🏀 KuBuckets Archive

approxinfinity said:

@BeddieKU23 we will see against Kentucky if Garrett's game translates against athletic opponents. We won't see 10 rebs again. Will be interesting.

I wouldn't be surprised if Garrett led the team in rebounding again. One thing that he has done already is effort. You watch plays where he's busting his butt to get in position for a rebound or sprinting back on defense. I've seen a lot of things to like so far. He's a deceptive athlete and is long so I see that matching up well against Kentucky's bunch of raw players. We are lucky to have this young man

We were scary good for a large part of that first half last night. It was fun to see.

Marcus might not have the same talent that JJ brought to the table last year but there is not another freshman who has come to KU more prepared to play then Garrett. He moves the ball constantly, he rebounds with effort and he knows exactly where to be on defense whether it's hedging for help or squaring up on his man. It's simply unheard of to see this type of contribution this early. Imagine if his outside shot starts going down. Beyond impressed

A&M looked really good on defense and they were short 2 starters including lotto pick Williams who is a highlight reel. They look like a potential top 10 team.

In the same light maybe west Virginia should have been ranked near the end of the big 12 rankings. They weren't even giving effort on defense and the people they loss from last season have certainly made it seem like the glory days for them are gone

7 players tonight. Yeah sign silvio up yesterday

So dumb

West Virginia is not good and it's hard seeing them getting that much better. Ahmad is a big loss for them but he will give them a scorer when he returns

Garrett starting tonight. Wow

BShark said:

BeddieKU23 said:

BShark said:

I've never needed the distraction of a KU game more in my life than tonight.

Good timing then. Hopefully we have about 40 more distraction nights coming

Now that what I feared has actually happened I will post.

Just had a close relative pass away.

I'm so sorry for your loss. The KU bucket family wishes you condolences during these tough times. Hopefully tonight's game will give you a few hours of happiness on a dark day

@JayhawkerRedLegs

I don't think the team was particularly motivated the other night against Fort Hays. It was great ammo for Self to use which can be the added benefit of not playing great in a exhibition game. I think we see better effort tonight especially from some of the individuals who were called out from Tuesdays game.

If we learned anything from Tuesday it was the defense isn't very good and this team is far from realizing its potential. I think that's fine for now as long as we start to see flashes of what we expect from this group over the next month. I'm sure tonight will be a mix of good and bad. More ammo for Self to use over the next few days as they prepare for a real test on Tuesday Night.

As always I'm looking forward to seeing how our HOF coach gets this team to run like the well-oiled machine its been the past 13 years. The talent is there and we just need to see who's going to step up

@jayballer54

He'd force his mother, grandma, 3rd cousin whoever out to land Zion.

I threw UNC out there because of all the teams recruiting him they are the perfect blend of an elite program and has little standing in his way from a roster standpoint. UNC is a transition/rebounding team which just happens to be 2 of Zion's elite skills. Makes sense but I have absolutely no clue how serious he is about them

BShark said:

I've never needed the distraction of a KU game more in my life than tonight.

Good timing then. Hopefully we have about 40 more distraction nights coming

this is the unexpected expected rogue NCAA at its best! making no sense at all is what they do.

As a follow up tonight's opponent, Tennessee State is really a perfect opening game before the big one on Tuesday.

Last year's squad was tough defensively leading their conference in a bunch of defensive categories. Their coach realizes the task at hand coming in and simply said we'll defend. Interesting take from a team that's a near 29 point dog.

So I think this will be a good test to see where our offense is right out of the gate. Tenn St doesn't have any real offensive threats. 3 seniors return but statistically none of them did anything really well. Poor shooting team and a high turnover rate figure to be issues for them again. They are breaking in a new PG which is a bad sign facing our back court.

I figure this will be a close game early and KU will start to show signs of pulling away towards halftime. The 2nd half after Self yells at them a bunch should put us in a position to pull away for an easy win.

I'm most interested in lineup combinations tonight. We only have 8 guys right now but I think there is a ton of intrigue on which 5 gives KU the best chance of winning now and in March.

I'm interested in seeing how Svi & Malik respond to their coaches criticism of their performance from Tuesday. I would imagine they are eager to get out of the dog house and please their coach.

Can't wait to see Allen rockin tonight

Excited for another season of KU Basketball. Who's with me?

The long 0ff-season is over and we can finally dive into talking about the games, the matchup's, the Big-12 conference games and hopefully a very successful NCAA tournament in 2018.

So before we get too consumed I just wanted to say enjoy the ride everyone. We have a good team once again and I think we all are excited to see how this team will develop over the course of the season.

Let's get #14 and a NCAA Championship!!

@jayballer54

Yeah Kentucky definitely makes the most sense for him. The way Cal runs one and done's in and out and he just fits every box of the type of player that goes there. Quickley being there helps them just as much as KU having Dotson.

It will be interesting to see how the Kentucky freshman do and how many stay or leave after the season as that has to be a major decision point for him in his family. Knowing Cal, if he has a chance at getting Zion he'll make them all leave regardless just to open up positions for Zion.

I have a feeling this recruitment goes well into May

@JayHawkFanToo

Definitely even if he just practices its a leg up. Helps the current team with post bodies in practice.

If an injury happens or he happens to catch on to the system in time to get some game action then its a win-win.

WOWZERS

Will be at Kansas December 15th!

@BShark

things are heating up!!

@BShark

Very true. We all figured Langford was waiting anyway so any Top 3 wouldn't mean much with so much time left for things to change.

Just for giggles I did visit Maryland's board and boy crazy Jeff leading them down a pit to Misery again.

BShark said:

BeddieKU23 said:

Langford to sign in the spring. That's a plus for KU.

Excellent. Is his top 3 out yet?

This weekend I believe was what I saw?

Shittu canceled his trip to UNC. Sounds like Vandy might have won this one.

Arizona commit Brandon Williams won't sign this fall. Not a good sign and can't say I blame him without knowing the fall out from Arizona

Keldon Johnson signing this Saturday. Have to think Kentucky won this one.

Langford to sign in the spring. That's a plus for KU.

@JayHawkFanToo

Yeah if he decides on a school he'll have a spot anywhere he goes. We haven't seen a ton of transparency in this recruitment so its hard to assume what they are looking for the most. KU certainly positioned itself well by getting his friend Dotson and signing bigs in the class he can play around. We got him in for Late Night and have kept communication with him. So from a recruiting prospective KU has done its due diligence here and with a player like him its all about what he wants and where he wants to be for a year.

@jayballer54

I do think the distance is a factor. He eliminated UCLA recently and went to visit UNC instead. There has to be some reservation in his camp either from him or his parents about leaving the south. Maybe its not a deciding factor but I do think its there. And if I was looking at this from the outside in, KU might only be on his list so that a flagship Adidas school is represented in his recruitment. The Adidas factor seemed to have legs until the FBI rolled in. Things have changed.

The Zion's don't talk so obviously most of what we are talking about is opinion and assumptions. I could be totally wrong. If we go by rosters its hard to see him picking a school before spring with all the Elite schools not having a ton of clarity on their rosters. He could be the type to drag this out well into May. I think that's a good possibility actually. He's a rockstar so he's got to keep this going.

@jayballer54

I think for Zion to end up at KU we need some things to go our way.

The distance issue needs to be cleared up? Is it a problem? He's considering schools close to home and KU. If the Zion family wants to see him playing closer to home we are out no matter what is reported.

Our recruiting class should be attractive to him if he sees himself as a wing in College and in the NBA. We have a need for an elite wing and we signed his friend Dotson.

The biggest thing KU needs is probably help from other teams. We need Kentucky's current freshman class to have some guys returning. PJ Washington, Vanderbilt, Gabriel. These are guys that are not exactly being touted at Top 10 picks right now but are similar players to Zion and if they all leave he's got a ton of PT to himself.

Duke should become less attractive to him after they sign Barrett tomm. Too many mouths to feed with Reddish and RJ.

UNC I think is intriguing because they will play a style of play that would maximize his skills right now. Nobody runs transition like UNC and nobody can stop Zion in transition. They have a clear need for an upgrade at his position. I actually think they might have the best chance right now.

The local schools? Clemson seems over-matched here but we hear they have done a good job recruiting him. Martin has kept them in it at USC east as well. I imagine how their seasons go will have an impact on how he views them.

@JayHawkFanToo

Exactly right. Garrett had 3 points in the game but was from an overall standpoint was the best player on the floor outside of Devonte. Garrett missed a few perimeter shots that looked good but didn't go down. His 3 points could have been 9 and given him close to a double/double.

@BShark

Snacks is definitely proving to be a good recruiter in the last year or so

of course the assistants get a high-five as well. Stellar job they are doing

Garrett, Dotson, Grimes. Self really evaluating and closing like a mad man

@HighEliteMajor

Great post by the way.

It's very interesting that he calls out two of his upperclassmen and praises a freshman. Usually the role is reversed. He's usually trying to motivate his star freshman so I view it as a significant comment from Self in regards to Marcus. He seems to trust him being on the floor already.

I also loved your comment about the lineup that may ultimately be our best- Graham, Vick, Garrett, Preston, Doke. We might sacrifice some mismatch advantages putting more shooters on the floor but that 5 right there might be better in the long run on a per minute basis especially on the defensive end.

We have 7 really good options. We are extremely spoiled if Svi and Newman are coming off the bench.

@JayHawkFanToo

No disputing his line would have looked good.

If you can find a replay you will have a different tune about his game whether it was scoring 8 or 18. He had by far the worst game individually I thought.

I'm certainly not alarmed but I expected more from him. We know what what kind of shooter he is, just an off game. His defense is a significant weakness that the staff needs to continue to work with him on. He had some inexplicable turnovers as well that stuck out. He'll get better it was just an exhibition game

@BShark

Marcus might average 3-4 points a game but might make 10 plays that impact the game in a positive way for this team. We don't seem to have anyone else that wants to do that consistently. Vick does but he was mighty quiet last night for most of it. I expect the light to come on for most when its the difference between wins and losses

@BShark

I'm all aboard the hype train on this kid!

JayHawkFanToo said:

@HighEliteMajor

Unfortunately I could not watch the game. I cut cable and I cannot get ESPN3 and most of the streaming providers do not seem to have ESPN3 either.

Anyway, Svi had 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals; had he made 2 or 3 of his 7 3-point tries (made 4-6 from inside the arc) we would be saying he had a nice game...going strictly by the numbers. His 8 rebounds (7 DR) are just 1 less than Doke and more than anyone else in the team. Take the 8 assists by Graham and Svi has more assists than the rest of the team combined, his 3 steals are tops on the team tied with Garret and as many as the rest of the team combined. He must have been playing some defense to get those defensive rebounds and steals and involved in offense to have 5 assists. Yes, his shooting from the 3 was way off but other aspects of his game do not seem that bad, at least looking at just the numbers and we know his outside shooting will be better in the future.

Svi had a really bad 1st half. Missed shots, turnovers, you name it. Very similar to some of his games in conference play last year.

After he didn't start the 2nd half he was better but the game was already over by the time he started getting rebounds and filling out the stat sheet. Coach called him out for his effort.

He did have a nice jumper early in the 2nd half and a couple drives to the basket that we need him to continue to show. His perimeter shot was off and besides 1 ill-advised attempt every one of them was a wide open miss.

He's better then he played last night. Had a nice steal on the baseline. Really had to search for positives because it was clear he didn't play well and for a senior effort shouldn't be a question

So what were the positives? We know the Defense is pooo. The effort was inconsistent in a non-meaningful game.

If Self was explaining what a perfect recruit is, boy Marcus Garrett sure looks like he checks a lot of boxes. He might even become a starter before too long. The next week against better competition should give us an idea whether he's what we think he is. So far he's become my favorite hawk already.

Preston has a ton of offensive talent. I thought he had a pretty good game. His FT's need some work but I was not concerned with him overall.

The lob to Doke is money. Should be game planned 5-6 times a game. Graham is really good at setting that play up.

Graham can really shoot the rock. We know Malik and Svi can as well but they struggled mightily.

I'm not surprised the defense looks like it does even against inferior competition. Fort Hays made shots too which compounds the issue. They shot out of their mind for a while.

What worked for Self on defense in the past doesn't work today under today's rules. We changed our offensive philosophy with personnel but not our defense.

Garrett will get a ton of minutes if he defends like he has.

boy did we get lucky here. Sad for Collin. But its not rocket science you either get away with these things or get caught. He knew the stakes involved

seemed like a perfect game for the coach to use going in the 1st game. We made it a non game when the guys finally decided they wanted to be competitive.

Trouble in Alabama. Braxton Key their returning leading scorer out with a knee injury. Having surgery. Another starter out with injury as well. That makes 3 bama kids down right now..

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nobody-comes-looking-good-georgia-tech-impermissible-benefits-saga-162514812.html ↗

All he had to do was say Happy Birthday! The world is getting salty!!!

I'd love to see him join the team early and see if by the 2nd half of conference play or closer to March he could become a 5-6 minute guy. Just his body alone to use for fouls, screening, having a bigger body on the floor is something we cannot undervalue. We might have more lopsided games this season where PT would be available at end of game situations to save our starters from wear and tear. Obviously not being apart of summer and fall puts him so far behind the times. History says we are going to lose someone at some point (knock on wood). We need bodies

I thought the biggest takeaway was how unselfish he already is. He feeds the post, he makes the extra pass. No ego, just fits like a glove already. Again the sample size is extremely small but Italy, Missouri, 1st exhibition game have all shown the same traits from him

I see Grimes as a OAD. But that will largely depend on his season and how big his role is. If he struggles and has an up and down freshman year then that's where the 2nd year becomes a benefit to him. Plus the NBA is going to want to see which position he's going to settle into. Is he a big PG or will he be a smaller 2 guard like Gary Harris (which he's been compared too). The NBA has been pretty salty on combo guards lately. Too early to tell but if your already on Mock Drafts in the Top 10, chances are your already being scouted and coveted.

jayballer54 said:

Really anxious to get to be able to see Garrett, I haven't myself seen him in live action - any action as far as that goes - - that ends Friday when we play our 1st REAL game.

Been hearing nothing but positive things about him - and I'm sure not doubting , just makes me excited to get the chance to actually see him for myself. - -Think he is going to be a really good player for us and hearing he is very multi talented can do a lot of things - -can't wait. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

You didn't see the first exhibition game?

Ditto above post. Health is the biggest concern. We already had a few knicks and bruises from the first.

As a team I would like to see them win by 50 at least and make it look almost too easy. This should be the expectation. Team defense and rebounding are two things I'll be looking at the most.

Individually I'd like to see Doke look a bit better conditioned. I know its not going to happen overnight but he needs to get to the point where he can play 25-30 minutes this season (that's if he doesn't foul out).

Looking forward to seeing Garrett. Would like to see if he asserts himself a little more offensively. He was very unselfish in the first exhibition

@jayballer54

Cool the jets he's a hawk. He might do the ESPN thing, we'll see.

I'm sure its all in the works behind the scenes. Sit back have a coolada and we'll wake you up when he announces it official my fellow friend

@BShark

Yeah I'm certainly not criticizing the CBB landscape its just looking more apparent that most of the country is in rebuild mode. There are a few exceptions of course and I fully expect once CBB gets in the spot light after the Super Bowl that we'll have a much clearer view of who's good.

Right now I'd put teams in Tier's

Tier 1-

KU, Nova, Wichita St (at full strength), Michigan St, Zona (at Full Strength), USC

Tier 2-

Duke, Kentucky, Florida, UCLA, Xavier, Louisville, UNC, Cincinatti

Tier 3-

TCU, WVU, Miami, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Oregon, Seton Hall.

After that complete crapshoot and really the T3 teams could be any range of 10-20 others