🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@Kcmatt7 said in Hypothetical: 5th Year Dave, What's the Fit?:

I want a 3 and D 40% Trey baller guard who is 6’3. But this team can be top 5 next season without it

Doesn’t everyone! Lol.

@Kcmatt7 said in Hypothetical: 5th Year Dave, What's the Fit?:

I also think a lineup of:

• Harris
• Braun
• Wilson
• Kj
• Zach

Is being discounted a bit. I can definitely see us going back to two bigs with the guys we have next season.

Yeah this line up can play if Wilson starts to inch closer to 40% as a three point shooter. Adam’s has shown he’s a capable defender on the perimeter and Zach can stretch the floor on offense so it definitely could work. I wouldn’t be surprised to see:
Harris
Yes
Braun
Wilson
Zach

@drgnslayr said in Revenge Game Thread:

I think Dave's foot is impacting his increase in missed bunnies. But I don't like giving anyone an excuse.

I can be critical on many of Och's bunny misses, too.

I think we all need to just enforce TOUGHNESS with our guys from here on out!

I think we all agree we are very tough mentally. No one can ever count us out because we don't panic like so many of our teams used to.

But this is a team that doesn't like physical contact. NONE of our guys like physical contact! CB and Joe are my picks for being our guys most likely okay with contact. Then... JWil.

Oh man... JWil! My "junkyard dog" for this team. Brother... when you turn the corner on your defender and drive the lane... FINISH! Stop passing the ball out on the trey line. Take the ball INTO contact and draw the foul! Use the backboard to shoot around defender's reach. Practice more tough finishes in practice so you know how to do it. You are giving up on an extra 10 points a game!

Och... don't be phased when a shot gets blocked. Keep taking it to the defense. Get your body involved. Use that speed and agility to sometimes create scoring space (from body to body), and other times take it into bodies to draw fouls! You can still use your body between the ball and defender to get shots off.

CB... drive more to the rim! You will get some blocked but you will draw more fouls and score more point on finishes, too.

Dajuan... look for your shot more. Try more pullups in the lane! Finish more at the rim with your quickness!

Guys... get after it! Don't shy down from physical teams! Use your brain and take advantage of BASKETBALL IQ!

^^^^^this

Out guys ARE athletic but they aren’t fully utilizing their athleticism. I do think they may have shoes away from it during this last stretch of the big12 because they don’t trust they’ll be protected or even rewarded for putting it all out there physically. To be clear I believe every player is giving it his all to win for the team. But, there’s some mental conditioning that happens when you have actual pain inflicted on you every time you try to do something.

I’ve honestly only caught small bits of the last two games but starting with Texas teams have begun making every movement KU makes on offense result in pain. Make a cut? Here’s a body check. Drive the lane? Meet the floor. Take a dribble? Make a pass? Rake the arms. Go up for a rebound? How’s your insurance? Our guys are grabbing their face, the side of their head and everything else you can think of every couple of minutes because someone has landed a blow. Some of them get called but at this point many don’t. I know folks were complaining about how many fouls were called in a few games but it honestly wasn’t nearly enough. I like others am not even saying the game isn’t being called equally. But unfortunately for us, our more skilled and talented team can be dragged down to a lower level by simply beating them into submission. More power to this team for not actually submitting because it has been a brutal end to this regular season.

Here’s hoping the NCAA tournament is called a little differently than the big 12 has been this year.

@drgnslayr Certainly better to be playing bad now than at the end of march. Still time to right the ship.

Auburn struggling right on cue. In overtime with Mississippi state.

@jayballer67 nah. Their weaknesses have been around all year too. They’ve all lost games, had close games, won games where they didn’t really play that well. I agree we are not the MOST talented team on the country this year and it is unlikely (less than 50 percent) that we make the final four. But that’s true for almost every team almost every year. We CAN win the whole thing. Probably won’t. But I’d say the same thing about just about every other team out there now.

I’d be surprised if anyone could call the final four right now with any confidence and even if they got it right it’s probably more luck than knowledge.

I’ll enjoy the ride as long as I can and believe my team can win the next one right up until they don’t have any more games to play.

@mayjay you’re right. Interpersonal dynamics can’t have an influence on a teams performance. How silly of anyone to think so.

That one guy you think couldn’t possibly impact a team in 12 minutes was pre-season player of the year. An award that has very little to do with actual performance and a lot to do with expectations. Expectations Remy has failed to live up to for whatever reason. Some blame self, some blame Remy, while injury is the most likely candidate. He missed the gauntlet of the season. He missed the part of the season where the team came together. Rallied together. Faced adversity together. He was there but not in the fight.

Self makes every player earn their spot on his team. It’s not unreasonable to think the team wouldn’t have those same expectations of each other. Now I don’t KNOW anything about the team dynamics outside of what I see on the tv. I don’t watch practice. I have no connections inside the program. The closest I’ve come to bill self was waving at him in his Tahoe as he dropped off a player at the jayhawk towers 17 years ago. But what I’ve concluded from the evidence I have is that this team plays better without Remy. It sucks for Remy. It sucks for the team because Remy has the potential to be a really good player. But that’s what I see right now.

@Jethro this along with remys limitations as a team player has been my worry as well. We were really clicking for a few games there. Hope we find that again at the right time.

@jayballer67 I don't think we are a first round exit simply because of how highly we are likely to be seeded. The level of competition in the big 12 is stiff and TCU has shown they should be considered in the top half of a league with basically no bottom. Remember how good Iowa State was before conference play started? They were ranked and playing well until they hit the gauntlet that is this conference round robin. So I'm fairly confident we will beat whatever double digit seed we end up playing in the first round. And actually dropping off the 1/2 line could actually give us a BETTER chance of making the second weekend if there happens to be an upset. As a 1/2 seed your first game is basically a pass and your second game is vs one of those middle of the pack tournament teams. I could see us struggling against a 6-8 seed team. If we were to drop to the 3 line there's an outside chance we face an 11 seed in the second round (TCU currently projected as a 9 seed and potential second round opponent for a 1 seed). Eleven seeds are teams like Wake and Creighton who I'm not quite as scared of. Long story short, I agree this team is probably in the top 16 in the country but will go ahead and say that's how far I think they'll go when I remove my crimson and blue glasses.

When I put those bad boys back on though, this team is still capable of beating REALLY good teams. Baylor is a really good team. Tech is a really good team. KU IS A REALLY GOOD TEAM. Yes we have our weaknesses but so does every other team. Yes KU's weaknesses have been exposed (I'd argue it was more Texas, than Baylor, who exposed them) but the same could be said for every team. Remember a few days ago when EVERY TEAM in the top 6 lost? Nobody is perfect this year which means there is opportunity for this team to achieve greatness. In my heart, I believe we have the pieces with Och, Braun, Wilson, and Good Dave all being legit scoring threats who can go for 20 in a game without it being a shock. Heck, it's not even surprising when 2 of them go for 20+ in a game and not even unheard of for 3 to do it. When this team runs and pushes the pace they are so much fun to watch and have looked (as @drgnslayr mentioned) unbeatable. I'm still waiting for Och to actually go off. He's been mister consistent this year and has been more of a volume scorer. I still think he's got a game where he hits 5 or 6 threes and goes for 30-40 on a night where he just doesn't miss much. I for one am hoping that is being saved for the brightest of lights and he will have his one shining moment amid a season of individual excellence.

My bracket will once again this year have KU winning it all and my heart will break if that doesn't happen. Here's to prolonging that heartbreak as long as possible. Rock Chalk!

@mayjay Baylor guards have been making plays at the end of the game. There were a few that were eerily similar in the Texas game vs the KU game. Texas playing decent d and a guy just rising up and making a tough shot. Not much you can do but tip your hat and think about why you weren’t up by more earlier. We had some guys doing that early in the year. Here’s hoping that comes back this month.

@benshawks08 said in Non-KU Games:

@BeddieKU23 word around here is that Texas has the money to leave now but Oklahoma doesn’t. Radio folks here have been wondering if it’s worth it for Texas to just pay OUs way out too.

This is what they talk about to avoid talking about basketball in this town.

@BeddieKU23 word around here is that Texas has the money to leave now but Oklahoma doesn’t. Radio folks here have been wondering if it’s worth it for Texas to just pay OUs way out too.

@BeddieKU23 Let's send him there with an L

@tis4tim The only subbing I took issue with was the FIRST subs. We'd built a decent lead early based off some bad shooting from Baylor. But we hadn't quite demoralized them yet. Bill went with Mitch, Yes, and Remy for Dave, Harris, and Och or Braun (don't remember which but I think it was Och). There was a significant let down when this group came in and while Remy did make a three out of nothing, and maybe a lay up in that stretch as well, the cohesion of the offense was visibly disrupted.

I think we need to face it that our bench just isn't as good as our starters at basically every position. So in my opinion, substitutions need to be super calculated. Try to keep 3-4 starters on the floor at a time and allow the bench players to fit in as best as possible without disrupting the core group. I'm sure the schedule led to Bill hoping he could steal as many minutes from the bench as possible especially after the quick start, but once we let them back in it, they beat us all over the court. Actually impressive we kept it close after that huge momentum swing.

Wilson sucking and getting 38 minutes also sucked but I'm not sure who else we can really put at the 4 and expect them to rebound the way we know he can (obviously he didn't this game...).

@Texas-Hawk-10 yes doesn’t get blown by on straight line drives like the Remy or Harris even. I don’t see practice. I watch games. And in games yes is best when playing with Harris and as a change of pace guard. That’s not how he was used on Saturday. Not an excuse for him. Just the facts. I’m literally saying he’s not an elite player. He can’t do more than one or two things well. Remy does more things well as an individual but is a total disruption to the flow of the team. Yes has shown an ability to fit in on the floor that Remy hasn’t mostly because he’s been injured and partly because he’s a great individual player that hasn’t had the opportunity to learn to play as a team player.

If Remy can become a team player in the next three games then yeah he’s the superior option for a tournament run. But I have my doubts that can reallly happen and in that case I’d rather keep the rotation that showed us the best ball this team has played all season. That includes yes playing limited minutes mostly at the two and extremely briefly at the one in very specific situations. That does leave Harris playing 35 plus a game but that’s just what it is for this team to be it’s best. What has Remy done to make you think he is having a positive impact on this team?

@Texas-Hawk-10 yesefus first minutes on the floor were with Remy and Mitch. That is a much different crew than he’s been running with. He’s been at his best with Harris on the floor as a 2 that can give Och or Braun enough of a breather without too big of a drop off because of his ability to pressure on the ball and push tempo. He did t get an opportunity to do either of those things because he wasn’t in his regular rotation.

I totally agree he’s no savior or some underutilized superstar but will say playing with Remy definitely disrupted his play. Yes is good in the same way that Zach is good. Give them a simple assignment and they can execute if it’s within their athletic ability. He’s the only guard in this team with a shot at keeping either of Baylor quick guards out of the paint but spent most of his time on the bench because too much was asked of him in his first run on the floor.

I would have preferred Remy not been the first guard off the bench. Keep working the rotations and 7-8 man squad we’ve been running and then fit him in later in the half or game if needed or if score allowed. Maybe self thought the early blitz was enough but I doubt it. He said as much at halftime admitting defense wasn’t actually good to start Baylor just missed shots.

Timme 0-8 in the first half.

@jayballer67 bad start for the zags too.

@jayballer67 tough to win on the road.

@Kcmatt7 said in Wackos at Waco Game Thread:

All the confidence I had gained in this team since Feb. 1 went out the window tonight.

Last 26 minutes with Remy on the floor we are -29.

One week to figure this shit out.

That’s scary.

Anything but a terrible shooting night and we win.

There’s a reason Baylor was the favorite in this one.

We are going to beat any bad teams we play in the tournament but we can certainly win or lose against a good one.

@BeddieKU23 he dribbles SOOOO much.

@Kcmatt7 the optimist in me says the goal was to get him ready to actually contribute in March. But KU was NOT good with Remy in. The weird rotations seemed to mess with what we’d been getting from the bench too. Where’d yes go?

@BeddieKU23 wasted em all on the wildcats.

Any see Wilson try to make a cut just ten. Literally hugged by his man.

@BeddieKU23 they’ve been great. Hit big shots, made nice passes, taken care of the ball.

@benshawks08 said in Wackos at Waco Game Thread:

@DanR hard to run offense when you have two hands on you at all times.

This was the Texas strategy this year and it’s being copied.

@DanR hard to run offense when you have two hands on you at all times.

We’ve had no answer for the bigs driving.

Baylor is making big shots and plays to give them some credit.

They could call that on every touch on the other end.

Bailout call there.

@DanR fouled his elbow with his ear.

@tundrahok he plays better tired.

Good time out.

@DCHawker impressive we are even in this.

Their “tough d” means grabbing and hacking anyone who isn’t standing still. And sometimes even them in Dave’s case.

If we drive we are going to the line (or at least should be) every trip down the floor.

Kendall brown is good.

We will have many more coming down the stretch. Baylor literally just shoving and bumping every bit of movement.

@DanR Baylor making it that way by playing football instead of basketball.

Refs wanting to keep Baylor in this.

Baylor now flopping charges on offense?

Moving screen?????

@tundrahok fair.

@BShark said in Wackos at Waco Game Thread:

Fun game between two good teams.

Three if you count the refs.

@Jethro said in Wackos at Waco Game Thread:

they took away our followup, and called a foul. these refs suck...

May have waited to see who got that rebound…