This is some bad basketball we are playing. Zero poise acting like we never seen pressure in their lives
BeddieKU23
31745 posts
other than our 3's our offense has been terrible so far. wayne totally killed that fastbreak opp.
i'll take the lead but we all know whats coming
i'm more worried about our posts making lazy passes after rebounds or not holding onto the ball. WVU definitely doesn't stop hacking you just cause you won the ball.
Thank you by the way for always building a good discussion.
*Take all of that, and then ask yourself – what our best chance to win a national title? Bragg and Diallo improving, or sticking with the low talent players?
Right now I don't know what to say to answer that correctly, I'm really some where in the grey area of wanting what we have now and wanting change. If the result is a National Championship then obviously having your highest talent on the floor and having those 2 players play at a high level is probably-wait, is the best option we have. I also have this feeling that this crazy system we have going next to Perry is somehow the perfect option for this team to win in March. We don't know for sure whether the wheels will fall off or not do we?
The net positives of our Core 4 sprinkled in with Greene & Svi has the chance to outweigh the negatives of the C5 almost every night. We've spent a lot of time talking about the one glaring weakness for this team but not nearly enough time talking about how this back-court is possibly the best in the Self Era. What if that strength of this team is good enough to mask our 1 deficiency into March. It requires us to believe in Self's way. I'm somewhere in the middle, I'm not afraid to be content when its working but if it starts becoming unsustainable I'm sure all of us on this board will be the first to react before coach does. And I guess that's one of your points. You do believe its not sustainable, and you as well as myself want to see Cheick & Carlton play to maximize this teams ceiling.
Even though we are winning, if we don't react before its too late, it could mean KU doesn't get what it wants at the end of the season. I get it, I agree.
But do you honestly believe coach will put tantalizing talent before a proven-marginal player(s) he trusts.
If he's to for-see the future I'm not sure he's got the kahuna's to let his freshman play over his seniors. The guy has values that he holds onto, Mari & Lucas have labored and worked their butts off to get a chance to play. He knows they are marginal but he also knows that his freshman just don't get it yet. At least to him, he's seeing things from them that are not excusable.
He doesn't trust them to not make mistakes.
And that's a bad mentality to take. He has the exact opposite view of Mason & Graham making mistakes. He thinks mistakes for them will have a net positive result in the end. But 1 single mistake by Diallo or Bragg and the mistake is not forgiven. What gives, how do you understand a coaches mind when he's stubborn. How do Carlton and Diallo learn to play this game if every mistake is under a microscope.
If the future says play the young guys or lose the National Championship then we all know what needs to happen. Tonight should give us further insight in how this team reacts to West Virginia. Will the C5 have one of those games that makes the system sustainable or will the wheels start to get rusty. Time will tell..
Jesse's post about the C5.
I found this the most important part of the whole blog. Jeff Haley is the guy who provides Jesse with the stats.
Haley note: KU opponents shoot only 37 percent on 2s when Hunter Mickelson plays, compared to about 45 percent when he sits. That is a big deal. That difference is worth about seven points per 100 possessions. The defense when Mickelson has played has forced fewer turnovers and given up a somewhat higher 3-pointer percentage, but those are likely sample-size flukes. And even if they weren't, they have nothing to do with him.
Who's got Bill Self's phone #. How could you sit Hunter knowing his impact is really something that can make a difference.
Glad you came out of the clouds. Awesome analysis as always..
6. I have held back commenting on this because honestly we are winning games.
I really haven't understand how in every game since Hunter has started he's sat the bench more than he's played. Am I wrong? What's the point in starting the guy if you don't respect him enough to put him back in and play the minutes he's earned by starting. Baffling.
Diallo we've seen for the past few games understand that he doesn't help the team shooting 15ft jumpers even if they go in, its a net-negative play for what his strengths are. On the play he was yanked I didn't get it either but I believe it was Mason who barked at him taking the ball out of bounds at Diallo for giving up that bucket. Either it truly was Diallo's fault in some way or he was punished for the end result. Regardless you wasted another day at the office for Diallo by not bringing him back into the game in the first half when every big was in foul trouble/or struggling badly. Then you just let him put his street clothes back on the entire 2nd half where the outcome of the game was again decided due to our guard play.
If he's trying to sabotage his prized recruit from leaving for the NBA he's doing a great job.
If he wants to strike out on recruiting Bolden as recent rumors point to Cliff's/Bragg/Diallo situation impacting his decision he's doing everything possible there as well.
And guard play comes to my most important point. I don't believe the C5 is going to cost us games. At least to this point in time, we can't blame the C5 or coach because its working. We are #1 and 14-1.
I've mentioned this a few times before, we win or die with our guards. They hit the tough shots to win against Tech, they willed us a win against OU + Perry. They will be the reason we win the whole thing or not. Maybe it just works playing 10-11 guys and having the revolving door at the 5 or as you said 4A. History says otherwise but this year in College Basketball having depth is so important. The problem with our depth is that none of them have separated themselves. Self doesn't even know who to sub in at the 15 minute mark. Sometimes its Lucas, sometimes its Bragg. Except Bragg is 1 mistake away from a 20 minute nap. Diallo is basically one breathe away from putting his warm-ups back on. Either us fans are missing it, or Coach is.
I have to ask, Are we being too critical about making a rotation and sticking with it? I fully understand the dynamics of having cohesion and chemistry. We have that in our guards in spades. But what if the dysfunction of this system is actually what's keeping us good good. The best team in the nation good. What if the matchup play is what's keeping us alive, like Lucas against Harvard or other similar decisions coach has made based on the gameplay and the matchup of our opponent.
I also don't think we'd like the outcome of a crunch in minutes. Diallo wouldn't play. Bragg wouldn't play in tight games unless foul trouble forced Self's hand. You'd be stuck right where we don't want- Mari & Lucas clogging the floor. I think that's exactly the outcome we would get. At least with Bragg & Diallo getting some PT how-ever how little, its 10-12 minutes less of the others on the court which is the result we've lobbied for all year.
How do you win if the numbers crunch is almost certain to cut out the guys you want to play.
You both had good responses. The NBA is getting better with the chances its taking because of statistics among other things. It still might not stop teams from taking chances on guys like Skal & Diallo with major long term potential but at least teams are not going into the decision process without data to support it.
Your right, they play different positions and the GM's viewed Oubre far away from his ceiling. I still think Wayne has a lot more to give before he reaches his, but he's definitely stepped his game up to where a team could look at him with a lot of promise. His position has to be 2 guard, really he needs to develop steady ball skills to even stick around. He's not going to get by without putting the ball on the floor or learning to take some PG responsibilities in a pinch.
It's still really early but this is around the time scouts have had a chance to really form opinions on guys.
Diallo in the latest Mock Draft from ESPN's Chad Ford had him dropping from 13 to 28. I tend to take what Ford says with confidence only because he does reach out to GM's about what they think. Ford isn't a wizard but at least you get some insight and not guesses.
Diallo has been horrible for Kansas in the early going, and unlike with Labissiere, scouts can't point to a skill that would be unleashed in a different system.
Diallo's strength has always been that he works hard and plays defense. But he is a below-average offensive player and that has really shown early for Kansas.
Scouts are still very intrigued, but everyone I spoke with felt he needed at least one more full year of college ball.
May we see year 2 if this continues??
Side not Bragg was part of the next 5 listed at 34. Svi at 44, Selden is up to 58.
I agree that ISU's starters are better and WVU's schedule is really soft. So you could be right that WVU's hot start in conference play is all schedule related. Sometimes a quick 3-0 start gives teams confidence which WVU seems to have plenty with their comments about the game Tuesday. I guess where I thought WVU was better right now was the fact that they have won 2 road games regardless of opponent. Having won 2 games on the road already is an advantage currently but can all change tomm when KU comes in and beats them. I'm sure this discussion will continue to be a good one in a few more weeks.
Seth Davis can't even get it right either about Diallo.
Diallo isn't seeing the court because of his defense and his lack of understanding/chemistry within the KU system.
The comments made me mad more than anything. But yes they were dumb and not well thought out.
Nice analysis. The only team I would change right now is putting West Virginia above Iowa St. 2 road victories and huge chance this week to put themselves on top. Although I disagree that they will get it done, there is a possibility that WVU could be on top going into these next few weeks.
Tomm is important for so many reasons. Getting a signature road victory, continuing to shut up the rest of the conference. Plus the next 3 games after (TCU, @Oklahoma St, Texas) are soft, we could be 7-0 going into the crazy week of @ Iowa St, Kentucky, K-St.
The way I look at it, KU won round 1 of 6 (3 game sets). Excluding the beat down we get to hand to UK in-between this next round is all about beating WVU. We need at least 1 signature road victory against the upper half to keep everyone else off our backs.
I do agree that our 2 little guards are the most important individual aspect of the game. They both have to make good decisions with the ball.
I also think that as a team if we play solid defense and rebound well that we have a great chance of winning. If you limit made shots, you stop them from setting up the press. If you rebound well and stop 2nd chance points which WVU is one of the best in the nation at then we have another area where they can't hurt us.
WVU is not as good as last year, I don't care what anyone says there record is a product of a soft schedule more then a product of an improved team. Some of their individuals are improved especially Horton & Paige. Horton thrives off rebounds and his guards driving to the hoop. Paige has shown he can hit from outside and drive to the hoop. The key to Paige is keeping him out of the lane and forcing bad shots. They don't shoot the 3 well, they don't shoot the ball period that well. But with the game being important, its likely some of these low % guys like Carter or Miles find some herculian type effort and play above their minds. I can just picture it now watching some 30% trey ball shooter make 4 or 5.
We have to weather the early storm of emotion, physical play and find our own tempo. Play good defense, limit turnovers, limit 2nd chance points and make shots. It sounds like a lot of things but that's exactly what its going to take to beat them on the road. I'm sure our guys know how important tomm is regardless of past results. We cannot let WVU get 1 up on us.
Read the comments from Devin Williams about KU being #1 and how he views it as disrespect that his team isn't ranked higher.
“(Kansas) is No. 1. But what does that mean? What if we were put in the Top 10 when we first started? Where would we be? There’s nothing we can do about that number they got,”
“We had to put ourselves in the Top 25,” Williams added. “At the end of the day, we should feel disrespected, because we’re just as good as anybody in the country — starting five to bench. We can play with anybody in the country.”
Maybe if you had beaten Virginia in the only game you've played this year against a ranked team, maybe you'd have a point here.
Maybe if you stopped worrying about your ranking and worried more about trying to win the Big 12 that the media might take notice.
They could play their Super Bowl game tomorrow and knock off the Jay-hawks. It's likely this will be a really hard game for us to win, I think most of us agree there. But I didn't understand what he was trying to prove with those comments. Really, KU doesn't deserve it's ranking just because we started higher than them. I hope our guys see the comments and put a hurting on them tomm.
He sure had an off-game and we do forget that he's still a young'n in terms of experience and playing time. As @ralster pointed out he's really a Jr in maturity but it's to our gain that we got a more polished freshman than usual last year. He's morphed into Frank's sidekick assassin, the chemistry these 2 have is off the charts.
I thought one of the trio (Mason, Graham, Ellis) would have a off game because of Monday and really Devonte struggled but came through with a clutch layup at the end.
True but take our own team for example.
Diallo is barely playing, literally barely playing more than 2-3 minutes in a half now. How could any NBA team look at his pre-playing hype and then now and still draft him as highly as he was projected before Self locked him in a cage. Is Self really this crazy for sitting him over Lucas and Mari? Or is his assessment of where Diallo is right now fair, correct, and a reality check for Cheick in terms of what he should do with his future.
When was the last time a player played so little and contributed so little to his team and went Lottery, even first round. Honestly I don't even know where to look for that but if there is players I would love to hear them.
The thing is there is still so much time left. That word potential is a label that Diallo will carry with him even if he comes back. So much potential. @ralster Oubre was drafted on potential, as well as his great measurable's at the end of the day. Nobody will question that Selden is playing better, is a better player right now than Oubre was last yr. But Selden doesn't have that perceived potential stick driving him with hype. Scouts saw him, they were quickly drawn away from his inconsistent play. Now he's morphed into a very good college player. Do scouts look at his improved shooting as a 1 hit wonder, or an acquired skill through hard work. I still think ball-handling is a big weakness of his for the position he will have to play (2-guard). It's the same thing that McLemore has struggled with in the league.
Honestly, Selden is showing the same the progression that Buddy Hield did last year. Hield wisely came back and is now in the lead for POY. Hield was good enough to make a NBA roster but went back to Kruger and made this team his. Selden has a chance to take another off-season and become this alpha dog. He's trying to show it this year and his play has been stellar but we know there's more. If Selden doesn't end with a safe 1st round grade why wouldn't you come back and get your degree and potentially become an Allen Fieldhouse legend.
Do they get the refs off the street corner in lubbuck
No intensity. Bill will give them a nice beatdown in the locker room at half
Wow this is bad bad ball
The lid is on the hoop so far. So many easy missed shots in and outside
Woo nice job baylor. Too bad when we go there it's their superbowl and only reason for existence
We should all know that being #1 we are on upset alert for the rest of the year on the road. I'm sure the idiots that want clicks on ESPN will even try to say we have to worry about such and such coming to Allen Fieldhouse and winning.
Texas Tech is going to try and make this a slow played out game. Tubby has done this in the past knowing his squad can't compete with Kansas in a track meet. It's their only hope is to slow the game to a half-court brawl, make enough outside shots, limits KU's transition and 3's and pray!
I wonder if Harry Giles will be an All American despite being hurt and not being able to play.. Great player but if he can't physically play this year how can he be an All-American? Does he get rewarded for what he did in previous years..A case where his reputation is probably going to earn him an honor that someone else might actually deserve for how they played their Sr year.
Dennis Smith can't play, he's enrolled at NC State- #4 rated player on ESPN
Alkins #15 can't play. That makes 3 of the top 20 likely not playing.
I would assume Huell #21, Azuibuike #22, Herron #24, Bradley #26, Gilbert #28, Winston #29, Killeya-Jones #31, all have great shots outside the top 20 of getting a spot.
Wayne is the guy who can take over a full game. The last 2 games he's gotten over 20 and would have had more had he not got 2 fouls in the first half against OU.
He had 7 20 pt games coming into this year. 3 freshman yr, 4 Soph yr. He's already got 4 in 14 games, he's finally realized he's the big shot maker. In the 5 games he's played 30 minutes or more he's average a cool 21pts per game. If he can stay out of foul trouble in the first half, he's got the chance to be a 20pt scorer in conference play.
He's talked about his confidence being through the roof this year. And with his 3pt shot being so lethal this year and his driving/midrange game being the best we've seen out of him he's the guy who can get 30 if we need it. The offense is made for him to succeed.
And Tubby will try and slow down possessions knowing that KU likes tempo. He's done this in the past and I'm sure the whole game plan will revolve around limiting possessions
Bol Bol is an interesting prospect although his size and his fathers reputation are always going to follow him. The kid will need some serious weight room time at some point.
Ballock is a guy I hope we get, he's a safe recruit. He did have an injury that is preventing him from playing this year. They are 2 local recruits that we have to try and keep here if they continue to progress.
Nice post.
I think until we start losing games and having those loses directly on the shoulders of some of the C5 I don't think much is going to change in how the minutes are distributed.
You look at Bragg and he's clearly in the mix of the rotation before Diallo. Has been since Diallo has been allowed to play. He's shown glimpses of getting more minutes but Self is using both of these guys only if they don't make mistakes. If Bragg is going to get consistent minutes, he has to be perfect out there. He has to have a few games where his impact on the game is felt, and lately neither Bragg or Diallo is doing that consistently. Again its a catch 22, there not being allowed to play through mistakes because Self has 3 other veterans he can play that he knows he's going to get what he hopefully wants out of them. He doesn't want to lose, especially in Big 12 play. Our coach may value winning in the conference more than any other coach in the Country.
The unknown consistency for our freshman is keeping them on the bench. If Diallo learned court awareness and could play solid defense without fouling, or getting the ball at the FT line and not automatically launching would go a long way to getting on the court. Diallo has to learn how to best impact the game while he's in there and stop thinking "me" first.
Same with Bragg, his only real offense has been off assists. His Jump-Shot has not been reliable and his defense comes and goes. While the upside for our veterans has already been reached, at least they know what to do and how Self wants it to be done.
Every game we play comes down to our guards and Ellis. We can microcosm a loss or a narrow win to the ineffectiveness of our veteran post players vs unknown production from our freshman but at the end of the day Mason, Graham, Selden & Ellis are going to be the majority of the reason why we win or lose.
Until the freshman prove to Self, we can talk about this issue every game. If we lose the Big 12 or in the NCAA's because of this issue with our C5 then its on the coach to deal with. Until then we got to learn to enjoy the ride we are on. Our vets won us a big game Monday, I'm sure it won't be the last. And for information I do want Diallo & Bragg to play but at this point not at the expense of not winning. And without knowing whether we are going to stop winning because Traylor or Lucas is playing more is something nobody can answer.
Nice breakdown, I'd add Oklahoma St as one of the bottom 3 this year the way they are playing and without Forte. But we all know Self's struggles in that arena, they are well documented. Still its a game on paper we should be able to handle our business.
None of our remaining home games pose a real threat other than Senior Night against ISU which could be the championship deciding game.
West Virginia has done itself favors by winning 2 games on the road so far with a slight chance of holding serve against KU at home.
Love the confidence. I really hope we win in Morgantown, its a big game with how the conference games have played out so far.
Everything is always better at home, its the road that makes demons out of teams. And that's the only thing that really worries me about these next 2 games. We should handle the press with the way our team plays 2 PG's and the level of play is better overall than the last 2 years.
It's been a little over 24 hrs since that Epic game. Now its time to turn our focus to the next 2 games or the next 12 days away from Allen Fieldhouse.
2 Road games against Texas Tech & West Virginia. Tech game is late Saturday tip, West Virginia we avoided the Big Monday road game and is a Tuesday tip.
I've hinted that going 2-0 and being #1 would put a even bigger target on our backs going into these 2 games. Folks, we can easily lose both of these even though we have a huge talent edge in both.
Lubbock has been problematic to high ranked KU teams in the past. The Red Raiders are playing much better than expected. They do have a game tonight against ISU so maybe the Cyclones bring them down to earth. Tubby has them playing much better than in past years. Honestly it would take a huge step back for KU to lose but it can happen.
4 of our starters are gased right now and getting 48 hours rest. After such a physically emotional game its going to be hard to ask these kids to be amped to play T-Tech. Luckily Self is a master at Big 12 road games so hopefully he uses all the depth he has and finds the right balance to scrap out a victory. This is one of the must win Road Games if we follow the narrative that KU will hold serve at home throughout conference play.
The other game with West Virginia also poses a major threat. Morgantown is a tough place to play. Last year was a debacle losing on a last second shot and Perry missing the layup for the win. 2 years ago Wiggins had his Alpha Dog game but nobody else showed up and Devin Williams made jump shots like Buddy Hield. So we are 0-2 in recent memory.
I've watched a good bit of West Virginia. They are not as good as last year although their record says they might be. They hack, they pressure, they rebound all at a high rate.
The game against Kansas St was an ugly affair. I was impressed with Jaysean Paige who's stepped up his game and is their top perimeter threat to me. It's more about his driving ability to the hoop than his 3-ball ability where he leads the team as well. Miles & Carter are both guys that can get buckets quickly, they are not shy about chucking. They have guys that can step up to the occasion because its KU and play out of their mind.
This is the most likely trap game because of the style of play. KU has done a marvelous job of holding onto the ball. Having 2 PG's hopefully neutralizes their press but we won't know for sure until we see it. Virginia was a team that fell in a deep hole early but steadily wore out West Virginia and ended up beating them badly in the end. I feel that is something similar KU will have to do, weather the early storm and get into our own tempo. Their defense is poor once you beat the press and all the hacking and physical play. Expect plenty of missed calls, expect the officiating to be inconsistent. FT's will be important in this one on the road.
What does everyone think. I'm certainly not predicting we lose, but the opportunity is there for either of these games to be a "trap game".
Yes I was aware that Buddy played with Perry and that he wanted to be a Jayhawk. I'm not sure where Buddy fell in the shuffle when he was being recruited but he was one that got away. I really can't remember how involved we really were with him because obviously we lost out. Kudos to Kruger for finding a gem and helping shape this kids career to where its at now.
I completely disagree with everything you said.
But it's your opinion and I'm not going to even attempt to change it.
Selden not consistent? I'm laughing.
This guy deserves his own thread.
What an unbelievable performance last night. Dare to say that tops Kevin Durant's performance here years back but after playing 54 of 55 minutes and putting on a clinic all through the OT's I do say this was the best performance by a non KU player ever in this building.
And he does it with class.. If you saw his post game interview with Scott Van Pelt he was all class even though you could sense he was upset leaving here without a victory.
And our fans, the one's that were left gave him a standing ovation. Name another fan-base that will do that for a kid on the other team. Not ISU, Not KSU..KU is all class even its fans, although sometimes we all have our moments.
I've been a fan of his for a while but I gained a whole new appreciation for him. He had moments last night that reminded me of how Steph Curry is playing in the NBA. He's that good, I do think he's got a chance to become an NBA all-star the way he carries himself and the hard work he has put in to be where he's at.
I'm jealous he's not in a KU uniform, I'm jealous Self didn't see what kind of player Hield could become, but who could have?
Thanks Buddy for putting on a show but respectfully missing that last 3 in triple OT. I will never forget that game.
He seemed too ampted by the atmosphere and getting caught up in the game. Once he settled and realized what was at stake he took over for what Mason couldn't do on offense.
He was straight ballin 2nd half into OT. If it wasn't his outside shooting it was being a pest on defense and getting to the foul line. Huge Huge game for him, his best in a KU uniform if you discount the 1st half struggles.
You made a lot of great points..
I don't like to complain about the refs but they did a really poor job of being consistent. In fact the only thing they did well was being inconsistent at best.
How does Perry Ellis get called for an Offensive Foul while dribbling away from a defender, the opposite of an offensive foul. Truly baffled me. Ellis was clobbered on a rebound that ended up being a Hield or Woodard 3..I don't know I stopped keeping track on how many they made at that point. Selden got a technical for what? I find it hard to believe the ref on the far side of the court could hear what he said in Allen Fieldhouse. Higgins is a terrible ref and he always will be. In the end the lack of calls being consistent didn't hurt us in the end but its really troubling to see paid officials mess up so many calls. Self was absolutely beside himself on a handful of calls which he had every right to flex his muscles on.
I also got the feeling that OU was a better team in area's but the will to win can never be discounted with the eye test. And while Buddy Hield is clearly the best offensive player in the country, the collusion of KU's team and how balanced we are will usually be enough to overcome one single great performance.
I do wonder though if this game is in Norman do our troops respond the same way they do when the Phog is bearing down on the opponent.
My biggest gripe even in victory was the lack of subs in OT. I get it, Self let them play but when you go 11 deep and can go 11 deep without losing what makes you good, why wouldn't you give guys a breather. Mason was playing on borrowed time man. His defense on Hield totally spent his legs while driving or shooting jumpers. His will to win is the only reason he made those 2 FT's at the end, he is a true warrior.
We also ran little offense 2nd half into OT. Again it doesn't really matter because we won but seemed to get away from our perimeter attack once it got close. Again you can look at it as Self told his guys to make plays and trusted them to do so (17 assists to 40 buckets) shows that guys were given freedom that we so often talk about. It just seemed we traded way more possessions with OU with 2's to their 3's and after every occasion was able to find a way to come back.
I don't believe I've been this proud of how a KU team gutted out a win in many years. Reminded me of the 2012 year where we found improbable ways to win in the tournament. I'm simply amazed at the effort put out by both clubs last night. That game was the National Championship played in January!
I'm exhausted from this game. Best game I've seen in Allen Fieldhouse period.
It's hard to beat the emotions of the Missouri comeback a few years back but that game wasn't a slugfest which I think sets it apart. This game didn't deserve a loser, it was that good. When you hit 3 OT's you really see who's got the heart to win at that point. Frank Mason came up huge after having one of the worst games in his career. That's a heck of a way to turn it all around.
I do think Coach made some very very questionable decisions. But we won and I'm sure others will chime in on him as well.
The ref's were insanely terrible. That Frank Mason call in the 1st half was such poor judgement and a reflection of how that play is generally called. I thought Self was on his way to the locker room a few times after some of those whistles. I do think for the most part the ref's tried to let them play instead of interrupting the flow of the game which really set up how great this game was.
Next game up will definitely be harder now. This had to have taken a lot out of these guys. Rock Chalk JayHawk
Rebounds have really kept this lead up
They just want it more. Man this is hard to wtch
How do u guard Hield any better than mason did. Followed by 50 swear words as he just hits a 3. Can't wait til he's gone
I'm just saying it's not lookin great
Have to make shots that's all that matters
So we didnt as a team come out blazing like I thought starting to wonder if it's not our night
Key to the 2nd half is getting to the bonus first. OU took big advantage of our foul trouble
Of course they made the wrong call there but it's a play that almost always goes to the offensive player and that's just how it is.
Turnovers are way up this game especially graham
Boy that was the worst minute in Allen fieldhouse history.
Mason is exhausted already he blatantly gave up the 3 that cut it to the 40 38 by standing there.
How do you blow 2 first half leads of 11. Don't guard buddy Hield that's how.
I still expet to turn this around but man er have got to want it
True so it comes down to.... Home Court advantage??
Bill Self vs Lon Kruger?
Depth?
Other than stats its going to come down to which 5 is better. I think KU has an advantage but OU has a single player that can take games over. KU has a collection of players that could possibly take over like Selden did against Baylor.
All we have to do is make more shots than OU does and all the rest will play itself out. We won't win this game shooting 40% from the field, we won't win this game without making 3's at a good clip. Hopefully the guys will be engaged on defense and limit easy shots. Rebounding is always a must as long as we can force missed shots. KU plays its game KU wins.
I'll take some red pills.
I do think we know what we are getting for the most part from everyone not named Bragg & Diallo. We can hope that these two will continue to work as hard as the vet's and become reliable options off the bench. I thought they both played really well against Baylor.
Svi is a guy who is now getting lost in the shuffle because of Greene's stellar play and Svi doesn't look as comfortable out there. As young as he is, he still doesn't seem to have great confidence when he misses open shots. He should be making more than he is and at some point I'm sure we will need him to come off the bench and produce. All that being said, Svi is a guy who probably needs 15-20 solid minutes a game to get that chemistry with his teammates. He won't get that unless he finds a way to perform above Greene at this point.
Graham is really starting to blossom in his role. If he can keep his shooting %'s steady he is just another part of the machine that becomes unstoppable. I've been impressed with his development and his chemistry with Frank is unmatched in the country.
It still remains to be seen what kind of team we are on the road against the best in the league. We always perform great in Allen, its almost impossible to have off nights in the greatest home court advantage in sports. I'm sure tonight we will bring our best because we have to. How this team performs against Texas Tech & West Virginia (it's next 2 foe's) is just as important as how we do against Baylor/OU at home.
The way we played Saturday and if we continue to play like that will be very hard for Oklahoma to match.
But Oklahoma is much better and they shoot a lot more 3's and a much higher % than baylor. OU has tested us at home the past 2 years so I expect them to be right in the game. I expect Hield to have a big game and its up to our other guards to limit Cousins/Woodard from having a complimentary game that can possibly beat us. Spangler is a beast inside but they have little else to be worried about down low.
Making shots, matching their 3's and rebounding are the keys as a team. I expect it to be a heavyweight battle. I see something like a 90-85 final score KU>
Love the tie into Nic Moore. If SMU had been penalized earlier this guy just may have been a Jayhawk this year..Not that we need him but the way he clicked with our players this summer and the type of player he is has definitely had a profound effect on this team.
Moore is a leader and our 3 headed backcourt is blossoming into leaders. I really believe Frank learned from Nic, I think Wayne has been helped by seeing what kind of player Nic is and knowing he had to step up.
Excellent post otherwise. This team has everything and I'm hoping we saved some of the mojo for Monday. The unselfishness of this team really separates itself from others in the past.
Wayne Selden has become everything we've ranted over for 2 years. Amazing how much better he is this year. We can ride his back to championships, he's that good this year.
Other than not playing Bragg & Diallo more I think Self has really done his best coaching job so far. We were up enough all game where those 2 should have seen more than garbage time. They played very well in the 1st half.
We wanted a better offense, we got it. He's listened and tweaked everything he was supposed to. Self is really proving just how smart a coach he can be. He knows this year is really important as far as his image goes in the coaching ranks. He's heard the grumblings about March, this team is made to perform in March.
I think we all need to eat some crow with Greene. I really couldn't have imagined him missing the whole off-season and being better. He's trying on defense, he's shooting within the offense and has been much more aggressive going towards the hoop. And he's bought into the team more than anything. The suspension really has helped him as a person, he gets it now and I'm liking what I see from him.
I Saw a tweet that KU's top 3 players projected for the NBA Draft - Svi, Cheick, Carlton all played less than 10 minutes yesterday and KU wins by 28. No other team in the country can claim to have that problem.
I wouldn't get too excited about Diallo staying until he said the words I'm coming back. After the season is over, and after the NBA deadline has come and gone.
Until his name isn't being floated around as a lottery pick he's gone.
Skal is still regarded as a top 10 pick and Diallo has pretty much outplayed him in half the games and half the minutes. All about potential which NBA teams view as gold.
And still there's a lot of basketball to play for both.
We hypothetically could have a crowded front-court again but the dynamics of it will be much different, much younger. Lightfoot won't be playing much as a freshman, consider him a likely red-shirt candidate or gets in the game like Vick is this year.
Your right he's averaging around 20 minutes, his last 7 games is averaging almost 24 minutes a game so he's starting to see more time as he's getting more comfortable and more valuable to his team. It makes a big difference, Stone has been on the court for more than 1 full game (40+ minutes) than Diallo and Bragg have played combined.
Diallo and Bragg don't have that chance unless they completely morph their games up a few notches. They are not going to play through mistakes unless they don't make them. They either play perfect when they are called upon or they sit. Whether I agree with that method is debatable.