@jayballer73 I've been trying to do my best to put my best foot forward with the idea that Marcus would be good for us, and we were just going to have to accept we would probably suck at shooting. Getting Moss gives us an experienced weapon that allows us to have a ball handler that can make teams pay for trying to pack it in. IMO, Moss is going to be very important.
If Moss signs with us, I'm taking full credit for it. All my whining about not offering him appears to have paid off.
@FarmerJayhawk I think we have a decent chance at getting them both...
I'm beyond ecstatic. 40%+ from 3. Great handles...very good steals. Now we have a ball handler to stop teams from packing the lane- a guy with 3 years experience in the B10. He will be a perfect compliment to MG. I don't know how I missed this news for so long today...
THANK GOD.....MOSS, COME HOME!!!!
@FarmerJayhawk That's why that I sighed when we didn't even offer Moss...
@dylans I see...he played 30 games...not 36...ok...1.6....
@HighEliteMajor And what is our main problem on defense? And who is our very best defender against the 3 point shot?
@Texas-Hawk-10 We're going to hear about Garrett's shooting woes for the next 4 months. If you tell them he hit 35% from 3 in conference, they'll scream "fluke". Then they'll say that teams will sag off of him, and then we'll say he learned how to burn teams that sagged off of him by driving with the ball to the basket, by either dumping off, or going to the rim. Then they'll say..." but, but, but he can't shoot"...lol. I respect every person ( and there's quite a few of you) for not believing in MG's shooting ability because he hasn't proven it yet. Not consistently. Not yet. I think his ceiling is 35% from 3, and that might not come until his senior year. Or, he might not ever get above 30ish. But...if he starts...he could easily average 2-3+ steals a game, and end up getting two buckets a game off of turnovers. That will go miles in making up for any shortcomings he has. He is returning for his 3rd year. He was ranked in the magical 25-75 range of guys we all say we want. Not a OAD. He made the ALL DEFENSIVE B12 team last year as a part time player. Let's say he never gets above 30% from 3...
HE AVERAGED 1.3 3-POINT ATTEMPTS A GAME LAST YEAR.
" BUT HE CAN"T SHOOT"
HE AVERAGED 1.3 3-POINT ATTEMPTS A GAME LAST YEAR.
" BUT HE CAN"T SHOOT"
HE AVERAGED 1.3 3-POINT ATTEMPTS A GAME LAST YEAR.
@Texas-Hawk-10 Exactly.
@jayballer73 You'll learn to appreciate Marcus in time. We didn't appreciate RussRob either...at first.
@jayballer73 We have answers at the 2, and at the 3.
Both Marcus and Ochai were playing great, and then both got injured. No doubt we're thin, and need more depth at guard, but that starting lineup is primo, imo.
@dylans There's a rationale for it. Loads of experience. We might not have 1 freshman starter next year. Offensively, we sure won't look like the 30th best team, let alone the 3rd. Defensively, we could be as good as anyone in the country. So, who knows?
@BShark he had to defend doke at his first practice...lolol...welcome to ku basketball, tristan!
@HighEliteMajor maybe the distance out will discourage us from trying to double team.
Shooting is a skill...Travis fixed his shot, and if Marcus works at it, he can improve as well.
@HighEliteMajor Marcus was 48% from 2, so that's not too shabby. Where the disconnect comes from is 24 % shooting from 3. The good news is he only attempted 49 3-pointers last year, and with the line moving back, that could drop. Drive, Marcus...drive...
@HighEliteMajor 2 things come to mind : 1)Tech never doubles...unless it's at the rim or the baseline, and they are one of the best against the 3. 2) This could be one of the best defensive teams we've had in quite a while. I think we have the personnel to play straight up, and with our massive front line, any opponent that happens to get loose on a drive is going to be met with cruel and unusual punishment. The fact they are setting the 3 point line back works in our favor as well.
@BShark I was watching some of his videos, and I'm struck how fundamentally sound he is in so many ways...from the voracious rebounding to the passing skills...even the dribbling and driving skills he brings to the table. And he certainly has a nice 15 footer. I'm thinking they'll have him throwing some baseball outlet passes to DD and Marcus on defensive rebounds to help spark our offense. I just can't wait to see what a front line of Doke and Silvio with Big Dave in the wings will do to teams. This is Big Man U on steroids...
We're going to have games that we shoot less than 40%, and win by 10.
@BShark We have several guys over 37% from 3...Devon, McBride, and Agbaji. If Garrett can get to 30% from 3, that translates to 45% from 2. And with our frontline, that means lots of offensive rebounds. Yes, our shooting will look butt ugly at times, but those clanking shots will end up being entry passes into our guys that shoot 65% +. I'll bet you Doke will be thinking..."shoot another one, Marcus...I need a dunk"...
@BShark Marcus shot 48% from 2. Doke averages .744. Silvio shot .681. A few years back, UNC won a national championship with a single 3 point shooter. I think a better measure than 3 point shooting is ...how much experience do they bring to the table?
@wissox I wish we had 3 or 4 games against the weakest of the weak so we could get a good look at our newbies...
@wissox Disagree. We could end up playing all 3 of the other teams in the Champions Classic...Michigan St, Tucky, and Dook. That's going to be pretty damn exciting, in light of the fact that MSU and Dook are ranked preseason 1 and 2.
@HighEliteMajor Does that guy have a driver's license?
@BeddieKU23 Like it or not, Marcus is going to start. And play a ton. We have to have his ball handling and passing skills in the lineup. Like you said, with 2 bigs, we have to have some great passing.
@drgnslayr Stubby at Arizona used to do that. He'd have a 6'8" 4 guy playing the 2. I always thought it would be devastating, but they didn't do that well with it. Bill never played both Morris twins with Trob at the same time, which I'm still a little miffed about. Like Bshark says, it's about spacing, and not clogging things up. I like the idea, though.
We got Silvio and Big Mac as back ups. Dotson is the one we can't afford to lose.
@Fightsongwriter The kid was born with thick legs, and short arms. He has real trouble moving his feet to stay in front of defenders, and those short arms don't help to defend, either. Offensively, he has a pretty decent jumper, but he doesn't seem to be able to jump more than two inches. He lacks the quickness to get by defenders, hence he racks up the charges. He's a pretty good passer, but when he doesn't have the ball, he just stands there like a lump on a log. I highly doubt he will be effective at the next level.
@BShark No doubt. Wayne was also more consistent. But, if you're looking for a freshman comp, Wayne is as close as I can remember. And remember, Wayne got much better. I'm not convinced Q will, although his scoring average will probably go up.
@BShark He was Wayne Selden in his freshman year.
@BShark You might have a point. But, he signed with Musselman at Arkansas, who is a mad man. So, we'll see how it works out. Hopefully, Bill won't be apologizing for his behavior like he did last year.
@HighEliteMajor It's pitiful because it's overrated. How does Dook not cut the nets down with 3 freshman lottery picks? How does the Squid out recruit the whole world for a decade, and have 1 national championship to show for it? Why did Bill's worst years happen when he started the most freshmen? There are two elements that are always going to hold down the effectiveness of a highly ranked freshman - 1) inexperience and 2) motivation. In my books, we've had 1 great OAD, a few decent OADS, and more than our share of of overrated, immature, entitled kids. I use the Isaiah Moss example again ... ( please don't tell me how lucky we are not to have got him. he would've been better than what we got with RJ). Here you have a senior, who averaged more points than Q in less minutes, and had a higher 3 point shooting percent than anyone on our team ( considering we are almost certain to start a guy at the 2 who averaged 24.5% from 3 last year ). This guy had 3 years experience in the B10, and he visited us, and we didn't offer him. We passed.
Experience wins championships. Experience and dedication to the team, to the program is what cuts the nets down. Tech brought in 2 outstanding seniors from other programs, and almost cut down the nets. The last two years, our best players in the tournament ( Dedric/Malik ) both came to the table with experience and skills. Now, it doesn't work every time ( Charlie/KJ ), but it works enough that a team that has to try to recruit in Lubbock, Tx made the national championship game after losing 5 seniors the year before. Contrast that with the recruiting fiasco that will forever be known as the " RJ Circus".
@approxinfinity Toronto was playing a box in 1 against Steph, with fred chasing him all over the court. he was outstanding, made a basket almost on his butt ( ala dedric), those stumpy little legs churning like crazy. just a fearless badass of a player.
@approxinfinity he's looked great tonight...
@BShark I am too. I'm talking about all the times when he doesn't have the ball in his hands, like when we tried to play Wayne at the 2, or when Naadir was pressured by Eastern Kentucky in the NCAA tournament, and we almost lost. What made it hard for teams to double Frank was Devonte. I hope we can find a Devonte for Dotson.
@BShark I absolutely agree- I am close to HEM's exuberance over Ochai, but only if he is used right. I keep scratching my head, wondering how we're going to handle the ball well with a Dot/Ochai/Wilson/Silvio/Doke lineup. I think if we sign Wilson, we're signing off on a Marcus starting gig, simply due to the need of taking care of the ball. Ochai and JW are 3s, and would likely split the position, leaving MG and perhaps McBride handling the 2. Otherwise, every team is going to pressure our guards. That's no hitch for DD, but I can't say the same thing for JW and Ochai. I know Ochai is athletic, but playing the 2, and guarding smaller quicker guys might be a challenge. I tried to glean the ball handling skills in his prior videos, and the best I've seen is there were a few times he brought the ball up. That's why I think a Jaevin Cumberland type 2 is an absolute must.
@Crimsonorblue22 Give him hell...he deserves it!
It looks like the guy rolled off the couch, knocked over the empty pizza boxes off the coffee table, put down the tv remote, threw on some gold tights, and won the world heavyweight title. Another weak British fighter gets punked:
https://www.cbssports.com/boxing/news/andy-ruiz-jr-stuns-anthony-joshua-with-seventh-round-tko-to-claim-heavyweight-titles/ ↗ ↗
@jayballer73 I wasn't saying that Moss was a must get by any means, but i'm hoping we don't get totally skunked. I'm trying to warm up to JW- I think some of my caution has to do with him being so close to RJ, and that's probably not fair on my part. If he signs with us with the idea he'll be here for more than a year than we'd be foolish not to have him in light of our current situation at the 2/3.
@FarmerJayhawk I'll bet you're right. Same situation, though. Although there are lots of detractors regarding Moss. He was highly inconsistent. Not as much as Q, but close. I was trying to give a recent example of what Gerry was alluding to where we chase the big names, and miss out on the lower rated guys.
@BShark I heard that. I was just wondering why Jordan Poole said that Moss was the toughest defender he faced in the B10.
@jayballer73 We were positive we would get RJ, so we didn't offer Isaiah Moss. Now we're looking for a guard.
@jayballer73 That's what alot of us have been saying for years. Go for the pretty good guy at 25- 75 that is willing to stick around and improve, and the let the number 3 guy that isn't even going to unpack his bags, and has it all figured out go to Dook and Tucky. To me, if the kid won't invest in us, we probably shouldn't invest in them. Now, there will be exceptions, such as Josh. But we're better served to get kids that want to stick around.
i know if Bill has them for two years or more, they will certainly be much better...http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2019/may/30/after-heavy-freshman-feel-in-2018-19-kan/ ↗ ↗
@BShark If that's the case, and he's willing to come off the bench, then I would feel better about him.
@BShark I want guys like this. He is totally invested in our program.
@jayballer73 I still love ya, man...lol. Myself, i'd rather go after a Cumberland, or somebody that plans on being here for multiple years, but that's what makes the whole process so delicious ...i love it!
@jayballer73 Vendetta? Nope, just keeping it real...lol. I think he's a tweener... I think he is too slow to defend the 3. I think he doesn't seem to want to play the 4. He shoots the 3 ball well. If he comes aboard, I think that forces Ochai into time at the 2, and I would prefer we have a better ball handler at the 2. I think he will hurt Ochai's development. Although we certainly need outside shooting, I don't think this guy is going to be a great fit. I hope his "best player" remark was confident bravado, and not some line that RJ's daddy told him to say. I hope if he comes aboard, and he doesn't start a game, that he doesn't go hit the transfer portal right away. He could end up being this year's version of Q... a guy that looks good at times, but has down times, and doesn't take well to the team concept. I don't personally dislike him, but if he doesn't defend well, and Marcus takes his spot, I think we could have another transfer portal moment.