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Is this the moment in the season when we decide we don't want to lose any more games?

If we win out now we will, worst-case scenario, tie for conference champs.

We will then go into the tourney with a huge surge of confidence.

What worked for us last year was playing our best ball at the end of the season.

Are we done losing? I think Tuesday will tell us a lot. We rarely blow out OSU in Stillwater.. and it is common we lose there. OSU is not the same team they were a month ago. No way!

!udeh.jpg ↗

We know where we have been weak this season... mostly the bench. If our bench has turned the corner now, are there any good reasons why we should still lose games?

Loss at TCU was the turning point for last year's team.

Could blow out at ISU turn out to be that point for this year's team.

We will find out.

It won’t be a popular opinion but idk that you can compare this seasons team to last years for dozens of reasons. That doesn’t mean that this team can’t go on a run and repeat last seasons title. I felt the same way after the 2008 team had a players only meeting after losing to a garbage OSU team late in the going. Everytime after that a players only meeting was discussed everyone went nuts that it meant we were going to win the title automatically then. Let’s just enjoy the ride and see where we can go.

We are not the same team either! Juan is scoring and this guy Udeh has shown up!

Clear up my memory. Before he got hurt weren't we thinking Zuby was looking better than Udeh? I forget. If Udeh's upward arc is something then we could be developing a couple of talented scary bigs.

@drgnslayr said in Is this the moment?:

Is this the moment in the season when we decide we don't want to lose any more games?

If we win out now we will, worst-case scenario, tie for conference champs.

We will then go into the tourney with a huge surge of confidence.

What worked for us last year was playing our best ball at the end of the season.

Are we done losing? I think Tuesday will tell us a lot. We rarely blow out OSU in Stillwater.. and it is common we lose there. OSU is not the same team they were a month ago. No way!

!udeh.jpg ↗

We know where we have been weak this season... mostly the bench. If our bench has turned the corner now, are there any good reasons why we should still lose games?

Oklahoma State may no be the same as they were a month ago---- BUT KU is not the same team they were a month ago either

@jayballer67 I think both teams are playing better without question

Jayhawks feed off the Chief's energy and get it all done for a repeat. Who's feelin me?

@cragarhawk gradey definitely is! He may never leave KU!

This KU team needs to play with high energy to win games.

When they play with energy, they are really good.

Otherwise, they become an average team quickly as witnessed in losses against ISU and TCU.

@wissox

Correct Zuby was first big off the bench for a bit. Udeh wasn't even getting into games (then we learned he had his wisdom teeth removed). This new Ernest has grown a lot in the last 3 weeks. Like he listened to Bill Self motivational speeches on repeat while he slept and then woke up with the light on.

To go from not playing to being a big difference in why KU won both games last week is remarkable really. I just hope we haven't seen the last of it

@drgnslayr

It sure felt like this was the pivotal game. We'll see Tuesday but I would expect these guys will be hungry for more, we have as much momentum going for us as Okie-Lite does right now.

I would love for this team to watch Sr year Frank's game at Gallagher-Iba. That was an electric performance that night from a team that was locked in around its best player.

Starting to look like the Iowa St game might have been the turning point for this team. The paint touches and playing Udeh/MJ/Joe off the bench has given this team its best foot forward.

I remember spending a lot of time last summer looking at Youtube videos of Zuby and Udeh. Zuby looked more polished (more of an outside game), but Udeh gave off bigtime Dok vibes with blocks and dunks and effortless athleticism. Udeh can set a high screen and get back to the rim in two quick strides. If he can master a little jump hook like big dave did or a couple post moves, he'll be unstoppable.

I'd be curious what Udeh's time would be in a 100m dash.

@BeddieKU23 said in Is this the moment?:

@drgnslayr

It sure felt like this was the pivotal game. We'll see Tuesday but I would expect these guys will be hungry for more, we have as much momentum going for us as Okie-Lite does right now.

I would love for this team to watch Sr year Frank's game at Gallagher-Iba. That was an electric performance that night from a team that was locked in around its best player.

Starting to look like the Iowa St game might have been the turning point for this team. The paint touches and playing Udeh/MJ/Joe off the bench has given this team its best foot forward.

Very true no matter the reason conditions as to wht the guys starting playing more I think you can see confidene and little better play as the result from it. - -Haing Udeh and even Zuby in the fold is a huge lift. - -I thik MJ wil pregress also - -seen some flashs

@drgnslayr said in Is this the moment?:

Is this the moment in the season when we decide we don't want to lose any more games?

If we win out now we will, worst-case scenario, tie for conference champs.

We will then go into the tourney with a huge surge of confidence.

What worked for us last year was playing our best ball at the end of the season.

Are we done losing? I think Tuesday will tell us a lot. We rarely blow out OSU in Stillwater.. and it is common we lose there. OSU is not the same team they were a month ago. No way!

!udeh.jpg ↗

We know where we have been weak this season... mostly the bench. If our bench has turned the corner now, are there any good reasons why we should still lose games?

It's defensive intensity that won us the national championship last year. Defensive intensity that opens up the whole court, just like Saturday. Don't need the 3 ball when we're getting runout after runout. Saturday looked like last year.

We won last year by creating a tidal wave of defensive pressure which allowed us to run, and get easy baskets. The emergence of Udeh also inserts a rim protector into the lineup. On offense, now we have a huge man going downhill on the pnr. Nearly impossible to defend. And, he is much more mobile than Dok. Easy baskets are the name of the game. OU was a team that scored 75 on us at the Phog, taking us down to the wire, and we win by 4. In this matchup, we hold them to 55, and win by 23.

I don't want to set up unreasonable expectations but 6-0 is certainly possible. We owe Baylor and TCU an ass whipping, we're going to be absolutely locked and loaded for Okie St, and home games against WVU and Tech have me licking my chops. The tough one will be the last game of the season on the road against Texas. I like our chances in that one, too.

@Jethro

Right on!

The "lightbulb going on" is these guys realizing they have to bring high-pressure defense for 40 minutes a game.

Seems like the lightbulb is on with Udeh and Rice. Exactly what we need now... effective play coming off the bench!

Then it seems like Juan and Kevin are dialing in again on D.

There is a reason why I said this team should be able to compete at least on the level of last year's team.... because we have great defensive players!

@Jethro

FYI we get 1 extra day of rest for the Texas game, we are home on Tuesday while Texas is away @ TCU on Wednesday in case that ends up mattering when we get there.

@BeddieKU23 said in Is this the moment?:

@wissox

Correct Zuby was first big off the bench for a bit. Udeh wasn't even getting into games (then we learned he had his wisdom teeth removed). This new Ernest has grown a lot in the last 3 weeks. Like he listened to Bill Self motivational speeches on repeat while he slept and then woke up with the light on.

To go from not playing to being a big difference in why KU won both games last week is remarkable really. I just hope we haven't seen the last of it

I just think it's kind of the same thing we seen with Doke his freshman yr, then as the season progressed and then Soph yrs just kept getting better. - -Doke at times his freshman yr at times was all feet trip all over himself - not very much at all and we seen how that turned out.
You can see Udeh confidence building - -just moving a little better understanding the game a little more. - -Really all we need from him right now maybe 6 - - 8 points a game - -grab a few rebounds a block or two --hell we be good. - -I wouldn't about anything else other then lobs right now- - give him the off season to work on some kind of shot or inside game - I think he when it's all said and done will be just fine

Wanted to make this it's own post to follow up on @Jethro about Udeh.

I think it's very important what Udeh is potentially to this offense, not just his presence on d which we've seen can be game changing as well. I can imagine Self drawing up plays he used to with Dotson/Doke where he'd force the defense into a bind on one side of the floor and it often ended with a Doke dunk. He can start doing the same with Udeh by putting Gradey on the side they want to attack. With how teams guard Gradey, that guy is unlikely to help so then you're forcing the big into containing 2 players and now KU has the advantage. This was part of the success Udeh had in the OU game and something they can continue to do. It works as well because Adams isn't being used this way, so when Udeh is in, now defenders are having to adjust to the differences in how they play and that's the margin Self is going to live in all day.

@jayballer67

Yeah, true this is reminiscent of Doke's earlier years besides the season ending injuries he had.

You can see the game starting to slow down for Udeh just a bit. When he's not fouling, he can really impact the game on both ends because of how Self is using him. He trusted Udeh to switch on guards against OU which is scary because that took Doke 4 years to get there. The guards are actively looking to feed him a lob when he's rolling off the high ball screen so that lets you know the confidence they have in him making plays. This offense goes to another level when we can scheme easy dunks.

@BeddieKU23 Totally agree. If we are making comparisons to last year's team, Udeh is the Remy of this year. The guy that comes in off the bench and forces a defense to play differently.

We've all seen, especially with our freshmen, the difference between how players play when they are thinking vs reacting. Having a game changer like Udeh come off the bench forces the defense of the other team to THINK and then they are slow to react.

With Remy/Juan last year, teams would game plan to sag off of Harris and try to force him to be a playmaker/shot maker (something he's definitely improved on this year, especially lately). When Remy subbed in, all of the sudden instead of a guy who was never going to pull up from deep, we have a gunner who isn't afraid to shoot from anywhere. We saw in the tournament (can't remember which game) where a team continued to play Remy the same way they played Harris and got burned.

Adams/Udeh present a similar defensive game plan situation. Adams is fast, athletic and pretty good in space. He love a short roll where he can either pull up for a short jumper, attack space off the dribble, or dish to a cutting wing. Teams have to game plan to stop that or he will go for 15-20 points and get the opposing big into foul trouble and just exude confidence as he bounces all over the court. When Udeh subs in, all of the sudden that short roll is gone. Udeh is going directly to the rim in a hurry and if the defense is slow, off balance, or just too small, someone will throw it up to him and he WILL dunk it on you. Teams can adjust to this but that takes mental effort. We are likely to get easy buckets in that adjustment period (the margin @BeddieKU23 mentioned). Adjust to one guy, ope, here comes the other. How well do you know the scouting report? How fast can you adapt your Pick and Roll Coverages? Do you even have one guy capable of guarding both or do you now have to sub? This team is fun. They may not win it all because that takes a lot of luck if we are all honest. But I do think they can make some noise here and March and if they get lucky, still be playing in April.

Thanks again to the February Surpise.

@benshawks08 said in Is this the moment?:

@BeddieKU23 Totally agree. If we are making comparisons to last year's team, Udeh is the Remy of this year. The guy that comes in off the bench and forces a defense to play differently.

We've all seen, especially with our freshmen, the difference between how players play when they are thinking vs reacting. Having a game changer like Udeh come off the bench forces the defense of the other team to THINK and then they are slow to react.

With Remy/Juan last year, teams would game plan to sag off of Harris and try to force him to be a playmaker/shot maker (something he's definitely improved on this year, especially lately). When Remy subbed in, all of the sudden instead of a guy who was never going to pull up from deep, we have a gunner who isn't afraid to shoot from anywhere. We saw in the tournament (can't remember which game) where a team continued to play Remy the same way they played Harris and got burned.

Adams/Udeh present a similar defensive game plan situation. Adams is fast, athletic and pretty good in space. He love a short roll where he can either pull up for a short jumper, attack space off the dribble, or dish to a cutting wing. Teams have to game plan to stop that or he will go for 15-20 points and get the opposing big into foul trouble and just exude confidence as he bounces all over the court. When Udeh subs in, all of the sudden that short roll is gone. Udeh is going directly to the rim in a hurry and if the defense is slow, off balance, or just too small, someone will throw it up to him and he WILL dunk it on you. Teams can adjust to this but that takes mental effort. We are likely to get easy buckets in that adjustment period (the margin @BeddieKU23 mentioned). Adjust to one guy, ope, here comes the other. How well do you know the scouting report? How fast can you adapt your Pick and Roll Coverages? Do you even have one guy capable of guarding both or do you now have to sub? This team is fun. They may not win it all because that takes a lot of luck if we are all honest. But I do think they can make some noise here and March and if they get lucky, still be playing in April.

Thanks again to the February Surpise.

Very good stuff. I was only disappointed in one player on Saturday. Joe had a miserable, rotten, no-good day, and stunk up the building in his limited time. Such a complete contrast to his minutes against Texas. Forced everything. Why he didn't drive the ball everytime he touched it is beyond me. Wild-assed jumpshots off one foot. Quit thinking so hard, Joe. Just play like you can.

@Jethro It’s been made pretty clear that Joe’s job is to score. That’s what his role off the bench is supposed to be. I’d also hoped he’d had something click I. The last few games where he was aggressive in driving the ball and then taking the open shots as they come. (That’s what Gradey is doing right now).

I think self trusts that joe will pressure the ball on d. But with Bobby out I wonder how joes role and expectations have been shifting. There have been a few times where he is in and Juan is out. But I think in those situations, Kevin is playing more of the point guard role than joe. He’s initiated the offense a bit. But I’d be interested to see more of Joe/Udeh pick n rolls. Maybe that’s still coming.

I know some probably won't agree with this , I understand but I just hope and I don't think he will - but even with Udeh progression a little I just hope doesn't do something rsh and yank KJ from the starter spot - - -at least at this point and replace with Udeh. That would just be wrong in so many ways.

KJ has busted his ass to earn that spot , and has really done nothing to lose it. - KJ can guard just about all 5 positions- - he will score some points for you - - at this point s many as Udeh will , he dives on the floor doesn't mind getting dirty can block some shots --- just flat out hustles. - - If something like that were to happen could screw him up big time. - - Not saying down the line some sure maybe Udeh get's the start, even if he doesn't gonna get plenty of minutes the way it is right now, actually benefits- -helps give KJ a break/rest.

I just think at the present that move could only be a negative move and in the end mess with chemistry. Again not saying if Udeh continues to improve then a little bit then you do what needs done. - -Right now Udeh not quite there

@jayballer67 said in Is this the moment?:

I know some probably won't agree with this , I understand but I just hope and I don't think he will - but even with Udeh progression a little I just hope doesn't do something rsh and yank KJ from the starter spot - - -at least at this point and replace with Udeh. That would just be wrong in so many ways.

KJ has busted his ass to earn that spot , and has really done nothing to lose it. - KJ can guard just about all 5 positions- - he will score some points for you - - at this point s many as Udeh will , he dives on the floor doesn't mind getting dirty can block some shots --- just flat out hustles. - - If something like that were to happen could screw him up big time. - - Not saying down the line some sure maybe Udeh get's the start, even if he doesn't gonna get plenty of minutes the way it is right now, actually benefits- -helps give KJ a break/rest.

I just think at the present that move could only be a negative move and in the end mess with chemistry. Again not saying if Udeh continues to improve then a little bit then you do what needs done. - -Right now Udeh not quite there

I don't think anyone is saying bench KJ. Even if the minutes go 50/50, KJ has earned the right to start.