🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@MoonwalkMafia AW3 story is turning about to be like Peter's, drama filled. I hope he stays at KU but I will not be disappointed at him if he decides to leave.

@HighEliteMajor I hate to see these two talented guys leave the program but I agree that there is a high probability of at least one of them leaving.

Prior to the OU game I had felt that CF should have red shirted as he did not look to be physically ready for the Div 1 although he did play well in both the games. I would have imagined Self using Greene and/or AW3 in these games and I was surprised that CF got the mins. He must be doing well in the practice. It appears to me that Self is trying to mentally grind out/toughen up Greene and AW3 and he is doing that to make them ready for the future. In the back of his mind he may be drawing the analogy to Russ Robinson's career at KU

Regardless the rotation mins between CF, AW3 and Greene have been a mystery to me and I hope that it all works out well for KU and the players.

@MoonwalkMafia Some good analysis

@Crimsonorblue22 I have respect for all players who sign with KU, including Merv Lindsy, Anderson, Wesley's of the world and not just OADs. My point is that Wiggins has no leash which is not good for Wiggins and the whole team. He is on a different planet and needs to be brought back to earth.

His play was atrocious in the 2nd half especially in the last 5 mins, critical time. He kept making stupid mistakes but he was not benched. Could you imagine any other player freshmen getting such a treatment? I have not see it. So why with Wiggins? Because of all the hype he came with, The Next Lebron?

Wiggins play was awful in the 2nd half especially in the last 5 mins. If I remember correctly he had like 3TOs in that stretch. He was having difficulty holding on to the ball.

Why did Self did not bench him? We have seen what happens when other freshmen players make a silly mistake, they warm the bench.

Is Bill Self creating a double standard? I admit that Wiggins was the #1 rate player but after watching the games he needs a lot of work. What is going through minds of Greene, AW3, Lucas, Conner etc when they repeatedly see silly mistakes/TOs from Wiggins but no reaction from their coach?

Is Bill Self afraid of the negative publicity if he were to bench Wiggins? Is he afraid of future OAD recruiting impact?

That may be the case but I feel that Wiggins must not get such a special treatment. His head must come between the shoulders otherwise he needs to be treated like other players. That will only serve him well.

@HighEliteMajor I agree. I kept asking myself why is Wiggins still playing after his 3rd TO. Not only his play was mediocre his body language was not very good.

Is Bill Self having double standard here? Is Wiggins getting away from treatment that other Freshmen get? Is this having chemistry issues? A lot of questions.

jb Great post and I am still smiling.

Regarding the point on Conner starting the 2nd half, I was also surprised and at first thought that Tharpe was injured. However Bill Self clarified that he had made the decision during half time for two reasons - 1) Conner had finished the 1st half playing very well 2) He did not want Tharpe to pick up the 4th foul early in the 2nd half. I guess he knew that his team will be keeping the game close and wanted to have Tharpe available to close it out.

@MoonwalkMafia Very well said. Spot on.

@MoonwalkMafia I agree with you 100%. Spot On.

On a different note is it just me or others feel the same way about Doug Gotlieb and his ridiculous commentary yesterday. It seemed that he hates KU. He did not miss a single opportunity to slam KU while praising SDSU the whole time. His voice would be so loud every time SDSU made a bucket. I was damn sick and tired after listening to him for 2.5 hours.

@KansasComet Good point about Embiid and Lucas playing together. I remember how well T-Rob/Withey combo worked when teams were focused on stopping T-Rob. Withey did not have much post moves and his offensive skills were marginal at best that year. But he was able to make easy plays. Perhaps Lucas can take on that role with Embiid.

Some great posts here. HEM and Moonwalk are on the money. Lucas plays with hustle. He pulled two Off rebounds in traffic within a min or so . He has the beast mode attitude that other Bigs are lacking. I wish he can get more PT.

I am extremely disappointed in Selden. The guy has no shooting skills and he is the shooting guard. Why can't Greene and/or White get some of his mins. Very disappointing.

@MoonwalkMafia Boy oh Boy. Good job.

On a different note, OSU got knocked off by KSU yesterday. Get ready fellas, Big 12 will be quite a ride this year.

@bskeet I agree, The kid is so young and new in the system that he does not even know how to drive a car.

@drgnslayr Below are comments from Bill Self as posted on KUSports today:
Joel could go anywhere this year from 1 to 5 probably (in the 2014 Draft), I would say,” Self said. “It would be hard for a staff member or myself to say, ‘Hey it’s best for you to come back.’ It’s really probably best for us if he comes back,” the coach added with a laugh.

“Jo is a little different now,” Self quickly added. “He is a young man who is very, very young, not just in basketball experience (starting in the sport at age 15), but in worldly experience. Just coming to the States (from Cameroon) ... he is trying to figure it all out.

“I talked to him the other day. He said, ‘Well, shouldn’t I learn how to drive a car first?’ He can get a nice car, but he probably can get somebody to drive him so he doesn’t have to worry about that (in NBA).”

Self said it’s simply too early to tell whether Embiid will be a one-and-done.

“I’d say everybody on the outside would say he’s probably definitely going to go because everybody who could go that high goes,” Self said. “But the reality of it is, I don’t feel that way at all. I feel he should do what is best for he and his life.

“The thing that is a little bit confusing is everybody comes from a little bit of a different economic background. There are some families you could never risk that (not going). There’s some like Joel who comes from a fairly affluent family. That is the reason why a lot of people leave, for the dollar. That won’t be why Joel leaves. He’ll leave because he’s ready. He has a long way to go to be where he can potentially be so he has the greatest career. I’m a big believer in that.

“He will make a lot of money if he comes out this year; but I would hope he is prepared to have the best career he possibly can, not just go for the check.”

Self said somebody told him this week, “of the last 15 No. 11 picks in the NBA draft, seven of them didn’t get a second contract. Just because you are a lottery pick doesn’t guarantee anything. It guarantees you three to four years, then you’ve got to produce. I think Jo will make a great decision. If it is leaving after this year we’ll certainly support that. He’ll make a great decision, one that is best for his life.”

At first I also felt that Embiid is gone after this season for sure but after reading these comments I have a feeling that Embiid will come back. These comments regarding his return makes sense.

@bskeet Some interesting comments about Joel Embiid leaving for NBA from Bill Self. After reading these comments I feel that Embiid might return for his 2nd year. I have also felt all along that Ellis is at least a 3 year player at KU.

In that case KU would be a loaded upfront and there will be some serious competition on PT amongst the Bigs. I would imagine Ellis and Embiid to be the starters and Alexander to come off the bench while Traylor, Lucas and Mickelson would be battling hard for the few remaining minutes.

There has been a discussion here regarding moving Perry to the 3 spot but I see two issues with this move - 1. We will be loaded at the 2/3 spot as well with AW3, Greene, Oubre and there is a possibility that Selden might decide to stay one more year. Could AW3, Greene or CF redshirt considering the depth. 2. Perry will have to change his game over the summer especially on D to suit the 3 spot.

I am still puzzled on rotation and why Self is not playing more players when he has such quality of depth on the bench. In the past years one can understand Self's philosophy as he did not have quality depth. But this year is different in this regard and even Self had indicated that he can see 9-10 players getting solid minutes.

I'd imagine that players will have more energy and will be able to hustle more with some rest. This should help in creating the pressure. We should be running out the teams from the gym.

From last night's game if Mason's 23 minutes are taken out, our bench played a combined total of 21 minutes (Traylor 9, Black 7 and Greene 7). AW3 and Lucas did not play at all.

I have no idea why our talented, long and athletic players are not getting the minutes. This must be very frustrating for them.

@KansasComet He is the type of player that has sent KU home from many tournaments

Is this supposed to be a compliment for Mason, does not sound like it but wanted to check.

Tyler Self red shirting will be a great move, HCBS won't be headed to NBA for at least 4 more years.

Jesse, Once again you have written a nice piece backed up by solid data. It is always a pleasure to read your articles because they allow the reader to evaluate the game with concrete data.

@jaybate 1.0 Good to see you jb. I miss your art gallery on KUSports

@KansasComet Regarding your point on KUSports I can see your point and concur however I must admit that it is still the best site from KU BB content point of view.

AW3 future is a mystery. If he cant crack the line up this year how will he get PT next year with Tharpe, Mason, Selden, Greene and Oubre in the mix. Even if Selden becomes an OAD, if AW3 can't get minutes this year I just cant see how will he be getting the minutes next year.