Haha he did.
BeddieKU23
31745 posts
We should! The thing that hurts mason's quest for POY is how good Jackson continues to be.
That's an awful high praise for a guy who can't make a FT. he should be one of top bigs in the big 12 next year if he keeps improving
he had to have known right? That his team was down? His reaction makes it seem like he thought they still won. Honestly that kind of mistake is hard to let go
I wouldn't mind Manning being let go so that Chaundee Brown became available again:smirk:
Selfishness aside, I do want to see Manning make it on his own. He has a very young roster still, only 1 senior on the team that plays minutes. Woods, Crawford, Collins, are very good young players. Childress has some game. The biggest disappointment is probably Doral Moore- 7 footer who was a top 100 kid, a project type but hasn't progressed to where Wake Forest needs him to be
I agree that he's probably safe this year regardless of how the season ends with the team being so young still.
Motley is the most likely guy that would end up in foul trouble. He's been in foul trouble against KU in the past. Most importantly taking him out of the lineup really takes away their identity in the post. Maston is a good backup/6th man type but not the talent Motley is.
Interesting to note that scouts are already aware of Vick. Good chance he doesn't make it 4 years here with his athleticism and his continued improvement. A consistent jumper away from next year being a possible 1st round pick. Agree?
It's very appealing for him to go to OU though. Home school, style of play fits him, PG spot opening with Woodard leaving. Little competition standing in his way.
If he wants more which very well could be the case then your right he'll end up somewhere else. Not sure if that somewhere means KU or UK. Hope its KU, Self and his entire staff have really put a lot of time into this kid. They followed him all summer, they went full staff to his game the other day. It's clear that Self really wants this kid and it would suck to lose out on yet another target that the staff spent a lot of time on. Young is one of the best shooter's I've ever seen on the HS level and looking at next year's projected squad we will need him.
Do you trust our bigs to not get in foul trouble first? We got a bunch of hack happy fellows this year.
But back to your statement, we will have to play big in that game. Doke's improvement is really important over the next 2 months. He's going to be a huge factor in how KU goes about beating them.
OU has some good games coming up, @ Wisconsin, Wichita, Auburn, even Memphis. We'll know more about them soon.
A very young team that Woodard & Lattin are trying to lead. 7 of their 10 guys are new to the rotation for the most part. Dante Buford was suspended for the 1st 3 games and has only played 4 minutes total. I thought he was a guy they would rely on heavy for versatility in the lineup.
Interesting, the last few years playing @ Baylor they have played us in low scoring games. Their Zone seems to slow our offense a good bit. At home I can see us exposing their zone because KU is always a good 10+ points better in Allen.
The one equalizer for us this year is the talent of Jackson roaming the middle of that zone. Major advantage for us having a do it all stud. .
A lot will change between now and February when we play them twice in 18 days. I expect KU to be a much improved team
Great question. Not sure that he's an every game PG but I think whatever team gets him will be getting a guy they can use in a lot of ways. He's going to bring versatility on offense because of his size and passing ability among other things. Defensively, he could guard anyone on the perimeter and could be a guy you look to guard a teams best player.
Speaking further on his passing ability the only guy I've seen with comparable floor vision this year is Lonzo Ball. Ben Simmons from last year is another guy you look at and see "point forward" potential. Invaluable skills to have on your team because those guys can impact the game more then just scoring.
If Philly gets the #1 pick and goes with Josh, you have 3 possible NBA all-stars to build around. I still have reservations about Simmons maturity but as a player his game would go well stacked with Jackson & Embiid. I think those 3 would elevate whoever else was around them
Collins was good as a freshman, not surprised he's gotten even better. Crawford is a stud at PG as well.
Jackson will be a NBA 2 guard and your right he's a jump shot away from being a NBA All-Star in my mind. Just a complete player that will fit in even better at the NBA game. If Wiggins can develop into a 25 a night kid without a great shot I have no doubt Jackson can do the same.
Fultz is the only kid I can see Philly drafting ahead of Jackson honestly. Fultz is an exciting kid with the NBA measurable's to be a very good scoring point in the NBA. Reminds me of Russell Westbrook and with the season Washington is headed for he's going to have big numbers.
For an NBA team like Philly or whoever gets the 1st pick there is plenty of options this year
Baylor is a very good team. I would even say that if KU played them this week that they would have the advantage over us. Not saying they would win but right now they are a more complete team.
3 things have made a huge difference in their season so far.
Lecomte is a better PG and shooter then the 2 previous Junior College guards they had running point. He's quicker, can create his own offense and defenses have to respect his deep range.
Motley in the starting lineup puts their best player on the floor more- Last year he was a 6th man type. Not many guys his size with his skill around the hoop.
Acuil Jr is a defensive force, long, disruptive and does enough dirty work on defense to limit Motley from foul trouble. I'm generally shocked how good this Juco kid has played so far.
Motley & Acuil makes them the longest team in America.
Until KU figures out its post mess Baylor will be a very tough match-up in both games. Again I'm not saying they would beat us, not in Allen at least but the return game might be the toughest game of the year in conference play
I think Philly needs to get a PG through Free Agency and one in the draft. Looking to be a few really good options between Fultz, Smith & Ball right now.
I think Jackson is rightfully a #1 pick but if the 76ers get this pick again they have to invest in perimeter options that can score and facilitate.
Probably has something to do with how he's wired to play. Coaches teach aggressiveness all the time and Landen is doing what was taught, but its now a foul. Hard for any player to adjust to cream puff rules we have now. He's had some bad calls go his way (like the one in the Georgia game where the offensive player pushed off with his forearm) and some of the offensive fouls where he's fighting for position (and apparently doing something wrong) is hard to get someone to do it a different way.
It's a big part of how Landen get's open. I could easily swing this to coaching as well. If we want to minimize those type of plays we need to figure out how to feed the post without our posts having to create the over-the-top play so often. We often put it all on the player but remember its the offense we are running that is creating the play in the first place. I hope coaches react to how that type of play is being called and adjust.
Regardless he is making a lot of silly fouls, really aggressive plays instead of just defending with his wits, he's trying to bully guys on the court. This game no longer wants you to be that type of player
Nice post btw. Great optimism, don't give up on him yet. It's nice to hear he's still got support even though his play hasn't lived up to expectation. Speaking of expectations, I think we all generally thought last years run would carry over and he'd hold this team together with the glue he did before. But this year we've seen the glue come apart and we must find the guy who held it all together again.
I've got to be honest I've lost a lot of patience for how he's responded to foul calls not going his way because of how smart of a player he usually is. He's been too aggressive to make a play, the rules are taking away physicality and that's hurting one of Landen's strength's. He's again forced to change his style to find a way to impact the game positively. Good thing its still early and coaching will settle him down and Landen will adjust. But it's been brutal to watch and luckily hasn't really impacted the final score. We'll see if he starts to adjust his game starting tomm
You make a good argument.
I agree with most of the things you said about Newman. He could become better versions of EJ or a skilled version of Taylor. If he hopes to be Transfer and Done in one year he'll have to show off a more rounded game then he's showed so far. I think that's ultimately why he ended up here after passing on KU the first time around. He realized the mistake and is now getting a chance at redemption.
Miss St wasn't the best situation for him, style wise, injuries, the step up in level of play etc. . He's a shooting guard stuck in a point guard's body for the next level. He's not your typical transfer that is looking for a new home to revitalize his career. He's a good player looking to get back in the good graces of NBA scouts. Most transfers become 4 year players because they need to, I can tell you now this isn't Newman's plan. Newman with a good year will be in the NBA after next year.
I suppose I've been hard on Newman but I have watched enough of his games to see what I don't see in him. Maybe he's able to pick up enough things during this off year from Devonte/Frank that he'll be serviceable.
Is Serviceable enough?
I do think he'd make a great 2nd option as a ball-handler, just as Graham has made Mason a better player and vice versa. Newman is going to need someone running the show with him who's unselfish and has the ability to make teammates better. That has also been a question with Newman- does he make the players around him better?
By the way Garrett is already signed to KU. We can include him, he's a Jayhawk. We are going to love Marcus, and we may need him to run the show right off the bat because he might be the best and only option to do so. Known for good leadership, passing ability, defense and ability to create offense. Self found his next gem, a guy who can guard 1-3 positions at 6'5-6'6. It's not ideal to hand the keys to a freshman but we may end up in that situation. He might also be the type that can handle the job as well.
Good thing you mentioned West Virginia. Definitely the same squad as always just less talented. Temple tried to give them the game and they still couldn't win. I don't see a guy on their team that consistently wants to score unlike last year where you had Devin Williams & Paige who stepped up for them. They lack that guy this year and it will show in games.
Interesting they thought Young was a PG. I thought he was a scoring guard much in the mold of his brother.
The loss of Taylor was a big hit, one that seemed to be swept under the rug. Watching Texas, they don't have chemistry with all the young players and as you mentioned guys are being forced to play a position they don't excel at. I also think this bunch isn't that great defensively other than Allen's ability to block shots. They want to play Shaka style defense but there doesn't seem to be 5-6 guys that have bought in. West Virginia makes them look like an AAU squad trying to pressure.
Bingo post!
Landen hasn't earned minutes after these 6 games. Even Coleby is playing more sound fundamental basketball right now. Landen is bringing negative plays, the offensive fouls are alarming. The rules have changed, we know he is smart enough to know that driving your man up the lane is being called now. Frustrating to watch him, I'm sure he's frustrated. We see it on the court from him and on the sidelines. Somebody needs to take him under their wing and get him back to Landen.
haha good one!
Young's ability to stretch the floor would be something. I don't want him doing that at OU against us. OU's offense definitely favors his style of play more then KU/UK does but KU definitely would need his shooting to go with Newman.
TCU is okay, they finally have depth and some talented veterans for Dixon to work with. Dixon was a good coach at Pitt and is a good fit in the Big-12. I think he moved them up a few places but we'll see when conference play comes around. Until they make their home gym a place to be feared, teams will not be scared about playing them.
As for wins over UNLV- one of the worst well known teams this year and Washington- a notoriously underachieving team that only cares about showcasing guard play and not playing defense. Can't take much from either as I thought they were expected wins for TCU. But for them its probably good progress.
KSU- Laughing out loud. Same team as last year, just a year older. They will have an extremely overrated record going into conference play. Maryland is a shell of the team they were the last few years. Trimble and... nothing. They almost lost to Towson and Richmond. Trimble gets a showcase year for the scouts to hopefully convince them he's a 2nd round pick.
Texas is a team not playing to its talent. Replacing 4 starters is hard to do. I don't think Texas has a natural fit at PG, just a bunch of athlete's trying to play it. They could be a team that comes around if the pieces fit. Until then I'm happy for any loss Shaka gets
Interesting, I think Newman is a better overall player anyway but had we landed Thornton we wouldn't even be talking about the PG position as a worry.
I think Thornton ended up at USC because of his connection with the coaches more than anything. What hurt KU in that situation was not being involved with recruiting him first time around which I thought was crazy because we recruited his teammates.
I also agree that if you have someone else to play with Newman he can be that 2nd guard in the offense. Who we get or end up with is important
I'm astonished how good a shooter Embiid is. So natural on that 3 point shot.
Absolutely agree about Garrett and Leech. Leech is a guy you get today. Barrett is a great talent but is probably a guy that slow plays it like every top recruit. Garrett has the chance to play the 1-3 positions, making him that hybrid guard that you can stick anywhere on the perimeter. I have no doubts that Garrett will be one of our best players by year 2, he just has that game that translates in the KU system.
We are after Young and Duval and each offers something to next years squad immediately. Young is definitely not an OAD but his outside shooting would be an upgrade to what we'll have. Duval is a dynamic player at his position in the mold of John Wall, Derrick Rose etc. Or for KU comparisons a king's version of Tyshawn Taylor as @BShark mentioned before. We know he's an OAD, but the type of player that puts the PG position to rest for a year. If you don't have the already groomed PG in the program, why not get the most talented one out there?
This would also let Garrett play a reserve rotation role instead of being forced to be the PG from the start. If we are able to get one of them its a safe assumption we'll be starting a freshman at PG next year. We might be starting one even if we don't get either PG signee. I think we all need to be aware that our starting PG will be young next year. How young and how talented remains to be seen.
It's historically not the situation we want but consider how we got there. We didn't sign another ball-handler in the 16 class to groom. We signed Newman to sit and play next year. Graham is old for his class (having did a post grad year), if the rumors are true that he told the staff he was gone after this year then this is the situation we are in. The way Self has recruited the position leads you to believe Devonte is gone regardless of his draft position.
I know you mentioned Vick & Newman but just because they are guards doesn't make them lead guards. Newman would definitely be a "PG" before Vick but in that situation your not getting a natural floor leader. I know the rebuttal is Mason wasn't a true PG but he's had 4 years to develop into one.
Newman is looking to be a OAD at KU and his best attributes don't include passing the ball or being the "lead guard". Newman is a scoring guard and for KU, next year, is probably best in that role. We've been spoiled with how poised and tough Graham & Mason are.
I'm sure this discussion will be the most talked about when spring time comes around
Right, good thing there is plenty of time and lots of unsettled things.
We could be in play for everything, from de-comitts, graduate transfers, europeans, OAD's, projects, practice players. You name it.
Good connection between Davis & Tilmon. Davis is one that got away and is a result of our recruiting strategy. This year we went Ayton, lost, and thankfully got Preston ( if his concerns end up being nothing).
@BShark said:
Having watched Tilmon I don't think he was a starter as a freshman at KU but at a place like Illinois he would be and they obviously made him their top priority. Tilmon would have been a nice 4 yr guy
I expect his situation isn't over though with Groce likely gone the way they are already losing. He will look at his options and I expect KU and Saint Louis will be after him.
Agrend. You can force ISU into bad shots but getting the rebound is always the issue. They play really soft defense as always.
We will have to bring our best game to win in Ames
Agreed I think we will see Garrett running the show if we don't get young or Duval and Graham leaves. Not ideal but the only option we will have unless we find a graduate transfer
We will have to play small. We can play 1 traditional big against holden but bowie is more of a undersized 4 who can make jump shots.
I would play Doke against Holden. Bowie would be Bragg or our big guards. Burton is a bad match up for everyone
I'm shocked they didn't get a shot off
Zags can't make ft's. Gonna cost them
Zags playing zone defense against this team. wow Few really doesn't want to win
I hope we are never in that position to rely on non PG's Newman and Vick
But we are looking at a freshman PG whether it be Garrett or one of the remaining PG's out there. A transfer PG will do no better "understanding" the offense
what a choke job this is
right on que, ISU about to take over
Zags really shooting it well today.
Zags up 16 in 2nd half. Still plenty of time for them to blow it though.
Zags exposing ISU's D
I hope he sticks, looks like exactly the type of PG KU will need.
They also have Pinson out with injury which gives them even more versatility and experience. I think Pinson was their leading assist man, kind of that glue guy every team needs. UNC just seems to be carrying on last years success. I don't think they are getting enough credit right now,
My counter to your well said post is who is the PG if Graham leaves after this year?