@drgnslayr I have a suspicion that Self always makes the we don't practice zone comment to the media so opps don't prep for it and he can pull it out in must win games to switch things up. Not that I think they practice it a lot, but I bet he runs zone scenarios before games he thinks he can use it.
MR11
187 posts
@BShark IDK if this is included in that 3 million but honestly assumed most of his NIL money was coming directly from Adidas with them nudging him to KU.
Feel like Flory needs to be watching tape of the Houston bigs cause he can be a monster on the offensive glass too
@drgnslayr A stretch big at the 5 is a little overrated IMO. Can be nice to have but I'd rather play a center that can set a good screen and get downhill off a P&R to pressure the rim.
@BeddieKU23 said in The portal.:
We’ve been recruiting Nigel Pack, Kyan Evans and Rodney Rice so far. Any of the trio would help. There are a few other prospects I like in the portal but best to stick with what KU has been linked with. Seems we are clearly hunting a ball handler with playmaking ability.
Does anyone know how Elmarko has been looking lately since he was supposed to be close to fully recovered by end of March? Not that I think we should stop at 2 options for ball handling, but it would make me less nervous about getting a starter level player at this position if he is back with a full offseason for improvement.
It is a 15 player roster limit so I believe he would have to take one of those spots if he wants to play. Had forgotten about him though and that is a good question on what their plan is.
@SlimShaddy54 Yaxel getting a first round grade a lot of places so there would be a risk he stays in the draft. Would take him though otherwise.
Interesting to see Jayden Quaintance from Arizona St in the portal. ACL recovery but would be one of the few upgrades to Flory out there if he comes back fully healthy.
I'm generally against running players that want to be here, have the potential to make an impact, and are putting in the work. Idk if the later is true but am here for him staying if he has bought in and accepts a lower role/NIL
He shouldn't scare anyone off from coming to KU so don't know that it hurts us too much even if he doesn't improve on last year.
Anyone heard an update on what is going on with Storr? For somebody that everyone was certain that he was going to enter it is just weird that he is the last one to announce.
@Kcmatt7 agreed, but I honestly like the potential tournament path as a 6 seed better. I think the difference between the average 2 seed and the average 1 seed outweighs the benefits of potentially getting a 4 vs 3 seed matchup in the 2nd round. Gives one more round for the region's 1 seed to potentially get upset before we would potentially see them too.
Will be a different march for us either way as any of a 5-7 seed would be underseeded per advanced metrics and I can't remember the last time that has happened for KU.
I think losing vs Arizona and early in the B12 tourney pushes us to a 8-9 seed. Win this weekend and at least 1 big 12 game and we are a 6-7 seed. Currently sit at a 6.8 seed rating on bracket matrix and that is always pretty close to accurate.
Generally agree, even though we lost the last two games, we were in it to the end and weren't embarrassed. It is the games that came earlier in the season that has everyone so down on them, so if they can keep this up and even improve a little they can make some noise.
Counterpoint is that when things aren't going your way so often, it might be more than that they are unlucky. They also haven't given us a real reason to think they won't just as easily go back to giving the same level of effort seen in the BYU.
I am optimistic that maybe the team can make the 2nd weekend if we get matched up teams without bigs that can shoot, but I would be shocked by anything more than that at this point.
Hey now, we are nothing like KState. They only had a 2 week stretch of good play where we are a coinflip every night.
Agreed that not all of it falls on Hunter. Honestly my bigger complaint with him is how much his energy level can vary from game to game. When you know the level a player can get to, it becomes more glaring when they fall short of that.
And yeah idk why we aren't running some of the post plays we used to. While limited overall as an offensive player, Landen was at least above average at getting post positions and clearing lanes for Frank to get to the basket. Maybe we don't run these plays because we don't have any natural drivers on this team that can take advantage of that? Part of it could also be that the team doesn't seem to excel at passing into the post or it is too crowded with KJ playing. I haven't been watching games as closely as I usually do to be able to say.
K-state won their national championship beating us at home and have packed the season in
Hunter has been rightfully criticized for his play this season. He has been good on offense this season and he needs to be great to make up for his defense. Like you mentioned he often has played too far away from the basket and settled for jumpers instead of fighting in the post. It shows in our offensive rebounding numbers (unless Flory is out there with him) and in our FT rate.
Last few games he has been much better so hoping he can keep that up.
28 FTs on the road is a great sign. That has to be at or close the most trips to the line that we have had this season. Need to keep that up for games where the outside shot isn't falling.
Also impressed with Rylan making an impact on the game even when his shot wasn't falling. We weren't seeing that earlier in the season and he was probably the best of our guards last night. Not there yet but some signs to be optimistic moving forward so hopefully the team stays locked in.
TBH I remember a lot people being at least close to neutral about it once the Udeh and Zuby transfers played out. I would have counted myself as in that camp.
Maybe Bill is trying to hide Bidunga cause he is already punting on this season and doesn't want him to get NBA buzz and be tempted to leave??
Yeah unless there are major rumblings about a player being unhappy, I'm not going to put too much stock in speculation of who is gone and who is back. Every comment here over the offseason was that Jamari was going to be gone and he is still with the team.
There is a lot of talk here focused on lineups, NIL, and transfers, but everyone is missing the one common factor in all of Self's F4 teams. What we need to turn around the KU basketball skid is another Teahan.
Bill was willing to keep him around and him returning seems to have at least played a part in scaring off Philon, so those are both points in the column that he was moving in the right direction this offseason. He may be missing a year of skill development, but I assume he has still been around the team learning how Self wants to play and gaining basketball knowledge.
I didn't get to watch the team as much last year, but he reminded me a bit of Tyshawn when I did catch games (in some good ways and some bad lol).
TBH hate both sides of that play. Hate when players try to anticipate the foul and that fouling up 3 is rewarded.
Feel like both these could be removed from the game if NCAA put a rule in place where the fouled team can choose to take the ball out instead of FTs. If that doesn't go far enough, could also let the fouled team choose to have a 5-10 sec clock runout/reset when the game is under 1-2 mins.
Idk what the comments were, but probably shouldn't have removed the student seating that they did if fan environment/energy was the priority
Feel like with a Jaun/Shak/KJ/FB/HD lineup no one scores on either end
@benshawks08 "there is a reason Hunter has averaged a double double his entire career and never won any game of significance." I want to note Hunter has gone to the E8 with Michigan and won the B10 regular season that year. Not a world beating achievement, but I think it qualifies as wins with some significance.
Not that I disagree with the spirit of your assessment, but just don't want to see the hate go too far.
@BShark I don't mind Storr taking shots from players if he is getting to the rim and getting fouled. We are missing someone who can do that consistently. Juan/Zeke can drive somewhat but rely on floaters most of the time and do not draw fouls.
Yeah Hunter is one of the most boring players to watch in basketball for me. Great at what he does and I'm not complaining about the production, but Udeh is definitely a more exciting player.
@dylans man Greene definitely on my top 5 what could have been KU players list. Had the stroke and height to be one of the greatest spot up 3pt shooters of all time but couldn't do anything else even to an average level to stay on the court.
@BShark guards drawing fouls doesn't bode well for Flory high minutes, hopefully KJ brings it today if that is the case
@wissox COTY trophies in most sports tend to be an award for which coach most exceeded their season's expectations. The actual COTY is always going to be the Naismith trophy
@FarmerJayhawk Hunter's steal rate is way up this year to go with decent block rate and great rebounding numbers. He's turned into a solid defensive center, just still can't slide for shit so he can be exploited in P&R in the wrong matchup. Ideally, we just need to avoid teams with stretch fives that can punish drop coverage.
@wissox yeah true me saying he wasn't thriving probably goes too far. But as good as he was even there, he was mostly just elite at getting to the basket and still had a lot of room for improvement in the rest of his game. Would Greg have been able to get more improvement out of him this year if he had stayed? I definitely can't imagine his season would have gone worse than how he is playing at KU so far, but agreed the season isn't done and we could see it all click still. Going to keep rooting for him as long as he wants to be here.
@Kcmatt7 Can we really say Storr was thriving before though? Like he was good scoring at Wisconsin but he needed to bring more to the table than that if he wants to get drafted. Some times you need a kick in the ass to get there.
Just realized does saying that means I may officially be old.
@rockchalkjayhawk yeah rationally I don't think it is good for the team if Diggy is getting a lot of minutes, but he sure is entertaining to watch
@kuballin10 Dude I have been nothing but straightforward, how is me summarizing my original post as thinking "compete at the highest level" twisting of words? Is a number 1 seed not qualifying as playing high level college basketball? I'll even post it below so you dont have to scroll back to see it. You don't need to start every message with a snarky comeback, I'm not trying to attack you here just answering your questions.
"Yes? Auburn look good but who else are you really scared of that makes you think they can’t? KU’s biggest opponent is themselves and there is no reason that they can’t improve to the point where they are competing for a 1 seed. Not going to say it is a lock to happen, but there is definitely a “real chance”."
@kuballin10 If you are taking a post where I said they have a chance to compete at the highest level and taking it to mean that I fully think they are the best team in the country and going to win the B12 already down a game, that is on you man.
I was responding to a post where you implied KU didn't have a real chance to compete for a F4/national title and I 100% disagree with that statement.
Kind of a leap to get that from what I said, we already dropped a home game and Houston doesn't have to play at ISU, so winning the regular season B12 is not likely no. But I also don't think it would be a massive upset if they did (~10% chance based on betting odds does seem about right).
I didn't even say they will for sure be good enough to compete for a F4, just that is won't take miracle for this team to improve to that level. They have shown they can hit that level of play in spurts, but do need some improvements in execution/consistency.
Honestly the main thing I worry about with this team is facing a team that can exploit Hunter on defense, because that is always going to be there.
Because our best player isn't injured forcing us to start a failed transfer and two freshmen that aren't quite ready. I also think it is reasonable to expect the team to continue to gel and improve through B12 play.
Yes? Auburn look good but who else are you really scared of that makes you think they can't? KU's biggest opponent is themselves and there is no reason that they can't improve to the point where they are competing for a 1 seed. Not going to say it is a lock to happen, but there is definitely a "real chance".
I like hating on K-State as much as the next guy but specifically looking to K-State to feel better that says a bit about how we feel about KU right now haha.
It is a good thing they are bad though because losing to them and MU in the same season would be depressing (*knock on wood)
He also likely gets more NIL money as a redshirt player vs recruit
@kjayhawks Agreed, and honestly am ready to forget the loss if it means the team is more motivated this weekend and hangs an extra 30 pts on them
Jaun it is kind of understandable, he doesn't have the size/strength to bump a defender and still stay on balance to reliably finish his shot. Agreed it might help him a bit but I don't know that we want to rely on those plays for offense.
KJ/Storr though, 100% need to be driving and getting to the line more though.
First road test of the season, looked a bit rough. Just have to see if the team can learn from it since we'll have a lot tougher road games in conference play.
@BShark too many regular season NBA games to be a good product is the main problem. Players take off games since playoff seeding can be a crap shoot, so really just playing for home court advantage which isn't as important as players being healthy.
I generally agree with your sentiment but we have to check our biases with this. A neutral observer could watch a random NBA game vs a random college basketball game and I bet most would say the NBA game is more entertaining. College ball just has better intangibles and better tourney format which puts it over the top for me, but we are also usually watching a top 10 team play. I don't know that I would say the same thing if I grew up in Boston a Celtics fan who went to a non basketball power college.
Yeah KJ has his offensive deficiencies, but man does he make up for them with the rest of his game. Also nice to see Griffen step up a bit in the 2nd half after really struggling in the 1st.
Only negative from the game was that Hunter, even outside of the ejection, was playing a sloppy. I know he was getting hacked, but can't let that seep into your decision making. I remember one specific possession where he got swiped at at the top of the 3 pt line and you could tell he was rattled from it because he immediately tried to drive and back down his man which isn't his game at all. When that didn't work he settled for a 15 ft fade away contested jumper with probably 15 sec left on the shot clock. Freshman level play there.
@Texas-Hawk-10 yeah that sums it up well for Storr, he has the measurables to be in the NBA so if he was already a plus player that can positively contribute to a championship level roster in college, he would have been a 1st rd pick last year. Just letting him play free has been done before and it didn't get him there. There can be things to knock Self on with his coaching, but his treatment of Storr/Remy is not it.
An update to @Texas-Hawk-10 old post on the history of the matchup:
Kansas and Duke have played 14 times all time. Duke leads the all time series with Kansas 8-6 with 12 of the 14 games being played on a neutral and each time only visiting the other once apiece. Kansas and Duke are tied 3-3 against each other in the NCAA Tournament and Kansas leads Duke 3-1 in the Champions Classic. Self is 4-2 vs Duke while at Kansas.
Dec. 1, 1985- Preseason NIT in New York: (3)Duke 92, (5)Kansas 86 (1-0 Duke)
Mar. 29, 1986- Final Four in Dallas: (1) Duke 71, (2) Kansas 67 (2-0 Duke)
Feb. 20, 1988- Allen Fieldhouse: (6) Duke 74, Kansas 70 OT (3-0 Duke)
Apr. 2, 1988- Final Four in Kansas City: Kansas 66, (5) Duke 59 (3-1 Duke)
Feb. 18, 1989- Cameron Indoor: (11) Duke 102, Kansas 77 (4-1 Duke)
Apr. 1, 1991- National Championship in Indianapolis: (6) Duke 72, (12) Kansas 65 (5-1 Duke)
Mar. 19, 2000- NCAA Tournament 2nd Round in Winston-Salem: (1) Duke 69, Kansas 64 (6-1 Duke)
Mar. 27, 2003- NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in Anaheim: (6) Kansas 69, (7)Duke 65 (6-2 Duke)
Nov. 23, 2011- Maui Invitational Finals: (6)Duke 68, (14) Kansas 61 (7-2 Duke)
Nov. 12, 2013- Champions Classic in Chicago: (5)Kansas 94, (4)Duke 83 (7-3 Duke)
Nov. 15, 2016- Champions Classic in New York: (7)Kansas 77, (1) Duke 75 (7-4 Duke)
Mar. 25, 2018- NCAA Tournament Elite 8 in Omaha: (4)Kansas 85, (9)Duke 81 OT (7-5 Duke)
Nov. 6, 2019- Champions Classic in New York: (4)Duke 68, (3) Kansas 66 (8-5 Duke)
Nov. 15, 2022- Champions Classic in Indianapolis: (6) Kansas 69, (7) Duke 64 (8-6 Duke)
Based on predictive sites, the line for the game should be around Duke -2/-3. Will be KU's first game of the season where they aren't favored, so excited to see how the team reacts.
Counter argument to this: if Bill lets the players get away with mistakes/sloppy play, he is telling both that player and the rest of the team that there aren't consequences for bad plays. You also want to give the players feedback on these mistakes so that they don't become habits. Typically the sooner you get this feedback, the more impactful it is from a learning standpoint. Maybe letting the play a little more free flow helps in the short term, but it is always going to be better if you do so with proper muscle memory/habits built up. Maybe that means some players take longer to gel, but seems like trading short term gains for long term growth to me.
@nuleafjhawk Flagg is almost 100% gone, he already is showing he won't be a bust in college so would take a decent injury/regression to keep him out of being the #1 pick and even then should be a lock for top 5. I can't remember the last time someone projected to go that high came back to school. Maybe marcus smart? But even he was a few tiers lower of a prospect compared to flagg.
A note about the defense, it feels like Self generally sticks to a simple man scheme early in the season. As the team gels, I would expect him to add in different looks especially on ball screen coverage. If Hunter is getting seriously cooked, I could even see Flory closing out some games as soon as Bill starts to trust him. Potentially even offense/defense substitution situations late in games.