Fran usually has his bias veiled. He is a professional and he works hard to keep it objective. Occasionally -- and last night was one of those nights -- he can't help himself and he leaks. Paraphrasing one nugget "KState is doing well to keep up with KU right now despite the calls going their way."
I posit that there was really no period in that game where the calls were going KU's way.
The worst call (no-call) of the game was with 2:47 and a tie game. Tomlin drove on Grady and pushed him back with an elbow in his chest hard enough to knock Grady on his butt. No call. Tomlin got the layup. Completely inexcusable in my opinion.
Lots to learn from this game. Shot pretty poorly and still forced overtime. Coulda Shoulda. Whatever. Most importantly, get better after this loss.
And I really tried to not say it, but it has to be said: 1) holy crap the officiating was atrocious and completely selective; 2) listening to Fran almost made me barf tonight.
I'm not an expert, but I think Self and staff have incorporated new schemes and actions that require the passing and this new stuff is partly why they are confounding some opponents. It looks like there are some NBA sets.. They spread the floor out which pulls the defense. If they don't come out, you hit a few threes and then see what happens. Anyway, when the floor is spread, it leads to skip passes that pull the defense and lots of cutting opportunities.
Really, you can only do this if you have the right kind of players -- quickness (everyone) and no fewer than 3 (4 is better) reliable three-point threats (Dick, Wilson, Harris, McCullar). You don't have to have size inside, but you have to have athleticism and skill (KJ)
The Big 12 teams have had enough time and film to find some ways to counter. For those games, there's more reliance on our (superior) shooting and athleticism.
Merry Christmas!
Looking forward to New Years Eve as I’ll be in town to see my family and I am taking the family to the KU - OSU game!
Congrats! Wish I had something to offer on moving companies, but alas, no recent experience.
I was skeptical on Dajuan last year. When he made some crazy layup, or shot, I was worried that it was fools gold and he'd think he can do something like that again and it wouldn't work out because it was a very low-percentage shot to take. But he was steady and played within himself all season and the rest is history.
Fast forward to Saturday. The game had tightened up the second half. And in a span of less than 2 minutes, Dajaun put the game away. Pretty much by himself.
13:53 Dajuan Harris Jr. made Layup. 38 52
13:29 Dajuan Harris Jr. Steal. 38 52
13:24 Kevin McCullar Jr. made Layup. Assisted by Dajuan Harris Jr.. 38 54
13:10 Jalen Hood-Schifino made Free Throw. 39 54
13:10 Jalen Hood-Schifino made Free Throw. 40 54
12:54 Dajuan Harris Jr. made Jumper. 40 56
12:42 Trayce Jackson-Davis missed Layup. 40 56
12:26 Dajuan Harris Jr. made Jumper. 40 58
Timeout Indiana.
And this stretch didn't include any of his spectacular highlight-reel passes. He has come a long way in my mind and he legitimately must be one of the best PG in the country. He makes the guys around him better play after play and doesn't force shots.
I was high on Yesufu, and I think he'll be good, but he's not where Dajaun is. I'm as surprised as anyone at how good Dajaun is. He was fantastic on Saturday.
KJ was really good too.. Oh yeah, and Grady... but Dajuan was the glue and the difference maker in that pivotal 1:27 in the second half.
Sometimes, the actions this team runs reminds me of Golden State. I don't think it's a coincidence.
I'm glad to see this discussion about the officiating. I didn't realize it was tied to a specific ref, but the optics from even the uneducated was that there was something seriously wrong about how the game was officiated. The drive in the 3rd quarter where the Texans scored was completely manufactured by the officiating and it was obvious.
I was yelling at my screen, but now I know where to direct my yelling in the future.
That said, there are other games where the officiating is very questionable as well. The Sunday Night game was a good example where there was clear pass interference on the Washington WR in the end zone and there was no call. Completely inexplicable and invites conspiracy theories about the refs managing points, spread, etc. etc.
Still basking in the glow from the beat-down of Mizzou... This may last a few more days.
Those photos of the Mizzou crowd are Hallmark card material. Warms my heart.
Best thing about that game (other than the final score) was 6 guys in double figures. Love that balance.
I circled this one when the schedule was announced. I didn't know how the B4Atlantis tourney would go, but this has all the markings for a tough out.
@Crimsonorblue22 foreshadowing?
@approxinfinity said in .... And in Bucketeer News (that is, news about bucketeers):
Wow man! Are these games televised?
I don't think the game this Friday will be televised, but that could change. If it is, it probably will be regional. The playoff games have been streaming on NFHS network ↗.
The California State Championship will almost certainly be televised out here but not sure about nationally (ESPN+??) There are absolute studs on some of these teams. I'm frankly amazed that my son is holding his own on the field with some of these 300 pounders. (To be fair, he struggled against Serra in the first meeting, but we've talked about how rare it is to get another crack at a team. He'll have a chance to improve on Friday night.)
@Texas-Hawk-10 That's a good point and reinforces that there are plenty of talented kids here that fly under the radar and end up at a school like Sac State. KU should be looking in these areas.. It's fine to let them go to Sac State and see how things shake out, but with the transfer portal, they should be looking to cherry pick more.
Thought I would share a bit of personal news here.
My son's football team, Archbishop Mitty High School, won Friday night and will play in the Div 1 Northern California Championship this coming Friday against Serra HS (Tom Brady's alma mater and powerhouse with a dozen or more D1 commits). Mitty was seeded #6 in the 8 team playoffs and won the quarterfinals and semifinals, both in OT. Even more incredible, Mitty was 1-9 last season and 0-9 the season before that (covid). They flipped the script this year, all the way to the Championship game.
Now you might think that the winner will go to SoCal to play the California State Championship (televised) against the winner of Mater Dei v St. John Bosco (also this Friday, nationally televised, I believe). And you would be sort of correct. If Serra wins, they will play in SoCal for the championship, but not the same for Mitty. California has some sort of committee that picks the team to represent NorCal. Because Mitty was an underdog (lost to Serra earlier in the season), the committee would pick another team from NorCal such as De La Salle, which is another powerhouse up here (but was beat by Serra earlier in the season). It's not as simple as when I was in a 2A Kansas HS and when you won regionals you went to semi-state. And when you won semi-state, you went to state.
There are a lot of D1 commits on the teams that Mitty plays. Hardly any of Mitty's players are getting looks. Sacramento State is interested in a couple guys. No disrespect to SacState, but that is ridiculous. The Mitty QB and RB should be on the radar of P5 schools. The RB is small, but so was Sproles and Deuce Vaughn. He is strong and fast.
Anyway. I'm thrilled that my son gets to experience playing HS football after Thanksgiving. He's the center (junior) and will be in the thick of it Friday night at 7 Pacific.
It's a David vs Goliath story, so appreciate any good juju you can send.
Oh, and the coach's first name is Danny, which led one reporter to call the team "Danny and the Miracles" after the second OT win.
Wins a win. Very glad to have Mahomes and Kelce on my fantasy football team.
He's got something to prove. It may take a few years, because he has to have the talent and that requires transformational change in recruiting. But once he gets a pipeline going, I don't think he'll leave until he takes a team to the CFP (which may include more than 4 teams by the time we get there, but still, that's a goal).
I'm sure they will be plenty good and ready when we roll into Rupp.
Texas got their revenge. Ho hum.
On to next week. And then a bowl game. HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH. This is a monster conference and we did something we haven't done in a decade.
(BTW, the blowout win by Texas will do nothing to erase the images of Casey's catch in overtime at Austin last year. It was repeated over and over this year by announcers. KU's win last year is legendary. Texas' win this year is just a stat.)
@Zabudda I agree 100% and would only add, "and that's ok." Because they will get better. It's an adventure. Even last year's team was an adventure in Dec and Jan and parts of Feb... and those dudes knew the system.
This team has different challenges, but the point is that every team goes through growing pains to incorporate the new pieces. But the common denominator is Coach Self, who is a master of forging a pretty solid team from the parts each year. It doesn't always work out perfectly, but his conference record over the years suggests that no one does it better.
My family has been slammed by it for 6 weeks+. My son got something in late september (maybe RSV -- lots of coughing, never tested positive for covid) that evolved into walking pneumonia in october. He got antibiotics and was better for almost a week. Played in another football game and immediately went down again.. We took him in on Sat Oct 29 and he tested positive for the flu, so he got Tamaflu.
I was starting to feel bad, so I figured I caught what he had. I went in the next day and tested positive for Covid (my first time -- i have been very careful as I have multiple risk factors). They sent me to the hospital to get the monoclonal antibody infusion and I started feeling better daily over the next 4 days.. By then my wife was feeling bad. She had tested negative, but then went back the following weekend and, of course she was positive.
I tested positive for 14 days. She finally is negative as of today. I still have a cough and residual asthma which was agitated by the virus, and I feel a bit drained at times, but I think there is very gradual improvement.
Through all of this, my son never tested positive for Covid, but I'm convinced of two things: 1) it's everywhere now (but fortunately not as lethal as earlier variants) and 2) the tests are not as accurate (more false negatives) for these strains as they were for the earlier ones.
Yeah, another good thing about OU and Texas heading to the SEC is that they get to beat up on Kentucky and Tennessee... should equate to a few more losses each year.
I was high on Yesufu, but his shot selection .... well let's just say it's looked a bit wild. I want to believe, but he's put considerable doubt in my mind.
Pettiford has looked pretty good by my eye. I think he'll be a solid backup to Dejuan soon enough.
No doubt, Scheyer is going to study this game to figure out how he could have defeated KU. One thing he may have to conclude is that his team may not be equipped to win against KU. Duke is built for the old style and KU's team is built for a new style. We're evolving toward the GSWarriors style and Duke, Gonzaga and Kentucky are in classic mode. If you have shooters, it has been demonstrated that the Warriors style can pick apart and run down the classic approach.
Their concerns with officiating reflected the schism in approaches -- KU was quicker and more athletic which led to defensive charges, etc.
By no means does this mean that KU or anyone using this style can win simply by adopting it; you have to execute it well and hit shots. But even with just 3/19 threes, we were able to spread things just enough to drive various lanes to the basket.
This can change recruiting over time ... because the premium on recruiting a 7ft center (which is fairly rare) is diminished when you construct this kind of team.
I can't agree more with this @drgnslayr
What sticks out with us is Gradey’s scoring threat. We need to create a TON of offense for this guy!
Part of Gradey's "slump" is that guys weren't looking/finding him. Once they did, he delivered.
Gradey stood out, but make no mistake this was a team win. There were good contributions from the bench and the defense was solid throughout.
Timing is everything; 3/19 from three looks pretty dismal, but the last 3 was at the right moment and KUDOS to Gradey and the team for executing when it mattered most.
Just another coincidence, I’m sure. Just a pattern of coincidences.
Yeah.. It's tough to know how this group will respond when they face the stingy, tenacious teams like Iowa St, West Va., TT, and TCU...
And even harder to know about how they might handle Duke, Baylor and Texas... etc. Lots of tests out on the horizon. But soon enough, we shall see if we can manufacture points when we have to get them.
welp, gotta go pick up my son from fb practice.. Ttyl
who is high scorer?
Well, stream is back for me now.
stream dead for me.
at times, it's just undulating blobs on the screen for me
21-34 with Omaha ft coming
19-32 for those frozen.
really crappy stream tonight.. glitchy, degraded quality.
Gradey is the guy who should be shooting, not Yesafu.. I like Joseph, but he needs to be creating for others a bit more.
mine stopped again for 15 seconds
Mine got screwed up and I had to reboot.
Did the stream die for you all?
Norm with a very odd line-up
he is pure.
A little more practice on that lob dunk...
Ok. I think this may be the lineup of the future
I do think Harris has pretty good vision and is a nifty passer
True
@DanR Too many college bball games on simultaneously tonight.
ok. Wilson shooting better tonight. Should open up some possibilities.
Grady belongs out there.