🏀 KuBuckets Archive

KUSTEVE said:

@BeddieKU23 My personal opinion is we have always done a poor job attacking pressure, no matter who we have on the floor. 2008 came closest to being a decent fast break team. It was quite a culture shock for those who loved Roy's fast break offense when Bill took over.

I agree with that.

KUSTEVE said:

@BeddieKU23 We've got a one man wrecking crew for the break : Mr. Newman. He is the one guy that is very good taking the ball to the hole. The problem is we don't space our players right, and we aren't very good at advancing the ball through passing, so I'm not sure we can get him the ball in the right spots.

I've been impressed with Mr Newman's driving ability as of late. I think its his biggest strength compared to his outside shot that comes and goes. He has really improved his strength here at KU to absorb contact and finish. It's important Malik continues to be aggressive for this team

@HighEliteMajor

I agree as well about believing in Self's character. I think we all owe him that benefit until proven otherwise

@drgnslayr

really good post.

Secondary Break isn't something we've talked a lot about this season . Honestly I'm not sure this team has the personnel or depth to execute the Secondary Break that well.

Roy Williams still runs it to a T but we don't have Roy.

Last years squad was able to run SB because Mason & Jackson were athletic freaks and were assassins driving into the lane.

I think Self has abandoned certain elements of strategy this season because he realizes the limitations of the team. We have one ball handler, one elite'ish level passer on the entire team and zero dependable depth at multiple positions. Everyone else does enough to keep things chuggin'. Pushing secondary break could actually backfire. I see our tempo # has started to drop into the 100's in D-1. Self is using strategy to maximize his team's offensive strength while limiting his teams exposure on defense. Launching 3's, running half-court offense where you can ISO your big that's #1 in the nation in FG% and letting guys go make a play has largely been the most effective approach for this team. The 4-1 is who we are and it might not even be a 4-1 that you would expect. When you only run 7 out there consistently you just hope you can survive!

I just hope we can sweep West Virginia. The place should be rocking.

@JayHawkFanToo

Tough few seasons for UConn. Some big injuries to some starters, recruiting misses especially in the post. Definitely not keeping up with the women's team

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on Thursday denied a motion to dismiss federal criminal charges against three of the 10 men arrested for their alleged roles in the FBI's two-year investigation into college basketball corruption. The trial for former Adidas executives Jim Gatto and Merl Code and former sports agent Christian Dawkins is scheduled to begin Oct. 1.

Looks like life lives for this

@BShark @Kcmatt7

I'm not worried either. There could be a chance he decides at Burger Game which wouldn't be great timing for KU I would think unless our season is over before then and guys have made their intentions known.

His ESPN gig is going to be hard to top..

Another 2019 player to keep an eye on Lester Quinones. Plays with Achiuwa at St Benedict's.

6'5 wing that can shoot. I'm going to reach out to my Brewster friend to see what he's got to say on that. #66 ranked player

Quinones told Rivals that he feels as if Illinois, St. John’s, Minnesota, Kansas and Georgetown are the five programs that he is hearing from the most.

Kansas: “It means a lot to be recruited by them. They haven’t offered yet but it is a really good look.”

Doesn't sound like KU is that interested just yet..

CRH107 said:

If we all agreed, all of the time then we would only need a blog for one. How boring and uninspiring. I enjoy each and every post...some affirm my thoughts, others cause me to pause, and many push me to rethink my position.

A smart man (or woman) changes his mind...a darn fool never does.

It took Coach Self exactly two games to distance himself from his "long term" solution (of starting two bigs): Win. Win.: Malik and Vick get back to the starting rotation. Self gets to expect better effort.

Whatever the ailment this team is being treated...how fast and reliably they bounce back... only time will tell. Exciting times ahead!

Superb post in my opinion

Didn't realize the hysteria Indiana fans are going to land Langford.. This recruitment certainly isn't easy

BShark said:

@BeddieKU23 Yeah they have lost 4 in a row now. I'll never count Cal out though, he has had some high loss teams reach to ff.

This isn't one of those squads. A lot of guys that are a year away still from what I saw of them just last week.

Langford is #4 on the All-Time Indiana Scoring Record right now. Friday is his senior night playing against a team who's assistant coach is the all-time leading scorer in Indiana history. If Langford plays the max number of games left he would have to average 39 pts a game to break the record. He's currently at 2,780. Recent games of 63, 53, 44 he's fast approaching close to the top

dylans said:

Looking at the ISU crowd; I realized where the term basic bitches comes from.

Hilton certainly lacked "magic". I was surprised how poor the turnout was for the KU game given the recent history

@BShark

Looks like they are bringing in Garland, Nesmith and two NBA players to recruit him as well. Smart move for Vandy. Wish they weren't making a big deal of it but what can ya do. Was thinking this was a long journey for the Langford's to make but google maps says only 3 hrs from Indiana to Vandy..

@BShark

Aren't they the youngest team in D-1?

Certainly doesn't help that they returned only 2 guys who even played last year. And both of them weren't exactly expected to be stars. Usually 1-2 guys return that actually have some experience. Watched them recently, they don't have enough defined position players. A lot of athletes without a ton of skill

BShark said:

Kentucky is now under .500 in SEC play. So things could always be worse.

Can't imagine the fan boards right now. They must have already sent death threats to Calipari by now.

Statmachine said:

@BeddieKU23 Nova is getting ready for another loss this weekend when they play @ Xavier... #1 seed is fading fast!

I think they ultimately stay a #1 seed. I think they beat Xavier IMO. But that's definitely a game they could drop..

Not a lot of deserving #1 seeds.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22443508/former-adidas-executives-sports-agent-seek-federal-charges-dismissed-men-basketball-corruption-case ↗

Kamau Stokes back playing for K-St. Didn't realize he's been back for 4 games now.

I assume Romeo's visit is an official?

Self doing the smart thing getting into his ear before that visit..

@JayHawkFanToo

Bonkers season, everyone needs some good luck filling out brackets this year!

Kentucky loss #9 as well to a good Auburn team and now have lost 4 straight. Kentucky is in danger of missing the tournament. Two more road games they could lose + a SEC tourney loss would likely put them around a 20-21-12 team on Selection Sunday

Nova lost to Providence who was blown out at home 4 days earlier by Depaul.

Meanwhile Nova and Clemson lose to unranked teams. I'm sure nova fans might be starting to worry just a little bit. I know the injury bug has started to take it's toll on them

@Kcmatt7

Reminds me of UNC's frontcourt last year. Talent, depth, size, scary

@justanotherfan

His game is growing on me. Making that perimeter shot would make him even more valuable as an addition to the team.

@hawkmoon2020

@Kcmatt7 just took the words out of my mouth

Add Ogbaji as well who just committed last week

Doke is a wildcard right now as well. Not on NBA radar's but might have a desire to seek a professional job anyway.

@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.

Tech could easily lose to Baylor and Oklahoma St on the road. Baylor lost by 3 to them in Lubbock, Oklahoma St lost by 5. Both get the return trip now and have a chance to knock off the top team in the conference. If Tech had beaten them handily I think predicting an upset would be a bigger stretch but we are talking 1-2 possession games here. I think the way Baylor is playing recently gives them a slight edge of the two likely to upset them. But OSU has big wins (lately on the road) and sometimes Gallagher Iba brings out the worst in teams (usually KU).. It's not a stretch of any imagination to think Tech could lose the next two. That would put next Saturday's and Monday's games in a much bigger light.

Kcmatt7 said:

@BeddieKU23 Doubtful.

But I think we have this one in the bag imo. If there is PT, Langford is a Hawk. Just say the magic words Bill. "I guarantee you a starting position." And then uncross your fingers and mumble under your breath so you feel better "if you earn it."

Yeah I was just pointing out that another one of their signee's is having a great year and looks poised to jump into the 40-60 range in the final rankings. They also have a transfer from Notre Dame sitting out that plays the SF position as well. Vandy is just like KU- has to make or have guys leave to make room for his signature (neither which is a big concern).

To me I think Romeo will be a Hawk. We need him and I think he would impact our championship aspirations for next season

Wonder if the SF signee for Vandy will have an impact on Langford's decision. Nesmith is set to rise in the rankings and plays the same position as Romeo

BShark said:

BeddieKU23 said:

Quinerly to Nova as expected..

Probably would have been the pick in the first place if his recruitment had been totally clean.

Can't disagree there

Quinerly to Nova as expected..

BShark said:

Self will be visiting Romeo today.

booom shaka laka

wissox said:

@BeddieKU23 can I list you as a reference?

Absolutely, you're a shoe-in now

@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

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.

Bwag said:

So they have 3 road games and us 1...would normally say great, but this year - home games almost more of a struggle for us.

Hopefully that's put to rest the next two games. Fieldhouse should be electric Saturday

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.

RockkChalkk said:

@BeddieKU23 You're missing a few games. KU's last game is at OK State and TTech's last game is at home against TCU. Tech's remaining schedule is easier then ours in my opinion.

I deliberately left out the last games of the year. I think #14 is decided within the next 4 IMO.

Tech has 3 road games and plays KU at home. I think KU's slate is easier in that regard, 3 of the next at home.

The Tech game is going to be something if all the stars align. Tech unbeaten at home this year, KU 5-2 on the road in conference (9-3 overall away from Allen).

We'll see what happens this weekend and during the weekdays games before we get looking to next weekend too much

@Bwag

Good Find, Jesse is really good

@wissox

Nice rundown.. Your hired by ESPN

Kudos to the team for the response last night. The sky hasn't been fixed but that was a great win to get given the situation.

Now can guys sustain this for more then 1 game. If Gameday and all the stuff going on this weekend can't inspire this team to come together nothing will. The next 12 days are going to hopefully be very exciting to see if these guys can get back to playing Kansas Basketball!

Frank Mason took over Vick's body last night. It's the only answer I could come up with.

Congrats to Cobra for finally coming out of witness protection

The next 12 days will decide what happens. Going to be an exciting stretch I hope

Tech's schedule-

Saturday- @ Baylor- Winners of 4 straight, lost by 3 in Lubbock in the first meeting

Wednesday- @ Oklahoma St- Lost by 5 in Lubbock in the first meeting, hit or miss team

Saturday- vs KU

Monday- @ West Virginia

KU's Schedule-

Saturday vs West Virgnia- Gameday in town

Monday vs Oklahoma

Saturday @ Texas Tech- #14 crowned that night?

Monday vs Texas- Senior Night

We will have to be up 25 and make 20 3s to leave Lubbock with a win, those refs simply won't allow it

jaybate 1.0 said:

@BeddieKU23

Damn.

Tech refs helped a whole bunch

Poor Michigan st fans have to listen to dakitch

truehawk93 said:

So much for OU beating TT...Where's Young when it counts? He scored 19 pts, 0-9 3pt shots.

Evans 26 pts, 4-7 3pts

Evans better than Young, and more consistent

They doubled him and he was in foul trouble

jaybate 1.0 said:

Any one give us any help around the league?

Nope

Tech made a circus 3 with the shot clock winding down bout sums up everything

Devonte is rounding into late season brick mode. He's found it every year