I would love to see UNC in our bracket this year. Going to get a good bump because of name, but underwhelming for sure
Kcmatt7
11050 posts
I've never seen a team shoot so many shots that didn't hit rim first as I have in this OSU game. Lordy.
@bmensch1 Tech is shooting very poorly too.
@bmensch1 Both. A lot of turnovers by Tech, ISU is making shots.
Wichita State goes down again. Not a top 10 team.
@BShark Was just going to talk about how lanky Dedric is. He is a more than serviceable college Center.
Big Dave is a large fellow as well.
Plenty of size next season.
@JayHawkFanToo lol ok. Guess we will see...
@JayHawkFanToo Walker is more expensive for 1 season. IT will be maxed out next season.
Kemba is a better defender too.
@mayjay Oh I know what his leans are. I just have a weird gut feeling that he could end up wearing Carolina Blue. Something about it just fits in my head.
@JayHawkFanToo Let's start over.
IF it were an option, right now, would you trade IT for Kemba?
I think everyone is just hoping Zion ends up staying in South Carolina.
If Cal gets another 5* wing to come in after watching Diallo and Knox not live up to the hype, I'll be dumbfounded.
I personally think Zion to UNC is the final decision... Someone needs to be the next face of the Jordan brand. Zion has that "it" factor about him. I just get that feeling.
I'm frustrated just thinking about it lol.
Downvote.
@BShark I hope so. Looks coordinated as hell for a 6'9 HS player.
@JayHawkFanToo Not sure you read my post completely.
Draft picks + IT + Thompson or Shumpert for Kemba and Howard.
D-Wade and Rose are backups and clearly do not factor in to this at all.
Could be Clevland's gift from the basketball Gods. IT does not fit with what that team is trying to accomplish.
I personally think that the Cavs could make a deal for Kemba and Howard. At this point, you have to assume the Hornets just decided to go into full tank mode. They will eat bad contracts and sell you any good piece they have. The next two seasons have some great prospects, so losing and stockpiling picks is the best way to go...
If you are Charlotte, this is a deep draft. You could have 3 1st round picks in it potentially. Then tank next season, and have a great shot at Zion/Barrett/Reddish. This could be a quick turnaround if you are willing to part with Kemba and Howard. And, if it is built the right way, it could be the best chance the Hornets have to go on a 5-6 year run.
@Crimsonorblue22 Agreed. I wouldn't put DG on him unless it happened via switch.
I would love to just put Garrett on him, but it will probably end up being a lot of switching. And double-teaming him on high ball screens.
I'd pick him up right at half court and play him REALLY physical from there. force him to do one of two things. Either drive or pass. But he is not going to beat me by shooting the three ball. If they try to shake him loose with a high ball screen, I would hedge extremely hard with Doke/Mitch/De Sousa and let my defender be able to go over the top of the screen to prevent an easy 3.
The one thing I'd really make sure I did is put in a play where we post him up. Either with Vick, Garrett or Svi. But I would love to see an isolation where we force him to defend in the paint. at 170 lbs, he is either going to get warn down or foul. Sometimes good offense can be your best defense.
Probably a lot of fact checking that needs to go into this unfortunately. Which doesn't bode well for him. But the fact is HCBS still lets him travel with the team and so he must be optimistic that he could get the call about Billy literally any second. I don't think Bill would have said he felt optimistic about getting Billy cleared if he didn't believe it either. No sense in telling the fans that just to be let down. With Cliff, mum was basically the word.
@FarmerJayhawk Seems like we haven't "recruited" him quite yet.
However, I don't think he would come to KU and walk-on.
I also could see everyone but Doke leaving and we would still have a scholarship available for both him and Langford. Not out of the realm of possibilities.
@JayHawkFanToo I think it is nice to have a snapshot at different points in the season. And, top 25 rankings really mean nothing. What really matters is what seed level you are going to be at the end of the season right? This is a way to measure where you stack based on seeding instead of AP votes.
@JayHawkFanToo I checked the others, but they weren't updated yet.
@FarmerJayhawk Can you find that rule? I've never heard of that before.
Most recent ESPN bracket has KU playing MU in Wichita the 2nd game and then Wichita St. the 3rd game in Omaha....
You can't make this stuff up.
@wissox And you don't think that had anything to do with TV profitability? I do understand Nova is in Philly and Philly is a big city. But there are a lot of schools in Philly. And Nova is a small school. So attempting to knock them out early with an underseeded Wisconsin team doesn't make you wonder?
The question is, how many matchups are based on potential TV ratings?
UK has been screwed twice. Having to play a underseeded UCLA team last season and an Indiana team that won the Big 10 but was seeded as a 5 seed.
It happens to everyone. I just hate that it is clearly based on TV ratings and nothing else.
@wissox The Notre Dame part was mainly out of frustration.
The last two seasons we have played Michigan State and UCONN as our second game. And we were 1 seeds. Blue-bloods playing near blue-bloods as a 1-8 matchup is good for TV. Terrible for KU fans.
I mean, could you imagine a KU vs. UK game in the 2nd round. UK will probably fall to be a borderline top 25 team on Monday. So it is possible.
@wissox I'm not arguing whether or not we should have won games. Completely different argument.
My point is just that you can blatantly see matchups the NCAA creates year in and year out to drive TV ratings. They will flip a 2 and a 3 or a 4 and a 5 just so that they can get a certain matchup. Which is fine, but let's just not pretend that this isn't a thing.
Lol all of that matters exactly 0 amount. Adding guidelines just gives them ways to explain wacky seedings. We all know KU, even if they finish out the season undefeated, is playing Wichita State in Omaha the 2nd weekend. Either KU will get underseeded as a 2 or WSU will get underseeded as a 4. Either way, book it now. KU vs. WSU in Omaha on Friday, March 24th.
Look for something dumb like last season too. Where our 2nd game is against someone like Notre Dame who will have just gotten Bonzie Colson back and realistically would have been like a 3 or 4 seed if they had him all through conference play.
@JayHawkFanToo Could have said the same thing about Selden after his Sophomore season. Or even, Releford's European career has been much better because he had such a good Senior season. Tyshawn and T-Rob both transformed their games over one offseason. Withey is someone I never thought I'd see in an NBA uniform as well.
I think there is enough evidence that Self will get him where he wants to go. To me, the question is if there is trust coming from Newman's camp.
@BShark If you don't want to read everything, just read the last paragraph.
Their are a couple of things about Newman that bode well for him coming back though.
- I do not think Newman will get a combine invite this year.
- Newman does not have the option to transfer.
If he is so dead set on getting paid that he will go play in Europe next season, so be it. I just don't think his family is dumb enough to go that route yet. That is not the best route to the NBA and they should be smart enough to see that.
Sure, $100k sounds nice right now. But KU has state of the art facilities he gets to practice at every day. The competition he goes against every day in practice is preparing him for the NBA more than it would in Europe.
If he leaves to play in Europe after this season, that is his family giving up on him ever playing in the NBA. But people have done dumber things. Even if his future is in Europe, the year he has had this season is not one even European teams would be overly impressed with. He wouldn't be able to fetch the type of money he would be looking for.
But I digress. You are correct in your statement saying that the plan has always been for him to come to KU and play one year to improve his stock. I think part of his problem always has been the pressure to be an NBA pick now. And that pressure is hard enough to handle when it comes from the fans. But when the pressure comes from that inner circle, it makes it so much harder to live up to expectations. I'm hoping this season was a wake up call to his family. Too bad we won't find out for another 4 months.
I also think Newman will fit better in the Hi-Lo than Vick will next season. He will be able to use that ball screen on the wing better than Vick can because he is able to dribble and drive the ball better.
Of course, I have been wrong many a times before.
@BShark I'm torn on the Vick vs. Newman argument. Had you asked me 6 games ago, not even close.
Since Conference play started, Newman has been the better player. Period end of story. Better defender, better scorer, just plain better. At the very least, you can say they have been even on the advanced metrics. Malik has been slightly better defensively, Vick has been more efficient offensively. Typical stats side with Malik.
So now, I am at a point where I really like Newman's upside better than I like Vick's. At least I think... I think Newman has the ability to get in the lane. If he can learn to finish, he can be a 3 level scorer. Something I don't think Vick is ever going to be capable of because he can't drive the ball now. Or he refuses to do so.
If Newman can bump his 3pt % up to 40% and his 2pt% up to 50% we are looking at an All-American level player to put next to Grimes and Dotson. And neither of those are that much of a stretch IMO. That allows us to have 2 volume scorers next to Dotson, and 3 guys who can get in the lane AND handle the ball. That is an attractive lineup IMO. And, I still think there is time for Newman to live up to his hype. To me, he isn't Selden. Wayne never looked fluid on the court. Newman has a silky smoothness to him. He has one of the ugliest shooting forms we have seen from a KU guard in a while, and yet, somehow it still looks smooth. Newman looks like he has the ability, he is just a few little tweaks away from being a stud. He is they type of guy that can transform into a completely new player in one offseason.
And, worse case, they both leave and we get Langford who I am super high on, and think might actually be the best option of the 3. But the bird in the hand argument is right 90% of the time...
With all of that being said, all 3 options are great options.
@JayHawkFanToo Almost seems like a coincidence how one of the best classes KU has had under Self comes immediately following the crackdown from the FBI...
@JayHawkFanToo Bird in the hand is better 75% of the time.
@justanotherfan I felt like he has played better since the concussion tbh.
His real problem, his shooting form is not good, and he doesn't know how to attack the basket against 6'9 guys who can jump.
@BShark Watched that replay. Big Dave is going to be here for 3 years at a minimum.
Good Things:
- Decent post moves/coordination
- Great at anticipating rebounds.
- Gets decent position when he wants to.
Bad things:
- Weak hands for a guy his size
- Doesn't move well. Laterally or Vertically. Watching him next to Carey really puts it in perspective.
It's hard to get a gauge on him because Oak Hill doesn't feed him the ball. Most of his points come from put backs.
Whistles tightened in the 2nd half as well. I felt like that played a huge part.
Bill should take the fine after the game and talk about how much BS the Doke call was. Call the ref out by name.
@JayHawkFanToo I'm ok with it, just as long all the games all season long are called this same way. The problem is inconsistency.
@Crimsonorblue22 Refs have not only let WVU mug, but clearly trying to make the game about them.
But, what's new in Morgantown?
Getting F-ing mauled. Almost unwatchable. At this point, I just want everyone to get out of the game healthy.
@CRH107 according to who?
@Gunman He posts so many clickbait articles. It's honestly what kept him his job when the LJW was going under restructuring. His employer doesn't care what the content says, or even if it is good. Just as long as he gets clicks and they receive ad revenue.
Money, like it does to most things, has completely ruined journalism.
The Blueprint is out on how to beat the WVU press btw. Stephen F. Austin showed everyone. Give the ball to a 4 who can dribble and clear all the way out. Some teams just aren't ballsy enough to play 4 guards, or they are too stupid to make the adjustment.
A 4 guard lineup should tear the stupid WVU press apart and be just a terrible mismatch that favors KU by 10.
However, we all know that Huggy changes the rules. And it's genius. He is training his players to punch the other team in the mouth. And every other team has learned all season that punching someone in the mouth is a foul. So we always take a nice sucker punch in Morgantown, that we usually don't recover from.
What I'd love to see from this team is some emotion. Some toughness. Knock Carter on his ass the first time he drives the lane, and give him a little stare down afterwards. Play with an edge. Play like this is the Colosseum and the only way you leave is with someone else's head. If you lose, just do it knowing that it wasn't because WVU is tougher.
This really could be the game that turns the tide of the season. Hope we see something special tonight.
This should be where Garrett shines. He should be able to be the press breaker at the 4 today. If he is capable of doing this, we have a 50% shot at winning.
The other 50% all depends on how the refs call fouls. Do they let WVU play more physical than the rules really allow? Or will they call ticky tack fouls that limit the WVU D, but at the same time cause KU to struggle due to depth issues? Or will they call a normal game, that causes WVU to foul much more than a normal team does, while the Jayhawks are able to avoid foul trouble?
Will Self swallow his pride and challenge WVU to shoot over a zone? His masculinity as a M2M coach is especially challenged agains Huggy, so if he really can switch to a zone this game, we will know Bill really is adapting to this team. Which gives me hope that a championship run is still possible.
What about if there was a system in which players and coaches could mutually part ways? And that would result in immediate eligibility. A coach basically says this guy isn't cutting it here for whatever reason, I release him and he is free to play wherever.
Where, if a player wants out, but the coach doesn't want to let him out freely, he can transfer and sit for a season.
This seems like a reasonable compromise to me. Immediate eligibility would be too crazy of a thing if not regulated to a degree.
@kjayhawks why would you cut Revis? I felt our pass D got much better after we signed him. And we have no better option behind him. A good FA CB will cost $10m a year easy. And a lot of FA CBs end up huge busts in a new system.
@BeddieKU23 Thats what I meant by all parties. The money is too good for coaches. There is always another program willing to take a player. It is just a nightmare.
I just couldn't imagine being a coach in today's game. Not a lot of loyalty, from any party. And too many opportunities for players that they really do have the upper-hand.