🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@JayHawkFanToo

They have one of the top bigs in the country. Would be the perfect game for Diallo and Bragg to get experience guarding top big men. They will see plenty of them in Big 12 play and in March.

@benshawks08

I was surprised they kept it close as well but Gonzaga isn't the same juggernaut they have been in the past. Washington crushed them by 30 after that close defeat. I don't see how they keep it within 30, they don't score a lot, they don't shoot the 3 well, nobody on the roster is a big threat from 3. Its a one man band..

@jayballer54

Jones to Texas makes sense, Texas kid & fits the style Shaka wants to play.

Shaka's 3 man class has fit his needs, he needs post players to replace Ridley & Co and guards to replace Felix, Holland and most likely Taylor who I see jumping to the pro's. It doesn't take much to win the Big-12's top recruiting class when KU has 1 signee and the rest of the league hasn't done much. OU has a very solid class but no superstars. Shaka can recruit and he's in a fertile recruiting spot to get top talent year in and out.

I've been saying for a while now that this class is Bolden or bust. Bolden can completely change the momentum in our recruiting, his signing would entice others to join with him. Problem is we aren't the favorite for him, we hoping that playing time will be enough to keep him from Duke.

We either get the best player left or we're stuck scrambling in the spring for leftovers either from de-commits, transfers etc. Allen would be the next best fit and offers high upside but I think Bolden is clearly a better player now and in the future. For whatever reason we just haven't landed some guys, we've beat the dead horse on why that could be. Maybe just a down year, maybe its Self and his ways of selling players and how he plays his star freshman. We'll never know unless recruits tell us why.

@REHawk

depends on the opponent. I would say generally no because we will face a lot of top guards in the Big 12 and that could get ugly real quick relying on it.

But it is a nice tactic to use in shortening the opponents shot clock and their ability to run sets. I would say if we could find a good balance between pressure and taking valuable time off the clock on defense would be more ideal and to our advantage. For example it could be useful when playing TCU who's got inexperienced guards rather than pressuring Oklahoma that has 3 very good guards.

@jayhawk-007

The thing with the Michigan St game is Valentine is doing this to everyone so far this year, the player you were referring to as the guy who took over. He's clearly the front-runner for Player of the Year so far, he's taken his game to a new level.

I think Selden has put himself in the running the way he's played, 60% 3 point shooting, leading scorer. He's doing some of the things we dreamed about in the summer after the WUG. His play has been stellar, its very rewarding to see him do well in his junior year.

@drgnslayr

well put, I'm not sure we want to be the revolving door team, we did sign Lightfoot and we've continually signed development players not as highly regarded as some. When we do get the top talent its a one foot out the door thing. The marriage is short, its sweet if you get the returns you hope out of it. I would gladly take another year of Diallo, but the odds are low, he's come from nothing and how his situation was dealt with I wouldn't want to be shackled under the NCAA either.

@JayHawkFanToo

Your correct they haven't played much so far but they have plenty of good games coming up with Butler, Vandy & @ Wiconsin for which to get a better judgement. They looked dominate beating Pitt & Florida- 2 winning teams with average programs this year.

They are a very deep team, 10 get solid minutes with a lot of size 2 (7 footers) and Swanigan a 5-star recruit playing well both inside and outside. So far they have passed the eye test to me but I'm interested to see how they do against better teams.

@KUSTEVE

Xavier is a good team, had a nice win over their rival over the weekend. They blew out Dayton and quality wins against Michigan & USC. Their next 5 games are a real acid test- home vs Auburn, @ Wake Forest, @ Villanova, vs #18 Butler, @ St. Johns. They have a deep team and this could be Xavier's best bunch in a long time. I have them just outside right now as I want to see how they do in this 5 game stretch.

I don't think either Nike K or Nike D have the teams this year unless they develop chemistry and get much better. They both lost too much to expect them to be competing for a championship. Nike K hasn't looked anything like a top 10 team since beating Nike D

@benshawks08

From what I've watched of Davis he looks like a potential 2 year player. Next year he should have more freedom because A&M will lose some front-court players so he won't have to share as many minutes.
He definitely has skill and is good around the rim. He's always going to be the one that got away..

Right now I think its unfair too say who would be better. Diallo has barely had the chance to play any meaningful minutes. I mean if Self really wants to see what he's got over an extended period of time, you start him against Montana right? Or at least let him play more than 3 minutes before subbing him.. I'm sure this topic will be brought up more as the season progresses.

@drgnslayr

Right now with his role it would be a mistake to leave. He won't play in a game next year off what I've seen or lack of what I've yet to see. He'd be stuck on a bench or in the D-League. But that's right now and not March/April where we will know what impact he has made or hasn't made. But with his upbringing and vast potential, if a team likes him in the lottery he's not staying.. The question will be if his stock slides to bottom half of 1st round where the risk of falling too much will be a question he will have to ask himself.

The game needs to slow down for him and he needs to learn awareness on both sides of the ball. Immense talent, but clearly isn't going to be Embiid overnight and isn't getting the playing time to even show anything.

@globaljaybird

Oklahoma is a well oiled machine but we will soon find out what they got. 1st 2 conference games vs Iowa St & @ KU in a 3 day span. Their 3 headed monster of a back-court has played just as well as our 3 headed back-court. Depth is where we win that battle with them.

A lot of teams have beat San Diego St, like lowly San Diego and surprise of all surprise teams Arkansas Little Rock at 8-0. Otherwise they played Utah tough & beat #14 at the time Cal. West Virginia overwhelmed them with the press. But you can basically throw out everything and focus on it being a road game in a hostile environment right before x-mas where kids tend to lose focus. We've played plenty of neutral court games but nothing like we will see in 8 days where the crowd will be mostly Aztecs. It's their Super-Bowl folks, and with their bad losses a marquee KU win keeps their NCAA tourney hopes alive regardless of how they finish in conference play.

I've been keeping up with most of College Ball looking at teams that pass the eye test so far. I get it's early but its never too early to compare KU to others out there and see where we fit so far.

So far I've narrowed it down to 6 teams,

Michigan St, KU, UNC, Oklahoma, Purdue, & Maryland.

All have a blend of veterans & young guys that are key to success throughout the whole year. I would consider one of these 6 teams to be the most likely champion at the end of the year, with a bias towards KU cutting down the nets.

KU certainly hasn't played its best in a lot of games.

Michigan St- 2nd half letdown

Vanderbilt- 1st half

Loyola- 1st Half

Harvard- basically from late 1st half on.

Oregon St. - 1st half

Are we really the #2 squad in America?
I personally believe we are #1 but we have to continue to play up to that level. San Diego St on the road is the next big test right before Christmas. Last year we handled that same situation as poorly as any game in Self's career. SDSU will not lay over and let us win, they have a great coach and a great home-court advantage. Defense will win that game because SDSU's a very poor shooting team. We can talk about going in there and shooting lights out but we all know on the road its all about defense.

What's everyone's thoughts so far?

@KUSTEVE

If we can find away to bottle up all that goodness for March let me know!

@ralster

I think some of it can be attributed to not following up on the success that Blake Griffin brought and those teams that had a lot of talent and were nationally known. Griffin is well-known star but I bet a lot of fans don't even realize he went to Oklahoma.

The lean years that followed after him are probably the reason that OU, even with a very good team has a hard time filling the arena consistently. Not to mention they are a football juggernaut so I get why nobody wanted to watch a home game against Oral Roberts.

I'm sure the arena will be filled for KU and a few others over the course of the season. KU & ISU are the only teams that will fill their gym's consistently because the fan-base has established that home-court advantage. Oklahoma St is another team that reminds me of OU, a great home venue when the teams are good but when the teams are average Gallagher Iba is average.

I get what your saying about the flock mentality- if the team is good fans will show up, you see that everywhere. I'm sure if KU football went from a zero win season to a 6 game season next year that you would see a lot more fans at games. And you would see a lot of Media attention to the coach and his turn-around of a cellar dwelling program.

@HighEliteMajor

Frank was definitely the engine and he played with composure. There are a lot of times when the team isn't playing good and its because Frank loses his composure and tries to do too much by himself. I saw him making plays but plays that were within the flow of how the game was going. We can go through this team and find plenty of candidates for most important player, but in the end Mason is the heartbeat to this squad. Love that kid.

The NewSelden as we are calling it is a lot of fun to watch. The transformation he's made in his confidence and the shot making ability he is showing is amazing. This is the guy you give the ball to in a NCAA tourney game down 1 with 15 seconds to go and let him make a play. He's showing range on his jump shot that is hard to guard for, even in the scouting report he's a knock down shooter whether open or not.

@REHawk

As @Texas-Hawk-10 said it's free with your cable provider. Its been key throughout each game not on cable. The quality can vary greatly even having good wifi.. yesterday I had to be away from the house so it was great being able to watch it still.

Boy I couldn't be more impressed by how this team responded to adversity. Because they took it better than I did at halftime.

I was in full Meltdown mode.

With the watch espn app on my phone at a holiday party (not by choice) and the only thing I wanted to do was smash my phone, curse, and crawl up into a ball. I was convinced this game was over, and this board was going to revert back to "grumbling nation."

I had zero faith that this team was going to turn it around, I've seen the script many times with this group. I know how they lose, I know the trend of poor play and how it spreads throughout the team.

Ellis was a no-show in the 1st half, minutes from Mari & Lucas was useless, Svi & Greene were not getting it done.

Other than our BULLDOG Frank, Wayne was the only guy out there with a pulse. Our FT shooting was atrocious, our best FT's shooters not even coming close.

The team wasn't making or shooting 3's except Wayne but some white big guy freshman makes 5 in a row after starting the season 3-15.. I'm asking HOW? can this happen?

I Started having panic memories of Gerry McNamara in the 02 Championship game where 1 player would shoot them to victory.

And then halftime came, and one of Self's best attributes as a coach is the magic of the locker-room at halftime. I really wish I could be that fly on the wall in the locker sometimes to listen to the chewing he must give his guys when they play a half like they did.

Because what I saw in the 2nd half was the team that can win it all. It was like they all took some adrenaline and whatever Coach Self had said had made them made, made them hungry. What an awesome display of basketball that 2nd half was. I was impressed with everything.

Wayne Selden - your playing yourself into the NBA, I'm convinced his shooting is here to stay. What a player he's become, he's made me do a 360 on him.

Frank & Devonte- no question this duo is turning into the best combo since Russell & Mario. They still have a lot to prove but Self was right, the 2 guard combo is working.

Carlton Bragg- deserves a shout-out. His rebounding last night was awesome and he hung around the rim to get some easy points. He had his breakout game last night too me, and by him being the lone sub he's proving to coach that he's going to play going forward.

Hunter- had another solid game, love how he gives us a stretch 5 option on offense.

@DanR

Nothing short of a miracle will turn this around

This looks like the 2nd round of the ncaa tourney where we stop playing..

This game will be a nice reality check

We really don't have a chance unless Selden and Svi go pro, we cut down the Nets in april, and we sign Bolden and Allen. Unless all those things happen he will play with his buddies in Michigan or stick with Sean Miller who developed a great relationship with him this summer

@jaybate-1.0

I don't think we will have a problem getting pumped up for that 10 day stretch. The Kentucky game has had life for months now so there's little chance our players are going to downplay that game, its a revenge game for sure.

@benshawks08

I agree that the %'s will come back down to earth at some point but this team could still be one of the top 10 3pt shooting teams in the country if the numbers drop.

You have 4 guys (Selden, Mason, Graham, & Greene) who are all very capable of shooting at least 40% from 3 this year. Selden & Greene could flirt close to 50% the way they are shooting.

A major difference so far with this team is how they share the ball to get open looks. If they continue to share the ball with success I'm imagining we will find ways to get open shots for our shooters.

This team could be 7-0 in conference play before playing @ Iowa St.. If that happens its easily the most predictable loss we could have all season. If we somehow leave Ames with a victory its possible that KU is 10-0 in the return game in Norman vs OU.

I'm expecting that this years squad will not repeat losing to West Virginia & Oklahoma St the way those games played out last year on the road. And we should not lose to K-Suck this year

The 10 day stretch in late January with Iowa St, Kentucky & K-St is going to be something else!

Don't get your panties in a bunch if Texas starts 3-0 in league play, they play the 3 worst teams to start out. There schedule is plenty back loaded though, they could lose their last 8 games.

March 5th could be one of the games of the year, the last league game against Iowa St on Senior Night. Could be the deciding game for #12..

Oregon St has some talented freshman, some top 100 kids that have helped them right from the start. Should be a good game before KU wears them out.

@wrwlumpy

Glad you didn't use the Embiid body slam for Ridley..

Having a GPS system would be great for basketball especially in regards to fatigue and stress on the body. I know plenty of College Football teams use GPS tracking to track players usage. It helps them find out what players are exerting maximum effort and when to back off on others. Very useful tool, something teams could really use as a benefit.

This is where Diallo's impact is vital.

I don't think any of the 4 is good enough to beat KU by himself.

Niang is a player that can beat KU because he can shoot the 3 and pass as well as guards. And he always plays up against us.

3 of the 4 are really just junkyard dogs as you call them. They all thrive off rebounds and missed shots more than anything. Williams has the best low post game of the bunch and he's another that's always brought his A game against KU.

Good thing we have a combination of 6 big guys to throw at these guys.

@Hawk8086

I agree Bragg and Diallo have to become reliable with the ball in their hands and that comes with playing time. Both Landon and Jamari were once in the same position but its taken them years to become fundamental players in some regards.

@joeloveshawks

It's a nice problem to have. Svi is still trying to get comfortable within this team. He's much improved overall but his shooting still isn't where it could be. His aggressiveness driving to the hoop has been a pleasant addition to his game. But I agree if Greene is this automatic off the bench its hard not to play him as long as he continues to play within the system and with his teammates.

I'm going to ask this question. Did anyone miss Jamari & Landon not playing?

It was like being in a dream where all the topics and countless posts discussing and arguing over their playing time had come to fruition. Self had listened to all the criticism and decided to cave into the fans and give them what they wanted.

Regardless of the team we played, we didn't miss them out there.

We would suffer without Frank. We would suffer without Perry. And the list goes on and on.

I'm not saying we don't need them. I'm certain that over the course of the season these 2 guys are going to be important. But with the 4 bigs we had out there last night we had everything we needed.

The reason I bring this up is because Self has made it clear that both Lucas & Traylor bring something to this team that gets them playing time. But after watching last nights game I was trying to imagine where we missed them last night.. I couldn't objectively find that reason.

He started Mickelson and he was active, doing all the things required of him in his spot. Other than scoring I thought he showed exactly what Self wanted out of that position. Enough so that you start him Saturday because I believe he earned it. He took the opportunity and didn't disapoint.

@HighEliteMajor

Just like Korea, I think Hunter thrives on knowing his number is being called. He just had a different feel to him in the game, he was active and everywhere. I love that about this kid, that even though his number hasn't been called a lot- he's thrived when he does get the chance, not sulked and suffered because of it.

The beginning of the 2nd half was bad from a defensive standpoint, a quick 3 followed by a 4pt play but after that media timeout the guys settled and took off again. I was pleased with it.

Greene helps this team. Svi is still a major work in progress and if you got an ace on your bench that can get 14 points in blink its a great problem to have. Is there a more pure shooter in the country than Greene? Without the KU blinders on I'm having a hard time finding someone. If he brings that effort to games, we just became a better team.

@drgnslayr

that play with Graham was scary thinking about last year and his injury. We absolutely cannot afford him to be injured.

Wayne is so improved this year and he knows he's counted on for points and he hunts to get them. Confidence in himself and confidence in his shot is at an all-time high right now.

@jaybate-1.0

excellent post by the way.

Cheick is one of those guys that can play horrible and still some how get points and rebounds.

that sums it up, he didn't play well and he had some obvious head scratching moments like not catching the ball. Just a tantalizing talent.

Per twitter

Hunter will start

Mari and Landon may not play because of injuries.. and this board goes nuts

Just saw Greene's suspension is ending early. He will be in uniform but self was non committed on if he will play or not. Regardless it's nice to have the whole team eligible for the first time. I hope he gets some time on the floor to set up for saturday

@Crimsonorblue22

His d wasn't great but he was a freshman guard who desperately needed the weight room and bill demands more than the avg coach on d.

It's just unfortunate he didn't stick it out his shooting could be elite and by his senior year I will be shocked if he's not one of their 3 best players.

@Crimsonorblue22

1st half no, 2nd half we just made shots and they didn't and it turned into a blowout kind of like the Loyola game.

I expect Connor will do well, always liked him, always thought he would be good but I'm bitter how and when he left the team.

@JayHawkFanToo

Yes that's the game Greene went off from 3.

@Crimsonorblue22

Lafayette, they were a horrible defensive team.. Georgetown also runs elements of it

Seems like forever since our last game doesn't it? Glad the wait is over as post Saturday topics have been heated as ever..

Some tidbits. Holy Cross & Harvard played each other with Holy Cross winning by 1..

How will the guys guard the Princeton style offense?

The pace of the game figures to be slow unless we completely overmatch them. Their top 7 guys all shoot the 3 to varying degree of success, our young bigs will have to guard out to the line which I'm sure is one of their requirements to run the offense they do.

Not a good shooting team 39% as a team, 32% from 3. They don't rebound well either, we avg 9 more rebounds a game then they do.

Who starts at the 5 with 3 of our Grandpa big's fighting injury. It could be Hunter as teased by Self, it could be Lucas for his play against Harvard, or it could be Diallo/Bragg after Self admitted he needs to get these guys on the court more.

Last game without Greene, will Svi show better consistency tonight shooting & valuing the ball?

I'm thinking Perry will have a big game because of Holy Cross being small. And I'm thinking because Coach lit into him about his defense and making shots around the rim. Could be one of those 25pt games for him..

Predictions? I was terrible last game saying we would blow out Harvard, I do think we see a more committed team effort tonight for a comfortable win..

@JayHawkFanToo

I doubt WVU will shoot that poorly against us, especially in Morgantown which they have won the last 2 meetings. Losing Staten was huge for having that go-to leader. Their guards really rebound just like last year so if our rebounding doesn't start to improve that's another area of concern when playing them. I remember them getting all their missed shots in their win last year against us.

They really are just a gimmick team, high reward, high risk situation that Huggins has created. Williams scares me especially if Diallo hasn't ascended to starters minutes when we play them.

@JayHawkFanToo

poor shooting night from 2 of their starters Carter and Miles go something like 2 of 17 from the field. Virginia also shot a salty 62% from the field. But yeah that 2nd half collapse was something, Virginia did what KU will have to do, survive the first 5 rounds of havoc and then wear them down..

i think the disparity was due to KU only dropping a few places in the AP poll after losing to Mich St but in the Coaches Poll they dropped to the bottom of the top 10?

Sounds like tonight we will see a shakeup in the bigs minutes. Self said Traylor is nursing an ankle injury, Landon has the toe injury. Perry has the hip... as long as we aren't in a 2 possession game I think Self will let Bragg & Diallo play 15-20 minutes each..

@JayHawkFanToo

I definitely agree, I'm just waiting for him to get court time before really deciding what his ceiling for the draft can be. I would bet most would agree that he could go top 5 if he becomes a starter or gets enough minutes to display his game to go along with his potential for the long term.

Even Self has said he's got a chance to be a NBA All-Star in time..

But right now if you said he was going pro and was going in the lottery or top 10, don't plan on him playing in any games next year. He would be overwhelmed. Its going to take this whole year for him to even get comfortable just playing in Self's system, can't even imagine a NBA team trying to plug him in their system and having confidence.

But from his background it would be hard to turn down a payday for him, or for his family if his stock and play keep where it is..

sounded to me that Lucas would get the start and Hunter if the game goes accordingly would get some extended minutes

@HighEliteMajor

No we wouldn't have lost. I pointed out that other than rebounding #4 was a non-factor from an offensive standpoint. But Lucas did a good job guarding him so was it Lucas's "great defense" against their leading scorer or just coincidence. But all Self was worried about was the fact of not having to double him in the post. Ok, great, wooopty doo. That didn't stop Perez from having a career night or McCarthy from draining 3's.

We all saw the pace we played against Loyola without Lucas & the effect that had over the course of the game. With Lucas, your waiting for him to catch up to the play to run offense and that is counter productive to what this team is built to do..

@jayballer54

He's a OAD unless the scouts say he's not going to go lotto. That's probably the only way he even thinks of returning. He would greatly benefit from more than 1 year in College just from a skill standpoint but like a broken record Diallo can be drafted high just on his vast potential. It's too early to tell if he's more than just potential right now. If he becomes a starter like most of us hope will happen then its going to be hard to see him stay.

@HighEliteMajor

It did pain me to see those comments but I get it, he's giving his seniors every chance to hold onto their spots for now and that's just the way he is. We just have to accept this is how our coach is and hope that the players we want to see play will prove to their coach that they deserve to play over seniors.Somewhere in there he's either a genius for doing this - the thinking that not entitling these freshman right away will make them hungry for the spot - and once they get it won't give it up. OR he's just a stubborn coach who values his trusted players more than he trusts his more talented one's regardless of whether the product on the court is impacted by those decisions.

As you've said the next 5 games will be important to see. Saturday against Oregon St is a quality foe where will we get to see the dynamics of using Greene again and how the big man minutes get distributed. We also have an upcoming road game in a hostile environment against San Diego St which will be the first true road game of the season.

I liked your line "How you win is a very important indicator of your future success".

How we lose is important as well- case in the point the Michigan St game. That correlated to last years or prior years pattern of letting off the gas pedal and not finishing. How we've won this year- in Maui was the high point so far, showing the championship potential against UCLA & Vanderbilt. How we've won against Loyola & Harvard brought this team back down to earth quickly, shows the pattern of inconsistency in everything from coaching, team play to individual players not performing to standard.

As I pointed out earlier in this post I'll be looking at how we win or...lose to Oregon St & San Diego St. Hopefully losing isn't an option but we don't know. Both games away from Allen Fieldhouse. Both possible NCAA tourney teams. Especially the SDSU game will be a indicator of how this team might perform going on the road in conference play. Last year we got demolished by Temple right before X-Mas- this year we go to California right before X-Mas. How we react to that situation will be critical. I'm looking at that outcome as a big indicator of what to expect going forward..

@jaybate-1.0

Skal will be drafted no matter how much he struggles or performs like the Usual OAD, same goes for Diallo

@KUSTEVE

excellent post.

@HighEliteMajor

Technically they are stuck behind Seniors right? I didn't elaborate about talent and I believe you know my stance with both, I'd start them both going forward immediately.

Let's look at the other 2 guys I mentioned in that same sentence..

Chase Jeter of Duke is stuck behind Plumlee & Jefferson, 2 career role players.. Absolutely similar situation to Diallo and Bragg. For Duke to be its best wouldn't it serve Coach K to play both Ingram & Jeter along with its 3 guard line-up. But yet a top 15 kid is sitting the bench while a career 2.3 avg point per game Senior is playing ahead of you? Doesn't that sound familiar???

Justin Simon of Arizona is stuck behind a trio of Senior Gabe York- solid guard 2nd leading scorer, Kadeem Allen -Juco transfer who sat out last year 7pts per game, & Parker Cartwright - soph. top 100 guard. Neither Allen or Cartwright has lit it up so why is Simon a known defensive pest and big strong lead guard sitting the bench for a coach known for his defense?

I've more or less agreed with every single point you've made these past few weeks. And I'm glad you've had the courage to bring these issues up for discussion. But we need our own Coach to see them and stop these games he's playing.

Wasn't it him that said before the season that our depth is great but that none of them have separated themselves from each other? That we had 11 guys who believe they should play and realistically only 8-9 are going to get that game to game consistency.

Whatever logic he uses to determine that, its clear that he's going to continue to play certain bigs minutes based on what's happening in the game. I'm sure he had every intention of playing Diallo/Bragg more than 16 minutes total but when he focused on a singular part of the game (stopping #4) he used Lucas solely for that purpose because he did the best job guarding their best player that other than rebounds had little effect on why the game was close.

Its' clear our coach has faults, it's clear his own judgement is getting in the way of what us on the outside view as the best chance to win games and potentially win a championship. So how do we get him to understand, or get us to understand why he's doing these things.

Do we need to start up the # FREE DIALLO or # FREE BRAGG Campaign again? What can we do?

@JRyman

More of less what I said without the detail. I liked what you posted about Mari & Lucas with the red-shirt, correlates to the issue we have currently about playing time.

There's a lot of mouths to feed on these team and its clear its going to be impossible to give them all the right balance. Self cares about playing the guys he trusts and right now that number is 7 or 8 depending on if you count Greene.

You could argue that when Self has too much depth, what us fans see as the better player(s) and what he sees as the better player(s) are completely different. Maybe having depth isn't good for him?

I believe he knows Bragg & Diallo are better players than Lucas or Jamari but until they show it he's going to let them learn the Self way. Other than missed layups I couldn't see why either of them didn't get to play more. They played hard on defense and when they were in, the pace was great and they contributed to the lead on the court.

Where's the +- for this game?

Besides the minutes fiasco, this team didn't play that well. It was basically a continuation of the Loyola 1st half where we were content to let an over-matched team stay in it for a while. This team has a lot of growing to do still and most of it is still predicated on being a better defensive team. We've seen when they really want to guard that they can, but there's too much of a slip in the consistency. We've seen offensively that when perimeter shots are made, the ball gets up and down the court and guys are unselfish that this team can beat anyone. But we've also seen at team that is struggling at the FT line, struggling to make the simplest shot- a layup and at times just runs offense with no purpose. Exactly how games like Saturday stay close..

@HighEliteMajor

I think that sums up why neither Bolden, Allen or Azuibuke are lining up to come here.

Self just doesn't care about what a freshman wants above his own thoughts for his team. But the optimism is that once the trio of Mari, Perry, Hunter is gone at least 1 freshman has to play big minutes for KU next year and that could be Bolden or whoever. Lucas is the lone Self player coming back that he's in love with. Bet your bottom dollar Lucas is the day 1 starter no matter if we sign Bolden or not..

Who knows how detailed they are paying attention like us fans are but it's no surprise KU freshman are slow to play under the freshman hype killer unless there is absolutely no upperclassmen in their way.

When you look at the 25, your looking at guys who are playing because these teams have nobody else to play but them. Other than Jeter & Simon & KU's Bragg & Diallo they are legitimately stuck behind upperclassmen at their position. We know the KU situation but Jeter, Simon not playing much is interesting. 2 others average less than 20 a game (Stone & Adams) are also handcuffed by depth at their position. Adams is the 3rd guard at UConn, Stone is one of 3 Center's at Maryland.

I'd like to see this updated at the beginning of conference play and then by the end of the year to see the differences.