🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Elmarko getting the start

Elmarko and kev with layups.

Hunter struggling is no surprise

Kev made a big 3 and it looked better, he looks to have focused on that.

Defense is struggling around the paint, Illinois is athletic and making a lot of 1 on 1 shots

Certainly we don't look very polished yet. Big surprise bein first Exhibition game and all

@cragarhawk

Offense is going to be a big concern.

@BeddieKU23 it is looking that way. Hopefully they'll get it figured out sooner then later

Could be a challenge to score at times

I'm holding back on Hunter right now,

@jayballer67 we get him going he'll be good

Our d is awful right now and they are getting too many rebounds

Bank is open for Dickinson lol

Kj changed his shot

Took a 3 and well, sigh

Yikes

@cragarhawk said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

@jayballer67 we get him going he'll be good

OH so we are playing Defense lol ?

@jayballer67 well we've been on that end of the floor anyway...

glad it's a exhibition

good to know they know which end of the floor is the defensive end

Oh my.

Ugly first 15. We don't score well at all. Look out of sinc. Getting out-rebounded. And 6 turnovers

have I said I was glad this was an exhibition game ?

Not much you can spin positively on this so far

Hanni & Gurly saying and calling Hunter --- Hunt , saying thats what his team mates call him. I sure the hell don't want to hear that all yr

Maybe that we will have plenty of room for improvement in many areas

Kevin with 13 points - -that's half, if we have to depend on him to be our leading scorer all yr we gonna be in trouble

Im not concerned with KMac being lead scorer. Feel like he was repressed last year.

Lil high low

Jackson is quick

Get elmarko the rock

Wow theyre lights out

Don't do anything crazy like get a hand up or actually symbolize defense of any kind... geez

I've have enough of Terrance Shannon.

@cragarhawk said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

Don't do anything crazy like get a hand up or actually symbolize defense of any kind... geez

Or not have Hunter switched on their best player. That was stupid

has anyone noticed almost all our points have been layups. - -

Had to check the scoreboard to see if we had points. Everyone fairly quiet save for Kev

I don’t like switching 5 with this group huge mismatches with KJ and Hunter trying to guard little guys.

@kjayhawks said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

I don’t like switching 5 with this group huge mismatches with KJ and Hunter trying to guard little guys.

Neither of them can guard a lick on the perimeter either. It was unpleasant to watch

@jayballer67 almost like they know they can’t shoot

Everyone can get mad but us losing the turd really hurt this squad and it was evident in Bill’s last interview

KJ @ the 4 won’t get it done unless he gets more aggressive

Also getting bad Juan with 0 points and not looking to score. Can’t win that way this year

Honestly the difference in rebounding and turnovers makes the game even or so. Or us up a lil. It's just been fairly ugly all around

Self is probably thrilled to get this on tape. So much to work on defensively.

@kuballin10 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

@jayballer67 almost like they know they can’t shoot

Everyone can get mad but us losing the turd really hurt this squad and it was evident in Bill’s last interview

KJ @ the 4 won’t get it done unless he gets more aggressive

Also getting bad Juan with 0 points and not looking to score. Can’t win that way this year

ya haven't even seen them attempt a mid range jumper . - -only two three point attempts. - -I never have felt like KJ is a 4 - and Kevin when things get serious will be getting layups all game

Our screens are CRAP too. KJ has never been good at that though. Also not trying to pile on but KJ has been horrid defensively on the perimeter. Parker STINKS. Elmarko is fast.

I realize first game and just an exhibition at that and fully believe Hunter will be fine-- - -well he better anyways lol. - Like I said earlier already tired of Hanni & Gurley calling him Hunt - -saying thats what his team mates call him- - ummm no, maybe they will but let's not. - Hanni said we made 2/3 three pointers -- shot 54 %

@BShark said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

Self is probably thrilled to get this on tape. So much to work on defensively.

A lot to do on both sides

Dajuan looking super casual

Gotta make shots

Thats not a foul

@approxinfinity said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

Thats not a foul

Back to back bad calls

Wow lol

Get a makeup call and brick free throws lol

Wow. Some days just aren't your day

@approxinfinity that’s Juan 80% of the time

Kevin with a career day in exhibition. Lol

@BShark Elmarko if he had any jump shot could lead this team. He and KJ athletically are nasty

All these issues and my complaining and we are right there with a ranked team on the road in a game where Self isn't coaching much. We will be fine.

Kevin showing this kind of skill is what we need. We certainly aren't getting anything new out of Juan and KJ.

Kevin needs to save some for later lol

@kuballin10 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

@BShark Elmarko if he had any jump shot could lead this team. He and KJ athletically are nasty

Problem is KJ's skill level, defense, rebounding. Kinda ready to move on. I try not to talk about him too much.

We're gonna look alot better soon. It's just been uglier than usually for a first game because it's against a real team

@kuballin10 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

@BShark Elmarko if he had any jump shot could lead this team. He and KJ athletically are nasty

It will be a miracle if we get Elmarko for a second year unfortunately. Would love to see it but I think an NBA team takes a chance on him.

@BShark if he does that well this season I like our chances

@cragarhawk said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

We're gonna look alot better soon. It's just been uglier than usually for a first game because it's against a real team

For sure. I do think these scrimmage help more than KS D2s. 1/1 split is good

Ugh... not smart

Same ol hunter

Trying to Swat the ball with the left hand maybe? Idk. Looked bad

The announcers talking about a flagrant on Hunter - well holy crap what about the dude shoving his elbow into Hunter's mid section for crips sakes

The zach and Parker line up is fun

National championship atmosphere

Lol. Don't rebound. That shit is overated

@BeddieKU23 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

The zach and Parker line up is fun

"fun"

Welcome to Basketball Season. - -Illinois has led for the majority if this game - -Illinois with 9 treys - - KU 2

So much fun

Probably not alot more of nic to the rim will be fine

These scrimmages should not be televised

sheesh, things getting out of control in a exhibition. - -Let's get this over and go home. off setting tech lmao- - bottom line LOT'S OF WORK to do -- LOT'S

@DanR said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

These scrimmages should not be televised

probably cause looks almost like playground pick up ball - -instead of organized College Ball

Better

No hero shots kevin

LMAO , not fouling players out. - - KJ has SIX fouls - -and Hawkins for Illinois has fouled five times - - TEN TREYS for Illinois

Even ugly and somewhat quiet. Dickinson is a 20 and 10 automatic guy. It's nice to have.

we get in any kind of foul trouble with the Bigs were screwed. - Zach red shirting and Parker is warm garbage

Well Kevinn just picked up his fifth foul lmao.

Why are we wasting time on this

@approxinfinity said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

Why are we wasting time on this

Just what we all wanted in a scrimmage

So baseball tries to make games shorter and bball tries to make games longer?

Enjoy the urgency on that possession

Losing this would be a good outcome. Ranked 1 but need to get knocked down a bit

Perfect let's get Kev hurt in a game that don't count

Dislocate his hip?

Yeah lets not get hurt for this

Ridiculous

Man, I lost my feed. Is the game over?

Some sort of sciatic tweak maybe

see this is bull shit with these type of games. - -Exhibition game and you take risk of injury to one of your main players

Yeah that is not looking good

@Jayblaze 75-80 with :47 left

Getting our Aussie to play will be nice.

Already see but already knew our bench gonna be a major issue

At least we’ve got football.

Well that was fun

So we got a pg who doesn’t look to score

A 2 man who can’t shoot

A good 3

A 4 who can’t shoot or rebound

A 5 who runs his mouth but doesn’t back it up

No bench

Did I miss anything?

@approxinfinity said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

At least we’ve got football.

LMAO - - yes we do--we got football

@kuballin10 yeah, best coach in the country.

Kev better be okay

@kuballin10 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

So we got a pg who doesn’t look to score

A 2 man who can’t shoot

A good 3

A 4 who can’t shoot or rebound

A 5 who runs his mouth but doesn’t back it up

No bench

Did I miss anything?

no didn't miss to much - -EXCEPT ONE TINY THING - he did back it up - - I would say 22 points - - - -9 rebounds - - -& 2 blocks pretty decent game

So - NOT #1? I wasn’t able to watch the game. From the comments, HD is not the guy, KJ can’t screen it shoot, no one else stepped up and KU lost?

@BeddieKU23 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

Kev better be okay

they saying looks like Kevin gonna be okay. -- Some pretty weird calls in that game

@Gorilla72 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

So - NOT #1? I wasn’t able to watch the game. From the comments, HD is not the guy, KJ can’t screen it shoot, no one else stepped up and KU lost?

don't pay attention to some of these comments. - - Hunter is going to be just fine. Like I said 22 points --- 9 rebounds -- and 2 blocks is a pretty solid game

Did KU lose an exhibition game to Illinois in 2022?

I’m not sure we can take a ton from this game, we didn’t look to be hustling for 3/4s of it and the officiating was very one sided. My biggest worry isn’t the starting 5 but the bench looks very bad. I’m not a 100% Braun or Timberlake are D1 Caliber of guys for sure ain’t power 5 guys. We will take some losses early in the season with our schedule that I’m very certain of. Hopefully guys develop but I think this teams best chance is slowing down the game and limiting possessions.

@dylans said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

Did KU lose an exhibition game to Illinois in 2022?

I believe so

Our offense while running no sets with Dajuan taking a nap on the court was fine btw

@kjayhawks said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

I’m not sure we can take a ton from this game, we didn’t look to be hustling for 3/4s of it and the officiating was very one sided. My biggest worry isn’t the starting 5 but the bench looks very bad. I’m not a 100% Braun or Timberlake are D1 Caliber of guys for sure ain’t power 5 guys. We will take some losses early in the season with our schedule that I’m very certain of. Hopefully guys develop but I think this teams best chance is slowing down the game and limiting possessions.

Thought Timberlake was fine. Bill was taking a nap, didn't coach basically.

@kuballin10 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

So we got a pg who doesn’t look to score

A 2 man who can’t shoot

A good 3

A 4 who can’t shoot or rebound

A 5 who runs his mouth but doesn’t back it up

No bench

Did I miss anything?

hilarious

@Gorilla72 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

So - NOT #1? I wasn’t able to watch the game. From the comments, HD is not the guy, KJ can’t screen it shoot, no one else stepped up and KU lost?

Unrealistic ranking for this bunch but that's okay. The difference in the game was more or less because of where it was played. Big advantage for Illinois, their fans packed it in and supported them like the game meant something.

This game had a conference game feel to it and the other team made more plays. Ku got their best shot in an exhibition.

We played like a team that's short a key player and that's the reality we are faced with this season due to what happened.

Lots to complain about today, but who cares. Just an overhyped scrimmage, really really early in what is practice time.

So, not gonna sweat it.

The new guys need to learn how to play with each other. That’s all.

Well, OK, on the surface there seem to be other big issues too, but like a new fish tank, the inhabitants need to time to figure out the hierarchy.

Overall not an easy on the eye performance, but we need time to figure out how to get Hunter the ball in the right spots.

Timby is basically Moss. That's fine. Will need to have three point looks manufactured for him against better comp which Bill will do when he's actually coaching.

I seriously believe Bill is happy with this result. He let them flop around out there and he gets stuff on tape to grill them with.

@rockchalkjayhawk Agree, typical growing pains as guys get used to play together.

All things considered we looked fine and about what I would have expected playing another solid roster this early on. Maybe some people had really high expectations.

@BeddieKU23 this team looked much differently with Morris smh flipping idiot

@BeddieKU23 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

@Gorilla72 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

So - NOT #1? I wasn’t able to watch the game. From the comments, HD is not the guy, KJ can’t screen it shoot, no one else stepped up and KU lost?

Unrealistic ranking for this bunch but that's okay. The difference in the game was more or less because of where it was played. Big advantage for Illinois, their fans packed it in and supported them like the game meant something.

This game had a conference game feel to it and the other team made more plays. Ku got their best shot in an exhibition.

We played like a team that's short a key player and that's the reality we are faced with this season due to what happened.

we are short a player , actually short of a couple of players. - -Starting five is ok BUT no bench at all. - -This right now is not the number one ranked team in the Nation. - -Top 10 probably but not # 1

@jayballer67 not with how much he shot it…he wasn’t efficient and crowd was definitely in his head…he was rushing

I didn't know there was a game...

Been watching the KU / OU game that I didn't get to see yesterday. I'm enjoying it immensely!

@BeddieKU23 I think the issue is we don’t have guys who can go “get theirs” when they need to. Arkansas has guys who can make plays, other top teams as well. We had that with Jalen last year but we don’t have it this year.

Guards win in March and we don’t have the guards.

@approxinfinity said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

At least we’ve got football.

I was at lunch today in Savannah, wearing my KU logo polo shirt. A guy walking by said, "Hey, that was a great upset you guys pulled yesterday!"

I told him in 42 years since graduating, it was the first time any of my KU shirts evoked a football comment.

@mayjay ha thats great!

@mayjay My experience today was similar. I'd mentioned I'm in Zion and did a very popular trail today and got lots of nice game KU type comments. I kept thinking wow, this football is what people pay attention to. I missed one compliment however when I saw a guy in a Cubs shirt and I said "boo cubs", and he said, well I was going to say good game yesterday, but not now!

Kev got whiplash from that collision and will be ok said Self.

Not even to real games yet and got lucky already

@BeddieKU23 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

Kev got whiplash from that collision and will be ok said Self.

Not even to real games yet and got lucky already

Yeah we really can't afford injuries but especially Kevin. He was as advertised last night.

If he can play on Weds., then I would not call it whiplash. Whiplash can be debilitating and last for months.

@patoh3

Whatever it was he seems to be okay which is the main thing. Hopefully he'll be okay moving forward.

@BShark

Certainly flashed at times at a level we can get excited about. As always with him it's going to be about consistency shooting the ball.

A night to reflect.

Overall Illinois played better & is currently further along. The crowd made an impact positively for them in a game that felt a lot more serious than an exhibition. Regardless this was probably the most real exhibition game KU has ever been a part of before a season starting. I hope the benefit to this was that is speeds up the development of this team for upcoming games. Better for find some warts now than when facing Kentucky etc.

Personally, I don't like the makeup of this team and haven't all off-season but I'm trying to stay optimistic and see how this team develops since Bill always figures it out. He's certainly going to earn his paycheck this year

Ahh, finally saw a box score.

If you didn’t watch the game, it’d be pretty telling.

3 pt shooting

KU 3-12

Illinois — 11-27

I dunno how you overcome that. Maybe if you had a Udoka Azubuike dunking on every possession? I sure hope we can figure out how to get Nick some open looks.

Free throws

KU — 12-19

Illinois — 21-32

Pretty big spread there. 19 is a decent number of FT attempts, but giving up 32 is just ridiculous. That alone is a lot to overcome.

I was surprised to see Hunter’s final numbers. Better than I thought.

@rockchalkjayhawk

Nick had some looks, but he missed them all besides that pull up FT jumper. KU certainly didn't run any of their sets either so that upcoming opponents don't have film to study.

What we saw of perimeter shots from KJ and Elmarko did not look good. Hunter banked one in, and Kev drilled a big one from deep but besides that KU was easy to defend last night.

FT disparity was mostly due to the home crowd and KU's inability to guard anyone on the perimeter. Lots of tacky fouls at times but in the end KU never adjusted when Illinois drove every single possession to the paint.

@BeddieKU23 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

@rockchalkjayhawk

Nick had some looks, but he missed them all besides that pull up FT jumper. KU certainly didn't run any of their sets either so that upcoming opponents don't have film to study.

What we saw of perimeter shots from KJ and Elmarko did not look good. Hunter banked one in, and Kev drilled a big one from deep but besides that KU was easy to defend last night.

FT disparity was mostly due to the home crowd and KU's inability to guard anyone on the perimeter. Lots of tacky fouls at times but in the end KU never adjusted when Illinois drove every single possession to the paint.

I have faith in Timberlake. He looked way more bouncy in Puerto Rico than i thought. I really don't know his game, so not sure if he needs screens to get a shot off, or if he can dribble/shoot. We'll find out soon enough!

I may have to rewatch the game, but Elmarko seemed semi invisible mostly (he had one burst to the basket that i recall). And not sure if Self told Harris to chill (because he was not his usual self) and let Elmarko get things going or what.

No expectations for Elmarko to be brilliant early on. But that would be nice :)

Both of elmarko's baskets were hard to bucket. Fast break. Harris had 8 assists.

@rockchalkjayhawk

It's very hard to overcome a 3 point disparity of minus eight. I thought during the game they were unconscious from three and got anything they wanted at the rim. There was a Zach sighting who is a nice three point shooter, during practice.
We didn't live up to the expectation of three starters returning though.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

@BeddieKU23 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

@rockchalkjayhawk

Nick had some looks, but he missed them all besides that pull up FT jumper. KU certainly didn't run any of their sets either so that upcoming opponents don't have film to study.

What we saw of perimeter shots from KJ and Elmarko did not look good. Hunter banked one in, and Kev drilled a big one from deep but besides that KU was easy to defend last night.

FT disparity was mostly due to the home crowd and KU's inability to guard anyone on the perimeter. Lots of tacky fouls at times but in the end KU never adjusted when Illinois drove every single possession to the paint.

I have faith in Timberlake. He looked way more bouncy in Puerto Rico than i thought. I really don't know his game, so not sure if he needs screens to get a shot off, or if he can dribble/shoot. We'll find out soon enough!

I may have to rewatch the game, but Elmarko seemed semi invisible mostly (he had one burst to the basket that i recall). And not sure if Self told Harris to chill (because he was not his usual self) and let Elmarko get things going or what.

No expectations for Elmarko to be brilliant early on. But that would be nice :)

Timberlake gets great bounce on his jumper so he shouldn't have any issue. I expect to see more out of him going forward as he gets comfortable. We need him to be a reliable shooter.

Elmarko had a few flashes but yeah he'll need some time. Another that I think we will see a lot more out of going forward

@Crimsonorblue22 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

Both of elmarko's baskets were hard to bucket. Fast break. Harris had 8 assists.

One of his makes was one of the few times we ran a play. Screened a drive for him and he was at the basket before Illinois knew what was going on. That's something Bill can work with.

Elmarko's development is probably the key to the season. Many people have wanted Self to play a raw freshman, and now he has no choice.

Way more importantly, anybody know a good place to buy that nice Maui Strong T shirt everybody was wearing? Gotta get one.

How did the big doofus from Michigan play?

@wissox 22 points 9 rebounds two blocks but looked terrible. Needs to shave the beard.

@rockchalkjayhawk kustore.com. Make sure you put the freeshipping15 In the coupon place and then change the shipping to whatever length is free. It stays at a couple of days, which isn't free if you don't change it. Hurry cause they only have large left.

@wissox

He let the Illinois crowd get to him early, they were booing him. Apparently has a great relationship with their fans, they send each other x-mas' cards and take selfies together.

Had a hard foul on Hawkins that got reviewed. A preview of what we'll see from him I'm sure at times. Was ruled a common foul but I bet in real games that's Flagrant.

Certainly not his best game from a shooting perspective. Banked a 3, missed a whole bunch of good looks in mid-range. We did run some stuff to get him lobs and easy buckets. He didn't impress in this exhibition game but I'll remain hopeful

@Crimsonorblue22 said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

@rockchalkjayhawk kustore.com. Make sure you put the freeshipping15 In the coupon place and then change the shipping to whatever length is free. It stays at a couple of days, which isn't free if you don't change it. Hurry cause they only have large left.

Thanks, Crimson.

That’s a nice one, but the shirt I saw on the TV is the one I’m looking for. It’s white, with some palm trees, says KU vs Illinois. I’ve seen it around, but wasn’t sure if the web sites were legit.

But thx for the link. That one looks sharp.

@BeddieKU23 Thanks, of course the Illini fans know him well, so maybe Big 12 fans, not as knowledgeable as us bucketeers, might not give him too much grief.

The rebounding and lack of outside shooting was my biggest concern. Nick couldn’t hit the ground with his hat in 3 tries and is a terrible defender. If he ain’t hitting from 3 he need to get subbed out immediately.

@kjayhawks Elmarko was even worse defensively than Nick though. Not many options.

@BShark don’t disagree with that assessment at this moment but give a month and Nick won’t be able to hold Elmarkos jock strap lol

@BShark said in KU Maui Exhibition Game Chat:

@kjayhawks Elmarko was even worse defensively than Nick though. Not many options.

Probably see them both play a lot better defensively as the season goes, especially Elmarko who's got the athletic ability and length to get coached up into playing d. Might have been a blessing for both to see what they need to do differently when playing good teams

Assuming that they both improve throughout the year, the team will be pretty strong. If WYSIWYG, then we're looking at a second round exit.

Not every new player has gotten better under Self, but many have. Gotta have hope these guys will develop.

Still real concerned about this teams depth. - I think it's going to be a big hindrance as the season progresses. - I think in the back third of the Season , we are going to see some worn down players, they gonna have to play A LOT of minutes throughout the year.

No room at all for injuries - --foul problems -- -or outside issues. - -I still wonder how well Hunter gonna fit in this program, to me just seems like a bad fit. -Our best success is we are out and running fast paced- -is Hunter going to fit that role? -- I don't think so, lot of body to keep a fast pace, unless we play slow down ball limit possessions - ----- I dunno we shall see