🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Sure KU pushes the pace and are the best in transition basketball. Sure KU can launch the 3 ball with the best of them. Notice how they don't just chuck 3's yet take legit trey shots? Sure KU can handle and drive the ball. Having two point guards on the floor at one time is just sic. Sure KU might just have the best player in one game. Selden has ice in his veins and means business. Yet what make KU really go?

The Inglorious Bastards. We might as well throw the Designer in that group too. No not one of them is the best big on the court. No not one of them is the fastest on the court. No not one of them is the strongest on the court. No not one of them is the tallest on the court. Yet collectively combined they create an inside game that is a monster that no team can game plan for.

Greatly the Inglorious Bastards will only get better. As the saying goes you're only as good as your weakest link. Well the weakest links of the Inglorious Bastards are Bragg and Diallo, yet their potential far exceeds any in the group. Trust me they will get better, and better, and better, and better.

With so many teams trying to play inside KU has like 4 aces, or more like a Royal straight Flush. KU has bigs that can run, KU has bigs that can bang, KU has bigs that can block shots, KU has bigs that can shoot. Most of all KU has bigs with fouls to give.

Yep Coach ride the Inglorious Bastards. Ride them hard. In fact coach don't be afraid to play Svi, Greene and Vick. "Yes I said Vick" a little more. Play this right coach and you'll have not only the best team come tournament time but the must healthy and rested team. Not to mention a bench with not only talent but that is also battle tested.

Play to your strength Coach. Play to your deep bench Coach, and the tournament will be a cake walk.

Rock Chalk boys and girls.

@DoubleDD There is really so much depth and balance and can play so many ways that it is hard to gameplan for everyone.

The most important aspect come tournament time is playing OUR game and Self not "puckering up" and being content to play a slow , grind it out pound it inside game. No, spread the floor, run and gun, high pressure defense game, which we have all discussed on here. But the ultimate test will be a close game at some point in the tournament. Will Self return to what he feels most comfortable with, even though he knows his team does not excel at it? So far, he has done a pretty good job of not reverting, and hopefully that old style will not be seen again this year.

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@DoubleDD

KU wins, because:

a.) Self is a step ahead of every one in what he is doing;

b.) Frank is amazingly consistent;

c.) the team has yet to have its Mother of All Slumps that it absolutely will have;

d.) opposing coaches have not yet figured the correct way to prepare for C5, but trust me there is a way.

This roster has huge holes to exploit, but Self is confronting opposing teams that are frequently young in the new OAD era, or they are very short, or they are long but very slow footed, with so much to prepare for with MULTIPLE OFFENSE 2.0, that they cannot get off their heels much of the time.

IMHO, OU will be a very good test to see how KU responds to having its vulnerabilities exploited.

Lon Kruger is an Okie Baller on a level just half wrung below Self. If Kruger comes as KU with some really good old fashioned Jack Hartman play, i.e., some long guards that can both shoot it and drive it, and tells his bigs to forget about which guy is playing the 5, and they rough up Perry, well, then we will know something about what this team is made of.

There is no question in my mind that we are watching a ton of masking by Self right now.

The question is which teams have coaches that can both see through it, and have the correct talent to exploit the holes.

I suspect OU has the coach and the talent.

But it is at that very moment that Self usually pulls a couple rabbits out of his hat.

I can tell you for a fact that Kruger's study of video of KU will NOT reveal the order that Multiple Offense 2.0 will unfold.

Self has been saving that for a game like OU.

Here is a possible rabbit for you.

Diallo has been doing a lot of incredibly stupid things the last three games, after starting quite well.

Dial's shot selection was so terribly outside the flow of the offense that it almost looked in retrospect as if it may have been a misdirect. The legend created for the opposing team's scouting reports would be: Diallo is playing himself out of the rotation. He is wild. He likes to shoot the long 2 point jumper. He's not who we have to worry about. He's a pipe cleaner that has never played the game. Fuggedabouthim.

Boom! Diallo comes out and plays exactly the kind of game Self wants against OU. Energy. Rebounding. Shot blocking. Not a single jump shot. More over he crashes the rim. He terrorizes OU for 15-20 minutes. OU players don't know what hit them. Lon does, but there's nothing he can do about it in the second half when Self springs the trap. Next.

But while that is possible, what I think is going to unfold is Self figured he could only hope to beat either Baylor, or OU, but not both, and so Self decided to gamble the big Amp performance on Baylor, and decided that he would rather suffer through a grinder with OU, than with Baylor's size and power inside.

So: the likely outcome is: KU can't hit shizz from trey after 58% from trey against Baylor. KU goes into alternating Bad Ball and squirt and run. It is major ugly. Board rats herniate everything that will herniate wishing for the Quick Trigger Trey game to materialize. It doesn't. The longer the game goes the uglier KU has to play to win. KU loses. Next, many of the board rats that only post when KU loses come out in force. They post a bunch of stupid stuff about how Self's offense is out of date, and if Player X plays that many minutes KU hasn't a chance of going deep, etc.

But life goes on and Self has already planned to pick up the split on the back nine.

@jaybate-1.0

There you go? Dissing the midrange jumper. My friend the game and Coach are changing. I'm so disappointed in you. Your knowledge of how the game has changed over the years and decades is unmatched. Yet you can't see the change happening right in front of you?

KU can hit the trey and the midrange. The days of forcing the ball inside at all cost is an ancient relic.

The game is changing my friend take notice.

@jaybate-1.0 I guess the better question is, do you think there is a way to reduce or eliminate the C5's weakness? I think there is.

Statistically KU and OU are very similar.
Scoring KU 3, OU 6

FG percentage KU 5, OU 35,

3 Pt. percentage KU 2, OU 3

FG percentage defense KU 45, OU 9

3pt percentage defense, KU 66 OU 20

Turnovers KU 30, OU 33

Assist/turnover KU 11, OU 57

Strength of schedule KU 45, OU 73

I won't even mention RPI because it's a joke.

Statistically it's a wash.

From what I saw, KU might have a slightly better offense but OUs defense is far superior than KUs. Not good!

@wissoxfan83

True so it comes down to.... Home Court advantage??

Bill Self vs Lon Kruger?

Depth?

Other than stats its going to come down to which 5 is better. I think KU has an advantage but OU has a single player that can take games over. KU has a collection of players that could possibly take over like Selden did against Baylor.

All we have to do is make more shots than OU does and all the rest will play itself out. We won't win this game shooting 40% from the field, we won't win this game without making 3's at a good clip. Hopefully the guys will be engaged on defense and limit easy shots. Rebounding is always a must as long as we can force missed shots. KU plays its game KU wins.

KU wins because we have superior talent, more depth, a better coach and the best home court advantage in all sports.

@wrwlumpy

You forgot the caption:

Drew said, "hurry up and lets get this game over, my burger is getting cold at Jefferson's!"

@DoubleDD

The game is changing always. I just think right now Self is ahead as he usually is; that's why his W&L statement for 11 years is at .820.

But the reason I come here is to learn what I am missing. And each season I miss some things and board rats like you--with a strong insight--wake me to them.

You can rest assured I will be looking for what you are advocating. And agreeing and crediting you if/when I see it; that is the beauty of the community/team approach to problem solving!!!

Stick to your guns. The truth is the truth. If you're right, I WILL see it sooner or later.

And thank you for trying.

It takes patience and generosity of spirit to try either way.

In the end I am always improved by discourse with someone with an insight that tries to wake me up to it.

And I like waking up.

Rock Chalk!!!

KU wins because this game is in Lawrence.

Not a lot of analysis necessary.

@wissoxfan83

I respectfully disagree. Unfortunately looking at the relative rankings tells us nothing and you cannot really say that the teams are statistically a wash. There could be very little or a lot of difference between being ranked 5 or 35 or whatever...in any one category. Having the actual percentages would be a lot more informative and useful. It could well end up being a wash, but not based on the relative rankings.

@JayHawkFanToo When a team is ranked top five out of 330 in any category half way through a season it tells us a lot about the strengths of that team.

@wissoxfan83

Yes, indeed, but from those number all you can infer is that one team is ranked ahead of another but it does not tell you what the actual difference is. The difference between #5 and #50 in any one category can be huge or can be infinitesimally small.

Let me give you an example based on a number you posted:

3pt percentage defense, KU 66 OU 20

Obviously it indicates that OU is ranked ahead of KU in 3 point defense based on the percentage opponents shoot from the 3.

Now, if at #20 OU allows opponents to shoot 0.30 from the 3 and at #66 KU allows 0.40, that is a 10% difference and very significant. However, if at #20 OU allows opponents to shoot 0.30 from the 3 and at #66 KU allows 0.305, that is a 0.5% difference and not very significant at all....see my point? Ranking simply indicate that a team is ranked ahead of the other but they do not tell you if the difference is big or statistically insignificant.

Like I said, having the actual numbers rather than the ranking for each category would be considerably more informative, don't you agree?

@JayHawkFanToo I see your point, but I think that showing national rankings in each shows pretty conclusively strengths and weaknesses as well.

@DoubleDD KU wins because we score more points...very simple!

@DoubleDD Omg this game is going to be HUGE! To beat OU tonight KU absolutely HAS to take away any drives into the lane from Heild and Cousins. They also have to guard that trey line line a pack of animals. Two very separate and difficult tasks.

BUT in order for OU to upset KU, and it would be an upset, they have to do the same to us.

The best defense wins in this game even though I think it will be an offensive showcase.

I am very confident we can beat the 2nd best team in the nation.

@KUSTEVE

I believe it will be a close game between two capable teams and not an upset either way...foul trouble might be crucial and our deeper bench might prove to be the difference.

@JayHawkFanToo I just hope they don't have big heads because they are ranked number 1. They need stay hungry and focused.

@DinarHawk

This team has a lot of experience and it is very unselfish...I believe they will do fine..

As much as I want KU to win this game, I want KU to beat UK a hell of a lot more...payback will be a beatch...