🏀 KuBuckets Archive

I just finished watching all of the KU games from the Title clinching thriller at TT up to the Duke victory that put us in the Final Four.

The four guard offense was spectacular during that stretch as we watched the steady improvement of the Bigs. Udoka , however so slowly, had become a force to be reckoned with against any team in the country except for Nova. Mitch has proven that he would not be too costly as a back-up and gained much confidence as a starter after Doke went down.

The most amazing development of the year was Silvio during the last 8 games of the year. He quit thinking, he played defense, he knew the offense and he dove for balls and made monster steals during the Two tournaments. He hits his free throws.

To me, the most incredible aspect to his game was the Joel Embid quick learning curve that appeared during this stretch of time. He reminded me of a young David Robinson. All of this excitement and hope for the coming season might soon be gone as we wait and wonder about the future. Will Silvio be back on the court at Allen Field House? We'll know in the next 10 days if Doke will be back.

I'll take the current popular #1 ranking if both are playing for us next year.

With McCormick and two new starting guards, my confidence goes way down.

With a numbing apprehension about this upcoming year, I take a literary license to quote Stephen Vincent Benet. "So we go on, under the claws, and Self goes on ahead."

I don't see any way McCormack starts. I also don't expect Silvio to play at all, unfortunately.

BShark said:

I don't see any way McCormack starts. I also don't expect Silvio to play at all, unfortunately.

Do you think Silvio will be found ineligible, or he just won't win PT because other guys are ahead of him?

drgnslayr said:

BShark said:

I don't see any way McCormack starts. I also don't expect Silvio to play at all, unfortunately.

Do you think Silvio will be found ineligible, or he just won't win PT because other guys are ahead of him?

The first part.

FWIW, nobody knows anything on Silvio so they’re preparing like he’ll be good to go. I tend to think he will be.

I tend to believe that if silvio had any issues with eligibility...he'd be in the NBA draft right now. He'll be there.

Saying that...the 4 guard lineup will be going the way of the dodo this year with Lawson, Doke, Silvio, and 10 minutes of McCormack. Unlike last year, I fully expect KU to win the rebounding advantage every game and the high/low game will be very prominent. I do concede however, that Grimes will most likely shoot more 3's than terry brown, billy thomas, and Jeff Boschee...combined.

FarmerJayhawk said:

FWIW, nobody knows anything on Silvio so they’re preparing like he’ll be good to go. I tend to think he will be.

I hope so, I just don't see it.

Does anyone know if KU is working on this situation, or do we just wait and see how it plays out? I heard Silvio was still around.

Nobody is working on anything because there’s nothing to work on. The NCAA hasn’t sent notice of allegations or anything so everything is totally normal. Silvio plans on suiting up as planned in the fall.

@FarmerJayhawk sounds good!

@FarmerJayhawk I hope you're right. As someone mentioned earlier, his basketball IQ is near Embiid's and I want to see SDS in a KU uniform for a long as we can keep him. It was unbelievable how quickly he progressed in such a short time.

I’d love to see Silvio next season, but only if he’s cleared to play. I’d like to maintain my lane on the high road. I just pointed out to my KSU helpers that KU has a classy crowd. I’d hate for them (KU fans) to yell obscenities at a game and make a foolish display of themselves. (As KSU fans regularly do) they don’t get it yet, maybe some day.

Self throws out an incentive for Doke to return.

http://m.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2018/may/23/self-believes-2018-19-jayhawks-could-hav/?templates=mobile ↗

Anyone notice DeSousa was not mentioned.

@wrwlumpy

The quote at the end about Quentin Grimes is what sticks out to me. Grimes may be the best player Self has recruited to KU. If Doke is back and Dedric is as good as I anticipate LOOK OUT.

@justanotherfan

We should be favored to win the Big 12 again by most sports writers... except Dougie Goetlieb, who will probably vote for KSU.

@justanotherfan As good as Grimes is, and I saw him in person a couple of times this past season, he's not better than Josh Jackson or Brandon Rush. Those are the two best players Self has recruited to KU.

@Texas-Hawk-10

The Josh Jackson question is an open question.

Grimes isn't quite to where Rush was as a junior, but he is much better than Rush was as an incoming freshman. Grimes is a much better passer and ball handler than what Rush was coming in. Rush was bigger and (coming in, pre injury) probably the superior athlete. Rush was also the superior shooter.

But Grimes' ability to put the ball on the floor and pass means he can be better as a creator than what Rush was in any of his seasons at KU. Rush never averaged more than 2.1 assists in his time at KU. I think Grimes surpasses that easily as a freshman, while scoring and rebounding at solid rates.

With Josh Jackson, he was so good defensively that it's hard to compare the two, but I think Grimes being a superior shooter will help him surpass what Josh Jackson did at KU.

Jackson may still stand above Grimes, but I am incredibly high on Grimes and think he passes even Jackson's production.

Are we only talking guards? Cause that embiid fella was pretttttay good.

Embiid is far and away the most talented basketball player I’ve ever seen. Bar none.

I hope Grimes can be as productive as Josh Jackson.

Stats don’t do Rush justice. His defense is what elevates him and no stats acurately represent it yet.

I'm talking about talented on Day One, when the player arrived on campus.

Embiid, when he arrived was good, but he wasn't even the most talented recruit in his class when he arrived, lagging well behind Andrew Wiggins (and maybe not quite as good as Selden). Embiid has turned out to be better than both of those guys, but he was not better than Wiggins when he arrived.

The only guy that could challenge Grimes, IMHO, is Jackson because of where he was from day one.

Day one in pregame warmups you could tell Embiid was far more talented than the somewhat disappointing Wiggins. I was completely underwhelmed by Wiggins talent, but Embiid floored me. Wiggins could jump faster and higher than anyone I’d ever seen, but raw basketball skill wasn’t there. Wiggins is an athletic freak not a basketball savant like Embiid. The only game I was able to attend that year was the first real game of the season.

Embiid is the most talented player I’ve seen since Pierce.

Jackson is the most productive from day one, but his talent pales in comparison to Embiid in my opinion from the little bit I saw of each. The way I quantify it Jackson has more talent than Wiggins, but less athleticism.

I’m just talking raw talent, not on court production. Some guys just have the it factor from day one and even my untrained eye can see the potential.

@justanotherfan Again, I've seen Grimes play in person multiple times because I work 15 minutes from his school. Grimes is a top 5 freshman Self has brought in, but he's 3rd at best behind Jackson and Rush.

I also don't know that I can definitively say Grimes is better than Sherron Collins was at the same point.

You guys are getting me all excited for next season. Heck, I haven't even picked a tomato out of my garden yet!

It's never too early. ;)