Top rebounding recruits coming into the Big 12

[thebigabd]

1.) Thomas Robinson (6'8'' 222) KANSAS
-Named a Reebok All-American. Scored 14 points in the Reebok Game. Rated as the #10 power forward nationally, and the #31 overall player. Great athlete, good shooter, big time player. “Thomas is a rebounder,” Self said. “He goes after every ball. He’s a high energy guy that probably has as good a motor as anybody we’ve had since we’ve been here. He has a chance to be about as good of a rebounder as there is in this senior class."

2.) Andrew Fitzgerald (6'8'' 260) OKLAHOMA
-Selected as a Reebok All-American, and was one of the better performers with 16 points. Averaged 21 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 blocks per game as a junior. "Andrew's a big kid who really knows how to score, knows how to use his body. He has great touch for a big man. He's about 6-8, but has more than a seven-foot wingspan. And he's a good 260 pounds."-Jeff Capel

3.) Wally Judge (6'9'' 220) KANSAS STATE
Selected as a Mcdonalds All-American, but did not play in the game due to injury. Rated as the #7 power forward nationally, and the #18 overall player. The best "big man" athlete entering the Big 12 this year. Averaged 20.1 points and 17.8 rebounds per game through 28 games as a senior. “Wally runs like the wind,” said Martin. “He is big and strong – just a big time talent that we think has an incredible future ahead of him."

4.) Shane Harris-Tunks (6'11'' 265) COLORADO
A true center with tremendous experience. He is widely considered the #1 center in Australia for the class of 2009. He is from the well known Australia Institute of Sport and will be a member of the World Championship team representing Australia in July. Harris-Tunks is very skilled and physical and his body is Big 12 ready.

5.) Quincy Hankins (6'8'' 240) NEBRASKA
Hankins was a formidable post presence for the Polk Vikings as he averaged 15.8 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game as a sophomore. For his efforts, Hankins was named to the All-Suncoast Conference first-team. He was second in the conference in rebounding.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Thomas Robinson by far is heads abover everyone else. He's an above the rim rebounder where the others arent. His playing time will hinder his numbers, but as far as being the most skilled at rebounding, it's him.

 

[thebigabd]

Thomas Robinson by far is heads abover everyone else. He's an above the rim rebounder where the others arent. His playing time will hinder his numbers, but as far as being the most skilled at rebounding, it's him.

Good, I got it right.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Thomas Robinson by far is heads abover everyone else. He's an above the rim rebounder where the others arent. His playing time will hinder his numbers, but as far as being the most skilled at rebounding, it's him.

not so fast .. he and fitz were teammates and i think fitz was the teams leading rebounder ..

 

[BigTime]

not so fast .. he and fitz were teammates and i think fitz was the teams leading rebounder ..

Fitz is all about technique and angles. Robinson is a freak that gets up above the rim. They both have high motors.

Robinson is the best pure rebounder in the 2009 class imo. Fitzgerald is up there....

 

[BoulderSooner]

Fitz is all about technique and angles. Robinson is a freak that gets up above the rim. They both have high motors.

Robinson is the best pure rebounder in the 2009 class imo. Fitzgerald is up there....

dennis rodman was not an above the rim rebounder ... tyrus thomas is a freak ..


who is the better rebounder??

production .production ..production .. and in this case .. they were on the same team fighting for the same boards playing pretty much the same min

 

[thebigabd]

dennis rodman was not an above the rim rebounder ... tyrus thomas is a freak ..


who is the better rebounder??

production .production ..production .. and in this case .. they were on the same team fighting for the same boards playing pretty much the same min

Do you have their stats?

 

[FaithfulSooner]

The knock on Robinsons is that sometimes he gets lost in games. He needs to improve his effort. On the other hand our man Fritz just keeps coming at you. His work ethic doesn't change the whole game. I can't wait to see Fitz play because the one thing that he does consistently is play hard. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

 

[HoHum]

I know Torin Walker averaged 13 rebounds a game his Junior season, but haven't been able to find any complete stats for his Senior year.

 

[Seymore Cox]

I know Torin Walker averaged 13 rebounds a game his Junior season, but haven't been able to find any complete stats for his Senior year.

Torin Walker sucks though.

 

[BigTime]

Do you have their stats?

Brewster doesn't list all of their stats. I would be interested to know who lead in rebounding....

 

[HoHum]

Torin Walker sucks though.

Oh. Bummer.

 

[Seymore Cox]

How is he going to get some PT over Teeng Akol.....

 

[gracefor24]

The knock on Robinsons is that sometimes he gets lost in games. He needs to improve his effort. On the other hand our man Fritz just keeps coming at you. His work ethic doesn't change the whole game. I can't wait to see Fitz play because the one thing that he does consistently is play hard. BOOMER SOONER BABY!!!

I don't know where you got this. If anything it's the opposite. The knock on Robinson is that his skill isn't on par with his effort yet. I am pretty sure he was the leading rebounder at Brewster but it would have been close. He and Fitz led the team in boards every game by far. Fitz was the better offensive player and more skilled, but Robinson showed a ton of skill in the all star game he was in.

 

[Seymore Cox]

I don't know where you got this. If anything it's the opposite. The knock on Robinson is that his skill isn't on par with his effort yet. I am pretty sure he was the leading rebounder at Brewster but it would have been close. He and Fitz led the team in boards every game by far. Fitz was the better offensive player and more skilled, but Robinson showed a ton of skill in the all star game he was in.

Neither one of you know, so let's not be to presumptive. The biggest problem Robinson will have is being behind the two Morris boys. If Selfy continues to play Little and Releford at the 4, he'll have a long year.

 

[BigTime]

Neither one of you know, so let's not be to presumptive. The biggest problem Robinson will have is being behind the two Morris boys. If Selfy continues to play Little and Releford at the 4, he'll have a long year.

You are the best at baiting jawks, and I love it! They always respond, which makes it even more entertaining! lol

 

[Seymore Cox]

The Jayhawk fans look at things through a small spectrum. This year you saw the two guys touting Thomas Robinson all year. Everytime their was a post about Fitzgerald, their would be a response with what Robinson was doing. Sometimes they would post about Fitz to covertly highlight what Robinson did. Fact is Robinson is a better basketball athlete than Fitzgerald, but may not ever make it off of the KU bench. All the accolades the KU fans give to Robinson, where the same ones they gave to Quintrell Thomas. Almost Identical. For me it's very easy to understand KU fans, because we are those same a-holes during football season. We're the ones who think Pooh Tennell is the next AA Wideout or that Tommy Grady is the next Heisman trophy winner.

 

[gracefor24]

The Jayhawk fans look at things through a small spectrum. This year you saw the two guys touting Thomas Robinson all year. Everytime their was a post about Fitzgerald, their would be a response with what Robinson was doing. Sometimes they would post about Fitz to covertly highlight what Robinson did. Fact is Robinson is a better basketball athlete than Fitzgerald, but may not ever make it off of the KU bench. All the accolades the KU fans give to Robinson, where the same ones they gave to Quintrell Thomas. Almost Identical. For me it's very easy to understand KU fans, because we are those same a-holes during football season. We're the ones who think Pooh Tennell is the next AA Wideout or that Tommy Grady is the next Heisman trophy winner.

Actually, I do know about Robinson. I know that his effort has never been questioned by people who watched him play. That is a fact.

Your post above is absolutely hilarious. QT was a borderline Top 100 recruit while Robinson is a consensus Top 25. They aren't even comparable and no one is comparing them. You have a gift for making stuff up out of thin air.

The other hilarious thing is that it was OU fans who felt the need to comment on Robinson every time they mentioned Fitzgerald. It's as if they had to compare them each time and say that Fitz was better. It just wasn't true and you admitted as much after seeing Robinson in the All Star game after the season.

I could care less either way if people would just post the truth and not make stuff up.

There is no way that Self plays Little at the 4 this year, he either earns his minutes at the 3 or he doesn't play. Robinson will be battling Markieff Morris to back up Marcus M. at the 4 spot. I tend to think he will get some good burn because the Morris boys biggest weakness is rebounding.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Your post above is absolutely hilarious. QT was a borderline Top 100 recruit while Robinson is a consensus Top 25. They aren't even comparable and no one is comparing them. You have a gift for making stuff up out of thin air.

So if what I say is hilarious, that means fans didn't tout Quintrell Thomas as a day one impact player. Every post I ever saw about him was about how talented he was and how he would come in and be a player. I don't believe I prefaced rankings in the post you're refering to. And about me making stuff up out of thin air, you obviously are saying that no fan comments were made about Thomas being an impact player and KU. Right?

The other hilarious thing is that it was OU fans who felt the need to comment on Robinson every time they mentioned Fitzgerald. It's as if they had to compare them each time and say that Fitz was better. It just wasn't true and you admitted as much after seeing Robinson in the All Star game after the season.

Sure you had some of that just as you had yourself also creating that comparison. Personally I never compared them because they were different types of players. I'm not a sunshine pumper myself and try to call things as I see them. My style is up and down transition and I like Robinson for that. Add to that, I question Fitzgerald's size and weight. However I love his basketball ability and IQ and frankly he'll get more opportunities than Robinson. Advantage Fitzgerard.

could care less either way if people would just post the truth and not make stuff up.

There is no way that Self plays Little at the 4 this year, he either earns his minutes at the 3 or he doesn't play. Robinson will be battling Markieff Morris to back up Marcus M. at the 4 spot. I tend to think he will get some good burn because the Morris boys biggest weakness is rebounding.

Again if you feel that me saying that KU fans overhype their players or that the Robinson vs. Fitzgerald debate has been participated and instigated in some cases by the KU fans on this board, we'll just have to agree to disagree. It's no big deal to me though. As for what Self would do as far as playing Little, I assure you that if Bill Self doesn't trust Robinson, the same way he didn't trust Thomas, then I guarantee you that Little will be playing some four. KU had depth at the post this past year and still played Releford and Little at the post. If Markeiff Morris and Thomas Robinson can't defend on the perimeter against guys like Dunn, James Anderson, and teams like ISU, Nebraska, and Mizzou who play small, you'll see Little instead.

 

[gracefor24]

I'm sure there were some fans saying that but the consensus was nowhere near that. I spend quite a bit of time on Phog and I can bet you that you can't find very many posts saying those things about Thomas. You are just making it up or misremembering it. I never said Thomas was an impact player from Day 1. I thought he should have been redshirted.

The comparisons about Robinson vs Fitz didn't come from KU fans. Do a search and check it out. It came from guys coming on here saying how much better Fitz was by just checking box scores. That's how it started. I completely agree that they are different players and can't really compare them other than Robinson has a much higher ceiling and talent level. Fitz has a better opportunity to play early due to the post situation at OU not being stocked with talent like KU is right now.

Little won't play at the 4 at all this year, imo, unless the Morris boys play terrible and Robinson is a bust. Without those things KU is too stacked at the 4 and 5 for that to happen. Again, to compare Thomas's position to Robinson just doesn't work. Robinson is a Top 25 talent and athletic specimen. Thomas was much more similar to Darnell Jackson, a fringe Top 100 player who needed time to mature and get better.

KU didn't have depth at all in the post this year. They had Cole and a bunch of freshman. Saying you'll see LIttle at the 4 if we are playing a team that plays small ball is different, I agree with that but you won't see him at the 4 like you did last year which was basically most of his minutes.