🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Ya KU's non-conference schedule was considered the most difficult in the country by ESPN. If KU runs the table, then it means they are probably playing good basketball and maturing, which is more important to me than 1 or 2 in the AP/Coaches poll. So Colorado, Florida, and New Mexico all have quality big men in the form of Josh Scott, Patric Young, and Alex Kirk. I will be interested in seeing how Embiid plays in those games.

I like the way the game is being called more now actually. I watched Louisville hand check their way to a national title last season. I watched the Williams coached KU teams in 2002 and 2003 lose to inferior talent because they got beat up and the officials didn't call it. I'd rather see a finesse game that's decided by skill and athleticism than by who can be the most physical team and not get called for it. Now, some of the calls that we've seen in the first few games, like when a 6-0 guard drives blindly at a 7-0 center and gets a bail out call, I can do without. But I can live with a few ticky-tack calls for a while if it eventually eliminates the semi-mugging style defense that allows slow, less talented teams to hang around with teams like Kansas and Duke.

The new rule interpretation is a big reason why Kansas, and other teams, are shooting a higher percentage from the field. Players understand that if they drive to the basket they'll likely get a layup/dunk or be shooting free throws. Bad decisions and bad shots don't show up in the box score because they are being called fouls now.

Kansas also has something that they haven't really had the last few years. They have 2 legit low-post scorers in Ellis and Embiid, and 2 ultra-athletic wings in Wiggins and Selden that can drive the lane and finish at the rim, or otherwise earn a trip to the foul line.

And then there is the fact that Kansas has a freakishly fast, athletic team that gets a ton of easy buckets in transition.

Maybe Self has Embiid come off the bench so he can have a low post option at all times. Ellis paired with Black, Embiid paired with Traylor.

1st half was the best I've seen Kansas play this season. Defense was good, offense was good, and transition was outstanding. KU got out in transition extremely fast and the passing was phenomenal. They didn't look like a group of primarily freshman and sophomores.

I liked Selden's aggressiveness. I liked Embiid's defense and passing.

I was also impressed with Wiggins. He didn't have eye-popping numbers, he finished with 16 points on 6/8 shooting, 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, and 0 turnovers. Wiggins isn't taking 20 shots and trying to prove he's the best player in the country by scoring 30 every game. I think he understands that he helps KU more by playing within the flow of the offense, and not forcing bad shots and turning the ball over. He's also been playing good defense. I'll take an efficient Wiggins that plays good defense over a Carmelo-type player any day of the week.

So last season Iowa State lost 12 games total. 8 of those games were on the road, 3 were at a neutral site, and only 1 was at home, which was KU. Iowa State is easily a tournament team this season but I don't see them being good enough on the road to challenge KU or Oklahoma St for a big 12 title. They nearly beat KU at AFH last season, true, but KU has a completely different team now.

Meh. Whatever. He lost his composure for a few seconds and made a poor decision. He probably had some internal struggle about whether he should flip off the BYU student section because he did it quickly and timidly. And he probably regretted it immediately afterwards. Not a huge deal.

Iowa State is a good team and I'm glad they beat Michigan and BYU, but I don't think they compete for a Big 12 title this season. They can beat anyone at home, but they aren't as good on the road. I could see KU losing at Hilton this season. Hilton is always sold out for KU and their fans will remember what happened last season. Tough game.

Was at the game in Chicago and there were a ton of KU fans present. KU won because of rebounding and free throws. KU outrebounded Duke 39-24 and made 77% of their free throws compared to Duke's 57%. Perry Ellis was also huge. He was efficient from the field, he rebounded well, and he played good defense against Jabari Parker. Obviously Parker played extremely well but Wiggins was nearly as productive playing 8 fewer minutes and he was the better player down the stretch. Also, Frank Mason is a confirmed stud. That's pretty much it. KU should start Embiid.

Start Embiid now and it will pay off in March. He's already better than Black. I don't mind if we lose a few non-conference games, just let him get his feet wet.

Obviously either one of these players would be a tremendous addition. I tend to lean towards Okafor because of his ability in the low post. Assuming Perry Ellis stays for his junior season, that would give Kansas two legitimate low post scorers to go along with a plethora of 3 point shooters (White, Greene, Frankamp). What do you guys think?

http://www.rockchalktalk.com/2013/11/4/5065350/jahlil-okafor-v-cliff-alexander-who-does-kansas-want ↗

It's a good list. I would probably take someone else instead of McGary, though.

I've seen KU ranked anywhere from 3 to 6 on different sites. It doesn't really matter, KU will have to earn it with the non-con they have this season. I don't necessarily care about their rank early, but more about how the freshman and other players are developing.

Ohio State was in Lawrence a few years ago and they were ranked 2nd in the country at the time.

What's the starting 5 for Michigan St? Appling, Harris, Dawson, Costello/Schilling, Payne? I don't really know who's starting in place of Derrick Nix this season. Anyway:

Keith Appling (6''1) Sr. - Andrew Harrison (6''5) Fr.
Gary Harris (6''4) So. - Aaron Harrison (6''5) Fr.
Branden Dawson (6''6) Jr. - Alex Poythress (6''8) So.
Matt Costello (6''9) So. - Julius Randle (6''9) Fr.
Adreian Payne (6''10) Sr. - Willie Caulie-Stein (7''0) So.

The matchups from a size and athletic standpoint probably favor Kentucky. But, the chemistry and defense probably won't be there early on in the season for the Wildcats. I'd like to say that MSU wins this game because they have so much more experience, but Izzo teams usually start slow and finish strong. I'll say that Kentucky wins by a few points, but I hope Michigan State wins.

I'm going. I expect all four teams to have a lot of fans in attendance. I think Kansas and Kentucky will have the most though. Definitely cheering for MSU to beat Kentucky.

I'm a new user. I used to post on ESPN.com a lot, but stopped after they changed to a facebook comment section. Howdy.