VIDEO: Ben McLemore's dunk shows future of Kansas basketball

The highly touted Ben McLemore finally makes his debut this fall for Kansas basketball and judging by the early efforts, it's going to be a good year.

Bill Self hopes Jeff Withey can help replace Thomas Robinson

Bill Self hopes senior Jeff Withey can replace the toughness in the middle left when Thomas Robinson went to the NBA.

Bill Self preps for fall Coaches Clinic on Friday

Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self to put on a preseason coaches clinic, which is open to coaches at all levels.

Kansas basketball's Late Night in the Phog announced for 2012

Kansas will kick off its men's and women's basketball seasons Friday, Oct. 12 with its version of Midnight Madness, "Late Night in the Phog."

Q&A With Tom Ziller: Breaking Down Thomas Robinson With Sacramento Kings

SB Nation's Tom Ziller breaks down expectations for Thomas Robinson in his first year with the Sacramento Kings.

Kansas' Bill Self Discusses Billy Gillispie Allegations

Kansas Jayhawks basketball coach Bill Self talked about, and defended, Texas Tech head coach Billy Gillispie, amid allegations that Gillispie violated NCAA rules by practicing for more hours than allowed, and for mistreating injured players.

Self had plenty to say about Gillispie, and nearly all of it was quite positive.

"With Billy, you're talking about a guy that's gone from six wins to 24 wins (at UTEP). You've got a guy that has gone from zero conference wins (at Texas A&M) to the Sweet 16 in a short amount of time," Self added. "He does have some experience doing it his way and doing it big. His way works."

Self then addressed the allegations that Gillispie mistreated injured players.

"Mistreatment of players should never occur, but there are also two sides to every story. That certainly appears to be the case here, because after hearing from his enemies early, now we've heard from guys who say, ‘Oh, man, he was so hard on me, but I'm a better man for it.' Including players in his current program. As far as making guys practice and play when they're hurt, it's unfathomable to me that the guy that I know would put anyone out there in harm's way intentionally. I have a hard time believing he would do that."

We'll see how the story continues to unfold, but it's quite clear that Self stands firmly in Gillispie's court on these issues.

VIDEO: 'Pay Heed' Series Showcases Kansas Basketball Trip To Europe

The Kansas Jayhawks took a European trip in early August, traveling to Switzerland and France to play some European teams as they tune up for the upcoming 2012 NCAA basketball season. The results weren't always there in the games -- they lost to two different French clubs and said they were 'humbled' by a 74-73 loss to AMW Team France -- but they got experience that should help them through their NCAA careers.

Now, there's some video insight as to what the team was doing on the trip and how the players all felt about playing the European squads.

The first episode of Pay Heed by the AllAccessJayhawks channel on YouTube came out on Tuesday and it gave a good overview of the first leg of the Euro tour by the Jayhawks as they headed to Lucerne, Switzerland to play some games against Swiss competition.

For more on the Kansas Jayhawks, head over to Rock Chalk Talk. More on NCAA Basketball can be found over at SB Nation's NCAA hub.

Bill Self Discusses Milton Doyle's Exit From Kansas Basketball Program

Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball coach Bill Self talked Monday about Chicago guard Milton Doyle's recent exit from the program, saying the two had a lengthy phone conversation that led to the player's decision. Self indicates early playing time was the concern for Doyle.

“We discussed his options, and the first option was welcoming him back for the fall. His leaving is entirely his own choice, one that he felt was best for his future. We expected him to be here, but he thought it was better for him to go to a place where he had a better opportunity to impact a program early in his career,” Self added. “We wish nothing but the best for him. He is a great kid.”

Doyle, a 6-foot-4 guard, hasn't listed other schools he's interested in and he'll have to sit out this season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules.

The announcement was made Sunday night before Doyle was set to fly to begin his fall semester. Doyle's mom, Lisa Green, told the Chicago Tribune they hope to enroll in another school soon and that Doyle still had several scholarship offers. She said there were no hard feelings with Kansas.

“Milton likes everyone on the KU team and got along with everyone,” Green said via text message. “My son was his (Self’s) son’s roommate. Coach Self is still cool in my book.”

Doyle's departure leaves Kansas with one scholarship available for the upcoming season. Self said he hasn't decided how to award it yet.

For more on the Jayhawks, check out Rock Chalk Talk.

Milton Doyle Leaves Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Program, Per Mother's Report

The University of Kansas is going to field a very young men's basketball team in 2012-13 under head coach Bill Self. It was the reason he took his players to Europe to try to see what the team was made of and to examine who exactly could perform in various ways, specifically focusing upon the Jayhawks' offense for much of the trip. Apparently Milton Doyle decided it wasn't for him anymore with the announcement that Doyle has left the Kansas Jayhawks program.

The announcement was made on Sunday night to the Lawrence World-Journal, where Doyle's mother Lisa Green said, "It's nothing bad about the school or the coaches or anything. Sometimes things happen for a reason."

Doyle was originally a Florida International recruit for former head coach Isaiah Thomas but became available again after his exit. The Chicago native came to Kansas this summer to take the classes he needed before joining the program as one of eight freshmen this fall.

Ben McLemore Injury Update: Kansas Jayhawks Freshman Guard Still Out On Euro Trip

Ben McLemore is going to be a popular player for the Kansas Jayhawks. The buzz reached Lawrence far before he ever did, and it's clear that Bill Self has the next great scorer on his hands in the 6-5 redshirt freshman. But for now, McLemore remains sidelined on a trip where he could begin to really stand out.

Currently the Jayhawks are on a trip to Europe playing teams from Switzerland and France. The young players are getting some key playing time and McLemore could use the reps to gain experience and chemistry but unfortunately he's dealing with a lingering groin injury. It's been something that's kept him out for the last few games.

McLemore was ranked as the No. 4 shooting guard in the country and should eventually make a strong impact with the team. But here's hoping he heals up well and is able to get at least some quality time on the court before the season begins.

For more on the Jayhawks, check out Rock Chalk Talk.

Kansas Jayhawks Lose To French Club Team 79-60

The Kansas Jayhawks continue their trip through Europe playing teams in both Switzerland and France, but unfortunately the sightseeing might have distracted Bill Self's team from the product on the court as they were once again defeated at the hands of AMW Team France. While the previous contest against the team brought closer results, yesterday's loss was a 79-60 blowout.

Of course it doesn't help when a team's head coach decides to remove several key players, but Self wanted to see what he had without some of his stars. Ben McLemore continues to deal with a groin injury and seniors Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford and Jeff Withey were held out as well to give the freshmen more playing time. The end result is clear that the Jayhawks will rely on their experienced starters for the core of the team.

It seemed that Self was trying to use the game to teach his young players a lesson in fundamentals. The team committed 26 turnovers, so the stat sheet doesn't lie.

"Offensively, we're not very good. And we turn that sucker over at an alarming rate right now," Self said. "Our newcomers are unbelievably poor at taking care of the basketball."

For more on the Jayhawks, check out Rock Chalk Talk.

Kansas Basketball Players 'Humbled' Against French Club Team

The Kansas Jayhawks are taking their trip overseas for one primary reason: experience. Some of that comes in the form of seeing cities like Paris for the first time. Some of that also comes on the court when being defeated by a team that head coach Bill Self said his players expected to defeat. After defeating the Swiss national team earlier this week, Kansas players found a different tune on Saturday with a 74-73 loss to AMW Team France.

"You've got four returning guys that have been told for three months how great they are and all this and all that. Hey, they were humbled," Self said. "All of them got their butts handed to them by pro players in France. So if you think you're an NBA guy, and you can't handle a guy in France, then probably you're not an NBA guy. So they've all been humbled. They know now they've got to get to work, because that was a good water in the face for all of us to know that, ‘Hey, nobody cares what happened last year.'"

Self continued to use this moment as a tough teaching opportunity heading into the fall by talking up the need for improvements everywhere.

Kansas Basketball Team Enjoys Sights Of Paris On International Trip

While the Kansas Jayhawks are currently on a basketball exhibition trip to Europe, it's obvious that the guys aren't going to jump from game to game without enjoying the incredible opportunity before them to see the sights of the places they travel to. While on break after playing the Swiss national team, the Jayhawks took to Paris to enjoy their day off.

The players specifically loved the Eiffel Tower and their Twitter feeds were buzzing with the event.

"You don't realize how big Paris is until you're up here and you see everything," freshman Zach Peters said. "It's been awesome so far - a really awesome experience."

"I think there's so much to do, you've got to be here longer than four days," Peters added. "We're going to try to do as much as we can. I'm excited. I think this is a really cool city."

"You've got to be in (photos) to prove you were there and have those memories," Landen Lucas said. "I've definitely been taking a lot of pictures and videos for back home."

[From Landen Lucas]

[From Landen Lucas]

Kansas Basketball: Jayhawks See Odd Spitting Incident With Swiss National Team

On the whole, the Kansas Jayhawks are enjoying the team's trip to Switzerland to play the Swiss national team and take in the sights. But one of those sights became rather uncomfortable for the team during their exhibition win on Tuesday. Swiss forward David Ramseier was so frustrated that he spit in the faces of two officials after drawing a technical foul.

"He went nuts. He went absolutely nuts. I've never seen that," head coach Bill Self said. "I saw Bill Romanowski do it in football one time, and I saw Roberto Alomar do it in baseball one time. But this guy went and actually did it twice. He's going after the official and did it twice. He'll be back (tonight), so it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out."

"I've seen that stuff on YouTube. I thought he was definitely going to go after the ref and knock him out or something," KU center Jeff Withey said. "It was crazy. I guess that's how they do it around here."

For more on the Jayhawks, check out Rock Chalk Talk.

Kansas Vs. Swiss National Team Final Score: Jayhawks Win 83-79

The Kansas Jayhawks basketball team continued their tour of Europe on Wednesday, and once again, defeated the Swiss national team. Bill Self's team rallied late for a thrilling 83-79 win, giving the Jayhawks their second win in as many games over the Swiss.

KU Sports has some of the play-by-play details down the stretch:

For the second straight game, Kevin Young made key plays down the stretch, putting in a tip to tie it with less than a minute left before putting in a transition to put KU up by two with 13 seconds left.

The Swiss missed a long three, and Andrew White got the rebound and made both free throws after getting fouled to put it away with 2.6 seconds left.

White led KU with 16 points, while Elijah Johnson had 14. Young posted 12 points, and Withey added 10.

Jeff Withey led the Jayhawks with 10 rebounds as well, giving him a double-double.

For more on the Jayhawks, check out Rock Chalk Talk.

2012 Kansas Basketball: Jayhawks Defeat Swiss National Team 79-76

Bill Self has taken the Rock Chalk international, and a Jayhawks roster replete with freshmen are getting an education fast. Kansas defeated the Swiss national team 79-76. The two teams are set to play each other again on Wednesday, but Rock Chalk Talk has a breakdown of the first meeting, good and bad:

• Kevin Young was statistically probably the best player on the floor with 9 points and 8 rebounds (6 offensive!) in just 13 minutes of playing time. This team isn't going places if Young is the best player, but he definitely has proven he can contribute at a high level
• Ben McLemore had an inauspicious debut, going 0-6 from the field and turning it over three times. He did have 7 rebounds though, so hopefully he won't be the type of player who will carry offensive struggles to the other end of the floor.

Check out Rock Chalk Talk for the complete breakdown of what was a very ugly affair (or "learning opportunity," as coaches might say) - KU was 3-of-15 from three point range, and the Swiss were 9-of-35. Team USA does not approve, guys.

For more on the Jayhawks, be sure to check out Rock Chalk Talk and join the discussion.

Kansas Jayhawks Basketball: Ben McLemore Excites Staff, Injures Himself

The Kansas Jayhawks look like they'll have quite the exciting player ready on Tuesday, when the Jayhawks begin a European tour of exhibition games in Switzerland. Freshman Ben McLemore dazzled in Saturday's practice before suffering a hip injury -- but rest assured, Jayhawks fans: the injury is minor.

From KU Sports:

Ben McLemore, who hit two three-pointers and an inside shot in the first 10 minutes of Saturday's Kansas University basketball intrasquad scrimmage, was on pace for quite an offensive performance in the Jayhawks' practice facility next to Allen Fieldhouse.

However, the smooth-shooting, 6-foot-5, 185-pound red-shirt freshman from St. Louis had his day cut short after suffering a left hip-flexor injury while playing defense at the conclusion of the first of four 10-minute sessions.

McLemore "should be fine" for Tuesday's game against Switzerland, so Jayhawks fans can breathe easy, knowing the injury is minor.

The praise on McLemore wasn't just limited to his shooting ability on Saturday. Head coach Bill Self said that McLemore could be the "very best defensive player the Jayhawks have ever had."

At least Self isn't setting the bar too high.

For more on the Jayhawks, be sure to check out Rock Chalk Talk and join the discussion.

Kansas Basketball: Freshman Rio Adams Fully Qualified For Scholarship

Incoming Kansas Jayhawks freshman guard Rio Adams has learned that he did qualify academically to earn a scholarship. It was not certain if Adams had the grades to be able to attend Kansas right out of high school, but now that he is cleared by the NCAA Clearing House and can play this season.

Adams not the only incoming freshman who had grade concerns, but Milt Doyle's eligibility was in question. He qualified just last month due to having grade concerns heading into their last few days of high school.

Every incoming player is eligible to play this season and they will be able attend the teams preseason European trip in Switzerland and France.

Kansas Basketball: Bill Self Ready To Storm Europe With Offensive Focus

The Kansas Jayhawks are going to be quite exciting to watch with strong talent both inside and outside.