🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Wayne Selden can and will step up and use his 5 star talent to drive to the basket next year. Recruiting experts have written about his court vision since he was in hs go back and check out his mix tapes. He should be that guy on next years team. No need for 2 guys to drive and kick out? Sorry if your a fan of Frank Mason but the reality of things that will transpire this summer will send him to the end of the bench if he doesn't RS.

Conner Frankcamp takes care of the ball and can drain the 3 ball all day from NBA range. Frank Mason does not excel at either one of these things or should I say he cant hang with Conner at these things. I would think you could put Frankamp on the opposing teams weakest guy to offset his D.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is or was 6'6" 191lbs when measured at the Nike summit and he is 16 so he could have grown an inch and add in his shoes and I can see 6'8" but who really cares? Like Wiggins I believe HCBS will tell him PT could be limited if his team ates know the playbook better than he does which would like Wiggins bring him to the states sooner than fall. Size and Height and ability to play all 3 guard positions should get this kid some PT. Sorry again Mason

These 3 are going to handle the ball and these are your 3 lead guards. I honestly believe that the longer than usual leash HCBS had last year has been retired. With the extremely deep back court we are fortunate enough to have the leash next year is going to be SHORT!

HCBS has said Brannen Greene is an NBAer and that he would be the premier guy on most teams. I can't see him getting less minutes than last year?

Kelly Oubre has said HCBS told him he was stepping in for Wiggins. He is a top 10 talent that wont sit if Self wants to sign another top wing next year.

This rounds out my rotation for the 1-3 and yes I am a fan of Mason but my gut tells me he will be the 1st guard out garnering trash minutes. He had trouble with grades or attendance last year and if you look at his Twitter his maturity is not that of one I would think leads this team next year. Self will utilize Mason's lack of maturity and poor decision making (on and off the court) against him if he doesn't RS. I know people will argue with me about this but this is just my opinion and you don't have to agree. Mason is next Aprils White/Tharpe guys. Casualty of a deep deep bench.

@Statmachine D. Graham does not fit into your rotation, even by January?

@REHawk I actually doubt he is any better than Mason. He could start for all I know but right now this is my November rotation. I might change my story after the alumni game in less than a month? Does anyone really know? Its just fun to guess and here everyone's reaction/rotation.

Your dog hunts...if Sviatslov signs and the long guards can guard short guards. It hunts intermittently if the long guards find a lot of situations where they cannot guard the short guards.

Short guards are going to become more prevalent, rather than less, with the rules changes favoring the offensive perimeter player. There just are a lot more short guards to sign and play at any given time, so if their shortness is made less of a disadvantage by rules changes, more play.

In the age of the trey, with tight calls favoring offense, pretty much anyone of any height can offend on the perimeter, if he has a 40% trey, ambidexterity on the dribble, and a quick first step. With those three things, he can penetrate for a two and a FT virtually every play, when not drilling the trey; this was the Wisconsin Lesson of last season. After burners, like Mason's, are optional now. The three's the thing. It creates the space necessary for even a average driver to get a shoulder by his man and go and exploit the favorable whistle for the offense. Conner, if he can get his trey sighted to 40% has as much athleticism as any of the Wisconsin lead guards last season including their point guard, who was actually NOT at all a Tyshawn Taylor on the drive, just slightly above average on in the X-axis speed department.

In the age of the trey, with tight calls favoring offense, offense reduces to finding a point guard and two wings that can each shoot 40% plus from deep. Teams that can field three such players with a rim protector and rebounding power forward are the gold standard.

Imagine last year's Wisconsin perimeter with a 5-star four last season. It would have been an undefeated ring season for Wisconsin. Even with stiffs for 4s, they made it to the Semifinals.

So: how does this relate to your post and Self's desire to sign Sviatslov?

At the very least, Self, the savant of matching up, wants to be able to field a perimeter of 3 40% trifectates to match up with teams that do that.

More likely, though, Self just gets that the rules changes are here to stay for a few years and three, 3PT perimeter shooters are king until the rules change again.

In turn, this means that Frank Mason's PT, magnificent speed demon though he is, is likely to come from spelling Frankamp the Trifectate PG in situations where going long at point to keep three trey ballers on the perimeter is not feasible due to defensive vulnerability.

Signing Sviatslov means Self can keep three trey ballers on the perimeter for as long as he likes. Selden (assuming his knee heals and permits him to ascend to 40%--a reasonable possibility), Greene (assuming he gets under control), CF (assuming he can get his shot off for 40% accuracy), and Sviatslov (assuming he is strong and quick footed enough to guard and offend in D1), are four credible trey ball threats. Four means Self can, if defensive abilities permit, basically keep three trey ballers on the perimeter all game long, which is the new killer app of the game.

(Note: well, it is not really new, is it? Lute Olsen's Arizona ring team with Bibby, Miles Simon, and I forget the third trey dinger proved that it worked like a charm back in helmet hair's day.)

And with Mason, Self has the flexibility to matchup short at any guard position, when needed; that is Mason's real, and not insignificant function on next year's team. As a result, while I agree with you on your rotation, and assessment that Mason may be farther down the PT food chain this season, I don't see much likelihood of him redshirting, unless he just can't cut it academically, in which case he would almost certainly not be redshirted and transfer end of season.

Of course there is one possibility that neither of us has considered so far. Frank, arguably a very hungry guy from the streets with more than a little moxie and drive to to get as far as he has, could read the writing on the wall, and start shooting 400 treys a day between now and October 15, and wind up with a 40% trey gun himself. Mario Chalmers made himself into a 40% guy once upon a time. It can be done, though it is rare.

Imagine this team with Frank as a credible trey threat on the perimeter. It could keep three 40% trifectates on the perimeter 40mpg, AND matchup short or long.

Hmmmmm, now that's a thought to savor.

There is one more wild card in all of this and his first name is Devonte. I fall into the camp that suspects he probably is NOT going to be an impact player, despite expressed Selfian enthusiasms. I suspect this because of recruiting rank, because of Appalachian State, because of thinness, because of an all right-handed highlight feed, and because of the seemingly implied swap that occurred to free the team from Tharpe and so perhaps Tharpe and Self from having to live with the selfie and Tharpe's limitations. To shed Tharpe, and still stay in the preferred recruiting line at the Brewster basketball factory, er, academy, it at least appears that Self might have taken Devonte, even if Devonte were a sight-challenged, little person with two left foot prosthetics. I cannot forget just how enthusiastic Self was about Royce Woolridge, Naadir Tharpe, and so discount somewhat his remarks about how much better KU got by signing him. I also cannot forget how more highly ranked players like Tyrell Reed and Conner Frankamp and EJ and Travis Releford could not really contribute much their freshman seasons, not just because of players ahead of them, but because of real limitations in their stages of development. I would even go so far as to say it is unlikely Devonte will be an impact player next season.

But there are the occasional Kevin Young and Frank Mason types that are hungry, gritty types beyond intimidation, either by Self, or opposing teams, that Self occasionally finds rotation minutes for just because of their toughness and a shortage of returning tough, gritty talent.

If Devonte were a particularly tough customer, and if he were able to pot the triceratop at 38-40%, and if he could guard and protect, well, then heck yes, he could get in the rotation, because god always favors another ball handler at the point. But those are one heckuva lot of ifs. And it wouldn't take much improvement by Conner and Frank to make Devonte an obvious choice for throwing a rouge Italian smoking jacket, especially with the crowding created by Sviatslov possibly signing.

Ah, the off season. It is a time when all hopes and all doubts are possible, and the harsh realities of "who can get her done" awaits in a misty future full of unforeseeable outcomes.

@jaybate 1.0 -- I pretty much think your spot on, but I'm not sure about your takes on Devonte. I walk away after reading your comment as though you feel Devonte was a filler or save face pickup. I'm not sure I can agree with that one. Maybe HCBS is taking chance on the kid, but Devonte had to of shown HCBS something for him to take that chance. I believe the signing of Devonte was in the making and was a done deal before Tharpe left. Me personally this is why Tharpe left.

As for Frank Mason it is an interesting question for sure. I believe that HCBS had every intention of running with him next year, but when you have one of the best European kids in the world knocking on your door. Well, You have to let him in. I'm sure HCBS was showing some interest in Mykhailuk but you never know what these European kids will do. As so many take the money and play pro ball. Mykhailuk was a shot in the dark that paid off. (Well that's just my opinion)

@jaybate 1.0

Interesting take on Devonte.

I'm optimistic about Devonte, even for this coming year as a potential impact player.

His poor ranking related more to where he was as a HS junior.

The thing to watch with HS players is their change in development. Devonte had a gigantic leap in development by the end of his junior year and that is what put him on the radar screen. That's why he wanted out of his early commitment, because the big boys started calling....

That's why I have optimism about him.... I have hope he continues his current high rate of development. Self is pretty good about reading that.

We all bag on Tharpe... but Tharpe did make huge improvements in his game from his days in HS through this past year. He just seemed to have some issues that got in his way and prevented him from making that final step to greatness at Kansas. He is a tragic case... just like EJ was. But I hope he takes a year off and gets the right kind of help to develop that final step in his game, which is mostly about self-confidence and projection.

Concerning Mason and a RS.... I could see it happening. It really depends on what happens between now and next fall. This is his summer for big time development. It is normal that Kansas players make a leap in play after their freshmen year. He's a guy that has great potential for driving the ball, and that is a gift every college team can use. Now... if he learns to tighten down his defense, learn to pass off well during his drives, learn to finish at the rim better and become a better outside shooter... It sounds like a bunch of things that need to happen but sometimes players just click over to a higher level at this age. Some of it must have to do with confidence.... when they lift all aspects of their game at one time.

What I am really loving about next year... is that we will have a bit more experience on the perimeter (except for the loss of Tharpe) and there will be great competition for minutes. That not only gives Self plenty of options during the year and during each game, but also pushes these guys to get better. We have a group of guys that each have their own unique skills and size. So we'll have plenty of options for dealing with match ups on any kind of opponent.

I hope Svi is an impact player his first year. We'll need his size against Kentucky and maybe some other teams. The Harrison twins were just figuring out how to take advantage of their size during the tourney in March... and you can bet they will only improve on that this year. Kentucky is going to be tough.

Coach Self has always had a fair amount of loyalty towards returning players that have earned playing time. At this time Mason is the most experienced PG going into the season, and the position is his to lose.

To keep the position he will have to:

1. Learn to stop driving blindly into a sea of bigs and getting his shot blocked.

2. He needs to lose his high school "score first, pass second" mentality.

If he can learn to control his urge to drive wildly and become a better ball distributor, then there is no reason why he could not see substantial minutes at the PG. The question is: can he overcome through training his natural tendencies and become more of team player? I guess we will find out in a few months.

Frank Mason is a tough kid with a chip on his shoulder. We need as many guys with this mindset on the team as we can. Selden showed last year that he can step up and be a leader. Supposedly Alexander and Oubre really get after it and show grit on the court...just like Mason. To me Mason is not only not going to RS...he is going to start. This summer gives him an opportunity to get more confidence on his shot (which Bill Self says is much better in practice than in games) and to tighten up his ball handling skills.

I think Mason stays in the rotation because of something that @joeloveshawks said.

Simply put, if a game turns into a street fight, you have to have street fight guys on the floor to win that game. Mason is a street fight guy, same as Sherron was, same as Mario, and Darnell Jackson, and TRob and Tyshawn and several others. You have to have guys like that.

Right now, Mason, Traylor and Alexander are our only street fight guys. Maybe Graham as well. At least one NCAA tournament game turns into a street fight and when that happens, you better have those guys around to push back.

I hope that Frank gets very limited minutes until he can figure it out, and play smarter. He was part of the worst passing, and ball handling team I have ever seen in my 40 years of following KU. I respectfully disagree with the other fans thinking Frank's "toughness" overcomes his lack of passing and ball handling skills, and his poor decision making. I want a point guard who plays smart, and Frank simply isn't there yet. If Devonte isn't ready yet, then Francamp is the obvious choice to me.

At least one NCAA tournament game turns into a street fight and when that happens, you better have those guys around to push back.

@justanotherfan Perhaps, but based on the most recent NCAA tournament, Self prefers CF. And for good reason. Frankamp stepped up and performed, whereas Mason (and obviously Tharpe) did not. Frankamp outscored Mason 22-4.

So while you may need a street fight guy for a game in the NCAA tournament, that clearly didn't translate to success for Mason. To me it spoke volumes that after a full season, Self had more confidence in CF when the going got tough.

@justanotherfan Toughness only gets you so far and the street fight guys terminology is rather funny. I get it but seriously there is such thing as a smart fighter. In boxing there are defensive fighters that aren't as fun to watch but they win rounds because they counter punch. Frankamp might not be the tough guy but he takes care of the ball better and counters with the 3 ball.

I get you need players that can battle, but man give me that cat that has ice in his veins and can light it up from three land. There isn't much fighting when the bombs start hitting 3 at a time. Just saying.

To me it spoke volumes that after a full season, Self had more confidence in CF when the going got tough.

@icthawkfan316 ... and yet he didn't give CF the majority of minutes in the second half of the Stanford game for some reason. Grr. I hate thinking back to that game.

My hesitation with saying Frankamp is the guy is that I don't know how he will play if he has to log more minutes. This year, teams had limited prep time against Frankamp because he didn't play much early in the season.

One of the things that lots of freshmen run into is that, as the season progresses, people start gameplanning against them and their specific skills. That's what made Frank much less effective as the season went on, because he did not adjust to what teams were doing against him. Conner didn't have to do that because most teams didn't get to see him enough early on to really gameplan against him late in the year. But now they have some game film that they can work from, so it's going to be up to Conner to adjust to that. Frank will also have to adjust, because he wasn't effective down the stretch.

The problem for Conner is that he hasn't seen what the adjustments to him will be yet. He probably won't see those until conference play starts since most non-con games only focus on the starters. If Conner is starting, that adjustment period could come up very quickly.

This is the same problem players face when they go from college to pro. Adjusting to how people take away your strengths is something that is difficult to do. Whichever player (between Conner and Frank) that does that will see the majority of the minutes this season.

Interesting discussion. I got my own thoughts on Connor Frankamp vs. Frank Mason...we shall all see how it plays out next season. Should be a fun year!