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Gradey Dick. Best KU Freshman debut since...hard to think of a better one to be honest.

JWill came close to a triple double. I really thought he'd never be much more than a decent player with our team, a kind of Kevin Young or Gregg Gurley type role player. Obviously the 2nd half of last season changed that prediction.

Maybe I'm wrong but other than Pettifords 13 points (which I don't see happening every night) the bench contributed little to this win. Udeh had some nice moments late when Omaha had run out of gas. I'm maybe a little concerned about a lack of depth.

We had 24 assists on 36 made baskets. I think that's considered good.

DeJuan played a reasonable facsimile of himself tonight.

It's not glaring in a rout like this one but 8-15 FT's is not good.

Udeh's 2 alley oop dunks reminded me of the last big we had whose name began with UD. Approx sees Embiid 1 and done potential with him. Now our ceiling is sky high if he develops that well.

Norm Roberts deserves a coaching win.

Overall grade of B+. Tell me I'm wrong, I can change it.

Hmm… I’m honestly not overly concerned about depth because I feel like we have legit power 5 player all the way down the bench. The only question would be another wing. Because Kevin, Dick and Wilson are all super important to this team it seems to me.

@benshawks08 agreed. I think we have a ton of depth and versatility. Still have to find our identity, which we will. Bill is fond of saying nobody is a team in November. They’ll get there.

Where do you see the depth from?

@wissox Zach, Zuby, and MJ. I think each gets much much better over the course of the year. Shoot, I could even see Cam Martin having a few moments.

@wissox Worth noting Dajuan injured his foot in practice yesterday. Xray turned out okay but something that could linger. Noticed some movement issues at times tonight.

If Pettiford stays healthy he will be a regular contributor. Of course not 13 ppg but he will get serious run as our primary bench guard. He plays fast but under control. Really love how he gets into the lane with a purpose which he flashed last year pre injury as well.

That grade feels about right to me. Plenty to work on, but not a bad performance.

@wissox I still believe in joe. Just can’t help myself. Bobby is real good. Zach can play but just isn’t a great fit right now. Upside all over the place. Agreed that they are young and raw right now though.

+/- is mostly noise but +26 with Gradey and +24 with Udeh are the standouts tonight. Joe + 6 and Zach +1 were the worst potential rotation guys.

Grady obviously looks awesome and legit! I thought udeh showed more this game. Defensively he contested the rim and he slid his feet better. Definitely looks like the starting center by half way through the season for sure…..
Big missing piece has to be Mj rice. McDonald’s all American yet to play, who is suppose to be a scorer. Yesfu and mj rice; one of those has to be a go to bench scorer for this team to reach its ceiling.

I’m not on the Bobby P train yet. Good on ball defender. I don’t see the elite to the rim athleticism. Doesn’t shoot open looks. He hit one three but so does Dajuan. I feel like he takes up the same role as Harris. I think he’s a decent player don’t get me wrong but I don’t see the hype of this potential elite ku guard. More of a great role player ceiling. Russel rob level.

Gradey's the man

I liked Pettiford too

@BShark said in Box Score Musings:

@wissox Worth noting Dajuan injured his foot in practice yesterday. Xray turned out okay but something that could linger. Noticed some movement issues at times tonight.

If Pettiford stays healthy he will be a regular contributor. Of course not 13 ppg but he will get serious run as our primary bench guard. He plays fast but under control. Really love how he gets into the lane with a purpose which he flashed last year pre injury as well.

That grade feels about right to me. Plenty to work on, but not a bad performance.

Very happy to see Bobby show some aggression on offense tonight. That kind of effort will be much needed. We still really have no idea what kind of offensive skills he has. Hope tonight was a good sign of things to come from him.

Are there any stats on how many times we posted up a big today? I think I counted ONCE.

So weird for a KU team.

Unsung hero is KJ Adams. He did a lot of really good things last night. Not only did he rebound very well, he kept numerous possessions alive with his hustle. Now, he will be replaced in the lineup soon ( hopefully by Udeh), but he'll find minutes every game. He needs to work on that shot!

Pettiford looked quicker, lighter on his feet. He is just scratching the surface. Don't know if we get the Pettiford breakout this year or next, but it should be spectacular.

I'm really impressed with Gradey's overall game, not just his 3 pt shooting. Quick, opponent annoying hands that constantly knock passes and dribbles loose. I'm not sure McCullar has found his fit with this team yet. McCullar reminded me of Grimes at times: I had to look to see if he was even on the floor. Lots to look forward to with this group.

Imagine if we got a year of CB and Gradey together. LOL.

Of course CB going pro was correct but fun to dream about.

Great debut from Gradey. His active hands and the will to do the little things as a freshman stand out. He was terrific.

I was impressed with Udeh and understand he's a baby trying to crawl right now, but the tools are certainly there. If he can harness some of that energy to stay on the floor look out. I love the lob look he gives this team when on the floor but hopefully they will practice getting him comfortable with doing more than that in time. His defensive versatility that we saw on a few plays was tantalizing. Gave me some Doke vibes there.

Bobby had a really solid outing. Hitting that 3 was big and hopefully it's something he can hit at 30%. We really need him to keep a defense honest. We just really need him to stay healthy. He's important.

I think Jalen has shown some positive steps towards being the man from the 2 outings we've seen. He's got the ultimate green light & if he's hitting, he's a tough guard.

Nice starting point for the Hawks. I'm really concerned once we play real teams but it's important to enjoy the moment. Excited for Thursday

Bobby needs to play more than 17 minutes.

KJ had a fine game, but I'd rather Udeh started. KJ played 29 minutes. Udeh, Zach, and Zuby combined for 22 minutes. I'm not sure I like that distribution.

@KirkIsMyHinrich 100% agree. Udeh and KJ need to flip flop minutes going forward

More Bobby when Juan can’t shoot. 11 points on 13 shots meanwhile Bobby had 13 on 7 shots.

Truthfully Bill will never ever let anyone supplant Juan but we can only hope if a healthy Bobby plays this way all year he gets minutes like Remy did in the ncaa tourney

@kuballin10 pretty confident that if Bobby stays healthy he will get plenty of minutes. My concern with Bobby would be his minutes NEXT year. Ideally for his development, that’s when he’d be taking the helm but o don’t see Harris going anywhere and it’s hard to argue a senior point guard with at least one national title shouldn’t be the starter.

@benshawks08 my only hope is it becomes a Russ rob sherron type deal. Juan starts but Bobby plays more minutes and better production.

Heard on the stream last night that MJ Rice is or has been injured. Anybody know what he is dealing with? He's another big wing player, but his availability is in question.

@justanotherfan Back is what has been reported.

@benshawks08 said in Box Score Musings:

@justanotherfan Back is what has been reported.

For an athletic guy that is not good. Could linger all year.

@wissox said in Box Score Musings:

Gradey Dick. Best KU Freshman debut since...hard to think of a better one to be honest.

JWill came close to a triple double. I really thought he'd never be much more than a decent player with our team, a kind of Kevin Young or Gregg Gurley type role player. Obviously the 2nd half of last season changed that prediction.

Maybe I'm wrong but other than Pettifords 13 points (which I don't see happening every night) the bench contributed little to this win. Udeh had some nice moments late when Omaha had run out of gas. I'm maybe a little concerned about a lack of depth.

We had 24 assists on 36 made baskets. I think that's considered good.

DeJuan played a reasonable facsimile of himself tonight.

It's not glaring in a rout like this one but 8-15 FT's is not good.

Udeh's 2 alley oop dunks reminded me of the last big we had whose name began with UD. Approx sees Embiid 1 and done potential with him. Now our ceiling is sky high if he develops that well.

Norm Roberts deserves a coaching win.

Overall grade of B+. Tell me I'm wrong, I can change it.

Grady had an awesome debut. - - Not sure if you remember there was a Player making his debut long time ago , no 3 point line back that - -some called him the Cookie Monster - -you know who that was ? - -Freshman start he went 10 - - -for - -10 from the field shooting that night. Name was Norm Cook , you remember him my friend ? - Not taking away from Grady cause Grady is insane but just remembering back to other good starts.- Came out of Illinois - -6ft 9 really good

@KirkIsMyHinrich said in Box Score Musings:

Bobby needs to play more than 17 minutes.

KJ had a fine game, but I'd rather Udeh started. KJ played 29 minutes. Udeh, Zach, and Zuby combined for 22 minutes. I'm not sure I like that distribution.

@KirkIsMyHinrich said in Box Score Musings:

Bobby needs to play more than 17 minutes.

KJ had a fine game, but I'd rather Udeh started. KJ played 29 minutes. Udeh, Zach, and Zuby combined for 22 minutes. I'm not sure I like that distribution.

just wondering if something going on with Zach ? - in dog house ? - -bad practices ? - -Now there is a scenario my gut tells me Zach get discouraged easily and by the end of the year hits the portal - just sayin - -could play out if things don't change during the year. Either he does bettr in practice - not sure what's up. I thought he would be the starte from last year I dunno

@BeddieKU23 said in Box Score Musings:

Great debut from Gradey. His active hands and the will to do the little things as a freshman stand out. He was terrific.

I was impressed with Udeh and understand he's a baby trying to crawl right now, but the tools are certainly there. If he can harness some of that energy to stay on the floor look out. I love the lob look he gives this team when on the floor but hopefully they will practice getting him comfortable with doing more than that in time. His defensive versatility that we saw on a few plays was tantalizing. Gave me some Doke vibes there.

Bobby had a really solid outing. Hitting that 3 was big and hopefully it's something he can hit at 30%. We really need him to keep a defense honest. We just really need him to stay healthy. He's important.

I think Jalen has shown some positive steps towards being the man from the 2 outings we've seen. He's got the ultimate green light & if he's hitting, he's a tough guard.

Nice starting point for the Hawks. I'm really concerned once we play real teams but it's important to enjoy the moment. Excited for Thursday

ya we could take some hits early - -example - - ( Duke ) with 3 seven footers they have plus other players- -could very easily get ugly. Just have to try and work our way through, like ol boy Mangino said keep sawing wood

@justanotherfan said in Box Score Musings:

Heard on the stream last night that MJ Rice is or has been injured. Anybody know what he is dealing with? He's another big wing player, but his availability is in question.

They said he was a full go for practice on Sunday. Was his first one in awhile, and was available to play last night if needed. I bet we see him log some minutes on Thursday.

I'll have to watch Pettiford closer. A lot of you sound very high on him. I never really viewed him as anything more than a 10-15 minute a game guy, and I really thought he was more like a Jr or Sr this year which might explain why I didn't have expectations for him.

I came away feeling SUPERCHARGED after this game! I know... it's Omaha. But still... some of what I experienced I have not experienced before with KU ball.

Is it possible this team can be even more exciting to watch than last year's team? Heck yes! Finally... we are seeing a Bill Self team really out in transition! So many past teams with speed but only playing half-court offense.

First... JWil looks like a different player. He is oozing with optimism! He's doing everything! A+

Second... Gradey is a monster! That sweet outside trey is going to win us a lot of games this year! What else he provided? Showing a lot more overall athleticism than many expected. Defense? Oh yes! He was supposed to be soft... ha... not so soft! And I loved his swagger! I'm seeing a team that shows a lot more emotion than last year's team!

Third... McCullar's presence is so important to this team! We already see from two games that his defense shows leadership with this team! And he can fill a stat sheet with more than defense!

Fourth... Bobby is a scrapper! And he can take a guy in one-on-one when we clear it out for him!

Fifth.... Dajuan is captain of another great team! He's sprinkling in a few more points and racking up huge assists while defending well!

More.... KJ stays active... and that creates opportunities. Got to love his energy and it adds to the speed of this team! Clearly, he is getting the most looks from coaches early on this year in the 5. Joseph is feeling the pressure to score... maybe a good thing as the season progresses. Zach is still not getting minutes to shine. Zuby and Udeh... looks like Udeh leading in PT but time will tell. I'm still a bit skeptical of using any big man that slows down the total team. No one brings the energy like KJ!

@drgnslayr great post and love the enthusiasm!
Yes, it’s Omaha and always early we score 90-100 and walk away with “how will anyone stop us”. Then we play Duke, uk, Msu and labor to score against guys more athletic and we are brought down to earth.

Still great analysis and excited to watch this team grow. It’s a bye year for all I care we won the natty last year!

Im anticipating a big jump for Bobby if he can stay healthy. Smart and athletic. He is the Sherron Frank Devon type guard we absolutely could use big minutes from.

@approxinfinity exactly. Not sure how anyone watches him and doesn’t see the bill self just brought in another one. He’s a tad small which means he’s had to be faster, stronger, and work harder than everyone else to get here. He gets to the rim at will. He finishes strong. He’s shown some good vision. He makes the motor of the team hum as he takes it full throttle.

@benshawks08 Great fit. Elmarko (current commit) looks like a prototypical Bill Self guard as well. The future is bright.

@BShark elamarkos 6’3. Kid looks like a beast.

@approxinfinity said in Box Score Musings:

@BShark elamarkos 6’3. Kid looks like a beast.

Special talent and a great kid too. Overwhelmingly positive talk about him from everyone. Bossi said he can't even really see a scenario where Kansas fans don't love him. Wild.

@drgnslayr Nice post, I should have left you to write! I'm starting to think about a repeat after reading yours! Back to Back Baby!

Reports of Gradeys lack of vert are fake news?

! ↗

@approxinfinity Gradey’s arms hang down to his knees great length which is why he’s so good at tipping passes on defense - like we’ve seen already.

Gradey’s can jump high just takes him longer to get there.

Gradey’s head is at the backboard and Och’s is at the rim. There is a difference

@approxinfinity Hahaha! Yeah. I know. He’s clearly “athletic” but I did just notice the difference between him catching a lob vs Och. Obviously an extremely high bar (pun intended) but that’s the level he wants to play at.

I'm as excited to watch this team play as any team we've ever had!

These guys are fun! So much energy... and speed! Love this speed!

Going to be a very entertaining year and who knows how it plays out in March! Or April!

@drgnslayr said in Box Score Musings:

I'm as excited to watch this team play as any team we've ever had!

These guys are fun! So much energy... and speed! Love this speed!

Going to be a very entertaining year and who knows how it plays out in March! Or April!

I think this team has a 2nd weekend ceiling but I'm dumb and thought that last year too!

I know these early games mean nothing but just beat Scheyer lfg!

Bellarmine beats Louisville 67-66. Bellarmine didn’t score in the last 4:42 of the 2nd half.

@Gorilla72

Wow this game sounds painful

@Gorilla72 said in Box Score Musings:

Bellarmine beats Louisville 67-66. Bellarmine didn’t score in the last 4:42 of the 2nd half.

Lordie what the hell is up with that

The battle for the city of Louie-ville, and Bellarmine wins.