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Devonte Graham took yesterday off. Kind of reminds me of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" with lots of trouble during the "day" (game) and then it came together at the end to work out.

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Devonte's "day" was a 30-minute day on the court in Lubbock. In those 30-minutes, Devonte contributed 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 foul, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 steal. Hardly a day to write home about.

I think we look at Devonte, and we don't give him the benefit of the doubt concerning his youth. His is only a sophomore, and shared minutes last year. He is still a bit "green."

But just look at his potential! I don't see how we can lose a game when he comes to a game with the right mindset and preparedness. He may have been a bit too amped up for the OU game, making several mistakes he usually doesn't make. And he may have come a bit too kicked back against TT yesterday because his game was largely invisible until the end.

His up and down play is typical for a guy at his experience level in D1. However.... when looking at his total package, we need to expect more from him than "typical results." Self has been pushing on him to become a bigger factor in games. There is a reason for that. Self sees the real potential in Devonte. He has the potential of positively impacting the game every bit as much as Cheick has potential to some day impact the game, too. That is a BIG IMPACT!

For us to go into Morgantown and beat the Mountaineers.... we could really use a Devonte that is dialed into the game for the entire game. If he comes ready, we should have little problem stripping the buckshot and moonshine out of the Mountaineers. If Devonte doesn't come prepared and has another invisible game, we could easily leave with a loss.

He stayed up until 6 a.m. re-watching the OU game.

@drgnslayr My favorite player on the team.

@KUSTEVE he has a good time!

Staying up til 6am, not advisable, even for a 21yr old. Understandable on the kid's enthusiasm, as the OU win was one of his biggest KU wins, to date (he didn't get to play WUG).

Plus, if he sees again, thru film study what it took to beat a FinalFour-caliber opponent in OU, then that's time well spent...maybe just not on gameday...??

Devonte Graham is Mario Chalmers good, almost...Mario was an uncanny ball hawk with instincts to jump passing lanes as well as strip the ball. Maybe we show Devonte a highlight reel collection of Chalmer's steals...? We need to get the KU film crew on that yesterday....

Devonte Graham is NOT straight out of high-school. He is a 1-yr prep guy, who was a late bloomer, which is exactly why he re-opened his commitment on what college to attend & play, as his rankings started climbing. This is why he is a tweener age and physique surpassing his soph category. Notice he starts, while Svi and BG are bench guys. Next best handles after Mason.

@ralster

Media is focused on Wayne, Perry and Frank.

I think Devonte is our "sleeper" (secret weapon below the radar) and I hope he stays under the radar. I'd just like to see him find more consistency in his games. Especially relating to the level of aggression he brings to games. He looked very soft yesterday... until the end.

Mr. Consistancy, Frank Mason makes the team go. Ellis is the anchor. Selden gives them the pop to go over the top. If Graham does his job everyone else has a much easier time of it.

I hope LeGerald or another stud wing with handles can ease the burden Graham's Sr. season. I'd hate to go back to the one ball handling guard crap we had the last few seasons.

@dylans no 💩!

@drgnslayr +100!

Graham's game has been about penetrating and feeding others penetrating.

Against OU he struggled versus Hield.

Against TTECH he struggled against a defense that takes away penetration.

Self asks a ton from him.

D, be our domestique.

D, be our PG.

D, drive it.

D, make shots.

D, rebound.

D, guard.

D, steal.

D, pick up the groceries.

D, sweep the floor.

D, darn the socks.

This season is good training for being married.

Whew!

He will be ok.

But Huggy will lean on him hard.

Unsettle Devonte and the KU machine sputters some.

@drgnslayr

He sure had an off-game and we do forget that he's still a young'n in terms of experience and playing time. As @ralster pointed out he's really a Jr in maturity but it's to our gain that we got a more polished freshman than usual last year. He's morphed into Frank's sidekick assassin, the chemistry these 2 have is off the charts.

I thought one of the trio (Mason, Graham, Ellis) would have a off game because of Monday and really Devonte struggled but came through with a clutch layup at the end.

@BeddieKU23

Yes... in "man years" Devonte is a junior. In "Kansas basketball years" he is just a sophomore. I think the latter is what counts most.

He is the difference maker tomorrow in Morgantown. He needs to come ready to play and he needs to stay focused in "attack mode" for 40 minutes. Anything else and we will be in trouble.

The real difference in this team versus last year is the move of putting him on the perimeter with Frank full time. But if he doesn't produce, we suddenly morph back into last year's team.

@jaybate-1.0

You forgot....

D, take out the trash.

I'm well-versed in this kind of training....

We've lost the last two times in Morgantown, both times WVU wasn't even ranked.

The only difference between this team and the past two (that makes a real difference) is having Devonte at the 2 to offer a duo on the perimeter that can really handle the ball, attack, and run offense.

This game is 100% on Devonte's back. It is time for the accountability gauntlet to pass over to Devonte. Welcome to Kansas, Devonte! You are now (for the first time) in the spotlight on this game and you need to take on the challenge like a true Jayhawk!

You can do it! With ease....

@drgnslayr so how much time will BG get against a press? Where can you hide him?

@Crimsonorblue22

Good question... Maybe BG offers up the dagger that really puts WVU away. Let's start off building a 15-pt lead with Devonte in there and then give Devonte a blow and go with BG to finish them off! He is our guy to put the game out of reach. Comes in off the bench and nails 4 quick 3s. That should do it!

@drgnslayr I was thinking after they all foul out or setting up after a time out in the half court. On the other hand it would be a good chance for him to get better.

No one can take this game off. Huggie always has the fastest, ball hawking teams in the country. He recruits to his style and the way he played. Hard to remember back that far when he was thin.

@Crimsonorblue22 Oh man.....I cringe at the thought of BG facing the WVU defense. But maybe the other guys can break the press giving him some wide open 3s?

@Hawk8086 I think that's what coach will do. Selden will have to be under control too. I can't wait!

@Crimsonorblue22

BG is difficult to gauge. Until not that long ago he would park himself in a corner ans wait for the ball to come to him and hoist a 3, now he is driving a lot more to the basket when in the past he would have taken a 3, This is s good development because it makes him a more complete player and less one dimensional. Also, his defense had been steadily improving but it seem to have had a setback in the last few games...maybe he just cannot guard the higher level of competition that KU is playing now or it is taking him longer to get there.

I hope he continues to improve since when he is on,..he is deadly from the 3. :)

@drgnslayr

I do agree that our 2 little guards are the most important individual aspect of the game. They both have to make good decisions with the ball.

I also think that as a team if we play solid defense and rebound well that we have a great chance of winning. If you limit made shots, you stop them from setting up the press. If you rebound well and stop 2nd chance points which WVU is one of the best in the nation at then we have another area where they can't hurt us.

WVU is not as good as last year, I don't care what anyone says there record is a product of a soft schedule more then a product of an improved team. Some of their individuals are improved especially Horton & Paige. Horton thrives off rebounds and his guards driving to the hoop. Paige has shown he can hit from outside and drive to the hoop. The key to Paige is keeping him out of the lane and forcing bad shots. They don't shoot the 3 well, they don't shoot the ball period that well. But with the game being important, its likely some of these low % guys like Carter or Miles find some herculian type effort and play above their minds. I can just picture it now watching some 30% trey ball shooter make 4 or 5.

We have to weather the early storm of emotion, physical play and find our own tempo. Play good defense, limit turnovers, limit 2nd chance points and make shots. It sounds like a lot of things but that's exactly what its going to take to beat them on the road. I'm sure our guys know how important tomm is regardless of past results. We cannot let WVU get 1 up on us.

I am going to diverge slightly from the choir singing that Frank and Devonte are crucial, and that Devonte especially has to deliver, for KU to get the W in Morgantown.

My lyric demands Wayne get big.

I figure Huggins will over shift onto Frank and Devonte and force the ball into Wayne's mitts. The WVU objective should be to make Wayne handle the ball, not Frank and Devonte. The best way to do this is to press and trap the ball out of Frank and Devonte's hands into Wayne's; then swarm Wayne. Wayne dribbling in transition remains a KU vulnerability.

This same tactic would then be applied with Wayne's backups.

Huggy has to do something like this, or KU will just shoot them out of the gym.

@jaybate-1.0

...and if the traps don't work the C5 could end up having banner day...

WVU is going to be a game where we could see a Mason, Graham, Svi trio in the back court some against WVU. Three ball handlers on the floor is a zone busting line up.

@JayHawkFanToo

Agreed.

@Crimsonorblue22

Maybe BG needs to sub in for Wayne more in this game then for Devonte.

Maybe we need Devonte and Frank in for the majority of minutes to make sure we can handle the pressure.

Don't know... I think this is one big area for Self and why he is paid so much!

I'm questioning a lot less of his moves this year. Either he is making better decisions or I am getting smarter and thinking he is better!

Remember this line:

"My parents have become a lot smarter as I have grown older."

@drgnslayr 'bout time!😉