🏀 KuBuckets Archive

I used to vent all day long on Cal and his ways. Life is just too short for me to stay thinking about Cal. I think I fear more dominance coming from Duke and Nova. Cal looks silly every year except in 2012 (and that was the Anthony Davis show more than anything). Typically, he's a hype monster who has to put his tail between his legs in March and make up excuses for why they didn't win it all with their "hamburger roster."

Cal's perception of dominating college basketball is largely over. I'd say Duke and Nova have passed him up, and we are soon to do the same. Time for us to look forward, not behind us!

I like our chances in Rupp. Throttle? I don't see us doing a huge point win, but I could see us controlling the game most of the time. I think a really big win would be if we could come out of there with a 10-point win.

I just think back to our Elite Eight game with Duke. Doke was still not himself and we were relying heavily on Silvio to guard the paint.

Why wasn't Duke attacking us in the low post? They had the best big men tandem in D1.

Go back and watch that game again. Carter was frustrated... a bit too much from just his foul calls. Truth is... Coach K has never really been a great coach for low post players. K should have utilized his huge advantage in the post all year and especially against us since we relied on a half-season green wood (Silvio) in the low post.

Carter's story should be a warning sign for all big men who are considering Duke.

This is one of those "Self moments." This is one more action showing Self has his players' back. He pretty much wrote off Vick, and not just because Vick announced he was leaving. Vick didn't seem to relate to Self last year... we all saw that. Not only did Vick hurt himself, he hurt his teammates because he wasn't playing anywhere near his capabilities.

I'm optimistic about this move, and I'm glad to see our last scholarship go to Vick. Yes... he didn't step up last year. But he's young and young players often need time to sort themselves out. Vick really didn't need to sort his game out much, it was mostly himself that needed the help!

As much as Self wants to help his players, I don't think he would have taken back Vick if he didn't feel very sure that Vick was 100% reformed!

I'm pretty sure I have an idea on how Self left things with Vick when he left. Self told him what he would need from him if he wanted to come back. What he needed from Vick was for Vick to grow up considerably. A tiny taste of the big world outside of the fairytale of Lawrence, along with the harsh reality that he hasn't created a solid path to make a living in basketball yet surely helped Vick see the light.

This may be the news that will help us make the Final Four two years in a row! Who knows?! But I have faith in Self that he is bringing Vick back under the right conditions.

We will be looking for offense this coming year, especially from trey. If Vick really gets near his capabilities, he could very well lead the team in scoring!

Welcome back, Vick!

Svi is living the American dream... baseball, apple pie and soon-to-be financial success!

Someone needs to show him how to throw a baseball!

I thought Duke totally underutilized Wendell.

This is where I'm liking what I see in Self. He's been changing his strategy the last few years based on his players.

Just look ahead to November. Coach K had to deal with 2 capable bigs. We have to deal with 4. We know Self is anxious to go back to two bigs in the lineup. I'm sure there will be a time or two when we even see 3 bigs in the game at the same time!

But for Wendell... it wasn't just PT. They ran offense through Bagley, not him. Their sets weren't right to give them a double-impact in the post (at the same time).

Anyways... should this be a story? I'm not sure. There will always be some parents who want to go after their coach...

I think this team's success will be based on their ability to defend. It's the one area that doesn't change every game. The only reason to be "cold" at defense is if our guys aren't hustling and focused. Defense should be a constant that gives us an edge, especially with our potential lineup and depth.

If we can't defend, we become another potential Cleveland Cavs; able to produce easy buckets in the paint but just can't stop the offense (especially from trey) of Golden State.

What I want to know.... are we going back to BAD BALL again? Actually, this is the team to do it!

What if next year we have another 30-win season but we average scores in the 50-60s?

Curious what the expectations are of others in here...

I think Jesse built some graphics showing how Self has focused more on bringing offense in these last years. Was that just Self taking advantage of what tools he had?

Just how far can a coach shift the perspective of his players? How many players go to college with their offensive-mindedness, and leave focusing more on defense? That percentage is surely microscopic.

What's the answer for guys like Jay Wright? Might he just be different on what players he recruits? More the "buy in" type and less the super star HS players busy building their own stat sheets?

So WHY don't most Kansas players draft higher?

Might it be that Self is too good of a coach?

Huh?

Think about that. Maybe Self is getting his players to reach closer to their potential, so there isn't enough perceived upside left. NBA largely recruits based on potential.

That's my guess for today. I'll make another guess later...

I've heard Self's coaching is a plus for NBA execs. They know his players can handle discipline and have been taught more defense over most D1 coaches.

I think this is one of our more talented teams, but success will be determined by many factors... most.. .how these guys come together as a team. The game isn't played on paper. We simply never know our real potential until they start playing. How will they respond when being down by 15 in the first half?

I'm optimistic about what I've seen and read about our new players. And the returning players are quality. Doke is going to really explode this year!

Malik should look at his International options. He's the right profile for world ball... physical!

I don't know how this draft compares to past drafts... but it seems like the Big 12 is well represented this time!

@dylans

Just don't stoop to their level! Take the high road!

There are always many ways to deal with situations. If one method doesn't work, try another.

You are also setting an example for your kids and showing them how such situations should be dealt with.

There are always better ways to gain control over a situation than to become violent or threatening. Those are always last resorts and only show desperation... a weakness! You want to show strength and you will show strength by dealing with this situation the proper way. Try to remove your emotions and discover what your real options are, including legal options.

It's easy to get caught up in emotions and have those emotions churn over and over inside, to the point where your emotions take on too much importance. It is easy to start seeing things distorted, too. Very dangerous.

Try to seek advice from trusted friends, hopefully with some level of spiritual consciousness. It wouldn't hurt to seek some legal advice, too.

@Blown

Apocalypse Now! lol

@HighEliteMajor

I think Self is a wise man. Yes, I believe what you say is true, but Self is always going to leave his door open for players, including players he has had trouble with. Remember Self's history of taking troubled players. He likes the challenge and probably gets his biggest satisfaction when he "flips" a player away from a bad attitude and grasps Self-ball.

The pivotal point in this, "is Vick ready to mature (as a person)?"

A mature Vick now will see that he has been his own worst enemy at times in his history at Kansas. Everything from off-court antics to not embracing Self-ball.

Vick could become a monster player this year, if he suddenly wised up and matured! He would probably become one of Self's all-time biggest flip and would give Bill quite some satisfaction in accomplishing it!

And here is what many people miss... Self doesn't want this outcome for himself. He wants it for Vick!

This is where players need to buy in. Self is there for THEM, not the other way around! And yes, I know Self makes a ton of money and has rock star status. His main satisfaction in his career is not the money or the fame... it is flipping kids around to the right thinking so they can go out and be successful in life! This is what few people know about Bill!

jaybate 1.0 said:

“EVERY MAN A GUARD!”

I like that! Of course we are talking about a few guards at 6'8" to 7'!

I think I'm just frustrated giving my time to watch basketball and some of the players don't have handles. I don't want to watch any play with a guy who can't handle the rock any better than me!

@jayballer73

Ha... yes.

I'm all about nutrition and start my day with a monster green smoothie, largely from my garden and includes probably about 20 ingredients including a lot of wild plants.

I had to give up coffee a few years ago so I adopted smoothies and never looked back! Coffee would give me about a 30 minute bump whereas one smoothie keeps me motoring on high-rev for every bit of 6 hours!

@dylans

I wish you the best in your situation. Sounds tough. Especially when kids are involved! Your kids only have YOU to protect them!

@justanotherfan

You nailed it. And the same injustice is in the court system because a good attorney can get you out of just about anything... but you will pay out your nose for it!

At least I've already been eating my garden tomatoes for a month now. I remember counting down in past years before a single tomato was ripe!

@mayjay

I believe Louisville is perhaps the dirtiest school on the planet. They remind me of the old SMU football program. I do believe that has a lot to do with it because their environment is horrific. Their culture needs to change.

But I hear what you are saying. I really think this is one of those "glass half full or half empty"-type situations. It's easy to support both sides to that coin.

I am in no way saying I am positive Silvio will be eligible. I just see the glass as half full!

@jaybate-1.0

If you want a real advantage on offense...

Essentially... you turn what might otherwise be a very good defense into one that is really only with 4 players on defense. All you need is a center that is proficient from trey!

Few 5s can defend from trey, and if they do, you have them away from the basket, where their gifts of rebounding and shot blocking are now neutralized.

Using the "Golden State Effect" even further... forget the 4-guard offense! Think 5-guard offense! Think about how effective a guy like Kevin Durant could be in college right now! Imagine if his coach would understand the game well enough to really take advantage of his abilities? He is tall enough to fill the paint, but can kill from trey!

Let's bring this home to Kansas again... Didn't Konate return to WVU for the upcoming year? I think so. He's quite a shot blocker. If we really want to think like GS... we would have a team of shooters, including at the 5 so we would pull Konate out of the paint, completely neutralizing his biggest gift of defense!

@jaybate-1.0

I'm not sure I've ever read one of your posts where I thought you nailed it this well.

I'm totally with you... Lebron should work on mastering the 40-ft shot. And you are right... not all treys are the same and the further you go out you are telling the defense they have to stretch that far, too.

I recall the first time GS took it to Lebron and he said he was going to go work on distance treys, and he did. I think we've seen him extending his range, but he just doesn't have the conviction (mindset) GS players have.

Yes... GS could have done well to take Lebron over Durant, and yes, Lebron's strength should extend his range.

I wonder when the NBA will make backcourt baskets worth 4 points? It sounds ludicrous, but it would start to impact the game at some point. You put a carrot out there and the players will go for it and master it. Players "practice" the long ball from backcourt, but they do it for fun and not to learn precision.

I do believe the "Golden State Effect" has changed all of basketball. Finally a team that really embraces the trey enough to be "all in!"

I feel sure Jay Wright gets it.

As to our team, I agree with everyone that the trey ball will not come as plentiful this year. But I'm sure we will have games where we scorch from trey.

Shooters like Svi and BG don't come around every year... but did we really improve that much with these players? We also sacrificed defense.

I think I would be looking for marksmen who have the ability to bring a lot more to the game than just the trey ball. And it sends a message to your team that you are willing to sacrifice defense and rebounding if a guy can shoot the rock from trey. I'm not sure that is an attitude I would want running through my team.

Pros are so much different than D1 players. First.. they are older and wiser (or should be). Second... this is their living. They see what money has brought them... fancy homes, cars... and fancy wives that demand a lot! Their motivated to listen to the right coaches and focus on those goals. D1.. there is emotion and desire, but there also exists outside temptations and a juvenile mindset that makes it tough for them to focus like the pros do.

I curse his name every time we play them... but ultimately, I respect Jay Wright, if for no other reason than his ability to get his players to buy in 100%! That's really tough to do, especially in D1!

I believe we will take whatever time we need to hire the right athletic director.

Unless something has changed, Sean Lester is the interim AD and holding down the fort.

From what I understand, we have Drue Jennings (a former KU interim AD) leading the search for our new AD. In case people didn't know, Jennings was probably THE vital link in the search process that found us Bill Self!

I feel more optimistic about this process than what we did in the past.

The "Poke a Doke" strategy is something teams can try at the end of games because it can impact scoring for a few plays.

To use a strategy like this early in a game adds problems to the team trying it.

What it does quickly is put us in the bonus. So Doke doesn't shoot well from the line. At a certain point we pull him, like when we make it into the bonus, especially the double bonus. Now, with Doke on the bench, our five players on the court play very aggressive offense.

I don't know many coaches that want to have their opponent in the double bonus early in a game. So for whatever point gain they make early with Doke pitching bricks, it gets made up later with double-bonus FTs shot by more proficient players.

Imagine going from a strategy of "foul Doke immediately" to "don't foul anyone!" There is a big shift that will take place in the game once Doke sits on the bench.

A real problem with "Poke a Doke" for this coming year is that we have plenty of post depth, especially if Silvio is eligible (most likely, he will be). So we can live with Doke on the bench.

I don't really see the advantage of this strategy early in games, but if used, what happens if Doke actually sinks a decent percentage of FTs?

Last... from a motivational perspective... what does that say to the players if their own coach would rather have a player from the other team decide the outcome from the line versus his own players just going out an winning the game by themselves?

I've never experienced playing in one of these games where a player is intentionally hacked with this strategy, but I can't imagine it's a fun game to play in and it would feel demoralizing to be the team hacking!

Every time I read where people think Silvio will be ineligible I wonder what part of the story I'm missing.

I think Silvio will be eligible, and if there is a penalty it will be for a few games.

Is there proof that Silvio knew about the money?

@jaybate-1.0

Interesting concept.

Add in the ability for offensive rebounds. At what clip do we rebound? That changes all your numbers.

Treys usually create rebounds covering a wider area, which should give offensive teams a bit more advantage because it's harder to defend that much turf for rebounding.

I'm not sure what to think about our big post presence for next year.

I kind of felt like Self was just getting the hang of a 4-guard offense.

It wasn't long ago when we were talking about "BAD BALL" and grind games.

I'm guessing you have watched plenty of GS basketball, especially in the playoffs.

What I noticed... there is not such a thing as a "bad shot" for GS if it's behind the trey line.

Curry and company will often toss bricks for 3 quarters or so and they seem to not even care. All they have to do is stay within striking distance.

Their concept is "to establish their style of play" and then the game is typically long enough for them to hit a stride or two at some point. When they are on, they are on... and no lead is safe while they build a lead that can grow to be safe. You can often see GS give up an under the basket easy stuff to kick for a difficult trey attempt. Imagine Self buying into this?!

Watch body language. Use your remote and go back to some horrible missed treys by GS, and then watch their body language after the bad misses. You can't tell they even missed those shots. It is because they understand. They understand after those shots that the shot isn't falling but the only way to hit stride is to be playing the right style. The only thing missing is the make.

The one thing I'm certain about GS is they have a unique view of treys over the entire rest of the league. They were almost laughing at Lebron on his easy score drives. Lebron could have scored 100 points and lost. What Lebron needs to learn is what Durant had to learn; the next level is to become a lethal threat from trey and then don't hesitate to take over games. The real difference in this series was Durant. Durant started heating up on the long ball, often from 35 feet. Lebron is close to being that capable of a shooter, and he certainly could become one. But he needs to change his perspective. I'm sure those easy drive finishes feel fantastic for him, but those need to be the bail out points and not the overall strategy.

But we have to remember that D1 is not the NBA. I still believe it is primarily defense that is the best weapon to take into March. Nova hit everything on us... but they also played really good defense and they neutralized our trey ball by defending up high. They also didn't seem to mind if we scored in the paint.

What we really need is for one or two of our bigs to become efficient at trey. That's a real game changer because there are few players in D1 that can guard that. Heck... few players in the NBA, too. No one can really stop Kevin Durant.

@jaybate-1.0

I understand the fear.

But let's face it... any team we face that gets hot from trey is a team we can lose to, regardless of their personnel or ours.

@jaybate-1.0

I'm hearing that everyone except maybe Doke is working hard on their threy accuracy this summer!

We'll find a couple of good shooters... long ways to go until tip off!

@mayjay

I laughed so hard that now I have to clean green smoothie off my monitor and keyboard!

@mayjay

There are reports published that you intentionally dropped your pencil under Sarah Cantrell's dress in 9th grade.

Statements? Comments?

(no malice - just humor)

@jaybate-1.0

I see Charlie as a 4-year player and knowing that, he is trying to maximize helping us by growing into a better player every year.

Charlie is going to get his share of PT this year. He could easily win a spot, even a starting spot.

What I like about Charlie is he will be with us for his remaining eligibility (hopefully) and that will bear us plenty of fruit. He will become an experienced PG... especially with Self-ball. Experience is what counts at PG.

So Charlie may be kept from big minutes in his career if we find top tier PGs that can earn minutes right away. That is just the risk he took by coming to a top blue blood program. But he will always be challenged here and play against top players. I feel sure Charlie will make his time in Lawrence pay off for him... and for us!

I think perhaps all of us are guilty of watching too much TV news... which has become one big plate of political conspiracy accusations.

I 100% believe that Bill Self has never illegally conspired with representatives from any shoe company, AAU or high school coaches, handlers and anyone else.

Just knowing Bill, his upbringing, his career up to now.... I just don't see him being that type of person to knowingly do things he knows is illegal, either in the US court of law or within the legal framework of the NCAA.

Of course he knows things go on... he knows all of the shady people exist and talk to his recruits. What should he do? The only thing I can think of is that he should quit coaching if he can't handle these kinds of people hang around the players he recruits.

No one in college basketball is "innocent" including us! We all know there are shady things happening... so why aren't we volunteering to tag along with recruits and help guard them?

I do not believe Bill is complicit with any activity that can put Kansas at risk, or his players or staff. He suffers from the same lack of innocence all of us have; knowledge that bad people and events surround college basketball, especially with top high school recruits!

@jaybate-1.0

I think the best offensive strategy for every team has to be customized to their strengths and weaknesses.

GS has Curry, Thompson and Durant on the perimeter. They have some of the best shooters at distance so the long ball game works for them.

Until there is a NBA team with that firepower from distance, I expect to see a lot more GS championships!

I wonder what they'll do next... make KU uniforms for them?

Charlie understands spacing and timing on his drive finishes. That's a tough thing to teach players. His freshman year highlights from Cal show how he finishes in a crowd in the Pac 12.

I have high hopes for Charlie! He is bound to get some decent PT because of his experience alone.

HighEliteMajor said:

Did everyone know that Bill Self said he expects Dedric Lawson to take as many 3 pt attempts as Vick did last season? Perhaps an insight into his newly minted 3 pt mind.

So imagine if Dedric is the second or third big we have in the game simultaneously. Who is going to guard him on the perimeter? No one in the Big 12 has that many quality bigs... and few of any teams in D1!

@dylans

And it really becomes a game of possessions.

What crushed Cleveland was when they weren't snagging all those offensive rebounds.

From what I've seen on Grimes, he's easily one of the best crossover dribble-capable players to come out of high school in ages! What that means for us is he's a guy that can create offense regardless of the situation. Bring on that nasty Nova defense! Let Grimes rip it apart and either finish at the rim or stack his assist totals!

Everything is pointing for us to collect a lot of points from within the trey line. So we better learn how to defend the trey better!

I think Devonte's cramps probably helped our coaches learn how to deal with cramp prevention. That's all Devonte needed and he'll have that at the next level.

I'm not sure what all is involved in a cramp prevention protocol... I think it's tweaked to each player. They keep a journal on all their habits to see if they can find aspects of their lifestyles to change. There are a few posters in here with a med background and can probably address this better than me.

GS seemed to just let Lebron finish at the rim every time. All they had to do was shoot close to the same % from trey. Their strategy worked perfect... letting the Cavs play muscle ball really didn't end up having an impact. They were drawn into playing rough and inside the trey line.

The big unknown for Kansas for this coming year will be trey efficiency. Who can drain it? I hear a lot about guys all wanting to improve their trey shot over the summer.

Let's just hope we don't run into any trey buzzsaws next March. Like GS showed... when a team is hot from trey, there seems no way to stop them, even if you are given most of your shots from within the arc.

But look at Self and his goals run along side how the season works. He first wants to nail down the conference streak. The plethora of bigs should help us accomplish that. As for March, our best hope is that our perimeter guys learn how to lock down trey shooters. That was Nova's secret. We had high ball defensive pressure all game. Then add in their hotness from trey, and it lead to the blow out.

Having plenty of quality bigs can help us defend the trey line by pushing out our defenders tighter on the perimeter, knowing our bigs have their back if they get blown by. At least, we hope our bigs can defend guards off the dribble!

@justanotherfan

I agree.... he isn't as athletic as many 3s in the league.... but give him time. He has all kinds of potential for improvement, including improving his conditioning for the next level.

These guys all think they are in shape. When players think that, there is always lots of room for improvement because players can always be in better shape.

I look at Mitch and I think "role player."

So we are off-season now. Mitch can focus on his role for next year and he has months to mold himself better into his role.

How I see his role?

Off the bench but in a crucial role. He needs to be the high-energy scraper. Come off the bench and be our spark guy! Hustle for boards, 50/50 balls, in other words... his role is mostly to come in and give us + possessions while inspiring the rest of the players to hustle as much as he does.

I do believe we will be seeing a really big lineup some of the time this coming season. That means running 3 bigs sometimes. Dedric can play the swing guard 3. This was all mentioned on KUSports today. I think it was Tom. Dedric would be the absolute perfect 3 if he was 6'6"... but because he is 6'9" he isn't? Of course he is... just has 3 inches more of an advantage!

The "Dirty Deed" can score from anywhere on the floor. Might as well groom him for his highest draft spot in the NBA... as a 3!

We really flipped things around this time... less focus with our perimeter because we have less of a trey threat, while we are rich in the post. With options like Dedric at the 3, I don't see why Bill won't do it. He'll take advantage of the talent he has, and for this coming year, we will be rich with bigs.

Thanks everyone for thinking about those who disappear. I disappeared once and thankful for the search party that found me.

I hope and pray all our lost people are well and happy.

@BShark

Yes.... there was some issues. I know.

And without those issues I'd say he is a shoe-in to return.

But it may be in both Self and Vick's interest to have him return. The key is getting him to buy in 100% for his senior year.

Bill is a player's coach and pragmatic and a mature man. He'll always try to help out his players, even when they don't see eye-to-eye. But if Lagerald is having an attitude issue, then it puts our entire team at risk.

We just have to trust Bill on this one. I bet he would take him back if he's convinced Lagerald is 100% on board with one more year of Self-ball.

Lagerald should spend the next 4 months working on becoming a true sharpshooter and work it out with Bill to return.

He could have a freakish year nailing treys and he'd potentially go high up on the draft board if he can do this (he can).

If I was Lagerald, I'd contact John Lucas and see if he can squeeze in some time in Houston over the summer.

Zion is simply a player from another planet. With that signing, Duke comes up high on my radar screen, too.

The question will be how Coach K uses Zion. Will he let him takeover games?

@BShark

I don't think you can hold Self or Vick to anything they said fresh off their Final Four loss.

Much has happened since then.

And you have to look at both of these people and what their objectives were when these comments were said.

Lagerald was thinking NBA. He needed to sound as optimistic as possible.

Self was thinking recruiting. He needed to sound as sure as possible that he would have plenty of minutes to dish out and part of that was using the knowledge that Lagerald was gone.

I can see this going either way right now. It appears Lagerald's best option is to return and be our most-experienced player coming back!

And Lagerald coming back appears to be Bill's best option, too, but who knows what he has brewing with that one remaining scholarship.

Also... Bill has a feel for chemistry and if Lagerald will fit with this very different team. Attitude is big here and I don't think any of us in here really know how things are with Lagerald.

@Crimsonorblue22

I agree. Carter is a huge loss for WVU. He ran the machine and he often came up with monster plays.