Let me start off by saying, for the record that I think this is a good signing if and when it takes place.
One of the biggest failures for Bruce at K-State has been his ability to backfill recruiting when he doesn't have immediate playing time to offer. There have simply been too many guys like Stockard, who wasn't a legit Big 12 athlete, SNW, who couldn't do the things Bruce wanted, James Love who was simply a terrible evalu, or Nigel Shadd who was the right quality athlete but couldn't make a mid range jumper. For whatever reason, there have not been enough guys that are legitimate players that get old in the system and contribute to consistency. That is the biggest reason we have seen the wild and crazy swings.
When Bruce has had immediate playing time to sell to guys in the early signing period, those guys as a majority have worked out. The problem is the classes in between. In the 3 classes from 16-18, there is currently one player (Mike McGuirl) out of 10 signees on the roster. That's a devastating time period and why we are in the predicament we are in now.
The reason I bring all that up is because Landers is the kind of player that a coach needs to sign (and then keep around to get old) to help backfill front heavy rosters. I think Landers is the kind of player that can come in and actually take a redshirt. He needs time to get strong and get a bit more athletic. There is a reason that pretty much every school suggested to him and his family that he move to the 2022 class and go play another year of HS ball. He needs that time.
K-State is in a unique position of having available scholarships and having time. They have a very young and deep (at least numbers wise) front court. He is perfectly suited to come in next year, sit for a year and be ready to take on some minutes as Linguard and then Ezeagu/Murphy/Gordon get ready to move on.
I have watched all of the video I can find on him and there are some things that stand out to me. He has soft hands. He catches the ball well and he has a soft touch around the basket. He is actually similar to Stockard in that regard. He can score the ball with either hand and has a variety of ways to score around the basket. I think he is taller than Stockard was and his range is deeper.
It's my understanding that he has battled leg/knee issues for quite a while, but it hasn't stopped him from playing really hard. He gets after it pretty good.
He is a good shooter in HS, not a great shooter. He has enough attempts (almost 150) through his HS career to get a pretty good idea. He is not as good of a shooter/scorer that Antonio Gordon was in HS. It could take him a while to adjust to the longer three point line (like it has Gordon and Murphy). Honestly, it's another reason I think a redshirt is a good idea for him. Don't forget that the original play for Gordon was to redshirt for similar reasons.
Though he is a different type of athlete than Gordon, I kept thinking about him as I watch the Landers videos. I think the situations are similar. I didn't think Gordon was a Big 12 ready player coming in as a freshman and I don't think Landers will be either. That should be the good thing though, he shouldn't have to be if all works out with the roster as currently contstruced.
247 likes him quite a bit better than Rivals does. They have him as a top 135ish player in the 2022 class and the #18 center. Bossi saw him in October and his evaluation was of a tough kid that battles on both ends and that was still struggling with his knees.
In the 2021 class of Centers for 247, he would slot in somewhere Treyton Thompson who is committed to Minnesota and Wilhelm Breidenbach who is committed to Nebraska. That would put him anywhere in the range of 125-145. To compare that to Rivals (who doesn't like him quite as much) Thompson is a four star at 115 and Breidenbach is a 3 star at 133. After watching videos of both, I think Breidenbach is a pretty reasonable comparison. He might be just a touch quicker but Landers is probably a touch stronger.
Here is the Breidenbach link and some video if you want to compare.
One of the biggest failures for Bruce at K-State has been his ability to backfill recruiting when he doesn't have immediate playing time to offer. There have simply been too many guys like Stockard, who wasn't a legit Big 12 athlete, SNW, who couldn't do the things Bruce wanted, James Love who was simply a terrible evalu, or Nigel Shadd who was the right quality athlete but couldn't make a mid range jumper. For whatever reason, there have not been enough guys that are legitimate players that get old in the system and contribute to consistency. That is the biggest reason we have seen the wild and crazy swings.
When Bruce has had immediate playing time to sell to guys in the early signing period, those guys as a majority have worked out. The problem is the classes in between. In the 3 classes from 16-18, there is currently one player (Mike McGuirl) out of 10 signees on the roster. That's a devastating time period and why we are in the predicament we are in now.
The reason I bring all that up is because Landers is the kind of player that a coach needs to sign (and then keep around to get old) to help backfill front heavy rosters. I think Landers is the kind of player that can come in and actually take a redshirt. He needs time to get strong and get a bit more athletic. There is a reason that pretty much every school suggested to him and his family that he move to the 2022 class and go play another year of HS ball. He needs that time.
K-State is in a unique position of having available scholarships and having time. They have a very young and deep (at least numbers wise) front court. He is perfectly suited to come in next year, sit for a year and be ready to take on some minutes as Linguard and then Ezeagu/Murphy/Gordon get ready to move on.
I have watched all of the video I can find on him and there are some things that stand out to me. He has soft hands. He catches the ball well and he has a soft touch around the basket. He is actually similar to Stockard in that regard. He can score the ball with either hand and has a variety of ways to score around the basket. I think he is taller than Stockard was and his range is deeper.
It's my understanding that he has battled leg/knee issues for quite a while, but it hasn't stopped him from playing really hard. He gets after it pretty good.
He is a good shooter in HS, not a great shooter. He has enough attempts (almost 150) through his HS career to get a pretty good idea. He is not as good of a shooter/scorer that Antonio Gordon was in HS. It could take him a while to adjust to the longer three point line (like it has Gordon and Murphy). Honestly, it's another reason I think a redshirt is a good idea for him. Don't forget that the original play for Gordon was to redshirt for similar reasons.
Though he is a different type of athlete than Gordon, I kept thinking about him as I watch the Landers videos. I think the situations are similar. I didn't think Gordon was a Big 12 ready player coming in as a freshman and I don't think Landers will be either. That should be the good thing though, he shouldn't have to be if all works out with the roster as currently contstruced.
247 likes him quite a bit better than Rivals does. They have him as a top 135ish player in the 2022 class and the #18 center. Bossi saw him in October and his evaluation was of a tough kid that battles on both ends and that was still struggling with his knees.
In the 2021 class of Centers for 247, he would slot in somewhere Treyton Thompson who is committed to Minnesota and Wilhelm Breidenbach who is committed to Nebraska. That would put him anywhere in the range of 125-145. To compare that to Rivals (who doesn't like him quite as much) Thompson is a four star at 115 and Breidenbach is a 3 star at 133. After watching videos of both, I think Breidenbach is a pretty reasonable comparison. He might be just a touch quicker but Landers is probably a touch stronger.
Here is the Breidenbach link and some video if you want to compare.
