🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@JayHawkFanToo so how do you keep $17M on the books AND keep Alex AND improve the defense?

If money was no object, obviously you keep him. But the fact is, Alex is the worst kind of good. He’s so good he costs a lot of money. But he isn’t good enough to win you a Super Bowl without having an amazing roster around him. So the only way to win with Alex is to draft amazingly well on both sides of the ball.

The Chiefs could not improve the defense enough to win a Super Bowl AND keep Smith. That’s the reality.

@dylans I think initial reports were player to be named, 2nd rounder and then a late one. But I would guess when Alex agreed to sign the extension that Chiefs wanted more. So it ultimately changed to Fuller and a 3rd.

Chiefs got the 2nd best slot CB and a 3rd round pick. IDK what people are so mad about. If anything, now is the perfect time to move to a "rookie" QB. We will bolster our D this offseason and we have a stupendous running game. You couldn't ask for a better time to put Mahomes in.

People who are upset, what would you do in this situation? If you keep him you are over the cap and have no flexibility to make any other moves this offseason.

@nuleafjhawk I'll take that action.

Silvio looks like the most disinterested person I have ever seen doing anything. He doesn't get excited on the bench. He looks awkward at huddles. He doesn't congratulate anyone during timeouts. He doesn't look like he wants to be there at all.

I thought the floor for him coming in would be similar to Jamari. He would come in and make plays and just be really active. But he hasn't even been that.

Nebraska should win out and get in.

Remaining Schedule:

• @ Minnesota
• vs. Rutgers
• vs. Maryland (toughest game left)
• @ Illinois (trap game)
• vs. Indiana
• vs. Penn St.

Honestly, I wouldn't want to see them.

Bill swallowing his pride and letting this team play zone is what makes me think this team will be able to make a FF run.

This team is better in the zone than M2M personnel-wise. Two 6’5 wings that can move and a solid rim protector in the middle. Much better than trying to have a 6’5 guard try to defend a 6’10 post.

Really hope that they explore trading Whit before the deadline if he is having another great season. Could probably get 2 good prospects for him.

Trading Salvy could bolster our future pitching rotation. I’d only give him up for a top 5 pitching prospect, international bonus money and another top 100 prospect.

The goal needs to be a WS in 5 seasons. Do we think Salvys knees hold up for 5 Years?

Duffy is 29 and we could trade him at the deadline for a huge haul as well.

I hope the team goes full tank for 3 Years. That gives us time to bolster the farm system. I’d be more than happy if the royals got in this great cycle of loading up an amazing farm system, selling out for a World Series run and then blowing it all up and trying again. I think that is about the only way a small market club can compete with the big boys.

I'm kind of hoping they all leave... Don't hate me though. It looks like all 3 will break the $50M limit and we will get 4 of the first 40 or so picks. We can reload the farm system this way.

@approxinfinity What a weird world we live in when being a humble pro athlete is more important than being a good husband and father.

Boy oh boy do we have our priorities straight.

I'd rather my kids grow up to be jerks at their work but wholesome, family-oriented people than great workers who are terrible people at home.

@Texas-Hawk-10 Name all the players and coaches ran out of Cleveland.

• Kyrie
• David Blatt

That's all that I can think of off of the top of my head.

Today was just a sneak peak of the tourney. 🤢

@JayHawkFanToo he is with his hs sweetheart still. All his children are with that same woman. He donates plenty to charity. He isn't out doing crazy things in a time where everything is video taped.

And that isn't the norm. He is a great role model compared to the majority of other pro athletes.

Thats what I mean by morale.

But sure he complains. We should hate him.

@Texas-Hawk-10 I'm sure the boys and girls club hated the $2.5M they received from that 🙄

@JayHawkFanToo True statement. One of the most unselfish players on the court, and seemingly one of the more moral players off.

I really would like to know the reasons for which you don't like LeBron.

@JayHawkFanToo Your hate for LeBron is perplexing.

@BShark Even Mitchell Robinson... Would have gotten cleared after Braxton Beverly did the same thing to transfer to NC State.

Can't blame him though. By all appearances, his draft stock hasn't dropped at all.

@BShark This has been a pretty loosely called game though. Doke could have easily been in foul trouble 5 minutes into the game.

@BShark Still waiting for this team to find that ability to stomp on it's opponents throat.

Doke sitting with foul trouble is going to be a problem every game. This team has to find a way to push through that. Whether it be DG just getting a killer instinct or switching to a 5 guard lineup where we REALLY stretch the floor and make the defense guard. Something has to happen.

Or, you know if Garrett can become a threat offensively that completely changes the dynamic of this team when Doke goes out.

Big XII looking overrated again... Going to take an OSU upset to win the challenge. Lucky Auburn didn't replace Georgia or Ole Miss. Could be looking at a 4-6 record.

All of the statisticians put too much weight into the beginning of the season non-con records. Easy way to check who has the most talent is to check the most NBA players getting produced. Kansas has produced 16 of he conferences 33 NBA players. Compare that to Duke and the ACC. Duke has 20, but the rest of the ACC produced 69 NBA players. Kentucky has produced 27, but the rest of the SEC still has produced 21.

What this says to me, the Big XII has a good non-con because they have more experience every season. We keep players for 4 years. So we have the advantage at the beginning of the season against less experienced teams from other conferences. But, come March, other teams have leap-frogged the Big XII.

It isn't hard to see the Big XII is not as talented as other conferences. A team should never win 13 conference championships in a row. That alone speaks to the strength of a conference.

@approxinfinity it absolutely does. He is just so immature for a guy that is supposed to be the leader of top 5 team. I am biased, but I don't think any of that shit he pulls would fly under Self.

Only thing keeping him out of the NBA is his attitude.

@BShark Hopefully this is Lonny's last hurrah and he hangs it up after TY leaves.

@HighEliteMajor tbh, I don't know if coaching will fix Doke's free throw problems.

Therefore, this loss is 100% on Self imo.

The assumption that Doke can shoot better from the line is just that. An assumption. He may just never be able to shoot free throws well. He may have just came to the game too late to develop a touch shooting the ball.

@HighEliteMajor If you look at past KU teams, they have a guy that rebounds (percentage-wsie) about as well as Doke. Realistically, slightly better. But, what this team lacks more than a good primary rebounder is a decent secondary rebounder. Self has had teams that gain a potential 15 point advantage per game from rebounding. This team gains less than 2 POTENTIAL points over their opponents from rebounding.

But that isn't really the argument right now. At least Bill knows that he can't let Poke-a-Doke just happen. Doke also will probably feel so bad about this loss that he will work on free throws for the rest of the season and potentially shoot well enough to end Poke-A-Doke.

Long-term, this loss could be a good thing. Only time will tell.

@BShark Tie*

Not in Bruce's nature to win something on his own.

@kjayhawks Well, to be fair, nobody but Doke rebounds well. Vick is the biggest disappointment I think I've ever seen in my years of watching KU.

Not the lockdown defender he was supposed to be. And definitely not as good of a rebounder as a guy that is 6'5 and as athletic as he is should be.

Doke did get screwed with his first foul which really hurt us in the first half. However, we played well enough to overcome that. I can't wait to hear quotes from his postgame interview.

Was Lightfoot playing so poorly that leaving Doke in was our best option? I actually thought Mitch played well.

The real question I guess, can De Sousa develop enough by mid-March to be a guy Bill trusts at the end of the game? Because Bill clearly doesn't trust Lightfoot.

Bill blew it. Better he learn from it now than in a couple of months. Maybe he sacrificed a game after a surprise win at WVU.

It wasn't even like Mitch was playing poorly, so I'm extremely confused. I'll buy the Bill was sending a message line just to make myself feel better.

@benshawks08 T'Rob is about the only guy I can think of that really, really improved his form and shot.

@JayHawkFanToo I personally do not think the Staff works on Doke's Free Throw form.

I think it would be a waste of time. Even if Doke had perfect form, do we actually think he could shoot free throws at 60%? Shaq only broke 60% once his entire career.

Even if teams started using the strategy to "Poke-a-Doke," I would welcome it. College teams do not have the same depth NBA teams do. Nor do they get the extra 6th foul. Long story short, it doesn't make sense to do it in college. At least not at the level of Hack-A-Shaq.

So, wouldn't we be served better to improve Doke's hook shot from 60% to 75%? Or work on his drop step to his right shoulder and go from 0% to 50% on those field goal attempts?

Or, better yet, improve his rebounding percentage from 17% to 22%?

Those would be far more valuable than the possible .2 points per game more we would gain from Doke MAYBE shooting free throws better.

@BShark So that means we are due for a win based on good play instead?

@chriz KSU looks legit. Could work themselves into a 4 seed if they can continue to play well.

@dylans If the Big XII crushes the SEC in the challenge, and then KU runs away with the Big XII is ensures KU a 1 seed through Wichita and Omaha. So I'm ok with WVU losing, providing the Big XII really does show up in that challenge.

Not to mention TCU needs a couple of good wins to ensure they make the tourney.

WVU down 11 at TCU with 12:59 left.

I will be shocked if Garrett can ever get going on offense. His confidence is just so shot at this point, I'm not sure there is any chance of recovery until the offseason.

@Texas-Hawk-10 I'd do the opposite. Pick him up at half court and force him to either drive and finish in the lane successfully or make someone else hit shots to win it.

I want TY to have to work for every shot or pass. We can rotate guards on him. So far, teams that have beat him have frustrated him to the point that he does take horrible deep 3s 10 seconds into the shot clock or he makes terrible passes, turning the ball over.

When he has had success, teams have basically given him room to work. Which allowed him the time and vision to make a play.

Just looked up Shakur Juiston's stats. I wonder if he would have come here had Preston never committed.

Putting up a pretty efficient 15 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Doke's free throws are much less of a problem, and cost us far fewer points, than his somewhat pedestrian rebounding percentage.

@BeddieKU23 I didn't think he used his redshirt on the transfer and just used the 1 year of eligibility.

But perhaps I was wrong. I guess his best options are basically stick it out and see if he can crack the rotation, or be a grad transfer.

This team just does not score or play defense consistently, and that is why they struggle at AFH. In the past, we wouldn't have major droughts and those 8 point halftime leads would just get stretched to 15 or 20 and we could coast. This team can go dry as a desert for long stretches.

To top that off, this team can play horrible defense for long stretches. So, instead of those famous 15-0 runs that are triggered from a shot clock violation or a couple of blocks leading to transition scores, we give up 0-10 runs that let teams crawl back in. And nothing is more dangerous than giving up momentum to underdog teams.

If Dave continues sculpting his body, I see him as a potential Big XII POY under Self. He is like Self's wet dream lol.

He has great footwork and offensive skill. He has size that can't be taught and is perfect for sealing guys in the Hi-Low. He is just lacking on the conditioning and athleticism a little bit. Hudy will add 10" to that vertical, and help him with his hip flexibility so he can get lower and his agility gets better. Big Dave should end up being what we always wished Landon Lucas could be.

I hope that Cunliffe's camp realizes that he has all the potential in the world, mostly due to his athleticism. That if he sticks it out at KU, he will either be a starter or the 6th man at KU in two seasons. And, that his best path to the NBA or a high paying contract in Europe, is staying at KU. He trains with one of the top S&C coaches every day, in one of the best basketball facilities in the country, all while practicing against future professional players every single day. If he wants to transfer, he should really just redshirt next season here at KU, bust his ass and take advantage of the facilities, and then see if he would start or be a rotation player at KU two years from now. If he isn't, he could grad transfer and play right away somewhere else. I'm sure at that point he would basically be forced out anyways.

Sam does have the option to transfer at year end though, because he didn't use his redshirt this last transfer. I would not be surprised if that is the route he goes. I do not think it is his best option, as I mentioned above.

Yea no excuses for Self. He needs to win a title one of these next 3 seasons tbh.

@BShark just hope they all worry too much about “getting theirs” and the team chemistry never really gets where it needs to be

Unbelievable. I literally can’t believe it. I don’t even know how recruiting makes sense anymore.

Has to be selling GSW type of scheme. 5 guards, and Zion will play like Draymond, only with more freedom

@BShark What if TCU is just overrated again this year?

Horrible foul call. My goodness.

I can't wait to watch Young in the NBA after he really learns the nuances of the game and has nothing but time to work on his handles.