🏀 KuBuckets Archive

KU's 4 guard lineup is impressive! 6th man Marcus Garrett is GOLD! So who do you want in the final minutes of ANY game? I am going to go with the current line up in 99% of the games... Coach Self will go small "end game situations" regardless of eligibility status of an incoming BIG or Preston IMO.

I remember us talking about Svi or Vick? They are BOTH awesome IMO and I hope Coach Self sticks with the current rotation "even though he wont/cant"... Preston is great but Garrett is better!

Marcus Garrett's stat line is better than I think Billy Preston would have if eligible.

Wow... the dynamics will change dramatically when Billy becomes eligible again (got to love my optimism).

Even when Billy gets back on the floor, it will take him some time to catch up.

Just on paper, it seems like Marcus will be a good bet for many situations moving forward.

The 4-guard offense is starting to show some real progress. More than anything, we are able to control pace... something we have ALWAYS sucked at! Controlling pace has always been perhaps the biggest Achilles heel for Bill Self teams.

Controlling pace is probably the biggest weapon any D1 team can have. When you can play at a tempo that pulls your opponent out of their natural rhythm it is hard to lose that game. And it also helps when you do NOT allow another team to dictate to their pace.

But we don't know how fast Billy can play with 4 other players. Not yet. He may actually be a great alternative to Doke sometimes. Imagine the speed of our team with just one big, Billy Preston, on the floor?

Billy has a fast motor, though we still haven't seen him engage that motor most of the time. He's young, still learning everything. Fun to imagine all of these guys dialed in! Wow!

Interesting thought bubble @Statmachine. Are we actually better in the short term playing guard heavy lineups? The point totals we are putting up seem to suggest that’s a strong possibility. Even with Billy ( or desouza) coming back there’s no doubt Coach is going to have to make a decision that will effect how this team plays for the remainder of the season. The pre-season starting lineup was set with 2 post players. I think there’s an excellent chance Coach brings his second big off the bench just like he’s been doing with Mitch.

@SkinnyKansasDude :100: cultivating a dependency on 2-big lineups would prove to be fools gold once we get in foul trouble or go against bigger 2-big lineups. Our 4-1 is our Mariano Rivera cut fastball, and everything else we throw out there should still cut and set up the cut fastball.

@approxinfinity Did you really say "Fool's Gold?"

@wrwlumpy :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :punch:

I don't think we should compare Garrett and Preston they are completely different players. They offer completely different skill sets at this point. Preston can come in and get you tough buckets.

I agree though that if we get Preston back the main line-up should be 4 out 1 in.

A question - is Billy Preston a presumed OAD?

please don't tell me that yet again we have a big man who can't get on the court because of some stupid reason (cliff, Cheick, Carlton ) then who leaves or "transfers" after one year ...

Does this happen to other top programs ??

Why us ??

Bosthawk said:

A question - is Billy Preston a presumed OAD?

please don't tell me that yet again we have a big man who can't get on the court because of some stupid reason (cliff, Cheick, Carlton ) then who leaves or "transfers" after one year ...

Does this happen to other top programs ??

Why us ??

a lot of people - - the recruiting guru's and such seem to say that it is a presumed notion that Billy is a OAD. - -A lot of just John Q Public also seem to believe he is a OAD - -I think Coach Self has kind of recruited with the idea that Billy stood a good chance of being a OAD, and at this point if he is out for the reminder of the season - - good chance we won't ever see him step on the floor and play again.

Ya kind of sucks and I'm sure there is others out there that have had this happen - -it's just seems like we have been snake bit in the past few years. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@jayballer54 Billy is OAD because Billy and his mom want him to be OAD, not because he is ready, IMO.

Preston: OAD? Unless he clears up his eligibility in order actually to show his stuff while in Lawrence, Billy is going to take one hell of a chance on being selected in the NBA lottery. Probably won't occur.
KU might have invested upwards of $100,000 in his recruitment; but I can't see the program investing another 100K to get him eligible.
A fairly loyal fan who has followed just about every known move during the Bill Self years, I am growing disgruntled with the Preston "wait." Of course, I've no multi-million dollar annual income to protect and extend. Am just a distant fan who felt and expressed great hopes for this power forward who was to become a key piece in the Final Four aspirations of this historic program. That said, the Preston Saga has built a bad taste in my ingestion of Jayhawk Hoops. If Billy does not gain eligibility this week after Thanksgiving, I'd say it's time to move along without him; hope that deSousa gains eligibility and comes in clean and untainted. Even if Billy gets eligible, what should lie in store next with his offcourt situation?

Billy is gone, almost no matter what. I think he'd rather play in the G League than compete with the likes of Dedric and Udoka, not to mention Silvio, for PT. Which is kind of a shame. He could be an absolute monster with a year's time under Self and co. I don't see how he gets picked anywhere close to the first round unless he just blows up.

FarmerJayhawk said:

Billy is gone, almost no matter what. I think he'd rather play in the G League than compete with the likes of Dedric and Udoka, not to mention Silvio, for PT. Which is kind of a shame. He could be an absolute monster with a year's time under Self and co. I don't see how he gets picked anywhere close to the first round unless he just blows up.

What use do we have for a player with both feet out the door already?

Shouldn't we just survive the season without him and figure it out? Sometimes a players character should matter. We obviously don't know Preston but from the surface it doesn't look good. We could certainly be in a situation where he causes more harm then good?

Same could be said for when we got Malik. Billy is a good kid, he's just made a few stupid choices. If for whatever reason he has a change of heart and wants to come back to KU, then you take him without a second thought. Not like he's out there breaking the law like a CJ Giles. He just was driving a car he shouldn't. Comes from a good family too. Maybe the NBA taking a pass on him is the wakeup he needs.

@FarmerJayhawk

Good point about Malik, he was a major concern coming in.

It's not the same situation but I hope that Preston is thinking about how much missing these games has impacted his goals for after the season. He already was a longshot to be drafted in the 1st round. We'll see what happens I suppose

When you are desperate for talent you end up with guys like Malik and Preston. Now that they are Jayhawks I am pulling for them but suffice to say I'm thrilled that recruiting is going so well this year. To a lesser extent I suppose you could include the Lawsons in the "troubled talent" infusion but Dedric has been on the straight and narrow since the practice incident and KJ has actually been great the whole time after leaving Memphis.

@BShark We wanted Malik before he got hornswoggled by his dad into Miss St. As I recall, there was a huge discussion centered around @HighEliteMajor's comments about not trusting Malik's dad saying Malik would not go pro after his sit-out year at KU because he had promised to return to Miss St right before transferring, rendering his pledge not very credible. Others of us were thrilled to get him on the second chance, and had no concerns about him having "one foot out the door."

@mayjay I'm glad Malik is on the current team if that wasn't clear.

I really like Malik's game. You can see he's still trying to fit himself in with this team. I expect we get some games this season where he plays to his reputation. If 12 pts and 4 boards is the baseline we get we can't really complain. If he can give us more we benefit

@BeddieKU23 his D was good last game too. He's catching on.

@Crimsonorblue22 He got the message when Garrett started over him.