Look at Grimes go!!!
HawkChamp
3175 posts
@KirkIsMyHinrich defense
When we move the ball, our offense looks really good.
I like that Grimes has been more aggressive looking to drive. Nice
Doke with a high ankle sprain. Silvio would be nice about now.
@DanR I like good offense and making shots, but good defense is what I really want to see.
The reason Wafford isn't shooting the three well is because our defense has been good. Haven't given them very many open looks at all.
Man, we are pretty good when we play defense and get out in transition.
@BShark Bingo!! Only the two's that he wants to prevent are almost always with a defender guarding them, making them not so easy baskets in the paint. As a player, would I rather shoot a tough two in the paint, or would I rather shoot a wide open three in the corner? I'll take the open three all day. 3>2
@JayHawkFanToo So its a matter of execution multiple times every single game for the last several years? I do not think so.
@HighEliteMajor Agreed about Doke's form. Completely and utterly inexcusable that STILL no coaching has been done to make sure he has a proper form. Makes zero sense to me.
@Crimsonorblue22 yep. Bill, IMO, is living in the past in regard to three point defense. Bilas says it in every game - "You simple CAN'T leave a corner shooter wide open", and he is absolutely correct. Apparently, Self would rather take his chances on a practice-type jumper that a guy would take in warm-ups than risk a guy making a guarded two over the top of a defender. Makes no sense whatsoever.
@KUSTEVE sorry, man. I normally agree with you about a lot of things but that list is not one of them.
@stoptheflop Charlie and grimes can shoot it as well.
Gotta be patient and not jump to conclusions about player and team development. Look at last year - folks being doom and gloom or saying how terrible Newman was. HAVE to give things time. Who knows how Grimes and the rest will turn out in March. It's only December 1st and we've seen this team's potential at times.
@KUSTEVE thanks for the read. This is going to be a process, just like what we have all been saying. Once Grimes and others start figuring things out, its a whole different ball game - and we are already pretty good.
@tundrahok KJ and Charlie played very well down the stretch. Need those types of minutes every game.
@dylans seemed like he settled down in the second half and had multiple nice moves, rebounded well as usual and played good defense. I’d say we saw what he could do in the second half. He will be fine.
Wow. And some folks think we arent any good... It could be a lot worse right now.
People said the exact same things last year. I've never known a player and a team that was so criticized as last year's team and how did that turn out?
People really need to get a grip and evaluate what Self has done the last three years - start slow then get rolling around February and March, earn a one seed and get to three straight elite eights with a final four.
I remember last year many were saying they weren't even a top twenty five team as well. How did that work out again??? You HAVE to give things time and be more patient.
@dylans I would take that without a second thought. I actually think of all teams we have the best chance to beat them at the end of the year.
@mayjay Exactly. Its like folks think you get "bonus points" for having the most thirty point blowouts or for looking the best in November and December.
Gorilla72 said:
From the Vermont FreePress: Kansas “slogged” it’s way to a victory.
“The Jayhawks (2-0) were jumped by Duke for the top spot in the AP poll earlier in the day, even though they beat then-No. 10 Michigan State in the Champions Classic last week. And for most of their game against the Catamounts (1-1), they did little to prove the voters wrong.” 🙄
Yeah, and how did Duke look against Army on Sunday?? Kind of a stupid argument on their part.
@KUSTEVE agreed on all points. Folks need to remember that this looks like a typical Self team at the beginning of a season. Look at last year for example - so many on here and every KU blog site wrote them off. Remind me: how did that turn out in March? You HAVE to give things time and let Self figure things out. We have all the pieces we need and they just need time to get used to each other and how to play together.
@BShark yeah, missed several layups and some outside shots.
@BShark I think it goes to show how good Dedric is when 20/14/6/2/2 is a "subpar game".
@Crimsonorblue22 he looked better tonight than during the exhibition games. Once he gets into the flow, he will contribute a lot for us.
Yeah, the second half looked like the very first game of the year. MSU made sure to not let Dedric beat them and he still got something like 22 points and 17 rebounds. No one can stop our inside play. I thought Dotson and Grimes did a lot of good things. Dotson will learn how and when to attack in transition, but still a lot of good things. We have a long way to go and we are already really good. Gonna be a great year guys.
I think it is going to come down to not turning the ball over and solid D. I too wish Grimes would be starting on McQuiad but he will more than likely have plenty of chances later on in the game. Really can't let them get comfortable from 3 - Winston and McQuaid are their main threats. Keep them contained out there, and we should be fine.
As usual, this game will come down to defense, rebounding and turnovers. Win those battles and we will be fine. Get Dok and Dedric established early, good entry passes from the guards and knocking down some timely threes are necessary for a win here.
There was definitely more energy and more focus the second half. Much more concerted effort to set Dok up in the post and it showed. Grimes and Dotson are going to be fantastic - again, they just need time to adjust and learn. Plus, as Ballard said in his post-game interview, Self did not run much of anything, "vanilla", IIRC. Hoping for a win Tuesday but not expecting it due to so many new pieces.
@KirkIsMyHinrich I like your analysis but I think Duke's top players are more talented and more explosive than anyone UK has. I don't think UK has anyone that can stop them. Duke by 10.
Quote from Self - “We didn’t run anything and we won’t on Thursday, just to try to save some crutches maybe for the early games,” Self said.
@BeddieKU23 +1000. Like I said last night, we go through the same thing every year. Play like crap to start the year, then really get rolling once conference play starts. This team will be fine, just needs some time to gel and learn how to play together.
@approxinfinity Yep, we did not run much last year. Not sure the source of this comment.
@Kcmatt7 I agree 100%. Dedric is really long and had much success at Memphis. I don't agree with the comment that he will struggle in certain matchups.
Folks have to remember that every year we look sloppy to start and EVERY YEAR we steadily improve and get better. Last year was a great example of this. Its hard to take too much away from one game, especially the very first game.
@JayHawkFanToo I am remaining hopeful that we can get enough from Charlie, Vick and KJ.
@Woodrow If self doesn't want him back, why would they schedule a meeting with him?
It's hard to predict what will happen game to game, especially in the tourney. Why? The human element of unpredictability. What if they are reaching a level of consistently shooting their average over an extended period? All that really matters though is getting hot in the elite eight. That's the only way we are going to advance this year.
BShark said:
@jaybate-1.0 SHU would be the third or fourth best team in the big 12. Firmly ahead of KSU.
Yeah seton hall is a talented team. Gave Xavier and Nova all they could handle.
Blown said:
that zone of Dukes will give us fits if that match up happens.
Four shooters to spread it out helps. Have to make Bagley and Carter cover the corners as they tend to play very high up. KEy is to attack it. That's what north Carolina did very well in the acc tournament when they beat them.
Not surprising they don't consider us. Duke has the high profile talent and may be the best team left in the field. I'm not sure our team can do what it would need to do to beat Puke - rebound, pack the paint and hit a lot of threes. Would love to be wrong but I'm not sure this team deserves being talked about like those other teams because they haven't proven to be on their level.
Possibly Auburn. They have very little size inside due to the loss of a key big man.
Like I said, ball game
That's ball game boys and girls
Malik has saved us this game
BeddieKU23 said:
I'm sorry Devonte you have to do something on offense
He has been off from the start. Needs to drive it
BShark said:
I don't like force feeding Doke.
Agreed. He is too worried about fouling.
We do a great job of leaving shooters open.
Passing clinic out there
BeddieKU23 said:
He will start 2nd half
That's great. Close call there