🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Vick looks like he will be a FUN player to watch in the next couple of years

Traylor with his one offensive move :)

Yes it's hard not to think that something mentally clicked with Selden in the off-season… I've always felt that playing under Bill self was antithetical to building swagger and confidence… He has such a short leash that it undermines players mentally sometimes, So I wonder if Coach had a talk with Wayne about being the leader.
He seems to clearly want to be the go to guy, and I like that he's not trying to drive every time, but pull up and hit a short jumper. Plus, it's worth noting that a lot of us fans are invested in Wayne simply because he is now A third-year player - fan attachments form that way, not with one and dones. We've been through the good and the bad with Wayne, so when he is playing like he is it is a joy to watch !

Perry – looks exactly the same so far … His spin move is easy to block since you can see it coming a mile away. I fear we are going to get more of the same with Perry which is fine since he tends to have fairly solid good games more often than not, and a few no-shows as well (i'm not sure I've ever seen a Kansas player who would benefit more from learning a good shot fake )

Jamari - I actually spent time last night just watching him intently…Sometimes he's in perfect position to get the rebound both offensively and defensively, but somehow he either gets pushed off his spot or he mis-times his jump
More of the same it is looking like right now.

Hunter – hard to tell at this early stage because of the level of competition, but he seems more confident and he also seems a tad quicker LOL
He is a great free throw shooter, so let's hope he develops a way to get fouled a lot more… Again a guy who could sorely use a good pump fake move.

Frank – it could be just me, but he looks more relaxed, confident, and in more control than he was last year…

Lucas – too soon to make a definitive perception yet, but looks like more of the same so far

Let's hope Coach doesn't beat too much of the exuberance and confidence out of Vick . There have been moments where he looked explosive :)

Good strategy fouling selden serbia !!!

Twice hunter has been over the backed

Excellent smithers !

We call that over the back in the us

Crap!!!!!!!!

crap
This is going to be tight to the wire apparently

Lucas being punished ? Where is he?

Huge amount of contact that refs are letting go

Wow selden is getting fouled
My god what bad shooting in general

SIT (statistically Inferior Traylor) very nice pass !
And a rebound... Just sayin..

My god lucas is ham handed

it sure is nice (and FUN) to play a weak team! lucas and Mickelson shone because they weren't out muscled or outclassed...
Jamari... my favorite jayhawk... sigh.. :( I can only hope he has some key bursts throughout the season or he will see a lot of bench time.

Was it me or did all the guys from turkey look similar ... They sure love beards :)
And KU is getting familiar with coming from behind - that is good

Seems like everybody has a broken nose story… My story

I got in a fight in seventh grade and got aroundhouse punch right in the nose… Broke instantly. Lots of blood… When I went home my mom was horrified. I went to the doctor the next morning, he brought me into the back room, and said "I can fix this right now"
He soaked two large cotton swabs in liquid cocaine, attach them to two steel rods, and pushed them up into my sinuses… After about 15 minutes my whole face was numb… He then took a curved metal bar, Push it into my nose, braced his knee against my cheek and started to pull… It sounded like somebody stepping on cornflakes. He wiped up the blood , then held a mirror up and asked me "how do you want it?"
Hi said it looked okay to me and he said let's make it a little bit thinner and grabbed my nose with his fingers and squeezed… More crunching.
Then I left . Had to take a lot of Tylenol that night

Well my new nickname for jamtray is now Statistically Inferior Traylor, or
The fitting acronym "SIT", as in why isnt Self doing that more with him in favor of more SSP's (Statistically Superior Players)
Let's hope SIT either plays consistently better in terms of stats, or he should, well, sit ...

Hmm ...I wonder if we should apply stats to all the posters here... Analize
All the predictions in the last 3 years (has KU buckets been the vibrant basketball site for that long?) and strong opinions and aurgument cases made here that could be then matched to what actually happened to the team.... Those whose predictions and models were more correct would be given a higher stat score and thus would be allowed to post more often (in essense more "playing time"), and those who's predictions and arguments which didn't come to pass would be "benched" and only allowed to post a small set number each month...
Lets hold this site to the same high standards that we expect of our beloved KU basketball program!!!

( to borrow from Sir Bate, "no malice intended :)

@Crimsonorblue22
Thats the ticket :) feeling better already
I luvs me my jamtray

May have to watch the texas sequence a few more hundred times
(Basketball porn .. My favorite part is seeing Self off the bench going nuts)

Thanks all for responding - i appreciate it

im sure a lot of site denizens can relate a bit to my temporary despondency ..bottom line is after all they are kids who play basketball for a great university and storied program ... God help us if we become more and more like kentucky (an NBA training center that happens to be loosely affiliated with a school in Lexington)

Im sure ill be back soon to obsessively checking every post and get my head back into it once the wug games are on espn U :)

Go jayhawks and rock chalk JamTray!!!!

@REHawk
I cannot agree with you more... For the first time in 20 years i am beginning to lose my passion for ku basketball because of the oad carousel that teams at the level of ku have to apparently jump on in order to stay competive. Cliff Alexander who? Etc.

On a bigger note, as for this site... When we get posters who argue with albeit good logic (the essential end logic of its all really about winning ) that 18 to 22 yr old kids getting a chance to leave the US and travel to Korea to play in the WUG Is a bad idea, or other posters who argue with equal logic that guys like JamTray should be benched to essentially forced out to make room for statistically better rebounders despite the fact that he is in essence exactly what college basketball should be about for any kid who wants to better himself, or that we will Always be hampered because of ku's association with adidas, true or not, or how getting oad players who will pretty much "save their effort" for when they get paid can somehow be a good thing in any way shape or form, and so many negative subjects on and on, i feel less and less connected to this community, and really wonder why where our reasons for wanting to love Ku basketball have taken us..

Does anybody know the format for the wug basketball? What determines the final standings ? I cant seem to find out the explanation online (and im ADD so im not going to did real hard :)

In my case, since ive made the switch to watching CBB over the nba for the past two decades, it's really no comparison ... Completely different games. No real defense in nba, (hard to play 82 reg season games and give effort all the time) and yes basically a LOT of one on one moves. For me its immateral that the guys in the nba are highly skilled and can do a lot of amazing things (mostly on offense ) -
Its just boring to me. Seems to me in the magic-bird era there was a lot more passing, and team playmaking as well as concerted defense, but i could be wrong. ill take the college game any day, despite the apparent dearth of scoring - its infinitely more exciting to me, and the effort especially on defense makes for a more entertaining product to me at least.

Thanks... Interesting that there no official mention of him being on campus from the usual KU sites, at least that i can find

Can't seem to find anything online anywhere about his visit - thought it was supposed to be happening yesterday or today...
Any twitter/instagram followers hear anything?

Well seems to be a strong opinion by many on this thread that chukwu is essential, and that we need to make room for him somehow.
Self should get traylor, mickelson and lucas in a room ( hell, get all the players in the room just so they are PERFECTLY clear on what is the bottom line at KU apparently) and give them a speech like this -
[link text](

@BeddieKU23
No i agree with you believe me - i was just speculating on why Lucas's name was not mentioned as possible guys that could be theoretically "run out" when Traylor and Mickelson and greene were mentioned frequently. HEM helpfully pointed out that lucas's stats are not as i perceived, and Jaybate set me straight on the fact that it's not an either/or situation with Coleby and Chukwu- we still need a footer 5 guy regardless.

@HighEliteMajor
Thanks for the helpful stats
My impression of lucas was based on perceived playing time vs total points - he just seemed that he could not score very much whe he was on the floor, and when he would get the ball in close he would miss bunnies on a frequent basis. He appeared to me to have almost zero shooting ability. Mickelson also appeared to have more offensive shot skills, but is kinda slow and got pushed around. Traylor seemed to score more total points (again i dont have hard stats to back this up) but of course he was on the floor a LOT more than Lucas and Mickelson. And I suppose too that Lucas is a more effective rebounder and defender than mickelson and traylor stat-wise.

In all this talk of who theoretically would Self " run out" to open a spot for Chukwu, we've heard Greene, Traylor and mickelson mentioned a lot ...
But hardly a mention of Lucas .. The one guy who cant score a basket if his life depended on it... yes his defense is better and he can rebound some, but...

And i'll repeat for the third time - if Self and staff REALLY wanted Chukwu and thought he was the key for the next 3 years, they would have kept a spot open til he visited and made Coleby wait (Coleby would have waited by the way - he has expressly said that KU was his dream destination) ... didn't happen did it ? What does that tell you ?

And lastly - of course Self does have to make tough calls on guys, some more tough than others, because his job at a blue-chip program is ultimately is to win ... But his job is also to mentor and build up young men and make them better in many ways and prepare them for the future.
He has more money than he knows what to do with , and he can get a job in d1 or the nba easily. He cares for his guys and has perspective.
His career does not hinge on getting a footer (has anybody done their homework on Chukwu - is he that amazing? ) at the cost of casiering one of his guys.

Btw he LOVES jamari ... Not going to happen there fellas

I believe Chukwu's proposed visit was for this coming weekend.
It's only Tuesday - i suspect we will hear something by tomorrow or thursday whether he's changing his plans. We've all hashed this out over and over. ! There are no more scholarships.

Can someone, let's say Mickelson for,example stay in school and on the team but give up his scholarship ? And would Self ever ask a player to consider that ( okay im grasping like everyone else)

@HighEliteMajor
Yes much has been written this past year on various threads about traylor, and i do remember you have written some very detailed well-researched informative analyses on the weaknessess of traylor - none of which i can argue with :)

So why do i (and apparently many others here ) like him so much?
I loved kevin young too, another hard working selfess KU know-his-place role player but i suspect trayor would not match stats with Young.
But im a Traylor fan nonetheless.. Such is the nature of being a KU fan :)

Exactly what i surmised earlier - self and staff quickly researched coleby and saw that he is a hi-lo fit , and acted fast because they wanted him.
if they though chukwu was a better prospect they would have delayed colebys visit

Maybe self knows vick may not be able to fulfill his academic obligations? ... But doubtful, since vick is needed for WUG

I would be shocked If Self told traylor or mickleson they will be benched.
Traylor has been the epitome of what a Ku player should be in Self's system.. Completely dedicated and selfless and extremely hard working
I guarantee you, Self loves traylor despite his shortcomings

Self and his staff clearly wanted Coleby - they scouted him, decided he was going to be a very good fit (he's going to be a 2 year guy right ?), invited him right away, and closed the deal - if they had thought Chukwu was the better prospect, they would have asked Coleby to visit after Chukwu.
They wanted Colebu over Chukwu -simple as that

And yes VERY hard to imagine vick not re-classifying today to this year...

Stick a fork in it - we are done - pretty good haul this year

@HighEliteMajor
Right... Naa, Connor, AW 3

Wonder if Chukwu will cancel visit ...

I can't imagine Self would ever tell his beloved Jamari that he may see less playing time, but maybe Hunter??? Dont know...

@REHawk
Thanks for the info... So sitting out a year and redshirting still uses a scholly.. And we are maxed out if vick re-classifies....
Interesting that Coleby cant play for us in the WUG

So how would we fit in Chukwu ? Kick someone out?

Now does Coleby and chukwu have to sit for a year? Why would we have to redshirt anybody ?

@wrwlumpy
Thank you for posting that jamtray clip!!

That is my FAVORITE sequence from the last few years of jayhawk basketball ( EJ exploding at the end of Iowa state game is close )

This Jamari clip shoud be on a loop on a monitor somewhere in Allen Fieldhose
Playing constantly ...

A quick internet news search on Hoiberg does come up with fairly credible sites that state he is as good as gone from ISU - i agree that the b12 is better with him in it :(

Always grst to hear good recruiting news this time of year.
Now- how does Vick signing affect our other targets ??

@JayHawkFanToo
She wants to do biomedical engineering… ISU was her safety school, but then she toured it and decided the price was right and it was a good fit. Since my wife and I will be saving a boatload of money, we might have time to go back to Lawrence and maybe even see a game

And thanks to all for the fun comments… If I need you as bodyguards I'll let you know…

@JayHawkFanToo
Well, it appears that I may have a chance to test out that lack of basketball knowledge first hand… My daughter (we are in Boston ) got into three engineering universities, and decided to attend ISU last night- The difference in cost of attendance between the three places she got into was staggering… ISU with the scholarship they offered her is 35 K a year cheaper, and she decided she did not incur any debt for undergrad ... And she surprisingly liked the tour and campus
Go figure.
I'll be accompanying her next month for orientation… I'll wear my KU hat and see what kind of reaction I get:)

Maybe she can get me tickets to the KU home game there… But if I wear my KU shirt or hat I may be bodily harmed

@Crimsonorblue22

slightly out of context question - do you (or anybody else who happens to read this) know anything about ISU as a school?
my daughter is considering it because she wants to be a Bio-med engineer -(we're in Boston - wife went to KU during manning years so we've been die-hard-Jayhawk-fans for decades) it that time of year for seniors to commit.

Dont aplogize ! And thanks for keeping us in the know on recruits ... Every time i see you post, i go right to it (Ill bet a lot of people here do too)
Its that time of year when we all need something good ... the whole recruiting process is maddening, painful, frustrating at times, and then..., we get a guy, a guy that posters like have put in our radar for a long time

It does feel like xmas :)

SO... Will he give us two years ??

@konkeyDong
Crap - that just can't be good at all
No one would visit St Johns twice if they weren't already sold

Crap

@DoubleDD
Good job spelling out the big main differences
I'm not actually sure what comprises "coaching " in the NBA ... There is only so much control you have over guys making more than you, and guys who are going to try and get their scoring rebounding and assist averages up (because that's how they get contracts) no matter what you try and tell them or teach them

D1 big time program coaches have huge power and control plus they really coach and teach the game

@phoghawk33
It's just an opinion ... He got a decent amount of playing time but looked a lot like he did last year in terms of mechanics and court sense. His defense is better, and he hustles tremendously but looks flat footed and to me and relatively slow ... He has almost zero shooting touch in my opinion and that has stayed the same over the past two years
But I root hard for him and would LOVE to see him improve ! - but my instincts and "eye test" say otherwise

@HighEliteMajor
Thanks for the insight on Whithey - I always thought he was lower and in the true " gamble" category
And yes you said it exactly - how can we locate the overlooked guys ? There's the key - (I'm sure a board rat could list off a list of D1 good or great players that were " overlooked ") KU reportedly spends the most on recruiting so we need to use those resources to recruit SMARTER and try to rely less on the crack pipe of OADs
To keep up

@joeloveshawks

Lucas is an example of a guy that was a development project ... Lots of upside if he had high learning curve... That is the coaches' and staff gamble ... Which gem can you develop out of these 50 to 150 ranked bigs ? Are there ways to assess who will repond with time and coaching or who will plateau or who will bust ?
As much as we all are rooting for him , looks like Lucas has plateaud for the most part
Whithey was another total gamble - but he paid off handsomely

Dont think the youtube video shows too much, but it does show some shotblocking skill... !
We need a whithey - like defensive 3 or 4 year type guy that can develop... !!!!

Not another under-performing OAD that dissapears in the tough league play and tournament ... We've had our share of those

question - who was the last 4 year KU player we had who was on the skill level of Perry ?