🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@SlimShaddy54

You could be right... so we suck because we don't know how to pick players with character. (sarcasm)

I mention all schools in the same boat because it supports the idea that we aren't cutting the mustard against other schools. Time for an administrative change.

But come on... it's more than that. I guarantee none of these kids are evil. They came and are getting well-paid and they aren't secretly flipping off KU.

@Texas-Hawk-10

So they get paid more than don't perform? So you are saying our problems are solved by cutting off NIL money?

Does KJ and Juan make huge NIL money?

Your view of these guys isn't positive at all. They came here to scam us, huh?

I don't buy that for a second.

@Texas-Hawk-10

Every team faces the same issue. It's not a valid excuse when you compete against teams facing that same problem. The problem is he doesn't know how to reach them, or teach them.

This is the oldest team in college basketball with the most experience. There is no excuse for playing this level of basketball.

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Ute came to the right place:

@drgnslayr said in Ute came to the right place:

Bill’s lost it. Even his technical was weak and unconvincing at Utah. He doesn’t have fire behind his eyes anymore.
I’ll be shocked if he goes another year. Shocked.
The question is… does he stay and mentor a replacement?

“I think you should probably ask the players that. The first possession they score off a simple ball screen, and we’re in a certain coverage. And guys were surprised were surprised we were in it and we’ve only been talking about it for, you know, 24-48 hours. So that’s frustrating. I don’t know exactly what that answer is coming out of a half time different or starting a game differently. I really don’t know what the answer is on that, because it seems to me to start any athletic contest both teams are usually pretty geeked up and on point. Even though you don’t always play well, but usually the mistakes that you make aren’t because you aren’t aware of that. ‘This is how we’re going to try to guard.’”

Perfect example for why I said what I said.

He doesn't have answers anymore. He has the most-senior team in America and they aren't coachable?

You look at them out there and they are lost. It's almost March. They didn't look this lost in November.

I've been the biggest supporter of Bill Self going back to Day 1 at Kansas.

It's time for him to ride off in the sunset.

Bill's lost it. Even his technical was weak and unconvincing at Utah. He doesn't have fire behind his eyes anymore.

I'll be shocked if he goes another year. Shocked.

The question is... does he stay and mentor a replacement?

@approxinfinity said in Ute came to the right place:

Well. I wish i was within 100 miles of you @drgnslayr i would come hang out and talk about your sons game instead, positively of course

Wish we could post video here. I'd post some examples of fundamental basketball!

I’m not enjoying watching this team. I’m enjoying watching my 11 year old’s team as they use fundamentals on the court, run real offense and their bigs stay in the paint. This KU team is an assault on everyone’s basic intelligence of the game. There is no excuse for what we are seeing.

Question of the week: how many hours per day does our coaching staff spend in the restroom trying for a bowel movement?

So we were the biggest win in Ute history and they didn’t even storm the court. Guess it really wasn’t a big deal after all.

This is perhaps the least entertaining Jayhawk team I’ve ever experienced and one of the worst teams. I’ve been watching for 60 years.

Duke has a GM.

While we are at it, go back to my complaint years ago about being a team that can best develop players.

Passmore basically gets walk on minutes. He isn’t even a role player. A hundred miles from a Travis Releford. He can’t be judged when playing 1 or 2 minutes every 5 or 6 games. I never thought he was ready for rotation minutes… but he’s not even above walk ons.

I think Passmore is gone for next year. Kid would have to be nuts to stay here. Another victim to the strange distribution of minutes here.

I've been happy with KJ last few games.

Self's million-dollar question: how do we get consistent play from any of these kids today? I know it's something common everywhere in college basketball, except a few teams are more consistent.

We all scream at players for making too much NIL... Is it possible the NIL creates a lot more chaos in their lives?

I can barely watch this team now. Might as well play Hunter at half court. Their offense is a big mess and their defense is hit and miss. I’m hopeful Hunter can prove everyone wrong and hit his second trey in B12 play before the year ends. That will really make my year! I’m so grateful we eeked by the 0-12 Buffs. But you know, everyone brings their best game against us.

I feel like I know Bill well enough to state that he won’t make huge changes in the program between now and when he retires. He definitely lost a step in his physicality that also means mentality, too.

The game is changing rapidly. We all know that. This isn’t Bill’s fault. We are already seeing older coaches stepping down because they know they can’t keep up. If Bill wants to keep going and with the possibility of bringing home another nattie, he’d have to make changes he doesn’t want to make. His assistants and staff, probably all, would need to go and replaced with youth, often lacking similar experience but gifted in other areas he’s untrained in. Hopefully, he would also have one of those guys structured as a protege/replacement.

So much of this is generational differences. I know if I was a recruit… I’d easily pick Duke over Kansas. I’m sure I could accept learning easier from Scheyer and his staff over Self and his staff. It’s generational.

I’ve always been a huge Self fan. And yes, he’s probably been the master of consistent winning basketball in D1 for his entire time at Kansas.

Last year and this year… it’s more than just the huge piles of losses. It’s the eye test over the season. It’s hard to see any appreciable gain with this team since December. Same with last year’s team. We are the most-experienced team in D1 but they often play like freshmen. That is extremely frustrating to watch. You have to wonder just what do these guys learn in practice?

It’s so frustrating that even with the knowledge of downgrading our program with a new coach, it’s hard not to wonder if it’s worth making the move.

I watch other teams, like Duke, UCONN, Gonzaga, etc etc etc and I see players coached up much higher.

I’ve always supported developing players over OADs. But then that doesn’t give those players a guarantee on PT. I say this but also think KJ might have been our best guy today. Our team didnt come ready but KJ did. Counter that though… it seems like Flory laid off the gas now and is playing on cruise control. He hasn’t been the same since his demotion.

Here is an idea for Self… no electronics on game day! Make them stay connected to the team and stay plugged in!

@kjayhawks I bet a million dollars Juan was jamming on his AirPods right before the game. He completely was unprepared to play. 3 fouls in 4 minutes?

If we had humble teams, our guys would come ready… especially for in-state rivalries. I constantly gripe about our guys not ready to play. All our guys are jamming on their AirPods until game time. Meanwhile, Tang and troops were already in a huge sweat from team chants!

@SlimShaddy54 I think we have players that think that regardless who we play.

@Texas-Hawk-10 100%! Only problem is Self values seniority in his coaches like he does his players.

@KirkIsMyHinrich

It’s built to run through Hunter but he’s out on the trey line hoisting up bricks. But it finally paid off, he hit his first 3! Lol

God forbid we should ever match KSUs enthusiasm for our games…

When we had those games where we held teams to 20 per half it was because we brought defense… enough that it disrupted their flow and they then couldn’t hit wide open 3s. That’s not what I saw today. We came soft, we left soft.

Even the fans there expected this… no court storming

I had zero faith in our chances today. This team has zero toughness.

How does this work? We limit our recruiting or lose key pieces? What if Cal thought that way?

Watched Zuby play tonight…. Wow! Should have focused on him staying. Another victim loss from the “wait your turn” approach with Self. But then, maybe we wouldn’t have landed Flory if he stayed. Still…

Next year we learn the real value of Juan. We may be more athletic and talented… but go through major growing pains.

My guess is we will become very frustrated by seeing the capabilities of Peterson but not have the mechanics of a Juan to exploit it. Then POOF he’s gone!

His biggest issue last year was his lack of confidence. Once in a while, we would see bursts of potential and athleticism. All we can do is wait and see. These types of injuries are so lethal. Many players never recover psychologically. Others improve because their survival instincts takeover.

@BeddieKU23

Like Greenberg said, there are several ways he can get low-post position. He should fight for that on every possession.

We do that... and somehow we get KJ capable again to hit the 10-ft floater, we will be hell to defend in March! If he could do that, suddenly teams will have to defend him in midrange again, and then he can suck in the defense, along with Hunter, leaving our trey line wide open!

And keep giving more minutes to Flory. Make those guys fight for the minutes.

Heard the student section was screaming for Flory. I do understand Self’s view about KJ’s intangible value. However, what about the tangible value of Flory? The only thing stopping him from becoming a national superstar is PT and confidence…. Two areas Self has stripped from him. By March, he could be propelling us to being one of the tournament favorites. KJ has reached his ceiling. And when he has a bad game we usually lose.

Self should listen to Greenberg’s halftime message. Keep Hunter in the paint. Period.

@kuballin10

I understand the frustration. The last two years we start off strong then fizzle.

At Kansas, we take our coaches to a different level. That's why we don't have a revolving door policy at head coach. Just look at the pathetic purple kitties.

Dumping Bill doesn't solve any problems and only opens up new ones. Who would replace him? Like I said, we look for longevity in our head coach.

Take a moment, breathe deep, and think about the details. If we let go of Bill right now there would be a whole lot of ticked off Jayhawk fans that don't want that. I bet it would be about 90% of the base right now.

So it would be a very controversial situation, and I'm guessing Bill isn't ready to go. Bill is the type of guy who will gladly leave when the time is right, and knowing him, he would work with the AD for a smooth transition.

Just take a look at WSU. Of course, they aren't KU. But they are in seriously sh*tty shape and it starts from a long time back with Marsha... his firing raised heat. Then because it was a sudden move, hiring his assistant, Brown, was a problem. Then dumping Brown was a problem. All that baggage has made it a mountain for their current coach, who is already on the hot seat. They are stuck. If they dump on Miles there is no way they recruit a decent coach again, let alone, talented players.

Bill still is gifted enough to bring in a good recruit class for next year. He still has a lot more pluses than negatives, especially when you look broadly at the situation.

@kjayhawks

In some ways, I consider Bill a distant friend. We've met many times throughout the years and talk basketball. Surely he could pick me out of a police lineup and he'd tell them I'm okay. lol

I do have to say the past couple of years have been different. I've never given him high marks in some areas of basketball... like... his lack of ability to get his guys fired up before a game, or during a game. But now, I feel lost on some of the moves with this team.

I guess I should have expected this... KJ feels better then immediately replaces most of Flory's minutes. Seems like Flory gets punished for going out there and hustling.

I do think the minutes distribution on this team is a problem. Seniority is preferred over firepower. This was the perfect opportunity to put KJ in his place... as a sparkplug off the bench! It's a role he is built for! Not a 31+ minute player.

AJ deserves more minutes, too. He is starting to produce, somewhat. Instead of building a penal institution team, how about we reward progress, instead of just punish mistakes?

I'm at least happy Rylan is getting more minutes. And he is the answer to our perimeter shooting. His defense is so-so, but make sure and set him up on offense to counter anything bad he does on defense.

In that Baylor game... Hunter should have scored 50 points. He was unstoppable in the low paint and they didn't know how to keep him out of there. Why wouldn't we take those gifts every single possession?

Okay... if it wasn't enough to blow the WVU home opener... we then proceeded to choke on Houston at home. Meltdown 1 and 2.

Okay... if that wasn't enough... we blow a 21-point lead at Baylor, a team decimated with injuries and horrible play this year.

How do we do it? How do we blow leads? How do we manage to play solid one minute, then the next minute look incapable of beating an under-6-foot team?

We've all vented our frustrations already. Self... blah blah blah!

At this point, I think we need to adjust our perspective. For one thing, by now, I think we've all adjusted our expectations, but I'm about to go behind that.

Is this just about our guys playing great one moment, then completely sucking the next moment?

Seems like some of us want to put all the blame on our guys instead of giving some credit to our opponents. Is that fair?

Sports are not about being fair. Period. Sometimes, teams go cold, and others are hot. And it isn't just about attitude, preparedness, or game coaching. That answer doesn't help you if you have your pitchfork out and feel like jabbing Self right now... or a player or two. Sports will always have some level of randomness. That's a big reason why we play the game.

I'm not letting our guys off this easy! Get out the BBQ sauce and prepare to eat!

Players also have to take responsibility for the outcome of a game. "Going cold" should not be enough of an excuse to blow a 21-point lead. Several things had to happen to lose a deficit like that.

Look at our remaining schedule. I can see us going 5-5. Is a 21-11 record good enough to guarantee a tournament selection or must we prove our worth in the B12 tourney?

I watched until half. Felt optimistic. Had to then go to my kiddo's basketball game. When returning I caught a social media post hating on the Jayhawks so I was warned about watching the second half.

I fast-forwarded through the second half... watching the collapse in fast-forward mode. It helped relieve my anxiety knowing I didn't waste the extra 45 minutes watching it happen at regular speed!

@approxinfinity My English is a disaster. At least I can say, "Not bad for my second language!" I can say that. I can also lie. lol

There is so much involved in being a real team leader. In some ways, Juan is the guy. He is our player best connected to Self. That counts. Lots of the leadership happens off the court. Making sure the players stay in line in their free time. Being there for them when they get sick. Etc. etc.

Being demonstrative is a HUGE asset! We need more visible enthusiasm. Also need someone reading defenses and directing traffic, on both sides of the ball. Juan is too mellow at this.

@approxinfinity Not sure our floor general has to lead in scoring... but it sure helps tremendously if it is a player who can go get his shot any time he wants. Sometimes... we need a basket desperately, and if that player could just wave everyone out of the way and take his man and score, it would be a big help.

2022 was a wild year! We had many alphas! Ochai finally learned to be more alpha, Christian was probably born and alpha, and Wilson had no problem taking over games! Even with all that... in the final moments for the Championship, Big Dave came to the rescue! I loved that team!

@approxinfinity

I see it the same.

We all get frustrated with this team. We see moments of solid play, then a lot of ho-hum basketball. This team lacks consistency on so many levels.

I know we botched the Houston game. That was frustrating, but didn't bother me too much. I saw lots of solid play and against a true Top 5 team.

This UCF game frustrated me more. I know we live and die on Juan, and that was obvious in this game. Our defense was ridiculous. If we do that one time in March we go home.

I still see a big lack of toughness. Maybe we need more leadership. Maybe we need an alpha player to step forward. This idea of "leadership through committee" has never been something I totally embrace.

Flory and Zeke keep me excited! We need more from other players. ALL other players.

Will we have a good March? Seriously... I have absolutely no clue. I do believe we will need a lot of luck to make it too far.

@kjayhawks said in KU Mad, Central Florida next on schedule, part 2.:

Both diggy and Rylen have to score because they give up so much on the defensive end.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees this.

Diggy is kind of a scoring afterthought. His trey shot isn't as steady as Rylen. Rylen really has great form. His release is way up there, quick, and with good form. He tries to set up his footing correctly, too.

One of the biggest improvements we can make right now is to take advantage of this excellent scoring option! But we have to run plays for him. He can use off-ball screens and use motion to create the space he needs. He should be an offensive priority!

I'll keep saying it... he should be a steady scorer of 12+ ppg, even if he only plays 20 minutes.

What a complete waste of talent.

This game showed me how valuable Juan is... on both sides of the ball. We lost the assist totals by 6. A stat we usually carry, largely because of Juan. And we didn't do it because all our guys were driving the ball, though AJ wasn't shy in his limited minutes.

One stat that just keeps getting bigger... Rylan, 26 minutes, 4 points. He should easily have 12+ points every game... easy. We run nothing for him and he's our best threat from 3. We lose so much when he plays 26 minutes and only scores 4 because he is a defensive liability. He's here and earning minutes because of his trey threat.

KJ... the guy I isolate watching... he did both good and bad. He brought some energy and it took a while but he proved valuable down the stretch. It's just hard now to give up any Flory minutes to KJ. Flory only played 2 minutes more than KJ, but snagged 6 more rebs than KJ and had 5 blocks to none for KJ. But we do need an extra big for depth, and as long as KJ can add some energy, and some stats, the loss won't be huge. But if Self starts giving KJ 35 minutes and benches Flory... not a positive!

I'm having a hard time assessing the value of Moore now. He almost seems like he is battling his old injury. His play is becoming timid, and he's backing down too much on offense. I didn't see great defense from him tonight. No wonder his minutes were backed off to 12, even with Juan out.

Coit is our guy... who will be an occasional spark plug off the bench. Tonight, he really rescued us on his trey shot.

I hope Juan is back for the weekend. We aren't ready to face more challenges without him. Just too valuable.

I felt a lot more comfortable after the Houston loss than I do after this victory.

We have a lot to take away from the Houston game.

First, and foremost, we figured out where our offense needs to come from... mostly these 4 players:

Hunter, Flory, Zeke, and Rylan. If AJ gets it together, he can be added to this list.

Knowing what we know now... it's time to put a lot more focus on getting these players points. Juan already knows this... he only had 12 assists in this game!

I'm coming away from this game with optimism. The loss should help toughen up this bunch, and believe me, besides just gelling as a team, they need toughening! I'm starting to see a path for a nice March run! First time this year I see a path!

Once again... the spotlight is on KJ. When he returns. We will either sink or prosper. If he instantly gets his 30+ minutes back and then craps out on the stat sheet, it will be an early March exit. If he comes back realizing his role will be to bring even more energy to the current mix... we could go far!

I love KJ... it's why I gave him hard love in my recent thread.

Most of you guys can replay the games. Go back after you watch for enjoyment and isolate your attention to KJ. No question he hustles... but he also gets caught watching the game like a spectator out there. Especially when the shot goes up. He should have already started heading toward the rim.

The difference in him make 50% fg and Flory making 80% is huge. It's why KJ demands no respect from opposing defenses. They dare for him to shoot, even in midrange.

Of course he is setting picks, etc., but how valuable are those picks when he isn't a threat at pick and roll? If I was a coach I would be spending time helping Flory master pick and roll.

KJ is great when he's ON. And awful when he's not. I'll keep pounding this statement... he creates a big non-productive hole, right in the center of our offense. That is extremely valuable space and he devalues it when he can't make a 12-ft floater.

@Crimsonorblue22

I think he looks a bit bigger and stronger.

We are unstoppable when Shak hits some treys, AJ plays D and O well, and Flory blocks/rebounds/scores… on top of Hunt’s standard double-double and ZEKE gets into double figures. Wow… 5 guys in double figures!

This all started when we turned up the D!

KJ should have to earn back his minutes! When he’s on it’s just adding in another warrior. When he’s off, he creates a monster hole on both sides of the ball.

From now on, Self better limit KJs minutes based on his production.

I think the players today have more problems with focus. Probably because their upbringing on video games and electronics.

@rockchalkjayhawk

Let me reword that... He lacks animation.

Sometimes I think we all get caught up too much on a player’s stats. There still exists the “eye test” and we all know Self goes off his eyes. Note that we don’t see what he sees. He’s at practices and is constantly informed by assistant coaches.

I expressed some love for Udeh. That wasn’t just based off his recent stats. He was playing with visible enthusiasm and he helped lift his team. It’s something we often sorely lack. Then I fall asleep at games.

Should be an interesting game tonight. We better come ready or we’ll take another L!