🏀 KuBuckets Archive

what a dumb play by phillips to foul on the inbounds with a second left. wow

@BShark

Yes I believe that is the reason he got out. He was known a good scorer. I was shocked he ended up there

@kjayhawks

I think you sold Mason a little short on where he could end up. He's got a legit chance at cracking the top 10 actually.

Perry Ellis finished 8th with 1798. 10th place has 1754.

Last year we played 38 games.

If Mason plays 38 games and averages say 16 a game (conserative # right now, not knowing where his average is going to settle on) he will finish in 10th all-time with 1759 points (roughly).

The way he's scoring right now could see him in the 18-19 pts a game area.

18 a game would land him in 6th place just behind Sherron Collins.
19 a game he would pass Collins.

Will be interesting to track this as the season goes by.

@BShark

Hughes almost landed at Louisville so yeah Missouri somehow got someone with talent

@HawkChamp

Couldn't agree more

@BShark

True and he didn't sign an LOI so they have nothing they can hold against him if they did suspect some foul play.

@jayballer54

At least we get to see them both play each other tonight after Philly held Joel out last night

@BShark

And the weird gets weirder.

Definitely won't be KU. And if its not Illinois the coaches and staff have every reason to be upset and possibly be looking into tampering

@BShark

looks really good

@BShark

I didn't think of Tyshawn, that is a good comparison.

@ParisHawk

Nope not sure where he went.

So we escaped the 0-2 start with a big win against Duke. Friday is finally the first home game for the guys and for us fans a relief to this crazy start of the season.

The travel to Hawaii & NYC has obviously been a demanding start, something only Michigan St can attest to. How much did the OT game and last second heroics against Duke take from these guys? They are human, its likely this game is going to be a bit of a letdown from the level of play that was demanded upon these guys against Indiana & Duke.

Hear me out. I'm certainly not predicting a loss, I believe we'll win somewhere in the 20 point range but I do think it could be an ugly looking game.

Seina is about an 1 hrs drive from my hometown. They have 3 senior players that are all-conference types in their conference. Wright, a guard and Bisbing & Ogunyemi, 2 bruising big's that will test our unsettled front-court. Seina dropped a 2 point game against George Washington which is a decent A-10 team and won the NIT last season.

They will compete in this one. For how long depends on how seriously our guys take this game.

We know Landen Lucas is not 100% and not playing at a level that is required from a KU starter. Self has said that Doke's minutes will start to go up after his strong performance against Duke. Bragg is starting to come around as well and this is a good game to get him 20+ minutes. We are going to need good play out of our posts.

Mason & Graham have played a lot of minutes already. Graham is having some concerning issues with cramps. They are tough kids but this is a game that neither should be playing over 30 minutes. This is where having an extra small guard would have been beneficial to the team and as we saw in the Indiana game, we shouldn't have to resort to a walk-on. Hopefully if the lead is comfortable Self will let Vick, Jackson & Svi handle ball duties and Frank & Devonte a rest

Everyone else on the team should be plenty rested and ready to step up. Any thoughts on the home-opener? Blowout, closer then expected?

@Lulufulu

Thank you I know these posts don't stand up to HEM's usual marathon posts that we used to get but its always nice to get enough points out there to get a good discussion going.

This was a big win. I hope Friday isn't a let down (which I'm about to start a threat about)

From what is out there Preston has someone in his corner that has steered Jennings, Mudiay and Ferguson overseas in the past. The move to Oak Hill could disrupt that pattern as the Preston camp uses Oak Hill as their last ditch effort, something none of the previous 3 did to help their case.

Ferguson had no chance because before he went to API, he went to Prime Prep, which both schools were the same sham and are now closed.

This is the situation Preston is in. His Soph & Junior years at these schools are likely going to be the reason he's not eligible + the concerns of his grades. I doubt he was able to get enough core classes his freshman year in California and whatever he gets at Oak Hill to make up for what he's likely missing.

Duval is a different case. 3 seniors from API that played with Preston/Duval are eligble this year in D-1. They all spent just 1 year at API, which is what Duval did. Duval now finishes up at IMG. He likely doesn't have much that will be of concern from an academics standpoint but you never know.

The concern is that Under Armour has been rumored to be influencing his decision. UA would pay him to play abroad. Now recently Duval has cut UCLA & Maryland ( the 2 UA sponsored schools) so maybe the rumors of UA have been false and Duval has shown this by removing the schools that were thought to land him because of the UA connection.

I would say as of today, Duval has a much better chance of playing College Ball then Preston does.

@jayballer54

Not a fair comparison between Trimble & Duval. Not even close I think. Trimble was a top 60 kid and he's been good for Maryland but he's still at Maryland because of his shortcomings.

Duval is an elite athlete for the PG position, elite quickness, elite ball-handling. Not a great shooter although his mid-range game is pretty good. I don't think it was a stretch to say that Duval could already be ready for the NBA. He has some stuff that just translates up the ladder. I think shooting and decision making are 2 area's that will travel with him as things he needs to improve on but there is no doubt he's an elite PG. I think because of how weird his recruitment has been its kind of kept the spotlight off him a bit because he's clearly got top of his class talent. I think his father has been somewhat responsible for that happening.

I mentioned John Wall, Kyrie Irving & Derrick Rose because his size 6'3ish, developed body and elite quickness/athleticism give him the opportunity to dominate his position. Even Fox of Kentucky is a better comp then Trimble. He's got some impressive tape out there but that's always misleading when your just seeing the good.

I love that we got Garrett but Duval is a different type of player if he were to play at KU. Replacing Mason is going to be tough and Duval has that Day 1 skill that you look for in trying to replace a 3 year starter. He can get to the lane, dish, finish and he's really good in transition.

@BShark

Think about this- Duval, Newman & Vick on the court at the same time. Salivation

@BShark

You forgot the father of flopping Marcus Smart who learned from Shane Battier. When I saw Jeter falling to the ground and then crying after I immediately thought he had been watching Shane video's

@chriz

They mess with the Charge rule so much I don't even know what is a charge anymore. No defensive player should be awarded a charge for stepping in front of a player making a basketball play. How many flops did Jeter attempt last night at near 7f tall!!!!!

And what are charge calls called on guys who freaking pass the ball to someone? Got to be the most pointless call you can make in a game. I think we saw at least 3-4 of those last night. I guess officiating is just called how they see these days

@BShark

Love his articles!

Love the discussion everyone. Keep it going.

Wins especially against Duke on the big stage are nothing but positive for this program. Especially after ESPN ran a headline that said College Basketball was Duke & Kentucky and everyone else. Funny, guys maybe they should have waited until today to run that story.

@jayballer54

I'm glad your being optimistic. I know I've been pessimistic about these guys but in the case they do get to go to college at KU my attitude will change 100% towards them. Duval definitely has the better chance of playing in the United States next year. Crazy, that I even have to say that.

I think my overall view of where recruiting has gone, is in a state of out of control.

We used to just worry about guys committing and then signing a LOI and you saw them in Uniform x amount of months later. Now signing a LOI doesn't even get you in the front door if you've got eligibility questions. Again Crazy! We could sign both either in November or April and still not know if they actually will make it to campus and get to play. Crazy!

If we are able to land Duval and he gets to play its a game changer for this program. Duval is the PG that ends up at Kentucky, not KU. He'd be a problem for NBA PG's to deal with today. He's that talented as a play-maker. It's not even close how good his ball-handling, quickness, playmaking ability and size for the PG position is compared to the next PG in his class. Sexton was the better fit for KU because his style of play compared favorably to Frank Mason. Duval is something KU doesn't have a comparison for but the guys that come to mind are John Wall. Derrick Rose & Kyrie Irving.

With this team replacing Mason and possibly Graham at seasons end Duval offers the perfect temporary patch to the position. It would allow Garrett to develop to take over as a Sophomore.

Go get em Bill

@BShark

Miami has recruited well especially with their current Freshman class. Did Walker even visit Miami? There was word that his family wanted him to get away from home and find his own way. They have some talent down there but this did seem sudden

@drgnslayr

Well said!

The game is just not called this way in the NBA, not anywhere in the world on any level. I just don't understand any of this. There is a physical element to the game of basketball that just cannot be taken away and that's all these ref's did last night.

If the calls are to be this tight, College should be allowed 6 fouls and the game should go to quarters where fouls reset. This brand of basketball cannot be here for good without changes made to how the game is run. Duke & KU were in the bonus after the first TV time-out. That is just beyond ludicrous

As you said the NCAA wants exciting action. If they want that, adapt the same freaking rules as the NBA and everything will be fine.

Besides everything we won the game and history has proven that coaches and players adapt over time to how the game gets called. But this just seems like the biggest breach from reality especially in the two games KU has played in

@BShark

Definitely. Most thought Nova, then Nike West Zona... to Miami.. boy

@BShark

The offense just needs to evolve to where Bragg can pick his spots on offense. He's an excellent option on a P&R to the hoop, he cuts hard to the basket. He's also a great option for a pick and pop situation. Giving him the ball on the block and telling him to go to work looks uncomfortable the few times he did. He's got to leverage his body better. He's our best FT shooter from the posts so if we can maximize his spots to high % shots or plays that draw fouls that will benefit this team tremendously. We isolated Lucas or Doke a lot and outside of Doke getting a few baskets it was poor offense.

@BShark

It's probably best that Jackson didn't have the type of game the media would gush over. Keeps him in check and will keep him hungry. We know now that his potential to take over a game is there and is one of the most encouraging result of the game. Mason is probably not going to be "the guy" every game. We thought all off-season we had many options to go to and balance would be there but offensively it looks like Mason/Graham & Jackson will have to bring it every game against the good teams for this team to keep getting better.

@Crimsonorblue22

It was a stupid play but my gripe is why is that a T? What exactly is the message your sending. Poor execution of authority in my mind. He'll learn

@BShark

The encouraging things with Jackson last night.

He let his drives set up jump shots. Once he was comfortable driving the jump shots were in rhythm.

His defense is good when he's not overselling to steal the ball. His steal at half court for a dunk was all instinct. The 2nd one where he got a bogus foul call was I thought a positive play. Reminded me of Devonte Graham play against Nova.

We used Josh in P&R a bunch which made him available on a switch. Self should stick with that 1-2 action with Mason/Graham. Will definitely benefit our offense.

Competitiveness. He's obviously got to be careful about how animated he gets over calls and plays but that stretch in the 2nd half was the Alpha Dog coming out in him. I think that game was important for him, we're going to see more flashes of his talent now.

@jayballer54

I believe the play your referencing about the officiating not being consistent on both sides was Mason drove, seeked contact, was definitely fouled by Jefferson but no call, and Mason missed the shot. Not even 10 seconds later Kennard drove left baseline, Graham shuffled his feet and stayed with him but they called a foul. Not sure if he got his hands on him or not but from everything I could tell he did nothing wrong. If calls like that are the norm all year I don't know how anyone is expected to stay in front of a driving player. KU was the benefit of a few of these suspect touch fouls as well.

Too many plays just screamed "play on". Making the game what it isn't in my opinion is ruining everything

@Crimsonorblue22

That T was a joke. I can't for the life of me figure out how that is a technical foul

@Crimsonorblue22

Agreed, he played well.

@jaybate-1.0

It's always interesting to analyze the game after and see the mirage of things that "go wrong" and still win. The flip-side is it sucks when you don't win

@jaybate-1.0

Big Win, we'll take it. Makes up for Friday

@KUSTEVE

We looked much better as a team in the 2nd half. The first half was forgettable, just bad ball. But we caught Duke with zero depth to play and wore them out before they showed heart in the last few minutes. Lots of momentum to take from this game for later in the season.

@nuleafjhawk

I don't think he showed a clear bias last night for either team and before you mentioned it I forgot he was a Duke Alum. There was some calls against Duke that I didn't understand, or the one blatant foul that was missed when Allen hurt his leg. Mitch whacked the crap out of him point blank in front of a ref.
But I think it was clear that KU got hosed on a whole bunch of tick tack plays.

What did they call a good 10 offensive fouls in this game? It's already out of hand, regardless if these refs are being forced to make things an emphasis. Duke flopped at every chance it got. I felt like Chase Jeter was getting tripped by his own guys he was on the ground so much. Your damn near 7 feet tall.

First off great win, this team really rallied around itself and fought hard in the 2nd half. Frank Mason your playing at an All-American Level and if it wasn't for your heroics in both games I'm not sure where or what we'd be feeling about this team.

Before I go any further I have to ask a serious question to this board

Is the game of College Basketball fun to watch with the way the officials are calling the game?

I find myself angry with how the game is being called. This is significantly worse then any year I can ever remember rules being enforced. 48 fouls last night, 60+ in the Indiana game, this isn't acceptable. Where has the let the kids play aspect of this sport gone?

Are we okay with Josh Jackson getting a foul for trying to get a loose ball or his 5th foul where he came back into the game for less then 10 seconds? Or the 4 point play Duke got at the end of the game? I could on and on about countless other moments of just "I don't know what the ref's are doing".

Jay Bilas mentioned outside of 3-4 calls every call was justifiable. That these calls were always fouls, they are just now being enforced.

I disagree with this statement. I didn't see this officiating in the Kentucky/Michigan St game, I didn't see this in the Oregon/Baylor game I watched earlier in the day. So why is KU getting stuck with some agenda driven officials? RANT over for now..

Positives from the game:

1. Frank Mason

Have to start with this guy. That last second shot felt Sherron Collins-esqe. He's got that fire in him. Played a great game. I didn't expect his impact on this team would standout so much but its clear that this is HIS team and we'll live and die with how far he can take us.

1. Welcome Josh Jackson

Stretches of that 2nd half where you felt the beast coming out of him. He had what I thought were 3 legitimate gripes on foul calls. Totally disrupted him all night. If not for the foul calls he probably would have showcased a huge game, 15 pts in 18 minutes and he was active. Has to learn how to stay in the game and his FT shooting leaves a lot to be desired. Keep working Josh. He needed that game.

1. Doke the stat stuffer.

Funniest moment of the game, watching Doke try and take the ball on a 1 man fast break. Missed the layup, got his own rebound, Dunked and then flexed about it. I thought he was terrific in the 2nd half whether it was rebounding or fighting for points in the lane. With the way Lucas played again the Big Fella might be starting soon.

1. Devonte Graham

He made some really great acrobatic layups last night. His defense was stellar all night. He finally came to life, he was big. What is up with his cramping?? Concerning issue. Played all 40 minutes, a true gamer.

1. Carlton Bragg

Looked more comfortable again. Besides the obvious foul trouble he had a huge baseline jumper and I thought played well. He competed for rebounds and snatched a few I didn't expect from him. Keep evolving Carlton.

1. Team Defense

We were really locked in to their offense for a good 30 minute stretch there. Forced Allen into a bad shooting night and generally gave them fits trying to get good shots. We rebounded well, and gave great effort on defense. Nothing we can do about the crazy amount of foul calls,

The bad:

1. Lucas

What's wrong with him? How much longer can we ride him being a non-factor. Is the injury really hurting him or are we just seeing the real Landen without Perry around to help him. Is the motivation gone that made him step up last year? Concerning. If Doke plays like he did going forward, hard to see him not passing Lucas.

1. Svi:

Actually I thought Svi played well but how do you miss that point blank layup?? That is all. Would have loved to see one of his 3's go in, the one he had wide open off a blind pass from Mason would have sealed the game.

1. 3 point Shooting:

Where is it? 2-17 is hard to overcome

1. FT Shooting

9 of 19, won't cut it in games that come down to the FT game. Hopefully these guys get some shots up and practice

Thoughts guys?

I'll take it

Wow

This is a epic collapse like no other

What a absolute chock job

JOKEEE

My God if we don't win because of this

How do u miss svi seriously

@Blown said:

Wasn't that 3 steps?

It's the Duke euro step. Get it right

Graham cramping again

Need more points!!!!

Frankkkklk

These refs just won't let us win

At least 1 of 2

Great bragg keep bricking