Apr 2, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts during the second half in the finals of the 2012 NCAA men

Karviar Shepherd has offers from Kansas State, the Kansas Jayhawks, UCLA, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas A&M, Louisville, Georgetown, and Harvard.

He has also received interest from Texas, Arkansas, Florida State, and Ohio State. Right now, KSU, Kansas, Georgetown, Harvard, Louisville, Texas, Texas A&M, and TCU are teams to watch for in his recruitment.

The popular four-star big is 6’9″, 210 pounds and is a good scorer and is the kind of player who won’t be a headcase and is wanted on a team. Karviar Shepherd may not have the best handles, but he isn’t poor in this regard. He’s also about an average passer for a big man and brings a multitude of qualities. Shepherd’s ability to put up points and get boards at a high rate make him a top recruit. His overall skill set would fit nicely with Kansas, so it is good to see that we are pursuing this top 50 recruit.

Shepherd received a 247Sports rating of 97 and was ranked by the recruiting service as the 26th best in the nation. ESPN has him as 28th and gives him a Scout Grade of 89, while also ranking him as the third best center, the sixth best in Texas, and the 7th best in the Midlands.

The 35th best recruit in the nation, Karviar Shepherd is such a tough player on the inside and works his way with his strong elbows to get boards and tough out points. He is undoubtedly a top recruit and one teams would love to have with his style of play.

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Jun 6, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Boris Diaw (33) takes a shot against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) during the second half in game six of the Western Conference finals of the 2012 NBA playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

In the final game, gritty interior defensive player Nick Collison finished with four rebounds in seven minutes. Cole Aldrich, a more recent star at KU, did not play in the game.

In 2010 while with the Jayhawks, Aldrich was a consensus second-team All-American and was an NCAA Champion in the 2008 season. He recorded a triple double in the NCAA Tournament against Dayton as a sophomore for the first triple-double in team history. He also averaged a double-double with a 15-11 average through the first 29 games of the season.

He never lost at the Allen Fieldhouse, and Aldrich was the Academic All-American of the Year in 2009. He was the 11th pick in the draft by the New Orleans Hornets a year later and was traded to the Thunder on the day of the draft. I’m sure he’s happy about the trade looking at how bad the Hornets are. Spending most of his time in the D-Leagues, Aldrich averaged 10-9-3 and received limited minutes when with the Thunder.

Nick Collison still lives in Seattle even after the franchise’s move to Oklahoma City, and the big is similar to Aldrich in that he was the 12th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Collison helped KU notch two Final Four appearances with current Atlanta Hawks point guard Kirk Hinrich running the show with Collison and forming a dynamic duo.

Nowadays, Hinrich is known for his solid shooting and good passing in the NBA. Collison is known as a gritty, underrated stopper. The #4 was retired by the Jayhawks in honor of the school’s star and FIBA U-21 player. Collison spent all four of his special seasons with KU, with his 2002 NCAA Player of the Year season in 2002 being one of the best in team history.

Aldrich, Collison, and the Thunder will either match up against Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics or Mario Chalmers and the Miami Heat as far as KU stars go. Chalmers’s shot is fresh in our minds, but it is more likely that Aldrich will face off against Pierce than the Heat and his former PG.

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April 1, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self speaks to those attending the Naismith brunch after being awarded the Naismith coach of the year award. Mandatory Credit: Crystal Logiudice-US PRESSWIRE

Arguably the best coach in college basketball, Bill Self also has a son who plays ball. Tyler Self will walk on to the Kansas Jayhawks. The team is building a “Big Three” of walk-ons as far as coaching pedigrees go. Former Jayhawks star and assistant coach Danny Manning’s son Evan Manning will walk-on to KU, as well as current assistant coach Norm Robert’s son Niko Roberts.

Tyler Self is a 6’2″ guard who will walk on for his father Bill, and he was a player (3.9 points-1.3 rebounds) for Lawrence Free State. He was also teammates with Manning’s son at Free State; Manning would later go to a prep school in New Hampshire after graduating from the Lawrence school in the Sunflower League.

“It was my mother, him and I eating dinner at a little Mexican restaurant. I said something like, ‘I want to play.’ They were both kind of surprised. I think they both said, ‘Really?’ at the same time. It was pretty funny,” said Tyler.

Bill Self’s son Tyler has an older sister (Bill’s daughter) who attends KU and is a senior. Tyler Self is yet another walk-on among a hefty list of notable KU coaches’s sons, and it will be interesting to see the guard’s role on the team. Are those three fundamentally sound like the stereotype for coaches’s sons go? I am most interested in seeing Evan Manning, since his father is THE Danny Manning.

Self chose Kansas over his father’s alma matter Oklahoma State, but he would not have played hoops with the Cowboys. He would like to pursue a career in business and would have focused on that at the other Big 12 school. His father has never pressured him as an athlete, nor has he ever really coached him, which is all too interesting. Sounds like Bill Self does things the right way and takes a step back with his son.

The walk-on guard will likely make his presence known mostly during practices, and his demeanor means that he will likely be a great and supportive teammate. Don’t expect him to get game action at all, but it’s great to see Tyler Self joining the team.

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