🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Texas Southern Game Thread:

@BShark I guess you didn't get me

I was wondering when he’d get there.

@DanR said in Texas Southern Game Thread:

We lost to rocky head because we shot 32%

We shot 32% because Juan was on the bench instead of running the offense.

@BShark said in Texas Southern Game Thread:

@FarmerJayhawk said in Texas Southern Game Thread:

Love this lineup. Not much experience but Juan to hold it together and give them some confidence

Almost any line-up with Juan is fine. He stirs the drink.

Real reason we got spanked by rocky top. They still would have won I think because they short it well but Harris on the bench just kills this team on both ends.

I had no idea he was fast until that play just then.

Juan is looking to get both rice and joe going.

Appreciate Tx southern leaving rice wide open all the time to get him going for us.

You can see such a huge difference in the way the ball and players move when he’s in vs when he’s out. I think he will figure it out.

Start Jank if we want to build an early lead.

@BeddieKU23 Heroic of Jank to step in in a tough situation and tank his PER. Really gonna hurt his draft stock, but still elite.

@Jethro said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

I thought Norm did a great job. I'm ready for Bill to get back, though.

This is the correct take. Both things are definitely true.

@BShark said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

I will say this about trusting Bill...

We all wanted the Mosley kid who Bill passed on and he ended up at Missouri. He does not start and is averaging 6 points a game....

Yikes. If you can’t get on the floor for Missouri….

@stoptheflop said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

@stoptheflop said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

@benshawks08 said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

I am curious if folks think jalen will continue to shoot over 20 shots a night with self back at the helm. Have we had a player with that level of usage? Feels like he’s either shooting or assisting on nearly every play.

Him and Gradey have to shoot and score. That's the bulk of our offense. Until a third guy steps up, he's gotta take shots.

I sure hope McCullar gets his offensive game going. He should be our third, consistent scorer. I penciled him in for 13-15 pts a game before I knew Gradey was going to do so well. If McCullar scores 10 pts or more per game, I would like to see Dajuan also at 10 per game. The 5 spot will just be a mystery although KJ has been getting some points while sharing minutes at the 5.

Yup, McCullar should be that guy for sure.

I must have selective memory, because I don’t recall his offensive game at TT at all. At the very least I would hope with his size and ability he could score at the rim.

McCullar average 10/ game the last 2 years with TexTech. In KU's offense and with other scorers to occupy the defenders, I sure would think he would score more this year.

I feel like Kevin is taking good shots. They just haven’t really fallen for him.

@mayjay said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

I am flummoxed by the idea that anyone could think that Norm coached the game very differently from how the guy he has assisted for some two decades would have wanted him to.

I’m not saying norm did anything wrong. Or even anything that self wouldn’t wanted him to do. But I’m flummoxed by the idea that anyone could think that not having BILL FREAKING SELF on the sidelines wasn’t a significant factor for the last 4 games.

I’m sure norm knows a lot of what self would do, say, and even think in most situations. But I’d sure hope that it’s pretty clear that Bill self is a unique coaching talent.

@Texas-Hawk-10 I’m curious how much value then do you think self brings to a game as it’s happening?

I am curious if folks think jalen will continue to shoot over 20 shots a night with self back at the helm. Have we had a player with that level of usage? Feels like he’s either shooting or assisting on nearly every play.

@Jethro to be clear. I’m not even that upset about the game. They found a way to win on a night they didn’t play well with the added handicap of not having the best coach in college basketball on their bench.

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

@benshawks08 said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

@benshawks08 said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

Self and Roberts can do everything in the world to get a player prepared for a game from scouting, game planning, motivational speeches, but they can't control if a player is mentally into the game and looking ahead or still mentally and emotionally drained from the previous, then none of that prep work matters or makes a difference.

It is literally the coach’s job to manage players emotions, monitor and affect their mentality, make sure they are ready to play. I’d argue it’s one of the top three things a college coach has to be good at.

Bill Self is very good at that stuff, I'm not arguing against that, but the part that you don't seem to want to acknowledge is that there's only so much that Self, Coach K, Jay Wright, Roy, Wooden, or any other top level coach can do to get a player motivated and amped up. Again, at the end of the day, a player has to have some level of self motivation on their own independent of anyone else including their coach. Everybody has shitty days where it doesn't matter what anyone says to them, they're not going to be fully motivated to do whatever they need to do that day.

Stop acting like players are going to 100% focused and motivated 100% of the time because it's never going to happen, especially when dealing with 18-22 kids that aren't fully developed emotionally as people. And guess what, there's plenty of days where even Bill Self can't get a player amped and motivated. How many times have we heard Self talk about his team's looking like shit in practice? You don't think Self was trying to motivate players on those days and the players just weren't buying in on those days?

I'm sorry, but you will never convince me that games like last night are 100% on coaches failures to motivate a player. Coaches aren't on the floor with the players amd can't execute for the players.

Can I disagree with a gameplan? Absolutely and I think last night's game plan wasn't great, and it was absolutely Self's gameplan, but having the guards leak out instead of ensuring that KU get the rebounds was a bad game plan because of how bad a rebounder KJ is.

1. I did acknowledge that by saying it’s possible it might not have made a difference. I’m not the one ignoring the others argument here.

2. I’ve never argued player would be 100 percent focused and motivated.

3. I didn’t argue the game last night was 100 percent about motivation. I pointed out that was one factor. And argued it is to me one of the top three things a coach can do.

4. I agree the game plan was likely self’s and agree it was not good for the same reasons you stated.

@Texas-Hawk-10 Bill self is really good at that stuff. Would you say he’s better at that stuff than Coach Roberts?

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

@benshawks08 said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

Self and Roberts can do everything in the world to get a player prepared for a game from scouting, game planning, motivational speeches, but they can't control if a player is mentally into the game and looking ahead or still mentally and emotionally drained from the previous, then none of that prep work matters or makes a difference.

It is literally the coach’s job to manage players emotions, monitor and affect their mentality, make sure they are ready to play. I’d argue it’s one of the top three things a college coach has to be good at.

@Texas-Hawk-10 I’m not arguing it definitely would have been better with self on the bench instead of the couch but to argue it would t be different is just wild.

There’s nothing a coach can say or do to motivate a player or prevent a lackluster effort in a trap game? Of course there is. Now would self have been able to do it? Who knows. And if your argument was that we can never know how things would have been different so it’s worthless to hypothesize, fine. But the best coach in college basketball being absent from the pregame, sideline, halftime locker room, and huddle in the final minutes is a significant loss and the team would at least have responded DIFFERENTLY with him calling the shots. Don’t get how this could be disagreed with.

Now, I would argue it’s likely we don’t win those first two games by as many points had self been coaching because he often uses those early games especially when there starts to be separation to experiment, try to make the guys a little uncomfortable, and play with the chemistry a bit.

@Texas-Hawk-10 I think there is something to be said for having a hall of fame head coach yank you from a game and chew you out after showing a lack of effort vs his assistant.

I would hope there is a certain amount of basketball iq and in game adjustment potential lost with self on his couch.

Like @drgnslayr said, if not, what are we paying him for?

Hard to predict what would/could have been different, But to think bill self not being on the sideline has little to no impact is just silly.

Just finished watching the game. A lot of standing around when the ball went up during this game. But they made the plays when they needed to. Harris showed he can score when teams take away the pass. Gradey continues to hit big shots and show the moment isn’t too big for him. Wilson is on a mission this year. Kevin had a rough game. KJ tries har but still isn’t a good rebounder. Udeh hasn’t figured it out yet. Zuby still needs to learn to set a screen. Bobby plays tough d but was mostly a no show on o. Joe made a shot I think? MJ not sure how to engage as a third or fourth option. It’s like he starts playing when the ball comes to him but not much before that. The transition from being THE guy your whole life to at best the third option on the floor with Wilson and Gradey out there has to be tough. Turnovers all over the place kept this close and a bunch of garbage shots falling actually made it interesting for a while. Someone lamented after the first two games that these games against lesser teams are boring blowouts. Not so much tonight. Just shows how good a team has to play to really blow someone out.

MJ back at full speed and should play tonight.

Coach says it’s concussion protocol for Zach.

@Jethro said in Dook Game Thread:

@kuballin10 said in Dook Game Thread:

@Jethro yeah Bobby has to attack way more. He can penetrate at will but the speed of the game I think made him hesitant
Duke’s size is no joke after the first two games we played. Guarantee the court felt smaller to each guy

The whole team shied away from driving to the rim at times in that game- drove me crazy. Guarantee you- when Bill gets back, he'll make them drive it to the basket.

Main reason jalen ended up with 26 shots.

@kuballin10 I think Bobby will score against most teams. Just tough for a 6 ft guy to get anywhere when the other team can literally put a 7 footer on him and know another 7 footer is at the rim if he gets beat off the dribble.

I think that Duke team has potential to be REALLY good. Their length is impossible to prepare for. And while they may be a little soft, they have some real pieces that could come together.

Really good win by our boys.

@kuballin10 said in Duke Kills Kansas... Kansas Wins Game!:

@benshawks08 Bilas likes KU/Self/AFH - raves about us but you could tell he was bias last night. It wasn’t blatant but more he’d talk so positively about Duke while speaking of us in a more negative light. That’s alright so be it.

Great points about assists are normally knocking down outside shots and we didn’t

This team is mature, unselfish and the experience helps. We will have that next year and need an experienced portal big or 4 man wing stud this off-season to round out the class.

Jalen is selfish when he drives but after watching our bigs not finish worth crap on some dump offs I can see why. I think as the frosh bigs get better Bill will tell him to drive and when a defender comes dish that for the dunk. I think he’s unselfish but playing the way he is because no one else can finish.

I want to be mad at jalen for “selfishness” and taking 26 shots but I just can’t. He knows he’s the leader of this team on the offensive end. He knows it is on him to score. And I honestly don’t think he took that many bad shots. Of the 26 only 2 or three were truly forced and out of the flow of the offense.

I think there was a little bit of a game plan to keep Grady under wraps because he’s the real shooter on this team. And a little of Grady not being able to figure out how to get open in the right spot at the right time in a game where if you were a fraction late, the opening closed.

The book on jalen is that he can be inconsistent. Especially as a shooter. Letting him be THE GUY may have been on purpose and not even that bad of a strategy for Duke. But this years jalen while still perhaps inconsistent as a shooter seems hyper focused on doing more of the little things that allow him to score. He hits the offensive glass. Drives hard every time. A lot of those missed shots easily could have been fouls. I know I counted at least 4. And while taking 26 shots still managed 5 assists. 5 real assists. Not just swinging the ball and a guy happens to make a jumper.

@drgnslayr said in Duke Kills Kansas... Kansas Wins Game!:

In case anyone missed it and why I still am not a fan of Bilas...

When FILIPOWSKI (FLIPPEDOUTSKI) threw an intentional, head-high, elbow in the paint, Jay didn't explode with words. Imagined that had been a Jayhawk who did that? Bilas would be filing an assault charge with the DA's office!

I can't believe something that horrific didn't end with FILIPOWSKI being tossed from the game. So you can throw a high elbow and it's clean if you don't actually knock someone's block off with it?

FILIPOWSKI is a real talent, and he'll be in the league the next year. But is he going to be throwing elbows the rest of the season? I have no doubt that Scheyer LOVED what he did.

Put me on the books right now... that Scheyer will be hated far more than K ever was. He's obnoxious and feeling even more entitled than K ever did.

There is no way that K would have approved of throwing high elbows.

Ok, love you @drgnslayr but K was certainly no saint when it came to cheap shots. He was always jaybates biggest enemy for popularizing what jaybate saw as a game plan that utilized cheap shots as a strategic option. K wouldn't have appreciated the player charging the ref because that was HIS responsibility (dude loved working the refs) but the elbow wouldn't have phased him.

@drgnslayr I'm also interested in the no call on that play. Just curious whether contact with the head is a part of the rule or if it is within a refs power to assume intent on a play like that.

The Duke kids sure seemed entitled to challenge the refs all game. One dude charged the ref in the first half only to be held back by his teammates, then nearly tackled Jalen at the end of the game and just got a talking to.

Only two guys that really couldn’t stay on the floor in stretches were Udeh and joe. And they both still did things defensively that kept the game close.

Not sure that it is fair that for joe to play he really needs to score. But with Juan doing Juan things and Bobby being Bobby that kinda the only role available for him. I still think he will get a look most nights to see if his shot is falling. Love that we can trust him to play tough d no matter what anytime he steps on the floor.

Udeh had his first moments where the game looked a bit too fast for him. He had some bad moments where he looked lost or failed to convert on plays we really need him to convert on but still again plays hard. Effort never in doubt. Made some huge blocks. He will be fine.

Bobby didn’t do anything great but also didn’t make any big blunders. There was a time early where I wondered if he’d be able to handle roach when Harris sat. He struggled at first but then settled in and was able to contain him. Even in the second half, Bobby stayed on roach when Harris got the assignment of shutting down that freshman who found his stroke in the second half. (I don’t remember his name but probably because it didn’t get called after Harris switched onto him)

Overall very impressed with where this team is defensively. I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising when you start 3 guys that you wouldn’t be shocked if they showed up in defensive player of the year lists (Juan, Kevin, and kj). This team not only plays hard on defense but does things from a team perspective that we usually don’t see until later in the year. The rotations are super crisp most of the time. The athleticism is there to challenge at the rim (clearly if we can challenge that Duke team at the rim we can do it to anyone). The hands and anticipation of those three defensive studs will continue to give the other team fits all year.

The 21 assists is just mind boggling when you consider that we didn’t even hit many outside shots. Often times a ton of assists is an indicator that the ball is moving and then guys are knocking down shots.

These guys just really share the ball. That may sound strange in a game where one guy took 26 shots but even Jalen had 5 assists and many of his shots were the result of being the only guy on the floor tall enough and tough enough to attack. Several of his three attempts came in the last 10 seconds of the shot clock where to me they were a good decision because it was either he shoot or we risk a turnover. Bilas criticized one of those looks and said he shouldn’t take a deep three like that but should drive but there was one second in the shot clock…

Tough game for bilas to call if we are honest and generous. Dude is a Duke grad. They are replacing a legend. Hard not to pull for your Alma mater in a situation like that. I couldn’t be unbiased, that much I know.

@KirkIsMyHinrich said in Dook Game Thread:

If I'm a Duke fan I'm kind of mad at Roach right now. He wasn't very good

Harris may have had a little to do with that.

How is this a one point game?

Good looks. Not much else to do.

Was that time out a coaching decision? Haven’t seen many of those from the ku bench.

Tough call but hard to complain about that one specifically. Been the call all night.

Feels like the reverse of the first half. Should be down by a lot based on the feel but are right there.

@BeddieKU23 said in Dook Game Thread:

Zub with happy feet in the lane then a really nice block. Good minutes despite the ups and downs

Great experience minutes on a big stage.

Zuby has some tools.

@FarmerJayhawk said in Dook Game Thread:

Ok I already hate Filikowski

Truly very unlikable.

@BeddieKU23 said in Dook Game Thread:

Really bad pass

Juan’s not gonna do anything down there anyway.

Still gonna be 5 on 8 vs Duke.

And in the bonus. Ouch.

@BeddieKU23 said in Dook Game Thread:

Fake foul

We took the lead. Wasn’t the story line.

Jalen showing he might have some star power.

Not a fan that we haven’t been able to exploit at 7!footer guarding Bobby.

@StLJhawk said in Dook Game Thread:

Idk, that stuff looked pretty clean on Jalen

It was the one before the one that got the replay that looked sus to me. But didn’t get a replay to confirm.

Hmm…..

May need KJ