@kjayhawks that's putting a lot of stock into exhibition games with partial rosters to be making such surefire predictions. Lots of ball to be played still so lets enjoy the ride a little before putting this team in a box.
MR11
187 posts
Know it was Washburn and they are undersized, but the rebounding percentages were pretty good. Not going to say that rebounding is a strength based off that, but also don't see any cause for concern there yet.
Also would take it in a heartbeat if KJ is averaging 6 rebounds per 24 mins. That is roughly double his rate last season.
Yeah know it is just Washburn, but doesn't look like the offense is going to be an issue this year at least. I only caught a portion of the game but seemed like anytime we could get KJ driving, good things happened. Wouldn't be surprised if he averaged close to 5 assists this year
Those comments on Storr aren't the end of the world, everyone knew that him taking bad shots and playing bad defense wasn't going to improve the team. This confirms that Self is trying to improve his decision making and holding him accountable. Now its a toss up whether that will work or not, but is better to try and fully actualize his talent.
@drgnslayr yeah we don't have McCullar on defense, but he really didn't play healthy outside of the first half of the season (and we looked pretty good when he did).
My PTSD from last season is watching games at the end of the season when he didn't play. It would be nice for the newcomers to get near McCullar's level of defense, but we really just need them to be better than Timberlake/Furphy.
Agreed with the consensus here, there is probably a negative trump lean but you don't have to be a liberal to not like the guy. Even that is fairly isolated in the pol channel which you can mute if you want.
I don't post much but have been around since the beginning and it feels mostly the same outside of jaybate who honestly was hit and miss for me anyway. HEM is another notable missing but he became quite antagonistic on his own so it wasn't sad to see him go in the end.
@Texas-Hawk-10 while definitely not on his level, Griffen generally gets the "good" defender designation. We also won't be playing Furphy/Timby/Elmarko at the 2/3 for 40 mins a game like we were at the end of the season, so even Storr should even be an improvement there.
@benshawks08 100% agree and see what you are saying but doesn't mean that them leaving can still be a positive for KU. Those are 2 programs that we would have a hard time beating out for B12 champions, so we now have a much better change of winning the B12 and making college playoffs which would have been otherwise unlikely.
I think people are getting a little too caught up in valuing how much money your program is making vs how much you are winning. I know more money means better player but I firmly believe the fan experience is better with a slightly worse quality team that competes for B12 titles than a better overall team playing to be middle of the pack/bottom feeders in the SEC.
Now if in 5-10 years down the line and KU is king of the B12 and then getting walloped in the playoffs every time we make it there (gonzaga type situation in basketball) I may change my mind, but this team has a long way to go before getting there and I doubt anyone is seriously complaining if that is were the program is at.
Sucks but as a backup he shouldn't be getting enough minutes to need the preseason conditioning at least. Just hope that being an upper classman helps to pick up the playbook/on court chemistry quickly
Would likely have Flory and him for 2025 then. Would love this just as it means getting back to Bill's early years where he had a few years to coach up the bigs instead of the years with Cliff/Cheick where we see flashes, but not consistency.
What happened to T-Rob playing? (Just catching up that on these games so apologies if this has already been addressed)
I understand that the money is important but I think KU football gets lost in the SEC.
I'd agree that maybe 250-500 of those seats were not good seat, but I dont remember there being that many seats in the corners. I would bet there are some seats that aren't too bad that are being lost. Now is a lose of ~500 okish seats a big deal? Probably not terribly so but it still stinks
@dylans said in So, Kansas Reinstated the Border War (for the Chiefs):
By that definition your grandpa’s elevator was a huge failure. No doubt he borrowed some money to build it, repaid the loan and successfully operated it for many years. However the money he accumulated came from the local community and so his success meant someone else local lost, therefore it was an economic failure under these terms. - a ridiculous statement that I believe in no way, but it seems to be your argument against the star bonds.
I don't care to add to either side but lets keep a clear mind here and not argue in bad faith. Whatever hypothetical loan you are talking about would not have been paid back with taxes and can't be compared to the star bonds.
Just sounds like a lot of politician grand standing. Would be fairly surprised to see a move when the Chiefs would have been happy with the $800m renovation. Chiefs are just trying to get leverage on the city for the next vote/MO proposal which probably would have passed already if it wasn't weighted down by the royals stadium deal. Even if they have to drop the funding split to 50/50 to get it to pass, that would only be a $400 million cost for the chiefs vs the reported ~$550 relocation fees the the Chargers/rams are reported to be paying. Maybe the Chiefs wouldn't have as big of a fee since they are staying in the same metro, but it hardly seems worth the hassle and negative publicity and I can see the league feeling this way too and not even approving it.
@rockchalkjayhawk still have mayo who will hopefully be able to make the P5 leap and be an decent backup PG. If not, then year we are back in the same boat.
It also probably means we are relying on some 10-15 mpg from one of Passmore/McDowell which could be ok, but that is likely a downgrade from Elmarko getting those minutes.
@rockchalkjayhawk Griffen was already a better defender last year than Furph under an offensive minded coach, so would be a surprise if he ends up worse.
McCullar is a big loss on defense no doubt and that probably makes us worse, but I feel like the defense we all remember from last year was when he was injured. Slotting timbies in for the SG comparison and I find it hard to believe Storr will be a downgrade. Add that to hopefully the rest of the bench giving better defensive contributions and I think a top 10 defensive even isn't a pipe dream.
I'll back up my optimistic thinking by sharing that barttorvik 2025 prediction has us as the #4 defense (not that I put too much stock into that).
Yeah figured that might be the case! At least ROTC would still give some good life experience, so better than working a random summer job even if the military route doesn't pan out
Know that the money would be impossible for the admin to pass up, just speaking for my viewing experience. Only good things from that prospective is that we would get to beat Missouri 3 to 4 times a year again and the kitties would be fuming about being left behind.
Ooph hard pass on the SEC for me
Was a chem so don't know about aerospace specifics, but the most important thing I would suggest trying to do is get an internship over his sophomore to junior year summer (freshman to soph year summer even better). Doesn't even have to be in the field he wants to go in, just something somewhat technical and it will give him a leg up on getting his choice of junior year internships which transitions into a good job. Study abroad programs over the summer are a decent substitute for internships since internships can sometimes be hard to get that early. High GPAs are nice, but typically just used as a cut off point so anything above a 3.5 usually doesn't hold you back. Someone with a 3.5 and 2 years of summer experience looks a lot better than a 4.0 with not much else to show.
IDK how the ROTC program would affect this, as he might not be looking for private employment but would keep his options open in case he changes his mind down the road.
@rockchalkjayhawk I think Elmarko staying makes a lot of sense as long as he is ok with staying for 2 years. Probably getting more NiL at KU than most places, gets to learn under a great coach, and has no current competition for starting PG next year (and if that last point changes, he could always transfer next year)
@wissox feel like there's a small chance we take the wins leader back this year even without that happening
Another option could be he just got news that Elmarko is officially staying? Can seee him being skeptical he will see the floor much in that scenario.
Noticed Storr already transferred from St. Johns once. Is there a reason to think he wouldn't have to sit out next year?
@BeddieKU23 was this a solid he is 100% staying in or just a likely to stay in? Not that is changes much either way and don't love hearing that.
May be taking some copium saying this, but there is still a small chance he will still return until it is more widely reported and even then he could get bad feedback and change his mind (i.e. Kev last year where he declared not expecting to come back).
@Texas-Hawk-10 Agreed, but idk if it is all that realistic for him to go from not shooting at all to being respectable. I feel like him improving his rebounding/defense and then putting high level shooters at the 2/3 will be the most likely scenario needed to get the most out of next years team.
I think the hesitancy is valid as the staff supposedly did have concerns about his athleticism, but seems like not enough to be a deal breaker. I agree with you for the most part and I personally wouldn't expect him to become a starter, but think he can be a solid backup/secondary PG and spell Harris some mins without the offense suffering. If the only thing he does for the team is push elmarko to be better, I would slot this as a solid win.
Fair, he seems like a solid addition all in all maybe just not the perfect solution to the roster. Generally agree with what you said about throwing numbers at it, we probably need improvements to come from multiple areas and it might be asking too much to fix the roster with one player (and risk them not living up to expectations a la Timberlake).
@BeddieKU23 I think I am missing on what gets you excited about Kobe Johnson. He seems like a worse version of McCullar (not necessarily a bad thing tbf). He does shoot the 3 a little although not particularly well, so maybe that helps with offensive spacing for Hunter if played over KJ. Is that what you are imagining? Would also be a significant upgrade to our current bench, but I don't see how him at the 3 solves any of the roster issues.
@nuleafjhawk said in Bracket chat:
IMO there is nothing elite about this team. I’m leaving my crimson and blue goggles off for this one.
Before the injuries, this team was elite at passing and pretty good at 2 pt FG%. If they can get back to that and get just average from 3, there could be something brewing. I'm not expecting much, but prefer to have a little hope so I'm not rage watching the tournament.
I will never really fault coach for not giving a player a guarantee they will start. Sell in a role for them, yes. Say we have a spot that is theirs for the taking, sure. But if a someone thinks that they don't need to perform day in and out to get minutes, than they are going to cause problems for the program eventually.
Yeah if Furphy is leaving it will be better to have a replacement already lined up than not though! Even then, Furphy could probably slot in anywhere from 2-4 so no reason they can't play together if he does stay. Might be likey Bill could convince him to stay committed in that case? Not like a Hunter/Udeh situation where both can't be on the court.
Yeah agreed, lose at Houston they finish 5th/6th in the B12 and dont make a 1 seed, might even be stuck at a 3 seed. KU is T-3rd/4th with a win though and with the imbalanced conference schedules, do you really think that hurts them that much? Not like Marquette is winning their conference.
I honestly think that H2H wins matter very little. Just in this specific scenario, an 8 loss Tenn vs 8 loss KU would be a very close comparison. Maybe them being conference champs with no bad losses matters more than KU's H2H win plus better top end wins? I can't recall any past seeding cases that would be like this where the committee has shown us what they would do here. Won't be a slam dunk case though and think it could go either way. UNC at 7 losses is a similar situation where it would still be a close call, but there would still be a chance.
Marquette losing in the big east tournament would put them at 9 losses with their best win @ Illinois. KU's best win in this scenario is @ Houston, miles better than anything Marquette has done. I just don't see how this would be close enough of an evaluation for the H2H to come into play. Kolek is also out currently and if he doesn't play in the Big East tournament, they are likely knocked for it by the committee.
In a normal year I would agree with you all, but look at the teams that they would have to jump: Arizona (swept by the only other good P12 team), Marquette (just as many losses in a weaker conference, will likely also lose 1 more), Baylor/Iowa St (could pass them in the B12 tourney), UNC (if they lose @duke tonight they are at 7 losses in a weaker conference). Tennessee is the one team that I see as hard to pass and we would probably need to see them drop a couple. But if they lose vs Kentucky and then in the P12 tournament, we will have better wins than they do and a neutral H2H win that could put us over the top. Unless the committee is changing its approach, it has shown it doesn't care about your rank in the predictive metrics and just uses that to judge your wins/losses.
Again, I said outside shot and I will be extremely surprised if this team even wins @ Houston let alone wins the B12 tournament on top of that. But I do think the chance is still alive.
@kjayhawks One thing to get excited for with the Houston game is that if we win it, I feel like we have an outside shot at the last #1 seed. Especially if the committee takes into account that Kev was out for a few losses. Winning out after that would likely put KU top 4 in q1 wins with the added bonus of 4-5 of those wins being against the top 5 of the NET.
Turns out this team can be pretty good with a healthy McCulla' and Timby knocking down 3's. Just have to hope that keeps up (and hope Bill has a plan to adapt the defense for teams that can expose Hunter's slow recovery on screens).
@patoh3 I assume the difference is that Hunter is at least going to see what his options are but is likely coming back because he doesn't expect those options to beat returning.
If Elmarko stays and makes some strides, we will have someone who can break down the defense off the dribble and that is the main thing this team is currently missing.
McDowell has also shown promise and could be a solid rotation piece next year.
Only thing missing would be a starting level shooter and if that is his sole focus of the transfer portal, I would think Bill could land someone that can contribute. (No way we miss on this type of player two year in a row right??)
A 8 man rotation of Harris, Elmark, McDowell, Transfer shooter, Furphy, KJ, Hunter, and Flory seems pretty exciting to me. Now if Furphy isn't back, I am less optimistic.
Agreed, tonight's game will hopefully be the start of some consistency from Timbies. I would also like to see either McDowell or Elmarko really step up and try and take his starting spot over the next couple of games.
Since the B12 race is out of our hands, I think most people would like to see him sit and get as healthy as possible. Even if we drop 3/4 over the next couple of games, I see us as at worst a 3 seed and I would rather go into the NCAA tournament as that with Kev healthy than as a 1 seed with him still banged up.
Yeah I'm sure there are teams that think that way and they aren't wrong. Competing NBA teams will also be a little stingier as they need to maximize their cap space by drafting players that can contribute while on their cheaper rookie contract. All it takes is one team to be high on him though and I expect there are several since he is also a 6'-9" wing that can shoot the shit out of the ball and shows flashes of potential on defense. He becomes even average on defense and 32/32 teams in the NBA can fit that into their starting lineup.
Don't get me wrong, I would be advising him to come back too cause I want another year. Maybe he even gets exposed a little with a heavier offensive load now that Kev is injured? I'm not getting my hopes up about it though and would hope Bill is recruiting like he won't be here.
I get the feeling like the staff likes McDowell a lot and have shown him enough trust that he isn't going to want to go anywhere. Elmarko could go either way. I lean slightly that he would stay, but that would go against the trend of high ranked recruits sticking it out when they struggle in year 1. Maybe someone else has some knowledge about how he is being pushed, but that usually comes out more once the season is done.
If Furphy is back, that probably means he struggled down the stretch and I don't like to think about what that means for our season.
@Zabudda I'd say Furph is a scorer, just not in isolation situations. But that seems to be the only thing missing from his offensive game.
Agreed that his defense has also been notably improving and he even notched 3 steals in the OU game. It seems like he can still get hunted a bit when his man has the ball, but he is not much of a liability in off ball situations.
Idk I'm not as down on this team as everyone else seems to be. They are kind of built for march with the only thing really missing is a good 6th man. It'd also be nice if we could get a little more scoring from our pg, but Dajuan has come up big for us before so not going to completely count him out. We go into the tourney completely healthy and I would pick KU as a good bet to get to the F4. And if timbies can tighten up his play a bit, a championship run is on the table.
The Monday turnaround is rough, but @KSU is probably the 3rd easiest game left on our schedule even if they do only live to win this game once in a blue moon. Definitely more worried about the Tech game next week.
@jayhawks2010 devil's advocate, he's a 6'-9" wing who has averaged some 16/7 over the last few games at over 40% from 3 and has shown high level cutting ability. NBA loves wing players and there are prospects taken in the 1st round every year putting up less number than that.
I'm not saying he'll go, but if he continues at his current pace there will be a team willing to draft him in the 1st round. I think there would be a decent chance he stays though because he has top 5 pick potential going in the draft next year.
@Zabudda Furphy seems to be a better cutter than Gradey was so if teams guard him aggressively, he may be able to still exploit that. Even if not, that still would occupy the opponents best defender for the game and give everyone else a better matchup. That's still good for a guy that was the 6/7th man a month ago.
Hunter is still over 40% from 3 from the season even with the 0-7 recently. Offense has looked good lately and I think we are looking for things to complain about if that is the concern right now.
Problem recently seems to be that the starters are playing so many minutes that the defensive intensity takes a hit. I worry about that less in march when the stakes are higher, but this team definitely plays down to their competition. That will make winning the b12 difficult.
@drgnslayr to go along with the low post scoring, feels like out offensive rebounding is down. Hunter is good at what he does so it is hard to complain, but it is a lot harder to get your own miss with his 4 ft jumpers than when you are shooting from under the basket.
Easiest thing for me that the team can improve is to lower their turnovers. I know a high TO rate is a symptom of high assists since we are passing the ball more, and I am fine with the TOs when trying to make a play, but we seem to still have a high number of sloppy ones. Juan even seems to be ending drives every so often with a prayer of a pass and I can't ever remember him doing that in the past. Know that is pedantic but this team's offensive strength is ball movement and being the best passing team is country is what they should hang their hat on.
Best deal on GA tickets is usually over winter break and the price often drops quite a bit as you get closer to game day. These used to drop to ~$20 a ticket but seems like $50-75 is a good deal the last couple of years
To go one further, KU was also the better team in the OSU game. This team was a few plays away from being 11-1 and sitting one game away from playoff football. That hurts a bit but also goes to show this is one of the greatest program turnarounds in football history.
You raise a good point with UT/OU leaving there is going to be a power vacuum in football. If Lance hangs around long enough, we have as good of a chance as any to fill that void.
@rockchalkjayhawk said in What to Expect at the Champions Classic?:
Another poster said something earlier that I was also wondering about…why were we doubling and trying to recover to the typically wide open Kentucky shooters? Odd coaching when Kentucky had no big of concern. That seemed the main problem to me for awhile.
I would guess the doubling was to keep Hunter out of foul trouble and Bill wasn't as afraid of Kentucky's 3 point shooting.