🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Somebody pinch me. Fran Fraschilla suddenly talking all positive about KU and Self for COY... promoting Self on our game and also the KSU game this evening. What is up with that?

Suddenly, national media is starting to notice Kansas again!

KUSports website has an upgrade... do you like or dislike it? Why? I noticed they continually downgrade stored data. I tried to go back and pull individual game stat sheets. Couldn't find them.

*I advise we keep a stat section on our site so we can go to it as needed.

As we zoom in to the end of another great season... it is time for all of us to post our tweaks. What should our team, coach, and individual players do to help tweak us to becoming a more formidable team in March. Keep this post around from here on out and keep adding ideas.

Juan - Just do your thing but STAY AGGRESSIVE! You don't have to score a ton of points, but you do need to charge the paint many times a game! You are always free to throw the ball out for someone open on the trey line. Keep hustling on D and when playing away from the ball, stay more in the passing lanes unless you are playing ball denial.

Gradey - Just keep doing what you are doing. Sometimes you force a few shots but usually it is when we aren't running good offense so of anyone to force shots, you give us the best chance. Following your shot, tipping out rebounds, making easy separation moves with the ball... what planet are you from? Freshmen don't do that! You may change my mind believing you should go NBA this year, but why not experience college ball for one more year? You'll never have this opportunity again!

Kevin - Maybe it's about his sprained ankle... but he continually got manhandled under the basket in the TCU game. I know he was outweighed.... so he needs to bend his knees and lower his center of gravity. Definitely needs to work on his FTs.

JWil - Sometimes forces bad shots. It's better he forces moves but if the shot isn't there, feed it to someone else for an assist. He should work it out with other players for them to make aggressive cuts while he has the ball so he can score more assists. Practice FTs because he'll be shooting a bunch in March!

KJ - I could easily tell you to focus more in games and not make bad fouls and bad passes... this needs to be stated. But what could be worse if you focus too hard on this and lose your ability to play quick because you are overthinking. Stay loose and stay positive... you are outperforming your expectations already! Practice FTs.

Joe - Some games you are on, some off... just stay aggressive and try to figure out why your game fluctuates. Is it based on starting with a made basket or two? You'll always get minutes if you play sticky defense. Remember that.

Bobby - Stay focused on your strengths and let the game come to you... that means plenty of drive-and-feeds! Do what you can to play at a fast pace while slowing the game down in your head.

Ernest - Just keep bringing big energy to the game and those fast hands! You are already making a big positive impact on games. Don't focus on fouling except not making the really wrong fouls. Your size, aggression, and lack of experience mean you will keep getting into foul trouble. So what! We aren't counting on you for 30+ minutes a game. Stay aggressive! Please, please, practice your FTs! You will be going to the line often!

PS: I'm mailing a belated Valentine Days Card to Fran! lol

A lil to far with the valentine!

Udeh has not missed a shot since November. Limited minutes, but 104 minutes in that timespan and he's 20-20.

@wissox said in This, that, and Fran...:

Udeh has not missed a shot since November. Limited minutes, but 104 minutes in that timespan and he's 20-20.

I read that he tied a record for consecutive shots. Don't recall if it was a B12 or national record.

@drgnslayr said in This, that, and Fran...:

Somebody pinch me. Fran Fraschilla suddenly talking all positive about KU and Self for COY... promoting Self on our game and also the KSU game this evening. What is up with that?

Suddenly, national media is starting to notice Kansas again!

KUSports website has an upgrade... do you like or dislike it? Why? I noticed they continually downgrade stored data. I tried to go back and pull individual game stat sheets. Couldn't find them.

*I advise we keep a stat section on our site so we can go to it as needed.

As we zoom in to the end of another great season... it is time for all of us to post our tweaks. What should our team, coach, and individual players do to help tweak us to becoming a more formidable team in March. Keep this post around from here on out and keep adding ideas.

Juan - Just do your thing but STAY AGGRESSIVE! You don't have to score a ton of points, but you do need to charge the paint many times a game! You are always free to throw the ball out for someone open on the trey line. Keep hustling on D and when playing away from the ball, stay more in the passing lanes unless you are playing ball denial.

Gradey - Just keep doing what you are doing. Sometimes you force a few shots but usually it is when we aren't running good offense so of anyone to force shots, you give us the best chance. Following your shot, tipping out rebounds, making easy separation moves with the ball... what planet are you from? Freshmen don't do that! You may change my mind believing you should go NBA this year, but why not experience college ball for one more year? You'll never have this opportunity again!

Kevin - Maybe it's about his sprained ankle... but he continually got manhandled under the basket in the TCU game. I know he was outweighed.... so he needs to bend his knees and lower his center of gravity. Definitely needs to work on his FTs.

JWil - Sometimes forces bad shots. It's better he forces moves but if the shot isn't there, feed it to someone else for an assist. He should work it out with other players for them to make aggressive cuts while he has the ball so he can score more assists. Practice FTs because he'll be shooting a bunch in March!

KJ - I could easily tell you to focus more in games and not make bad fouls and bad passes... this needs to be stated. But what could be worse if you focus too hard on this and lose your ability to play quick because you are overthinking. Stay loose and stay positive... you are outperforming your expectations already! Practice FTs.

Joe - Some games you are on, some off... just stay aggressive and try to figure out why your game fluctuates. Is it based on starting with a made basket or two? You'll always get minutes if you play sticky defense. Remember that.

Bobby - Stay focused on your strengths and let the game come to you... that means plenty of drive-and-feeds! Do what you can to play at a fast pace while slowing the game down in your head.

Ernest - Just keep bringing big energy to the game and those fast hands! You are already making a big positive impact on games. Don't focus on fouling except not making the really wrong fouls. Your size, aggression, and lack of experience mean you will keep getting into foul trouble. So what! We aren't counting on you for 30+ minutes a game. Stay aggressive! Please, please, practice your FTs! You will be going to the line often!

PS: I'm mailing a belated Valentine Days Card to Fran! lol

So, my tweets to Fran worked. He sounded like a new man. He actually complimented us on both the KU and KSU/Baylor games on numerous occasions.

@Jethro I was listening hard for anything that would unhinge our fanbase, but thought he sounded quite complimentary. Said more things about Wilson doing great this year than he did about him shooting poorly. Was expecting to cringe more!

@mayjay said in This, that, and Fran...:

@Jethro I was listening hard for anything that would unhinge our fanbase, but thought he sounded quite complimentary. Said more things about Wilson doing great this year than he did about him shooting poorly. Was expecting to cringe more!

He took steps to change his tone, and give credit where credit is due. It was refreshing.

@Jethro

KU Record, tied the Big-12 record, ways to go for the National

@BeddieKU23 Pretty sure Bill Walton had a 22-23 game once in a National Championship. Amazing, but obviously not 22 in a row. Some guy in 2016 from Yale set the record of 30 in a row.

@drgnslayr

Don't get used to Fran being that way.

Fran often has complimentary things to say about Self, its players etc but his in-game diarrhea to coach against us is what drives us up the freaking wall. When that happens it's easy to forget the 1 or 2 nice things he said.

KUSports site is better than it was, that's for sure.

Good idea on a stats section.

You know I think this team has formed its identity. We have our starting 5 all playing at a high level (besides Jalen's recent downtick in scoring). We have established a rotation off the bench that is working. Udeh as the backup C is not just exciting but an x-factor. Everyone else has a role or a specific matchup where they become more important.

I think it's all about maintaining the level of play we have reached now. The defense has improved a lot and because of that the offense has come easier for the most part. This is one of, if not the toughest teams Self has had and I trust Juan, Jalen & Kev to carry that torch the further along we get. These guys just get it. Then you add Gradey, the true x-factor for this team. Him being able to be that other go-to guy kills an opponent's ability to matchup.

@BeddieKU23

Right on.

Yes.... we have some tough guys. It was hard to find tweaks for them! Mostly FT practice.

I won't be surprised if Gradey turns out every bit as tough as the veterans. He sure is finding multiple ways to help the team and he is scrapping after the ball at every chance. His rebounds and rebound tip-outs will definitely help us down the stretch. He has a ways to go before he can guard 1-on-1 but he's coming along. Imagine this team next year if he comes back! I still think he should come back. Build on that body and become more durable going into the league. Could save an injury. It's almost impossible to stay healthy the first year or two in the league. Plus... it would definitely lift his stock and increase his contract. Not sure he really loses anything financially staying back. The NIL should keep him dressing fine in college.

I think JWil has hit a little slump. I don't think it will last long and it actually helps us to develop more offense around him. We can't just rely on him in March, or we get stung big time!

@drgnslayr I don’t mind jalen slumping right now either. Just means he’s due for a law of averages correction and I’m hoping that happens middle of next month. I think we are about to see what our leaders are made of. I fully believe Juan and Jalen have another level of focus and determination in them after being a part of last years title. Juan has the ability to flip a game so quickly with his play at the pg spot. When we NEED a bucket, jalen gets to the rim or grabs a big rebound. Throw Kevin into that mix as an absolute killer when it counts most whether it’s making big buckets or getting big stops.

It’s funny because this team seems to have all the pieces despite actually not. Our true five man plays 10-15 minutes on a good day. But KJ has made himself such a good role player this year. A role player that can get you 10-20 points off simple pick and rolls.

I think this team has found its top gear when they crucshed Baylor in that second half. Now that they’ve done it it’s about flipping that switch at the right time. It’s not sustainable for 40 minutes for 6 straight games. That’s why I feel like this TCU win was as important if not more so for their tournament chances. This was a let down game after expending tons of energy two days earlier against a good team and this team found a way to grind out a win when they could shoot a lick. That’s a second/third round type game where you don’t have enough in the tank to get to the top gear but find a way to win in 2nd gear instead. That this team can do both has me optimistic about how things could play out in the big dance. Match ups and lick are still key factors but this team officially has the pieces and the experience to get it done.

I mentioned above putting together a thread where we show all game stats and we make it a nice permanent archive.

We should do this... plus add in all helpful websites.

Here is a good site to add... I especially like their Jayhawk All-Time Roster! Doesn't go back far enough but still helpful.

https://www.proballers.com/basketball/team/400/kansas-jayhawks/all-time-roster ↗

By adding in more resources to our site we lift the traffic to our site immensely. Especially from outside sources. This is good for us, and also for Jayhawk basketball in general!