🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Texas has been on the struggle bus all year - those stats that jayballer posted are abyssmal. If they play like this, Texas will be an NIT team and a Big 12 bottom dweller

@wrwlumpy The four guard lineup will be beneficial. Having Frank, Devonte, Svi and Josh out there is an upgrade to what we had last year. I hope the guys are mentally ready - Frank has yet to win at Morgantown.

@jayballer54 conference games have not even started. All percentages for winning the conference should wait until February

People keep saying that Devonte will leave but unless he picks it up, he will be back. So far, he has not played at the level I thought he would.

We would have a terrific core next year with Graham, Vick, Carlton, Dok, Newman and maybe Svi. Add in our star recruits and we are a championship contender once again. Oh and can't forget Coleby and Lightfoot!

@drgnslayr unfortunately, some people don't believe in the reality you just described with great examples. Playing for a teammate and rallying around that most certainly has occurred and will occur in the future.

@drgnslayr yes they need to continue to be aggressive and intense. All it is is taking fewer risks

Missed free throws by Frank seem to be a result of over thinking, IMO. Carlton only having three shots is not acceptable - no excuse for not running pick and rolls with him all game to get open shots. As I mentioned before, he is rolling right into traffic in the paint. Perry never did that but always looked to roll outside the three point line which is much tougher to guard. Very disappointed that he is still doing the same unproductive things offensively. Frank and Devonte can NEVER shoot that poorly against Big 12 competition and expect to win - that was an eyesore.

@dylans I think it has much more to do with the will of the player rather than the strength of the player.

@DanR agreed.

Really bad game. This type of effort won't win double digit games in conference

@BShark I was thinking the same thing. Good thing this isn't West Virginia

@DoubleDD a team should never rely on a rim protector to erase mistakes -rim protectors should be icing on the cake. The guards have to initiate great team defense, not the interior players.

@HighEliteMajor what do you think of Carlton's role on offense so far? It seems as though he could be doing more like pick and rolls.

@DoubleDD if anything, our guards have to be MORE aggressive because Dok isn't back there.

@JayHawkFanToo they stepped up last year in the tournament

It is a definite loss but as I have been saying here and elsewhere, we still have everything we need (assuming Carlton keeps getting better).

Let's take another trip down memory lane - Nova last year. I am still disappointed they won, but there is a huge opportunity for learning and using Jay Wright's strategy when facing tall teams - perimeter ball pressure. Ball pressure forces guards into one on one situations and will always favor quick defenders.

Folks around the net worry about us matching up with a tall team that rebounds well and understandably so. But lets look at some examples of small teams that took down big teams. UConn vs Michigan state, regional final in 2014. Relying on non power bigs Pierre Nolan, Niels Giffey and Deandre Daniels held Adrian Payne, Matt Costello and Branden Dawsen to six points in the paint. Folks, thats no accident. Heres another example - Butler in 2010 and 2011; back to back title game appearances with 6'9? Matt Howard as their big man. Yes, they had Gordon Hayward but he played inside about as much as Josh. Their strength? Guard play.

Of course, we all know about Nova. I have re watched a lot of tournament games and I can say that Nova last year was nearly on par with the '08 team as far as disrupting the opponent. Great team defenSr always starts with great individual defense.

The point of these examples is to show that numerous teams have enjoyed success in March by relying on their guards on both sides of the ball. As slayer said the other day, it all starts on defense. We would have a hard time trying to outscore UCLA, Kentucky and Carolina, but we sure can disrupt them just like Nova and the '08 team did.

@JayHawkFanToo if Hart has an off night, you'd think Jenkins or Booth could step up and carry the load. Is Booth back from his injury?

Definitely a chance to have a chip similar to that year. Coach said they would rally around it and I think they will still be positive. Expectations and goals have not changed, so they can't shy away from this. Even though I and others believed he was the X factor for a title run, other teams have had depth issues also yet still found their way to the final four. .

@jaybate-1.0 not sure about "obviously" but I agree with your point about Josh posting up on the block more - he has already shown to have a good hook shot.

Carlton is a sophomore, so he already understands about conference and the rigors of it, but now he is expected to contribute. Still waiting for him to be involved in a Perry style pick and pop about six or seven times per game. Shooting is a major strength of his and he needs to utilize it more.

@DoubleDD can only imagine how disappointed Dok and his teammates are. Like Bill said, they will rally around this.

@jayballer54 structurally Coleby is fine according to Coach, so that will have to do. The others will have to have the discipline to play without fouling. Coleby and Lightfoot will have to play in order to give our guards some rest.

@dylans exactly - time to be men and own their spots. No excuses for any of them

@Hawk8086 you are right. The other guys have no choice but to step up and play well. Not having Doke will be noticed against big teams like Baylor and Kentucky but that just means our guards will have to apply a lot of ball pressure just like Nova.

This really hurts. We will really need Bragg and Coleby to steup up now.

@Kcmatt7 that seems to be the most logical conclusion at this point

@BeddieKU23 big change when compared to last year. The east coast bias media is turning on him

Seth and Jay really laying into him at the half time show.

@BeddieKU23 nope consonants either likes his tripping or is completely oblivious. Hope Elon wins

@BeddieKU23 they showed him visibly angry on the bench and the commentators were talking about it. Does he honestly think that the thousands in the audience and much more than that watching on tv aren't going to notice?

They are talking about it during the game. Looks like the tripper intentionally stuck his leg out again.

Just like with Bragg's situation, we need to wait and see what the doctor's say. We can't say with any certainty whether it is broken or not. The good thing is we don't need him necessarily for tomorrow - UNLV is pretty bad and got beat by 49 when they played Puke.

@drgnslayr West Virginia is still very good this year even without Devin Williams and DeShaun Paige. Their lone loss was to Temple - they were down 20+ in the first half came back and nearly one. They have a terrific win at Virginia, though they seem a little overrated after the departures of key players from last year. WVU still plays very good defense that is relentless pressure. They score in the same way and is still good, not great.

I have watched Baylor a bit and they look like the same old Baylor team. The comeback against Louisville's defense was impressive but it helps that Louisville labors to score, which is somewhat typical of Pitino's teams except for his championship team in 2013. If they were down that much to North Carolina or UCLA, there is no way they comeback because those teams can score. Definitely a threat to finish at the top of the conference along with Huggy Bear.

ISU is really struggling on the offensive end. They rely on jump shots and shot themselves out of a W at home against Cincinnati. Their defense is very solid just like last year but will continue without a low post scorer. The losses of McKay and Niang were big blows to their offense.

I haven't watched as many of OSU's games but they seem to be a jump shooting team. They shot very well against a mediocre WSU team but were stifled by North Carolina's half court defense, which is why 3 point defense is important despite what some have proposed in the past (wasn't it Newell that said something about it?). I watched their game vs. Roy and Carolina's defense was the reason Okie Lite shot around 36% from 3 in that game.

I am ready to see us get a W at some of these places - Frank is yet to win at Morgantown. Wins at WVU, ISU and OSU nearly guarantee the conference title and a one seed.

@drgnslayr he is the definition of a soft player - reminds me of Marcus Smart. Anyone remember when Kevin Young pushed him at their place? Classic moment

@Crimsonorblue22 well they played very well in the tourney before getting beat by a more explosive and hot shooting OU team. I, along with other sports writers, thought they would be better even without Brooks. UCLA looks far and away the best team out West.

@drgnslayr I have my doubts about Duke winning the ACC this year. This year and last year, they have not looked like a fast team and that is something Carolina will exploit.

@Crimsonorblue22 I have been watching Oregon's games this year including the ones without Brooks - they look the same with him and without him. Just look a shell of themselves from last year. They really struggled in Maui against mediocre teams. No reason we couldn't beat them by 15 just like Baylor.

@BeddieKU23 oops sorry I misread your post as saying that Tennessee St. beat Michigan State last year. My bad

@BeddieKU23 I saw the articles too last night. It is going to take a while for Bolden and Giles, if Giles even plays very much. Could he make a similar decision to Kyrie Irving a few years ago and only play about eleven games?

@BeddieKU23 wasn't that Middle Tennessee State?

@dylans Not sure they have a best. I watched them against Duke and Oregon - they are a pretty bad team. Speaking of Oregon, they look rather unexplosive and slow this year compared to last year's tournament. I know that Oregon is one of Baylor's "top ten wins" but they are not even close to a top team. Same with Xavier.

Beddie, I agree about Tyrell Green. He has played well this year.

@ralster our defense, which wasn't even a finished product, held Dukes perimeter play in check and we'll do it again.

@Crimsonorblue22 his early season injury has hampered his development and conditioning. With an already loaded front court, it makes you wonder why he didn't choose Kansas.

Definitely reffing bias at work. Tenn. St. left Kennard open IIRC on three straight possessions. Can't do that

I have said this before about North Carolina and the same is true now of Kentucky - how much better are they going to get? To me, yesterday was about the peak ability of both teams. For our guys, their best play is still a ways off. Just like in '12 and last year, we will start playing our best in February and March.

Right now, we aren't getting any media attention. It's all about Duke, UNC and Kentucky, and that's fine with me. Our guys will steadily improve and become a cohesive unit out of the spotlight.

@globaljaybird I have come to realize that this team will only play defense - championship defense - when they need to. Remember the Siena game a month ago? Turned a five point game into a twenty point blowout in a couple minutes. Frustrating to watch, but I am waiting when they decide to play for forty minutes at Rupp.

Yes, this game felt like the Davidson game from 2011. They are starting to get some things worked out and we are seeing improvement because of it. Need a strong start to conference in just a couple weeks. I really like how good Frank plays defense. Fox will be the ultimate test for him. Jackson guards Monk?

Just thinking about this but since Self has been here at Kansas, every year we have played Davidson we eventually made it to the final four.

2008 - National champions

2012 - National runner up

2017 - ?

Liked how Carlton rebounded - 8 rebounds IIRC. Need more of that going forward

@KUSTEVE no excuse for that at this level. Are they not practicing free throws in the summer?

This looks better