🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Well I have to say this , I personally can't give this kid enough props - - credit. - We hear all kinds of people say where would Oklahoma be without Trae Young? - - I in turn respond and have to say where would KU be without Devonte Graham?

Actually I really feel sorry for Devonte, but damn the kid just bust his ass. last night against Iowa State was his 9th straight game of playing all 40 minutes - -he has played every minute in the Big 12 conference games except for TEN MINUTES - - - -TEN. - - Is there any other player in the Nation that has played as many to compare with Devonte? Yet there are people that want to talk smack on Devonte - how he sucks - -not here - well that I know of anyways, but they are out there and that is just crazy.

It's really to bad that we don't have that competent backup for him so he can get some rest -- anyways Coach doesn't feel comfortable with anyone replacing him for any length of time and we have seen for ourselves what normally happens if he is off the floor

His shot is struggling - -looking really bad on some of his shots - - well actually a lot of his shots looked bad last night , but if anyone has an excuse for their shooting percentage to drop- -it's for sure Devonte. Anybody that knows anything at all knows that this kid has to be totally exhausted , and please don't try and come at me with any lame ass excuse about well he needs to be better conditioned - please don't try and say that. Any player could be in the best conditioned shape in his life and if he plays the amount of minutes Devonte has had to play, the results would be the same. It is just insane we can't get him some rest. He has no spring -- no legs I mean ya the team might be tired - -BUT Devonte for sure has a legit reason for his shooting struggles - - - not that he s trying to look for one - - - -BUT

Where would we be? - - I'm tellin you NOT in 2nd place with still an outside shot at the Championship that's for sure. The kid deserves more credit then what some are saying about him that's for sure -he is doing all that he can plus some that's for sure. BUT just this guy's opinion that's all. - Devonte has me in his corner quite a steal from a kid that originally was going to play at where? - -App St right? - - The kid has a set for sure I'm tell ya - -gives it his all. - - hope ya all appreciate the kid like I do he deserves it. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

It is clear the minutes are affecting his shot as they pile up, but the the stat of being down 20 pts or such in the few possessions DG did not play tell it all. He has to be on the floor to give us a chance. Warrior.

If his shot is struggling then shoot less. I think he does a poor job recognizing when its not his shooting night. We have other capable players who were shooting the ball well last night.

His value to the team last night was greater when he was making some really good passes. He's the best passer on the team by a wide margin. He had a dime to Lightfoot, a dime to Vick that led to a 3 that put us up 9 and caused a timeout. His rebound at the end of game taking it from Lard was a bigtime effort play. Some of his missed shots last night directly led to ISU baskets or fouls off the misses. There were stretches where it felt like he was playing for them.

He's been in a slump shooting the ball for over a month. He's carrying a lot of weight. Self and Devonte have come to an understanding that they are riding and dying with him playing 40 the rest of the season. The sky would not fall if he was taken out for a minute before some TV timeouts.

@BeddieKU23 Yes. I thought he put up some shots last night just because he thought he needed to put up shots. Some were good shots that he missed, but quite a few, I thought, were not good shots to take.

Hawk8086 said:

@BeddieKU23 Yes. I thought he put up some shots last night just because he thought he needed to put up shots. Some were good shots that he missed, but quite a few, I thought, were not good shots to take.

Definitely I realize he has a green light. I also thought the team overall was trying to get back to doing what it does well which is take a volume amount of 3's. We need Devonte shooting well, the post-season depends on it. He can control the game without missing 13 though.

Devonte’s +/- being what it is (the team is -20 in the ten minutes he’s sat during conference play) it projects out to a 40 point loss if he doesn’t play. Unfortunately that’s the eye test too.

I wonder if the team could be better right now if they had taken some lumps earlier due to a illness or minor injury causing Graham to miss a game or two. Graham needs reliable help and no one has stepped up.

@jayballer73 DG usually shoots better at the start of the game suggesting tired legs. I would suggest a game plan that he takes some threes at the beginning of each half and then depend more on driving and distributing. My worthless 2 cents.

@BeddieKU23 I thought Svi, DTG and Newman's first few shots looked super rushed and weren't good looks.

@kjayhawks

The beginning of the game was rough once again. It wasn't until Newman hit a 3 which made it 17-14 ISU did the offense start to settle down

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Blown said:

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that's awesome only thing is i'll bet they haven't come close to playing 9 straight gams without a single minute off

@BeddieKU23 Totally agree with the last sentence. Others are noting the awful + - when DG isn't in, and the offense looks disjointed (it can even with him in at times...). The problem is that they are trying to run the offense without the most important cog - it isn't pretty. So, for 2 or 3 possessions ahead of a TV timeout when DG can get a 2 minute plus timeout blow, don't run the regular offense - just milk the clock and let Newman take it from the top of the key. That ends up happening on many occasions in any event. Newman is probably a bit better at DG penetrating and finishing. And, notwithstanding his frustrating tendency to take too many rushed and off-balance 3s, he has demonstrated decent passing ability. He had a nice penetration and kick out to Vick last night.

@Blown

I was just looking at that table yesterday. Interesting that Syracuse has 3 players in the top 6.

@DCHawker

Good points. I'll add that if Devonte was to get a rest, run the weave. If that simple offense can't be executed without Graham on the floor then I have more questions then I thought. Newman can be "Devonte" in the action and penetrate for a shot or shot creation for another. I'm certainly not downplaying the importance of Devonte to this team, he's the heart and soul but if we can't run a basic offense with some efficiency for a few possessions without him that's telling.

@HighEliteMajor Unfortunately I think Devonte has become a crutch. He builds the confidence of the other guys when he's out there. Sure they COULD run the stuff, but it just wouldn't look right or feel right (at least that was my very subjective observation how ever long ago it was that he sat!). There was a comment from Malik in the post game that might get at this a little bit. He said something like, "it was good to carry Devonte for bit since he's been carrying us for so long." I'm hoping that comment is showing some humility about how much they've really relied on him so far and maybe give the rest of the team some confidence they can do it without him (if only for a few minutes or an off shooting night).

You'd think it might be a good idea to take him out for a possession or two just so the team doesn't completely fall apart if he ever fouls out.

Also, with all the tv timeouts, I don't think physically it's that big a deal, but it sure seems like he could use a mental break for a minute or two on the bench each half.

( * I am not a hall of fame coach )

@Barney

Great idea! If Devonte can light it up in the first half it would help us tremendously. Then our opposition will try to counter for the second half and that should open up other shooters and DG can build his assist stats!

Has nothing to do with nothing BUT found very interesting. Question - - how does a team only get ONE foul called on you in an entire half? - -Answer - - your NAME is DUKE and your playing AT DUKE --THAT'S HOW LMAO - -and people talk about how Ku always gets all the calls lmao ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@jayballer73 you need to ask Fran

Warrior