🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Notre Dame hiring Micah Shrewsberry from Penn St.

@BeddieKU23 said in Alpha Kevin, 2023-2024:

@drgnslayr

Bill always makes it work defensively for the most part. We were Top 10 nationally with a 6'6 center this year.

It will be his most challenging offseason in many regards. I couldn't tell you how we are going to score, defend, rebound or do basically anything we do at a high level right now until the roster is completed.

That 6-6 center is an above average defender even despite his size. It also helped that we had two other elite level defenders on the floor in Kevin and Dejuan.

Dejuan and KJ is a good place to start defensively for next season and regardless of who Self ends up taking, I'm sure it will be a workable defense.

I am much more concerned about the offensive end of the floor at this point and it will probably be pretty rough early on as the new faces learn how to play together. Has Self ever had a year with only 4 returning players total? 2018-19 might be the best comparison as far as experience returning. I'm definitely expecting KU to struggle early on next season because of all the new faces.

@BeddieKU23 said in 2023 Transfer Portal:

Arizona's Kerr Kriisa in the portal, wow that's a big one.

Hard pass. Career PER of 11 and a below average defender. Probably needs to drop to a non-power conference school.

Some of the notable hires so far are Rick Pitino going from Iona to St. John's. Ed Cooley going from Providence to Georgetown. Chris Beard to Ole Miss, Will Wade to McNeese, Damon Stoudamire replacing Josh Pastner at Georgia Tech, Adrian Autry replacing Jim Boehiem at Syracuse. Tobin Anderson who led FDU to the second ever 16-1 upset was hired to replace Rick Pitino at Iona.

Current power conference openings are Cal, Notre Dame, Providence, Texas, and Texas Tech. Temple and Wichita St. are also programs where the right coach can have a lot of success, especially with Houston and Cincinnati moving to the Big 12.

It's a pretty extensive list so far, but here's the list of schools that have lost their coaches so far, either through firing or leaving for a new school. 40 schools so far.

American,
Arkansas State,
Army,
Austin Peay,
Bowling Green,
Bucknell,
Buffalo,
Cal,
East Tennessee State,
Fairleigh Dickinson,
Georgetown,
Georgia Southern,
Georgia Tech,
High Point,
Holy Cross,
Idaho,
Iona,
Manhattan,
McNeese State,
New Hampshire,
New Jersey IT,
New Mexico State,
North Carolina A&T,
Northwestern State,
Notre Dame,
Ole Miss,
Providence,
Southern Utah,
St. Johns,
Syracuse,
Temple,
Texas,
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi,
Texas Tech,
USF,
UT-Arlington,
UW-Green Bay,
Western Kentucky,
Wichita State,
Wofford

Rebounding may still be an issue for KU with KJ and Udeh primarily manning the 5 spot. Neither one are great rebounders. Everyone here should know by now that's been my biggest criticism of KJ since last year. His defensive rebounding slightly improved, but it was still sub 10% this season. That's something that he'll never be good at because he just doesn't have the build to be a good rebounder.

Udeh wasn't much better than KJ last season with only a 13.2% defensive rebounding rate and 12.1% overall. Udeh's defensive rebounding rate was lower than Gradey Dick's which isn't good for someone Udeh's size. That is definitely something that he needs to work on because Udeh is too damn big to be that bad of a rebounder.

If Zuby however could crack the rotation for good minutes last year, he had near elite rebounding numbers last season. We also know the potential is there because Zuby was ahead of Udeh in the rotation before he got hurt. Ejiofor's defensive rebounding rate last season in his limited minutes was 24% and his total rebounding rate was 19% last season. Those numbers aren't too far behind what Oscar Tshiebwe did this season.

Bottom line is Zuby is the answer to KU's rebounding issues at the 5 spot, but the question is will KU's rotation have a spot for Zuby next season. The only way that realistically happens is if KJ develops enough range to justify playing him at the 4 next season.

If it's primarily KJ and Udeh at the spot with a transfer at 4 spot, then KU may still struggle with giving up offensive rebounds next season.

Nebraska won the 1st meeting in Lincoln in triple OT to hand KU their first loss on the season back in December. Time to get some payback.

@benshawks08 said in 2023 Transfer Portal:

@BShark 🐦 View Tweet?s=46&t=PfvO214bW1XkHtm9eUlx9A

To be clear, this isn’t me. But I do think kj makes more threes next year than this year.

I do know Mike. He used to live in Houston before he retired and moved elsewhere and was active in our alumni group. Mike is a good person, but can sometimes get overzealous about players at times, especially if they're from Texas.

If KJ were able to develop into even a 30% outside shooter, he'd be playable at the 4 spot for longer stretches because he could hit a top of the key 3.

@wissox said in 2023 Transfer Portal:

I hate the portal. This idiocy has to stop. Make kids have to sit a year. It never made sense to me why they changed the rules. It's ruining basketball and it's going to cause coaches to leave. Not to sound like an arrogant blue blood fan, but why would a kid get a coveted schollie to KU and then leave?

Not everyone has the same priorities. These guys are still extremely competitive at the end of the day and if they aren't playing the minutes they think they should be, they will find a place where they will get minutes.

KU women are absolutely destroying Missouri in the 3rd quarter by 20 in the 2nd round of the WNIT.

@approxinfinity said in Alpha Kevin, 2023-2024:

@Texas-Hawk-10 have my doubts whether Duke would be as desirable for transfer targets.

We'll see what happens. I know they have a very strong NIL program so that's a huge plus if Scheyer actually moves in that direction. More than anything, what his comments tell me is that Scheyer is aware of what kind of roster compositions have been winning titles recently and it doesn't match what Duke's have been.

@drgnslayr said in Alpha Kevin, 2023-2024:

@BeddieKU23 said in Alpha Kevin, 2023-2024:

In the next 1-2 years the Covid years will be exhausted, and you’ll see a shift again, I think. Teams are so old because of the covid year and transfer explosion. It’s hard for 18-year olds to compete against 22-25 year-olds which is what we are seeing right now. Coaches have had to adapt to survive.

Excellent point!

Curious what this will mean for Duke and Kentucky and their list of OADs?

Jon Scheyer already said he plans on pivoting his recruiting strategy to try and keep Duke older. Definitely worth keeping an eye out on how their 2024 class fills out. They currently have one commit (Darren Harris) who's around 50th and will probably get Dylan Harper who's a top 5 player in 2024. Beyond those two, I don't know who they're expected to land so we'll see if Scheyer starts putting more focus on the transfer market at that point.

Norm has always been even keeled which can be a positive or negative. It can be a positive in times like the Arkansas run because he's not panicking and remaining calm on the outside which can be a positive. The negative to Norm’s temperament is that he's not the coach that's going to light a fire under someone's ass or work the refs over the way Bill does when needed.

That said, the biggest difference between the two and why Self in one of the greatest college coaches ever and Norm isn't a head coach anymore is adjustments. When Davis was going off in the second half, there were no noticeable adjustments from Norm. Bill would've done something like a junk defense or moving a less than 100% Dejuan off of him and putting McCullar on Davis.

Norm is a great assistant coach, but there's a reason why he's an assistant coach now and hasn't gotten another head coaching job since getting fired at St. John's and unfortunately we saw why on Saturday.

@BeddieKU23 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@Texas-Hawk-10

Troubling to see Harris under 60%. He doesn't look like a confident shooter at the line. Something he will have to address this offseason

What's weird is that he was around 80% his first two years. Not sure what caused his dip in %.

@approxinfinity said in KU Buckets Bracket Challenge 2023:

@Texas-Hawk-10 interesting. Do you do the bpi as one of them every year?

I haven't done BPI before, but I'll usually do one based on one of the advanced metrics sites. I'm in 3rd place right now with only the TCU/Gonzaga game left but BPI has only gotten 7 out of 15 Sweet 16 teams so far pending the TCU/Gonzaga game. But it also has the highest potential max score by 100 points because even though the number of Sweet 16 teams isn't great, the BPI still have 6/8 Elite 8 teams and all 4 Final Four teams left. The two Elite 8 teams eliminated were Arizona and Marquette. BPI actually had KU losing in the Sweet 16 to UConn.

Doing good the first couple of rounds is November, but not how you end up winning bracket challenges. That typically comes down to nailing Elite 8 amd Final 4 teams because those rounds are worth more points per game than the early rounds.

@nuleafjhawk said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@kjayhawks and shoot free throws.

Juan, KJ, and Udeh are all 60% or worse FT shooters.

@BShark said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@kjayhawks said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

I think Udeh and Kj could both start next season.

No.

@kjayhawks said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:
I think MJ has a ton of upside if he can develop over the summer. Juan, Adams, MJ, KJ and Udeh is a good line up

YUCK. Ball handling and shooting would both be ATROCIOUS.

That's a line up that would struggle to score and I'll leave it at that.

Kentucky with 16 turnovers is why they're going to lose.

@BeddieKU23 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@BShark

Can't see this full time, Udeh is a walking foul

Back up 5's under Self have always been walking foul machines. Once they move into the starting line up, or a role that requires extended minutes, the foul rate always drops quite a bit.

@Kcmatt7 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@dylans said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@BShark It almost seems like you’d be better off recruiting college players than high schoolers. Take 5-6 transfers and 1-2 quality freshmen. No time for disappearing acts on the big stage. Let some other team develop the players, then poach what you want with offers of glory and NIL money that the little schools can’t touch. It’s the Wild West of the free agency period in college basketball. The ncaa has no idea what unregulated payments will do. Hint it’s not spread the wealth. The current big boys will only get more exclusive and the bottom feeders will get markedly worse.

I saw this somewhere, and find it to be true.

“There aren’t any pros in the transfer portal.”

That’s why you add HS guys. You aren’t poaching many guys with NBA potential. You can win without those guys, but it’s significantly harder… I also think you can add better bench guys through HS. Plus good transfer portal guys are twice as hard to get. The line is longer and the NIL more expensive.

Yes and no on that quote. There's absolutely NBA potential in the portal. It's usually guys like Jalen Wilson (obviously I know he's not a transfer), Kevin McCullar, or a Quentin Grimes that have some defects in their game that by spending another year in school, whether their original school or elsewhere, can absolutely make them draftable players. You also have players moving up from low and mid majors to boost their visibility and get on NBA radars.

I'm not going to say those players are plentiful each year because they're not, but there's usually a few players like that each season in the portal.

If that quote is supposed to mean nobody with NBA potential in that specific draft is going to be in the portal, then I'll agree with that.

@approxinfinity said in Alpha Kevin, 2023-2024:

@Texas-Hawk-10 was there a hole after Embiid bc of his rapid development or do you think Self anticipated OAD?

Yes and no. I don't think anybody anticipated Embiid developing as quickly as he did, but on paper, KU already had his replacement. The issue there was Cliff Alexander was not as good as anticipated and caused Self to also have to start Jamari Traylor and Landen Lucas in that post spot.

@BeddieKU23 If MJ comes back, I wouldn't completely rule him out as a possible starter with his talent ceiling being very high.

@drgnslayr said in Alpha Kevin, 2023-2024:

@BShark

I'm curious how much of this is done by assumption. I think recruits want to be as certain as possible about lineups before committing.

If there was assumptions... it would have been Kevin and JWil gone. Gradey... it was uncertain if he was going to be effective in year one.

Coaches are always projecting out what they think a player will do and who may or may not be back. Self absolutely has NBA contacts in the front office and scouting departments across the league that regularly give him feedback on players and where their draft stock is. This is largely how coaches determine which positions to target in recruiting and the transfer portal now. The only time Self has really been caught off guard by players leaving early was in 2011 with the Morris twins and Self hadn't recruited anyone to replace them.

@BeddieKU23 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@BShark

I guess it will depend on the departures and who they can get.

KU has 2 1/2 starters coming back with Udeh the 1/2 since he is playing behind KJ.

Elmarko will be exciting but I also wonder about growing pains since he is ball dominant and will have to learn to play off Juan. I see it working since he will have the ball in his hands plenty even with Juan but it's going to take time.

Zuby has promise as your 3rd big. That's 4 guys I have trust in. You need 3 to 4 more.

The rest will never start here. Yikes

So you don't think top 40 recruit Chris Johnson ever starts for KU? As a freshman, I don't see him starting, but after Harris leaves and Elmarko slides over to the 1, Chris Johnson is the guy who moves in the 2 spot. At least I assume that's what the multi-year plan is for him.

I'm also not going to completely rule out Jamari McDowell starting eventually either as we've all seen several players with his profile and ranking start later on in their careers at KU under Self.

@kuballin10 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@Texas-Hawk-10 Jefferson started yet only played 21 mpg. He contributed but they could have ran you and me out there and won.

Check what Allen did in the tourney because it was 4 ppg. I vividly remember either the final 4 game or title game where he had double digits and stepped up (he’s a turd)

Now you're changing the argument because the facts didn't match up with your original point so now you have to move the goalposts. Freshmen absolutely helped Duke win, but they also don't win that title without their upperclassmen so no, they couldn't put you or me out there and still win.

@kuballin10 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@Texas-Hawk-10 you can’t be serious when none of those guys played big minutes. Having experience with a senior connor Teahan or Amir Jefferson who hardly play is not “experience”

Can’t believe you even attempted to argue that as 4 true freshman for Duke dominated and won it all

Maybe you should actually go look at the numbers for that team and get back to me. That team had an 8 man rotation after Rasheed Sulaimon left. I don't know about you, but starting 2/3 of the games and averaging 21 minutes per game doesn't sound like hardly playing, which is what Amile Jefferson played. I don't know what your threshold for hardly playing is, but if being a starter and playing over half a game isn't big minutes, then you have a very different standard than anyone else.

If you want to argue that Mason Plumlee didn't play big minutes, that's fine, but he was a rotation player playing just under 10 minutes per game. That also means you can't claim Grayson Allen played and dominated when he averaged less minutes than Plumlee and only averaged 4 ppg.

But since you couldn't be bothered to look up a kid's name or what class he was in, Amile Jefferson was a junior that year by the way, that just hurt your own credibility.

The bracket I made based on ESPN's BPI is actually tied for 2nd and has the highest possible score left that I can see.

@Crimsonorblue22 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@kuballin10 I'll throw some more out there! Brandon miller and our crowd would love tripper Allen! R u serious? We go for dtae, Svi Josh Jackson, b rush, Wiggs, embiid, Grady Dick. Oubre! Cole Aldrich. Sherron. Guys that don't need an armed guard and don't trip people or need a therapist. KU fans aren't big on Duke! Perfect for you though. They got to do their own research on the Zion debacle. Cleared themselves!

Josh Jackson was a head case and so were the Morris twins early on.

@kuballin10 said in Hog Wild Game Thread:

@rockchalkjayhawk Bill does same thing takes 2’s as long as you can and it’s stupid. Your banking on quick free 2, them maybe missing a free throw but if not your back down 3 same position with less time to get a shot

Like nfl and passing caught up via analytics eventually these idiot coaches and announcers will say shoot the 3 with 15 seconds left. You put yourself in a position where you flat out just need to hit a big shot otherwise 9/10 you will lose doing the quick 2, foul and hope they miss crap

The reason to go for the quick 2 is because it creates more possessions which increases the chances of an opponent screwing up. Shooting a desperation 3 early that's likely to miss and create a long rebound and runout for the opponent.

Extending games as long as possible does maximize the winning percentage. Every coach is going to have their personal preference on when you need to change the thought process and take the desperation 3. I don't know the analytics on it, but it's probably somewhere around the 10 second mark, but there's going to be other variables involved such as timeouts left, foul issues, and stuff like that. The analytics are also why Self doesn't foul up 3 with under 5 seconds left because not fouling has a slightly higher winning % than fouling does.

@kuballin10 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@FarmerJayhawk The Duke team I mentioned challenges that, Nova was the most talented between them and unc a few years back but yes, the talent isn’t just all freshman it’s a mix of guys

Duke in 2015 had Quinn Cook, Amile Jefferson, Marshall Plumlee, and Matt Jones as rotation players. That's half of the rotation after Rasheed Sulaimon left the team. Over half, if count him the first half of the season. Cook was a senior and Jefferson and Plumlee were juniors. That team had experience.

@cragarhawk said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@Texas-Hawk-10 that actually provides some insight. I didn't realize a late first round/early second round guy was guaranteed that much $$ . Is that something new? I don't think JWil goes 1st round at all. But maybe early to mid 2nd. But still if it pays like that, no question. Go get the dollars while he can cause he's most likely a euro league within a couple years. As much as i admire him that just seems like the ceiling

All 1st round draft picks sign 4 year contracts. The first 2 years are fully guaranteed and years 3 and 4 are team options. Second round picks are not necessarily fully guaranteed and only have to be the rookie minimum which is a little over $1 million. Early second round picks usually get at least 1 year guaranteed, but not for $2+ million.

There are also quite a few reputable sites that have Jalen going in the 25-35 range. Combine showing and interviews will likely be the biggest determining factor in Jalen being able to sneak into the end of the 1st round.

@kuballin10 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@Texas-Hawk-10 so by that thought process Kevin should come back….

Depends on his though process. He's generally ranked in the 65-75 range on a lot of mock drafts sites for a possible late pick depending on need and combine performance. Even if he's not drafted, players in the ranger usually end up signing two-way contracts in the G-League. A two-way contract is half the rookie minimum salary which would mean a little over $500k if McCullar signed a two-way deal.

That's more than he'd make in NIL next season and with KU potentially taking a step back next season and potentially being a team that struggles to score, this might be a case of McCullar leaving when his draft stock is at its highest, even if that highest isn't being drafted. That's essentially the situation Wayne Selden was in when he left after his junior year.

$500k for a two-way contract looks like the most probable outcome for McCullar at this point which is also most likely his highest paying option.

@cragarhawk said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

Why are JWil and Kev definitively gone is my question? Neither has to go. Neither is ready to go. Both will play most likely overseas. I guess this part I just don't understand other than they've said they are going. But... why

Wilson is a projected late 1st/early 2nd round pick. This is the highest his stock will likely. If he does sneak into the 1st round, a 1st round contract is guaranteed money for at least 2 years. Even if Wilson is pick number 30, that's about $4.5 million guaranteed which is more than he would make in Europe in several years.

McCullar might be looking at how offensively challenged KU could be next year and thinking that would hurt his chances of landing a two-way contract with someone.

@kuballin10 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@cragarhawk I’d assume they will make say $2-3m overseas versus say $150k-$300k here?

I may be off on numbers but I’d guess go make pro money now is more important

$2 million would be a top 6 salary in Europe. $3 million would be top 3 in Europe. Unless you're a star player, Americans playing European basketball are making 6 figures if they're in a top league (Spain, Turkey, France, Italy, Israel) and 5 figures if you're in a smaller league or second division in a higher paying country.

There's a reason players hang around in G-League as long as possible because that's better paying than Europe is for at least 95% of players where that's an option.

@cragarhawk said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

Be easier to deduce who will be back right? Lol. Harris, Adam's, Udeh, and????

Harris, Adams, Udeh, Ejiofor, 1 of Pettiford/Yesufu are the likely returnees. Since we don't know what the issue with Rice, I don't want to totally rule him out as staying, but would be surprised if he does.

@jayballer67 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@Kcmatt7 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

Let’s start churning. 8 new faces next season would be my guess

Jalen - - Kevin - - Grady - - Cam - - MJ - - Bobby - -who else ?

Clemence and Cuffe. I also don't know if it'll be Pettiford or Yesufu, but one of them is likely.

@kjayhawks said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

Im honestly worried we will be a average next season but that’s gonna happen at one point here

Depending on the transfers, next year could be Self's most offensively challenged team at Kansas.

@bskeet said in Hog Wild Game Thread:

@kjayhawks said in Hog Wild Game Thread:

@bskeet refs didn’t miss FTs and get a 10 second call up 4 with 2 minutes to go. Bad crew but they were even.

That 10 second call was marginal. They also called 5 seconds that was marginal.

Meanwhile, Arkansas guys were stepping on the back line all the time... Not to mention all the wrapping, holding, pushing and other illegal contact. Then they call illegal screen twice and WTH was that double technical?

Not a masterpiece. KU didn't play great, but they were disadvantaged largely because of horrible officiating in the first half and selective calls in the second half.

Stop with the blaming the refs. All 3 moving screens on Udeh were good calls. Udeh moved too early on the first one and was late to his spot on the other two. The 10 second call was also a good call. That's not a judgment call, Harris was slow bringing the ball up, that was purely on Harris, and not the first time Harris has turned it over like that because of a lack of awareness.

@bskeet said in Hog Wild Game Thread:

@kjayhawks said in Hog Wild Game Thread:

@Texas-Hawk-10 Eric is a better coach than Norm is no question

Had a lot of help from an inept crew. What podunk league were they from anyway?

There were some questionable calls, but KU missed a bunch of FT's, including the front end of several 1 and 1's, and Norm made zero adjustments on Davis in the second half.

There's a reason why Norm hasn't gotten another head coaching job since he was fired from St. John's.

@dylans said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

@BShark Joe gets some run, but the freshmen may show him the door? I think Bobby loves Bill, would about have to push him out (just my perception).

Self's not keeping both of them. At least one of them will transfer out.

If both stayed, KU would have 6 guys that are either a 1 or 2 and 3 guys that are a 5. That would only leave 3 spots for the the 3 and 4 spots. That would be a very small team and a team majorly lacking in scoring punch.

@bskeet said in Hog Wild Game Thread:

@approxinfinity said in Hog Wild Game Thread:

Seriously, a top 5 coach ever missing and the heads dont even mention it in their post game analysis.

The talking heads also said that Musselman really knows how to coach. :face_vomiting:

Losing credibility as an analyst.

Whether you like him or not, Eric Musselman is a very good college coach. The only year he's missed the NCAA Tournament was his first season at Nevada, and even then he won the CBI, and he's taken Arkansas to back to back Elite 8's.

@Kcmatt7 said in KU Offseason Chef Bill Cooking Thread:

Let’s start churning. 8 new faces next season would be my guess

KU only has 12 scholarships for next season so it'll only be 8 if both Pettiford and Yesufu leave, 6 to 7 is the more likely number.

@cragarhawk said in Hog Wild Game Thread:

@Texas-Hawk-10 some prescribe to that theory for sure. And some also say the lazy Defense creates the fouls.

When you already have 4 fouls, you cannot play as aggressive as you want to, especially with how the refs called today, because you will foul out.

@cragarhawk said in Hog Wild Game Thread:

@Texas-Hawk-10 once again we'll have to disagree. That was definitely not the inspired defense we saw in the first 10-15 min of the game in my opinion

And when you have 4 fouls, you can't play that aggressive otherwise you'll foul out.

@cragarhawk said in Hog Wild Game Thread:

Alot of lazy defense the second half led to getting beat at the line as well. Also shouldn't discount the fact we should go into half up 15 plus on missed bunnies, etc.

Disappointed that they got beat by a team that just had more want to when it mattered most.

It wasn't lazy defense, it was foul issues meaning they couldn't be aggressive anymore.

Norm got completely outcoached down the stretch. Self was missed.

@jayballer67 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

DAM so NOW who comes out of this EAST Region ? - Baylor ? - - Missouri ? - -still don't think Alabama making it. although they got an open road

Alabama isn't in the East. Marquette is likely the favorite to come from the East now.

@jayballer67 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@jayballer67 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@jayballer67 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@drgnslayr said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

Honestly, I’m surprised Duke isn’t a bigger favorite considering Tennessee is missing their PG. Duke has also been playing really good basketball for the last month and is much better than the team KU played in November, just like Tennessee is nowhere near as good as when KU played them.

I believe Duke is going to blow out Tenn today and clearly put themselves on the map as a tournament favorite. I hope I'm wrong and I hope I jinx them!

There's still a few teams I'd have over Duke at this point.

Duke is looking really - -really good. - They are finally all healthy, - got a human eraser in Lively , - Felip -a 7 footer that can drain 3's rebounds well - -they playing really good defense - -just think they are becoming a very complee athletic team - -athletic as all get out

I'm aware of all that. They're also a young team and youth hasn't won a title in awhile. I wouldn't be shocked if they make the Final Four, but that doesn't change that there's still 3-4 teams I'd still take over Duke in the late rounds. I would still take Alabama, Houston, KU, and UCLA over Duke today.

And your entitled to do that. Doesn't mean Duke can't win it - -I'll take Duke over Alabama all day long - -every day. I am not impressed with Alabama period they have escaped so many defeats this year, They was mentioning today they thought Alabama very well might get beat today -I'll take Duke over Houston. Houston has no answre for Duke size and athletism . Duke will match Alabama player for player all day long - -depth - Ya thanks I'll take Duke over those two anytime , anywhere

Duke has 5 freshmen in their rotation. When was the last time a team that was that dependent on freshmen won a title? The transfer portal era has shown that you need experience to win a national title. Experience matters and Duke doesn't have it.

Jeremy Roach plays a VERY BIG part in their rotation- -one of their most important players. - And like Coach self would tell you himself. These guys are not Freshmen anymore, can't be considered Freshmen any longer. - -Roach gives them experience - easy path to the final four. - -Will they win it ? - -who knows- but they have just a good as shot as Alabama - talent takes you a long ways

These guys are still freshmen and have never experienced the pressure of the NCAA Tournament. Even with an experienced PG, that doesn't change that 5 of Duke's 9 rotation players are freshmen and freshmen heavy teams very rarely cut the nets down. I haven't said they can't make the Final Four, Marquette is their only major challenge at this point assuming they get past today, but then they run into teams that have made a lot of deep runs in recent history. We also have no clue how Scheyer will handle the spotlight as a head coach yet.

@kjayhawks said in Arkansas….:

@kuballin10 I agree that Arkansas is much more athletic and taller than us. It will take one of our best games of the season to win and without coach Self on the sideline it’s a tall task. I see the game going one of two ways, we win a close battle or we get blown out by 15 points.

Arkansas doesn't have a huge size advantage. The Mitchell twins are it as far as a size advantage goes and Udeh matches well with their size so we might see him get some extra minutes today.

Arkansas is also a team that doesn't have a ton of experience and experience matters in the transfer portal era. That lack of experience has led to a lot of inconsistent play and are still only 4-6 in their last 10 games.

@jayballer67 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@jayballer67 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@drgnslayr said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in NCAA NON- KU GAMES:

Honestly, I’m surprised Duke isn’t a bigger favorite considering Tennessee is missing their PG. Duke has also been playing really good basketball for the last month and is much better than the team KU played in November, just like Tennessee is nowhere near as good as when KU played them.

I believe Duke is going to blow out Tenn today and clearly put themselves on the map as a tournament favorite. I hope I'm wrong and I hope I jinx them!

There's still a few teams I'd have over Duke at this point.

Duke is looking really - -really good. - They are finally all healthy, - got a human eraser in Lively , - Felip -a 7 footer that can drain 3's rebounds well - -they playing really good defense - -just think they are becoming a very complee athletic team - -athletic as all get out

I'm aware of all that. They're also a young team and youth hasn't won a title in awhile. I wouldn't be shocked if they make the Final Four, but that doesn't change that there's still 3-4 teams I'd still take over Duke in the late rounds. I would still take Alabama, Houston, KU, and UCLA over Duke today.

And your entitled to do that. Doesn't mean Duke can't win it - -I'll take Duke over Alabama all day long - -every day. I am not impressed with Alabama period they have escaped so many defeats this year, They was mentioning today they thought Alabama very well might get beat today -I'll take Duke over Houston. Houston has no answre for Duke size and athletism . Duke will match Alabama player for player all day long - -depth - Ya thanks I'll take Duke over those two anytime , anywhere

Duke has 5 freshmen in their rotation. When was the last time a team that was that dependent on freshmen won a title? The transfer portal era has shown that you need experience to win a national title. Experience matters and Duke doesn't have it.