🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@JayhawkerRedLegs I'm not a Chiefs fan so I couldn't tell you anything about how he's looked.

@bmensch1 KU still wouldn't play the overall #4 in the Elite 8 if KU gets a 1 seed because the overall 4 seed would be a 1 seed in a different region and you can't have two 1 seeds play each other prior to the Final Four.

BShark said:

Matt Scott mentioned on the shiver that Grimes' visit situation "might get a little weird". Whatever that means.

Does it have anything to do with Hurricane Harvey since Grimes is a Houston area kid and lives in a part of Houston that got hit harder than most.

@bmensch1 Cunliffe will be eligible for the Nebraska game. The reason for the break between Dec. 10 and Dec. 16 is because that's finals week which KU always has off so players can focus on their finals.

Also, if you're saying KU is a 1 seed, they won't play a 4 seed in the Elite 8.

@stoptheflop Texas Tech is playing Eastern Washington who is #4 in the FCS ranks and beat a pretty good Washington St. team last year that was much better than what Tech will be this year.

Iowa St. also plays a Northern Iowa team that's beaten them before and ISU is still going to be a bad team this year.

Those are the two Big 12 teams in danger of losing this year.

That said, I'll go with the Big 12 to go 8-2 this weekend with Tech losing to EWU and West Virginia losing to Virginia Tech on Sunday.

@CaptnMo That game must have just been added today because it wasn't on KU's site earlier today when I copied the info.

@kjayhawks May not mean much. Ohio lost at home last year to a really bad Texas St. team and then came into Lawrence and beat KU the following week.

@KUSTEVE Rivals, 24/7, and ESPN which are the 3 most reputable recruiting services all have RJ Barrett over Zion Williamson.

@KUSTEVE Zion is the consensus #2 ranked player in 2018 behind RJ Barrett now that Marvin Bagley has reclassified who was far and away the top guy prior to reclassification.

@kjayhawks Eastern Washington is #4 in the FCS. Even if Tech wins that one, it won't be by 5 TD's. That's going to be a close game and don't be shocked when EWU pulls that win off.

KU should beat SEMO pretty easily. I'll say KU by at least 4 TD's on Saturday night.

@kjayhawks Texas Tech is going to be KU and ISU levels of bad this year. Don't be shocked if FCS power Eastern Washington pulls that win out. Same for Northern Iowa over ISU.

Looking at the schedule, I guess the Big 12 isn't playing on Wednesday's this year since all the mid week games are either Monday or Tuesday nights.

Here's another way to look at it. How much experience would KU have in 2018-19 without Lagerald Vick back? Garrett, Lightfoot, and Cunliffe would be the only guys to have played meaningful minutes at KU if Vick is gone and that may not even be true of Cunliffe. That version of the team would also not have a single senior on scholarship. That's not a roster composition that equals a national title. Lagerald Vick is the key to the 2018-19 team being national title contenders.

When you try to ignore what class those guys are in, that's what makes your minutes projection off. How long has Bill Self been the coach at KU and @Kcmatt7 you still don't remember that Self values experience over all else when it comes to minutes distribution. How much has Brady and EJ get debated over the years, Brady won out because he had the experience. Or how about when Landen Lucas finally won the 5 spot? That happened because his teammates trusted him over a younger more talented player.

How many times in the NCAA tournament have we seen less talented, but more experienced players make freshmen star players look silly? Lagerald Vick may not have the highest ceiling of who else would be on the team next year, but he would be the only senior and the undisputed leader of that team and as such, he would also be the face of the program and the featured player in the program in 2018-19 regardless of Zion Williamson or any other member of the 2018 recruiting class coming to Lawrence.

How did KU do in the NCAA tournament and regular season in the 2 years Self has had to replace all 5 starters? KU might have won the Big 12 each season (thanks to Blake Griffin's concussion in 2009), but they lost in the Sweet 16 and Round of 32 in those two seasons and lost 8 and 10 games respectively which are 3rd most and most losses KU has had in a season in the Bill Self era. That's the type of season KU is headed for if Lagerald Vick leaves after this season.

@Kcmatt7 Lagerald Vick is going to be at best the 4th scoring option this year and possibly the 5th or 6th option. He's going to be behind Graham, Newman, or Azubuike this year and he may not even be ahead of Preston either.

Next year, Vick is at worst the 2nd option and more than likely the 1st option. Right now, Vick is a projected late second round pick and will probably drop as his production likely won't be there this year because of the others around him. He comes back, even with Zion Williamson next to him, Vick is still a featured player in a dynamic duo like Mason/Jackson, Graham/Newman and that will boost his draft stock into the 1st round since he has good size for an NBA 2. He may not be a lottery pick, but he can absolutely be a mid to late 1st round pick.

If Vick goes this year, it's a repeat of Wayne Selden who didn't get drafted and got lucky to catch on and Vick may not get that lucky and may end up in Europe.

@Kcmatt7 Don't forget that Chandler Lawson plays the same spot KJ does so they would be in direct competition if Chandler came here in the first place.

@Kcmatt7 Again, I think you're majorly over estimating how many minutes Grimes and Dotson will play if they come here. And yes, players who probably deserve more minutes will see their minutes majorly limited when Self finalizes the rotation in 2018-19 season if KU lands everyone their targeting. That's what happens when you have a lot of good players and not enough rotation spots to play everyone.

As far as the 1-3 spots go, I think it would be Garrett, Grimes, Moore, and Vick getting the bulk of the 120 minutes. I think Dotson is probably the one who would be squeezed when the rotation gets cut. As for the 4 and 5 spots, Dedric and De Sousa are going to lock down the low post. De Sousa is still pretty raw so I wouldn't be shocked if he only plays 10-15 mpg. I think Zion and probably KJ handle the rest of the minutes at the 4 spot. There could be some crossover between the 3 and 4 spots when KU needs to go big, but I think that this would be the basic breakdown of a finalized rotation. So I think it would be Dotson, Cunliffe, and Lightfoot that get phased out when the rotation is reduced. Again, good players, but that's the nature of the beast when you have more good players than rotation spots available.

If KU loses out on the other 2 Lawson's because KJ isn't good enough to play rotation level minutes in 2018-19, then we probably don't need them that badly. If they expect minutes to be given instead of earned, I don't want them and KU doesn't need them that badly.

@Kcmatt7 Lagerald Vick would absolutely be the featured guy along with Zion Williamson. None of the guys KU is likely to land out of the 2018 class are OAD caliber outside of Zion Williamson. Grimes, Dotson, De Sousa are all going to be multiyear players. I think you're over rating how good some of these freshmen are going to be early on.

@BShark I believe Garrett was classified as a PG on all the recruiting sites so the skill set is there. I do think we'll see him at PG on occasion this year because of the lack of depth. I think the most common scenario will be end game situations in blow outs when Self empties the bench, but with only 3 walk ons, 2 of the scholarship guys are going to have to play as well.

I think our end game blow out line up is probably going to be Garrett at the 1, Teahan and Clay Young at the 2-3 spots, and Lightfoot and Preston in the front court. Insert Cunliffe for Preston once he's eligible, but that's going to be the garbage time line up because that who's available at the bottom of KU's active roster this year.

Other than that, I think we could see Garrett run the show some when he's playing next to Newman and Vick as well because he's the best PG out of that bunch. Graham will always run the show when he's in and Newman is much better suited off ball than on ball so I could see Self let Garrett run the show while Graham's on the bench.

In 2018-19, if KU lands both Grimes and Dotson, then there's no way Garrett sees a minute at the PG that year, but like I said, I think we see Garrett at the PG spot some this year out of necessity more than anything else. If he does well, that would be huge to afford Self the ability to sit Graham some and not have him playing 35+ mpg this year like I'm guessing most of us assume will happen. Developing Garrett as a PG so Graham can be closer to 32 mpg this year would be huge for KU in March this season so that Graham isn't playing on dead legs in the tournament when we already know that's an issue for him.

@mayjay None of the computer models currently have Irma reaching the Gulf of Mexico.

!alt text ↗

This is the latest model for today for Irma's path which is nothing like Ike's path. Ike formed at about 40W and 17N while Irma is already a Cat. 2 is approximately at 33W and 17N. Irma is currently several hundred miles further east than Ike started at.

@Kcmatt7 KU's not landing Langford period, he's going to be a Louisville commit. All these recruits love to about being package deals, but it doesn't usually pan out. KU probably signs Grimes, doesn't impact Vick unless Newman stays.

I think KU's class ends up De Sousa, Zion Williamson, Grimes, Dotson, and 1 or 2 development players.

I also think your position breakdown is pretty off on some players. Moore is the only back court player locked into a single position because of size. Dotson and Grimes can play both guard spots. Marcus Garrett is another guy that can play multiple positions as he can play the 1-3 spots. Vick is a 2-3 combo guy. Cunliffe, KJ Lawson, and Zion Williamson are all 3-4 guys, and Lightfoot might be in that category as well or he could be exclusively a stretch 4. Dedric Lawson and De Sousa are both exclusively low post players.

Self could trot out a line up of Moore, Grimes, Vick, Williamson, and Lawson and after a couple of subs the line up could be Dotson, Vick, Williamson, KJ, Dedric. With what we know KU will have in the front court next year, Marcus Garrett will not see a single minute at the 4 spot in 2017-18.

I really only see 3 games that I wouldn't be surprised to see KU lose on this schedule. Kentucky in Chicago because Kentucky is still going to be good, West Virginia in Morgantown and KSU in Manhattan because those are both short rest games for KU. I really wouldn't be shocked if KU is 31-3 or better entering the tournament this year barring any unforeseen circumstances even with the depth issues KU has this year.

The Big 12 announced their conference schedule today so now know what KU's full slate looks like for the 2017-18 season.

Nov. 10 (Fri.) vs. Tennessee St. (8 pm/ESPNU)

Nov. 14 (Tue.) vs. Kentucky (Champions Classic in Chicago) (Time TBA/ESPN)

Nov. 17 (Fri.) vs. South Dakota St. (7 pm/JTV/WatchESPN)

Nov. 21 (Tue.) vs. Texas Southern (7 pm/JTV/WatchESPN)

Nov. 24 (Fri.) vs. Oakland (7 pm/JTV/WatchESPN)

Nov. 28 (Tue.) vs. Toledo (7 pm/JTV/WatchESPN)

Dec. 2 (Sat.) vs. Syracuse (in Miami) (4:30 pm/ESPN)

Dec. 6 (Wed.) vs. Washington (Sprint Center in KC) (8 pm/ESPN2)

Dec. 10 (Sun.) vs. Arizona St. (Noon/ESPN)

Dec. 16 (Sat.) @ Nebraska (Time and Channel is TBA)

Dec. 18 (Mon.) vs. Omaha (6 pm/ESPN2)

Dec. 21 (Thu.) @ Stanford (in Sacramento) (9 pm/ESPN)

Dec 29 (Fri.) @ Texas (8 pm/ESPN2)

Jan. 2 (Tue.) vs. Texas Tech (8 pm/ESPN2)

Jan. 6 (Sat.) @ TCU (8:15 pm/ESPN/ESPN2)

Jan. 9 (Tue.) vs. Iowa St. (8 pm/ESPN2)

Jan. 13 (Sat.) vs. Kansas St. (11 am/ESPN/ESPN2)

Jan. 15 (Mon.) @ West Virginia (8 pm/ESPN)

Jan. 20 (Sat.) vs. Baylor (5 pm/ESPN)

Jan. 23 (Tue.) @ Oklahoma (6 pm/ESPN2)

Jan. 27 (Sat.) vs. Texas A&M (SEC/Big 12 Challenge) (Time and Channel TBA)

Jan. 29 (Mon.) @ Kansas St. (8 pm/ESPN)

Feb. 3 (Sat.) vs. Oklahoma St. (11 am/CBS)

Feb. 6 (Tue.) vs. TCU (8 pm/ESPN2)

Feb. 10 (Sat.) @ Baylor (1 pm/CBS)

Feb. 13 (Tue.) @ Iowa St. (6 pm/ESPN2)

Feb. 17 (Sat.) vs. West Virginia (5 pm/ESPN)

Feb. 19 (Mon.) vs. Oklahoma (8 pm/ESPN)

Feb. 24 (Sat.) @ Texas Tech (1 pm/ESPN/ESPN2)

Feb. 26 (Mon.) vs. Texas (8 pm/ESPN)

Mar. 3 (Sat.) @ Oklahoma St. (3 pm/ESPN/ESPN2)

Mar. 7-10 (Wed.-Sat.) Big 12 Tournament (Sprint Center in KC)

I think we're seeing Self shift more towards having a big wing play the stretch 4. Even looking at what KU currently has and what KU is projected to have next year, KU is going to have a stretch 4 with a big body anchoring the paint next year. He's building his team to spread the floor and attack or get open 3's. We're seeing Self being highly influenced by Hoiberg and Jay Wright with the 4 guard offense. This is also where the NBA is going too with spreading the floor and having a 4 that is more perimeter oriented than a traditional post player like in the past. If KU lands Zion Williamson, I really wouldn't be shocked if Self is pitching him that he'll be used similarly to how Self used Josh Jackson as a stretch 4. If that's how Self is pitching Zion, then it wouldn't impact Vick much in 2018 and would probably be pitched to Vick as them being used like Frank and Josh were.

I could see KU losing 5 thus year. I just don't see Vick leaving after this year. It's not because he won't be good enough to, but his draft stock should peak after his senior season when he'll be the man.

Vick will at best be the 4th option behind Graham, Newman, and Doke and possibly even the 5th or 6th option behind Preston and Svi. Next year, he'll be the #1 option regardless of who else stays or who else KU signs.

@Statmachine Who's the 3rd senior? I thought KU was down to 2 after Whitman left.

@DoubleDD Right now, just shut the hell up with the politics. Someone has a different political belief than you, BFD! It's people like you trying to bring politics into a situation like this not trust charities in the first place.

If you really want to make a difference, drive down here to Houston and I'll gladly drop you off in the middle of a flood ravaged neighborhood so that way you know 100% that your time and money are going to help people so that way you don't have to bitch about what charities do with peoples money.

I was out there today helping people clear out their homes, I'll be out there tomorrow, and Friday as well for sure until I have to go back to work.

This is a link with a bunch of different charities in the Houston area to help with different needs in the recovery efforts here. Houston food bank is in there, some homeless stuff, Texas Children's Hospital is in there, pet and wildlife stuff is in there, just a variety of different organizations that provide varied services.

List of 18 different charities in the Houston area ↗

Here's JJ Watt's link ↗

I know this isn't everything, but it's a good list of charities with a variety of causes if there's one you feel a special attachment to.

@DoubleDD You've had people ask you point blank what your issue with the Red Cross is and all you've done is post a link and tell people to read fine print. You haven't said what in the fine print you have an issue with when asked point blank about it.

@DoubleDD You're the one who started this post complain about a charity with an agenda, but you're pushing you're agenda on everyone here now and then trying to deflect when everyone else calls you out.

mayjay said:

BeddieKU23 said:

If you believe 80% of the angry Maryland board, we paid him to come here.

If we paid as many recruits as I State, UK, Fizzou, Md, and Mich State fans routinely say we do, we wouldn't be able to pay Bill and his staff so much!

Could also be why the state of Kansas is broke, lol.

Well that came outta nowhere.

BeddieKU23 said:

My immediate thought is this is insurance for Dedric. The good thing is he'll be 19 when he steps on campus, physically matured player already. Great job staff on getting this one quick. Have to feel a few others will follow suit now.

He might be 19 when he arrives, but he'll be 20 when he plays his first game for KU. His birthday is October 7.

KU's run numbers are still going to be really bad this year. Even if the running game is good, the numbers won't be because of the nature of the Air Raid and Bender not being a guy who's going to burn you on the ground like some QB's might.

This is where those bubble screen type plays are important because they're not officially run plays, but they work like running plays. Get 4 to 5 yards on those plays and that's what the goal is of those plays.

@JayHawkFanToo KU's pass rush is maybe the best in the Big 12, but the run defense still sucks.

@wissox Houston isn't bigger than Chicago yet, but should happen in the next few years.

@Kcmatt7 The Chiefs play conservatively because Alex Smith has one of the weakest arms in the NFL. The west coast offense the Chiefs run is a naturally conservative system designed for QB's with weaker arms like Alex Smith, like Joe Montana who the offense was created for.

Peyton Bender has a cannon, but that doesn't mean throwing deep every other play is a good strategy. That's not what the Air Raid or spread offense is about. It's about creating space and one on one match ups for receivers.

If KU runs as many deep routes as you want to see, those routes will not be successful because defenses will keep leaving safeties deep to take away those go, deep post, and deep corner routes.

You have to build to running those home run plays where you're sending 3-4 receivers down field. You that by running plays where 95% of the time, the progression starts with the short to intermediate routes, the have one deep route in case of a one on one or blown coverage down field, and then a back or TE in the flat somewhere for a check down as the last read. As you continue to do this, opposing defenses start bringing the safeties closer to take away those short to intermediate routes, that's when you hit them over the top. That doesn't happen in a few plays, it has to be built to over the course of the game and you might only get to run 2-3 of those types of plays a game.

KU doesn't have the appropriate personnel to run the version of the Air Raid you want to see. To run that version, you need a bunch of tall receivers who can go catch jump balls and Chase Harrell is the only guy KU has that fits that mold. Most everyone for KU are the smaller receivers that have to be great route runners to be effective because they aren't going to go win many jump balls. KU's receivers need to be able to beat press coverage and run lots of slants and crossing routes and getting open that way.

@kjayhawks Two backs already out for the year? Ouch, might see a few receivers have to take some snaps at RB this year.

@Kcmatt7 Adeniji is a true sophomore. 290 won't be his final weight by the time he leaves KU. I'm pretty sure he was playing at about 270-275 last year. He'll probably be up to 320-330 by the time he leaves KU. Most of the linemen you see coming into college in that 310+ range are carrying a lot of fat on them that has to be dropped and changed to muscle.

Where are you getting that I want conservative play calling from? I want play calling that compliments the strengths of the personnel KU has on the team right now. KU has a bunch of smaller, speedy receivers, which means that KU will probably see a lot of cover 2 defense this year to keep those speedy guys from having single coverage deep. You beat cover 2 with intermediate routes and passes to flats.

The reason I want KU to reduce turnovers and penalties is because that's how less talented teams pull off the upsets. KU doesn't have the talent to overcome turnovers and penalties like a Clemson or Louisville do. KU has protect the football as much as possible to give themselves as many scoring opportunities as possible this season.

@Kcmatt7 You can have all the 1st downs in the world, but if you turn the ball over at the end of that drive, those 1st downs don't mean a thing.

More 1st downs will naturally come as a result of not turning the ball over and not committing as many penalties.

Fewer turnovers and penalties will lead to more plays run which which will lead to more 1st downs which will lead to more scoring opportunities which will equal more points.

Let's say KU starts a drive at their own 25, they pick up 5 first downs which will have them down near the red zone or ij
n the red zone and then the QB makes a dumb decision and throws a pick into double coverage.

How do those five 1st downs benefit KU when there's a turnover at the end of that drive and KU loses out on a scoring opportunity?

Don't turn the ball over there and it's at least a FG opportunity at the end of that drive. Don't turn the ball over and don't commit stupid penalties and everything else will fall into place after that.

@Kcmatt7 No it's not because if they're still turning the ball over 3 times a game this year, that's flat out not an improved offense over last year.

Reducing turnovers has to be the absolute top priority for Beaty and Meacham on offense this year. If they can't find a way to reduce the TO's, the scoring and ypg won't be significantly different than last year a d the defense's ppg won't improve either because of the regular defending on a short field.

Significantly reduce turnovers and penalties on offense. Do those two things alone this year and KU scores 7-10 ppg more this year at least, gives up 5-7 ppg less at least and wins at least 4 games this year.

And Robinson is going back to WKU officially as of today.

@Kcmatt7 You don't throw the ball down field for the sake of throwing it down field. There has to be a reason to do so. The offense is better than a year ago so there's no logical reason why turnovers should go up this year.

That's why the Chiefs win so many games every year. Alex Smith doesn't turn the ball over. The Chiefs offense is far from the most talented and Alex Smith isn't a top QB, but they're effective because they protect the football.

Brady and Meacham have to call plays to limit turnovers and not take away scoring opportunities from the offense and not force the defense on the field even more than they were last year.

@Kcmatt7 The only time a turnover downfield doesn't hurt much is if it's on 3rd or 4th down and KU isn't backed up on their own side of the field and they're not yet in scoring range. An INT 30 yards downfield on a 2nd and 8 from your own 25 yard line is not good under any circumstance. An INT thrown because of a poor decision like throwing into double coverage, even downfield, is still a bad INT no matter what because it was a bad decision.

INT's that result from the defense making a great play are turnovers people can deal with as opposed to INT's that came from a bad decision by the QB like telegraphing a pass or throwing into double or triple coverage or a WR not catching a catchable pass or running the correct route are the INT's KU has to avoid at all costs.

Protecting the football, being smart about the stretching the field, limiting turnovers, these are how the offense the is going stay on the field and allow Armstrong and Wise to terrorize opposing offenses the entire game instead of wearing down in the 4th quarter like we've seen the past few year.

I'd love to see KU under 10 turnovers for the year, but that's probably not realistic so more realistic goal would be commit under 24 turnovers this year. That's 1 less TO per game on average and not turning it over against teams like Ohio, CMU, Texas Tech, ISU, TCU, Texas, KSU, Baylor, WVU makes those potentially winnable games for KU. If KU wins the TO battle against any of those teams, I really wouldn't be shocked if KU wins any of those games.

KU was +4 in TO's against Texas last year, that's why that upset happened. KU has to win the TO battle to have a chance to win these potential upset games this year. If KU is turning the ball over 3 times per game like last season, they won't win because our offense needs as many opportunities to score as possible and turnovers take away an opportunity every time.

Whoever wins the starting job has to protect the football above all else for KU to start taking steps forward in the win column.

@mayjay I'm a teacher and all schools in the area have been cancelled this week as far as I know (some of the ones further to the NE might not be) so I'm off work until Tuesday. My mom is the only family I have in the area and she's actually having to work because she's one of the few people at her company who can make it in (she lives about 5 minutes from her office). I'm letting her use my car right now since I have an SUV that's higher off the ground than her car just in case. I know all the usual roads and neighborhoods that flood are flooded right now, but beyond that, I'm not sure of any flooding that's not normal. I'm going to spending a lot of quality time with my PS4 this week since nothing's open and I don't know how long it'll be until stuff starts opening again.

@mayjay I'm not going to flood, my apartment building is elevated enough that flooding won't be an issue unless it's a Noah type flood. The drainage around the complex is really good too so any high water drains quickly whenever there's a break in the rain.

@dylans In Vegas, you're allowed to get on yourself to either win or lose, can't bet on round or how, just win or lose.

@HighEliteMajor Under Armour wouldn't pay KU much attention. They're going all in on UCLA in basketball and trying to establish a major west coast presence, KU would be an afterthought for Under Armour right now. It might be different after the next contract is up when KU is in the Big 10 (hopefully).

Unless Nike matches what Adidas offers finacially (or very close at least), Adidas is probably going to be the best choice in 2019. If Nike comes within a million or so per year of Adidas, it's time to go back to Nike and reap the recruiting benefits of getting the top EYBL players because Coach K will be gone soon and Calipari is already starting to slip a little in recruiting.

@Crimsonorblue22 When I checked this morning, I was at 14.5" Where I'm at, now we're at about 18" inches with another 18-24" predicted in the next few days. There's parts of Houston that are already over 30" from what I've seen.

It's really bad in the city right now and it going to get worse in the next few days.