🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Wow! Have to admit I was impressed with our opener. I'm trying to think back when I was last impressed this early.

9 turnovers! 9! Since when do we play with that much care for the ball? And it didn't really seem like we were trying to protect the ball. We made quick passes from all over.

Ochai was a monster! Let's hope he produces like that all year! He should. He's come back stronger, bigger, and quicker and he seems to show more of that "Type A" personality he'll need to make it at the next level.

Remy showed brilliance at times. I think he will show more consistent brilliance as the season progresses. He just needs to get used to this team and what Self wants.

Dave... I'm not sure about. I'm certain he will produce and put up some numbers this year. I just think he doesn't totally mesh with this team. He's clearly the slow guy. 2 rebounds? But I'm sure he will make the most out of his potential with this team, and that should be good enough.

Christian looks a bit stronger. He is going to have to figure out his shot. Loved his effort on the glass. Rebounding this year will definitely be a "team effort." Will be great to have Jalen back to help there.

Dajuan is an important link to this team. I hope he asserts more offense. He was on the floor almost the entire game, and I do get it. You want to know why we only had 9 TOs? He's a big part of keeping the ball from sticking.

Really enjoyed our bench performance. KJ brought energy. Zach showed a huge skill set. JaCole gave us a taste of his potential. Bobby is going to be a baller. Would have like to have seen more PT for Joseph. I'm sure we'll get a good look from him soon enough.

What did you all see in this game?

I feel you, have a good feeling about this team, total rout and we were shorthanded. Agree with you about Dave, he's going to have to embrace a rebounding and passing role - it's just the way it is.

Pretty happy with that opening performance!
Och was on fire.
And how bout them freshmen? Most of the world thought Clemence wouldn’t play. Well, he played, and contributed valuable stats and minutes. Attaboy!

KJ Adams is bouncy.

Once the team warmed up, got over some nerves, I thought this was a very good performance on opening night. We usually see a Self team improve as the season goes on but last night I'd say the bar is already pretty high. This was without Jalen Wilson who brings yet another dimension to this team. The firepower is there and the bench proved its going to be an asset all year.

I thought Michigan St looked like a real average team on paper and it played out that way. Hoggard was much improved getting to the lane and attacking the rim. It would be nice if this win was a boost to KU's resume later on in the season so hopefully Izzo finds a way to develop that team.

Ochai Agbaji was a man among boys last night. What impressed me the most about his game was his confidence. He plays with that kind of confidence on a nightly basis and he's an All American and getting paid in the League next season. His handles are improved, his FT preparation and shot are much cleaner, he attacked the rim a lot off the bounce (seemed like a point of emphasis for the offense), his conditioning and speed are much improved. Talk about a guy that took the offseason in a serious way. I don't think that was just a one off to impress the scouts in the stands either. That was the best opening night performance I've seen since Frank beat Duke years back.

Saw some decent defense from this group at times. Icing screens, active hands. Rebounding was so-so but we expected a drop off without Jalen Wilson. Big Dave besides one big block was pretty bad defensively overall. He looked eerily similar to last years start. Hopefully he'll pick it up as we get going. Harris was a major force on defense for much of the game. Liked how he moved the ball on offense. He had some aggressive drives that ended up in bad shots but your seeing the signs of a more confident player out there. Braun picked up his play considerably in the 2nd half after a mostly awful first half. Definitely rebounded in the trenches with some authority.

Remy Martin is a player. This offense thrives when it has a quick guard capable of beating his man off the dribble. Didn't attempt a shot in the first half but was a major factor in the 2nd. I was impressed with him when he played at ASU and I'm impressed seeing him in KU colors. What a difference maker.

Loved all 3 freshman's play. Stage wasn't too bright for any of them. KJ comes in for 4 seconds to end the first half and gets a block. Within the first 10 seconds of him playing in the 2nd half he saved a ball going out of bounds for a layup. That's how you get PT under Self. Clemence has a long ways to go on post defense (not fouling) but showed his skill level on both ends. Besides D Lawson I don't think we've had a big that can stretch the floor like he can. Two words to sum up Bobby Pettiford = Fan Favorite. Talk about a kid that looks like he's been groomed in a factory run by Frank Mason & Devonte Graham because it sure felt like I was watching a young Frank/Devonte out there.

Overall I was very impressed. Lots of firepower, lots of experience, quality depth. This is a team to reckon with. Can't wait for Friday

@BeddieKU23 It's all about the old line from Bill. Give him guys that are hard to guard, he will make them guard hard.

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@RockChalkinTexas I hope DTae got paid for that!

The difference in the game was turnovers and FTs (10pt advantage at the line). We didn't shoot particularly well and were outrebounded. But, we protected the ball much better than in years past (think Duke at MSG) so had more possessions. 9 TOs against an Izzo team is pretty good. A function of having 2 true ball handlers on the court at all times (and Dave for just 22).

We're still not a particularly good shooting team. We can compensate for that by moving the ball, penetrating, and getting more shots close to the rim or wide open shots on kick outs. What does seem clear is that is that our best line-up(s) will be fairly small. Always 2 small guards (based on what we saw yesterday, I would be comfortable with any combination of the 4 smaller guards, although Remy needs to get most of the minutes and the ball needs to be in his hands at the end of possessions. Dave will be fine against certain teams, and we can feed the post as per usual, but in many other instances, our best line-up may well be all guards and wings/forwards - basically, Jalen as the "big" and CB or whomever at the 4, and Ochai and two PGs.

My take after 1 game is NC or bust. My goodness this team has ''it" and then some. After last nights performance you might think "are we better without X player who didn't play?"

Only this is an emphatic NO. Jalen will fill a hole rebounding and size-wise. He can play the 5 when we get into crunch time instead of the 3 headed monster of Mitch/KJ/Clemence. He stretches the floor too.

I really couldn't be happier with how they looked. Not one guy played who didn't look like they belonged on the court. Not the freshman. Not the new guys. We are a legit 12 deep.

My big take away is that KU seemed just flat better than MSU on a night when only Ochai played particularly well. The game looked easy for these hawks which is promising. Even Ochai's 29 didn't come off some super hot shooting night. He just took what the defense gave him and was aggressive on both ends of the floor. He will score 30 at least once this year. The question here is can he bring this level of play consistently?

This team is going to be at its best when they get easy baskets in transition off of long rebounds and steals. MSU also wanted to push the pace so that kind of played into KU's optimum game plan. I'll be interested to see what they do against a team that slows it down and really takes care of the ball. With that said, these guards have the ability to speed people up with their ball pressure. And one thing I loved from a coaching standpoint was Self going to the double team down low in the second half. That forced the ball to move and provided opportunities for our opportunistic guards to fly around and get their hands into passing lanes.

Dave is still Dave and we get the good and the bad that comes with that. One positive is he looks a little springier this year. The dunks have seemed easy and he's had a few nice blocks. There were times last year where many on this board wondered if he was capable of jumping and that does not seem to be the case this year. He will have some big nights for KU this year and their will be games that are either lost or close because of him as well.

Also, want to echo everything I've seen here about Bobby Pettiford. What a luxury to have that guy coming off the bench HUNGRY for minutes. Really the entire bench (aside from Mitch) know already that they have to make a positive impact when they come into the game or someone else's number will be called. This, along with the consistency of Och, will be the main story of the year. How does Bill Self manage the depth? How does he keep everyone hungry and fed at the same time?

Anyone else worry about how Jalen will fit in with this product we've now seen twice? It's a little scary for me because as some have already mentioned, this team already looks like a fairly well oiled machine. Am I making something out of nothing here? Probably...

@DCHawker

Game 1 on a neutral floor with a lot of eyes watching, I think it was a solid shooting performance this early. The 3 point % brought it down a bit overall but that will happen.

Lots of lineup possibilities with this team. Going small will likely be situationally the way to go at times. However I think we'll still see our best 5 includes 4 around Dave

@BeddieKU23 said in Takeaways from Game #1:

@DCHawker

Game 1 on a neutral floor with a lot of eyes watching, I think it was a solid shooting performance this early. The 3 point % brought it down a bit overall but that will happen.

Lots of lineup possibilities with this team. Going small will likely be situationally the way to go at times. However I think we'll still see our best 5 includes 4 around Dave

Hopefully JCL gets fully healthy, hard to shoot on a bad foot.

@BShark

Definitely his shot looks real nice but gave him a mulligan knowing he's hobbled.

New wrinkle from Self- Posting up Agbaji. Happened a few times last night with no success but that was new. I liked it and hope we go back to that again.

So I dunno much about KJ. what position will he play? Is he a SF, PF?
He doesn’t look like a traditionally sized player (arms seem short).
Anybody in the know?

@rockchalkjayhawk he is a center in the body of a wing. A bit like Jamari Traylor.

Also, I hope Self gives Remy a game down the line where he lets Remy be Remy… let’s hope Coach doesn’t grind him down to the point of losing confidence… just throw him a bone once in a while and let him loose.

We sure have a load of good young guys… pettiford is Damn QUICK - yikes.. like a video game watching him dart around.
Ochai and/or Jalen will be the alpha studs this year I’m guessing.

biggus Davus is, well, himself, but I SWEAR he actually pump faked once with the Michigan State big in his face, and damn if it didn’t work because he got the bunny bucket. That’s a good sign!

@benshawks08 It really felt like MSU didn't use their size advantage nearly enough. They could have killed us inside and for the most part didn't. Not sure if that is our guards pressuring passes, Bill Self coaching a masterpiece, or Izzo being dumb. Either way I don't think it changes the W-L outcome but they could have given us a better game with a different gameplan I thought.

@Kcmatt7 Like I said before the game "soft"

@BShark Bingham could have had 20+ imo. They could have gone to him almost every play I thought. Didn't have a single guy who could guard that height and athleticism combo.

@Kcmatt7 said in Takeaways from Game #1:

@BShark Bingham could have had 20+ imo. They could have gone to him almost every play I thought. Didn't have a single guy who could guard that height and athleticism combo.

Give Bill a guy like that and watch out lol

@Kcmatt7 Self definitely saw that in the first half and came out in the second with the plan to double certain players at certain places on the court. I can't remember for certain, but feel like we got at least one turnover out of that and after that, even the hint of a double scared the ball out of the post and back to our strength in perimeter ball pressure.

But yeah, "soft" is the word to describe the MSU attack. We got whatever we wanted on both sides of the floor all night. A decent shooting game and we win by 20.

Quick guards with good handles and fast hands are such a luxury and we have several.

@benshawks08 said in Takeaways from Game #1:

Quick guards with good handles and fast hands are such a luxury and we have several.

Crazy how we went from 0 to 4. I mean we had Harris last year but he was easing into it early on.

Heck even Och is showing signs of improvement with his handle. Something to monitor going forward as I would like to be convinced over multiple games lol.

@BShark For sure! Definitely hoping they are LEGIT quick and not just quicker than MSU and ESU... They look the part so far.

@benshawks08 I think MSU's biggest problem is they gifted us a ton of turnovers. They didn't look slow but it is early.

I do think Izzo needs to start the Hoggard kid as PG1. The Walker kid looked not good at all, we were fortunate that he went to MSU instead and we got Remy.

There was a quick cam shot of Wayne seldon and Quentin grimes sitting next to each other…

@rockchalkjayhawk More than solid frosh class. Was impressed with all three of them.

Maybe someone can clarify... but I'm thinking MSU had something like a cumulative height advantage of like 12-inches on us. The game sure didn't look like we were outsized. And I was surprised at the speed of MSU. They often pushed the ball in transition faster than us. Our transition basically came from steals only. Self should gear our guys to transition off of makes, too!

The one very good way to share more minutes with the bench is to move the ball and exhaust your players. They'll be happy to come out for a breather.

I still don't know exactly what to think of Dave and how he fits in. I'd love to see a quicker pace with 5 guys. He got beat several times on MSU's transition. I'm not saying Dave shouldn't play... but I'd like to see us focus on speed, and he makes that possibility tough. With our quick guards, we really need our 5 out high setting ball screens, creating mismatches. If I could ask just one realistic improvement from Dave in this season it would be for him to work his arse off on setting better screens. It's a talent he hasn't conquered yet and he can learn to do much better. It would really help our guards score off the dribble.

Agbaji trending as a 1st round pick after his career high 29 pts on Tuesday. Hopefully he continues to play like that and gets PAID

@BeddieKU23 said in Takeaways from Game #1:

Agbaji trending as a 1st round pick after his career high 29 pts on Tuesday. Hopefully he continues to play like that and gets PAID

Good guard play around him makes such a difference.

@BeddieKU23 said in Takeaways from Game #1:

Agbaji trending as a 1st round pick after his career high 29 pts on Tuesday. Hopefully he continues to play like that and gets PAID

Givony from ESPN updated his mock this morning and Ochai came in at #23. Pretty big jump for him.

Reaaaally want to see Och drafted.

Agbaji is, at least, a college superstar. I don't know how that will translate to the pros, but he's a college superstar that could average 15-20 per game this season.

McCormack is a very good college big man, so he will throw up some double doubles this year. If KU doesn't try to force feed him offensively, he should be able to be efficient offensively.

We already know Remy Martin is a star. He will probably be even more efficient with the talent KU can surround him with. He's playing with his best group of wings and his best interior players in his career.

Jalen Wilson can also be efficient and attack matchups once he comes back because there are just more scorers around him now.

I think Braun figures it out eventually. He's not going to be a star at KU, but he will help this team and likely hits some clutch shots along the way.

And this bench, with Harris, Coleman-Lands, Yesufu, Lightfoot, etc., they can all hurt you in different ways, and because of the depth, none of them should get exposed because of their shortcomings because there just won't be enough minutes to exploit them.

This team should be good. They should hammer most of the Big 12 competition. They should be in the top 7 all season. They should get a #1 seed. The goal should be cutting down the nets on the first Monday in April.

If Agbaji averages 18+ppg this season that's huge for KU and for his pro chances.

Of note

KU really played within Self's offense in the first half. Remy struggled, obviously. 39 points. 2nd half Bill kind of just set Remy loose. 48 points. :thinking_face:

Something to monitor.

@BShark he also set up that dble screen gate for him, so he's trying. I think anytime remy can take his man, Self is ok with that? Like DDot. I thought he picked his spots pretty good.

@Crimsonorblue22 I also wonder if that battle of wills is going both ways. I honestly think it's good natured and not really a negative but I do think it's interesting. Martin exploded in that first half of ESU and Self still wasn't really happy with his play. I think it's interesting that the next game he didn't even take a shot in the first half.

Definitely agree with @BShark that it's "something to monitor."

@benshawks08 said in Takeaways from Game #1:

@Crimsonorblue22 I also wonder if that battle of wills is going both ways. I honestly think it's good natured and not really a negative but I do think it's interesting. Martin exploded in that first half of ESU and Self still wasn't really happy with his play. I think it's interesting that the next game he didn't even take a shot in the first half.

Definitely agree with @BShark that it's "something to monitor."

Wish I could post some stuff publicly but was asked not to so I will stand by that.

We need a rating scale for this. The extreme ends are easy like say from Brady Morningstar to Brannen Green but it's those in between points. Naadir Tharpe could probably be on the scale just below Greene then maybe Taylor and the Morrii. CB for reference ranks out on the Brady end of the scale for Bill Self love.

@BShark I think by the end of the year it will be a love fest between Martin and Self. I think they are both the same type of person so there's some tension there at the start. 4 years of the guy and we'd be looking at Frank Mason, Devonte Graham type of love. It will be interesting to see this type of relationship grow/implode over the course of 1 year with a SENIOR guard who is already a star. Like, the guy is preseason point guard of the year for the league WITHOUT Bill Self's help so yeah he's been doing something right. But also, he transferred to Kansas for a reason. He clearly thinks this is a better place for him to grow and learn for the last year of his eligibility. Such an interesting dynamic that I feel like we've never really seen before. We've had transfers, we've had stars, we've had 1 and dones, but never a senior transfer one and done PROVEN star player.

Also, just message me the stuff. I won't tell. I promise!

If you can't say it, why refer to it? HEM used to do that, too. It is just annoying.

My take is Remy and Bill are the two divorced folks who remarried and are trying to figure out who has to take out the trash on Tuesday

@benshawks08 said in Takeaways from Game #1:

We’ve had transfers, we’ve had stars, we’ve had 1 and dones, but never a senior transfer one and done PROVEN star player.

All the better reason for these two to figure out their relationship and execute a winning strategy on the court.

I don't think it will be the last time we see an arrangement like this. Self can sell "finishing school" to star players, a chance to win a title, and a resume builder for the NBA.

@drgnslayr oh the portal is going to benefit us every year bigtime.

@FarmerJayhawk

perfectly said!~