🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Sorry but if Zuby can’t get time against Omaha he shouldn’t see it against Duke

We do still seem to have offensive issues. Something MJ could really help with

Really had a chance to throw a haymaker and get the lead over 10. Now it’s going to be 2…

Our dudes play hard

@Jethro said in Dook Game Thread:

Time for Udeh....

KJ is absolutely causing fits in the defensive end.

@DanR i believe building it there would come with additional development around the stadium.

@BShark injury?

@nwhawkfan Finau on an absolute tear.

Toney is nice

The D just doesn’t have the horses to play with another P5 offense that is built to play up tempo. Our D-Line and LBs aren’t good enough.

I expect us to add to this defense in the off-season in big ways though.

@BShark Wheeler off the bench tonight for UK lol

@BShark said in Ernest Udeh:

@Kcmatt7 said in Ernest Udeh:

@BeddieKU23 said in Ernest Udeh:

Its 2 games and we've played no one so this is an early overreaction take but this dude, the flashes he's showing are impossible to ignore.

He's got some Embiid/Doke vibes to him. The ability to run the floor like he did last night for multiple dunks is very impressive. He has some quick twitch jumping ability at his size which we haven't had in the frontcourt in a while. He's not afraid to switch onto a guard on the perimeter defensively already which is rare to see from a freshman. He changes the offense with his lob ability, not just that he's good at it, he's elite there, his wingspan and athleticism allow you to throw it up at a height or angle that only he can reach. Again, extremely impressive.

Self found his next big thing

I was at the UK game last season and Tshiebwe ran the floor harder than any big I’ve ever seen.

Udeh is close, and he’s only a freshman! I’m thoroughly impressed by the effort in combination with the physical attributes he has. This might be his only season in Crimson and Blue…

Too our benefit, players like Udeh aren't exactly in demand by the NBA. I don't think he's that good.

Idk man. The being able to switch onto guards makes him a lot more intriguing prospect than Doke was. The dude is super quick for his size. Tuesday will be a better eye test for that though.

@BeddieKU23 said in Ernest Udeh:

Its 2 games and we've played no one so this is an early overreaction take but this dude, the flashes he's showing are impossible to ignore.

He's got some Embiid/Doke vibes to him. The ability to run the floor like he did last night for multiple dunks is very impressive. He has some quick twitch jumping ability at his size which we haven't had in the frontcourt in a while. He's not afraid to switch onto a guard on the perimeter defensively already which is rare to see from a freshman. He changes the offense with his lob ability, not just that he's good at it, he's elite there, his wingspan and athleticism allow you to throw it up at a height or angle that only he can reach. Again, extremely impressive.

Self found his next big thing

I was at the UK game last season and Tshiebwe ran the floor harder than any big I’ve ever seen.

Udeh is close, and he’s only a freshman! I’m thoroughly impressed by the effort in combination with the physical attributes he has. This might be his only season in Crimson and Blue…

@BShark honestly I had assumed reports that he isn’t good at basketball were overblown. They, they were not

@BShark said in Fargo Game Thread:

@FarmerJayhawk said in Fargo Game Thread:

MJ!!

The good and the bad tonight.

I’ll take this off the bench every game lol

Did someone say platoon?

/s/

@wissox said in Fargo Game Thread:

Someone comes to KUBuckets for the first time tonight and thinks "man, wissox is a bit unstable"

Yea I definitely didn’t think that before… 🤪

@Jethro said in Fargo Game Thread:

@BeddieKU23 said in Fargo Game Thread:

Wayne was excellent Jr year

He was such a great shooter that year.

Probably the most drastic shooting change I’ve seen made at KU. Forgot about that.

So MJ nice

@Jethro And they said NIL would be the death of parity.

Power rankings after last night:

1. Udeh
2. KJ
3. Zach
4. Zuby

Udeh just provides this team with exactly what they need. A rim running big man who provides rim protection. He ran the floor like Tshiebwe last night. I was thoroughly impressed.

KJ still let’s us play a style of run run run. He rebounded well last night. Now if he can just be a little more of an offensive threat that’d be nice. He should be the guy tearing up the zone. Get it to him at the FT line and then he just goes over the top of the zone… Maybe next season.

Zach didn’t do much yesterday. Didn’t get a chance to do much, but it is clear to me he isn’t going to get much run. Not when you have three Adonis-like dudes you’re competing against.

Zuby also got like no run. The only reason Zach ranks ahead is because if he isn’t going to get experience now, I guess I’d rather have the Sophomore in the game. I’d like to see Zuby get 10-15 one of these games coming up.

@BShark said in Peyton Manning Game Thread:

@kuballin10 said in Peyton Manning Game Thread:

@benshawks08 said in Peyton Manning Game Thread:

I think we are seeing why zuby hasn’t seen a lot of early run.

Yeah I retract my comments lol

Something about yada yada trust the hall of famer is something I should do

Zuby will be good eventually. Bundle of energy right now. Like I said reminds me of TRob including the frosh nerves.

Very promising signs from Udeh tonight though.

Udeh looked the part tonight. By Feb he’s going to get 25mpg

@BShark I never feel like you can bet on anything over 25 points just as a general rule.

Hoping we see Gradey start. Would be very interested in seeing Udeh start again.

MJ out again right? Huge bummer. Guy needs these kind of games to get in the groove.

@dylans Udeh looked like a very large man live.

After last night I thought the position was Udeh's to lose in the long run. I think KJ will play a ton there early. But Udeh and Zuby will slowly chip away at his minutes as the season goes on.

Here are some notes I took rewatching the game this morning:

• Udeh - got the start. He was out of position on ball screens twice his first run. Was a little lost on offense (but so was everyone). Clearly the other starters were not comfortable playing with him yet. 2nd run - GREAT defensive effort on the first possession. Basically cause the TO (and almost a shot clock violation). He isn't posting up at all on O. Not sure if that is by design. I think he must just feel more comfortable on pick and roll lobs. I do think he is a shit rebounder for his size so far. Back in with the starters for his 3rd run - REALLY good help on ball screen action forces a DEEP 3 by Pitt. Then catches the lob the next possession. Next possession another really good help on a ball screen. Then misses the lob. Next possession Udeh gets away with a block, but no call. Ends up a layup from the chaos. Next defensive possession Udeh causes the turnover with a tipped pass that leads to THE OFF THE BACKBOARD LOB. Then KJ throws an idiotic lob and Udeh gets a little banged up.

• KJ got the start at the 4. Which was interesting. His confidence to launch a 3 early tells me we may see a few more of those... Not sure if that is good or bad. Nothing special though his first time on the floor. First run with KJ at the 5 - The switch everything defense caused some confusion between Joe/Jalen/KJ and we give up a wide-open 3. The next possession it works and forces a shot clock violation... Then a turnover the next... The next half court possession ANOTHER turnover. AND THEN ANOTHER TURNOVER WHERE ADAMS GETS AN AND-1. Now a tie-up (KJ had nothing to do with this). Halftime over and KJ get the start at the 5 again. Dumb turnover, stripped by a guard at the high post. But then sets the screen to get Dick open for 3. Forces a bad shot at the rim which gets us a bucket at the other end. Makes a good hustle shot contention in the corner the next play. Next offensive possession he makes a brilliant under the basket skip pass to Wilson in the corner for 3.

• Zach first run - didn't set any really good screens. Did nothing on O. And gave up two layups I don't think any of the other big men give up... Offers literally no rim protection. 2nd time out: Good little hook in the paint. 8:13 mark Zach comes over to help on a backside block and might as well not even try. Guy goes over him no problem. Zach in for his 3rd run now. With an awful lineup (wtf Bill). Zach for the 2nd time has the ball on the block and doesn't realize he is sort of open. Makes a bad pass. Zach a few possessions later gives up on a rotation and guy drills a 3. Zach gets a steal here and it leads to him getting a nice bucket off of a nice pump fake. Very next possession he falls over on D (trips himself) and we give up a 3. Next D possession Zach overhelps on D and can't close quick enough on his own man we give up a 3. Zach back in with 3 minutes left. Two big look with Zuby. Zach drills a corner 3 (man that stroke is pure).

• Zuby - He looks better on this first run than I remembered last night. But didn't do anything special. He does take up a lot of room and set some screens. Him and Yes had a bad defensive ball screen action. Gave up the 3 that let Pitt go up 20-6. I though Joe should have gone over the screen, so not sure it was Zuby's fault. Zuby's 2nd run - set the screen to get Dick loose for his first 3. He did get abused on a possession. Needs to be tougher for a guy who is 250 lbs... Then got scored over pretty easily. Then he leaves his feet to try and block a 3 and lets his man draw a foul at the basket. Zuby back in for his final run. Posts up his man and makes a very award attempt at a basket, but misses. Gets his own rebound though and scores. Zuby gets a nice poke on a ball that leads to a fast break foul. Next defensive possession he gets a nice help side block. Tip in by Zuby off a missed shot. Zuby with another lob catch for a bucket.

So here is a power ranking of bigs after last night:

1. KJ - I love this team playing small and fast. Because we aren't small. This team is HUGE outside of Harris at PG. KJ lets us play some intense D. It makes sense to see 4 guards and KJ for a good 10-15 mpg where we just pump up the pace of play as fast as we can.

2. Udeh - I thought he did the best job of the other bigs defending ball screens after his 1st run. Got his hands on the ball some. Clearly the guys feel like they can just throw the ball at he rim and he'll go get it. I was disappointed by his rebounding. And I was surprised we didn't post him up at all. But I like how active he was and I like his ability to defend a lot.

3. Zuby - By far the best of the bigs at setting screens and rebounding. He did both of those really well last night (in comparison to the others). He looked raw, but that's okay. I thought he defended okay and did provide some good rim protection. Overall, I liked what I saw and he easily could have been 2 over Udeh.

4. Zach - I do think he is the savviest of the bigs. He's in the right spot quite a bit. And that shot is something else. But otherwise he is a piss poor rim defender, average rebounder and slow footed in comparison to the others. He is the anti-Bill Self big. A guy who could be force fed for 15ppg at another program. But the truth is I'm just not convinced that he is a P5 big man... And I'm not sure he ever plays more than 15 mpg here ever with his athletic/defensive limitations.

Overall, I wasn't disappointed by the bigs last night. I thought it was weird how we didn't post them up very much (maybe that is telling). I continue to believe that while it is the position with the most minutes up for grabs, it isn't going to kill us. I will say last night did make me appreciate Dave a bit... Hopefully Zuby and Udeh can progress quite a bit over the next 3 months though. I think they will. And what right now may look like a weak spot could turn into a strength. A 1-2 punch of Udeh and Zuby with the ability to go full Golden State Warriors if we need to in KJ.

Oof. Live I thought Zach sucked last night. Was by far the 4th option at the 5 imo

@BShark someone let me know why when they find out. Going to the game so I won’t be able to surf the Twitter

PASS. No thx.

Alright yea we good

@BShark This probably true. But damn is this just super frustrating. The length of time it has taken. The embarrassment. The fact that the most incriminating piece of evidence was a phone call about a player we didn't even get. That somehow Duke, UNC and UK were able to essentially avoid this also makes it that much worse.

I just want it to be resolved. Let's get it over with. Delaying penalties did get us a Natty. So I'm not saying that wasn't the right strategy. And recruiting is 100% back on track which makes me think postseason bans are completely off the table (which the IARP basically said they would be, because they didn't want to penalize students who had nothing to do with it). So if it is a postseason ban for Bill or whatever it may be, let's get it done and over with.

I wonder if Dooley gets to be a bench coach for this? This is all super weird if the IARP didn't suggest this.

Durant wants out. Kyrie is causing distractions. Simmons is broken. And basically the entire bench is off to a poor start.

I'd probably start by moving KD and see what you can get in return before deciding what to do next. In theory, they need to get Simmons back to his 16 ppg and then see if they can trade him. Right now he's worth a box of saltines.

@BeddieKU23 said in The 4-Out Rotation:

@drgnslayr

I'll be happy if he can float into that 7-10 ppg range nightly for the rest of his career here. That keeps a defense somewhat honest.

The biggest thing I want to see from him on offense going forward is getting to the FT line. I think he has the lowest FT % rate of any starter that's ever played under Self. He has 34 FT attempts in over 1600 minutes so far at KU. He simply has to get better at this. Easy points are there for him if he's savvy enough to take advantage.

Bingo. Just want him to make the defense be honest. We do not have a Remy to come in off the bench to make up for the lack of scoring from him.

@Jethro good college track record as well. Leinert, Cassle, John David Booty, Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley all played for him.

Yea hearing Josh Allen Jags rumor… would be nice. Funny thing is I feel like we’ve gotten to the QB a lot this year. But I’m not telling Andy or Veach how to run the show

@rockchalkjayhawk 6'0 200lbs. Tries to do too much, but makes big plays (considering Daniel Jones was his QB). Injury issues because he does try to do tooo much. But he is fast and an athlete.

Honestly he could be an absolute stud, or he could barely see the field. Wildcard. But I'm not mad about the compensation.

@BShark YACtion. Hope they bring back Juju.

@BShark In the staff's defense, they have absolutely crushed it with PGs outside of Naa and Garrett seasons.

I don't expect people to want MJ over DaJuan. But if Bobby starts playing really well or something you'll definitely hear it.

Harris DOES need to be better this year though. He has to shoot and score more, and be a go-to guy in some clutch situation.

@BShark Perfectly said.

You just don't bet against Bill Self.

@wissox Och got absolutely screwed with that trade. That Utah team was already deep, but then he got there too late to really be able to challenge other guys for minutes and get into the rotation.

My hope is that Och gets minutes as the season goes on. CB on the other hand is already on his way to getting a bag.

🐦 View Tweet?s=20&t=nieiVw33QyQmrgdAOxIgdw

Bill Self has been winning the league with lesser teams since Greg Waddell was in diapies.

Chiefs staying pat (no pun in tended) is a fine move to be honest. They are good enough to win with what they have. And they set themselves up for another 5+ year stretch if they have a good draft in 2023.13 draft picks.

@RockkChalkk He basically did at Late Night right?

@BShark said in The 4-Out Rotation:

@BeddieKU23 Agree with this. Bill's comment about Juan, McCullar and JWill being championship level players was telling. We were all assuming it would be the case but it will be quite shocking if any of them are under 33 minutes a game I feel. There is also a reason that these 3 have been on all the social media stuff. They are the face of the team, and Jalen will definitely have a large shot load.

I eagerly await the Dajuan/KJ line-up where neither team scores for 4 minutes.

Can't wait to see the DaJuan, Bobby, McCullar, KJ and Udeh lineup for the first time.

@BeddieKU23 Yea I kind of think MJ Rice is the piece that this team needs to buy in by February the most if they want to try to go back to back. I think Bill ultimately gets production out of the 5. So then it is down to if we can find that key piece off of the bench all good teams have. Bobby and Joe are fine, but they probably aren't coming in and dominating a game from the bench. MJ (in theory) has the ability to come in at the 12 minute mark and put up 12 points by half time.

If I had to bet, we will see MJs role expand as the season goes on. But it will be very dependent on him coming into the game and being remotely interested in playing defense and actually running the offense.

@drgnslayr I can already picture the old man game down there ha.

My first thought was honestly Jalen Brunson absolutely dominating dudes down there with just an old school post up game. I could see McCullar doing this for sure.

@BShark UK's biggest issue is that somehow Sahvir Wheeler is their starting PG. Basically Naadir Tharpe, but honestly maybe worse than JR Naa lol.

AND I'M SERIOUS WITH THIS TAKE. Wheeler is garbage. They will not win it all with him playing big minutes.

McCullar is certainly a "savvy" player. I need to see some increased efficiency on O before I buy in. I know playing for Self is different than playing for his previous coaches though.

At the end of the day, I'm not expecting him to do more than what he has done his previous years. And I'm not sure we need him to. Come in, play good D, rebound, and make the right basketball play. He does those things pretty well. And he does have the ability to go for 25 on a hot night which was something this team needed to add this offseason after losing 2 guys who could do that.

@Jethro You saw Bill post up both Och and CB last year.

I would expect to see him expand that part of the playbook. Wilson, KJ, Dick, MJ and McCullar all of the size to abuse smaller guards. Just watch Bill do something disgusting like invert the high-low offense and have bigs feeding lob passes over the top to guards for 20 points a game. Would be too funny to watch honestly. And it'd probably work amazingly well.