🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@Texas-Hawk-10

I'm not sure where the blame goes... in deals like this, no one can go without zero accountability.

I will say this... we have lost the last 3 years in Morgantown, with some of the same players and also different players. Self as coach is one of the common elements involved, so I think he should at least evaluate how he preps his team for Morgantown, because it is obvious something needs to change in the game prep.

I've never understood this about Bill's teams. Sometimes... they completely don't show up. I can't personally comprehend this. I never once came unprepared for a game. I started playing organized basketball sometime around 8 years old, and didn't stop until my mid-30s. Getting in a game was all that mattered to me during those years.

Does anyone have an explanation?

We knew they would be juiced from the opening tip off. Kind of like boxing... you better not enter a ring cold (without a sweat) and you better punch yourself in the head several times first to get your adrenaline going or you will get clocked in the first few seconds and maybe knocked out.

The start of a game is crucial. It sets a framework that is hard to change during a game. OU knew they needed to come into AFH and fight hard from the opening tip. I'm guessing we didn't get that start in Morgantown. I only caught the last 10 minutes of the game.

Curious.... but who was the man you saw in a KU uniform tonight?

I usually count on Frank... but the parts of the game I saw he was as soft and lethargic as everyone else.

@JRyman

I was only able to catch the last 10 minutes of the game. I turned it on and saw we were down by 10 or so and after 5 seconds I knew this was a loss. Heads were down, guys with their hands on their knees (even if they just came in the game). Look at the body language. Is that the body language of the #1 team in the country? Right.

I'm with you. I doubt I need to see the first half and first half of the second half to know we didn't show up.

We could have had Wilt the Stilt in the post in this game and we still would have lost.

I heard them say that Kansas ran against 8 guys in practice to beat the press. Why bother? If we aren't going to show up, why put the energy into practice?

Maybe this is just what we needed. I hate being #1 until April.

@benshawks08

Me, too... Devonte was such a great catch for us!

He does need to stay focused on being aggressive, but we have to remember he is only a sophomore and with limited experience. Hard to believe he isn't an upperclassmen.

He probably has the best court awareness of anyone on our team. He sees things, often preemptively, and converts situations into steals. So I also would imagine if he steals the ball so often he is a bit better at not committing TOs from being stolen back.

Hard to believe we will have him 2 more years after this! I find it very unlikely he leaves early.

We haven't even touched on his potential. We focus everything on Cheick and Carlton.

@benshawks08

According to Devonte, he doesn't push hard enough. He doesn't take enough chances with aggression. Self told him that. Self told him that he wouldn't mind seeing a few more TOs per game if it had the additional scoring benefits to go with it.

Here we go....

NOW ~
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START UP THE LASERS ~
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FIXED! ~
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HEY WAIT A MINUTE! ~
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EVEN BETTER! (sorry, students) ~
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I want a definite change at AFH...

Not the graphics on the court. I wouldn't change anything on the hardwoods.

I'd like us to hire a tech firm that can come in and superimpose a hologram over the good seats where all the old rich people sit and often sleep through games. Just live feed our student section over those sections... make it really look like we are a fieldhouse jammed with energetic, excited fans.

It is such a laugh (at our expense) when we have a big game and the announcers are talking about what a magic place AFH is and how the crowd is our 6th-man.... and then they show grandpa taking a snooze on row 6.

Zenger is never going to do the right thing and give the close seats to students because of the financial impact. But that would sure make games even more intense than they are now.

I have to hand it to our student body. They kick major butt in providing HUGE game support! Just imagine if they had more seats down low to be heard and seen?

Eventually, the student section behind the goals will be sold for more money and they will shove students off into an annex building for a live video feed. Their screaming will be recorded and played back in the arena, and video on the big screen. Just capture "the essence" of student energy while cashing in big with the money crowd. I'm sure Zenger is working on this now...

@DinarHawk

Very true.

But we will have some games, especially at home, where Cheick should see more minutes. This is the time to scream "fire" for Cheick, not now. Not hours before we go through the grind at WV....

I read on another site... a poster saying how important it was to start Cheick in the WV game. I considered that person a troll.... hoping Kansas was dumb enough to do it. They would rob Cheick so blind, he might not even have his jockstrap left on him after a couple of minutes of facing high-pressure steals from the master thieves at WV.

@RockChalkinTexas

Am I reading those charts right? Cheick and Perry have only had 34 possessions together? That isn't enough possessions to determine anything. A couple of shots made or missed completely changes the results.

Oh yes... even on this article it says:

"Haley note: Ellis and Diallo haven't played together enough yet for the numbers to mean anything."

So we can't really support Cheick's stats yet.

But I do think he needs to pick up a few more minutes so he can be properly evaluated. Just not sure I would want it to be in crunch time yet.

What we should be paying attention to now, on the court during games, isn't so much about PT of our post guys.

What we should be paying attention to is looking for additional development in our play, on both sides of the ball.

Our starting group has plenty of experience in D1 and Self ball. That means team practices should be more fruitful than when the starting group is sprinkled with green wood. We should see new things installed and running throughout the season. That would mean we are improving and our upcoming opponents will struggle to properly scout us because we constantly bring new wrinkles to the game, especially in our offense.

That is the way to reach our PEAK at the right time... March!

College basketball has changed so much over the past 20 years. Scouting was pretty much a joke back then. It was hard for schools to properly scout other teams. Now... because of technology and networks, and schools investing quite a bit in their A/V departments, scouting has come on big time. This is part of the issue on why college basketball scores have dropped. Teams are better prepared going into games.

If we continue to develop wrinkles in our offense all year, we keep our opponents guessing to some degree. They can't really prepare for us as well and it will show in the results.

This is easily the #1 problem for Kansas in March in recent years. We bring a team of puppies into March, and they not only freak out, but have such limited team development that our opposition easily has us properly scouted and they are able to compete with us like apples-to-apples even though we are a 1 or 2 seed and they are a 8 or 9 seed.

@DinarHawk

What is really amazing is that we do have the best guard tandem in the country! If we don't take advantage of that potential we deserve to lose in March.

I'm all for Cheick and he is going to be a great one. But right now his offer is "foul's gold."

I don't think people realize what a shift it is to have our team now focus on Cheick. He has to suddenly run with our starting team in practice. That alone should kill this notion of just flipping the switch to Cheick. He will kill our team offense development because he has no experience with Self ball and doesn't even have experience in the game of basketball. He is pure green wood. Our entire offense will develop in slow motion as the coaches will have to focus on Cheick in team practices. This is where we blow it... big time. Then, suddenly, we see our early season advantage of all that extra polish (thanks partially to WUG) vanish as other teams pass us by. We've been there before.

We have a very good team now. A team that could be great in March if we spend our time, energy and focus in the right areas... where we have the most potential. We have more potential developing as a team.... not stopping team development to help one player with potential to develop into something.

This is exactly like the issue in education today. Do we lower the bar for everyone and push all students into slow development so the lower students can hopefully improve at the slower pace? Or do we educate at a higher level for all students, and give special assistance to the lower students to help improve them?

Lower the bar for the low, or raise the bar for everyone else?

This is where we are at. Not what you see on the court. We still have to improve considerably to be a contender in March.

I think we beat Kentucky by playing experienced basketball. We can't freak out if they get a small run, and we need to take advantage of our runs and push even harder, trying to freak out a young team on the road.

If we limit Ulis and Murray, I don't see how we get beat. Neither of these guys are the weapon Hield is.

Otherwise, we just have to play smart basketball. Limit TOs and get our fair share of rebounds. I think we can match up well with UK on the boards.

The "x-factor" is pace. We need to do a better job of playing at a pace that improves our efficiency. We will get a huge taste of that tonight against WV. If we can find our sweet spot, WV doesn't stand a chance. If we don't find it... we can easily leave Morgantown with a loss.... AGAIN!

Between now and March, I believe our main focus should be on guard play... and mostly to control pace. This also happens with bigs, to get out in transition and look for quick outlet passes.

I value this focus much more than I do dropping everything on this team to focus on getting Cheick ready for March. If he comes along, great. If he doesn't... we can have our best team since 2008

I advise everyone look for archives of that 2014 championship game. And how UCONN controlled most of the game pace. It is a weapon few ever talk about. It is having a "6th man" on the court at all times. 6 playing 5, an advantage making it hard to lose.

A big part of OUs success relates to them controlling pace. They do a pretty good job of staying at a pace that keeps their efficiency up. When they are off their pace, they suddenly become a very mediocre team.

@justanotherfan

I hear what you are saying... and the real threat from Kentucky will be Ulis and Murray, especially on high ball screens.

You think Cheick can guard them out there? I think he would foul out of the game within 2 minutes. Self probably couldn't pull him quick enough to protect him. Yes... it is that bad.

But the guys who will have to step up on that is our guards, including swing guys. In general, Frank and Devonte do a decent job of getting on top of ball screens. Wayne... Wayne... he has improved quite a bit, but he is still vulnerable to running behind screens. And then our bench, BG and Svi, could get schooled in a game like this.

We shouldn't let our opponents force unnecessary switches, or create scoring space on high ball screens. If the defense is up to the task, they can make teams pay if they can't run a perfect high ball screen.

@ralster

"Self will be back in his office in Lawrence hanging up a “Wanted” poster of himself in a trophy frame (that he snagged in Morgantown…)."

It will look great in the locker room toilet!

@justanotherfan

I'm anxious for that Kentucky game. Have you watched them play this year? Skal has been a major, major disappointment. He plays very soft and non-aggressive. He has NO strength. So it will be up to Poythress to do the damage along with Marcus Lee. There is no Anthony Davis on this team... or Karl-Anthony Towns.

We shall see if Kentucky can dominate our post. Up to now, I just don't see it, even if we put BG as our 5.

I see this game as a challenge for the guards. A guard game. And then we have a couple of extra swing weapons in Perry and Wayne.

@benshawks08

Yes, we can win with Lucas and Traylor on the floor.

Look at UCONN's title in 2014 as a prime example. Up against a tough Kentucky team and without any great post players. Their post main presence was DeAndre Daniels... a guy that some say Kansas passed on.

Look at that team and you will realize how much potential Kansas has. UCONN was guard heavy, with Shabazz and Boatright. Those guys made everyone forget about their weak post presence.

This is why we need Frank AND Devonte to step up every game. Frank is, by far, the more consistent, experienced guard, but Devonte really has exceptional potential and just needs to bring in a more aggressive attitudes into games. He tends to play soft until the last couple of minutes.

We get these two playing to their potential, everyone will forget about the post, just like what happened with UCONN.

@jaybate-1.0

The issue abroad is agency. Players don't have the same level of representation. This has been going on forever there like this. Teams aren't used to signing guys for long contracts. And their experience with American players isn't 100% perfect. Many Americans have skipped on contracts for various reasons. It is a gamble signing American players. Big time.

@jaybate-1.0

For security purposes, I vetted the word"campenile" and our experts in the lab reported on "campanile."

Does this relate to the new bell tower secretly being built beside AFH?

Hey.... let's go small this game.

Let's play... Frank, Devonte, Wayne, BG, Svi, Perry... Just leave all our 5s out for a game. Go with our best ball handlers.

Put Perry on the spot to own the boards. He is a friggin' senior. Self should be able to put him in tough situations and expect good results.

Let's give the Mountaineers a taste of their own medicine. Let's run run run... press press press... push transition offense and play great transition defense. Let's make it a game I want to see.... pure X-axis basketball!

Let's see if we can push WV into a hurry up offense.

Ha.... I'd love to see what happens.

@nuleafjhawk

If they are dumb enough to feel disrespected now, then they will be dumb enough tomorrow to not feel humiliated, no matter how bad the score or the bad play to get to the score.

But seriously..... UVW or VWU or VFW.... they are a quality team. If you remove most of the curse words used by Huggy Bear you can see through to the real coach, who is actually an outstanding coach! That still doesn't make them a Top 10 team.

Winning the Big 12 regular season title would probably give West Virginia a Top 10 rating. Beating us once on their home court? Na...

@Bwag

I like all kinds of food including animal organs... but MSG isn't anything I can handle. Makes my backside mimic dropping Mentos in a 2-liter coke bottle.

@HighEliteMajor

"You are very articulate in your defense of C5.

Do you see us winning the national title with Lucas and Traylor as the #2 and #3 minutes guys in the post? That is the crunch question, isn’t it?"

I always appreciate your posts. You have great basketball instincts and insights. And I am careful not to go over the top being too critical on your concepts because dang if you won't prove me wrong!!!

I mean this with all sincerity... you are one of the few people I know I would trust my kids with your coaching. I know you would build great fundamentals in them.

I respect that you push harder for change than anyone in here, and you back it up with well-thought posts.

I am just going with Self on this one (so far) because I can't attend practices and get to know the guys. I believe Self is trying to take the best path for pushing Cheick into the most development. Maybe that means starving him of PT minutes to build his appetite to develop quicker. He should have a sense of urgency. I don't know that much about his culture from Mali. But I have had a pretty good taste of several African countries and having a sense of urgency isn't usually a common personal trait. This is not a race thing. From what I understand Cheick is one constant energy flow with lots of hustle. But right now... it is 8:30pm. Is he in a gym somewhere working on his game until midnight? That is what it is going to take to give him D1 game this season.

There is gray area in coaching.... but not that often. I am thinking Self's current decision to limit his minutes is pretty obvious to Self. And we don't have enough things to support Cheick getting big minutes right now. That could change quickly. And it depends only on Cheick. He needs to be studying plays, watching tape, work on his strength, work on his post moves, dribbling, passing, rebounding... setting screens. Pretty much the entire game of basketball started for him just a few weeks ago. Everything he did before that was either very little real technique, or techniques that build bad habits that have to change now.

I don't think any of us can really comprehend the learning curve he must perform at to really be an asset to Kansas basketball THIS YEAR! This goes way beyond his extremely high potential. Repetition, repetition, repetition.... Work... work... work...

Keep up the push. I'm not convinced yet, but I am at least starting to think about it more.

I am okay with Cheick getting a few more minutes. But he needs to reduce his fouling and mucking up both sides of the ball.

@HighEliteMajor

I just don't think Cheick has enough minutes with Perry to make any numbers stick.

His play on the court is just downright painful to watch. It goes way beyond "eye test."

But the good news is that he is improving rapidly. Will it be enough for this season? I really don't know.

I think, as of today, there is a 95% chance Cheick will wear a Kansas uniform next year. He will be a monster from Day 1 next year.

You know... if we were just a mediocre team this year I would be a lot more open to making big changes right now. But we are a pretty good team with great potential this spring, with or without Cheick. That makes me react more conservative now. We have plenty to lose by taking big risks now.

@HighEliteMajor

" It is flat silly to sit this kid 50 of 55 minutes vs. OU and to play him, what, 3 minutes against Texas Tech."

I agree... he should get a few more minutes just to make sure he stays hungry for more. Helps keep him interested while gaining little bits of real game experience.

I just don't see him getting major minutes in big games within the next week or so... and maybe not all season. He will have to make a huge update to his game to warrant that.

We (I see 'we' because it definitely includes me) all are very quick to make major changes in hopes to find big gains. It just doesn't work that way on Self's level. He's paid millions of dollars and can't afford to have a major dip in his popularity. His popularity is largely tied to his winning success. If he gambles away wins, he gambles away his popularity. If he loses his popularity his job changes completely. Then he goes from a premiere coach to an average coach that no one cares if he is thrown under the bus. When he makes a big move, especially during league play, he better feel confident in the results. That is what I mean by "risk/reward." It just isn't there yet with Cheick because he completely fails the eye test.

And the results can be devastating. If anything happens now and KU goes on a losing streak... fans will be looking for a reason and a person to flog. That is just the way it is in sports. Self isn't going to give them that reason. We already know from last year. He was warned a million times on some of that BAD BALL stuff and he didn't react. He played it through and we accepted mediocrity. It wasn't a great situation, but it is unlikely anything was going to save that season. We just didn't have all the right pieces and with too much inexperience.

Devonte Graham is a huge part of our success this year. Everyone is focusing on Frank and Wayne... but Devonte is playing some pretty good ball sometimes and when he plays well we kick ass. No one can steal balls on this team like Devonte can, and he cashes them in at the other end.

@Texas-Hawk-10

I like your explanation better than mine! Great job!

Another point.... with our current C5... how do teams scout our 5? Which 5? And how do they make a plan to attack our 5 if they don't know which one will get the minutes?

Scouting is huge. In our league, it helps tighten up league play and makes our conference race very very interesting.

And in March... I think scouting is the key to winning out. Doesn't get talked about enough. We often lose to lower teams. I give them credit less for hitting a big shot at the buzzer and more for knowing how to play us for 40 minutes.

Our C5 offers vagueness... a potential strength never realized in typical analysis!

@HighEliteMajor

We are well into B12 play.

Since when has Self waited this long to lock down his rotation?

There is a reason for it. He hasn't excluded Cheick from future minutes yet because he must sense his development will come along enough for him to make an impact this year.

Cheick may pass Jesse's stat line, but he sure doesn't pass my eye test. Not yet, anyways. He hasn't played long enough to make his stats stick. He should more positively impact a game if he is only getting a few minutes. He never even has to catch a second wind! And by the time teams start to adjust to his different play, he is being pulled out of the game, often because he is starting to foul.

Morgantown is not the time to give him more minutes. We need every opportunity to come out of there with a win.

But we have some nice home games coming up against the less-than-cream teams. Those are perfect opportunities to really give him some big minutes and see how he impacts the team. If he can manage to stay in without fouling.

I bet he is improving a lot every single week. I'm guessing he won't be the same player one month from now and he is right now. I hope he makes enough gains to really make a difference on this team. But I am skeptical. I hope he proves me wrong! I hope...

@HighEliteMajor

Do you have a link to Jesse's post?

I'd like to check it out. I didn't realize Cheick's numbers show that well... but... he hasn't really played long enough to make these numbers stick. Maybe he should receive more minutes to try to see if they will stick.

I'm doubtful those numbers will work out over any length of time, unless Cheick shows us a complete turn around. He makes major blunders on almost every single play he is out there. Glaring. Really... glaring.

For example, I think it was the TT game. He was along the baseline and fed Selden (I think) and then ran away from the basket. Selden was driving (I think it was Selden) and made the natural pass back to a Diallo who wasn't there to take the ball and score with a finish at the rim. He wasn't there! He doesn't have team chemistry yet or the knowledge to know how to take advantage of situations.

Imagine we put Cheick in the starting lineup right now.

That means.... our practice sessions basically come to a complete STOP because everything we practice we have to stop and WALK Cheick through it. This means... we basically STOP our entire offensive development just to include Cheick.

Cheick still doesn't know how to play without fouling. So whatever we do. whatever investment we make in him (read sentence above) it is only going to help us a couple minutes a game... the amount of time it takes him to get into foul trouble.

I think Self wants to move Cheick into more minutes when it becomes the closest thing to being a "seamless transition." If he does it now, we could easily be going on a losing streak. Bad for winning B12 #12, bad for March seedings, bad for team because who is to say they will get their mojo back. And Self would come under extreme, major criticism. The slight criticism he is getting now for not playing Cheick is only a tiny bit compared to what will happen if we see him make a change that throws us into a downward spiral. The risk/reward just isn't there yet.

But... maybe things change over the next couple weeks. I don't know.

All I know is what I see and read from others. And I talk to some smart basketball people outside of Kansas. No one I know thinks Cheick is anywhere ready to become an OAD or start for Kansas.

@JayHawkFanToo

"Why would any NBA team hire him? He coached in the NBA before and he was big flop. His record is 72 wins and 112 losses in 3 years as HC of the Nets;"

Precisely.

Calipari has recruiting going for him at Kentucky. That advantage completely evaporates for him in the NBA. Picking up the right players tends to be more of an upper management situation over just the desires of a coach. Cal can't pull a fast recruiting pitch on NBA players to sway them over. He has to deal with agents and salary caps. It is big business, not used car salesmanship (D1) dealing with kids with no experience in anything in life except dribbling a basketball.

Calipari uses NBA chatter to up his return at Kentucky. He has several areas where he negotiates his net take home, far more than just his coaching pay. He is as easy to read as a children's book. When he talks it up on how the NBA wants him (yada, yada, yada) then you know he is preparing to enter negotiations over something impacting his personal income from Kentucky. Ha... they deserve what they get!

@Crimsonorblue22

We beat them on our home court. Let's see if we can do it in Norman. We CAN, but WILL we?

@wrwlumpy

Now is a great time to mention us playing WSU. We need that rusty sword from last year continuing to push into our guts. Build the chip... take a note from the Royals this year. Keep the chip alive throughout the season so we continue our developmental momentum all year!

You know how important it is for us to peak at the right time. If we are working our butts off all year, we should peak at the end. When it counts most... especially focusing on a National Championship.

So yes... let's talk about Shockers! Hope they win enough games to make the dance this year so we can kick their arses! :)

Normally... I am right there with you on this one. We are settling into conference play, and not nailing down rotation is typically a sign of disaster. Self knows this. Hey... he is the guy FAMOUS for putting great talent on ice the entire year! Probably hurt our recruiting, too.

I don't think Self CAN limit the rotation as of now. Too many factors preventing it.

Many reasons why:

1. None of our bigs have proven they can stay in a game for 20 minutes without getting into severe foul trouble. This alone makes it absolutely necessary to keep all our 5s off ice and in the oven, hot and ready to play. The closest guy to staying out of foul trouble may be Jamari.

2. Cheick and Carlton aren't ready. Well.... I actually think Carlton is ready to start taking a few additional minutes. What most people don't understand is this changes EVERYTHING with our team! So... if we bump Carlton into a starting role with lots of minutes he has to practice with our starting lineup. That means... all our practices slow down while he is targeted with help to keep up. The only reason we are as "team developed" as we are today is because we run most practices with experienced 5s in place.

3. As good as Hunter is in some areas, he is weak in other areas. He fouls way too much for a guy with his skills but his defensive numbers look impressive. How can we run him more minutes if he can't stop fouling?

4. From what I am seeing.... Cheick isn't going to be the big difference maker in the post this year. He is just way too rough. He is starting to get a few offensive moves together, but his team defense and team offense is a big goose egg. Tom Keegan actually had one of his better articles on Cheick the past days explaining why he wasn't ready and he was spot on. I'm starting to think our post bump this year will probably come just from Carlton.

5. I'm not sure we can rush this process. I know it is already late to decide. But who do we put on ice for the rest of the year? Essentially... that is what we are doing. You take any of these guys and stop giving them any minutes for several weeks and they collect too much rust to be put in again (in vital minutes).

6. C5 stats are decent. Haven't we had the C5 stats posted in here and aren't they holding their own right now? I do grant you that it may not be something sustainable all the way from now through March. But... will we suffer more right now cutting guys out for the deep freeze or keep the C5 intact?

7. We need to be careful tweaking down right now. We are tweaking in several areas. If we tweak too much at the same time, it becomes impossible to evaluate any of the tweaks because they are interrelated. This is a common situation in developing almost anything... whether it be basketball teams or software. Make limited tweaks and study the results on those before making more tweaks. I think there are other tweaks I consider more important at this particular time.

I don't feel ready to ice down any of our guys at the 5 right now. And I have to admit, if I was going to ice down anyone, it would be Cheick. He is, by far, the guy that has to come the furthest distance to actually help this team. I don't think we can do that... especially if we ever want to recruit the top tier talent again.

Self is going to have to give Cheick a few minutes here and there... if for no other reason than to show the world Cheick isn't ready for more minutes. And the second Cheick plays and produces enough to separate himself, he will instantly grab more PT.

BTW: Without Jamari, we would have at least one conference loss, Oklahoma. No way in hell we are winning that game without Jamari. He made most of the defensive big plays that heavily impacted momentum. I am like most people in here... awaiting the day that Cheick takes minutes from Jamari. It appears that won't happen this year. And from my conversations with other basketball wizards (who do not wear crimson/blue glasses) they see Cheick as a "work in progress" that will go far beyond this season. One of those people I highly respect said look for Cheick to play 3 years at Kansas! The hype was way too high on Cheick. More and more he looks like a freshman TRob. TRob stayed 3 years.

@Crimsonorblue22

Maybe BG needs to sub in for Wayne more in this game then for Devonte.

Maybe we need Devonte and Frank in for the majority of minutes to make sure we can handle the pressure.

Don't know... I think this is one big area for Self and why he is paid so much!

I'm questioning a lot less of his moves this year. Either he is making better decisions or I am getting smarter and thinking he is better!

Remember this line:

"My parents have become a lot smarter as I have grown older."

@Crimsonorblue22

Good question... Maybe BG offers up the dagger that really puts WVU away. Let's start off building a 15-pt lead with Devonte in there and then give Devonte a blow and go with BG to finish them off! He is our guy to put the game out of reach. Comes in off the bench and nails 4 quick 3s. That should do it!

We've lost the last two times in Morgantown, both times WVU wasn't even ranked.

The only difference between this team and the past two (that makes a real difference) is having Devonte at the 2 to offer a duo on the perimeter that can really handle the ball, attack, and run offense.

This game is 100% on Devonte's back. It is time for the accountability gauntlet to pass over to Devonte. Welcome to Kansas, Devonte! You are now (for the first time) in the spotlight on this game and you need to take on the challenge like a true Jayhawk!

You can do it! With ease....

@Bwag

"I’m no coach…I’m a Rec league player…years ago."

Nothing wrong with that.... TT's starting big man is a walk-on from rec league!

@jaybate-1.0

You forgot....

D, take out the trash.

I'm well-versed in this kind of training....

@BeddieKU23

Yes... in "man years" Devonte is a junior. In "Kansas basketball years" he is just a sophomore. I think the latter is what counts most.

He is the difference maker tomorrow in Morgantown. He needs to come ready to play and he needs to stay focused in "attack mode" for 40 minutes. Anything else and we will be in trouble.

The real difference in this team versus last year is the move of putting him on the perimeter with Frank full time. But if he doesn't produce, we suddenly morph back into last year's team.

Here is their surefire recipe for ranking higher in preseason:

Over the next 100 years, develop several Final Four teams and take home the gold 4 or 5 times.

Set the current record for consecutive invitations to the Big Dance.

Set the current record for consecutive Big 12 conferene championships.

In the process, put truckloads of players in the NBA.

When you get that accomplished, we will stand beside you during your complaint of not being ranked high enough.

@Crimsonorblue22

Nope... Came back to Kansas and found the woman of my dreams!

Tom Izzo.... figures....

@Hawk69

I like to use iron skillets whenever possible. My wife nags about it because I insist one of us clean it after finishing and rubbing in a bit more oil so they don't rust.

Food taste different when cooked in iron skillets and it has excellent heat retention and balances out the heat. I also read that it infuses your food with iron. That is usually something more needed by women... but we all need our iron.

@Bwag

Malaysian food is very good! I have my favorite Malaysian restaurant. Yummy! When I lived abroad I had an Indonesian girlfriend. She would spend all day, from early morning, preparing to make dinner. It was a very spiritual thing in her culture. So most Indo dinners she made would include around 10 unique dishes, sometimes more.

I'd be working in my residence office and she would call me to dinner. If I even hesitated 1-minute to finish up something she would get super pissed off.

@Bwag

"My wife asked, “what have you been doing?” Me: “Just messing around.”"

Yeah... you are going to have to come up with a better line. I tried that and my wife knew right away. I'm supposed to be working... ha...

You've been sucked in... enjoy the ride!

I think we have all learned a lot about KU basketball and basketball in general through this site. I know I've picked up a plethora of information on the game. Almost every day it feels like I am having a good conversation with a bunch of top notch coaches.

Easily... this is the best basketball site I visit!

@Texas-Hawk-10

Sound really dirty from App St. That should hurt their recruiting. University first, recruit second.

Drake Causes Kentucky Wildcats An NCAA Violation ↗

Kentucky Reports 2nd NCAA Rules Violation Involving Rapper Drake ↗

I wonder how much of this stuff goes unreported? The only reason they self-reported was because Ulis posted the photo so they would get caught.

This is the second time they have been in trouble with Drake.

@Bwag

Lamb brains are delicious. Very rich, too. Almost reminds me of paté. It is only the thought that freaks people out. There is some personal cultural tradition with many of these foods and myself. Sometimes that might be why I tried something early in life.

Both my parents were incredible in the kitchen. Made it easy to try new things because I trusted them. Anything can be prepared to taste special if it is prepared right, just like the very best ingredients can end up tasting horrible when the dish is screwed up.

The trust was a big deal for me.

@Bwag

Good thread. Thanks for putting in the energy!

@Bwag

"Definition of "delicacy": something normal people, in normal circumstances would never eat."

I like that.... and it does seem to be the truth.

@jaybate-1.0

I would like to score the next Frank or Devonte. Build on the depth for after Frank is gone.

We need to at least snag one of these type players every 2 years to keep a steady rotation of experienced guard play out top.

@ralster

Media is focused on Wayne, Perry and Frank.

I think Devonte is our "sleeper" (secret weapon below the radar) and I hope he stays under the radar. I'd just like to see him find more consistency in his games. Especially relating to the level of aggression he brings to games. He looked very soft yesterday... until the end.

Devonte Graham took yesterday off. Kind of reminds me of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" with lots of trouble during the "day" (game) and then it came together at the end to work out.

!111414-SW-CBK-Devonte-Graham-PI.vadapt.620.high.68.jpg ↗

Devonte's "day" was a 30-minute day on the court in Lubbock. In those 30-minutes, Devonte contributed 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 foul, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 steal. Hardly a day to write home about.

I think we look at Devonte, and we don't give him the benefit of the doubt concerning his youth. His is only a sophomore, and shared minutes last year. He is still a bit "green."

But just look at his potential! I don't see how we can lose a game when he comes to a game with the right mindset and preparedness. He may have been a bit too amped up for the OU game, making several mistakes he usually doesn't make. And he may have come a bit too kicked back against TT yesterday because his game was largely invisible until the end.

His up and down play is typical for a guy at his experience level in D1. However.... when looking at his total package, we need to expect more from him than "typical results." Self has been pushing on him to become a bigger factor in games. There is a reason for that. Self sees the real potential in Devonte. He has the potential of positively impacting the game every bit as much as Cheick has potential to some day impact the game, too. That is a BIG IMPACT!

For us to go into Morgantown and beat the Mountaineers.... we could really use a Devonte that is dialed into the game for the entire game. If he comes ready, we should have little problem stripping the buckshot and moonshine out of the Mountaineers. If Devonte doesn't come prepared and has another invisible game, we could easily leave with a loss.

@ralster

From within my own world of gossiping hens (outside of KUBuckets), I am grasping the reality that there is an excellent chance Cheick and Carlton will both be back next year.

This has a lot to do with why our recruiting has sucked so far. We won't have the minutes to give up... anywhere. Well... on second thought, better find another good 4 who can score from everywhere...

So what do you think.... are we the Royals LAST YEAR when they finished runner-up and then came back with more spunk (and a chip) to kick butt this year?

If we did finish runner-up, and our only sure loss of valuable minutes is Perry... would Wayne return even if his stock is high enough to possibly make him a lottery pick?

I think the strongest part of Wayne is his heart. I don't think he would leave with unfinished business.

@Bwag

Yes.... I focused more on possessions... and you focused more on what happened on our possessions. It all adds up to us taking one in Lubbock!