🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@mayjay @truehawk93 Yup, it was a genuine pain in the arse to cancel. Unbelievable.

The sad part is that when the guy said he would take care of it for me -- he did -- and even though i called days before the start of the new month -- he didn't cancel me til the end of the NEXT month. Total B.S. Rip off city. I decided it wasn't worth the $5 to call back and deal with it again. Pissed though.

Mayjay, i did try those instructions you offered, as well as many other options, before even seeing them from you. no luck. Apparently since i ordered through my Android TV app, that complicated matters somehow. A mystery wrapped in an enigma.

So, in theory the saga is over. We'll find out next month for sure though...stay tuned!

HighEliteMajor said:

Start Dotson, Grimes, Vick, Dedric, McCormack.

Garrett as sub at 1, 2, 3.

Lightfoot at 4 - move Dedric to 5 when they are together.

But we can run with doses of playing small when McCormack or Dedric is resting vs playing Lightfoot.

7 man rotation.

Play Moore and KJ only in emergency.

Just my opinion - I see Moore as one of the least impressive overall players to get real minutes under Self. He doesn’t seem even average at anything. So far. KJ just seems subpar. Why play either unless necessary?

While this is disappointing, this could be really fun. Now we are really vulnerable. But we have coach Self. No one else can say that. I’m not betting against him.

@HighEliteMajor I think i'm with ya, HighElite.

By default, that may have to be the lineup. There could be days where we start small though, depending on the matchups.

But, i'd say the first lineup Self roles with will be Mitch at the big spot. Just a guess. He can run the floor, stay out of Lawson's way, maybe.

As much as i'm losing faith in Moore and Mitch, they now have to step up and play a bigger role. The sad part is that the players say Charlie knocks down shots in practice all the time. maybe it's in his head. We all saw how long it took what's his name (Newman) from last year to find his game.

I do like to dog on KJ, but he's growing on me as a rebounder and energy player. Give him a few minutes with his brother. RED LIGHT on dribbling and shooting!!! He needs to stay under the hoop defensively as well.

Could this be the time that another Teahan comes to the rescue as a sharp shooter? :)

Really the annoying part of the entire process is that it’s not transparent.

Not a peep from the NCAA.

And that’s ridiculous. That’s why there’s so much animosity in this thread. We are all in the dark, waiting, speculating.

None of us have any idea if Self is holding Silvio out because that’s what he feels he needs to do, or if the NCAA is behind the scenes hinting that he should do so. Self won’t tell us the whole truth.

It’s all about student athletes and their right to privacy?

My usual DVRd reaction:

— surprised we got smoked, but not surprised we lost. Thought that was a strong possibility at Hilton.

— I still think this team is like a bunch of furniture you buy at the thrift store — doesn’t quite go together.

— Vick is trying too hard to be something he is not.

— as usual, teams have career days beyond the arc against us. Some contested, most not.

— the defense was mostly an atrocity. So many open players everywhere — and our players standing around wondering why

— Grimes...hmmm. Upvote.

— Dotson needs to shoot more.

— I’m hard pressed to remain positive on Mitch and Moore.

— Dok would have destroyed that ISU defense

Well, this is all fun to discuss, but it seems clear to me that Silvio is NOT playing because neither him nor his camp (handler) are speaking to the NCAA.
If they were or have, the NCAA would have come out and clearly stated that Silvio accepted cash and would be suspended forever, or for a certain amount of games.
I know crap, and i'm pissed like the rest of you, so we'll see. Fingers crossed we'll see him this year.

DVRd...just done watching.
— Eerily similar to the ASU game, but we didn’t tank in the end. Thankfully.
— Dok and Lawson are not scoring well when paired together. Self needs to figure out how to make this work. I can’t. Lawson seems best to me when posting up close, not facing up. Dok’s the same, obviously. He can bully his way around. Lawson tries too many inefficient attempts when navigating too far from the hoop. To his credit he makes some hard ones.
— if we can’t shoot worth a shit, the above is important.
— Dotson is a Learjet. Shot from a cannon. With boosters. Lowercase mvp to Lawson.
— Grimes is scoring more. Happy about that. but somehow it’s not pretty. It’s a start.
— I got a kick out of the announcer praising him for his amazing hustle for diving on the floor for a loose ball — which of course was a turnover from his sloppy ball handling.
— KJ came in. KJ quickly turned it over trying to dribble. KJ less quickly attempted to guard on the perimeter — quite unsuccessfully, leading to a basket. KJ was quickly yanked. I hope this will put an end to you jokers who think KJ is a perimeter defender.
— Mitch should have had more floor time covering Larry Bird. Not a game for McCormack.
— Vick is way better at the step back three than any other shot. Realize it and stop the other wild-haired shots.
— We are not a poised team at times. Way too many quick triggers in the second half when we should be burning clock.
— Well, seems like we can expect some tight conference games!
— Glad that one is under our belt.

Thx @mayjay. I have been having trouble canceling. Tried for an hour or so to figure it out, and found nothing but roadblocks. I'm not a genius, but i did go to college. Should not been this difficult!
I signed up through the ESPN app on my android TV. Trying to cancel thru there got me nowhere.
I eventually called the 800 number, and even they couldn't figure it out. C'mon.
So, after half an hour on the line, i'm not sure where i left off. They eventually asked for a Google Play account number (dunno why), and the guy said he'd close it up for me, and abruptly hung up without telling me when and what to expect. So, it's still working...insane.
Fingers crossed.
Anybody else cancel? How did you do it?

@truehawk93 i have been using ESPN+ To watch the games this season.
Way better than the old ESPN3 pay per view.
But, that was the last game, so I’m going to cancel my subscription if I can figure out how.

We didn’t lose last night because of the officiating. I agree that it was poor, but we could have easily overcome the whistles, or lack thereof.

Walton is a whack job, huh. That’s his schtick. It works when you’re not pissed off at the TV. He kept saying they were playing in Phoenix though. My patience for him comes and goes.

We had to go with a two big lineup in the first half because of foul trouble and presumably how much Grimes sucks.i don’t remember if that was more successful than than our small lineup.

Charlie Moore: I noticed a difference in his shooting form last game when he was smokin hot. Didn’t have it last night.

The fast break: man. This isn’t pretty. Dotson is aggressive, but small. Still love his play. Grimes I think we all know is a cupcake and can’t finish at this point. Not Vick’s strength. So, the fast break or transition break is a mess.

Oh my. We shoulda won that game by 20.
What an odd finish. Pretty good 37 minutes, followed by an unusually un-poised 3 minutes.
I believe Self just took the blame for a few of the cluster effs where we had guys running into each other in the final few minutes. That was unsightly.
How the hell did we lose?
Mainly because they started triple teaming Lawson and the bench crapped the bed I guess.
We sure need a more consistent presence other than D. Lawson. That won't be too hard to game-plan against in the tourney. Maybe Dok when he returns.
Grimes. Sigh. I feel the need to repeat myself (sorry): I'm not sure i've ever seen a guy more chicken shit to take it strong to the rim.
It's like you can see him starting to do math in his head when he gets the ball near the basket. not smooth.
And his passing...two feet away and he's zipping 100MPH fastballs face-high.
I'm going to consider this game a win. Still have no clue how we lost. Seriously. Did any of you think we'd lose at halftime?

My guess is the next time Grimes sees an open lane and finishes with a fantastic flush, the world will open up for him. I just thought it would be last night! :)

Well, after watching the game...
I’d say my couch potato game plan was in effect, but not effective!

They tried to showcase Grimes and put him in position to succeed, but he just isn’t ready.

That seems obvious to me now.

The really disappointing part of his game to me: transition.

That was supposed to be his strength coming into the season. Pardon my French, but he looked like a giant chicken shit in transition. Scared or unskilled enough to even get near the basket to finish or dish.

So, back in the oven he goes. Hopefully he’ll be up to temperature by March.

The one thing i'd caution against...the 3 pt. shot.
I'd say he needs to find his "safe spot" somewhere else before relying on the outside shot.
Get to the lane somehow. Play defense. Pass the ball. Something. Contribute. Anything!
But if you start chucking up 3s and they don't fall, BLAM there goes your head again...
He's a big kid with a big body. take it to the hole!

This should be an outmanned opponent, in theory, although I do not expect this team to blow out anybody unless they are unconscious from deep.

So, my couch potato coaching plan would be to emphasize Quentin Grimes from start to finish.

Put him in position to succeed, whatever that may look like from the scouting report.

If it’s scoring in transition, great. Posting up, great. Passing and feeding Dedric...you get the drill.

This is THE game to do whatever it takes to clear his noggin and set him on the path.

Per Silvio: No link. No article. No reliable source to identify. Just a poster offering his insight.

@DoubleDD After Dec. 29, DoubleDD!

Ok, finally watching after work...
Whew. Thaknkful for the win!
— Stanford had an excellent game plan, and executed it very well.
— Referee whistles were freaking ridiculous. Some really stupid mystery calls.
— It’s true. The 3/2 lineup cannot cover the 3 pt line. Dedric and Dok just can’t get out there nor recover. Do other teams have this problem? Are we more worried about teams hurting us inside so we cheat closer to the hoop?
— Even the small lineup cannot cover the 3 pt line. Grimes could give a shit about defense.
To quote Bilas: “You cannot help ball side off a corner shooter. That opens up a corner three. Ever!” We did this all night long. After he said that it’s like the entire season and recent years of Kansas defense became evident to me. That should be coachable. Does that mean Self simply doesn’t know this?
— Vick. OMG.
— The dunk: Garrett!
— Devon Dotson. My man crush is getting serious. I may have to put a poster on my wall.

I did see Dedric trying to cover a small on a late possession at the top of the key. not sure why that's allowed to happen. he drove right by him.

Grimes. WTF?
Vick. WTF? ha.
The lack of defense doesn't surprise me. it's a mish mash put together team. doesn't seem cohesive yet. maybe never will be.

So, didn't get to watch this one live. Will have to check it out later.
Saw snippets out of the corner of my eye...didn't look pretty.
that pretty much sum it up?
Who/what was the culprit today?

wissox said:

@jayhawkcsg We were in the SF area in 2017 and drove through the campus, after getting an in n out (meh) burger. We were interested to see the football stadium which appeared to be camouflaged in the trees. Needless to say you get to live in a beautiful part of the country. I hope you enjoy it!

In n Out Burger normally has a drive thru line down the street around here . Crazy. Good fries. Ok burger.

It is a nice place lo live!

As a Bay Area resident, A few Bay Area factoids:

— the big rivalry here of course is Cal vs Stanford. The two schools are about an hour’s drive apart, depending on the horrendous traffic.

— attendance for most games (football, basketball) is not great. Interest in college athletics is mild, despite lots of graduates in the area.

— Stanford is close to all the big Silicon Valley companies: Facebook, Apple, etc.

— The campus is very nice. Saw a few hoops games. Cool baseball stadium.

— it’s true: housing here is beyond ridiculous. The median home price in Santa Clara county is about $1.3 million. That’s median.

— median rental price is about $3,500 a month for a single family home or condo.

— the San Francisco 49ers play in Santa Clara

— Stanford men draw about 4,000 per game / women about 2,800 per game

FYI: it’s the Stanford Cardinal.
Not Cardinals.

mayjay said:

@stoptheflop You are right. But it will take awhile before we can expect our 3 frosh to be able to set picks legitimately on whoever is guarding Vick tightly. I never want to see the rash of illegal screens we have sometimes seen in past years, especially with the feet-no-wider-than-shoulder-width rule changes. With the inside dominance of Doke and D Lawson, and Doke's whistle-magnet bulk, it will be hard to get picks from the big guys without risking possession-killing fouls. The balance should develop, though, if Grimes's shooting picks up and the defenders have to start divvying up their outside attention.

Yea, gotta agree with this. Teaching the freshmen to set screens will take some time. Especially after watching them run into each other on the weave! I think the key to most of this will be Grimes. He’s got the size to pick somebody, but not the brains yet. If and when he comes along, our “team” game will grow more sophisticated. I mean, we did just lose some four-year program guys recently. Not easy to replace. Institutional knowledge loss.

Yup, that could be it!

The question is: what’s the message?

As usual had to DVR the game after work...couple delayed thoughts from last night:
— Dedric finally looked like a player. Loved that reverse lay-in. Didn’t offer much defensively though.
— There are games where Dok looks like he isn’t ready to play physically. He’s huffing and puffing early. This was one of em. I wonder if when he’s done at KU we will find out he’s got some weird lung disease or asthma.
— Dotson: man crush. I don’t care if he never takes a shot that isn’t a layup!
— as much as I’m hating on KJ, and I’m still hating on KJ, he made a few important yet spastic plays.
— Grimes is a virtual no show on the court. Can’t figure this one out. Best I can figure is that Self has set up isolations in years past for players like Wiggins and Oubre, but has emphasized post play so far with this team? Maybe he’s stupid and can’t pick up the plays and system? He seems lost all over the place. I don’t see one particular skill that sets him apart yet. I don’t see any skills that make him a one and done. Hoping by January he can figure things out.
— loved that Vick did a little bit more than chuck up threes. Even drove the lane a few times! More!
— we played some great defense at times last night. The Vols took and made some contested shots.
— the weave: looks like we haven’t really practiced this yet. We got guys running into each other. Stopping short. Dribbling from corner to corner. Odd.
— overall a great win vs. a very tough opponent

KJ is just a hot mess.
I can’t think of a better way to describe him or his play so far.

Man, I know Dedric scored some points, but it still seems his game was off — at least in the first half. He did have a few polished attempts in the lane, but most of his stuff seemed like haphazard drive from 15 feet, spin a few times and chuck up a prayer into a defender’s arms. He needs to settle down.

I agree with High Elite.
Playing with basically a new team this year, and a new (old) system, kinda. The bad part is that the two post player system requires freshmen to get them the ball. That’s not working out for Dedric yet for some reason. They haven’t learned how to feed him the ball.

Dotson and Grimes need to learn on the job — fast.

Poor Silvio.
Never want to see a kid stuck in NCAA limbo. We all know that could last awhile.
Although you’d have to think he knew “somebody” had to pay for the $2,500 online course he apparently needed to attend KU.
Small potatoes I know, but did he think it was coming out of Fenny’s pocket? His parents?
I hope the money aspect is limited to this and he somehow pays it back (no loans from Fenny!) and returns second semester.

I called out Dok in the preseason for looking like he’d regressed a bit.
I was wrong, but I think I know why I was wrong: Dok needs a team around him to feed him the ball and space the floor, which wasn’t happening in the preseason without any set plays or Self wanting to show too much.

Agree that Dedric just knows how to score, where to be on the floor, like Danny Manning did.

Still love Dotson. some concern that he’s the only guy penetrating.

Grimes was hot from 3. Would like to see other aspects of his game. Got totally hosed on that mystery foul under the basket that sent MSU on that run late in the game.

Garrett. Hmmm. Confidence in him was once brimming, now not so much.

BShark said:

The worry about KJ is that he was really inefficient at Memphis, he just played a lot.

That was in full effect last night! But, don’t want to so down on the kid so early on. I’m sure he’ll help us win some games. Self, hopefully, will convince him to fit into the system, contribute with the skills that best fit the team.

@jayballer73

I know Jayballer, he should redshirt. but Agbaji is my new favorite Jayhawk. Stud. Play him at the four over KJ!

@BShark yea, in complete agreement that KJ is a four, or at least he’s not a two. There was a bunch of offseason speculation that he would be in the small rotation. I can’t say I have a good feel for his skill set just yet. Hopefully he shows us a lot more than he has already. Gotta have some talent to average 12 and 8, right?

As per Vick...man, to have that athletic body and ability and not put it to good use...

Well, a very different start to the season than in recent years. Basically a new team. Zero chemistry so far. Seems like that will take some time. Hopefully less than five days! Or, as Self suggests, is it just awkward looking because they have not run a single play yet? My very early player impressions thru two:

Overall as a team: seems a bit unathletic and clunky?
Dedric: old school. Will he actually dunk this year? Like his game.
KJ: SLOW as dirt. Zero chance of covering a small. Hmmm.
Dok: seems like he’s regressed a bit. Certainly not improved..
Vick: no change (I was hoping he’d be dribble-driving)
Dotson: I love this kid. He may be one of our few take it to the hole guys. The rest will come along.
Charlie: we will need his shooting. The rest? Meh. Attitude?
Grimes: mostly invisible til late in the 2nd half. Maybe he found his aggression!
Agbaji: you see him going after every ball? Red shirt my ass! He should be in MMA. My fav.
Big Dave: this will take time. No expectations this year. Any contribution a positive.
Mitch: bigger. Stronger. Still slow footed. Back up
Garrett: mr glue. Love his game. Oddly invisible tonight though. Scared shitless to shoot though. Drive it, man!

So let’s see, is it:
TV: Dave Armstrong and Nick Bahe?
Radio: Greg Gurley and Bob Davis?

Crimsonorblue22 said:

Jeff Gueldner did pre and post game

Gueldner! Yes. Thx.
He seemed kinda twitchy.

I did enjoy some of the pregame material. I’m spacing on the host’s name...former KU shooter. He was a bit awkward.
And is Bahe the normal guy or was Piper just Sick?

We didn’t get much insight to Agbaji‘s game last night, but kid sure looks built solidly, huh.

Sadly i'm quite a distance from the KC area.
Drew Gooden country!

Yea, holding Silvio out is clearly a make the NCAA happy starting point.
If we played him, that would be a slap in the face to the NCAA, who i'm sure would look down disapprovingly.

Thx Shark.

So, I’m hoping to watch the exhibition games by ordering ESPN+.
Anybody have experience with ESPN+? In particular, I rarely get to watch the games live, so I want to know if the games will be shown on replay, and how long after the game they air.

If you’re in the know, lemme know! Do not want to waste my hard-earned $5 if I can’t replay them.