🏀 KuBuckets Archive

I think the potential for signing other family members in the future is a definite plus.... but I seriously doubt Bill is willing to take on two recruits that can't offer something first. The #1 reason to bring in these transfers is to help us now, and Bill sees that potential and thinks it is worth it to lock up two unplayable scholarships next year in order to have a future with these brothers. Sitting a year will make a monster difference in their games, so throw out any current negatives on athleticism, etc. They both have the length in height and reach.

I do believe there were some attitude issues at Memphis, but that may have easily been caused by the Memphis system, which is in no way near the level of Kansas basketball. The Lawson brothers are going to receive all the love of the Jayhawk family and that makes a monster difference with many players. Look at what both of these brothers are facing; many already like to look past them on to their future family members coming into college basketball. I know I would have a difficult attitude if I wasn't receiving the respect I deserved. Memphis just isn't Kansas.

@jayballer54

Thanks for your post. It gave me a minute to pause and explore the dream with you. Yeah... wouldn't that be amazing! He would become one of the most dominant college players in a long, long time!

@RockkChalkk

There can be reasons why Josh hasn't declared yet. He is in a different situation than say Landen. I'm guessing here... but good chances we hear of his finalized declaration to leave when he signs an agent.

Josh has been very forthright in declaring his intentions, even before signing with Kansas.

Of course, I would love it if he stays and we would easily earn a top preseason ranking next year. But I find it extremely unlikely for him to stay and I actually advise him to go. I'm usually one of the last persons in here to advise a player to go early. Josh is so much further along with his game than Andrew was in his one year in Lawrence.

@mayjay

Totally agree. Plus... I really think he will benefit by sitting a year. Great chance for him to work on his game while learning the new system in place.

Yes... I can see the possibility of him feeling like a "marked man."

I wonder if he saw the writing on the wall when we signed Billy. Billy appears to be a stepped-up version of Carlton. And with Doke coming back, it looks like we have two very similar players fighting for minutes at the 4.... a position we already know can sometimes do us better by using a tall guard at the spot.

@approxinfinity

Really enjoyed your post. I was out of town so didn't have a chance to respond.

How will Josh Jackson figure into your memory down the road? I've been internalizing his year recently. It's tough to come down hard on him just for a bad last game. I knew he would suffer at some point in March, or at least, felt that he would eventually show us some "freshmanitis."

@BucknellJayhawk3

Enjoyed your post. Solid view of the situation. Touched on my "old school" background where you always grind it out and struggling is actually your biggest opportunity to improve. IMO, that is the only reason UNC won the NC this year. It was their "redemption season" and redeem they did.

I appreciate that you challenged a thought in here and you don't post often. I think many people in here are a bit intimidated to post a challenge since they haven't built a huge rep in here. We really need more people voicing out in here... so THANK YOU for contributing!

It does seem like we have all been left in the dark about Carlton... there is more to the story than we all know.

I'm like many... and I'll miss his monster smile and the dream of seeing him reach higher levels of play. Guess it just wasn't met to be.

I think we also realize Carlton is young and needs to do some growing up. Perhaps a move is what he needs. Hard to say with the limited knowledge we know.

But I like your idea of "sticking it out." Lots of KU players in the past had a rough time at first but they stuck it out and ended up having monster careers.

Definite better move for WSU.

I don't know why this leaked out before actually happening.

@BeddieKU23

I'm still pulling for him!

I don't think people expected him to instantly replace Perry... but that doesn't mean he wasn't feeling the heat.

I would love to hear from him and Bill on moving forward. I don't think it is likely he will leave. He has zero chance right now of getting picked up in the league. He could transfer... then he has to sit a season.

If he did decide to transfer, he would bounce down a big notch. Other blue blood programs have the same competitive fight for minutes Kansas has.

@BShark

Count me in that club... but I knew he would never be a 5.

I proclaimed him as becoming the best pick and pop/roll guy we have ever had. I saw that velvet touch he had in his freshman year from mid range and fell in love.... knowing he could expand his range to trey and then we really have something. A good set of legs, good motor, and some ability to dribble...

I remember arguments if he would be more like Marcus or Kieff. Wow!

I think what Carlton needs to decide now is WHO IS HE? He needs to establish a basketball identity. That will give him a target to focus on (for his development), because what is clear is his lack of focus. He will never amount to a hill of beans if he doesn't establish a basketball identity and then focus on becoming "the dream."

@BeddieKU23

Yeah... he is a 4 and Doke a 5. But in the old Self hi/lo system... one is left and one is right (offense).

I thought he had his shot at the 4 and only after he played horrible for quite some time did Josh take his minutes.

Doke came in every bit as green as any player we have brought in... equaling Diallo and Alexander. I bet practice minute attention in the post was mostly towards Doke.

In reality... Bragg was almost as green as Doke. We knew we had to formulate an offense with the players we had and it was going to be different from last year since he was taking over for Perry.

Maybe he just felt so inferior to Perry, and he couldn't keep his confidence up knowing people were going to compare him to Perry at the 4?

I'm just throwing out ideas to try to pinpoint why he carried such a burden all year.

@approxinfinity

Good post!

I kind of look at the Self years through some dominant players.

1. Aaron Miles - Aaron was a bit robbed while at KU... being a Roy recruit stuck in his prime with a new coach, Bill.

2. Sherron Collins - Part of the magical comeback that brought our last title to Kansas. Then went on to lead Kansas teams through his senior year.

3. Tyshawn Taylor - Outrageous talent and almost brought home another trophy with a team that didn't have a single McDs AA.

4. Frank Mason - Did everything but lead us to a NC. Unanimous National POY in all organizations.

Notice one thing... not ONE of these PGs were OAD or left early.

Footnote for EJ - EJ will not be remembered in that dominant field. But he deserves a lot of credit for shifting over to point when he wasn't a PG. That may have cost him with his career after leaving Kansas. What if he had stuck it out at the 2? But he didn't... and he took a lot of abuse on the chin for making such a huge sacrifice for his team and will never be given credit.

@BeddieKU23

I wonder if our landing of Doke actually hurt Bragg's spirit last year?

Maybe his feelings were hurt and as the season started the post talk was all about Doke... not much about Bragg.

I think it hurt his confidence... and he is a guy who wears his confidence on his sleeve. He clearly had confidence issues this year. The focus wasn't there nor the ambition.

@HighEliteMajor

Nice write-up for Roy. My only strike against him is he wasn't "all in" while at Kansas... limiting his recruiting, which if this was business he probably violated anti-trust laws (when they still existed).

Roy didn't win a title at Kansas and now he's been at UNC about the same time and has 3. Is it so much of an advantage to be at UNC over Kansas? Because THAT is the narrative spoken outside of Lawrence. In some ways, Roy leaves us with a black eye. I don't know how to look at it any other way.

@HighEliteMajor

I wasn't convinced UNC was the best team this year until they won the NC. Gonzaga turned out to be a lot tougher out than I gave them credit for being... UNC did everything they had to do to win. THAT is execution! And ol' Roy pulled a few coaching tricks to help achieve the outcome. I was convinced!

I watched a lot of ACC ball this year... usually because it was the only decent game on. Their conference played too soft. That is why only one team was able to advance far in March. And often, UNC looked soft. I never really thought they could pull it off... but they did! And they did so by "manning up" and playing a physical game! That was impressive even though the game ended up being a game of BAD BALL.

@justanotherfan @mayjay

Very insightful posts! Well done!

@Blown

Hard to say how a UNC vs KU game would turn out. I suspect it could be quite a bit different each time they played this game.

It is hard to predict how many fouls will be called in a game... but if we were in that game on Monday and all those fouls were being called in the post, we would have been in real trouble.

I've read many things out there since the game... mostly people complaining about all the foul calls. I think both teams committed 22 fouls each. But heck.. I saw a lot of calls they missed, especially in the low post.

It was a war in the low post. I don't know what we could have done against Gonzaga and their monster post guys, let alone facing UNC's bigs. But then... I didn't know how we were going to get past Purdue, and we did.

My guess on a UNC matchup? I'm going with the optimistic view... that we would play like we did in the first 3 games of the tourney... running away with it and scoring over 100! UNC wasn't a tremendous defensive team especially from the perimeter. If we torch the nets on them, it becomes a blow-out. If we are just warm, we still win by a safe margin. If we are cold, we have the potential for a grind-out game that we win (or lose).

The real problem we had this year was defense. This was not a typical Bill Self team. For as exciting as it was to watch our offense when running on a roll it was equally frustrating to watch our defense give away points.

@elpoyo

I totally agree with your post until the very end. I don't think the Big 12 is where our problems exist.

Gonzaga was just a few points away from winning a NC last night and they showed they were up to fighting the perennial blue blood UNC.

Gonzaga is in the WCC. What is the WCC? A toilet? Well... at least it is an easy conference to figure out what the letters mean. Beyond that, it's another Missouri Valley Conference (or was, before WSU's exit).

I do think there are issues with the Big 12, too.

The Big 12 has some darn good ball and competition. The Big 12 does well to build up it's RPI every year by smashing other conference teams with ease.

The only issue the Big 12 has is doing well in March. KU is the only team that stands a chance in March except for the occasional team, like OU last year.

Why is that?

I think it relates to not enough big media games throughout the year. Go out east. All those teams seem to get more national media coverage. Good chance our guys get "camera shy" come March. This could explain why Big 12 teams come up short in March.

I've never bought the story that our conference plays too physical throughout the year so our teams are worn out in March. Nonsense. The Big 10 plays much rougher basketball and usually has a closer league throughout their conference play. It doesn't seem to bother them in March.

It is good we have these conversations.... and thanks, @elpoyo for pinpointing the discussion in this area.

Next... let's pinpoint our issues with winning Elite 8 games!

I believe Frank became a dad in high school.

One has to wonder if that didn't change his perspective and goals in life.

He was definitely "the man" on our team this year. Big difference between Frank and his teammates.

Gosh... I'm still not able to accept him as being gone. Not sure it is really going to soak in until we start up next year and he isn't there.

Some players just hit an emotional chord with me harder than others.

The players that really got to me when they left:

Danny Manning

Sherron Collins

Frank Mason

Of course, I had a tie to other players, too... but these 3 hit me on an emotional level harder than all others.

Frank is the only one that didn't leave with a National Championship. Very painful for me.

@KansasComet

You know it!

@JayHawkFanToo

I'm hoping the same thing. When he was given the assignment to guard Buddy and OU last year, he really stepped up.

I wonder if he is the kind of guy that needs to take possession of something in order to lock down on the assignment.

@BeddieKU23

I hope Svi returns. He made a huge leap this last year, and he is still so young. I think we can count on him making another big leap this year, too.

All we can do is hope this is the off-season where Bragg makes the big leap, because it didn't happen last year.

I pray we don't go back to the hi/lo. I don't mind using it on occasion... but to be our calling card? No way.

Carlton and Doke... neither are back to the basket scorers. I don't think Billy is either.

Billy has guard-like abilities. He can handle the ball really well for a big and his outside shot is coming along quickly. I don't mind going back to the 3-2 offense if he is on the floor. Carlton doesn't have good handles. Wish he did. That is an area he should polish over the summer. If he can... then I'm fine with the old 3-2.

@JayHawkFanToo

I don't want to stay too negative. But Devonte was hot/cold all year. I'm not just talking about shooting %. Frank was solid, consistent. Hard to count on a sustained winning streak if your PG is like a roller coaster. We know what that is like.

Devonte's biggest issue is trying to consistently bring intensity.

@KansasComet

Yes!

I think I was a bit Negative Ned on that post.

There is always hope because we are Kansas!

@DCHawker

Yeah... I think of Anthony Davis... who definitely was the difference-maker for Kentucky.

And anything is possible moving forward. But I'm not optimistic for big guys trying to make it in the league if they can't dribble, pass and shoot the trey... and... with a big motor and fast legs to keep up with the pace, and even head a big chunk of fast break opportunities.

I always expect college to follow the NBA... eventually.

@HawkChamp

"Gonzaga and UNC proved you can get to the title game playing that way"

I'm not certain... but I think most of the history of college basketball (when looking at the champs) included at least 2 bigs on the floor.

It used to be 3 bigs were common. Teams often ran a 2-3 or 2-1-2 offense. I guess that is how we got that original offensive format -

Point Guard

Shooting Guard

Small Forward

Power Forward

Center

I remember when we used to call the "small forward" a "swing forward"... meaning.. that forward might swing out down the baseline or sometimes might pop out to around the top of the key, or any peripheral spot in between. It used to be a very rare deal to have bigs taking outside shots, let alone from trey distance.

College ball mimics (to a huge degree) the NBA. And as players became more efficient at trey, the game changed completely. Before the trey line, teams really worked hard to get low post scoring. It was a totally different game.

Focus is on the trey, and rightly so. I'm not sure with my memory... but if I recall right... the high ball screen became very popular first. Then it became more popular to use motion offense (both dribble drive and rapid passing), and secondary breaks.

@HawkChamp

Over recent years I've changed my philosophy on the game.

I do think a key post player can make a difference. Hey... we could have won in 2012 if UK didn't have Anthony Davis... no doubt!

And Gonzaga isn't such a threat without their monster guy in the post.

But most teams don't have a big like that.

I hope we keep a 4-guard team. We move the ball quicker and we open up the floor a lot more than with just 3 guards.

And we have proven we can rebound just fine with 4 guards. The only real give up is post defense. And that does hurt us!

But let's say we go back to two bigs... two bigs limited by their lack of ability to dribble and shot the long ball.

Look what we give up. Other teams don't have to guard our bigs when they step out except to hedge screens. There is a good chance our bigs can't shoot FTs well. And how vulnerable are we on presses, traps and just good defense?

@HawkChamp

And recall '08 and how we lucked out in the Elite 8 game against Davidson... who was not coached well enough to realize they had to get the ball to Curry!

@HawkChamp

I just think we lacked intensity and desire that game.

I think far too much credit was given to Oregon. I still don't buy it. Yes.. they gave UNC a run for their money but I didn't really think UNC was the most-dangerous team in the tourney. I was most-afraid for Duke and Kentucky.

I can't imagine having a better setup than the guards we had this year. I'm sure it is possible... just like the fact that we had such a dynamic group in '08. But I'm still feeling miserable about our loss. I think we are much better than we showed that game... and it really didn't have to do with hitting shots.

Our post play was definitely not up to snuff. But so many NC teams don't have a dynamic post. I immediately think of UCONN and their success in March.

I'm just still in a snitty mood... still wanting to vent!

@HawkChamp

I'm still recovering from Devonte's horrific performance that sent us home.

Big players step up for big games. He reminds me too much of Wayne Selden right now for me to think he can lead this team.

@HawkChamp

"Basketball is never about one player even if that player is the POY."

That was proven last week! Good point.

I still think our best chance of winning in March exists if we have a real leader at PG. I don't see us having a leader like that next year.

Having a great PG to lead may not be necessary.. but without one, it seems to get much tougher. There were so many good teams this year that didn't have that PG.

We had 3 really great guard leaders in '08!

@RockChalkinTexas

Well done!

@bskeet

I see next year as a "rebuilding year." No way I see us winning so many games like we did this year. We just won't have the leadership.

That doesn't mean we can't win a national championship. But my expectations have dropped considerably from where I was this year.

Congrats, Frank!

@HawkChamp

Sorry... I believed this year was our year. I don't see it next year. Lacking enough experience and not having the leadership we had with Frank. I'm not going to candy coat this. Next year is a "rebuilding year."

@HawkChamp

We will never know if he could have won a few titles while here because he crippled himself by never wanting to challenge UNC. Yes... I believe it was a deal with Dean Smith. Let me put it to you this way... if Dean didn't want the unfair advantage, he would have told Roy to go ahead and recruit back east. Nothing ever stopped Dean from recruiting west. If these were businesses instead of institutions, this may qualify as an antitrust violation!

I am still friggin' pissed because we should have made it to the FF to give UNC a real fight.

Kansas constantly improves it's resume for recruiting.

A few recent additions include:

HOF'r head coach

POY point guard who was barely recruited

Tied longest conference regular season winning streak

Longest consecutive streak for NCAA tournament

Top NBA selections

McCarthy Hall... luxury living

Naismith basketball rules

Add all of that on top of what we already were...

The Home Of Basketball!

@BShark

Roy sure seems to recruit well once he gave up his courtesy rule for only recruiting in half of America!

I wonder how many titles he would have won at Kansas had he recruited back east?

Sorry... I just can't ever heal from this. I wasn't even a Roy fan when he was at Kansas.

@Texas-Hawk-10

Good idea to hedge.

I'm sure Frank knows this.. but I really want him to know that Lawrence (along with all Jayhawks everywhere) is there for him. He will probably travel a long ways away from us, but he is fam forever!

@Blown

I'm proudly on that list with you.

@Crimsonorblue22

I've got a ribbon... does that count?! lol

@Blown

Spot on!

@Blown

Impressive! I started college working towards med school and changed my mind... but couldn't decide, so I went for business administration because I knew I would be in business. Then went on for a masters of science.

I'm just glad school was reasonably priced back then. No loans!

@dylans

Absolutely. Better... get a degree in something you are interested in, regardless of the associated professions around it.

CONGRATS Mr. Frank Mason!

You deserve it all and MORE!

@wrwlumpy

As I recall... wasn't it a dirt track around the court first?

@Crimsonorblue22

Well said! I'm with you!

@Blown

I was talking to a new employee at the main bank I use and we started talking about education. She had a liberal arts degree. I thought they would only hire from more specific degrees... like finance. She told me HR ran the statistics and they have better luck hiring those with liberal arts degrees...

@CRH107

Interesting idea. I don't think Altman could gain a huge advantage by prepping for Kansas so far ahead. No way he didn't prep for his other games. And it just doesn't work to have your guys prepping for more than one game at a time.

I think it would help all of us (including myself) to watch the game again. I bet we all remember a different game and would gain insight now if we could stomach watching it again. I still can't without blasting a shotgun through the tv.

The way I remember this game... is we rarely ran any kind of structured offense. I recall a few times we ran the chop weave. We were sped up and in a constant state of chaos. It reminded me of our game at WV, except the pressure wasn't there to match WV.

I feel certain we would have lost this game to all other Elite 8 teams. We just didn't bring game that evening, period.