🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Jayhawks picked no. 5 in preseason coaches poll ↗

Kevin Haskin: Rings the thing as KU seeks another title defense ↗

Dynasties are not usually measured by conference titles in basketball.

Jesse Newell:KU notebook: Bill Self plans to experiment at power forward position ↗

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas coach Bill Self has talked before about playing small lineups, but he added a new wrinkle to those thoughts Wednesday when he said 6-foot-5 Wayne Selden and 6-7 Kelly Oubre could spend time this year at the power forward position.

Jesse Newell: KU basketball alters practices in hopes of toughening up ↗

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bill Self has changed up practices this year. And perhaps not surprisingly, Jamari Traylor has become king of the energy points.

“I pretty much win all the time,” Traylor said at Wednesday’s Big 12 media day at Sprint Center. “I’m serious.”

Jesse Newell: Quick hits: Bill Self says KU has seven good perimeter players ↗

Some quick-hit notes from Kansas coach Bill Self's short time on the podium here at Big 12 media days at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Bedore: Selden preparing to play (gulp) power forward ↗

On a lazy summer day, with not much happening on Kansas University’s campus, Bill Self gave sophomore combo guard Wayne Selden Jr. something to think about. The Jayhawks’ 12th-year basketball coach told the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder he’d likely be playing some power forward during his second season.

Bedore: Self: Jayhawks can shoot the three ↗

City, Mo. — Kansas University’s basketball players have shown an ability to knock down the three during practices this preseason.

Bedore: Elite guard to decide early ↗

five senior blue-chip high school basketball players who attended last Friday’s Late Night in the Phog definitely will be signing with a school in November.

Dodd: Wayne Selden ready to become KU's leading man ↗

five senior blue-chip high school basketball players who attended last Friday’s Late Night in the Phog definitely will be signing with a school in November.

Nice summary! Thanks @dylans

Wow... there is a lot of juicy tidbits in those reads.

Here is what my biased perception takes from it:

1. The Mayor has not only brought better competition to our league, he has also influenced Self. CS is going to take a page out of Fred's playbook this year and start looking for match-up advantages. It all starts with scouting, then brings a plan into practice, then it follows through the game for execution. The Mayor proved it already... small guys can dominate scoring in the post. A player like Wayne, who has some muscle, may become one of our better post scorers and should get some minutes at the 4.

2. CS is starting to grasp x-axis basketball. He definitely sounds like he wants to have small ball available as a definite tool to be used in certain situations. I wonder if he has circled the Kentucky game yet.

3. CS and his returning players realized they weren't tough last year. Hustle is the name of the game and their new practice strategy of giving hustle points is going to pay gigantic dividends in real play this year. Go... Jamari!

4. CF is becoming a good defender! I've been preaching this for quite some time. Don't judge him by his physical package, Conner is a competitor and a smart guy and will not leave Kansas until he has become a constant big-time contributor. Just imagine he is 6'6" so you can start accepting that he is going to earn plenty of PT.

5. Frank is starting to earn his role as "the mole."

Height and athleticism are definite pluses for becoming a good defender, but they are not requirements and usually they prevent guys from actually learning to play real defense, because they've always fallen back on their attributes to rescue them.

By the time Conner Frankamp graduates from Kansas, he will be the living real-time proof about x-axis basketball. He's starting to get it. 96% of the game is played between the ground and his out-stretched hand over his head. He's going to own that 96% before he leaves Kansas!

Here is one pre-season ranking story...

Pre-season ranking... ↗

I might swap a couple of teams but overall seems pretty decent based on the available information.

Good news!

KU basketball alters practices in hopes of toughening up
Bill Self: 'I think we tried to be too pretty a team last year'

Posted: October 15, 2014 - 7:51pm

Associated Press
Kansas head coach Bill Self is seen on a video monitor as he talks about his team's upcoming Big 12 Media Day at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday.
Tweets by @jessenewell
Read more KU stories at HawkZone
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Mobile users: View video of Bill Self's comments from Big 12 media day

By Jesse Newell
jesse.newell@cjonline.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bill Self has changed up practices this year. And perhaps not surprisingly, Jamari Traylor has become king of the energy points.

“I pretty much win all the time,” Traylor said at Wednesday’s Big 12 media day at Sprint Center. “I’m serious.”

Let’s explain: Every practice, team managers are asked to tally up “energy points” for each player that can be accumulated from rebounds, 50-50 balls, steals, deflections, floor burns and a few other categories.

So far, the springy forward Traylor estimates he’s been the top point-getter for about two-thirds of KU’s workouts.

“I want to be an effective leader, and I want to show everybody how it’s done,” Traylor said. “I want to set an example and set the standard for everyone else. I just go out there and work my butt off.”

The underlying message from Self seems pretty clear:

This year’s team needs to get back to having a tougher mindset — a staple of the coach’s teams throughout his 12-year KU tenure.

“I think we tried to be too pretty a team last year,” Self said, “instead of a nitty-gritty-type team.”

RELATED: Mobile users, view video of Self's Big 12 media day comments

So now, hustle is being rewarded. Players get handouts tracking their energy stats a few times a week, while Self also attempts to motivate by sometimes singling out the top and bottom guys after practice.

“I like it. It shows who’s really working,” KU sophomore guard Wayne Selden said. “It shows who’s going after all the loose balls, getting blocked shots, getting rebounds. That’s really going to count for us.”

Even a player like junior Perry Ellis — never known as KU’s most physical player — has found himself getting competitive with teammates while trying to move up the leaderboard.

“I’ve been doing real well, actually. That’s what I’m trying to get better at, just energy plays,” Ellis said. “I’ve definitely seen improvement from what I would have did last year to this year.”

Traylor says he’s been pushed most by freshman Kelly Oubre, whose 7-foot-2 wingspan has created numerous steals and deflections.

Both Ellis and Selden were quick to admit that Traylor was telling the truth in saying that he was the best energy guy most practices.

“He gets all the energy points it seems like,” Ellis said.

Added Selden: “I’m up there. I’m not quite to where (Traylor and Oubre) are with it, because they’re all over the place.”

The Jayhawks, who finished 25-10 a year ago, have talked often this offseason about trying to enter the season with a different attitude following last year's season-ending loss to Stanford in the round of 32.

Earning — and fighting for — energy points appears to be the first step toward achieving that goal.

“Those things, they might seem little,” Ellis said, “but really they’re a big part of basketball and winning.”

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I can't wait for my first taste of this KU team on Nov. 3

I flipping love this quote from the story on Traylor leading the team in energy points and on Self trying turn this tea into a bunch of energy fanatics.

"Added Selden: “I’m up there. I’m not quite to where (Traylor and Oubre) are with it, because they’re all over the place.”

This is the best player on the team we are talking about here.

This is a guy who started as a freshman despite one bad knee.

This is the leader of the team.

This is a guy draft boarded to go HIGH!

This is a helluva an athlete and an active player.

AND HE IS SAYING TRAYLOR AND OUBRE ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!

Self is building himself a team full of highly explosive, razor edged fanatics.

!Dangerous.jpg ↗

@jaybate-1.0

This the player about whom you wrote:

"I would argue that unless Frank, Conner and Svi offer sharply greater net benefit, then I would rather go with a great athlete like Selden for a year's development, so that you wind up with something truly extraordinary the following season."

Do you believe now that he is going to the NBA after this season? Just curious...

@JayHawkFanToo

I am not confident either way at this time, until I see how explosive Selden is post knee injury.

Leg and back injuries change everything.

No one is ever as good afterwards.

Some get back 95 of their explosiveness and are so good to begin with that their careers go on at still very high levels. Brandon Rush could play at a very high level after his very severe knee injury at KU. Tyshawn could bounce back and play at a very high level after his reputedly much less severe injury. But someone like Sherron saw his explosiveness steadily erode from injuries. Sam with EJ and Travis and Cole. The wear and tear and injuries eroded their explosiveness.

We will have to wait and see how much explosiveness Selden has left, before we know whether he will go pro after this season, or wait. Without explosiveness, great players become good players, and good players become average players, and so on.

With explosiveness Selden will probably be able to shoot 38-40% from trey AND get to the rim almost at will. Without explosiveness, Selden will struggle in all facets of the game as opponents increasingly understand what he can no longer do. With some or most of his explosiveness back, his great size for a 2 will make him very tempting to be taken this season in hopes more work can restore more explosiveness and more work can push the trey balling a little higher.

Selden showed signs of great explosiveness and athleticism early last season, despite the usual struggles with adjusting to D1 speeds early.

It is a testament to what a tremendous talent he was that he could beat out all teammates in his coach's opinion on only one good knee.

But now Selden has to be THE MAN on this team, not the third option. When Ellis has a defender on him that he can score on, Selden will probably be second option. But when Ellis can't get untracked against a blue meanie, then Selden is THE GUY.

And because the team's bigs are reputedly trending toward shorter guys playing, and the shorter perimeter guys look like they could run into match up problems, Selden has to be a jack of all trades on this team, rather than focus in on doing one position well.

Add less than full restoration of explosiveness with being asked to swing 1-4 as needed, and that's a recipe for declining, not rising three point shooting percentage, even if his ppg is first or second highest on the team.

So: I just have to wait and see.

BACK FILL HERE. :-)

@jaybate-1.0
"Traylor says he’s been pushed most by freshman Kelly Oubre, whose 7-foot-2 wingspan has created numerous steals and deflections."

Added Selden: “I’m up there. I’m not quite to where (Traylor and Oubre) are with it, because they’re all over the place.”

That speaks volumes about Oubre. We all knew Jamari was the "energizer bunny", but to have a freshman be recognized for hustle by the team veterans ... well, it means when Kelly talks about defense like this ...

“I take pride in defense. Taking pride in defense ... that’s what every team needs,” Oubre said. “Teams win championships on the defensive end. I use defense to push start the rest of my game, to get my intensity level up, to get myself hyped. Getting stops ... it’s a great feeling.”

... he means what he says. I absolutely love this kid. What a great addition.