🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@Kcmatt7

I love the open style that GS plays. They spread the floor and everyone except their few tree post players can drive the ball. Sometimes it feels like they are running a 5-man isolation.

Kerr looks at players through a PG's eyes. That is why they have become so great. He looks to sign players with definite "motion offense" skills.

What Kerr doesn't really get credit for is his ability to make his teams respectable on defense. We all know how difficult it is to take offensive-minded players and turn them into decent defenders.

I think a big part of it is their ability to speed up games.

@JayHawkFanToo

True.

And really, there is no reason why Frank can't maintain a high % from trey to finish off this year.

Frank learned a lot over the last 12 months. His discipline from trey is unreal. He doesn't force it. He just waits until he is wide open.

And then there is other times... when the shot clock is under 5, and Frank has the ball and is well-guarded at the top of the key. He makes his move with a few seconds left, so the defender has to play for the drive. Then Frank steps back and has a wide open trey.

Other guards need to pay attention to Frank. Frank is 5'11" and very rarely gets his shot blocked from trey and usually finds the bottom of the net.

Simple rules:

1. Be patient for a wide open trey

2. When forced to shoot, decoy off the drive and step back for a wide open trey.

Frank keeps it simple, but defending him is not simple! If the defender doesn't bite the decoy drive, chances are he fouls Frank for 3 FTs or Frank has an "and 1."

@jaybate-1.0

You know how this goes. It only takes one bad night to go home early. That is part of the intrigue of March Madness. Rarely does the best team of that year win... it is the best team for 6 games.

"No tomorrow!"

I like our chances this year. "Chance" is the right word.

@wissox

So who would you want to win in a Kansas/Wisconsin game?

@hawkmoon2020

Just a few years ago... after March Madness we basically had "radio silence" until around October. Now we hear about all kinds of tidbits... from recruiting stories to conditioning training and other things. It is great to keep the "fires burning" but it also intensifies the anxiety to get started again.

I garden to maintain my sanity in Jayhawk basketball "off months."

Vote, vote, vote!

@Crimsonorblue22

Wilt footage is always a good source of stimulation for bucket fans.

@mayjay

Forgot all about that, too!

@jaybate-1.0

I doubt Frank stays hot every game in March. And he shouldn't have to.

In the least, when he is having a down night his other two amigos should be stepping up to have his back.

But we are always going to need support in the post. Landen isn't going to come through every night either. We now know that Carlton and Dwight are capable of having big nights. Let's hope they both come through when needed in March.

I'm also hopeful Mitch steps up for a few valuable moments.

@Blown

I don't think he would have quite as many FT attempts because the style of play was much rougher. Few knick-knack fouls. Defenders were allowed to hold the driver while he tried to drive by (for example).

@mayjay

Darnell actually took some heat for not shooting FTs at a higher %.

@approxinfinity

I worry about Josh's FT% moving forward. Yes, he has improved it a bit, but now he will enter the heavy pressure of March, which typically shows us who is a freshman and who is an upperclassman.

I'm just crossing my fingers. Josh has major mechanical issues at the line. Major. That doesn't mean he will shoot poorly in March. But it makes his climb that much steeper when the real pressure is on.

His mechanics are such that he can't count on any significant muscle memory to help him close in on the basket. He pushes the ball and in doing so it uses his arm muscles in ways more difficult to create a flow and "path of least resistance." This makes it harder to just relax and let the muscles go through their memory while shooting. Each shot he has to stand there and focus not only on the goal, but how to mechanically launch the ball to the basket.

@wissox

Darnell was from my era. Played lots of ball with Darnell. We used to affectionately call him "thunder thighs" because of his uber muscular legs.

The reason why Darnell shot so many FTs was that he was always extremely active in games. You always knew when Darnell was on the floor. He was in the middle of every defensive play and rebounding, too. His defense was outstanding! One of the few Jayhawks ever to understand hedge defense in D1. So he drew a lot of offensive fouls and he was a big time driver himself. Think of him as a bigger version of Frank Mason!

Darnell also received a high amount of PT. Similar to Frank. At least, this is how I remember it.

@justanotherfan

"I think it has helped tremendously that Self has operated with Landen as the fifth option rather than trying to make him a primary option simply because he is a post player. That has helped Landen’s efficiency and his overall effectiveness."

Spot on!

Last year, when Bill was teaching his team the importance of playing tough D to win, he learned a big lesson himself. BAD BALL was also a lesson for Bill. It was useful to show our guys that we can't coast on defense because we can hit the long ball. Bill also learned that he can't make just any team be a hi/lo team. We didn't become effective in the low post. It just doesn't work to force it in the paint without a true back-to-the-basket scorer.

Landen isn't a back-to-the-basket scorer, but he has come a long ways with his offense. He stopped the long gathers and just goes up strong with the ball, giving him a real chance to score. He is learning to shield the ball with his body. He is learning that the backboard is his friend, and when used, makes it hard to defend his shot. He is learning that there are sweet spots on the floor in the low post that automatically increase the percentage of made shots just because of the where the shot is taken.

This season is really playing out perfect for Landen. He isn't counted on for points. He is counted on to defend and rebound, without fouling. Because of these reasons, he gets his points by being opportunistic when it is there. That will always mean producing a high shooting % because it is in the paint and usually when he feels secure to score.

@justanotherfan

Very good post.

I think Drew has made a big leap forward. He has faced quite a few challenges this season, but he has kept his guys playing to a certain level. He still has a ways to go, but you can now see him possibly getting there.

I don't think we can talk about the Big 12 without mentioning HuggyBear. He is also improving on his tactical ball. He has finally figured out that he needs to have a respectable half court offense if he hopes to win more games every year. There is a limit to how much he can win without more weapons. And even with all of his depth, it is hard for his team to stay healthy through March. He might be able to go at least 10 deep on his squad, but he still has to count on a handful of players to be the real playmakers that makes their season go positive. His only limit is he coaches at WVU, and it is hard to get top tier talent at that school.

FAN ALERT: OU is going to be good... very good... and soon! I think next year they will be back on the winning side... and if Lon can keep his guys together and healthy, 2 years from now they are going to be lethal! Perhaps the best team he has had in the Big 12!

Shaka? He represents the unknown. I believe he has the 14th best recruit class coming in next year. If he can't do anything with that talent, he should be gone. Since Texas has done so much to control our conference, including being a major factor why many of our original schools left, I believe we all should have a say in if he stays or goes. So far, if I judge him today I say he goes. He had plenty of talent to have a more respectable team in our league this year, and if Rick Barnes was still in his shoes, Texas would have been near the top of our conference.

Shaka's mantra of "aggressive chaos" just looks like chaos. But... we will see what happens next year, when he has additional uber talent on his squad. I just see him pretty much exactly like I see Marshall at WSU. Both are capable as long as they stay at a mid-major and sell the "we get no respect" chip. Texas is not a school to run that type of program. Texas fans don't see themselves as a charity case.

@jayballer54

Don't take @elpoyo personal. He/she represents a different perspective on Kansas and the Big 12 basketball. You can say it is negative. But, to be honest, I'm glad someone has the guts to come into our love den and smash the coffee table. @elpoyo will challenge you to the far edge of discomfort. It can be very challenging to spar with such a person. But just push a positive approach and brush off the insults. Consider yourself vetted!

@DoubleDD

A half full mug of beer.... good start!

I just think we are a team that plays better as the game moves along. And we respond to being down. That is a very good sign.

A bad sign would be if this team wasn't winning by much but had stellar games without TOs and hot from trey. If that were the case we would have no margin for victories moving forward.

I always like to see our team hitting on all cylinders... but the fact is, we very rarely do that or even come close. Josh gets hot when Devonte goes cold, etc etc etc. So as long as we have a couple of guys playing well, we can beat most teams. In the Final Four, we better have more than 2 guys playing well, but let's get there first.

The comeback win against WVU at home was huge. Being down 14 points with something like 2:47 left and coming back says plenty. Very few teams could pull that off. That doesn't mean we screw off in a game until the last couple minutes. It just proves our guys can come back big. So they will never quit moving forward because they know they always stand a chance. It does take HUGE BELIEF to pull a game like that one off. Very, very impressive! The only KU team I can put in this category with such an insane comeback was our 2008 championship team.

@Bosthawk

"The big dance I’m my humble opinion of watching it for 37 years, is a Weird mix of skill and crap shoot. "

I can't think of a better way to describe it than this.

@tundrahok

Landen's #1 attribute is his fundamentals. I'd like to know if we've had a better post man at fundamentals since Danny Manning. I certainly can't think of one. Sure, he still makes mistakes and sometimes can't grab the ball.... he wasn't recruited as a 5-star player that would even see the floor much at KU. He's been a monster performer, especially when we look how he got to where he is at.

This team isn't going anywhere without a solid Landen Lucas.

@Hawk8086

I think we ticked up 1%.

If someone in here has a login at KUSports.com and other sites, please post the link!

@truehawk93

I hope so. Danny can sure use a break about now!

Gosh... you just never know on injuries. JoJo could continue to get injured or could go injury-free for years.

I just hope for the latter.... he's such a talent and a cool cat with a hilarious sense of humor.

@mayjay

The first 14 picks are "lottery picks." These are the teams that didn't make the NBA playoffs, even though an actual lottery is only used for the top 3 teams to pick (the lowest 3 teams in the league).

There are 30 picks in the first round. From what I understand, all of those picks are guaranteed a contract. Once the second round starts, all guarantees are off. That doesn't mean players in the second round can't sign a guaranteed contract.

The draft goes 2 rounds for a total of 60 selections.

If Devonte goes 40th in the draft, he isn't guaranteed a guaranteed contract.

This is the way I know it.... if I'm wrong, someone speak up!

@HawkInMizery

I will be crying his last game, too. I just hope it is a cry of joy when we win a National Championship!

Think about how much Frank deserves to go out with a BANG!

@brooksmd

It is extremely unlikely that Devonte is a lottery pick this year. That means no guaranteed contract. Few players drafted this late make it. He has a better shot waiting one more year if for no other reason to enter a weaker draft.

Ding... ding... ding... more votes for Frank!

@BShark

I recall our "failure" to land Doke. I was never convinced and felt we had him all along.

But to be fair to the recruit people, sometimes players do change their minds at the last second.

@BeddieKU23

I should add that this is a pretty heavy recruit class this year. One more reason for Devonte to stay.

"It was almost like Self was re-recruiting his own player."

Coaches do that. Especially on this level. I think Devonte needs to hear how bad Bill wants him back. It is a magical time where Frank hands his team over to Devonte.

My question to Devonte: Have you ever been THE PG for a team before? You want him to take possession and prove it's his team. Contrary to what many people say, Devonte still has a lot of room to climb upwards in a draft. He's a definite PG in the league so if he can show how responsible and good he can be, this can do nothing but help his stock.

@BeddieKU23

I can't claim to know what Devonte has indicated. But I imagine he has declared to testing the waters this spring, as well he should.

Bill's plea is for Devonte if he sits on the fence after checking out his options. I'm certain if he does test the waters he will have some temptation to go. That doesn't mean he goes.

@jayhawk-007

"Coach: you are the best and yet you have gotten better. Well done."

Wow! Where have you been hiding?

Very well done and you expressed my feelings, too. Bill has evolved, not only to adjust to his current player mix but he adjusted to how the game has changed in every single facet.

It is exciting to see such a basketball mind as Bill, grow into the game as it changes course.

I really think Bill "grew up" from a coaching point of view during his years at Kansas.

I think the game of basketball today can best be summed up as, "grow or die!"

In order to grow, one must be hungry for growth. Bill could have easily remained frozen in time, always having 2008 in his back pocket to reflect. That wasn't good enough for him and so he opened his mind to how the game has changed and is changing.

Look around at all the blue blood coaches today. Would you trade Bill for any of them? I wouldn't. And not just because I've grown fond of him at Kansas. I just prefer the road he is on.

No previous Kansas coach has had near the positive impact Bill has had on our program. Bill, with other Kansas staff members, has definitely lifted Kansas basketball to an all-time high! We are at the top in college basketball, and our climb is not over yet! I still see many improvements coming our way over the coming years.

After experiencing 4 excellent years with Frank... I'm looking for a PG who has a background as a Navy SEAL or Elite Marine. It wouldn't hurt if he was in the French Foreign Legion either.

@HawkChamp

Yikes.... I was all on board with your post until @JayHawkFanToo mentioned the monster ripoff of Wisconsin.

That sucked me into a complete Duke tunnel of corruption.

I still think that if we traded Grayson Allen's events over to Josh Jackson, he would have been booted from D1 play.

I rarely blame everything on refs. But I am sensitive to their impact, not only in a single game, but throughout the game in its entirety.

Kansas will always get ripped off for many reasons. Here is an obvious reason: we don't "sell calls." Selling calls is not the same thing as flagrant flopping. I guestimate we lose around 2 calls a game because we won't sell it. That ends up being approximately a 3-4 pt swing, and that isn't counting the impact on player fouls (even more valuable).

Part of my frustration is that we refuse to adjust to the stupidity of the refs.

@BShark

Sorry.... I reread my last post and didn't mean to be so snarky. Guess it shows how much I desire us to stay with a motion offense.

@BShark

It is just my opinion, but I think the hi/lo is dead as a standard offense. It is best used as a gimmick or a add-on to something else... or just abandoned all together.

Running 40 minutes of hi/lo will not keep us on the path we are on now. For example, I seriously doubt Josh would have come to Kansas to play the hi/lo.

The last few years we have gone from a hybrid hi/lo to a complete abandonment of it.

It is an offense that needs to move aside for the current times we live in. The current times are around opening up the trey line. Driving the ball in a motion offense and finishing at the rim or feeding for an open trey. That is the future of offense in the NBA and D1.

And where are all of these big men who bring back-to-the-basket skills with them to Kansas?

The 4out-1in still maintains scoring potential in the post, actually better since it is clogged with one less defensive big. Heck, we don't have anyone now that can score with their back to the basket.

I believe the hi/lo did us well back in the days. Now time has moved on, and so must our offensive strategy. It is important to keep the post mostly open so our guards can drive. In our traditional hi/lo we stuffed the post with 4 players, camping in the post. Our 2 bigs and our opponent's 2 bigs. Not exactly good spacing for 3 guards to take it to the rim.

Remember back when we ran true hi/lo. We pretty much limited guards driving to one guard only. And by the end of the year, we just perched 3 guards on the trey line and they threw the ball back and fourth quickly hoping a seam opened up.

We can't pull that kind of stunt now and continue to recruit high recruits (at any position).

@BeddieKU23

The answer should be Devonte staying. I think it is a big mistake for him to leave unless we win the NC.

He needs his senior year to prove himself at point. If he wants a shot at the league, he needs to prove himself at point. I think he will make a great PG.

Was Bill actually pressuring him to stay last night or was he sending out a message that Devonte will be our PG next year and Devonte then witnessed, for sure, that Bill won't recruit over him at PG? Guess I answered my own question.

Up until now, Bill had the green light going on recruiting a premiere PG to step in next year. That couldn't have been reassuring to Devonte. So... I think Devonte has kept his cards close to his chest because he didn't know what recruits were coming in, especially at point.

It may have been a blessing to lose out on Young. At least, for next year. We will definitely have to sort out something for the following year....

@HighEliteMajor

God I hope not.

It will be hard to recruit guards again, and I can't blame them for going elsewhere.

@BShark

Hell yes!

The reality of us losing him is starting to set in. I was in pain for the entire game last night. He is such a miracle man on this team. We've been spoiled with his toughness. Where do we go from here? Where do we find that toughness again?

@HawkChamp

I want to play ISU again. We need a little revenge....

And I hope we get stuck playing WVU in the finals. It always helps us to face a team that really guts it out on the court.

But... I don't want to take for granted that we make it to the finals.

From what I've seen of this team, we are more likely to win when we are down at first and then must claw back in the game with toughness.

It seems like we are more likely to blow a game if we start out hot and build an early lead. Then we start dropping down our enthusiasm and eventually the other team goes on a run. Then it is really hard for our guys to go back to playing hot again in the same game.

I prefer not to play WVU until the championship game. I think we have the hardest time with them.

@HighEliteMajor

I view the entire discussion of 4out-1in and 3out-2in as one of semantics.

In our 4out-1in we have 6'8" Josh at the 4. We could also run a 3out-2in with Dwight at the 4 and he is about the same height. The only real difference is handles at the 4. We can also say that the 4 must have range from trey. But in reality, Josh doesn't completely have range from trey yet.

Billy Preston has very solid handles and a trey for a big man, but he is definitely classified as a post player, not a guard. So do we call it a 4out-1in or a 3out-2in when Billy is at the 4?

I think the key moving forward is to always recruit in at least one big with good handles and potential for trey. If we do that we still have the size to rebound while having most of the advantages of the 4out.

I don't see where we draw the line in the sand on what qualifies as 4out-1in or 3out-2in.

It just seems like the only way to be fair with bracketology is to have a system for determining seeding, and then have a randomizer program pick where they go. All except the placement of the top seeds in regions.

Otherwise... everyone is going to claim the system as rigged, and it is.

@mayjay

Excellent move!

Svi has the mentality of a volume scorer. Just because he is cold now won't stop him from continuing his shot.

I think his shot isn't falling because he has faced a little tougher defense. Not enough to where he has a hand in his face on every shot, but defense has shuffled over enough to impact his timing. He is rushing his shot sometimes because he sees the defense coming.

Heck, he is 6'8" and has decent elevation on his jump shot. He should try to remain calm and focus on the shot instead of trying to rush ahead of a defender closing in.

Let's hope he figures it out for March. We are going to face teams that really stick in his grill.

@BeddieKU23

Your dad should love the Ball Brothers! There are 3 and it appears that all will go to UCLA.

@JayHawkFanToo

They have improved their defense some. I just question if it is enough against top teams. I don't view Arizona as a top team.

If they can play good defense, they will be impossible to stop because just imagine how much offense a team like UCLA can create off their defense!

And so the 10-year rebuild plan by Philly continues.... snagging every top recruit they can while remaining in position to continue to snag more.

Sorry, but it just doesn't feel right. I can't get excited for a team that tanks every year while hoping to recruit their way out of it many light years from now.

@RockChalkinTexas

Wow. That doesn't read well for Shaka.

I was in Washington DC for the Baylor game and attended a KU bar called "Laughing Man Tavern." It was packed with Jayhawk faithful and was a screaming good time! I was there with my wife and we ran into 3 people we knew from KU. Small world.

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@BeddieKU23

Don't forget his ability to rebound! Frank is an excellent rebounder. And I'm sure he would snag quite a few rebounds in the league. He is a quick leaper and he has the strength and mass to not get pushed around too much.

He is also a respectable defender, especially when comparing to most D1 PGs.

Frank will get drafted and will get a hard look by some teams. I think he is going to make someone's roster. I will be surprised if he doesn't.

Frank's biggest setback is his reach. I'd feel much better of his chances if he had 4 more inches on his reach (over 4 more inches of height). His reach is pretty standard for his size while so much of basketball today has players with freakish reach. I don't think anyone would be talking about his height if he had a longer reach.

Reach helps more than height. It ends up being the same thing on vertical when arms are straight up... but the advantages with reach are extreme at everything else. It allows players more reach in to defend. It also extends distance on protecting the ball from the defender by offering more separation inches from the body.

The fact that Frank is doing what he is doing, and he is doing it without an extended reach says a lot about his athleticism and abilities. Look how well he scores in the paint even against the trees. He finally figured out how to shield the ball with his body, but he is doing it with just an average reach. Remarkable!