🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Looks like the lawsons are all also suited up and in warm ups - may be nothing

So we good fam?

@BShark so what is the problem then? He owns it and it's registered.

@HighEliteMajor or silvio

@BeddieKU23 if we can't cover some guy from South Dakota State, then throw the possibility of a final four out the window. We'll be fine. I predict a good shooting game.

@BShark it ain't over til it's over. No one thought Wiggins was coming here but he did.

@BShark he needs more polishing to have a long nba career.

If I had to pick, I would definitely choose Zion. To me, he is almost a clone of Julius Randle - tall, powerful and fast. Randle was the main reason for their title game appearance, imo. He was almost impossible to stop and I see Zion being the same way. If we had landed Randle in 2013, i think that definitely would have been a final four year.

What are we thinking the odds are that Dok comes back?

@BucknellJayhawk3 and de sousa to give us more post depth to compete against the likes of Michigan state.

@FarmerJayhawk I doubt Dok stays but if he does, an undefeated season is a possibility. I mean him and Dedric Lawson together? Plus de soousa and McCormack in the post with all the guard talent? That's a monster team and who knows Vick or Malik could stay or we land Langford. Next year could be historically special.

@Lulufulu no, no, no, not according to Jay bilas!

@jayballer54 haven't looked but I bet rupp rafters is in meltdown mode

I hear ya bro. When is the last time we have had a number one class?

@Crimsonorblue22 and Silvio!!

@kjayhawks it's stupid to make those assumptions in November. We looked totally different last year versus Duke and Georgia than in the first three rounds of the tournament. Same with the year before.

@nuleafjhawk bingo

@KUSTEVE I felt as though our defense was good in general. Kentucky made some nice plays individually, which wasn't necessarily the fault of our defense. It was the other end that was a disaster.

@wissox yeah, most are in meltdown mode over on phog.net.

@kjayhawks agreed. Playing well in November means absolutely squat to winning in March and April. Just look at the terrible start to the year Oregon had last season, or the way the 2012 team started (9-3). We have to give things time for everyone to understand their roles and be more comfortable with each other. Even though we aren't a young team, we still have so many new parts and are adding more soon, so the type of cohesiveness we were expecting won't happen until late in the season.

@wissox I agree. All everyone does is whine and moan all night and day about him. He is such a good advocate for cancer research, humanitarian work and the game of basketball. People need to give it a rest and focus on other things.

We looked pretty good on Friday then all of a sudden lost our minds and shot horribly. Let's not get too low - I doubt we shoot that bad again, but it's good for the guys to see that hero ball and going one on one doesn't work.

Again, have to play smart, not stupid. Last night had a bit of stupid play. It will be a good teaching lesson. I still have national title expectations.

Like the Lenka song says, "it's too much, yeah it's a lot, to be something I'm not".

Frankly, everyone needs to stop talking about Frank. As much as we love him, he is gone on not on the roster. I think all that stuff is in Devontes head and he thinks he has to do exactly what Frank did.

But he is not Frank and will never be. And the truth is, we don't need Frank. We need Devonte Graham to be Devonte Graham. He is not nearly as effective when he is in score first mode like last night. He needs to focus on the offense and leading the team.

@mayjay I think Oregon was 25% but yes you are correct.

Better to shoot 28% from three now rather than in the elite eight, I suppose.

@BShark grimes does absolutely nothing to help the current team

Excellent news. Hopefully this will put a little fire under his hind quarters. We really need him.

@FarmerJayhawk why should he be back soon?

@approxinfinity no to both. He barely got the ball in the second half despite dutifully posting up on the block.

@KUSTEVE have to make open shots, which I thought is what these guys were good at.

Look, I know we are a guard oriented team, but why didn't we get the ball to Dok more? Does Self not tell them or do they purposefully ignore him?

This is the type of game that concerns me. Anyone get flashbacks of UNI, VCU, Nova or Oregon during the game? I know I did. This has nothing to do with Frank, imo, as we lost a game this exact way with him. There is a much larger issue here that is more fundamental.

Also, can anyone please explain to me why, when the game slows down, our guys act like they have never practiced offense before, can't make good passes or make open shots? This was an authentic Bill Self style elite eight loss where the team acts like they've never been coached before and never shot a basketball before. When the shots arent falling, do we hope to shoot out of it? Why wasn't Doke getting the ball in the block every single possession? It was so frustrating to watch Graham, Svi, Vick and Newman throw up shots (remind anyone of a recent game?) that bricked off the rim and overlook the seven footer in the post.

So is this coaching? For upperclsssmen, they seem utterly clueless as to how to win when the shots aren't falling. And it's the same thing over and over. Against UNI, we had Cole and the Morrises, yet couldn't get it done. Same thing the next year - what were we 2-20? And of course last year with the obvious limitations.

Not trying to beat a dead horse, but this lack of execution or coaching is concerning and so obvious. Does the staff not see the trend? Or am I overlooking something?

Regardless, we can't shoot this poorly on open shots and expect to win any meaningful games. Also, our guys need to be coached on driving and kicking rather than trying to force it up over length. Frustrating to watch it over and over with no adjustment. Lots of potential for this team but to reach it it has to play smart not stupid. Tonight, they played stupid. Can't do that and expect to win.

@DCHawker eh, that's not the issue. It's much larger than that.

Where are our good shooters? This is a pathetic display of shooting. Wow

When do the coaches tell Newman to be smarter on those drives? Yes not going to score one on three. Good grief

This acts like they've never been coached the basics. Enough to make you pull your hair out. How atrocious

@DCHawker it's like we forgot how to pass and shoot. Looks like a friggin middle school. So undisciplined.

We really needed Billy this year. That would really, really hurt. So sick of stuff happening that keeps us from having a full roster. Fortunately, wehave a good chance at de sousa

Michigan State packing the paint. Dukes lack of shooting is going to be problematic for them all year, as predicted

Yeah duke looks more talented than Michigan state. Definitely a contender this year if they get their defense improved.

@BeddieKU23 I can't say if we have or not. No one knows but the team

@BeddieKU23 I really need to stop wasting minutes of my life I'll never get back on his articles.

@bskeet lol at rupp arena ahead of Allen field house

@BShark their length is a problem, but we've played tall and long teams recently. I seem to recall a game last tournament where we played a mammoth team and won when everyone said we would have trouble. Missouri also has a lot of length and we did ok against them, save rebounding.

Everyone talks about how we will deal with Kentucky's length, athleticism and talent, but they still have to deal with our speed and shooting. Our defense will be the deciding factor, as it is every game.

I definitely wouldn't be surprised if we lose. UK had ho-hum games against mid major teams that they probably did not really get up for. They will get up for us tonight - guarantee it. It will be close throughout, but I could see us pulling away late with some timely three pointers.

Bill obviously thinks Silvio is an immediate impact and believes he should be a top five recruit if not for playing over in Africa. He would be the third big and would be a much better option than Mitch, who, bless his heart, doesn't have the size to battle against athletic bigs and doesn't do anything offensively. The dude can ball with the best of 'em.

@KUSTEVE I would like that to be true but it wouldn't surprise me if Kentucky plays up to us after a couple of pretty bad performances.

Like beddie said, just keep them out of transition and we will be in good shape.

@BShark and Utah valley acted like they had never experienced a zone before. Vick looked real good in the middle. Of course, Kentucky is a bit longer than Tennessee State, but we need to spread the floor and hit our shots to force them out of the zone.

@BShark I do too. Bill's teams do a stupendous job of carving up zones. Helps that we can put four zone busters out there at a time, five if you count Billy.

@Crimsonorblue22 I would say our transition offense needs to be opportunistic rather than making the entire game fast. As usual, Kentucky struggles in the half court, so I think we need to limit their opportunities and avoid giving up momentum plays and easy points.

@JayHawkFanToo hopefully the shots are falling. If not, could be a real battle if they arent.

@JayHawkFanToo my only concern is their length defensively. I still have flashbacks to the game a few years ago and against Oregon where our guards try to float stuff over their shot blockers and kept getting swatted. We need to have a plan for that, like shot fakes. That is my only concern.