🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@kjayhawks said in Feeling the Fieldhouse magic?:

Falling in love with 3 a little much

There is no such thing in todays game….shooters keep shooting

@wissox said in Feeling the Fieldhouse magic?:

D3

D1.5!

Crazy to be a guard at KU and the other team leaves you wide open from 3 begging you to shoot!

I’d shoot 42% from deep if I wasn’t guarded heck Auburn about shoots that guarded!

4 guards 4 guards 4 guards!!!!!

See what happens

@Zabudda he’s been great taking care of the ball

The assists aren’t getting downhill as been discussed but against this defense 0 turnovers is important. Needs to be strong with the ball and hopefully tcu he was just under the weather

I think you are forgetting auburn who’s #1. If anybody watched gameday at all - it was all about offense, great guards who can attack and shoot it and flat out fill it up

They play hard defense but aren’t perfect….meanwhile they often can’t be stopped offensively

The top 6-8 teams you can bet on to win it all - all put up ridiculous points

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/team/145 ↗

@dmurban It isn’t just that the students are bumped supposedly their seats didn’t change.

I stated how even those lower level donor seats aren’t as full and the reason is because of the recurring product with the results we’ve seen before.

We brought in guards but they struggle to get minutes so we know what we have.

This discourse is happening here, ku247 and Twitter so you know it has permeated the fanbase.

There are defenders of kj and juan but plenty are seeing what they’ve seen before and it is difficult to have any confidence that we are a title contender (we aren’t and we aren’t even going to contend for the title within our own league). Pair that with a coach that can’t stop gushing about guys when they play or when they don’t versus negative tones against the new upper class men that were supposed to elevate the roster - and you have a fan base that is questioning things as seen in attendance

@Jhawk69 NT at your service (Nick timberlake)!

Kidding I’m plenty past my prime and I meant even in high school stuff - info was always inflated

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Well we are not the only ones anyways:

In was in an interview, doesn't matter what you think.

You’re right it doesn’t matter what I think but does matter how d2 plays and his play is still weak, frail and avoiding contact

@drgnslayr Crazy mind numbing but hey kj impacts a game as much as Ochai……..that’s what the $10m man sees and unfortunately all that matters

When Kj is healthy he’s starting and playing over 30 minutes once we reach big games and he’s fully healthy

Self may ease him back in

I mean just more proof doesn’t have his favorites (sarcasm)

When I see him not shy away from contact or get thrown around on the defensive end then I’ll believe it. The media guide always makes things look nice heck I was 6-3 when in reality I’m 6-1 on a good day….

@approxinfinity I hope Flory stays but it’s gonna suck when KJ gets 32+ minutes and Flory gets 22-23 mpg and we lose in the tourney because of it.

Flory dominates his minutes and kj puts up a 6 point 3 rebound type game…..not sure what anyone could say to defend dolla Bill on that one

For your side note I want the quickest, bouncy 6-11+ big that can defend. Teach him 1-2 post moves. If he has a decent shot form wise - get him shooting the top of the key 3.

Self’s gonna favor defense so a big slow sloth who can guard a pnr isn’t the answer so let’s get the athletic freak who can defend

@drgnslayr I think you nailed it. Not sure the work ethics of some of these guys.

Kj not able to develop a jumper over 4 years or Juan beefing up any????

I remember the Morrrii shooting 1,000 top of the 3 keys a day

I remember devontae calling his Momma at 1 am to say he made it home safe. She said. - boy were you out partying and he said nah Momma I’ve been in the gym getting up shots.

Different work ethics….

@kjayhawks Bill committed to 2 bigs early on and is way too stubborn to switch now

He’d make the same excuse @Jhawk69 said below that they hadn’t practiced it much or ran it much in games all year

I’d point to Bill and say yeah frankamp hardly played point and got the quick hook all year long yet when Tharpe sucked against Stanford you randomly decided to give Frankamp a longer leash - why not do that more throughout the year???

Same with how he’s effed up this teams offensive potential. Storr and Rylan have had horrible moments no doubt but heck so do juan and kj who screw up all the time especially against top tier opponents.

Instead of going nutz and pulling storr and Rylan let them labor through it (hell we labor anyways dolla bill) and make mistakes but see how it can help in the long run

He’s always struggled to do that and not shocked it’s happened yet again this year. His roster evaluation and then maximizing the talent prioritizing offense over defense (he’s the opposite) has always been our downfall

@SlimShaddy54 Flory is the only nba talent on the team and go figure Bill is holding him back for an upper classman who runs “his system” better in his mind

Swear we’ve never seen this before right @Jhawk69 it is a rarity for sure!

@MoonwalkMafia Dude fell off the face of the earth in what 2018/2019? His last post here was then and I randomly check his Twitter and nothing since the same timeframe.

Probably some smart college kid who attended KU and maybe graduated. Now has kids and a fam so doesn’t have time for his deep dive analysis anymore.

Still wish he’d pop in and post general thoughts

@Jhawk69 I think his passing ability is heavily inflated because the majority of his passes are finding an open man because of something that created the open player that was not Juan related

Example:
Team doubles Hunter and he kicks it out to Juan who rather than shoot a wide open 3 swings it to storr or zeke or whoever and that guy hits the 3. Juan gets the assist but he did something you and I can do with a quick swinging of the ball around the perimeter

A true legit pg CREATES passing opportunities and sets up his teammates from HIS PLAY. Ie Frank drives it and drops it off for a dunk or drives and kicks out to an open shooter.

Has Juan done these things before - absolutely but if you tracked the majority of his assists they are routine ball reversal passes not a situation where Juan “made something happen”

@TYOHawk Dolla Bill’s near sightedness that has always got him. Shak should get all the reps even if he messes some sets up as it’s the best learning experience vs just in practice

I don’t agree d2 is a better passer or catch and shoot shooter than shak. Shooting they are similar especially if Shak knew he could shoot freely and not get pulled.

Shak actually has guys guard him versus d2 who is wide open and still hesitated to shoot or when he does clanks it 60% of the time.

If teams left Shak as open he’d easily shoot better

D2 struggles to beat his man off the dribble and his “great passes” are just swinging it around the top of the key. He also is abysmal on ball for the last two years. 1 out of every 20 games he comes out and D’s up his man but the other 19 games he is slow, disinterested and a horribly loose handle

@BShark Man wish you could text Bill this because no way he’d believe it.

He’s so stuck on Juan he’d never not start him at point and forces Shak to play out of position.

Also, our defense didn’t miss kj last night and actually with kj I think we could lose that game because we wouldn’t have had the output from storr.

Winning 70’s to low 60’s is what top teams do……not win rock fights in the 50’s that Bill is obsessed over

@BShark Shak is the athlete and d1 pg perfect for this team that bill thinks Juan has been for years

Shak is a better on ball defender, better off ball defender, quicker, better leaper and can get to the paint better than Juan

Shak struggles to score and shoot outside but he turns defense into offense

Shak is better than Juan but Bill will never see that or admit it. He will play Juan 32-35 mpg next to shak for about 25 of them…..and shak playing off the ball for all 25. He has diggy as that 2-3 minute guy replacing juan

Poor roster management and talent evaluation

@kjayhawks everyone yet bill who refused to sit him

6th year senior looking like a freshman out there jump passing at the top of the key and he gets UNLIMITED LEASH

How everyone can’t see it is unfathomable

Best lineup: Shak, Zeke, Storr,Flory and Hunter

Lineup Self feels is best: d2, out of position 2g (moore), undersized 3 man (Mayo), 4 man who can’t shoot and isn’t guarded and Hunter

Hard to see “consistent” production from Shak when he’s playing out of position at the 2 guard spot and only 20-25 mpg……it’s as if everyone who was a legit pg said no way in hell would I come here to sit behind $10 dolla bill’s “beloved d2”

Self: "I didn't think anybody other than Flory was worth a flip the first half."

Then, in the second half, "AJ was really good, he was terrific, and Shak was the best guard we had tonight. That was production that we haven't been getting consistently, so that was great to see."

@approxinfinity said in Big Ern’s Frogs meet The Bidunga Bunch — Game Thread:

@kuballin10 i mean you are saying these things but shak and bidunga are getting big minutes here

Juan 35 minutes

Moore 24

Moore is pg1 but Self would never make that adjustment or ever even attempt to see it that way. His heads so far up d2 and kj @$$ he couldn’t fathom those two not starting and playing huge minutes

He claims he doesn’t want to play them as much but then constantly plays them and blames it on the “other guys” not delivering even when he yanks them at every minor mistake

Everyone can get their hopes up but in big games and in March D2 will be playing 35 mpg and kj will be starting the second he’s healthy and playing 30 mpg

Our best lineup is 100% what you said and NO Self has never thought to have that lineup on the floor.

He just plays Shak next to d2 all game and feeds @BShark info about “did you see how bad we are when Juan’s off the floor tonight”. Versus my response “did you see how BAD juan was on the floor tonight $10 dolla bill?”

@approxinfinity moore proof for @Jhawk69……he trusts who he trusts even if it’s wrong

@approxinfinity said in Big Ern’s Frogs meet The Bidunga Bunch — Game Thread:

Bidunga should get the most minutes. He can play with Hunter or Storr. Both scorers. We cant pair Hunter and KJ because of rebounds and rim protection. We cant pair AJ with Hunt because Hunt clogs the lane and AJ is a slasher.

You need Self’s email?

@approxinfinity said in Big Ern’s Frogs meet The Bidunga Bunch — Game Thread:

Look how everyone else is doing stuff when we aren’t force feeding Hunter though. You were right @DanR

So like when we don’t run the Bill Self offense which is get guards and then Chuck it inside to our bigs???

@approxinfinity said in Big Ern’s Frogs meet The Bidunga Bunch — Game Thread:

@kuballin10 when KJ comes back i would be shocked if Bidunga isnt getting big minutes still

Get ready to be shocked bro!

Pg#1 right there……

If we played Moore, Mayo, Griffen, Storr and Bidunga we’d be a final 4 squad

@approxinfinity His minutes and rotations reflect otherwise…..so even if he sees it he doesn’t evaluate it correctly and views it differently than you and me

6th year d2 still leaves his feet for passes and turns it over like a frosh

But yeah he’s so awesome cause $10 dolla bill says so

@approxinfinity said in Big Ern’s Frogs meet The Bidunga Bunch — Game Thread:

AJ looking good… with Flory out there with him. Sorry, if my harping about how Flory makes everyone elses defensive shortcomings more palettable is tired.

1000% NECESSARY CAUSE $10 dolla bill can’t recognize it

@dmurban Hahahaha you watch this team much all year or first time?

Bill should be going up and just pumping up Storr and affirming him as he comes to the bench

Instead he just ignores him and the asst’s encourage him

It’s as if he just doesn’t like him…..he’s like this with a lot of dudes. Develops an opinion and will never change it and then treats them that way all season

@Jhawk69 Lol yup that’s once in 20 years no chance it ever happened again (geez some people see ignorant)

It happened plenty of times but it is more what Bill values philosophically for choosing players versus constructing a roster how a lot of others do in 2025

He’s definitely shown loyalty to guys who had no business getting the minutes they did and that’s to his own detriment in not having 4-5 titles with the rosters he’s had

@DCHawker Thank you….connecting the dots for some can be difficult

I mean if you look at box scores and stats he’s amazing but when you watch him play….yikes

@Texas-Hawk-10 He can stretch the floor and knock down the three. His % have dropped but he’s averaging 12 & 8 at Bama and would be a massive upgrade for us at that spot

And go figure he wanted to come her but Bill’s loyalty to kj was to the detriment of the program

@Jhawk69 said in Mythbusters: Bill Self, minutes, and March:

@BShark Thanks for the scoop. If it is true that Bill stopped recruiting Nelson and opted to bring back Zach Clemmence instead, that is indeed a mistake.

But it still doesn't prove a long-standing pattern of Bill being stubborn about whom he plays.

It wasn’t Zach Clemence that Bill picked over Nelson it was KJ. Same with Ingram….i don’t think you quite understand how it works based on a lot of these posts

His stubbornness is proven by his undeniable commitment to “his guys”. Nelson would have came here but players sit down when they visit to discuss over the phone their fit and the current roster.

Bill has never recruited over or to replace kj or juan. It has never been an open competition and everyone (recruits, their families and other programs) knows it.

Bama says to Nelson - you are our starting 4 man cool?

Bill says to Nelson - Well KU is going to be our starting 4 but you can come in and compete for minutes. How’s that sound?

@benshawks08 Nailed it

Roster construction and philosophy

As I’ve said Bill hates the ball sticking yet his entire career he throws it inside and all movement stops as a big goes 1 vs 1. If the other team doubles that creates movement EXCEPT these two years because defenses recover quicker when they don’t have to guard juan or kj

They can double and recover with no issues

Bill would rather have Hunter, KJ, Juan over Mark Sears, Cliff and Nelson at Bama….or Graham Ike up at Zags - he’d been a great get

Hunters stats blow Cliff out of the water yet I’d take Cliff defensively by a mile and running coast to coast for lob dunks. He can develop 1-2 post moves if needed.

I prefer 4 guards around 1 big ala us in 2022 or Baylor….Bill still prefers 2 bigs with neither being legitimate shooters - I can’t fathom building a team like that today and expecting to “make them play worse” as the best way to build and win ball games

@Jhawk69 Remy was sg as I’ve proven because he started next to Juan as no way Bill would sit his golden boy

Elmarko wasn’t taking his place Juan’s place as a frosh - zero clue how Elmarko proves ur point

Go look at those classes high school and portal wise

Rylan and Storr…..mentioning those guys right now as “proof” kj didn’t hurt recruiting as you’ve watched this season transpire is an odd way to view it

Grant Nelson, Harrison Ingram……do some research or talk to the “in the know” guys here when it comes to Bill’s love for KJ keeping those better players (not just better nba prospects even though they are) from transferring here

It’s alright Oats has Nelson and Philon and sure appreciates it. Buddy was at practice the other day and said it’s been real tough with how they are playing but sec is a freaking gauntlet this year. At uk win should get them back on track.

Sears at the 1, Philon at the 1/2, Nelson at the 4 and big Cliff at the 5…..id trade our 4 starters in those spots for bama’s in a heartbeat but no way in hell would Bill.

Bill’s talent evaluation and roster construction has been struggling lately since the portal. More misses than hits

@dylans So does Rylan….dudes kept a great attitude with the crap Self’s put him through. Treating starting upper classmen from final 4 teams like freshman ain’t the 2025 portal way

@Jhawk69 Yeah that’s not true either - did you bother even going through the games?

Wilson sat as you said first 3 games.
Wilson was back and Juan and remy started in Orlando and all the way through Nevada Dec 29th - 8 total games when Jalen was back

Your memory on that one isn’t accurate at all

@Texas-Hawk-10 You were right defensively about this roster and the construction

I was wrong as I thought we’d play 4 guards and be better offensively and Bill would “figure it out” defensively.

He’d play his best offensive players and teach them how to defend.

Instead he rolls 2 bigs, mentions playing 3 at one time, plays his best defensive players and worst offensive guys. We never play 4 guards even though he said last year we needed “guards”. He got “guards” from other proven d1 programs then gets them here and decides they magically aren’t good enough and can’t play (that dog don’t hunt).

He plays to win in the 50’s thinking that’s his best chance when we will get beat 70’s to 50’s ala ISU game.

Great ncaa teams can score and then get a few stops when needed but they win 70’s and up.

He’s completely mishandled the roster this year.

Next year griffin won’t be here unless something drastic happens.

If he roles out Elmarko at pg (can’t shoot) and plays 2 bigs with the 4 man unable to shoot a jumper it will be the same crap as this year. Good defensively, more athletic but “uh uh we just labored to score tonight” - heard that for two decades and golly gee he’s never attempted to adjust his freaking offensive schemes or deep dive it.

@BShark Because I’ve watched decades of KU pg’s and it’s painfully obvious what’s right in front of our eyes.

Love you mention non-shooters as the issue but leave out the guy you just defended even though he’s on that list.

Other teams coaches in public want him to shoot and mention that. They don’t guard him. His free throw % is brutal because he can’t attack. He’s literally a ball reversal guy and everyone but Bill can see it.

We make these excuses about pieces around him so he’s Alex smith he needs elite weapons and a perfect defense and he still can’t win a title unless Mahomes comes off the bench and plays the majority of the second half to save him in multiple games (remy)…..

The excuses for him are comical. Yeah he’s the best option we have now but that’s also pretty poor given the level of pg play we are accustomed to.

When he’s not even a top 5 pg in his own league (last years stats he was that 6-7 range out of 14) but the coach is clamoring for how he’s just the best pg in American it is comical gaslighting

Bill doesn’t mention how much better the offense was instead it’s “we missed kj” - he’s the literal bias parent that can only see the situation one way and is unable to view it in a different light. It’s either black or white there is no other way to view it in Bill’s mind.

When we finish 3-4 in the big 12 and lose the rd 32/16 and he’s still enamored with kj and Juan I mean what else needs to be seen? Two straight years with no chance at a big 12 title or ncaa title but he gushes about them as if they are the best players to ever lace it up at Kansas.

How do you defend that?

@Jhawk69 I think your egregiously missing this statement: “His loyalty to these two guys completely affects who we’ve been able to recruit via high school and the portal these last 3 years. These two were guaranteed starting spots no matter what. That is horrid talent evaluation.”

Just comparing the roster options that year proves nothing besides Bill’s loyalty hurt his own roster construction which is his fault on talent evaluation. Trust me there was plenty of rumblings with potential options about the 1 and 4 being spoken for - there’s no way he’d land legit big names. Elmarko played ball for 2-3 years even as a 5 star he wasn’t going to be given the keys ahead of Juan.

Stud pg recruits along with transfers didn’t come here because of his loyalty for those 2 guys

Also - Remy never started for Harris….they both started together against MSU all the way through until his injury. Juan at the point and remy at the 2….which nullifies any argument that says but but remy came here and wasn’t scared - yeah he did and played the sg role when healthy then backup pg once Bill figured Wilson was deserving of huge minutes

Bill always started Juan even when Remy was healthy

Click on “stats” and it will show the starter's each game

https://kuathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2021-22 ↗

@Jhawk69 great posts and have enjoyed your analysis even if I disagree with some of it. Need to double back to @Texas-Hawk-10 as the wsu loss traylor played 17 minutes but Perry was clearly the 4 man and scored 17 so I had that part wrong

I think your entire theory or discussion is proven wrong literally by Self’s loyalty to Juan and kj. He thinks kj effects a game as well as nba player ochai when kj will never do that (requires night in and night out stud offense and defense which he can’t do based on his offensive limitations and horrid defensive rebounding).

He also believes Juan is the best pure pg in America which means he can’t throw it in the ocean.

His loyalty to these two guys completely affects who we’ve been able to recruit via high school and the portal these last 3 years. These two were guaranteed starting spots no matter what. That is horrid talent evaluation.

That’s 100% proof he’s incorrectly evaluated these guys which is even more appalling as they’ve been in the progrum multiple years!!!

That then 100% backs up my take and @approxinfinity that there is without a doubt Self’s lack of confidence in more talented (but maybe not the best basketball player) players caused his teams to never reach their ceiling. Instead of elevating ALL players he’d only play the guys who did it “his way”. Well his way of winning rock fights 51-49 thinking that’s awesome isn’t ever maximizing talent and it is playing down to the competition which leads to early exits to lower level teams ie what we’ve seen 5/6 years…..

His lack of talent evaluation after players are in his system has caused this.

Now impossible to prove when we all haven’t seen practices but man you catch glimpses of certain guys in games and think “if he wasn’t looking over his shoulder every play and got to play freely like these lower level players Self loves - I sure wonder how good this dude could actually be”

@Jhawk69 Cliff wasn’t some significantly worse defender

Jamari was good for a chase down lebron block but he was poor in half court and zero threat offensively at the 4 spot (sound familiar)

The excuse of oh he will pick it up in his second year is trash. You have a long armed athletic big and if you can’t teach him to semi defend in 4-6 months you aren’t good at your job. It shouldn’t take that long to teach defense to a stud high school big who had lateral quickness.

Hey speaking of that 4 man not being a threat to score let’s add some more proof….

That year ended in….you guessed it a rd of 32 double digit loss 78-65 to wsu of all teams

Our team had Mason, Graham, Oubre, Selden and Ellis - didn’t get the talent together to score but rather “make guys play worse than us”.

Better to just focus on you playing your best consistently….

When you start to really dig in it gets ugly with all the talent we’ve had.

I heard Tony Bennett of the Midwest and it’s legitimately true as of today. Consistent, won some conference titles, flame out early a lot. Got 1 legit
Title with the 3 year guys returning in 2008.

2022 guys returning and the portal miracle. Other portal years aren’t even coming close which is the frustration

@Jhawk69 No, I think people do understand that and it’s the difference in who plays, who has a leash and who has “trust” versus who doesn’t.

Anyone who’s played any sort of high level sports knows when your coach allows you to play through mistakes you have a free mind and play hard.

If you are on the wrong side of your coach and with any mistake or 2 you are back on the bench - you play the exact opposite

What I’d argue is if those guys were given the same confidence and leash their impact would have been better because of their abilities shown in brief minutes (while knowing a mistake = a yank). You see the potential/impact and that’s the coaches entire job is to pull it out of them so the team plays its best versus suppressing it. What’s even more maddening is he’s doing this with Veteran guys from other programs while his 4/5 year program guys constantly eff up and are allowed to play through it. This stuff is seen and causing serious dissension which is yet again more proof of his mishandlings. Cal following the same path right now as well - go figure.

Self always trades off the guys he trusts to be in the right spot even if that can’t make the play over letting the guy like Cliff or whomever screw up games in Oct/Nov/Dec and hopefully get it by Feb/March. His patience is very poor and his shortsightedness is why he doesn’t have more titles. I mean Flory/Kj is current proof yet again.

2022 was a completely anomaly and made up for 2010’s collapse against vcu. That took Remy saving us from a Juan meltdown (rd32, sw 16 and title game) while he was literally surrounded by 3 nba wings and the MOP big man.

Self can’t comprehend this which the proof is he never attempted to recruit over him or kj for that matter.

@Jhawk69 @Jhawk69 The evidence and history of under achieving in March actually proves what those arguing with you are saying.

KJ’s doesn’t “overcome his offensive liabilities by doing stuff to make up for it” with what? Defensive rebounding - nope

What does he contribute exactly?

@kjayhawks This is what happens when you don’t contend for your conference let alone a title

You have similar guys from the last two years rd 32 losses playing the same minutes and same way resulting in bad double digit losses to teams we shouldn’t lose to

It is sadly obvious and the fanbase sees this as well - if you’ve noticed the empty seats for home games lately

I go back to my post two weeks ago that this squad isn’t a title contender and the way this team is coached isn’t helping either. All this was supposed to be fixed by the $10M man who’s gotten his crap rocked last year

@AsadZ That’s normal for Bill. People value his consistency but don’t see the full picture so he gets plenty of hand picked rosters, preseason #1’s and we flame out early

After 30 years of watching it’s his scheme/style of play and definitely roster decisions with how he handles players differently and unfortunately it is elevating middling guys into starter roles that should be there and he holds back the guys with better talent because always in his mind “they aren’t ready”. He doesn’t comprehend letting them play through it and be more equipped in March versus October/November