🏀 KuBuckets Archive

“I think the guys are doing fine. Certainly they’re trying hard. I’m amazed at how poorly we’ve played, at times, offensively, but how well we’ve guarded defensively. It’s almost unbelievable what our first-shot defense and our rebounding has been.”

The changing of his underwear between every quarter is not an accident.... Even with all the missing players, Self hasn't seen a team guard and rebound this well before January since 2008.

@drgnslayr

"Change makes us be more of who we are...our better and our worse."--jaybate 1.0

Self is a "defense starts offence" coach by his own description.

It was inevitable that KU would become the best 24 second shot clock defensive team. It's what he does. It's who he is. It's all he is. And he absolutely will not stop until he has stopped the latest new situation.

He is DEFENSINATOR!

Absense may make the heart grow fonder, but change makes us more of who we already were.

24 second shot clock offense starts with 24 second shot clock defense.

Let us now praise famous BAD BALL.

We are witnessing a genius back into an offense yet again.

Self is being Holmes on offense again.

After he rejects everything offensively what is left, however improbable, must be the only real gold.

The man still has no credible front court, back to basket offense. None. Zero. Zip.

This is last year with less time not to be able to score inside.

The man has Trey ballers and drivers.

Treys made on the first and second sides are fools gold to the genius.

With only 24 seconds, against presses, the team can rarely set up and get to the third side for a REAL CAROLINA PASSING OFFENSE, open look Trey.

Yet you don't want a quick shot that gives them more possessions, since your super defense holds most advantage in lowest possession games.

So the smart play is: let it stick in your best impact players hands, or one pass away, hold it till 8 on the shot clock, and create.

It's the NBA without the talent.

It looks ugly even to a genius backing into it.

And too many of the treys are fools gold.

More backing is required.

BAD BALL WITH KICK OUTS TO THE OPEN THREE--that dog will hunt. No iron pyrite.

But don't be obvious.

Call it something new.

Drive'n Kick.

It's the defense, stupids.

You win with defense.

No matter what!

@drgnslayr Smothering defense. Wait until Diallo starts blocking shots for us, and Carlton gets healthy, and gets it all down. We're going to come at teams in waves like 2008, and get multiple runouts. This is national championship caliber, grade A tested, Bill Self badass defense presented for your viewing pleasure.

We surely must look unique in comparison to the other WUG teams. That's fine. And we now have to be seen as one of the favorites. To be honest, I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't expecting we could subtract and add players on short notice and go play a different brand of basketball successfully. Even seems like our guys are getting used to how the refs call the game.

I know we get into some BAD BALL when our offense goes south... but I'm enjoying how they can put the brakes on other teams' offenses! We have a solid chance of winning every game and going home undefeated if our defense continues to show up!

Who will be the first coach to design an offense to use every second of a shortened shot clock?

THE GENIUS, OF COURSE.

Until Self is confident he can cornerstone on Diallo and his reputed rebounding prowess, I suspect we will see KU running the shot clock down EVERYTIME under a 30 second clock.

Rule: with good shooters and weak rebounding, the fewest possessions possible, regardless of shot clock, is tends to be the best strategy statistically, if the other team has better rebounders.

Minimizing possessions--even if it deteriorates into ball sticking--is the coin of the realm, despite the shortened shot clock, until Self is sure Diallo is an offensive rebounding stud capable of playing at D1 speeds on both ends of the floor.

If you are not a great offensive rebounding team, regardless of shot clock length, you don't want to shoot early and create a rebound you likely won't get.

Uh-oh, I am perseverating.

:-)

@jaybate-1.0 I still consider myself a novice in terms of reading what is going on during the game on both ends. But, I swear I have seen pick and roll / Pick and Pop sets coming from KUSA. Hunter can hit the mid range, so can Bragg and Perry. Am I seeing things right?

@KUSTEVE Seriously. this '15 squad might not be as hard as the '08 team yet but there is that similar blend of experience and talent that makes me say "Giggety!"

I know we won't really understand what our new freshmen will offer us this year.... but so far... I really like Vick and Bragg! Bragg will also improve dramatically when he can lose the mask.

Both of these guys have very good energy and seem to already be buying in to Self ball... YOU HAVE TO BRING DEFENSE IF YOU WANT TO STAY ON THE FLOOR! (especially freshmen)

We are running a few pick and rolls and pick and pops. But mostly... it is the preferred offense of EVERY WUG team! I finally feel like we are catching on to defending it. In that Turkey game, it seems like we were getting beat more by it compared to the Brazil game... and Brazil had a very good post player to score off the picks.

We are starting to realize how well teams drive the ball and then quick pass for an open 3. Gosh... imagine if we could master this in our own offense and throw the ball out to one of our wide open spot-up shooters like BG? Actually... what works the best is the second pass off the drive. The driver kicks it out to a semi open shooter who draws a defender to make up the gap by running totally out from the basket and then the pass is made to another shooter on the 3 line for the wide open spot up.