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New big body from the football team

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7 years 7 months ago #14625 by HawkErrant


With football officially (and mercifully) over, 6-7/260 TE James Sosinski has effectively walked on and started practicing with the team. Played JUCO hoops, averaging 19 PPG on 45% FGP (64% FT). No idea how good a defender or rebounder he might be. Figure him to be insurance for the bigs while waiting to see what transpires with Preston and DeSousa.

njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2016-17/div2/players/jamessosinskifmw3
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7 years 7 months ago - 7 years 7 months ago #14626 by bklynhawk
As we approach the 30th anniversary, I remember a team with a couple of football team walk-on's that did pretty well...

www2.kusports.com/news/2013/feb/21/timel...-led-1988-title-tea/
Last Edit: 7 years 7 months ago by bklynhawk.
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7 years 7 months ago #14627 by NotOstertag
I know nothing about the guy, but you can surmise the following:
  • Played Juco ball: clearly a decent enough skill level to play after HS. Decent stats, but not D1 level play.
  • Tight end, 6'7", 260. Not tall enough to play like a true "big", but at 260 will be a load to move. Probably won't block a lot of shots, but if he sets a pick, the screened player is going to notice it, and if he can box out for rebounds, nobody's going to move him.
  • Probably in decent shape from football. More running involved in hoops, so that might be an issue (again with 260lbs.). Hopefully not too dinged up from football to be an issue.

Worst case: he's big enough to knock Dok around in practice and he's got 5 fouls to give. This is a smart move, and there's zero downside in giving it a try.
"When I was a freshman, I remember Coach Naismith telling us how important it was to play good defense." - Mitch Lightfoot
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7 years 7 months ago #14628 by bklynhawk
Curious, interesting background. Looks like he committed as a quarterback to UMass and was asked to possibly walk-on to their men's basketball team www.masslive.com/umassbasketball/index.s...es_sosinski_wal.html .

Left UMass (?), enrolled and played JUCO basketball at South Mountain Community College (in AZ) for one season njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2016-17/div2/players/jamessosinskifmw3 . He had good rebounding per game numbers (ranked 5th nationally of all JUCO players), played a lot of minutes, was top 50 nationally in scoring.

Then, came to KU and switched positions to TE.

So, he's got basketball talent/skills and is an overall D-1 athlete. I'm saying he'll play and be a positive addition to the team.
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7 years 7 months ago #14629 by Bayhawk
. . . . who played round ball for Cal. His skills a a record setting pro-bowl football player were honed on the hardwood. I'd love to hear a coach's opinion of the overlap in skills.


RC
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7 years 7 months ago #14632 by NotOstertag
I'm not HCBS, but I'd think that the overlaps are many:
>Can run/throw/catch while moving.
>Agility.
>Overall athleticism (strength, stamina, speed, etc.)

To me the biggest potential problems would be:
1.) Weight. At 6'7" and 260, he's heavy for his size in basketball. That's a lot of extra mass to run back and forth, and jump with. If he were a hoops-only guy, I'd imagine that Hudy would slim him down.

2.) Potential wear and tear from football season. As a TE, he hits and receives hits. Takes a toll. HCBS isn't running a spa, so any nagging bumps and bruises won't have much recovery time.

Interesting that he was a QB, TE and hoops player (at the college level). Getting repetitive here, but this is a very good thing.
"When I was a freshman, I remember Coach Naismith telling us how important it was to play good defense." - Mitch Lightfoot
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7 years 7 months ago #14633 by Bayhawk
I played left out and the bench . . . :silly:


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7 years 7 months ago #14635 by NotOstertag
My most humiliating moment in Junior High:

Our football team had white uniforms....white jersey, white pants. Rainy October Saturday, game day. Total mud bowl. A parent snapped a photo that still haunts me. In the foreground, there's some play happening, both teams slathered in grey brown mud, almost indistinguishable who's who. In the backround, the sideline...players in matching hues of grey and brown mud. Except one guy. Looks like he just stepped out of an ad for Clorox bleach. Not a spot of mud on him. Yep, that was me....I don't even think I had to have my mom wash my uniform after the game. Sad.
"When I was a freshman, I remember Coach Naismith telling us how important it was to play good defense." - Mitch Lightfoot
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7 years 7 months ago #14640 by mtnMan
Some of us are old enough to remember Vernon Vanoy, who played both basketball and football at Kansas. Went on to have a pretty good pro football career as a defensive tackle. He could set picks and rebound very, very well.


hate to ask: but would Self be adding this guy if he were truly optimistic about Preston and de Sousa?
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7 years 7 months ago - 7 years 7 months ago #14642 by HawkErrant
Would Self be adding another walk-on if he was confident about Preston and De Sousa playing?

If the guy can play, sure.

D1 squads are limited to 13 scholarship players, but I’ve found no NCAA rules limiting the number of walk-ons a team may have.

KU typically carries at least 3 walk-ons, but Self has had more. For example, the 2013-14 team had a full complement of 13 scholarship players and had 5 walk-ons. Justin Wesley was the sole big walk-on, and he still saw some playing time even before Embiid was hurt.

This year so far KU has 12 scholarship players and just 2 walk-ons, Chris Teahan and Clay Young, neither of who are bigs. Four of the scholarship players are currently sitting out due to transfer rules, and waiting on Preston means just 7 scholarship players are currently available. Even if Preston and De Sousa are playing later on, that’s still just 4 bigs (and Mitch really is more a 3/4 than a 4/5), so having a fifth big that knows the system and can step in during emergencies (e.g., injury or foul trouble) can be huge (pun intended). And that is still just 16 players, with only 13 of them available come Spring.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain "Innocents Abroad"
Last Edit: 7 years 7 months ago by HawkErrant.
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7 years 7 months ago #14645 by NotOstertag
Last night my phone pinged with an update from ESPN on this. Of course I panicked thinking it was going to be a "Preston is out" update, so I was relieved.

The one tidbit I noted is that HCBS is giving him a week on the practice team as a bit of a tryout. After that, he'll decide if he'll be a practice squad guy, or if he'll actually suit up for games. Makes sense to me. I doubt he'll travel to Saturday's game, but we'll know more next week. For now, however, it sounds like his biggest contribution will be shoving Dok around at practice, which is a good thing.
"When I was a freshman, I remember Coach Naismith telling us how important it was to play good defense." - Mitch Lightfoot
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7 years 7 months ago #14646 by HawkErrant
More on Sosinski from KUSports.com

If his JUCO coach is to be believed, Self & Co will be very happy to have James on the team. Solid, solid player whose first love is hoops. Tantalizing...

m.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2017/no...ory-how-a-former-um/
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain "Innocents Abroad"
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7 years 7 months ago #14652 by hairyhawk
Sounds like he could be a big addition even if it is just the practice squad. I like it a lot.
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7 years 7 months ago - 7 years 7 months ago #14687 by HawkErrant
After today's game having Dok and Mitch garner 4 fouls and Clay 3 in his 12 minutes of play backing them, up, I have to hope that by season's end Sosinski would be able to contribute some meaningful minutes as Clay did today. Nothing against Clay, he was solid out there today, but it would be nice to have another real big out there when we have foul trouble, especially if Billy does not play (FWIW again, I think he will) and De Sousa can't make it until next year (FTR, I feel good we will see him; no info, just a vibe). Just good to have another insurance policy in place if needed.

I guess we will find out soon enough if he passed the audition...
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain "Innocents Abroad"
Last Edit: 7 years 7 months ago by HawkErrant.
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7 years 7 months ago #14689 by Senex68
'Pickles' came to KU as a basketball player, and he was really good. 6'8" and about 250 pounds, he was a tremendous rebounder and had scoring ability as well. He was persuaded to play football after his sophomore year, and he was obviously quite good as well. I believe he had NBA ability if he'd stayed with basketball.

As far as this 'new' guy is concerned, he only has to run up and down the floor about 10 times a half, and if he can set some picks, block out effectively in his 5 plus minutes, and grab some rebounds he will help us. The fact that he was a quarterback in high school, and a good one at that, means that he's a superior athlete, and by the NCAAs he'll be a real asset. And he didn't get a lot of 'wear and tear' on what passes for a football team at KU. And Self would always add a walk-on if he was 6'7" and could actually play the sport. This guy is and he can.
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7 years 6 months ago #14705 by HawkErrant

Full text:
Self said he's been impressed with Sosinski as a kid, says he is bright and has picked up stuff quickly. Said he will be good for Azubuike, thus is expected to be added to team for Wed game. "He's hard for Udoka to score on," Self said.
3:36 PM - 4 Dec 2017

Subsequent confirmation from Shay Wildeboor (JayhawkSlant) that James could be expected to see game time -- not just a practice player. Maybe not against UDub on Wednesday, but who knows?
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain "Innocents Abroad"
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7 years 6 months ago #14719 by NotOstertag
Yep. Looks like he made the team and will be suited up tonight. I'd be VERY surprised to see him log any meaningful minutes as I'm sure he's still learning the system, but he'll be available.
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