🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@Crimsonorblue22

that would require getting them to turn the ball over, which they seem to do at a good level

@Crimsonorblue22

they play zone

Great post as always.

1. With Landen I'm been pleasantly surprised by the baby hook he's displayed a few times lately. I think that move can be deadly for him going forward. I also wonder if his body wasn't so beat up as said by Self that he could seal for position even better than he is. Honestly in the middle of the season I was ready for him to be packed off to a D2 school but I'm delighted at his progress since he's been given the starting spot.

2. Defense has been great. No complaints other than maybe defensive rebounding which is still an Achilles heal from time to time.

3. I happen to think Nova is as good as anyone not named UK but I'm on the east coast and have seen a hanful of their games. They have versatility and don't rely on one guy to do everything. Experienced bunch usually prevails in March.

4. Yikes!!! Can that be reversed for 6 games??

The NCAA is tourney is amazing, I just hope we get some of the luck thrown our way.

I took Friday off from work because I couldn't bear having something important to do around noon and not have full access to watching the game. The risks were just too great so I burned a PT day for this game.

@DoubleDD

I agree BG's jumpshot could land him in the NBA but if he doesn't improve the rest of his game tremendously he's not a serious threat to make a roster. He's still got 2 years to work at it so his time isn't up by any means. And maybe a big part of his development is a great summer and a starting spot with extended minutes. It's hard to be a dead eye shooter with 14-20 minutes a game consistently every game. We've seen his high's and low's and right now he's in a low which could cost us the season if he doesn't bring it these next few (hopeful) weeks.

As far as my point on the 3 point shot in general with this team. Your #1 and #2 points directly correlate to what Self deems as a good 3 point shot. Usually that is in the flow of the offense and not forced or a wasted possession. He's likely to bench you if you throw up a 3 out of his realm of expectations. Maybe this team needs chaos and freedom to find its identity.#3 seems to have been lost in our offense. Pretty hard to run a set play 3 when we are dribble weaving for 20 seconds a possession. #4 not sure I agree, Oklahoma has 2 guys who can make and create their own shot consistently. And they run 2 man sets based on getting both open for open/contested 3's. Why should it be any different that our guys can't make guarded or open 3's.

I watch a lot of College Basketball and I see a lot of offenses that are designed to open up shooters. Either with aggressive drives for kick outs, or having good passers. I think KU does neither above average. I think Self has drilled into their heads so much to try and pound it in that every time we drive to the hoop we become a one man offense. We're the most blocked team in the nation, we have the worst 2 point field goal % in Self's tenure here and the list goes on and on.

I'll be surprised if we don't struggle to beat New Mexico St. We've played such "bad ball" for seemingly months now that a blowout just seems unlikely.

I saw the stat on TV showing KU's last 5 first round games at halftime. Other than the Detroit game which we had a 10 pt lead, the other 4 have literally been 1-4 pt games at half. Meaning we've let underdogs play with us for large stretches of time. Now fast forward to this year with a team who can't hold a 5 point lead for more than a minute and you have to start thinking that we'll struggle no matter who we are playing.

This is an experienced NM St. team. Last year San Diego St. needed overtime to beat these guys and that's the same Aztec squad that whooped us at home. Those same guys are now a year older so we aren't playing some #15 seed who just magically had a good year in their conference.

Like everyone I'm hoping we can find some sort of mojo and toughness that will keep us advancing. I don't want to bail out to New Mexico St. or Wichita St in the game made for Television and the media to talk about. I would love a rematch with Kentucky because that may be the game where this team truly feels like an underdog and comes out with a passion we haven't seen all year. I'm probably dreaming at that possibility but if Self gets paid the big bucks, this is where he needs to shine.

As far as the Greene debate. When he was making 3's it seemed to up his game and made his defense tolerable. Now that both have fallen off the plate everything else has to.

So the defense plays him tighter so he's not open as much as he's used to. He's a below average passer, ball handler, and those equate to a player who can't drive the ball to the hoop effectively in D1. So he's easily guarded and it's now Mason's or Graham's or Selden's job to be the aggressor to free him up again.

The thing that troubles me with BG is that no matter what Self does, sit him, suspend him you name it doesn't seem to motivate him to get him to play at a higher level. We certainly didn't see inspired ball in the Big 12 tourney from him after missing the Oklahoma game. He's still yet to mature and not all can at 19-20 years old. I love BG and I hope he seriously takes his game to a new level this summer because he's got a lot to work on.

You see basically every other team in the country not only be aggressive to get the easy shot inside, but also be aggressive to set up the 3 ball. Self doesn't like that idea and he certainly doesn't run offense for that.

Look at Oklahoma for example, Hield or Cousins will play 2 man game with a big, big screens they come off it or over it and pop. We've seen it countless times playing them. Or Pass to the big run to the screen then back behind it and pop. Pretty basic stuff that requires a big who can screen well and the shooters. We have the shooters but we'd rather be set shooters than aggressively seeking to shoot.

@HighEliteMajor

I saw an interesting stat.

KU has had 174 shots blocked.. or 10 more than any other team in the country. Has a lot to do with our 2pt%'s as the lack of size and elite athletic ability has hurt us.

KU has blocked 171 shots with no true shot blocker. Last year we got 196 swats with a shot blocker.

Aggressiveness has turned wayne around the last 2 games. And his aggressiveness has led to getting to the line. He's going into the bodies of players, he's not just passing the ball around the perimeter and he's become more of a threat in those 2 games.

Again tho will we see the non aggressive wayne and the one who struggles to make shots. If he's really on the upswing then we need to ride it and some one else has to come to play as well. KU gets 2 players playing well they will be tough

What Wayne will we see in the Tournament?

He got chewed by Self Thursday for his effort in the TCU game.
He comes out Friday & Saturday and has arguably the best 2 games of his career.

So now will he revert back to the normal because coach isn't chewing him out?

Will his family be there to watch him play? Also a big motivator for him, by the big game he had at home in February in front of mom.

What can we do to keep him at this high level, problem is nobody else on the team steps up with him.
Last week Oubre against TCU and nobody else. Wayne Friday against Baylor and nobody else, Wayne Saturday against Iowa St and nobody else.

@Lulufulu

i have the same scenario. NM St has won something like 12 games in a row and like 16 of its last 17 so even if they are a 15 seed they are a team who knows how to win. They are big and have 2 40% plus 3 point shooters. So a good 3 point shooting team who can offensive rebound is exactly the recipe for losing 1st round.

With Ellis he's just going to play through it because its the end of the season. If this was earlier he'd sit weeks til it fully healed. But he's going try through it because he's a fighter and he has to. Is a 80% healthy Ellis good enough to play 30 minutes a game? Landen & Traylor are really banged up, Mason is worn out because of minutes. For all our depth we are just so worn out.

@Lulufulu

I don't want to be right at all and i don't care if people don't like my stance on this. I'm calling it the way I see it and I'm certainly not going to say "I told you so" if we bail out early.

I wouldn't feel this way if we had a healthy Ellis but we won't have that the rest of the year. 6 days isn't going to magically heal him. He's hurt and he's going to be 80% at best of himself. That's just not good enough when we don't get the entire team to step their game up.

The NCAA tourney committee screwed us royally by putting us in the same bracket as Kentucky and Wichita St. We could even play Texas yet again if we both won 2 games. It's simply a joke the way they seeded us with Wichita fully knowing the situation in playing them. It would be like putting Missouri in our bracket if they ever made the tournament again.

Uk, Villanova, Wisconsin, Iowa St. I think Nova UK make finals on matchups.

Btw I don't have KU past 2nd round regardless of who they play. I would love to be proven wrong. Just going to be hard to win games when you best player is 80% maybe and no cliff. Team is banged up and tired, it's worn out and the draw did us no favors, we got the worst of it.

no matter if we get by the first round matchup our best player will be playing the rest of the year injured. No other team is going into the tournament worrying about their star players health other than West Virginia.

i'm glad your staying optimistic but I've got tempered expectations because what I've seen is a 2nd round exit team. We had a great year and the kids are worn out. We will have to put 2 half's together just to beat New Mexico St, that game won't be a pushover. It's what I think, some may think differently so sue me

@wissoxfan83

then i guess your watching ku with a different set of eyes than everyone else.

if we get wichita st in the 2nd round its like their SUPER BOWL. how hard is that to understand

@wissoxfan83

no chance

wichita st in our bracket wow talk about screwing

screwed

@Bwag

you could say we played just as poor defense in the 2nd half. I mean how else do you blow a 17 point lead in 5 minutes.

@DoubleDD

why are you talking about next year when we've yet to finish this year. smh

greene is pathetic

sorry guys get ready for next week

i told you guys earlier what was gonna happen

you cant play mari or greene the rest of the game they are just turnovers

no we blew the 17 point lead by quiting on defense

not even trying

get greene out

how is that not basket interference

UM GOALTEDING

we cannot guard the pick and roll this half

just when you blow a 17 point lead in 5 minutes you tend to get a bit heated

@Crimsonorblue22

just a little and i apologize for heat of the moment prediction on ending of game

bad call

we don't have the horses with bg in

wow wayne

watch

this one is over

4 minutes gone lost 8 points off the lead. if we don't respond and swell it back up they will get the lead

and we are quickly reminded why this team is incapable of winning comfortably

awful awful

so we left the game at halftime what a joke this is

and another turnover

gurantee this becomes a 1 point game soon

and there goes the lead

what is wrong with mari

jesus frank

if we can win the first 4 minutes i will feel confident

@DCHawker

too me most impressive half of the year and that includes the Oklahoma game. this team is dialed in on defense today

@Bwag

and thats how you beat teams that rely on 3's feast or famine

what a half