🏀 KuBuckets Archive

So he could play, but it would be a logistical nightmare. And probably detrimental to Cliff. Besides I'd rather have current KU players gelling than have any additions. Even if that means going 0-fer. I want what's best for KU in '15-'16. I really don't care about the outcome of the games as much as the practice and experience for the team.

Why couldn't Cliff play if he's drafted? You can bring in any ex-player born after 1990 and before 1997 if he has taken at least one 3 hour course. I assume a summer course will work.

LeBron never set foot on campus, maybe he wants to take a course and lie about his age?!?

@joeloveshawks You are right, but a kid who is healthy at the start of the season won't red-shirt. The summer practice and games will be huge for development and team cohesion. Too bad Greene and Svi are going to miss out. I wonder if Svi can practice? Diallo and Maker couldn't play either. The games should really help to incorporate Bragg and get him up to speed.

@Statmachine Hopefully it's Perry coming back, 'cause there isn't a third round of the draft.

Could you have imagined that team with Collison and Hinrich too? wow.

@JayHawkFanToo You're right I think it was Bibby. Either way painful loss. If Haase had a healthy wrist I think KU wins it. He was all out, but you could tell he was hurting.

@Lulufulu Ha. I just watched that last night. Yeah, that's pretty much it. It stinks no matter how you dress it up.

@wissoxfan83 I hear that, but it's kinda like finding out the hottest girl you ever kissed is you cousin. Jason Kidd was a stud, but KU should've won... There are still nuckle prints in my buddies ceiling.

Per ESPN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://espn.go.com/blog/ncbrecruiting/on-the-trail/insider/post?id=13607) ↗

Will De'Aaron Fox be the next Texas player to be pulled out of the state by Kansas? The Jayhawks just had Kelly Oubre, who left Lawrence after his freshman season to enter the NBA draft, and they’re hoping to steal another five-star prospect from the Houston Hoops AAU program. Fox (No. 13), a 6-foot-3 scoring guard, has a long list of schools -- Kansas State, Texas, Baylor, Arkansas, LSU, Louisville, North Carolina State -- but Kansas is making a strong push. Fox visited there in the fall for Late Night in the Phog, and Oubre’s time there made an impression on Fox. “He loved it,” Fox said. “Everything is earned. Coach Self wants to get the best out of you, and he’s going to sit you if he doesn’t.”

@wissoxfan83 The loss to Arizona in '97 never should've happened. That team was stacked. Probably the most talented, experienced KU team to never win it all. Their only regular season loss was in double OT to Mizzou (yup another reason to hate 'em). They had Terry Nooner! BJ Williams, TJ Pugh, and CB McGrath. That's not to mention Paul Pierce, Scot Pollard, Jarrod Haase, Jacque Vaughn, Ryan Roberson, and Billy Thomas.

2 head coaches on the floor. Think the basketball IQ was pretty high that year?

The scuttle was after the game. I don't think it will be long, but I doubt we'll hear anything today.

Any body know about this guard?

Jeff Borzello
Mercer guard Ike Nwamu got his release this week and will transfer, sources told ESPN. Should be eligible immediately, averaged 15.1 PPG.

Can't wait. Let's get this recruiting ball rolling. I wanna hear some good news soon!

Rogers must like basketball players. He wants his own A. Gates.

I keep seeing new stuff posted here. It gets my hopes up for Diallo. So when is the Jordan Brand game? Any thoughs on who all commits? The dominos have got to start falling at some time. I just hope they don't see that Mudiay made good money to play his one year in China and is a top 5 draft projection. Then again... If the top 5-10 players went over seas it would be pretty hard on UK and Cal. I just don't know if the players are willing to take that kind of pay cut.

@jaybate-1.0 I don't like being on the wrong side of the fence. The wad of Adidas cash and more than adequate recruits that are coming in makes it seem better.

Funny thing is I don't remember feeling like KU had a recruiting advantage when it was a Nike school. It does seem like it could be that way now, but I'm not 100%

@jaybate-1.0 Your 148/82 ratio looks better than it really is. In shoes there is one Michael Jordan and then everyone else. I saw recently that Nike has close to a 85% marketshare and most of that is the Jordan brand. There is no way that Adidias will ever catch Nike. I just hope that the recruits keep coming anyway.

That's my feeling too. I just don't feel too solid about a recruit until he's signed and on campus.

@konkeyDong I can't wait for the dominos to start falling. I'd hate to see Diallo end up at ISU. In all honesty if he doesn't go to KU I hope he goes to UK. That way KU won't have to play him 2-3 times and he won't develop much by the end of the year.

I'm ready to hear about KU signing a few more players. I'm ready to buff up on the future 'Hawks, but don't want to waste my time if they go somewhere else.

@ralster Wiggins was a savior. Last year would've been horrible without him. 10 losses with Wiggins. How many losses would KU have had without him? 15+ No conference title streak, possibly no tournament streak. Wiggins was a stop gap not an instant title and it was a success. He took a non-tournament team to a 2 seed.

Congrats. You overcame a slow start with a perfect final four (wish KU would). Well done!

I don't find Cal to be a good x's and o's coach. He is the best recruiter. The coach has to to both well to be successfull.

Coach Webber can do well with others recruits (success at Illinois and KSU), but fails to recruit his own quality players. Therefore he is a good x's and o's coach (beat KU with far less talent), but a terrible recruiter. Making him a poor overall coach.

Cal's recruiting is second to none. He hires quality assistants to help coach the x's and o's to help with his deficiencies. Due to his adequate coaching and excellent recruiting I'd say he qualifies as a top 10 coach. Doesn't mean I like him or respect his style though.

Bill Self is an above average x's and o's coach (Top 20). Listen to him talk after the game it is truly incredible the amount of information he can tell you about each and every play. He can tell you where all 5 players where and where they should've been on any play of the game.

Bill is also the 2-3rd best recruiter. Add it up and Bill's a top 5 coach.

@JayHawkFanToo Ignorance is bliss.

Once today, which is far less than it has been.

@Crimsonorblue22 Thank you.

@JayHawkFanToo I am truly glad that you have no idea. Speeding tickets are an officer doing his job I have a few and I don't hate the cop or city. This isn't the place, but it you'd like me to explain how an experience can gilt you on an entire town we can have a private chat sometime.

@approxinfinity The last few weeks on my Iphone and iPad the page will go blank and a mesage that an unexpected error occurred and the page will reload. Generally it doesn't reload more than once, but yesterday I got stuck in a loop and it never would load up. It's generally a minor inconvience, but when I'm low on data it's not good. :)

Thanks,

Dylan

@drgnslayr No I live in a small town in SW Kansas.

@KUSTEVE I have had the worst experience of my life in Wichita. I'll never get back what was lost and for that I'll never forgive the Police/ DA's complete lack of giving a sh** for a human life. Quantrill burned down the wrong town in the wrong century.

@Crimsonorblue22 You'll be Ok. You obviously have a good head on your shoulders. Have fun on your trip.

@drgnslayr I must respectfully disagree. While I do think that Kansas is an unapologetically nice place to live, Wichita is a dirty scuzzy town.

If you want VD go to Wichita. If you want a good time go to Lawrence..

@Crimsonorblue22 No arguments here. The defense of the last two years teams has been disgusting. Last year was slightly better, but still subpar.

@drgnslayr I want the guys to buy in on D first. Mason is close to being a good defender. Perry went from being the worst defender on the floor to average. Greene has no clue on D. Graham shows promise. Oubre could've been a Defensive stud this year... Lucas is slow and fouls too much. Seldens footwork needs work. Svi plays like a 17 year old. Cliff isn't coming back I'm afraid, but he has a lot of upside.

Defensively I think there is room for quite a bit of improvement, but without a personell upgrade at the 5 the team will still be vulnerable. The team could be great defensively with the right line-up unfortunately that doesn't include instant offense Mr. Greene.

@drgnslayr I don't know how you keep the guards hungry on defense when they have someone to bail them out. In '14 it didn't matter they couldn't guard anyone before they figured out Embiid was a beast. ISU players said he was the difference in the games.

I'd like an elite 7ft. center. There just aren't many out there. Maker is not a prototypical center and Zimmerman still appears to be a long shot. So bring on Diallo and Bragg!

@BeddieKU23 If you tell me that Cheick is Kevin Young in Darrell Arthurs body I'm sold.

I just wish these young men would start signing soon, so I can figure out who I need to care about.

@drgnslayr If he's all that I'd take him for one and a 'ship. '08 didn't have a true 5(Cole didn't play many minutes), but Sasha was pretty close.

I'd like a 7ft center or a wide bodied 6'10" center. It just makes things easier for Bill and Perry to do their things.

Is Cheick a 5? Can he protect the rim? One of Cliffs problems is that he should've been a 4. Bragg sounds like a 4 and Perry's tying down all of those minutes. Will Cheick complement Perry? Sounds like he's a stud player and I'm interested in signing him as KU needs more quality bigs. It looks like a shortage of a true 5 next year and a logjam at the 4.

Cheick really sounds like a player ISU would use to tear KU a new one. I'd like to see him on the KU sideline for the positive he could do KU and to keep from having to play him 2-3 times also.

@drgnslayr I'm not a huge fan of the quick hook either, but I've got to admit to yelling at the TV to pull Greene (and others mainly freshmen) several times. His head just isn't in the game all the time.

I'm not sure what Self's thinking is other than to get their head straight and to do it while on the bench. That way when their number is called again they are thr0ugh the sulking phase of being called out and ready to play right. Not over aggressive trying to make up for a mistake. Not sulking and hating on coach. Ready to play.

I don't know that this is the right way with most players, but it definitely works for some. Would I do it that way; not unless players forced me to, not as liberally as Bill does.

++edit++ I do know what Bill is doing winning the game. That is all.

You can be critical that that doesn't have an eye on the future by going all out tonight. However, that is the nature of the 6 NCAA tourney games.

I'm not sure if I want guys like Naadir who were always looking over their shoulder or the Twins who were so confident that they overlooked and lost to VCU. What I truly want is a confident team executing the system (like '08).

I'm sick of ISO plays and dribbling to create shots. You loose (on average) 10% off your shooting percentage when you dribble first.

@Crimsonorblue22 I woud yank any player who was playing selfish or out of the offense. I would give the most talented players a long leash for the last 25-30 games. I would give sure fire oad players as much pt as possible to season them. I would have had Naadir Tharpe on the bench more than he was. I would also have less patience with Selden. Unfortunately the long hook on Selden hasn't worked.

@DCHawker I think Brown is a more realistic recruit. Here's an ESPN clip about Brown and his recruiting ↗ Hope the experts are right.

@drgnslayr I think the quick hook is a teaching tool that can be used quite effectively early in the season and every few games once conference starts. I think it gets guys attention. I do think it won't work with certain players, but Greene is a competetor who's head is not always in the game. The quick hook is definitely a tool to get his attention. He is one who needs the firm hand. On the other hand the quick hook all but ruined EJ early on. That being said I would've sat him in the nut punch game.

@jaybate-1.0 Tell me if I'm wrong, but to me it seems as Self picks a couple of guys that he sees the highest ceilling or the highest ceiling for the team with them playing well. Then he plays them through thick and thin. Examples would be Selden, Wiggins, EJ, and Tyshawn.

I feel as though Bill has identified the players that he thinks can cary the team the farthest in march and rides them all season long. What I don't know is how playing certain players 35 minutes and giving the rest of the team the quick hook works. Why would one guy be allowed to play through mistakes and not the rest of the team. Is the quick hook a good teaching tool or not? If it is it should be used on everyone. If it could be seen as something that could hurt the one players confidence then why wouldn't it hurt the rest of the teams confidence?

So if a quick hook isn't the answer and more minutes are then I hope Bill can quickly cut his rotation down to 8 players next season. I'm not sold either way.

@jaybate-1.0 You seem fairly certain Malik is coming to The University of Kansas. What makes you think this? Is it just a hunch or do you know something we don't?

Either way thanks for the entertaining read. I enjoy your positive basketball posts, I find it to be a breath of fresh air following all the hand wringing and Self doubt. I know you really enjoy the Shoe Co. conspiracy thing, but I enjoy your more on the court posts the best.

Cal would have to share the spotlight in the NBA. He is the face of the program at UK. I kinda think he likes the attention.

KU is in the position of having to recruit multilple OAD type players because of previously having too much experience. 3 5th year seniors has led to this predicament. Wiggins and Embiid were a stop gap as Oubre and Alexander were this year. Next year if Bill gets 2-3 OAD type players to add to an experienced roster watch out! That is how OADs work in Bill' system they must be surrounded by eperienced players to show them the way. OADs need to be used similiar to how McLemore was used in the current system, unfortunately not all OADs get to practice for a year first.

If KU landed Thon Maker would he qualify to play in the games? He's currently playing in Canada (I believe), but I have no idea what his nationality is. A legit 7' stud would change the team overnight!

@cragarhawk said:

@FarSideHawk great point on that. Thats my biggest concern right now. Why are we always having to discuss "motors" or "from an energy standpoint"? I dont understand that at all. I dont feel like at this level that effort or intensity should ever even have to be discussed. The trouble is with most of our losses this year and. In prior years. You can go straight there first. Honestly, the last game we lost where i felt the team just got beat on a night when their intensity was good was the @ OU game and then before that. The @ ISU game. And im saying 40 minutes intense. As it should be

I wonder if part (not all) of the motivational problem lies with pampered HS stars. I just see too many presumed OADs getting NBA-itis late in the season and losing focus on the current season. It's hard to teach motivation and effort, that's something you have to want.

@HighEliteMajor I think you're being a bit hard on Self. We all agree that Coach K is a good coach, but by the way you tallied things up in point #2 Coach K is at -13 from '04 to '14. So Self has outperformed K. I don't have time to look up others succes rates. Roy was -10 in his first 11 years also.

I wish Self wasn't so bull headed at times and more flexible, but as Landon Lucas put it the team would do better if they just did what coach asked of them instead of doing what they think is best. Experience will make this team better, I just don't know what the ceiling will be if Coach Self can't sign a 7 footer for next season.

@RedRooster Not to be argumentative, but the conspiracy theory fan in me comes out from time to time. I was fairly certain that's how legal loans are obtained. I have no idea how to hide a loan from someone, or how an under the table loan would work. I'm not sure if it was a legal loan or more like a loan you get your knees broken for not paying. I've never heard of an agent knee capping anyone, but...

@globaljaybird To me Hunter is a lot like Withey. Sitting on the bench even though you see he can do good things in limited minutes. What I can't decide is Bill using him right and limiting minutes to make him look better than he is (keeping him from being exposed); or is he underutilizing a talent? When Cliff got more minutes we all saw why he was sitting, could the same be true of Hunter?

@jaybate-1.0 this loss hurts, the refs didn't help KU any, and Gregg Marshall is a jerk. But... KU looked bad because WSUs guards were all over KU's guards and they could've handle the pressure. WSU made KU look bad. KU wasn't just bad WSUs pressure did it as WVU pressure did and KSUs pressure did.

All you had to do to beat KU this season was put pressure on the perimeter. The inside game was weak other than Perry. Hound the guards if the lineup is mason Selden and greene/Oubre you only have one ball handler and two other guys who couldn't handle the pressure. If you turn KU over too much then Self puts in Graham who jacks up too many shots.

Once Graham gets more experience KU will look much better. Watch tape of the '08 team. They had 2-3 ball handlers on the court at all times. The ball moved so much better. The exact same offense that looked so stale this year was fantastic with players executing it.

I just hope next years team gets it figured out. The extra year of experience and practice should make next years team quite formidable. Too bad Svi can't practice or play with the team over the summer when they go to Europe. It would be great if he could catch up.

What I don't like is the complete lack of urgency in KU's last few oad players. It's like they are looking forward to the draft and a big payday and not taking care of business. They play as if they have something to fall back on. Four year players tend to leave it on the court as this is their big stage. There is no next level to prove yourself; do it here and now.

Ali Farhokamesh (sp.) sure didn't look tenative against KU. Why does someone as talented as Oubre go silently into the night?

@HighEliteMajor At least on Dec. 26 you've got presents to play with and family to enjoy. My parents and one of my sisters went to WSU...

@approxinfinity I believe Oubre's 20 minutes a game are going to be gobbled up by an improving Greene and even moreso Graham. This team needs two ball handlers on the floor at once. After playing 6? games internationally and having over a dozen extra coached practices will really help the others get a leg up. And they already are ahead on the depth chart. I like the kid and think he will he a good baller by the time he's a junior or senior, but he's going to have an uphill battle for playing time.

I didn't even consider Newman or another top guard (freshman or senior transfer) coming in. I don't think that will happen. I don't know that I want another guard on next years team that isn't a ball handler or Oubre.

Svi said he is coming back next year. I just realized he will be in an even bigger hole next season as far as minutes go. Basically the whole team should be back less Oubre. So not too many minutes are freed up. When you consider that Svi couldn't get on the court this season how will he next season when everyone returns? Not to mention all the international games the team gets to play in to gel that Svi can't play in?