of-164 (45.7%)

Malik Curry: 38-of-86 (44.2%)

Taz Sherman: 94-of-214 (43.9%)


3PT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE LEADERS:


Sean McNeil: 29-of-71 (40.8%)

Taz Sherman: 28-of-77 (36.4%)

Jalen Bridges: 16-of-48 (33.3%)


FREE-THROW PERCENTAGE LEADERS:


Jalen Bridges: 23-of-29 (79.3%)

Taz Sherman: 62-of-79 (78.5%)

Sean McNeil: 25-of-32 (78.1%)

Malik Curry: 25-of-38 (65.8%)


WEST VIRGINIA ROSTER:


#0 Kedrian Johnson: 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard

#1 Pauly Paulicap: 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward

#2 Kobe Johnson: 6-foot-3, 210-pound guard

#3 Gabe Osabuohien: 6-foot-7, 240-pound forward

#4 Jamel King: 6-foot-7, 190-pound forward

#5 Dimon Carrigan: 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward

#10 Malik Curry: 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard

#11 Jalen Bridges: 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward

#12 Taz Sherman: 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard

#13 Isaiah Cottrell: 6-foot-10, 245-pound forward

#22 Sean McNeil: 6-foot-3, 205-pound guard

#23 Seny N’Diaye: 6-foot-10, 245-pound forward

#32 James Okonkwo: 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward

#45 Seth Wilson: 6-foot-1, 215-pound guard


LAST GAME OUT:

On January 11, West Virginia defeated Oklahoma State, 70-60 in Morgantown. The Mountaineers were led by Jalen Bridges (22), Taz Sherman (13), Sean McNeil (12), and Gabe Osabuohien (12). As a team, West Virginia shot 22-of-59 (37.3%) from the field, 5-of-19 (26.3%) from behind the arc, and 21-of-22 (95.5%) from the free-throw line.
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