Okay we are getting down to the good stuff and I have no idea how any of this is going to play out.

There are so many scenarios in how this could go, it could go from the staff not having enough room for everyone they want to carrying over scholarships into January for mid-year players.

First off let me start with Kalon Gervin a cornerback from Michigan State, who visited last weekend. He was the player I was keeping down because he is still considered a Wisconsin commit. I really think the Jayhawks have made a good impression with him and a lot of that comes from Chris Simpson. Simpson is hooked in, in Michigan. I don't know exactly where Gervin is in the process but I think the Jayhawks are in this one.

Gervin played in 22 games for Michigan State.

Another quality defensive back they are very much in the mix with is MJ Griffin. He is really looking at KU and Louisville as his final two and will visit Louisville this weekend. Simpson visited Griffin with Jordan Peterson and Leipold also made an in home visit. The staff put the full-court press on him.

I have confirmed Craig Young will visit this weekend. He is transferring from Ohio State and played safety but the people I talked with said he could play OLB/hybrid spot. The Ohio State people I talked with said the coaches liked his upside and felt he would play more in the future.

And a new name to the mix Amir Siddiq a rush end from Central Michigan. He had four sacks and 11.5 TFL this year and more of a pass rushing specialist. Again this is another Detroit, Mich., special connected to Simpson.

I believe I said this earlier that Mike Smith who is committed LB from Gulf Coast will visit this weekend.

Jordan Peterson was out on the road the last few days hitting up schools in his area like Cy Woods, Cy Ranch, and North Shore to name a few.

Right now there are a lot of irons in the fire and possibilities all over the place. I mean there are so many combinations if you gave me money I couldn't tell how it will play out.

I will be around all night if you have any questions and will report any new info I get. This is all what I gathered from today. I don't know if any more will develop tonight but I do believe the coaches are off the road starting this evening.

I will also have more info tomorrow as the staff will also bring in a select group of 2023 prospects for the basketball game and will also do another one for the Kentucky game.

Ten years ago today. Seems like even Zenger knew he screwed up based on the pull quote.

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Missouri, on the other hand, has struggled on the hardwood since making the move to the SEC. Following the 2011-12 season, the Tigers have posted records of 23-11, 23-12, 9-23, 10-21, 8-24, 20-13, 15-17, 15-16, 16-10, and 5-4 this season.

Been talking to some coaches. With all of the new hirings and head-coaching positions there is a lot of talk that after the first Signing Day you are going to see a lot of assistant coaches start shuffling around the other staffs.

We all knew this was coming but I didn't think the NCAA would actually move this fast, knowing how they are.

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Defense is in a really tough position where they have to pull up when they see a QB start to slide. Not sure this should be legal since it’s only purpose is to protect the QB. Am I crazy?

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Committed to Michigan. Hoped the family connection there might give us a shot but not a huge surprise that we lost out on a kid of his stature.

Was going to act in a way that started a brawl on Saturday against Mizzou, who do you think it would be?

My money is on one of CB or Mitch.

Speaker 1:
Talk about you two being the dynamic duo right now.

Christian Braun:
Yeah, Och is playing great so I'm really happy to see him just confident and playing his game. We worked a lot in the summer. We got a couple weeks out in Arizona working out together. It's good seeing what he's worked on pay off, and he's doing great and he's opened up the floor for everybody on the team. So everybody would tell you, what Ochai's doing, it's really helping everybody out and opening up the floor for everybody. So we're proud of him and excited to see him keep going, but nobody's shocked anymore of what he's doing. It's kind of become Ochai's thing and that's who Ochai is now. So we're just going to keep following him.

Speaker 3:
[inaudible 00:00:37], you said the other night that this rivalry is obviously not just about your family and it's bigger than that and all that, but I wonder what that was like for you and what it's still like for you. I mean, some pretty important family members that had a pretty big role over there in black and gold. Did you learn about that growing up? Did you have to hear about it? Are you still hearing about it, and what's it been like for them to flip over here?

Christian Braun:
Yeah, they don't really let me stop hearing about it, to be honest. My Uncle Mike talks about himself all day, so I do hear about it a lot. I've heard about both sides. My dad's a big KU fan, always was. And then my dad is the only KU fan, and my mom and everybody else, my mom's side is Mizzou fans. My Aunt Robin ran track there. My Aunt Laurie played basketball there. My Uncle Mike played basketball there. So did my mom, so it was a big Mizzou family.

Christian Braun:
Going into it, me and my dad were always kind of on the other side, but I always tell people I was always on the winning side, I felt like. It feels good to be a winner, and that's kind of why I chose here. I never really looked over in Mizzou's direction even though my brother was there, so I never really looked their direction. I'm proud to wear Kansas and I'm going to be proud to get this win on Saturday.

Speaker 4:
What's done is done and your brother's gone, but is that disappointing? Would that have made this more fun or is that possible?

Christian Braun:
No, I'm really happy for him. He's doing really good at Santa Clara. Their team's great. I don't know if you guys have watched them, they're playing great. They're a fun team to watch and it fits more of his style. I know he learned a lot from Coach Martin at Mizzou and he made him grow as a person, but I'm excited for the opportunity that he has gotten at Santa Clara. He's doing great. They're getting a lot of big wins and honestly, they're playing really good basketball over there and that's something that he hasn't seen, so I'm excited for him. But yeah, this game on Saturday means a lot to me.

Speaker 4:
Where's his head this week, with you?

Christian Braun:
Oh, absolutely. Yeah, no. Yeah, my whole family ... I was telling somebody that the other day. All my uncles, all my aunts, they will all be in Kansas on Saturday. There's no question, they're all Kansas fans now that I'm here and we kind of give them something to cheer for.

Speaker 1:
I asked a couple of the guys the same question, I'll ask you. For you personally, after last year, not being able to have that same atmosphere, having it this year for especially a game like this, what does that mean to you? Just having that marquee game and the whole 16,000 [inaudible 00:03:05] all the fans back, what does that mean to you personally?

Christian Braun:
Yeah, I'm excited just to get the rivalry back. That means a lot to everybody. It means a lot to all the fans, but I'm really excited to get it back this year and have it in Allen for the first game just because the atmosphere, and everybody's going to be able to watch it, and there's going to be fans in the arena. I think that'll just make it 10 times better. So I'm excited just for the excitement on both sides. Both teams are going to be turned up and ready to play. They'll be really competitive. They got a good coach and they got good guys over there, so we're excited to play against them. And, like I said, they're going to compete just the same way we're going to compete, and it's going to be a good game.

Speaker 3:
Is this a game where you don't have to worry about effort?

Christian Braun:
Oh, no, no. You won't. Like I said, there'll be fans in the arena. Like I said, they got a good coach. They'll be turned up just as much as we're turned up because this rivalry means just as much to them as it does to us. So there won't be a lack of effort, for sure. But like I said, it'll be a great game. Both teams and programs are great.

Speaker 1:
What do you think it says about the rivalry in that we don't see each other for nine years and it's this intense still?

Christian Braun:
It says a lot. Like I said, it never really died to me, to be honest. I think that every year you would get those comments from people about KU and Mizzou, so I don't think the rivalry ever went away, but we just didn't play each other for a little bit. Like I said, the fact that we're going to get it back first game at Allen Fieldhouse is great. It won't be in Sprint so I think that environment will be a little bit better. I guess T-Mobile Center, but the environment will be a little bit better, you know? And Allen, it'll be loud. Yeah, there won't be a lack of effort, for sure. Everybody will be turned up and it'll be a great game.

Speaker 5:
All right, CB. Thank you.

Christian Braun:
Yep.

Speaker 3:
Thanks, CB.

Speaker 1:
Thanks, CB.

For the first time since 2012, No. 8/7 Kansas and Missouri will meet on the hardwood. The game between the Jayhawks and Tigers is scheduled to tipoff at 2:15 CST from Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. On Thursday afternoon, Bill Self met with the media and talked about facing the Tigers, why the two rivals are facing off again, what to expect from the Allen Fieldhouse crowd, the health of David McCormack, and much more.

RECORD:

5-4

4-2 at home

0-1 away

1-1 neutral

SCHEDULE TO DATE:

Central Michigan (Columbia): W, 78-68

Kansas City (Columbia): L, 80-66

Northern Illinois (Columbia): W, 54-37

SMU (Jacksonville, Fla.) W, 80-75 OT

Florida State (Jacksonville, Fla): L, 81-58

Wichita State (Columbia): L, 61-55

Paul Quinn College (Columbia): W, 91-59

Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.): L, 66-45

Eastern Illinois (Columbia): W, 72-44

TEAM STATS:

Points: (599)

PPG: (66.6)

SHOOTING:

FG Percentage: (44.1%)

3PT Percentage: (24.6%)

FT Percentage: (70.2%)

REBOUNDING:

Per game: (39.1)

Margin: (7.3)

ASSISTS:

Per game: (11.9)

TURNOVERS:

Per game: (14.6)

STEALS:

Per game: (7.7)

BLOCKS:

Per game: (3.8)

INDIVIDUAL SCORING LEADERS:

Kobe Brown: 14.8

Amari Davis: 11.8

Ronnie DeGray III: 9.1

DaJuan Gordon: 8.5

REBOUNDING LEADERS:

Kobe Brown: 9.8

Ronnie DeGray III: 6.6

DaJuan Gordon: 5.0

FIELD GOALS PERCENTAGE LEADERS:

Kobe Brown: 49-of-91 (53.8%)

Amari Davis: 39-of-92 (42.4%)

Ronnie DeGray III: 24-of-61 (39.3%)

Javon Pickett: 30-of-81 (37.0%)

3 POINT FIELD GOALS PERCENTAGE LEADERS:

Kobe Brown: 6-of-21 (53.8%)

Amari Davis: 7-of-25 (28.0%)

DaJuan Gordon: 8-of-30 (26.7%)

Ronnie DeGray III: 6-of-23 (26.1%)

FREE-THROW PERCENTAGE LEADERS:

Amari Davis: 21-of-26 (80.8%)

DaJuan Gordon: 8-of-10 (80.0%)

Ronnie DeGray III: 28-of-35 (80.0)

Kobe Brown: 29-of-42 (69.0%)

On Thursday afternoon, Chris Teahan, Christian Braun, and Ochai Agbaji met with the media to preview the Missouri game. The trio talked about facing the Tigers on Saturday, the last time Kansas and Missouri played, what to expect from the crowd, the feeling of the team heading into the game, and much more.

Speaker 1:
Ochai, there's a lot of Missouri floating around this weekend. And with this game [inaudible 00:00:08].

Speaker 1:
What's basketball like for you guys, focusing on it? And how hard is that to kind of separate the two and make sure you remember the other.

Ochai Agbaji:
Really, like I was talking about in the Sprint Center, just taking it game-by-game. This is just another game that we're preparing for, obviously, it's a big game, but we got to take it as another chance to get better. Preseason, moving into conference, just getting better every game.

Speaker 3:
Before a game like this, Ochai, obviously, there's KU/Mizzou and the rivalry's back after so long. I asked Chris the same question, seeing the students camp all the week and just seeing all the excitement around campus, what does that mean after last year not really having that marquee environment, now it's back. What does that mean for you?

Ochai Agbaji:
It's really special that it comes this early in the season. All the fans really get to get excited for something that's in the preseason. And also, it means a lot to both universities, but it means a lot to the fans and the whole program. So, I know they're excited and we're excited too.

Speaker 3:
Does it get the juices flowing seeing all the students camp? And [inaudible 00:01:12], I believe there's almost over 200 groups. I mean, does that get you guys fired up?

Ochai Agbaji:
I don't think I've ever seen that many campers out there for like ... since I've been here for any game, so it's really cool to see that.

Speaker 4:
So, what would you say to the people saying that the rivalry has kind of died down a little bit because we haven't played them?

Ochai Agbaji:
It is scheduling. It's not really our fault that, I mean they didn't schedule-

Speaker 4:
No, [inaudible 00:01:37]. Do you feel like hasn't died down?

Ochai Agbaji:
Oh. No. No, it hasn't died down. Coach still approached this game and approached preparing for this game as the rivalry that he approached back then, 2012. It's still beef between us, even though that we haven't played or anything like that. But it still means a lot for both schools, like I said.

Speaker 4:
To use his words, does Coach Self seem juiced?

Ochai Agbaji:
Mm-hmm (affirmative), yeah. He's juiced. He's amped, that's what you call it.

Speaker 5:
Ochai, you grew up in Kansas City, Missouri.

Ochai Agbaji:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Speaker 5:
So, you probably had among your friends growing up a few Missouri fans.

Ochai Agbaji:
Yeah. Oh, my first friend when I moved to Kansas City was a Mizzou fan, and I didn't know anything better, so I was sided unfortunately with the Mizzou fans for a while, until I started getting recruited and I was just like, "It doesn't matter that way, so ..."

Speaker 6:
[inaudible 00:02:35], what have you seen from Mizzou? What do you think about they're going to bring to the city?

Ochai Agbaji:
It's a rivalry game. I know there's just a lot on the line here, so I know they're going to show up and play hard. I haven't seen much from them this year, but all I know is we've got to show up and respect them, and I know that they're going to come to play.

Speaker 7:
Ochai, do you have a favorite Mizzou/KU game that you watched growing up? And you're looking forward to, of course, making history in Kansas every game as a part of KU history.

Ochai Agbaji:
I actually really never paid attention to the games. I knew they were on, but I don't remember any significant moment from the rivalry. Yeah, no, I don't remember anything.

Speaker 8:
You talked about getting better every game. What do you think the biggest area that you guys are trying to do that in right now?

Ochai Agbaji:
Defensively.

Speaker 8:
Yeah.

Ochai Agbaji:
Defensively. Yeah. I think that's our main focus. Everyone knows that on the team, that defense is what's going to travel when we're on the road in the Big 12, stuff like that. So, we're just practicing, preparing for those games.

Speaker 8:
And a specific part of that, is there one defensive emphasis right now?

Ochai Agbaji:
Really just, when we get up on teams, keeping that lead, maintaining that lead and obviously increasing it, but also keeping that same defensive mentality because you know you can kind of lose that when everything's up here, and you're up by how-many points.

Ochai Agbaji:
But keeping that same focus defensively that we start the game off with, whether or not we go to the bench or keep the starting five in.

Speaker 8:
How do you work on that? I mean, is it just mental?

Ochai Agbaji:
Yeah. It's mental. More than anything I think it's mental, yeah.

Speaker 9:
Have you talked to Jalen Wilson much?

Ochai Agbaji:
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 9:
What do you think of how he's doing?

Ochai Agbaji:
I think he's doing really good. I mean he's had the best attitude ... since what he's gone through and all that, but he's just had the best attitude and just showing up every single day to just get better.

Speaker 10:
You and CB seem to be dominating things lately, kind of a Batman and Robin dynamic duo. Talk about that.

Ochai Agbaji:
You know, that's my boy. I know all the work he's put in, he knows the same thing about me, so we're just kind of feeding off each other's confidence right now. Really just going out there and playing at all time high levels of what we're trying to do, so ...

Speaker 11:
Thank you, Ochai.

Ochai Agbaji:
Thank you guys.

Group:
Thanks, Ochai.

Group:
Thanks, O.