🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Scott Drew should be an inspiration to everyone, whose father got them jobs they weren't ready for, in fields they weren't suited to, working for disingenuous bosses; that have had to manage ungrateful employees, while being publicly humiliated again and again by the best in their profession.

He has alchemically transmuted nepotism, inferiority and incompetence, into a viable career; thus proving access, opportunity and forbearance are critical drivers of success.

Drew has become, in short, except for his school's CST location, an ideal type for selection to win a ring in an apparently engineered March Carney.

Just kidding.

Drew endures and proves persistence, hard work and the ability to take a punch still counts for something in America.

Still, I hope we knock him into the Gulf of Mexico.

But beating a deeper, probably just as talented team, without KU playing defense, is a tall order, even for Bill Self.

Our only chance is: Scott is so used to seeing KU guard that he will probably waste too much prep on handling KU's old pressure defense, and not enough stopping our new "high trip" offense.

It really feels like Bill is ripping a page outta Roy's ploys. High trips with higher percentage shots plus opponent fatigue equals W.

Phog has to be howling with glee up in the darkness over the scoreboard at Henry infarcting over what Bill is doing.

Sixty point take what they give us and guard has become 90 point quick trigger and let'em shoot to get the ball back!

But quietly up in the shadows, Wooden has taken a seat beside Phog and Hank and said, "Your boy has finally listened to me. Conditioning, quickness, a single post, and a good clip, is the way to play this game. The young man is finally getting it. Perhaps next he will quit letting the opponent set the tempo."

To which Eddie Sutton pulls up a chair above the scoreboard and says, "Never. No way. Not. Gonna. Hap. Woody!"

OK Jaybate, after years of reading you use the word 'infarcting', I've got to ask, what the heck does that mean? I know I can look it up, but I thought I'd have the professor Dr. Jaybate explain it to me/us.

Baylor is really talented. But super beatable.

Their offense is a completely unstructured mess where they just pass it around and then chuck up a shot and hope Acuil or Motley get an offensive rebound. They rarely fed the post against an undersized ISU team. At least they didn't feed the post like they should have.

Their defense is lazy. Again they just rely on Acuil and Motley to save them at the rim. They give up open 3's left and right. The let anyone and everyone who wants in the paint to get into the paint. Frank, DG or JJ very well might drop 30 points against Baylor if they play the same way they did against ISU.

@wissox

Myocardial infarction-The formation of an infarct, an area of tissue death, due to a local lack of oxygen. An infarction is a full on heart attack, rather than CHF (congestive heart failure), where no tissue death occurs).

Watching Baylor last night made me wish we had Udoka back.

@Kcmatt7

The very word "Drew" means beatable in jaybate 1.0's Unabridged Basketball Dictionary.

But the difference this year is that KU has elected to play anti-pressure defense, or perhaps more accurately what might be called the EQUS (Encouraged Quick Unpressured Shot) Defense.

This means the only way KU can win is to be shooting a high percentage, and the other team has has to shoot the same, or less, percentage.

Gone are the vintage days of KU shooting 36% and beating another team shooting 49%.

And the really scary thing about the KSU game was that Weber blue printed one way to beat KU. Match their shooting percentages, keep their guards off the glass, and demand honest referees.

Gulp!!!

But I'm not throwing in the sponge on KU's defense...yet. My working hypothesis remains that them Jaybirds have had dead legs from intense practicing and DG is playing unreported. When Self decides he does not need to be their own worst opponent, and quits building them down, and starts building them up, well, we know all of these players CAN play Self Defense, except for Josh. And Josh shows every sign of being able to, once the building up starts.

One thing I am wondering about is if/when Self will put Josh in the toughening box?

Josh is the only player on the team that has not been sweated so to speak. He has not been made to loath himself and Self yet. He has not experienced existential self-doubt. Perhaps Self has softened and no longer thinks its even worth toughening OADs. Perhaps Self has adopted a double standard. Not even the toughest player coming in is Self Tough until he has had the needle inserted all the way to the medulla for at least a week and been blamed for everything wrong that has ever happened to the team in a season. Josh has been given a pretty boy pass. Josh had not been driven to the breaking point, then beyond, and then back. Among this experienced bunch, Josh is--in the psychological toughness department--unleavened dough. Yes, he is a great player and he can perform at a high level in D1 without it. But when the chips are down and a prison body keeps stiff screening him every time down the floor in the Madness (say if we play Duke for money) and the refs are rolling over for Coach K and waiting for the taunting to drive Josh into a rage, so they can eject him, or watch him take about five bad shots in a row. before calling a charge on him when he is whip kicked and tripped...how will he react at that point? How tough is he really? Athletically he is the unfair advantage you always look for, but is he a real Emerson CQC-6, or some half-tempered shizzle from China? Self has a very tough call to make. He rode Josh briefly, but injuries prevented him from really giving Josh a meaningful length reservation in the toughening box. He has been to Club Med Toughening. Sandals toughening. Chloe's Lavender Toughening. Does Self dare break him down now and rebound him in the middle of the conference and risk the title streak, but then take on the risk of him blowing up in the Madness? Or does he keep building him up and telling him how tough he is to win the consecutive title, and then mask him in the Madness? I suspect Self has already committed to the latter. I suspect Self is just going to ride Josh as far as he can and then call it a season, same as with Wigs. The loss of Doke and the failure of Coleby's rehab, and DG's mystery legs have clearly left Self without the power house hand that seemed to be in the offing. He is now playing a hand that requires endless bluffing. He has to know it. Time to play for titles again, rather than rings. If they get on a miracle run in March and get selected to win, well, then you just ride that. But the only thing still largely under his control now is the conference title. And building Josh down would largley eliminate that control for about two weeks to really toughen him right.

Ah, the trials and tribulations of clearing $10,000,000 a year!!!!

But Self is a wily devil and he has some very good players to bluff with.

Ya just never know with this guy what he might do next.

That's why it so fun to be a KU fan.

@wrwlumpy

Yup. Landen is doing well. I'm not complaining about him since he got past playing unreported. The problem is all bigs need a partner in dominance.

@Kcmatt7 I would say Baylor is very tall and rebounds very well.

@jaybate-1.0 @wissox How great is our site that we offer vocab enhancement? Two Kensucky trolls trying to pick up tid bits for the upcoming tilt went back to their site and reported, "I don't understand a word them Jayhawkin hicks are saying and they us-en some mighty dirty words, like infarct I ain't never heard be-fo." But wunce them jayhawkers get to old Rupp I gonna tell them to go infarct themselves. Ha that'll show um we ain't no dummies down here in these parts. "

@jaybate-1.0 You pose an interesting question:

Is Josh tough? Part of me feels there has been no time in the box because bill was so enamored by his grit and motor and intelligence to date that he did not think he needed it. But Now the lack of self control has reared its ugly teen-aged self and JJ may need some box time. I think Wiggs never got enough and he rolled over in March and started Escalde shopping. But bill can't break JJs spirit now cuz we need him too much with Doke gone. I predict fatherly talk and motivating the dog to come out, with extra stern encouragement to leave the winer deep in the vault.

@Fightsongwriter Wiggs needed to be in the box for what? coach loves the fight in jj, just wants it tempered.

@jaybate-1.0 My theory is that we are switching too much on defense. Teams are getting matchups they want. And they are getting any help defense away from the post because all we do is switch. A 1v1 matchup in the post is almost unfair with how touchy today's rules are. We need to get back to hedging on defense. Like fully hedging on defense. The 4 needs to play a 4. Even if it is JJ or Svi. Disrupt the ball carriers and set yourself up to be able to double team the other post.

I don't like switching on defense. It makes it too easy to pick matchups that can be exploited and dictate where the defensive players will be. Stiff man to man defense is what all of these guys have been taught and what Bill Self does best. He is trying to adjust to this 4 out on both sides instead of doing what he knows best on the defensive end.

I think if we start hedging with Svi and JJ we will see the disruption we are used to seeing. If we keep switching, teams will continue to pick us apart.

@Kcmatt7

Clear thinking. That helped me. Thx!

@Fightsongwriter

Howling!!

The stillbillies are always good for a laugh!

I watched the first half and a bit of the second half and was surprised at how well the cryclones packed in the paint and defended the paint in spite of their size disadvantage. Their ball movement was good and they shot 45% from 3 to stay in the game which is something I think we could ŕeplicate.

As someone else said, Baylors offense did not look impressive and their defense was good at times but not as good as I thought it would be.

I agree about Dok and I wish we had him. But we dont and there is little sense in wishing he could play because he cant. However, Dok would not have solved our problems. That has been a myth perpetuated by the media who are not reporting the actual issues going on and instead attempt to pinpoint the problems on our seemingly slim inside play. The real issue, obviously, is our perimeter defense. Just like the Dark Knight in 2008, Dok is what we want but not necessarily what we need. We all want a 7 foot stud patrolling the lane. What we need is ball pressure on the perimeter and guards that contain dribble penetration. UConn didnt need a Joel Embiid when they won the title in 2011 and 2014. Butler didnt need one in back to back title game appearances. Illinois really didnt have one in 2005 but just had solid rebounders and finishers like we have and like Duke in 2010.

After watching the game, we can definitely beat Baylor, as long as the guys have more pride defensively. I dont believe for one second that we are going to play defense this poorly the rest of the season. In fact, besides theories, there is no reason to think that things wont get better. All I know is our guys are in terrific shape. Other guys over the years have endured similar depth issues, such as the three Illinois guards in 2005 that had one loss going into the title game. They had to play a lot of minutes but were still playing well at the end. Same thing with Napier and Boatright.

My point is that I think we will be fine as we have gone through tough times in the past yet made it through it.

@Crimsonorblue22 Wiggs needed the toughening box because he was not tough. No where near the want to that JJ possesses. He should have been able to carry us In The tourney. JJ has the dog in him that at some point will will us to wins if Frank or DG go cold, I'd take the college JJ over the college Wiggs any day.

@Fightsongwriter I wouldn't put either one in your box. I'll take them both. Josh puts himself in there by lipping off or melting down. They are both great Jayhawks and have represented our program w/upmost respect. It seems Wiggs bad game sticks w/most fans. I only wish we had a decent or consistent point and a healthy Embiid that year. I think it would be fun to watch Wiggs and Josh together. I hope we continue to recruit those type of kids.

@Fightsongwriter Did Andrew Wiggins come off as materialistic and not giving effort to you?

@jaybate-1.0 At first lance glace, I thought the "high trip offence" was some devious Duke derived scheme.

@Fightsongwriter Wiggins had 41 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 blocks on the road against WVU at their place. I think he was tough enough. Wiggins is quiet, but definitely tough. Stanford game he tried to get started, but couldn't. Refs whistled him for 4 traveling violations. He got 3 the first few times he touched the ball. I think he was all in with Kansas. If Embiid doesn't get hurt, we probably beat Stanford, and then who knows. Question: In all honesty, are you more upset about Kansas losing or how Wiggins played?

For so long KU has been blessed with Bigs that we could overplay out front and if someone happened to get by for a drive, someone like Cole or Jeff would meet them with a smile and a block without jumping at a ball fake. Lucas does his job but he can't be in the game for forty minutes.

@KansasComet He came off as very calculated in when he gave full effort. OAD diva syndrome. Don't get me wrong, I liked Wiggs. Yes he was dialed in for the WVA game, but he did that once. And not in the tourney. Had he had the want to I think JJ has, he should have had 4-5 games+ where he dominated. Maybe self did not let him, but he just seemed too passive, like he knew he was saving it for the league. I would bet JJ in a handful of games already has more floor burns. I just like JJs demeanor (sans the silly techs) much much more.

@Crimsonorblue22 You should all be thankful it is not my box! It is Bill's. My 2A high-school girls coaching resume attracted not even an NAIA offer😄. As a coach I made a pretty good financial planner!

@jaybate-1.0 said:

He has alchemically transmuted nepotism, inferiority and incompetence, into a viable career; thus proving access, opportunity and forbearance are critical drivers of success.

That has to be on the front door of the PHOF. I don't care who you are- now that's funny.

@Crimsonorblue22 Wow, very long post for Shorty!

@Fightsongwriter said:

I would bet JJ in a handful of games already has more floor burns.

I haven't found this year's floor burn stats (it is apparently an internal coaching staff stat not published). I did find a Keegan list for AW's year (as of Feb 17, 2014, when KU was 19-6):

Floor Burns:

1 - Embiid: 40

2 - Selden: 34

3 - Ellis: 33

4 - Wiggins: 26

5t - Mason: 21

5t - Traylor: 21

7t - Black: 13

7t - Tharpe: 13

9t - Greene: 6

9t - Lucas: 6

11 - White: 3

12 - Conner Frankamp: 2

13 - Justin Wesley: 1

Anyone know where we can get floor burn info?

@Fightsongwriter I am very thankful. Even as a female I could never coach girls, 2a would be especially tough! Have you ever heard of Marion Heim?

@Fightsongwriter Thanks, I get what you are saying. I saw it a little bit different. Wiggins is a young man that comes off as easy going. He did not allow the media into his selection of a college, which I thought was cool. Divas just don't do that. He wanted to share the moment with his Classmates and Faculty. He played great against Duke, even sealing the game with a jump shot. He was excellent against WVU. I was at the Stanford game, and he really did try to get going, but those bogus travel calls against him stopped him from imposing his will. The missed Embiid, but I thought Wiggins could have helped us get to the Sweet 16 and beyond. Comparisons to Josh and Andrew are unfair to both. They play nothing alike and both have their strong-suits. Some players like Perry Ellis, Andrew Wiggins, and even our present point guard Frank Mason have quiet personalities, that doesn't mean that they don't want to win. Andrew Wiggins will always be a winner to me because he chose Kansas!

@KansasComet

I agree. Wiggins was very unselfish, maybe too unselfish and many times passed on shots and deferred to teammates that had better shots. Had he taken more of those shots you would have people calling him selfish and a ball hog. Josh is more of an alpha dog and will take those shot more often than Wiggins did, both approaches have pluses and minuses but regardless, many people will never be pleased and find fault with both. I try to enjoy the games and leave the coaching to Coach Self and don't try to second guess what he does; he has shown that he knows what he is doing.

@JayHawkFanToo Exactly! It is so easy to compare the two, but they are nothing alike. Andrew Wiggins arrived as an 18 year old Freshman with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Josh Jackson arrived as a 19 year old Freshman to a veteran squad where he just needs to fit in. Different teams, different circumstances, and different players.