🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Sitting here waiting for tip off - -here in my rocking chair got my blanket laid over my lap - got my bottle of Geritol and mags waiting for tip off lmao. - -Got to pondering , so just how many losses you think we are looking at going into the post season?

I'm thinking possibly: 3-4 - - - quite probably ONE - -@ West Virginia - - -- Could happen - - - Kentucky - - - - possible @ Iowa State - - -Pretty slim but possible @ Texas - there you have it. - - so how many? - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

37-3 baby!

I'm going to say 4. Possible losses: Ken, at Sanford, UT, TCU, Baylor, ISU, TT. Between these 7 and the potential of some unexpected loss, 4 sounds possible to me.

Any game the refs have a tight whistle is a potential loss because of the lack of depth.

Depth becomes less of an issue second semester with Cunliff and hopefully DeSoussa becoming available.

@dylans yeah, it could go from minimal depth to some of the best depth in recent years.

I would be shocked if we lost more than 5 games with our SOS not being as tough but one game at a time and Tennessee State is first in line.

kjayhawks said:

I would be shocked if we lost more than 5 games with our SOS not being as tough but one game at a time and Tennessee State is first in line.

Ya me too. - -I scrolled down through our Schedule more then once and I just can't see it no mater how I try to twist it around/ - - I just don't see other then the ones I already listed - I just don't see it. - -I suppose MAYBE maybe Stanford there - but I think we would have to have one of those what seems to be jump up and bite us in the Ass right before Christmas break type of outings. - You know what I mean - one of those let's hurry up get this over with so I can go home - -be with family - -my head is not in this game type of outings - -that's the only other possibility I see. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

Tennessee State has some height and experience. Several JC transfers. They appear to be defense oriented. Should be a good game tonight...

@dylans I don't agree. What we are lacking is depth in the frontcourt and Sam Cunliffe isn't going to contribute much in this category. We will be guard rich but F/C poor. Maybe Silvio fills that gap.

Probably not going to be a popular pick but I think we will lose between 7-8 games this year unless we somehow add depth (read add Silvio). A lot will still come down to guard play where we have abundant talent and a good mix of experience/talent.

@jhawk7782 Cunliff isn't very good, I was hoping for help from Silvio as you appear to be also.

@Gorilla72

Not much effective height. The two tallest players they have, Hamilton and Mekowulu both at 6'-9", combined for 38 minutes under 12 points and under 8 rebounds per game last season; pretty pedestrian numbers. Their top two scores last season, McCall and Martin where seniors and both very good but they are gone. They finished last season 17-13 and 8-8 in conference, not exactly world beaters.

dylans said:

@jhawk7782 Cunliff isn't very good, I was hoping for help from Silvio as you appear to be also.

Cunliffe is deep bench*.

*trademark pending

Going with 3. At West Virginia, and a couple other games on the road. At TCU won't be an easy game this season. But I think KU will beat Kentucky by 10-12 points.

@jayballer54 Dude! Great question and I'll pose one of my own before I answer it.
Who will be scouting Kentucky tonight? in like 5 minutes?
I am. Kinda.
Anyways, back to it. I'm gonna say 3 total because there is always one we drop that we did not expect to.
BUT, if we get DeSousa in December?! HooooEEEEE! That's gonna be some big time stuff there man!

KirkIsMyHinrich said:

Going with 3. At West Virginia, and a couple other games on the road. At TCU won't be an easy game this season. But I think KU will beat Kentucky by 10-12 points.

Hey bud. I had a tough day today good to see you.

@BShark Why, what happened? Good to see you as always, Gyp.

@dylans Yes. I could have written my previous response better but I think we are in agreement. As for total losses for the season, I'm between 7-8 games. But far too many variables for anything much more than a guess.

@dylans Going back to 2016, Sam Cunliffe was ranked as high as #36 by Rivals and only played the fall semester. I hope he used the time he had to learn the system and play with and against his teammates.

We recruited him fairly hard in 2016, still I see him as a little bit of an unknown commodity. My bet is that he will be a solid contributor with his defense being what keeps him out on the court.

Not saying you are but definitely don't get too hung up on his recruiting rankings. He was improperly evaluated in part due to his great athleticism. IF he buys in and learns the system he can be a decent 2 way contributor his JR/SR years but I don't expect anything from Cunliffe this year but playing at the end of blowouts. Garrett has already shown he is too good to lose minutes.

Even next year might be fairly tough for him assuming things go as planned with Grimes even if Vick leaves (I hope he doesn't!). So let's see what that looks like. Dotson and Grimes will start (don't @ me) along with Garrett. Moore will definitely get some run as the kid fills it up. I think his best shot is Self returns to mostly playing big and KJ slots as a 4. So then Cunliffe is the 5th guard if Vick goes and KU doesn't land Langford.

That team would be really good, but a departure from what we've had lately. Defensively... well I think the opposition would rather have a root canal than play us. Offensively there would be some shooting issues but Dedric has tremendous skill in the post and will take a lot of shots. We'd have another penetrate and create guard in Dotson. Garrett continues his role as junkman. Grimes scores at all three levels. The main issue is 3 pt shooting.

Before last night, I was sure we would have several silly losses to bad teams, but not as sure after last night. Tuesday will give us more info on where we might think this team goes this year.

What if we pull into January with TWO additional players!?!?! Sam AND Silvio! Sam is the sure thing and he should offer some depth help, and Silvio would be a sick addition! If he can just adjust enough to offer some post help, we will have all the right pieces for March!

We played really good defense in the first half. Guys were moving their feet and showing the type of effort required to play Bill Self style defense. It was refreshing after the fiasco on tuesday.

I don't know why everyone is making these judgements about Sam before he has even played a game in a ku uniform. He has been in the system for a year now, so there's no telling how he will play. I also heard that Dok doesn't have any post moves, he will be a constant foul machine, that billy's motor is terrible and that he doesn't have any post skill. All of those appear to be incorrect through three exhibitions and last night, so i will wait to form any opinion until he plays.

Slayer - completely agree about depth. With Sam and hopefully Silvio, we go from being the thinnest elite team to arguable the deepest. That would be a whole lot of talent and we wouldn't get outmanned against Duke or Arizona like we did against UK in 2012. With the way our guys can shoot and play defense, those additions would make us super tough to beat. Almost no weaknesses.

With the big 12 being down, it's hard to see us losing more than three games, especially with the extra talent. Kentucky is almost a must win for us due to the schedule otherwise being really weak. I mean, Stanford and Syracuse aren't exactly elite teams this year and are expected wins. I will revisit after tuesday, which will give us much more insight.

@HawkChamp Relaying what I've heard. Don't be surprised if he does not crack the rotation. The coaching staff is not exactly enamored.

@BShark I honestly don't know what to expect. Given that other such info on other players did not correlate with the eye test, I think Sam deserves a chance.

@HawkChamp He will have a fair chance but keep in mind the five guards KU is already rolling out there are very good.

@BShark I'm not saying he's going to be a starter, only that he has a chance to be a solid contributor if he plays defense and makes some threes. That's all

Who knows, maybe we'll go w/5 guards. I think Marcus said he's guarded some centers in high school🤣

I think we'll win every game we play.

@KUSTEVE yep. I don't think there is a game where we won't be favored.

@HawkChamp My prediction record over the past 14 years is 82.7%. I haven't felt like we were going to lose a game since Ted Owens was coach.

HawkChamp said:

@KUSTEVE yep. I don't think there is a game where we won't be favored.

Pretty much. At least, games on the schedule now. There are definitely games in the tournament where the other team would and should be favoured. IE Duke, WSU, Zona, MSU. KU has a real chance to beat anyone this year though including those teams.