@BeddieKU23 Mailing it in certainly describes the 2nd half. I can rationalize by saying they are young, they were clearly superior to UNLV and they were thinking about leaving for their respective homes. Boy, Devonte was off from the jump.
After reflecting on Dokes injury and the effect on the team......
We still have 7 good or very good players. Coleby is a decent 8th man and Lightfoot, though inexperienced can fill in as needed..........and should get better as the year goes by.
Josh can dominate all by himself.
We can beat anyone with those 7-8 guys. The lack of depth up front could lose us a game or two.
More importantly............it could be the difference in one specific game in the Dance..........but won't necessarily be the case.
We can win with the 7 regulars we have plus the other 2 when necessary.....lots of teams have.
This is LL's chance to prove he can play like he did at the end of last year. If he can do that........for the most part........we'll be OK. Bragg in there when we go 2 bigs..........Coleby off the bench and Lightfoot when needed. Not ideal,........but the other guys have to step up.
@HawkChamp I like that tidbit.
@BeddieKU23 I agree that we played a good game. Except....the defense in the first half was not good. Way too many uncontested shots. We tightened that up in the 2nd half. I thought we executed good offense the whole game,.......couldn't make any 3 pt shots, though in the first half.
I don't think that football game that is on is going to be over in time for the start of our game.........we could miss a fair amount.
@BShark Thanks for the info.
No matter what the rule is......you can't protect kids from going pro when they shouldn't have. Bad decisions will still be made.
I wish they would have gone with the proposed zero & 2.
@Lulufulu Well said.
@stoptheflop Yes..........thanks for the input.
@kjayhawks 88-64 sounds about right.
@KUSTEVE I never did any of that stuff either. In fact...... It sounds as if we must have had exactly the same type of experience at KU.
@justanotherfan I think Kentucky, UNC, Duke - when they are healthy, and then some team we are not even thinking of that is a bad matchup for us........those are whom I worry about.
No question....they look good. But what happens when we run into bigger teams. Like Baylor? What happens when we run into better teams.....like what we saw with IU? Yes....we are playing better now....but the lesser competition is part of that. We need some more time on the court with a traditional 5 and a 4........IMO. I don't want to be what ISU has been the last few years.
Eventually in the tournament we risk getting beat by a bigger team.
But I guess the team will be what it evolves into.
Looking at the names in the box score demonstrates how tough it is to make The Association. Some really good college players in those box scores.
Not that important during the season. But, I think we need to "hang around" in the top 5 so we can try to get a #1 seed in the tournament. Getting a #1 seed in the tournament is important.......not critical.......but important.
I looked at the FT % as I wanted to see if my sense of which players were driving that % matched up with the stats. Josh is the biggest single contributor (as I suspected) as he has taken the 2nd most, but is hitting only 56%. Doke has taken only 15, but is an atrocious 33%. Lighfoot and Young, whom we shouldn't have to rely on, are 0-8. Coleby 2-6. Those 14 attempts don't affect the % that much, obviously...about 4%
Everyone else is OK......not great, but OK. So if Josh steps up like we know he can (and he has improved lately), and Doke improves to respectable, .....also maybe Coleby, depending on how much he plays....we should be at least OK
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@kjayhawks I didn't see the game, but WVU winning at UVA was impressive. I think KSU will be tougher than most of us thought......at least at home. DJ Johnson has played well. I believe ISU will be tough again.........even though they did not appear to play any defense against Gonzaga. But they will be hard to beat, as always, at Hilton. OSU with Evans, with their new coach....will be improved. Baylor.....very impressive so far. My guess is they will be the same team we've seen.....talented and capable of beating anybody on any given night... but inconsistent due to not so great coaching. They're big guys scare me though....with the way our front line has been playing.
I am getting worried about how these opposing big guys are killing us. When we run into a team that also has a good backcourt (like IU), or we are cold from the outside..........we are in trouble.
UCLA looks really good. They may not hold on....but Kentucky has the better athletes that will ultimately be really good players. But Ball and Leaf are really good....and the others are good. They execute really well. They are the better team on a neutral court at this point.
Remember the UNCA coach ranked the teams they had played as.....UCLA, NC, WSU, and Louisville. For whatever that's worth.
@ralster Agree about disappointment with Bragg. Our bigs will be better....no doubt.
@ralster Do we have anyone like Ochefu? Landon at his best.....maybe...but not as mobile. Doke? Better than Ochefu when he reaches his potential....will that be this year?
So....yes. One big guy could do it....our one guy just needs to perform well.
@jayballer54 Landon played a little more like we need him to in the 2nd half of the UAB game. But then regressed vs. UGA. 5 fouls in 10 mins. I think the way they are calling the fouls this year has him frustrated. He needs to adjust....I think he will.
@justanotherfan You pointed out what I was thinking while looking at the box score from the UGA game. I think Lucas' biggest problem is adjusting to the officiating. 5 fouls in 10 minutes? Unbelievable for a Senior. He is getting frustrated and has not adjusted. He will adjust and get better.........how much remains to be seen.
@jaybate-1.0 That's funny! It does look like a beautiful place to go to school.
@Texas-Hawk-10 If LL's lack of effectiveness is because of his foot (or even partially), what do we really have to lose by sitting him? Not much, I would say.
@BShark Does Preston committing perhaps affect his decision...concerns with playing time depending on what happens with Bragg?
Landen has been frustrating. Sure would like to see the guy we saw at the end of the season....solid and at times really good on the defensive end and on the boards.
Udoka will get better.......you can see his great potential in flashes. Bragg needs to become more consistent. I think he will as he plays more....we'll see.
I thought we played well for most of the game. The large lead we jumped out to was aided by their fumbling and bumbling around. Josh finally stayed out of foul trouble and was able to assert his presence for an entire game. The FT's are concerning. Josh is the biggest contributor....he has been awful. Have to believe that he (and we) will improve.
@drgnslayr Absolutely...........he played defense by moving his feet............he was very effective!
@Crimsonorblue22 Well. that is probably the biggest reason......but I think those two schools have cachet....we do too, of course.......but it is relative in the eyes of the beholder.
@wissox Great points. I am not worried about 3 pt shooting though. Mason, Graham, Svi, Vick...they are all at least above average 3 pt shooters.....I think they will show that.
@Statmachine Do you hear anything about the eligibility issue for either Preston or Duval?
I worry about him being eligible. But I guess we're no worse off for trying...........you know......Nothing from Nothing leaves Nothing.
@Crimsonorblue22 Locker room celebration was awesome. Thanks for posting.
@betterfireE You may have valid points................but it is only one game. Jackson will contribute a lot....more than Wiggins? Remains to be seen. No question....Indiana is a good team. The game could have gone either way. My sense is that they played more to their potential than we did....but who really knows.
I always find it interesting.....would our rhetoric be significantly different if a few things had gone our way and we ended up winning the game?
@HawkChamp said:
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In regards to Indiana, things always look better when shots go in. They made 15 threes and shot 50%, with several of those being contested and a hand in their face. They are a good shooting team, but they won't have many games where they shoot that well.
I disagree...they won't always shoot that well.....but they will have quite a few games where they shoot that well....JMO
Weak Sauce. The funny thing is........they will lose some of those games, I think.
@jayballer54 I sometimes get mildly concerned when it looks like we are going to miss out on a lot of highly ranked recruits because, like all Jayhawk fans, I want to keep the streak going and compete for NCs year after year. If Sexton picks Alabama and Brown doesn't go with us.....we could possibly not get any more highly ranked recruits this year. I am counting Garrett as a highly ranked recruit due to his "sleeper" status. There are, of course, many reasons why we lose out on guys we are after. I think one factor this year, is that we have so much uncertainly on our roster...........kids want to play right away, and if 2 of 3 of our guys that are "maybes" in terms of the draft come back............the freshmen can see too much competition for playing time. Even if we lose out on the rest of the top guys we are after, if only one of Bragg, Svi, or Graham comes back..........we'll be in good shape.
@kjayhawks Rutgers is there because of the TV market......NY/NJ market which means TV dollars. Will the KC market be enough of a draw?
@Texas-Hawk-10 Do you really think we will be in the Big 10 if the Big 12 splits up? It's all about football revenue and TV markets. Is our football "draw" big enough?
@jayballer54 I don't follow recruiting as closely as a lot of folks on this site, but it doesn't seem like these "package" deals work out too often. I'm not sure what they mean.......other than a recruiting tool. Sure, we'd probably take both of those guys.......probably a lot of schools would.......assuming Preston qualifies.
Losses: At UK, At ISU, At WVU, one other......either conference or Duke.
4 losses and a NC.
Me neither. I think WVU and ISU will be our stiffest competition. The one poll is giving Smart too much credit......but we will see.
@JRyman Bragg?- Probably not (although that would be exciting). Wings take a seat for Greene or Svi to come in earlier? No. Perry at the 3? No. Vick? No.
Not me being negative....I just don't see any big changes. I don't see Self shaking things up over one bad game....based on his history. With the possible exception of Mick not starting.....and I don't even want to say who might start in his place...........
@BeddieKU23 Many others are probably more informed than I am, but the article I read said that FSU is considered the leader. It seems like most of the time when a leader is identified just prior to the announcement......the leader gets the player.
@DoubleDD Agree. How we lost stinks. How we respond will be important. I think we will respond positively.....and I am basing that on history. We have had similar loses before. I think we will be out for blood when they come to AFH. Last year, if I recall right, they gave us fits in AFH, but it was because they shot really well......Miles, I think, was unconscious. It will take that from them again to beat us in AFH, in my opinion.
@DoubleDD I don't think it's OK for us to lose because others do....I think the fact that others have lost this week demonstrates how hard it is to win on the road in the conference. But this is nothing new...it happens every year. Of course, the TV announcers make a big deal of it.....upsets generates buzz.....
@DinarHawk Yeah, maybe.
@DinarHawk Well winning the conference might be important...it can help you get a #1 seed...which makes an easier path (in theory) to the FF.