Just tuning in. D looks good, O not as much
StLJhawk
2117 posts
@jaybate-1.0 "It kind of defeats the purpose of lengthening the bench with Silvio not to get him some work"
Bingo!!
Some thoughts during the comfortable second half... I can't believe how many rebounds we are getting against a much taller team. But A&M does look tired and slow. Nice to see New-man and Garrett get some points. Still want to see Graham get some rest and someone else taking point, and more minutes for some other guys, but still look good.
@BShark Yes, I was thinking both of those things too. Hope they keep it to the point where can let some non-starters get some good minutes.
Just my two cents on the first half... really solid defense today, everybody looking rested and on it. Dok, even no offense Vic is playing hard on D. On offense Mr. 3Svi is feeling it bigtime today. DeSousa doesn't look lost has a nice block and is moving his feet well. Newman seems more relaxed and is seeing some shots go in. Graham is solid with some great D, some nice long threes (and some poor misses), and good passing, but jeez we're up by 20, give the guy a breather. Mitch sinks a three at the half buzzer and had some nice D. Not a damn thing to complain about out all. Self very happy talking to Holly and lots of praise for everyone. Giant leads will do that. Now just keep it up second half!
@bskeet yes, I was thinking that same thought about scaring nba scouts away from Dok this year. The main alternative to that theory is that Self, unlike everyone else, either didn't realize that PokeADok was imminent and/or never looked at Dok's obviously flawed mechanics. Both of those seem extremely unlikely coming from a smart guy like Self.
Could this just be the loyal fan base simply rationalizing a total bonehead decision by him? Possibly, but that doesn't seem to add up to me. Either way, intentional or not, the result is the same. We lost a game most of us circled as a possible loss (while still retaining first place) and, unless something extraordinary happens in the next month, Dok has been branded as unready for prime time.
So I choose to be happy for our current 1st place status and that Dok is returning next year to a stacked line up.
And I almost feel sorry for the Aggies on Saturday - we are going to make a big statement all over them.
@benshawks08 I get what you're saying, and yet this squad keeps finding ways to win on the road. I'm going with one of the good guys steps up with a surprisingly great game tonight and, after many lead changes and much yelling at the tv and handwringing, KU by 2.
@HighEliteMajor Shhhhhhhh, maybe you should delete that post just in case ;-)
@JayHawkFanToo I would love for you to be right and me to be wrong and have Garrett break out tomorrow, shut Trae down- and actually score some points. I'll send out some good vibes...
@JayHawkFanToo ok, my bad, I retract the rebounding statement. But standing by my opinion that he is fast becoming more of a liability and I'd like to see others get more of his minutes.
@HighEliteMajor Oh wow, that is form is uhhgglleee
@mayjay yes, I'm quite happy to have us focus on Silvio now too. Still, I feel bad for Sam. I'll stop whining about it though and trust Self to do the right thing.
I'd be bummed to watch a smaller freshman who can't shoot 3s, FGs or PTs (Garrett) starting and getting 20 minutes a game while I sit on the bench, maybe to the point of leaving if I was Sam. Again, I don't see practices, I guess Garrett is a better defender, and I'm not a coach, but sure seems we could find a guard who offers a bit more upside.
mayjay said:
@dylans @HighEliteMajor Garrett shooting 48% on FTs after shooting 61.8% in 165 attempts in HS
I didn't know those hs FT numbers. So we have a starting guard who can't shoot 3's, FGs or FTs, and not being that big or tall is not much of rebounder.
Ack.
Are we really, really sure that taking a chance on giving someone else at least some those minutes isn't a reasonable gamble before we get too close to March?
@BShark So when we play them in March, and I give you a couple points and Shlockers, you'll bet me $20?
Gorilla72 said:
Because Vick and Garrett are non-factors on the offensive end, teams concentrate on Graham, Svi and Doke. Until recently, they didn’t need to bother with Newman. Teams aren’t guarding Garrett at all,outside, daring him to shoot.
Yes, that's what I'm seeing too. We need to replace / upgrade Garrett with someone who will at least draw coverage and be a scoring threat of some kind. Probably Silvio (liked seeing him get minutes tonight) and/or a combo of others. But it needs to happen soon I think.
But bottom line tonight - can't argue with a win and Self has been masterful this year cobbling together strategies to procure them. Someone said it earlier here, that there were times it was obvious, even to someone not that well versed in the subtleties of the game, where you could just see the effects of good coaching.
It's why even down by 6 with a few minutes left, I wasn't worried (well not much anyways). Drew just isn't a good coach, especially in the last few minutes. Self completely has his number, maybe a lime green voodoo doll with pins in it that makes Drew draw up bonehead plays late in the game.
So while we could lose to anyone on any given night... we usually don't. And 14 is looking pretty darn good right now after the bloodbath the rest of the league leaders took this past week. Now, I'm not sure about the FF without Preston, but hey, this team knows how to win tough games and that is something that can take you a long ways.
@truehawk93 hellyea!
Failor is so predictable, love it!
Squeaking by another one!!!
Damn he is a bad FT shooter! But yay for Graham!!
New-man! But hack a Dok in full swing... please
@BShark yea I can see that. But couldn't teams use guys with fouls to give on him? And Self can pull him, but we don't play near as good without him. Hopefully it won't come to that tho
Malik showing nice hustle and can make FTs
Hack a Dok is an effective strategy against us
@BShark and just bricked 2 FTs!!! I'm like really done with Garrett
Yea, He looks really good tonight.
Not sure why they even bother to guard Garrett, Just not a good shooter yet. More Silvio please, and maybe a side of Sam.
I think Dok is going to go into "beast mode" in March... and then look so good, that he goes in the first round.
@jaybate-1.0 "My old mentor said: a good life is an endless stream of solvable problems."
Nice! Just added that to my quote book.
According to ESPNs Greenberg, we may want to double team him.
http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22125320 ↗
@HighEliteMajor I agree, it seems Self has dialed back the quick hook a bit this year, thankfully. Though Cunliffe might think otherwise.
Not agreeing as much on not seeing Cunliffe having anything over Garrett or Malik. Those two have had a lot of game minutes to show their stuff (and I've not been impressed with what I've seen vs minutes given). Cunliffe hasn't had a tenth of those minutes to shine - or to fail. Of course, as mentioned before, I'm not the Hall of Fame coach who sees them all in practice every day, so I could very well be completely wrong. Regardless, practice and game minutes aren't the same, and I'd sure like to see the kid get at least 15 unyanked minutes just once to prove himself. Sure doesn't seem like it would be that big of a dangerous step down in quality over the other two that it would actually change the outcome of a game where the matchups looked okay for doing this.
Lastly, my memory aint what it used to be and I'm hazy about remembering the Reed/Morningstar thing. Are you saying if we played them less and played Selby and ____ more and we'd have won an NC? Not disagreeing, just can't remember.
Keegan: "Graham An Important Part Of This Year's Conference Title Run"
Nice post and I agree, the sample size is too small to judge. The Mitch analogy is well taken. More minutes now might well pay dividends later this year. I realize we aren't privy to what Self sees in practice, and of course he's the Hall of Famer and I'm a lowly board rat. But on the other hand, it's not like Malik or Garrett (while certainly contributing) are lighting up the stat sheets either.
Again, not saying Sam is NBA material, but the potential for him to contribute Mitch-like minutes, seems reasonable to me.
KU Has To Score More Points Than Opponents To Win Games
@BShark I'm hoping for March of this year!
Wow that was fun! I don't think Vic liked not starting! Dok looks better every game. And DeSousa is gonna be good. This could get interesting...
Wow, didn't know that two of my favorite players in both Pro hoops and baseball (West and Brett) are alums there. As usual, nice research and pics wrwlumpy!
Love the comment above on this is the place whistles go to die. That being the case, I'd like to see Sosinski and DeSousa get in some hard tackles, er, I mean, aggressive play, while giving Doke some breathers. You know, just to let em know we're not all small wiry guards ;-)
@cragarhawk I'm afraid I have to disagree about always being loud. I think that would actually lessen the effect of the crowd.
It's like music - the notes you don't play are as important as the ones you do. Where the swell of volume and tempo adds life and drama to a piece.
Think of a constant loud environment like factory... it simply becomes a drone you can tune out after awhile. Now think of a quiet room where you are watching a fuse burn towards a big firecracker. When it hits, and you know it will eventually, the tension waiting for it can be as excruciating for the opposing team as it is welcome for our players, you know it's going to be really loud and usually quite disruptive. The energy builds, self-feeding, between the fans and players, growing like a living thing, and everybody in the room feels it. At times, it must almost be terrifying to opposing teams.
I think is much better than forcing a constant roar, and believe it plays a large part in why it is such a special place. We don't have to drunkenly scream the entire time like a teenage girl at a Beatles concert. Our fans know bad plays from good plays, and the players know we do. This is enough for them. They know that all it takes is one good stuff, one dunk, one stone-cold 3 pointer and the entire place will explode just because of their play. It makes them yearn for it.
I think it's perfect just the way it is. Yes, it's good to be a Jayhawk, especially at home games!
I'm thinking Coach told Newman, do or die tonight, son. I think he might have had more points tonight than his entire season combined.
With DG 1-11 early on and looking gassed later (though still getting big buckets and steals), Vick a no-show again (on offense) and Sam getting the fastest hook from Self I've seen of anyone all year, we don't win this without Newman - which is something I wasn't sure I'd say this year at all, but am happy to cough up right here.
Did I notice Doke with different mechanics at the line too? Less jerky maybe?
Anyways, nice, must have win tonight. Sure wish Drew and Faylor wouldn't have choked at WVA, but sorta saw it coming in a mile away. If they had to lose it least it was in a humiliating way!
Nice win to save having two home losses in a row since the Dark Ages. Hopefully followed real, and real good, news on fresh blood tomorrow...
Thought I might check in here during the game... bad vibes I'll try again after we win.
Totally knew Faylor would choke at WVA. Sucks, yet somehow satisfying too.
@jaybate-1.0
Oooh, I never thought of that. How much fun would that be to watch!
I thought of Perry too. His soft hands and missed bunnies used to drive me crazy early on his KU career. But he worked hard and got better and more consistent. Then later in his career I'd look at the stats at the end of the game and go, "Huh, Perry quietly got his 20 points again, and a bunch of rebounds and defended well". He became so important to us having success, but was so quiet about it.
Not saying that his and Mitch's skillsets or talents or even demeanors are similar, but that 4 year, willingness to be coached and work to do what was needed by the team - these are the kind of guys that make KU such a great team to follow each season. OADs are nice, but they're just the spice not the soup, the feather and not the cap of KU teams.
@Big-Clyde52
Yea, I found myself yelling at the tv every time Newman was on the court.
And Sam got 2 more minutes of playing time (11). I focused on his play nearly all of them. A bit disappointed too, I was hoping he'd really make the most of them. But his man blew by him a couple times, he seemed a bit slow and inactive at times, and beyond a few positives, was a definite non-factor. Still, at this point, I still like him out there over Newman.
But great win in a game I did not feel very good at all about going in. DG looked very Masonlike out there, which is awesome. I'll be the 80th person to say it - if we could just get the reinforcements, we'd be in good shape.
@approxinfinity
Rags to mitches... PHOF!
@Kubie
And don't forget that smooth stroke on that 3 from the top... that got me out of my seat!
Yes! I was starting a new Sam thread while you were typing your comment. I want to see more of what he can do.
One bright spot for me in an otherwise somewhat painful game was seeing Cunliffe get some time on the floor. I think he should get more minutes based on the stats (granted a small sample).
Sam___Malik______Garrett
9 min__21___25
7 pts___9____6
3-5 FG_4-8__3-3
1-1 3s_0-2__0-0
0 TOs__2___1
2 RBs__3___6
I'm just not feeling it yet from either Malik or Garrett, though Garrett seems to have more potential to lock in. At 6'6" and 200lbs he's taller and stronger than both of them. Plus he's a good defender with experience at another program.
Makes me reflect on just how important it was having a really good backup PG last year (and how much that must have helped BIFM be so successful).
So many unforeseen holes for Self to fill this year to keep this boat chugging along in shark infested waters. But if there was anybody I'd want as the captain to do that, he'd be the one.
Not sure if anyone else posted this, but check out BIFM doing what he does best and taking it to the rim to score against LeBron James. Just warms my heart big time on this cold winter night.
@KUSTEVE
Yea, the refs really let em play and bang some bodies around tonight without trying to take over the game.
And it was nice to hear Bilas gush over us, so glad Walton was doing the ucla game after and not ours.
The only thing I wish is that we had just one more stud to play with DG, Svi, Doke and Vic. Two more studs (Preston and Sousa for example) and we wouldn't lose a game. Definitely get some solid minutes from others (and yes I'm a Lightfoot fan), but... dang, just one more real threat and it sure would make things a heckuva lot easier.
And lastly, as it's been said before, some coaches just have other coaches number. Bill completely owns Smart. That VCU loss in the Elite 8 a few years ago must have really pissed bill off as he hasn't lost to him since! Oh and loved the technical on the not Smart one too!