I seriously wonder why refs call the game from the floor. We have better views from the couch lol.
Kcmatt7
11050 posts
Twice, basic physics alone would have proven the ball couldnt have gone the direction it did without UK fouling or tipping the ball. Yet benefit goes to UK. Unbelievable. The type of thing that makes you think games are rigged...
Refs have screwed Bama today too several times. Like blatant misses.
Kentucky sucks. Here is the start of their NIT run.
UCLA does a decent job filling their arena and they are the West Coast Darlings so they’re on TV a lot. It’s a good job. They just expect a lot more than they probably should as a fan base.
@Woodrow At 66, and under a microscope, I just don't think it's a good hire. A stop gap at best. I'd think it would be worth at least waiting until season's end and throwing gobs of money at someone like Tony Bennett or Chris Beard.
Pitino to UCLA picking up steam.
This team has a ton of growth left. We just played our first conference game. There is plenty left to iron out.
Players who can play better than they are right now:
- Grimes
- Garrett
- Dedric
- Moore
- Big Dave
Players who are doing exactly what I'd expect:
- KJ
- Mitch
- Vick
- Doke
Players who are exceeding expectations:
- Dotson
Half of the team is capable of playing better. So of course we haven't seen a complete game. We have 3 new starters. Two of whom are freshman. We have a rough around the edges sophomore. We have 3 transfers. Expecting a complete game in January is unrealistic. Much like last season, we are on a very good trajectory though. And, hopefully come March 2 or 3 of the guys mentioned above turn it up a notch and this team takes a big step forward.
A LOT of growth left. I don't expect to see a "complete" game until February.
They should just make it so any fouls inside of the last 5 minutes are 1 free throw and the ball back. I genuinely hate the last 4 minutes of basketball games.
If Q and Dotson keep getting better this team will start to find consistency on offense and we will start seeing 20 point runaway wins instead of blowing 15 point leads. There is no doubt that we have under performed on O so far this season. You can point at a lot of things. But the truth is that Q and Dedric need to hit their open 3s. 1-9 between them last game. If we improve that to 3-9, it was a 12 point win.
Part of it is Doke needing to make the right pass out of the double team. But the larger part of it is that guys just need to make open shots. I think we see some major leaps on the offensive end now that the D looks to be top 10 material.
Revisiting this Hamilton signing, I think we saw just how well signing Jon Jay went last season. He came here, briefly shined, and was flipped. I think Hamilton offers that same kind of upside. If he plays well and we are showing no signs of life, you flip him.
It would require Hamilton absolutely sucking to be a bad signing in my book.
@dylans Lol I think it's both. Reid teaches them how to run a team. But he has to pick the right guys at the same time. It's definitely sucks to get poached the way we do, but it's definitely a compliment at the same time. This year especially, considering Bieniemy just helped to call a historic passing season.
I wonder what Andy's coaching tree will look like in 5 years if he keeps up his current pace... 3 OCs poached in 3 years. At least it looks that way.
Hoiberg to UCLA would be both awesome and terrifying. I kind of want to see it.
He turned a couple of corners last night that were just unreal. Has that Tyreek Hill effect where he makes fast guys look not fast. They think they have the angle and then he just runs right around them. Dotson is a stud.
justanotherfan said:
A few thoughts I had last night as I watched.
- I put this in the game thread, but wanted to mention it here as well. KU can't play a lineup with Doke, Garrett and Lawson all on the floor together. Garrett's man sagging off him really clogs the floor up in that lineup. Garrett has to play when either Lawson or Doke is the lone big on the floor.
So you're saying Garrett is a 4, basically. I agree.
- KU needs to run more PnR with Doke, and less straight post ups. Doke is improving as a passer, but he isn't to the point where he can pick out open guys against the grain of the defense. I'm not saying KU should never post Doke up. Just it should be limited to a handful of times per game at most.
I think it may serve us better to let Doke continue to have a gravitational pull and teach him to become a better passer than try to teach him to be a good PnR big at this point. I worry about moving screens and him being able to catch the ball on the move like that. I think we can get him to the point where he throws the right pass.
- KU should invert its offense every now and then and post up Grimes. I've noticed the last few games that Grimes, when he gets a smaller player on him, will go to the post and call for the basketball. Because Lawson is so skilled, that's a great opportunity to invert the offense and let Lawson play on the perimeter while Grimes goes to the block. KU could force some teams out of their rotation if they were to do that more.
This is spot on.
- KU may even want to think about posting Garrett against smaller players, then letting him turn and face up guys on the extended post. It's a way to allow him to challenge the defense without needing an improved jumper.
This is also spot on.
- When KJ Lawson plays, he needs to play with Dedric, and needs to play inside while Dedric plays high. His jumper has been shaky, but I think if he plays a token 5 spot and uses his quickness, he can be a MUA on the offensive glass, or force a bigger, slower player away from the basket to guard Dedric, who has been destroying guys like that on the dribble drive.
KJ should really just not play, imo. He can't score. He can't really defend. He doesn't really box out. He just isn't very good. Just keep subbing in Big Dave or go 4 out with Garrett.
- Charlie Moore should play off the ball as a shooter rather than as a PG. He's too erratic with his handling, and too prone to look for his own shot to run the point on this team. Move him off the ball so he can look for his own shot.
Chuckie should really see a minutes reduction. He is bad. Self didn't even put him in a point when Dotson was in foul trouble at one point. So I think he agrees with your statement. I would bet come March, CM will be lucky to see 5 mpg.
- We need to see more PnR action overall. Grimes and Dotson should both be getting into the PnR with D. Lawson and Azubuike. We aren't see this enough and that could create some huge mismatches to exploit. We could even see some creativity with a D. Lawson/Grimes PnR with Grimes as the screener to allow Dedric to get moving against a smaller defender. You will often see Golden State run that action with Thompson and Draymond Green or Kevin Durant. It's deadly because if those guys get a half step on their bigger defender on a non switch, they get a layup. If they get a switch, they can bully a smaller guy inside. Leave Thompson and he can hit a three or drive on a late closeout. Obviously Grimes isn't the shooter Thompson is, but that action could create a lot of decisions that college defenses may not be able to execute.
I'd love to see Dotson and Lawson develop a PnR game together. Dotson's speed and Lawson's versatility offer the best combo imo. A Tyshawn/T-Rob like combo that at times was unstoppable.
We definitely need to find a way to score more efficiently though. Either through different offensive sets or better shooting. The pieces are there. I'm sure Self has a plan.
BeddieKU23 said:
Sources: Saint Louis freshman Carte'Are Gordon will transfer. Former Top-75 recruit. Was averaging 8.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 2, 2019
What a shocker. I doubt we go after him if Ryan is right on the phog
Absolutely would take him. No question about it. Stupid decision to go play for Ford at SLU in the first place.
Good rebounder. Decent scorer. Decent passer. A modern day big man who can guard all 5 positions. What's not to like?
I hate to give away my secret, but street parking off one of the side roads off of Naismith towards 19th st is the cheapest way to park (free) and it's typically not too far of a walk. Most importantly, it's a completely flat walk...
HighEliteMajor said:
@Kcmatt7 Right. Mitch is pretty much who we thought he was. I remain highly disappointed in Moore, KJ, and Garrett (with Garrett b/c I expected offensive progress). Grimes of course is struggling, but we really need more from these three.
Garrett is one of the worst offensive players I’ve ever seen play D1 ball. He’s 6’5 and coordinated and smooth and athletic. But he can’t even finish at the rim. It’s a mystery.
Crimsonorblue22 said:
Wilson and his receivers aren't to shabby either. Those penalties! Sucks, is that red head guy new?
Yea fuller is hurt.
I think it may be time for a radical strategy. 4 bigs 1 guard. Dedric, Doke, Big Dave and Mitch all around Dotson. Put your best 5 on the court.
Guard play is just boo boo right now. Outside of Dotson, they're underwhelming. I've never seen a team be so bad in transition AND so piss poor at shooting. If Grimes and Garrett could just make normal plays on offense, we'd be beating teams like ASU by 20+ points.
Both of them are not good at basketball right now.
Mitch isn't this team's problem. That's for sure.
Unless Grimes stops being butt, this team will be lucky to make it to the 2nd weekend.
Even if he progresses, this team still doesn’t have a guard to close out tight games. Bad loss, considering we had them on the ropes. This team in its current form is not a FF team. De Sousa might help. But really what this team lacks is a go to guard.
Grimes is a man lost by playing too many roles in his career. He played post in HS at times I believe. He’s played PG. His best quality of trying to be a team player and do anything asked of him also has a flip side of lacking aggression. Even his HS coach said it would be an issue.
Confidence in sports is something learned through repetition. It doesn’t magically happen. It comes quicker for some than others. It definitely comes later for Bill Self players because he is a tear them down before building them up type of coach.
I don’t know if Grimes becomes the player we want him to be this season. But if he doesn’t, a Sophomore Grimes should scare the rest of the country. I definitely haven’t given up on the kid, and I know he’ll be apart of something great for KU either this season or the next few. He’s got the talent and the “want to” in order to be a Jersey in the rafters type of player at some point.
Give him time and patience.
Bingo. Force feed him the ball. Get him to shoot. Tell him that he has no consequences on Offense tonight. There is no such thing as a bad shot. Find a place on the floor you feel comfortable getting the ball from and attacking.
He just has to learn when and where he can attack. You can only learn that when you're playing without fear instead of worried you might make a mistake. And it's hard to practice that because the guys you're going against see you every day and know the plays.
My opinion on him staying has nothing to do with whether or not I believe he is capable of performing the job. It is just that it's time to clean house (outside of Hull). Don't cause awkwardness for your new DC and the players who may feel some weird loyalty to Bowen.
And he is a dog shit recruiter.
Only explanation in my mind is that Miles is keeping him to save the $500K buyout.
Really will piss me off if we keep him. Set yourself up for drama that way.
Word is Bowen being kept on as Safties coach.
Just want to see Self challenge Grimes tonight. I want to see him attack and shoot and just get comfortable out there.
Expect a lot of news these next two days. I expect 3 or 4 more guys. Definitely 2.
FarmerJayhawk said:
We got Terry. My god I love that kid.
Amazing find, imo.
I hope Selden and Mason can stay in the league. Oubre won't have any issues with that. But the other two might.
Selden just isn't explosive enough or consistent enough to be a rotation guy, imo. I'd see him sticking around in a deep bench type of a role. But he might be better served to go be a star in Europe.
Frank should not be in the NBA. And he honestly might not be good enough to start for a good team that would pay good money in Europe. He can't shoot the deeper 3. And he can't finish at the rim over superior athletes. Unfortunately, he seems destined for a rough career. He should be glad though, he's a millionaire and his family should be taken care of for a long time. He walked away from KU with a degree. Life isn't bad for Frank.
It’s still very early. A lot of growth left. Last seasons team was worse at this point in the season. It took growth from Newman and De Sousa to turn us into a FF team.
This year we are no different. It will take improvement from several players to make this season special.
@jayballer73 Have to find a role for him. He's here, just don't know what his title will be. At least that is my best guess.
@nuleafjhawk I'm still dumbfounded. 4 minutes left and he decided to go full Andy Reid on us.
"Let's kill all 4 minutes by making them go 90 yards so if they score we have no chance at winning."
Boy grabbing Starks would be a coup. 5 days.
@kjayhawks KSU alum. No particular area I can tell he recruited well. But Les must've liked him to hire him a 2nd time.
The game was lost when we didn't go for the 4th and 3 at the 42. My opinion.
Win tonight and then wave that terrible towel on Sunday. Looks good for the Chiefs. Pats have been awful on the road all season long.
BShark said:
Kcmatt7 said:
I hadn't looked yet, but it definitely looks like Chevis Jackson has Georgia recruiting ties. 7 of the recruits he got to Ball State were from Georgia.
All the assistant hires have been for damn good reason.
Yea Les is no dummy.
It also helps that Les has former players he can tap as well as just being Les freaking Miles. An advantage that no other KU coach in history has ever had. Being able to attract this type of coaching talent is a skill that can't be taught.
I hadn't looked yet, but it definitely looks like Chevis Jackson has Georgia recruiting ties. 7 of the recruits he got to Ball State were from Georgia.
justanotherfan said:
Broken down like that, its very doable. But you have to have a pretty wide radius of recruiting to pull that off.
It does seem like Les is casting a pretty wide recruiting net based on hires. And like he might be going after the Denver area with the two Colorado hires.
I'll definitely be interested to see who else he ends up picking up on the staff. I think it will be very telling.
BShark said:
Green would be an amazing addition, but seems like a foregone conclusion he ends up in Washington.
Seems like he's basically Charlie Moore to me....
JayHawkFanToo said:
Don't forget Ohio, it is consistently among the top 5 states in producing top HS football prospects.
To me, it isn't that St. Louis or Memphis aren't competitive. They are. But they are competitive in a way that lacks loyalty.
Ohio recruiting is ran by Ohio State first and foremost. Then it has a pretty clear pecking order. Michigan State. Kentucky. Cincinatti. And then throw in Notre Dame and Penn State to pick off a few. Purdue after that. Iowa State makes some noise.
It just seems like a place where it would be hard to find connections. But I suppose landing a player or two from there each year wouldn't be an outrageous thought. There are around 70 kids that would be intriguing.
justanotherfan said:
Kcmatt7 said:
I'd like to see us hit Denver, St. Louis, Memphis, NW Arkansas and Minneapolis hard recruiting. It gets back to Les saying he'll have a radius to build a base from. There definitely won't be enough Kansas/Metro Area kids to build a base from. But building relationships in these other cities could provide us a solid pipeline to tap.
The Denver metro could yield 1 or 2 a year.
St. Louis will be a competitive spot, but they usually turn out a fair number of D1 recruits, so you might be able to get 1 or 2 a year from there.
Minneapolis/St. Paul doesn't turn out a ton of talent, but again, if you build some good relationships, that's another place to find a little talent.
Memphis is super competitive with the SEC recruiting, but you can do as well there as New Orleans, so that could be a secondary spot.
Houston and Dallas are good targets, because you have to compete there to compete in the Big 12.
All told, if you can get 4-5 in each class from Denver/STL/MPLS area, plus 4-5 more from Memphis/New Orleans/NW Arkansas and 5-6 more from Dallas/Houston, you can get your 3 or 4 Kansas/KC area kids to round out a nice 18 or 19 man class.
Broken down like that, its very doable. But you have to have a pretty wide radius of recruiting to pull that off.
Bingo. EXACTLY my thoughts. A couple here. A couple there. Before you know it you're at 20.
dylans said:
@Kcmatt7 I see, I was thinking more genetics and aptitude. I spend a little (very little) time there every year and it never inspires thoughts of football for me. I’m usually downtown and it’s all scrawny somewhat rich people looking like they need a meal, though. -I know it’s not all like that- I’ve never looked at it through a football lens. Not doubting there are recruits to be had, just not a place I would have thought to look.
My stereotypes are old fashioned, I guess. Look for a good farm kid with a big frame. He knows how to work and take a beating already, just teach him football (small town in the Midwest pretty much anywhere). So I don’t think of Denver much, even though it’s got well over a million people in the metro area. No reason there shouldn’t be a recruit or two a year for KU, but I’m betting Les spends more efforts recruiting south and east than that far west given his reputation in the geography.
You're not wrong lol. I mean they probably only have 8-10 P5 caliber guys a season. But it's something.
@dylans It is a great place to steal some kids, because Colorado doesn't dominate the area. Just like Missouri doesn't dominate St. Louis. A major Metro area without much hometown loyalty is the perfect place to build some connections and poach a player or two every season.