🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Anybody nervous after that tight game against the Lumberjacks?

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I woke up this morning with a Yin Yang perspective.

Yin:

David... when are we going to see him deliver? I think everyone has dropped some of their expectations... but when you see him stumbling over his own feet you wonder if even those are too high!

Remy... glad you iced the game but we can use more heroics throughout the game so we aren't challenged down the stretch by a team like the Lumberjacks.

Och... what is HE doing up here in the Yin? Well... this was not one of his better games. He seemed invisible in the second half. That might make a few of us wonder if the new, high-octane Och will be hit-and-miss throughout the season.

Team FLATNESS! We've seen this before... on other teams. But we thought this team was different! Our defense was horrific! We gave up 53.4% from the floor! 15 TOS... kind of high.

Yang:

Christian... he's on another planet... a higher planet... regardless where the rest of our team is! Lead the team in scoring, rebounding, blocks... almost assists.

JaWil... started coming on, and we definitely needed his contribution in this game to win it. Had a great stat line for only playing a half of ball. Best +/- on the team! He is definitely the guy who can go mid-range and get points.

Team perspective: out of school, thinking of eggnog. Not really a great excuse, but the key here is we got the win and we have lost several silly games in December before. Santa hasn't written off this team!

I'm not nervous about this team. I expect there to be ups and downs. Nothing is glaring except our post presence (oops), but I see so much potential with these guys I'm not going to get hung up with negative views this early in the season.

Their defense just plain, flat-out sucks at this point, but I said the same thing about the Chiefs a few weeks ago. Seasons are long enough to see progress and I do expect to see a great deal of improvement as this team moves forward.

KU seems to have a lot of less than stellar games leading up to the Christmas break. Colorado is good enough to be KU and we've seen KU come out flat numerous times when they have a road game before Christmas. Expect this game to either be a rock fight or a Colorado blowout.

@Texas-Hawk-10

I haven't seen the Buffs this year but already feel like it is one we will either drop (and look horrible in the process) or we smash them because the guys react on being told we usually stink at this time of year. Hard to say which team will show up, but I'm guessing we will know early. I gave Remy a hard time, though he did come through at the end and we can always use a "money player" at the end!

Probably creates a better "Self teaching moment" if we lose it... then they get forged into becoming a better prepared team as we enter league play.

@drgnslayr

Maybe they got their flatness out of the way Saturday. They did have a week off between games (and I assume finals) and were playing a team coached by someone who used to be on Self's staff. You could tell Keller had those guys coached up well for this one. Seems like some were dealing with a cold etc as well which made things less then ideal leading up. Adams being out seemed like a big thing cause it felt like he really would have been a havoc down low athletically. We are missing Bobby as well so the little things are starting to pile up.

However logically I expect the flatness to continue further then 1 game. Self tends to get their attention with losses better then he does with average performances like Saturday. I'm expecting the Colorado game to be difficult.

Agree that was the first time we've seen Ochai revert back to old Och. I'd have to rewatch to see if SFA schemed to keep him quiet but missing a pair of easy dunks and a few wide open 3's seemed to make him less confident out there. Och has always thrived on making baskets and having that fuel the rest of his game so its no surprise that a few hiccups disrupted his normal routine. Still he got 18, 4 below his average and you wouldn't think he got double figures.

If anyone ever figures out Dave please let me know!

@BeddieKU23

Och slacked off on quite a few plays... it's not just about him putting up shots. Maybe his energy is partially based from feeding off the rest of the team's energy. We were out-hustled in this game. The Lumberjacks definitely brought pesky defense with them and I'm glad they tested us.

@drgnslayr

Agree Och had by his high standards a very average game. Even the best of them are going to have a few games in a season where they don't have it all. Still I'm beyond impressed at his improvement this season. Same for CB. Those two guys are breathing different air.

Ochai was due a game like this. He has been playing so well (so far above his previous level) that he was due a bit of regression. Thankfully, we know that Wilson, McCormack and Martin all have more than they have shown so far this year. I hate to see that KJ Adams has fallen out of the rotation, but it is a numbers game and there just aren't enough minutes to go around to everyone that probably could get minutes.

I'm not worried at this point. I think this team will be fine, and if they continue to play at this level offensively, they will be hard to beat.

@justanotherfan said in Nervous Christmas... Yin Yang Perspective:

Ochai was due a game like this. He has been playing so well (so far above his previous level) that he was due a bit of regression. Thankfully, we know that Wilson, McCormack and Martin all have more than they have shown so far this year. I hate to see that KJ Adams has fallen out of the rotation, but it is a numbers game and there just aren't enough minutes to go around to everyone that probably could get minutes.

I'm not worried at this point. I think this team will be fine, and if they continue to play at this level offensively, they will be hard to beat.

I am worried about Dave’s game picking up like he did last year. The faster pace is causing him issues and it is not the getting up and down the floor. He is struggling keeping up with the movement of the ball. I rewatched a couple of games and while he obviously has been missing entrance passes it seems like a good share of that is due to not being where he should be and ready for the pass when it arrives. I am concerned that he is at his top end speed wise while the speed around him has increased. I hope I am wrong and his ability to handle the faster ball movement improves soon.

@Kubie said in Nervous Christmas... Yin Yang Perspective:

@justanotherfan said in Nervous Christmas... Yin Yang Perspective:

Ochai was due a game like this. He has been playing so well (so far above his previous level) that he was due a bit of regression. Thankfully, we know that Wilson, McCormack and Martin all have more than they have shown so far this year. I hate to see that KJ Adams has fallen out of the rotation, but it is a numbers game and there just aren't enough minutes to go around to everyone that probably could get minutes.

I'm not worried at this point. I think this team will be fine, and if they continue to play at this level offensively, they will be hard to beat.

I am worried about Dave’s game picking up like he did last year. The faster pace is causing him issues and it is not the getting up and down the floor. He is struggling keeping up with the movement of the ball. I rewatched a couple of games and while he obviously has been missing entrance passes it seems like a good share of that is due to not being where he should be and ready for the pass when it arrives. I am concerned that he is at his top end speed wise while the speed around him has increased. I hope I am wrong and his ability to handle the faster ball movement improves soon.

This is what I am talking about when I say that McCormack doesn't fit with the rest of the personnel on the roster. It's not that he's a bad player. It's that the style that benefits everyone else is not the style that best suits him.

That makes it tough because Dave is a good player that has very real attributes and skills. But how do you take advantage of his talent when you benefit more from having a style that plays to the strengths of Agbaji, Braun, Martin, Wilson, Yesufu, etc? That's a challenge.

Still think Covid has had lingering effects on him. Too much fatigue and apparent confusion for this to be normal, now that we know from last year how good he can be.