🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@JayHawkFanToo "Lighten up, Francis". Borrowed from the movie, "Stripes".

@Crimsonorblue22 I had forgotten that. BOO-YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BTW, did you like my nickname for Ridley ...."Tubby McGursky"?

@globaljaybird "I also dig that avatar. Jethro's real life Dad, Max Baer Sr, was one time Heavyweight Champion of the World & also had a brother that fought professionally. Max Sr is rated #22 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Pretty damn good pedigree if I may say so."

LOL. Love Jethro. Specifically his math skills...

@globaljaybird When I saw Mickelson's vertical jump had increased 6 inches under Hudy, I quit worrying about our "lack of a rim protector". You have a Div 1 shotblocker who gains 6 inches in the air - Holy cow. I think he becomes essential to us. I like the meat and bones aspect of Cliffie. The dude is w-i-d-e. Jamari certainly needed to work on his defense, which I hope he did over the summer. Love that kid. And our guy Perry. Perry doesn't seem to pick things up quickly - it seems to take him awhile to process everything. But once he does get it, he has it down pat. It took him almost his entire freshmen year to contribute, but once he did begin to contribute, he has never looked back. Maybe becoming a better defender is simply the next progression. At least, that's my hope...

@nuleafjhawk hehehehe...

@globaljaybird I appreciate the kind words. If our litmus test is "do we match up with Kentucky", the answer is going to be no. No one else in college bb matches up with them, either. Heck, there are more than a few pro teams that would find it hard to match up with them. Still, the Mildcats managed to get beat by UCONN, so there is truly more than one way to skin a Cat. A few observations I'd like to add :

• We weren't tough last year. Remember what JellyBelly (Ridley) did to us in Austin last year? Against Embiid? I know, Embiid was playing hurt in that game.But, it's not like he had the body to keep Tubby McGursky off the blocks if he had been 100%. Do we honestly feel like Cliffie is going to be that much worse? I certainly don't. As for extending bootcamp from 1 to 2 weeks, me likey.

• Perry Ellis and defense. I know, I know, I know. I wish God had made his arms about 4 inches longer. At least he isn't nicknamed Tyrannosaurus Rex, like Julius Randle. Reports have come in that Perry worked on his defense over the break, so we can hope his improvements in his game include a head fake or two, and better defense.

@jaybate-1.0 I am trying to help myself believe, too...lol. i know we won't play the most difficult schedule in the past 20 years of college basketball this year, although our schedule will be very tough. I know the difference in mentality between Wigs and Oubre will be 180 degrees, which is flat huge, imo. Here is the pull quote from the LeBron James Skills Academy about Oubre:

*3) Arizona’s Stanley Johnson and Kansas’ Kelly Oubre are ready to produce immediately on the offensive end.

Johnson and Oubre were the lone freshmen playing amongst the college players, and their abilities on the offensive end are what stood out. Johnson proved to be a difficult matchup at the camp, especially when it came to his ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim through contact. As for Oubre, he was very good at slashing to the basket and finding solid looks himself. While there’s still work to be done for both players, they have the tools needed to be primary scoring options in their respective systems.*

Worst case: we get a guy who doesn't have the talent of Wigs, but leaves it all on the floor every game.

@jayhawkbychoice Interesting, because I wondered the same thing. My final conclusion was I was trying to make sense of a year that we've never seen, and might not see again. First off, I don't remember a year where we didn't return at least one starter from the year before. We had two (2) players who actually played minutes the year before - one had a quantum leap (Perry), and the other had an epic collapse (Naadir). Dooley couldn't save Naadir anymore than Naadir could save Naadir.

Jaybate mentioned all the injuries, which kept us from gaining momentum throughout the year. Under a similar set of circumstances (Noel gets hurt), Coach Squid and the Mildcats ended up losing in the first round of the NIT. We essentially had 7 freshmen in our rotation ( Embiid, Wigs, Selden, CF, Mason, Greene,and Lucas). 5 of which are back to provide valuable support we simply didn't have last year.

I think we get a large upgrade with Oubre> Wigs. Oubre is everything we wanted Wigs to be. He is tough, gritty, has a nice shot, and isn't going to be scoring 4 points when we need him the most. Cliffie> Embiid. Cliffie will be more valuable than Embiid simply because he'll play every game, and get better as he goes along. Perry> Perry. Perry will have his coming out party- a star is born. Selden>Selden.Wayne will be better, health permitting, and we have that dude named Greene, who is going to be a star for us in the next two years. Anyone> Naadir. I personally am torn over who I think I want to play point - I love CF, and like a kid at a wishing well, I'm hoping Frank gains some basketball IQ. I really hope that Graham surprises all of us, and takes that job. My point is - this is a better team than last year. Now, does that translate to Final Four material? Not sure about that - but I don't think we will see the collapse at the end of the year, like we saw last year.

I know Perry is ready for his marquee year, and he will be our leader. I certainly hope he has worked on his defense as much as he's worked on his offensive game. People have been raving about him this summer, so maybe he finally plays some defense, and uses a head fake for the first time in his life.

@JayHawkFanToo I would think we would be all over Greg Marshall if our women's team ever needed a head coach. We would have to insist he carry a towel with him at all times to wipe off the excessive sweat that pours out of every pore of his pudgy body. We would have to limit his appearances with the press so he won't look as ignorant as he did last year, but if the Jawhawk gals need a coach, I suppose we could do worse.

I think this team has lots of question marks, and I have begun to think that is a GOOD thing. It means that everything isn't etched in stone. For once, our team might have some real competition for minutes. I love Lucas - I know he's slow, but he always makes the fundamental plays every time he gets minutes. I'm looking forward to watching Mickelson as well. At least we know he can block shots. I could really see Jamari becoming an offensive force. I love it when he drives to the basket I know- that doesn't help our defense.

No way we can match up to the Mildcats, either down low, or on the perimeter. No one else in the country can, either. UCONN certainly couldn't match up, but they still kicked their ass. We have a coach with about a 40 point IQ advantage, so that has to be factored into our match up with Coach Squid.

@Crimsonorblue22 LOL. I really like this kid. He doesn't have the body of TRob yet, but give the kid some time with Hudy, and she'll toughen him up. Love his driving skills, and his 3 point abilities.

Speaking of point guards ...everyone meet Carlton Bragg. I am thinking we found our new TROB (Me likey):
[

@JayHawkFanToo As I recall, there was a stat floating around last year that 54% of our points came from lobs and dunks. I can assume we might not hit that mark with our smaller lineup this year. So...Bill, how about some help for our perimeter guys? I recall CF's beautiful 3 pointer parade near the end of the Stanford game, when Bill finally had screens set to free him up - why don't we run plays like that before two minutes left in the game?

Good stuff...I feel like I'm in basketball class. One question comes to mind : is the hi/lo offense simply too complicated for freshmen?

@HighEliteMajor We're only as good as our guard play, and the last two years, our guard play has been abysmal, for the most part. I ask this rhetorically: Did we look like a team with the number 1 pick in the draft when we were almost throttled by Eastern Kentucky ( OMG if we had lost to the 4th or 5th place team in Kentucky), or when we got beat by a team with no point guard? As I recall, a junior led the meltdown in both games, a junior who is no longer here. So, the "we're so young" meme didn't hunt last year, and it won't hunt this year, either.
So, my question is : have we done enough to shore up our weaknesses with an extra year from Mason and CF, and the addition of Graham? Will Wayne's surgery allow him to become more of a factor than last year? I think the answers to those questions is also the answer to how far we go in the tourney this year.

@joeloveshawks Very interesting stuff. I have long pondered that 2007 team, and felt like they were better than the 2008 team. They probably weren't better, but I felt like that was Bill's first "super team", and we were flat loaded at every position. We were the number 1 ranked defense in the nation that year. I was simply crushed by Julian leaving early, so maybe your theory with Arthur is correct.
It simply gets down to poise in the NCAA tourney. I have never seen a worse two year sequence in the tourney as we have just endured. In my mind, this is truly a low point, tournament wise, in our 30 + years of the modern era for me. Would I take an Elite 8 finish like 2007? Yes, I would.

@JayHawkFanToo I get giddy over any potential recruit. I build them up, and then reality sets in. I guess you could call me the Charlie Weis of KU bb recruiting on KU Buckets.

Btw, I just posted this on August 5th. I guess everything is now a month old.

This guy is a beast. Here's a little blurb I found on him:

"Last summer Kasongo become a pretty big deal in the recruiting world when he put 24 points, 15 rebounds and 7 blocks on BOTH Cliff Alexander and Jahlil Okafor in Las Vegas. At that time Kasongo had three schools that he was focused on, Oregon, LSU and Florida State. Although Kansas was interested in Kasongo back then, the Jayhawks never offered because they were still recruiting, the previously mentioned, Alexander and Okafor. "

I hope Svi sees limited minutes his first year. I'd rather see Greene get the minutes.

I thought we looked atrocious in the NCAA tournament. We were never the same after Embiid got hurt. Even if he hadn't been hurt, we were still vulnerable to the slightest amount of pressure. So, we lose to an inferior team this year, on the heels of a monumental collapse against Michigan the year before, and the conference championships simply don't have the same luster for me. I want a fresh, hungry team playing to win instead of trying to avoid losing. If we can win a conference championship on the way to the Final Four, great. If we end up not winning the conference, but still make it to the Final Four, I'd prefer that over the conference titles.

@RedRooster If you're going to call out Coach Self for nervous coaching, you'd have to include 15 years of Roy's amazing ability to tense his team up before the biggest games as well. That is 26 years of nervous nellies at the helm.

@Statmachine SVEE....SVEE....

The most improved award goes to our 3 point guards, which led us to the 2015 national championship. In an eerie, yet exhilarating experience, Francamp, Frank, and Graham morphed into Mario, Sherron, and RussRob, which was a huge part of national title run. And who could forget the mad bomber SVEE hitting those back to back threes, which made coach Squid and his Kensucky Mildcats fold like a cheap tent. And it goes without saying that Cliff's dunk in Cauley-Stein's face brought the house down

@truehawk93 You thought you'd seen his coming out party, when in reality, all you saw was the prelude. This is a world class assassin cleverly disguised as a short white boy. You don't measure that look in his eye in that Stanford game by his height - you measure by his heart.

Naadir and decision making are like oil and water.

No personal offense intended, but that kid has been on a bad decision roll for quite some time. This is yet another, as he fades into obscurity.

Having a decent point guard will help OADs enormously. Having a decent point guard will help the 2,3, and even the 4 year players. Not having good point guard play doomed our senior laden team as well as our OAD team the past two trips to the tournament. Our experience couldn't overcome poor guard play two years ago, neither could our talented OADs overcome our poor guard play last year. Get us some solid guard play, and we'll win with OADs and/or experienced players.

@jaybate 1.0 Your theory is right up there with snipe hunts, Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness monster. ESPN wouldn't pee on a Koch bro if they were on fire, let alone pimp their coach.

@wissoxfan83 McKillop is the coach from Davidson. Not a bad coach, as we remember from 2008. Top 50? Not in my books.

@jaybate 1.0 I thought it - you wrote it...

• Tim Miles might win a contest of largest teeth among coaches. Coaching...not so much.

*ESPN is obsessed with Stumpy. Something about having no neck intrigues them. That AZ fan base is quickly becoming nearly intolerable as it is - the ESPN Stumpy pimping isn't helping matters.

*Hoiberg 15th? Really? I guess that is because of the Clones deep NCAA finishes, or all the B12 championships they've won - oh wait ...

@HighEliteMajor I think Coach is trying to backtrack from his comments following the Devonte signing, and I don't believe him. I think he is trying to placate Mason and CF. Dangle some carrots out there - keep folks motivated.

@Crimsonorblue22 Brady is a wanker. That perimeter lineup with him and Tyrell was as quick as Jethro Bodine's mind.

@VailHawk Mr. Kellog, the greatest shooter to ever play at KU. OMG, could that guy shoot!!!!!

@jaybate 1.0 NO list is ever complete in KU lore without mentioning MR. KELLOG, the greatest shooter in KU history, and my all time favorite KU player.

The Michigan and VCU losses sting. Hell, they all sting. I don't ever think we're going to lose. Then we do, and it sucks.

@ralster LOL...Ok, I'll give it a whirl...
Drew- KU's best friend. Couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper sack.

Mike Anderson - 40 minutes of slight annoyance

Frank Haith- Mafia member. Donna Shalala bought his freedom from the criminal enterprise he ran in Miami.

Tubby- Love the Tubster. Love what he did back when he was at Tulsa. I pull for any guy named Tubby.

Thad Matta - Rudolph the red nosed reindeer.

Turgeon - No comment ( he's KU)

Shaka Smart - I call him the little bastard, actually. He can flat coach, but I haven't forgiven him for 2009.

Greg Marshall - goes to Jiffy Lube to get the oil in his hair replaced every 3000 miles. I have dubbed him " the weasel".

@JayHawkFanToo I slam Stubby every chance I get. I also slam Coach Rat, the Squid, Daggum it Roy, Nostrils Boeheim, Rick the Italian sausage boy, Billy Donovan wearing his pants up to his chin, and many other coaches. Hatred? Really? I thought we rooted for KU. If Stubby ever coaches KU, then I might reconsider. Until then, he's the guy with no neck I call Stubby.

@drgnslayr OK.... Perry needs to learn one, and only move, and he will score 20+ a game .... "PERRY, USE THE HEAD FAKE" ... "PERRY, USE THE HEAD FAKE"
If I had the money, I'd rent a billboard across from Jayhawk Towers that said ... PERRY, USE THE HEAD FAKE!

@jaybate 1.0 Both of those guys are liars, which is the crux of the problem. Both of their infractions were pretty silly rule violations, but it comes back to knowingly breaking rules, lying to cover it up, and then blaming the rules as being the cause of their failure in integrity. Pearl and Sampson apologists will point towards the silliness of the rules ( I think Sampson's violation for texting is no longer a rule), but there has to be a person in charge willing to follow a silly rule, simply because it is a rule.

@Crimsonorblue22 I wasn't picking on you - I was picking on the idea that CF is a huge liability in any part of his game... even defense. The kid is smart as a whip, and he simply has the ability to change a game. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts he has been out on that court everyday working on his deficiencies. I know, I know he's short. He's white. He would get creamed matching up against the Harrison twins...but I saw something in that kid in those tournament games I haven't seen since Travis graduated - a gritty, tough as nails competitor that relished in the spotlight. I mean, we were getting our ass stomped by Stanford, and this freshman came off the bench, and almost pulled the game out for us. He was nothing short of amazing. Go back and watch his sequence near the end of the Stanford game. It's really a work of art.

@Crimsonorblue22 I keep hearing that meme and it makes me wonder if there isn't something else behind it. It seems the only player that anyone is remotely worried about their defense is CF, and the entire fan base seems to be completely obsessed about it.

Our guards have been whipped the last two years. We haven't had good ball handlers or passers. Last year, any token pressure, and we flat melted. I don't think Frank is our answer, anymore than Naadir was our answer. Bill keeps turning over the keys to the Caddy to valets who've never driven before.... and they keep wrecking the car. Our answer lies between Graham and CF. I've seen the "CF can't play Div1 ball" posts, and I don't agree with them. I saw a determined man play two games in the tournament, and literally took the games over. If the litmus test is playing defense, how did Naadir ever see a minute on the court?
I think Graham makes an impact with his passing, and ball handling skills. This kid isn't going to be turned over like Naadir and Frank were last year. I think he'll make teams pay for trying to pressure us.

I hope that Frank gets very limited minutes until he can figure it out, and play smarter. He was part of the worst passing, and ball handling team I have ever seen in my 40 years of following KU. I respectfully disagree with the other fans thinking Frank's "toughness" overcomes his lack of passing and ball handling skills, and his poor decision making. I want a point guard who plays smart, and Frank simply isn't there yet. If Devonte isn't ready yet, then Francamp is the obvious choice to me.

@justanotherfan Wow, this issue twists people in knots. I keep seeing no white kids playing bb here, yet we see brilliant white basketball players coming over from Europe all the time. So, I think this is an American thing. I think white kids gave up trying to compete with black kids in this country because they thought they were inferior physically. And many times they were. Yet we see hard nosed white kids succeed all the time in the game.

@HighEliteMajor Bravo. You nailed it. When AW3 got hurt, I got to thinking Coach wanted him to play through it, and maybe he refused, and ended up in the doghouse or something. Your theory makes much better sense. Very nice post.

@Crimsonorblue22 You're right, but we had an entire roster of talent w/o Embiid. Our point guard play the last two years has been mediocre at best, and down right terrible at times. I have never seen a KU team get turned over that many times off defensive pressure. It's like we went out and bought a new suit ( Selden, Embiid, Wigs,Tarik etc) to wear, but we only had a t-shirt ( Naadir) to wear with it. Devonte is that new dress shirt, lightly starched, perfectly pressed.

@joeloveshawks I am sold on Graham, for two reasons: 1- He is the best on the ball defender out of the three pg candidates and 2- He is the best ball handler and passer on our roster. I think he will take the point guard spot in short order, and make us all realize how not having a point guard the last two years held us back. We are sending two players into the NBA lottery, and we can't make it past the first weekend of the NCAAs.

@drgnslayr I take your ridiculously defensive retort to mean that I got you good. it's ok - we all project all kinds of nonsense concerning our team. Maybe if the team would simply listen to you, you could talk some sense into them, so they won't feel "entitled".

@drgnslayr I'm shaking my head in pretty strong disagreement in response to your well-written post. I believe your premise and conclusions are wrong, though well intended. The fact you brought up the stark difference between 2012 and 2013 proves the point. One major thing happened at the end of 2012 that changed our team for the next two years: Tyshawn graduated. And we haven't been the same since. Period. This isn't a question of strength of wills, or character, or "want to", it is simply a matter of personnel. Now, I am certain that if we had point guards the caliber of Napier, and Boatright, then your premise and conclusion would make sense. But we didn't. We had an undersized 2 guard, and a true 2 with a bum knee ( EJ) both trying to play point, and both of those guys, for the most part, failed. It's as simple as that. With the signing of Graham, we now have 1 ( one) point guard on our roster. The only conclusion is Coach Self put two non-point guards in charge of the point two years in a row, and it ended in epic failure. It wasn't a question of desire or willingness.

One more note: after we almost lost to Eastern Kentucky in the first round, their point guard was asked why they played Ku so close, and his reply went something along the lines of: " we knew we could disrupt and turn over KU's point guard, so we went after him, and had a lot of success". If you remember, Naadir had several turnovers where he just threw the ball out of bounds with no one around. They cleaned Naadir's clock, put him on tilt, and he ending up having a miserable game. We need someone who is mentally tough, and has the skills to make our team better. Naadir made our team worse.