🏀 KuBuckets Archive

"“We’ll have a 30-minute practice to work against West Virginia and play Monday," said Coach Bill Self."

This is what I was afraid of. Some teams, like West Virginia, you have to put extra time in far ahead of the game. 30 minutes of practice does not prepare a team to go to Morgantown.

Self is clearly taking this as a "toughening experience." Throwing his guys to the wolves and see if they survive.

Unless.... unless.... this is just one more bluff from the "Riverboat Gambler!"

@drgnslayr you can bet they have prepared more than 30 mins.

I'm thinkin they've done quite a bit of film study. I forget where I saw this...but I believe they have a robust video delivery system to each player...where each guy can pull up on iPads and see film of their assignments and expectations as well as tendencies/percentages of WVU players and team.

WVU uses slightly older TRS-80's I think...

I read somewhere that 2-weeks ago Coach Self had them running 5 on 8 drills to get ready for WVU.

Coach said after the Baylor game that 11 days ago, they spent an entire practice working on the WVU full court press. Of course immediately afterwards, OSU's full court press beat us in the second half. WVU hasn't changed their style and we have practiced and studied it with coach saying we should be ready and tweaking during the game could happen.

@wrwlumpy Dig it, trial by fire !!

@drgnslayr my previous statement has been erased due to the illicit nature of its content.

@wrwlumpy

I recall OSU's press... very marginal pressure. We definitely did not look prepared for it.

Since WVU will be running this for 40 minutes, it is more a question of tweaking during the game. Will our guys listen to Self during the game and execute his plan (and tweaks)? Or will they mentally zone out to a packed house of Mountaineers?

We are approaching that time of year when you want your team to win these tough battles and start building their momentum and poise for March. I know many people think it is important to win every game... but during the year, the losses should help strengthen the team later. Now it's time to build esteem... going on a winning streak all the way through April!

Win tonight then talk about winning out the remainder of our conference games.... and.... beyond!

@Lulufulu How big does that road win at Baylor look now?! Otherwise we would be one game ahead with road trips to WVU, KSU, and OU looming.

I think we get this one tonight too. I have no idea why I feel so confident. I just think we will win. I don't think we will see the 20 point blowouts others have put on them. I just think we win. Great analysis huh?

@benshawks08 I like it! If we break the press, we should kill them! Great analysis myself!

@benshawks08

I'm more confident because of the other teams that have thrashed them. The same Baylor team that we just beat thumped them on their own court. Iowa St. just gave them a spanking.

Honestly though we have played night and day better at home then on the road. The Texas game looks more and more like an exception then the normal. A first half like we played against Baylor tonight will be disastrous. A 2nd half like Oklahoma St will be disastrous.

We are all worried about their defense but if our Defense brings it like the 2nd half of the Baylor game then we will be fine.

I do think our Offense is poised for a good game because they are terrible once you break the initial press. We should see lobs, layups, run out's if we execute correctly.

@BeddieKU23 all about the match ups! Great for the tourney!!!

@BeddieKU23 made a great point on another thread ... pressing off a missed basket is bad a** in my book. If you're going to press, then that is a must. WVU does that. High tilt pressure.

Here are some important areas for tonight, in my book:

1. Quick Inbounds: One very important area for tonight's game to watch -- How quickly do we get the ball inbounds off a made basket? This is critical. Our standard formula is to wait until the designated guy throws it in. This lets the press set. The better move is to have the nearest guy to the ball get it and throw it in quickly. I've advocated this so we can play faster all the time, even when there is no press.

2. Ball Handler Inbounds The Ball: Your best ball handler should inbounds the ball a number of possessions. Not all the time. You can do a quick return pass and let him then get up the court. Sticking with point #1, if Mason or Graham is the closest, then throw it in. Don't wait for Traylor, or Ellis, or whoever to lumber over and toss it in.

3. Graham/Mason: Using Graham and Mason together may be a must for long stretches. I say that because Selden is a ball handling liability, and neither Greene nor Oubre are stellar, though both seem serviceable. I noted that in other press situations, Selden has been moved to the 3 spot like he was last year. Having Graham and Mason in together could compromise some of our offense -- as Selden of late, Oubre and Greene have been important offensive weapons. Time possibly for Graham to shine.

4. Mason On The Break: This is a more big picture concern, that could be highlighted tonight -- Mason, for all of his positives, just isn't very good running the break. He doesn't deliver the ball reliably, and has a clear preference to taking the ball to the hoop himself. Another thing Mason fails on is moving the ball to the middle on the break. He stays on the wing instead of getting to the middle where he has more options.

5. Scheme: I heard Self say after the Baylor game that we'll do what we always do against the press, and there are just a few tweaks. He also said he wants to attack the press. If I'm Huggins, historically, KU attacking the press is down the sidelines (vs. attacking in the middle -- when we go to the middle, we're slower). I wonder if Huggins will look to sit on those "attack" passes? Here's hoping a few of those tweaks involve some baseball passes, and perhaps some weave action.

Okay, I'll fill the role of contrarian for tonight's matchup. I am not comfortable with our squad's ability to handle such a frenetic press as it will encounter in Morgantown. Mason now playing on tired legs. I notice times when our recieivers don't naturally spring open for passes. Gonna be tough to slash to the rim, what with WVU's plethora of stealmongers. Unless Fools Gold weighs in as, at least, silver or polished bronze, we could be in for a long night. This is a contest where Svi's passing might have been a huge plus. However, his game has gathered rust and cannot be counted upon. I predict a 1 pt. loss.

@Lulufulu you should erase this statement! You don't want to let the whole bucket team down!!!

Simply put, I am the Jinxmaster. So there is no way in heck I'm going to lay down a prediction for tonight.

But I see both sides to this coin.

It really will be "which team shows up?" We just never know which team it will be. The positive side looks at our overall record and sees that we've only had 4 games where we didn't show up for all or the important parts down the stretch.

We are very capable of winning in Morgantown. But will we? That is the frustrating part. The fact that everyone in here knows we should win this game. But I don't think everyone in here is running down to their bookie to place a bet.

Positive side:

1. Devonte is healthy enough to play and should be another good ball handler.

2. Cliff may be the guy who scores 20 points strictly off dunks. Beat the break and look for Cliff, sending Cliff down and instruct him to take it to the hole with authority.

3. Frank is a solid ball handler, and capable of driving through tiny paths.

4. Self knows how to coach out of this.... he should be able to tweak them during the game, too.

Negative side:

1. We don't have much rest or preparation for this game.

2. Wayne is definitely a liability in a game like this... (unless his esteem is 100% restored).

3. We are still one of the youngest teams in college basketball.

4. WVU and their fans will bring lots of noise and energy.

This will really be a test of poise.... something hard to establish with such a young team. I hope we succeed. It will not only solidify #11, it will help us build team esteem moving forward.

@drgnslayr I like the "tiny paths"! Selden should NOT throw in the ball, he was worse then, my man Mari!

@Crimsonorblue22

I would like to see us establish a healthy lead in this game.... so we could go deep in our bench and give all our guys an opportunity to play against this kind of pressure. Mari... he would be a guy that could use a lot of help.

Really... all our guys will benefit from this game, win or lose.

Thanks for the test, Huggy!

@drgnslayr wouldn't we all?!!!!

@drgnslayr Huggy has done the league a very real service, building a team of competent ball thieves. Will be interesting to watch Self try to control pace.

@Crimsonorblue22 NOPE - not me. Healthy leads with this team usually deteriorate. I'd prefer to keep it close the whole way and win at the buzzer.

@nuleafjhawk you are crazy!!

Huggy bear also mentioned that his press is leading to bad habits in the defensive half-court set too, so don't be surprised if he mixes up the press a little bit for Kansas. WVU has been a spotty defensive team, with the league's worst 3 pt defense. Is the press to blame??? Could be!

@Crimsonorblue22 I know it sounds crazy, but honestly I think it happens a lot. Teams get a big lead, then just "coast". I think when they're in a battle the whole way it keeps their attention focused.

Obviously I'd rather have a big lead, but this team doesn't seem to have the killer instinct to get and hold a big one. Lead, that is!

@drgnslayr Self said they've prepared for the West Virginia press 8 out of the last 11 practices, along with a ton of film preparation... Don't take a "what we did on Sunday" answer as representative of KU's preparation for WV tonight.

@nuleafjhawk it would be awesome to watch a game up by 3o and see some deserving subs play!! Plus- easier on my health!

@REHawk

HA!

KU +10

Wayne snaps Huggie's man bra on a run out!

Frank and Wayne come up big in their native time zones.

Perry decides after running into a guy the last game that contact is fun and gets 18 and 9.

Cliff starts out strong, but the pace and violence are too much and Lumbering Landen discovers he has a higher gear!!!

Full scale, high mobility combat for 30 minutes, then half court grind for ten with a microburst of treys that the Jar Head Jayhawks defend to a W!!!!!!!!

Now I am running for cover!!!!! 😄

@Crimsonorblue22 Man! But I preemptively said I wasnt serious and didnt wanna jinx anything. Doesnt that count? ;)

@Lulufulu erase! Can't question!

@Crimsonorblue22 Fine fine fine. LOL

I don't have a good feeling about this game.

They will be geeked in the beginning. The fans will go crazy when they force 10 turnovers within the first 15 minutes. If we can keep it within 10 at halftime, I predict we will pull out the victory in a late comeback and win 69-65.

My fear is with Mason showing signs of wear and tear. Ten games ago, I would say when nothing else is falling, Mason will take over, drive the lane, and create options for this team. BUT he doesn't have the same explosiveness and last game he showed sign of freshman year Frank. He got in the middle of the zone and forced up a couple shots instead of dishing to the open man on the perimeter. If we can't pull together a mini-run at the end of the first half, then we might be in for a long night. Doomsday prediction 73-58 WVU.

@JhawkAlum :facepunch:

I like how jesse has changed his min ↗d and now likes the good guys tonight. So do I. The mountaineers just seem a bit worn down of late and we seem to be hitting our stride.

@Crimsonorblue22 Your health? What about old geezers like me and @globaljaybird? Our tickers don't have many 1-2 pt wins left.

Everybody talking about tired legs. Don't you think WVU has tired legs also? They're the ones who play the press game in and game out, and they played Sat like we did. I'm thinking it won't be a blowout, but we'll take it handily.

@brooksmd I think they play 100 guys!!

@Crimsonorblue22 100 and 3

We win, but I think we'll have times where we look terrible against the press.

Even though we all kinda penciled this one is as an automatic loss early in the season, WVU has been on the downside what with all the fouls they have been making. Williams rehurt his hand in Saturday's game. I see a really close one with us pulling it out on the FT line.

@KUSTEVE that was a pretty easy guess!!! Ha ha

Actually, I feel more optimistic about this game than I thought a few weeks ago.

I agree that Frank is wearing down a bit. He probably is carrying one or two nagging injuries that none of us know about.

However... all the effort extended by WVU for an entire season has created problems for themselves. Talk about tired guys... And the only way their strategy works is with totally fresh legs. Just a little bit of slowing turns something that can crush a team to something collapsing and creating easy run outs for the opposition.

I'm feeling really mixed now, compared to earlier in the year where I had this as an auto loss.

Still not going to predict, however.

Which Jayhawk team shows up?

@drgnslayr Exactly. Which team will show up? We very seldom have put 2 halves together. One bad half on the road can result in a hole that you can't dig out of.

@Hawk8086 that team has won 21 games!

@jaybate-1.0 Gotcha! WVU by 1. This time I called it, almost to the letter. We shot only 11 threes. Would any poster on this site predict a KU win if told that this squad would fire only 11 threes? Granted, WVU covered us well beyond the arc. That said, we did not look to find Greene or to play to our strength. These last two games, Greene might as well pull a freshman Russ Rob maneuver: just tell Coach, "Sorry, I decline the opportunity to waste my time on the court." Essentially, his insertions have amounted to wasted minutes. If the offense is not designed or inclined to get the ball in the hands of perhaps the best shooter in this season's NCAA Div. 1 Basketball, then Brannen might as well just opt for a pass on the opportunity to take the court. Maybe a transfer to Davidson would be in his best interest. Would Gonzaga or BYU design an offense around his hot hand?

@REHawk

PHOF!

You got me.

Love your take, coach.

I have written more on other threads already, so I will let you have at me over on the other threads too.

Damnedest thing I ever saw.

@jaybate-1.0 HA! My wife just finished blistering my ears about my Brannen Greene suggestions. She has trudged off to bed in a real snit. Maybe I should sleep on the matter, rehash and rephrase my advice to BG????? On the couch....

@REHawk maybe they could teach him to dribble and block out too, so he can stay in long enough to get shots off

@Crimsonorblue22 Aw, shucks, we've got a starter who has probably logged 10x as many minutes as BG; and he can't dribble much better, at least inside the stripe. And he, on most outings, can't flush a bunny even if his mom's life depended upon it!

@REHawk ouch! Ok thought we were talking about BG?

@Crimsonorblue22

I don't call him Coach for nothing.

Remember when Roy Williams said he had more want to in his little finger than all the people of the state of Kansas put together.

Never underestimate the fire in the coach.

All a coach, a good coach is, is a fire under control most of the time.