I have no doubt we were fueled by having a chip. Self made it a huge deal to let them know they were not favored in AFH.
He brought similar fuel on the prep for UCONN.
Keep these guys on the same page and no one can handle us!
Kill Zach's redshirt now and I'll believe we will win-out in March!
If we come out committed like we were against UCONN at home... we win.
Anything else... I'm expecting the worst!
It sounds like bruised egos are getting in the way of a better March run. Why don't they just bury the hatchet, pull his red shirt, and move on? Even if Zach improves dramatically, he won't find a better opportunity than being a Jayhawk. I know fans would be happy to see him playing now!
I'm sure Self would help any of his players like that. What caught my eye was him confessing a mistake on the red shirt.
I'm happy we were able to handle OSU at home without Kevin. But what is his status now? I feel confident he will play in the huge Houston game on Saturday.
We know how this goes. Players play hurt. And from what I understand, Kevin's injury isn't one adding risk of further injury, but strictly a nagging injury slowing him down.
Still.... even though we received a little lift from our bench in the OSU game, let's face facts; it was OSU at home!
It is starting to feel by me and I know by others, and maybe even within the team, this is a year we will not contend for a national championship. If we really put everything we had into this year, wouldn't we...
UNLEASH THE BIG GUN... NOW!
Zach is a red shirt junior. Someone help me with the math... does he have 2 years left, or 3? Doesn't he have a Covid year add-on?
Nice article about Zach -
So glad to hear he is finally bulking up! 229 lbs at 6'11".
The last time I recall his play Zach had respectable handles and trey potential. If you read the above article carefully... Self contradicts calling Zach a 4-man.
Might Zach be able to relieve minutes at the 3, 4, and sometimes even 5?
The season is far enough along for us to truly realize what we have on this team. Our only "bench with size" is now down to Parker and we know he may not be able to carry any kind of load (holding serve) moving forward in a tough schedule and NCAA tourney.
I've also noticed we may be having a wheel coming off Hunter. He's been hobbling around in recent games and we still have the most crucial part of the season ahead.
If we pull Zach's red shirt today, he will have 2 months of solid, competitive play to get into some kind of stride. The very least he will provide us with is another body to use with size and give a few of our guys more rest. The most he will provide us with is enough depth where depth is no longer an issue on this team.
Self already mentioned it was a mistake to red shirt Zach. Is it too late? Maybe the timing is perfect! Zach had a few more months to build on weight and strength. He would be joining this team having total experience on "Self ball" and has a completely fresh body!
Other teams have no problem adding in bodies this late. Just look at Kentucky! And it is already paying dividends for them!
What are we saving him for? Future years? We already have the top big man coming in... Hunter appears to be returning... KJ is solidifying future minutes... and we are in the process of recruiting several additional bigs... and then... the transfer portal!
The only thing certain with Zach is he is needed NOW!
It's time! Unleash the big gun!
@kjayhawks said in The Furph:
Where will furphy rank in terms of great freshman?
If he closes strong and leads us to another Nattie... I'd say he will rank at the very top!
I feel his pain. We can all see his frustration at times. That's not a good thing. He needs a "shooter's mentality"... forgetting all the misses immediately and being optimistic the next shot will go!
He's an easy guy to set up for a trey. We should run a few easy plays to open him up. We have to show some optimism back to him to stimulate his positivity.
I think if we can get him playing with more flow he'll think less and play more in the moment. He will appear quicker, more athletic, and will nail more treys.
We can be negative towards him and almost void him from our minds... but lets get real... we need him off the bench to help out! We have to continue to invest good things into him and I bet it will pay off soon!
We played them close. Better than I expected.
We don't need points off the bench. We just need them to not give up points.
I feel like we deserve a B for execution today. Might have turned to an A had our starters not been so exhausted.
We know our weaknesses:
It's the #2 that is going to end our season early this year... and a big part of that is lack of depth. We have a hard time guarding the trey line. A lot of that is because of how we guard. We play too much weakside D. That opens the perimeter for someone wide-open. We should just play it up straight and make each man responsible for guarding. I'm afraid it's Self trying to prevent foul trouble. Everything about how we play now is to compensate for having little bench. Just like... now... we live on defensive switches. We don't want to fight through screens to guard. It so isn't a typical Self team. We switch on everything. Saving energy, and maybe a few fouls, though we are getting murdered on the switches. It's painful watching other teams methodically working us over (like what we used to do).
At this point in the season... I like Houston to take our conference. The difference is Shead. Big strong scrappy PG who shows definite leadership... can also go get his shot whenever needed. They molested the purple kitties today.
I've lowered my expectations this year... just hoping we win-out at home, beat the purple kitties, and earn our ticket to the big dance to keep our streak alive. Beyond that... I will take it as a huge plus.
Never thought I would be disappointed in being the #1 assist team in the nation! It just proves we don't have players that can create for themselves. Pretty much just Kevin! Though I see Johnny taking on more as the season progresses!
I hope we get shot down in polls. We should. Maybe it gives us a chip and it would be nice to fly below radar for a change! It didn't even seem like the ISU fans were as jacked up as in past games there. I know they expected this win, and I'm sure by more points than 4.
Holy cow! Just looked at the stat sheet. Parker -13 on +/- in 5 minutes! Actually... he scored a basket and an offensive rebound. I'm thinking he's so far negative because he replaces Hunter. Just shows us how valuable it is to have Hunter on the floor, even though his +/- was 0!
I totally take Tang's side on this one.
ISU fans are the worst in our conference. Ask other Jayhawk fans about ISU fan behavior in the Power and Light District during the B12 Tourney.
@kjayhawks said in Other bball games:
Reminds me of EJ dropping 39 points in a victory including a dunk at the end of the game that sent the place into a frenzy. It was later released that ISU had not only thrown stuff at the KU bench repeatedly but a fan had spit in EJs face.
And a slurry of racial names. It was this game where I lost all respect for ISU. Still hasn't come back to me.
Agreeing with the transfer portal comments.
But back to the phones. Several times now in this new year I've had people talking to me and they forget what they are talking about in the middle of a sentence about what they are talking about. lol
I'm old... so I have an excuse for losing my train of thought. What about these kids?
I wonder if some of our guys are out there playing in a game and then suddenly think about something not relating to the game... like a social media feed or text from a friend. Even a very brief distraction can cause a disastrous play on the court.
I know... I know... I have an obscure perspective... again! At least I didn't mention Mezzo ball in this post. Oh sh*t! Just did! lol
My thoughts on why so many good teams are getting smoked... and it's not just college basketball.
I believe it is the impact of smartphones. Everyone is glued to their phones 24/7. I see it with my own kids. Being on for hours every day makes it hard for people to STAY FOCUSED!
What are your thoughts on this?
We so miss a player like Arterio can play. But he was toxic! Glad he is gone!
I'm hopeful they are just hitting that winter lull... and now it's time for the guys to have a meeting and talk toughness. Self has usually found a way to pull them out of it. I was encouraged to see Self turning purple at the end of the Cincy game.
This is where the team steps up and takes some pride. Someone or several show leadership. And they decide team identity... which should always work out to be a tough defensive team.
Outside of a few offensive tweaks... getting Hunter to post lower... getting a few more drives and aggressive play out of Juan... our offense won't change dramatically. Where the change needs to happen is defense. We should be scoring at least 10 more points a game off our defense. And it should make the entire game go easier and flow smoother.
I know these guys have it in them. They stepped up on UCONN. If they can decide their identity is gritty defense, we will be back to being the team that beat UCONN and can have the potential for a real run in March.
Self is the master at knowing how to rest these guys outside of games. He lightens their practices so they aren't adding wear on non-game days.
I'm not buying into the tired excuse. There are other players in this league putting in big minutes. And we aren't out there going 110% during games.
I usually cut our guys a lot of slack. But I'm not buying it here. If it's true, we might as well forfeit March now, save the humiliation!
Kevin is out there hustling his butt off... why can't the others?
This is turning out to be a very soft team!
He's a man with heart disease. Memory loss is one of the symptoms of heart disease...
The Halftime report mentioned how non-athletic KU is this year. I disagree. Sure, we've had more athletic teams... but this team just isn't hustling.
Furph the only guy to crash the boards. He still has his high school body, but he can do it.
I'm done being nice. I'm calling out the guys who aren't cutting it!
Starting with Hunter. 7'2" and only 6 rebounds. Seriously? Try moving your arse closer to the goal, also on offense, maybe score a few points.
KJ... come on, man! 3 rebounds in 38 minutes! Close your eyes next time and the ball will find you at least 5 times in 38 minutes!
Juan... 5 TOs... the worst at the end in the back court that kept Cincy in the game. Where is your head, dude?
Kevin... another great grinder game for you! The team is on your back now! Hope you can keep holding up the weight, brother! A+
Furph... what is he, 18? Body of a boy, but heart of a man... a big man! He's out there doing what our veteran guys aren't doing! A+
Come on, guys! Man the f up!
You heard it right. One of those signs I said as a senior citizen when I recognized retirement coming.
I hope I maintain my perfect record here on predictions on my predictions...
I predict Bill Self, our beloved, respected HOF'r coach, will retire within the next 3 years. I base this NOT on having any inside info... I'm just an old fart (older than Bill) and I'm seeing the signs.
Comments?
I'm batting 100% on my predictions that my predictions would constantly be wrong!
When I make a prediction, place your money on the opposite and you will become the next Bill Gates! lol
How about blaming Bill?
I don't like to blame Bill.... but he's had some alarming statements that make me think he's about ready to call it quits. He admits to coaching softer and even his players admit it.
It's going to get harder for our team to come hyped up to play a game.
I'm starting to see the writing on the wall. Hate to admit this, too.
It's not fun to play the blame game... but I will.
I blame everyone except Furph and Timberlake. Both those guys played to their potential!
Everyone else played like they needed a nap. And we can't use the excuse that they play too many minutes. They do.. but so do other players in college basketball that still come to play.
We need some leadership. We need someone stepping up now and taking charge... someone to lead, cheer lead, bring energy, help establish team pride, help establish team identity.
I can see this team losing 8 - 10 games this year. Because of our wins on top teams, it should help keep our NCAA appearance string alive.
It doesn't have to be like this. We can play with anyone if we decide to.
Same reason for loss at UCF... soft defense.
Our offense didn't look too bad, but it says it all when you score 85 points and lose.
Hunter really played bad defense.
Yes he did!
When there is a guaranteed contract on the table, leaving is by far the safe bet.
One can also argue it's the best path for future success in the league, too. When teams invest a fortune on these guys you can rest assured they are being coached up to the max.
I'm just a bit nostalgic and trying to squint my eyes and still see the possibility that college basketball isn't 100% business... all the time.
So here we are... back to the all-time classic argument; are OADs worth recruiting?
Evidently, Duke and UK think so. I've watched several UK games this year and they might do some serious damage in March, especially if they clear another footer into the lineup.
Next year college basketball will all be about Duke. Cooper Flagg will give Duke more free PR than they could ever get anywhere else... even if they had won a Nattie! That kid better perform and Duke better bring home a title or the joke will be on them! Far more humiliating than when they bought Zion!
Interesting perspective. You may be right. The entire time Grady was here the only thing I saw in his game that said NBA was his fluid shot release (and potential for accuracy). I remember watching many of Steph Curry's college games. He was small and fairly weak... but he had a real high basketball IQ and great handles while in college. More than Grady had.
Time will tell on Grady.
Had we won a title with Grady this year and he was perhaps our top scorer... and banging down 40+% from trey... wouldn't he have been a top 10 selection in the NBA draft?
I feel pretty much the same as you on OADs. I have enjoyed watching Wiggins and Embiid at the next level. I didn't think either of those guys should have stayed at KU beyond one year.
I would have rather used the scholie we gave Gradey on a development player who would be mashing it now and giving us depth! Gradey didn't even propel us in his one year here.
Still... not trying to trash Gradey. He didn't come to KU with promises of more than a year and Self warned everyone early on that he would be gone.
And in an environment where the fan base is totally supportive! We've embraced players like Kevin, Jalen Wilson, and Christian Braun!
I like it!
Don't fret it! Offend someone! That is when you know you are pushing some theoretic boundaries!
I can't think of a single regular poster in here I haven't offended at one time or another!
This website will become total milk toast if we don't embrace differences in opinions!
Meanwhile... back at the ranch...
Is UCF for real?
Going down to Austin and spanking Texas... wow!
Even though we lost to UCF, might they become our buddies this year by pulling upsets all over the place?
I guess Terry doesn't hold them in esteem... Ghees... Terry... let it go, man!
Does he stand at a higher chance of injury playing in a league above his physicality over college ball, which is more at his physical level? He wasn't even physical enough at Kansas.
It seems like an obvious answer to this, but I'm not sure. Toronto has a lot invested in young Gradey and he has access to the very best in sports medicine.
Yep.... good counter point!
Yep. And now they seem concerned he could be a bust. The game is more than about money, and sometimes, like poker, you hold onto a hand and not bet the pot early.
I hope Gradey makes it, and I think, to some level, he will. I just wonder what would have happened if he didn't race to make money.
I'm thinking you are being sarcastic here... but there is something to this.
Might he be gassed going into the second half? I'm fine with getting 20 good minutes out of the Furph per game. Also... since he's an unknown in the B12, he is probably starting to earn some respect and emphasis in scouting.
And for those who are thinking he will run off to the NBA after this year... or even next year... here is a good read on Gradey Dick's first year in the NBA.
Imagine had he stayed in Lawrence. Imagine the piece he would have provided for us while taking his time developing his body (part of it is to just build on his age). He would have left Lawrence a legacy player with status and could have had a much easier transition into the next level, without having to dig himself out of a tough situation.
I still stand by my comments that Dick should have stayed!
https://raptorsrapture.com/posts/concerned-raptors-gradey-continues-struggle ↗
You are right... Juan is best in those pick and roll lobs... we haven't seen many of those lately, mostly because it's been scouted so well by everyone. It's probably the first thing they go over when preparing to play us.
I think he used to create more offense. And I'm not sure why he isn't creating as much. Before Hunter played his first game with us he complimented Juan for being the guy he would team up most with... Juan setting him up.
We could build one helluva highlight reel of Juan creating offense... just not so much lately.
I think his new target should be Furph. That one play where Furph fed out to the perimeter then ran out to the perimeter for a catch and shoot was easily one of the best highlights from Stillwater.
I wonder if Bryce Thompson is thinking... "Man.. I should have stuck it out at Kansas. I'd be that missing piece of offense in their starting lineup and would be totally shining with open treys every game. And instead of being on a cellar-dweller B12 team, I'd be at the top and we'd play for a championship in March!" One has to wonder...
If I'm looking for points out of our PG I'm totally with you on taking all those previous PGs over Juan.
But I'm still on board with Self and his desire to have less points from our PG and have him be more the glue guy, assist leader, and defensive specialist.
Normally, Juan leads the team with assists. Not the case against OSU as Kevin far surpassed him. Kind of makes me wonder if it is easier for Kevin to get assists than Juan if he is our big scoring threat off the drive. Are teams double-teaming Kevin to try to limit his drives and then other guys are wide open and Kevin is good at passing out of double-teams to earn assists? That is a question for everyone because I don't have that answer.
I do know when Juan is on his game, he's a guy who creates offense for others. Seems like he is doing less of that, but maybe we need to look less at Juan and look more at how we are running our offense right now. Typically... our offense just doesn't happen on it's own. We are running plays or running schemes with several spinoff varieties that create offense. This is how we create spacing and also predictability on cuts (etc) so we should turn it over less because players are going to predictable places and it is all working well when our timing is on. Maybe this is more of a problem needing resolved by Self and crew.
I will say... many times in our half-court sets we have to work harder and push it to the limit on shot selection at the end of the shot clock. When we trend with this result we are bound to create more TOs and the guy looking worse through this is our "play guy"... Juan.
So when Juan isn't creating assists... he can easily look to be having a bad game, especially if he has several TOs.
I will say this... he was our main "disruptor" against OSU. He was constantly knocking the ball free, getting a steal, or just making enough of a disruption to keep OSU from running any kind of flow. That is a valuable trait!
I am like you and I miss having a PG that puts up more points and is a continual threat to score. Guys like Mason were able to always create his own shot and that came in handy sooo often! On the other hand, one of my favorite Jayhawks, Sherron... was counted on constantly to score and we did not have a good offense and were not really a contender when he ran point.
I agree!
It's a combination of Furph adding a big punch to our scoring... adding rebounding... adding a threat from the perimeter... and he's also limiting his TOs.
Our offense flows so much better with Furph out there!
So now we expect Furph to do this every game and he'll get criticized when he doesn't make the snuff! lol
I'm hopeful we'll see a lot more games like last night from "The Furph" this year, and feel positive that we will. OSU showed off our entire team by not showing up... but still... we typically go down to Stillwater and play poorly. Not the case last night!
Furph definitely looks like our best fifth option... the team flows best with him out there. Without question!
I like the healthy discourse here. We don't all have to agree about everything and people need to state their opinions and everyone treat each other with a base level of respect. Often, our best posts come from disagreements.
I think many of us don't feel like Juan is having his best year so far. It is possible for a reason or more that none of us know. All we can do is grade his play on the court.
Is there anyone in here that thinks he should shoot less? I'm in the "shoot more" category. More treys. More drives finishing either at the rim or mid-range floaters.
We've read where his teammates and coaches have deplored him to shoot more. I guess Juan needs to feel it before he takes more shots. Maybe we all need to encourage him to work on getting the feeling more!
I'm not going to tell Juan what to do. I'll leave that up to Self. However, I will say sometimes I go nuts when I see Juan or other players turn the corner on their defender and have nice scoring space for a 15-ft jumper or open path to the rim, but they then throw it out to someone on the perimeter and we end up fighting hard for a good shot at the end of the shot clock. Those mid-range shots and rim finishes need to happen for many reasons... we leave points off the scoreboard and teams aren't respecting our driving, so we have fewer wide-open trey shots because teams aren't sagging in.
I have faith in Self to figure out our offensive struggles. We certainly looked sharp at OSU, though a big part of that was OSU played a horrible defensive game.
I'm embracing the computer rankings... hoping our guys develop a chip! (haha)
I will be surprised if 3000 show up. I remember when Travis Ford humiliated himself at the cafeteria... begging students to attend their games.
Regardless of how good OSU is... we rarely tend to play a good game in Stillwater. Many have speculated over the years that Self has a hard time hammering down on his alma mater.
Something weird going on in the universe. Hard to explain all the upsets in team sports. Look at the NFL... college hoops... Nothing will surprise me tonight, though I'm hoping we buckle down and learned a valuable lesson at UCF!
Definitely made a difference starting Furphy (even though he didn't have his best game). He poses a scoring threat from trey and the rim... that is the most we can ask for putting anyone out there. He is bound to improve as he logs more PT over the season. What he really has to work on his defense, especially off the drive. OU was targeting him.
Furph won't be able to add on the needed muscle to defend this season, but there is other ways he can help himself. He needs to spend time scouting his opponents. Learn their tendencies. And do what he can to hedge better to prevent the blow by.
Also... once he is beat on the drive, he often makes dumb fouls. Instead of doing that... a guy his size with decent hops... he needs to focus on where the ball will release and meet the ball off the shooter's fingers. Doesn't always work, but sometimes he'll earn some sweet blocks and after some of those he'll earn a little cred with opposing teams.
He should stay a Jayhawk for at least 3 years, hopefully 4, and will become a real beast after seasoning and severe strength training.
What a difference a game makes. 2 turnovers?!
We didn't have a stellar game but we won the possession battle, and that counted big.
Our top 4 players have to stay focused. In this game, they focused on less TOs, and we were successful. That's a great sign to see our guys attempt to improve and succeed. Hunter, a shot blocker? 5! He was definitely going after shots like I've not seen him do as a Jayhawk. Good focus, Hunter! KJ continues to collect more rebounds... good focus, KJ! Juan, making less TOs and steadying the ship... good focus, Juan. Kevin... continues to try to do everything, and he did and filled the stat card.
Zach would give us yet another option off the bench and already has some experience and talent to bring to this team. I feel like this is crucial!
Is anyone reading "Through The Phog?"
I read that site for 10 minutes today and it sounds like a UK or KSU fan base. Few fans with basketball knowledge.
We all know Juan isn't having a great year so far... but bench Juan and start Elmarko at PG?
Nothing against Elmarko... but that is a ridiculous concept. Let's do that and break KU's NCAA appearance streak this year!
Who is FanSided? This isn't KU!
lol
Ex-wife now!
I don't think these guys are "P's." I think they just need more cheerleading within the team.
Typically... we see plenty of cheer leading when we are kicking other teams' butts... but when do we see it when we struggle?
Remember back in the Jaybate days? Mezo ball?
If our guys were playing for their lives... would this have been the result?
We need a chip. Something to motivate them to buckle down.
What a perplexing game. At one point, I really thought I had entered another dimension... something from the Twilight Zone. I can understand most road losses. But this one... UCF is bad. And they didn't have one of those "miracle games" where a player or two went off for 30 on 75% trey shooting.
I thought we did show up for this game... especially after running out to a 16-point lead. Then what happened? We went soft. And with every soft possession, we lost momentum while UCF gained momentum. That was like watching a game played between turtles.
Where was the team that played UCONN tough for 40 minutes? Hunter had a bruised knee... so... Hunter and all of our guys are going to face nicks during the season. We just went soft. We need more from Juan. In previous years he never really had to be the general of the team, but he needs to be the general now. It is one of the duties of being a PG.
What does that entail? Communication. Cheerleading. Hustling. Directing.
Our bench wasn't great in this game but our bench was about as good as our starting 4 we count on. I'm talking about AFTER our 16-point lead... when we lost composure and never got it back again.
Hopefully, this will be the "chip" we need to finally buckle down every game. I don't believe this was a trap game. There are signs of this being a regular occurrence if we don't make significant change. I mentioned before that I could see us losing up to 3 of our first 10 games. I'm adjusting that to 4+ unless we make changes.
PLAYING SOFT:
OFFENSE: Our guys do everything they can to avoid contact. Contact is a part of basketball, and if you don't realize that at this level... wow! We shot few free throws on a poor team. Our offense only hummed in the open court, free of contact. When it came down to half-court offense, it sputtered and half the time lead to turnovers as UCF would turn up the heat as the shot clock wound down. Only Kevin, on rare occasion, would drive the ball hard. We need our guys to drive the ball hard and put their chests into contact. Yes, UCF has a reputation for blocked shots. So what. Draw contact and get to the FT line. KJ should become a prime weapon for driving hard... not just when he sees a clear path for a dunk. Juan... same.
DEFENSE: UCF drove at will. Every single player on that team was able to turn the corner on our defense. Pathetic. And that's not how we played UCONN so I know we should expect more! UCF did not have much of an offense, and we never disrupted their flow. Jet lag? Playing in a weird place? We should have forced more TOs leading to runouts. It wouldn't have taken many more to make this game a "W."
I hope this is like the UK beat down we took a couple of years ago and we respond. I'm not certain of it...
Our current team still has room for a lot of improvement with the biggest improvement perhaps coming from the guys after our top 4 players. And our entire starting team should improve considerably. We know they are capable of locking down on defense. That first half we played against UCONN was amazing! When we play like that there aren't many teams going to beat us, if any.
This is the process... every year... do we make the big jump in improvement soon? Who knows? I hope so! Let's not forget we have two guys that are at the top in the nation on defense... Juan and Kevin. And KJ and Hunter are improving. Hopefully the rest come along!
In my opinion... no team that wins a national championship got lucky. To me, that implies they didn't really control their destiny. The team that wins it all won out, and that is the best they could do. But I do feel teams often have good fortune. We had good fortune in 2022... and we've had good fortune this year until now.
"Lucky" is the wrong word. I can see using the word "fortunate."
Part of that fortune is we have a starting lineup of 4 well-seasoned players. That has given us an advantage in early-season play. Now we get down to the first level of grit in our season. I can see us possibly losing 2-3 of our first 10 games. We have some tough challenges ahead. But I'm not going to discount the value of our seasoned players. They just seem to find ways to win close games.
I question if we pass the "eye test" for being ranked #2. Our shortcoming at the 5th spot and bench has to be considered. It may easily bite us in several situations; when we have foul trouble, when we play games close together and have tired legs, when most of our starters are having an off night, when someone gets hurt. As the season continues we are bound to see some wear on the team, especially on Juan. We rely so much on Juan to have a polished game every single night. That's going to be tough, especially as we play league games and we are scouted well.
Simply stated, we can't go far without some support from more than our top 4 players. I'd settle for getting good play out of 2 of the rest of our players on any given night. I'd like to see Parker rise up and become a consistent force for our second tier. He doesn't have to be spectacular, but if he can come in and defend, rebound, and not turn the ball over, that would be a huge help and he should be used to give Hunter and Kevin a blow. Then we need the trio of Johnny, Elmarko, and Nick. One needs to shine every game!
This may sound like I'm asking a lot. Not really. These guys just have to play within their skill level and must learn to find ways to help the team. Johnny is a slam dunk here because he's a solid rebounder. If he played 35 minutes a game he could hit double-digit rebounds. In all seriousness, I'm not sure his legs can go 35 minutes.
Jamari has become a positive in many of our eyes. Not sure why he doesn't get more minutes. First... he'll need to secure more minutes or I can see him transfer out and I'd hate to lose him. He has a coolness about him and seems like a clutch player who eventually will add clutch minutes in many outings. I wish his leash were extended a bit more.
I see the biggest threat to us in league play is from the teams that have athleticism and play fast. Can we keep up with the pace? We won't have a choice if we play teams that push pace, and we will.
It is starting to appear we will not be a team pushing pace. Such a pity. We'll have to fight hard for baskets in most of our games. I'm not sure we can always count on Hunter to save us in the half-court game.
It is going to be a fun year regardless! We have the potential to be in every game and play down to the wire and win. We might even still blow out a few teams in our league. I'm looking at you, UCF!
I know Bill likes to use his timeouts wisely so I'm expecting him to take more "rest timeouts" in the coming weeks.
Let's stay optimistic. March favors us! If we stay healthy, we will have a good March team! 2-game weekends and a week to recover. Not many teams have a solid answer for defending Hunter. And I wouldn't trade Juan or Kevin for anyone else in March. Then there is our secret weapon... KJ! If he starts hitting the glass big we will win a lot more games!
Glad we are all on the same page that we need production from at least 5 guys, and a few good minutes from our bench.
First... let's remember this is our conference season opener... so it is new to all our newbie players. I wasn't expecting much from the Furphy, Timberlake, Jackson combo for this reason alone, plus add in TCU's ability to play us tough on our own court. TCU came in with energy, were well-prepared and had us properly scouted. Their attitudes were right on and I still can't believe we won this game.
Comparing these 3 in this one game I'd say Jackson was at the bottom. You could see his confidence was lacking and that not only hurts his play but also puts a damper on the rest of the team. Timberlake was up and down. Loved it when he was up! Furphy is young but I feel like he keeps his composure well. Furphy gives us another real rebounder. The biggest problem with all 3 players is their defense just isn't there. All teams are going to take it right to all 3. Furphy had 4 quick fouls because they took the ball to him. For this season, Jackson probably has the most defensive potential because of his athleticism... but he makes so many mental and newbie mistakes.
Self is going to have to engineer a defensive strategy to help prevent getting chewed up at that spot. It isn't enough to put these guys on the worst offensive players because they get nailed in switches and offer little weakside help.
While I'm being critical... I think the best way for us to help cover this weakness is to turn up our defense all the way around. I realize our guys play a lot of minutes, but our overall defensive intensity was low. It was our conference home-opener and we faced a team that thrashed us last year in AFH. We did not disrupt their offensive flow at all. And which team scored off their defense? Our fast break defense was lacking.
I'd rather see our starting 5 turn it up to 100% intensity and sub them out more regularly. Parker has been a nice surprise on defense. Jamari has been okay. I just think our low-intensity games are going to cost us big eventually and it also sets us up for bad habits.
Positives... Hunter and KJ! Wow! It wasn't one of Kevin's best games but he never stops hustling. Juan finally turned it up a little bit late. He needs to shoot the ball more.
We dodged a big bullet... let's all be thankful for that! The Udeh smack deserved the call. Can't believe what I heard from whats-his-name (the old ref) saying it was incidental play-through contact. BS. Udeh's arm went back while his play was moving forward. There was no reason for that motion. It was out of control and could have caused a lasting injury. I'm not going to claim it was intentional... I can't get in his head. Flagrant fouls don't relate to intention (and why they aren't called "intentional fouls"). By all definitions, this was a foul. His arm went out of control and it reminded me how rough his skills were when in Lawrence.
I'm sure they mention things... but I'm talking about an entire semester class where it goes deep into the subject. These kids are often ruining their lives and their victims!