🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@focojayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

@rockchalkjayhawk Right there with you. Feels like a massively missed opportunity. That first half was about as well as they could play. Some of that was because Wales sat back and let the US possess the ball. I actually had no issues with the starting 11 and was pleasantly surprised to not see Ferreira or Aaron Long start. Very un-Berhalter-like.

You knew the 2nd half would look different and it certainly did. I felt like they handled themselves pretty well and assumed that Wales would have their chances. I just hoped they wouldn't give a cheap one away and the PK was certainly cheap. So not necessary.

Almost feels like a loss post-game, but they would've needed to not get killed by England and then beat Iran to go through regardless so not a whole lot has changed. I'm hopeful to see Aaronson and Reyna get more run against England and hope for the best.

Un-Bernalter-like! funny, and true.

I'm with you on the starting 11. After pondering, i had no issues with it. A bit weird that the "man with the most talent and skill" on the team didn't make it in. Gio. Can only figure he wants him ready for England?

Yup, we knew the second half would be different. For sure Wales at times seemed to push 2 defenders up the field, and abandon the 5-3-2 they started with.

And man was that 6-5 forward huge for Wales! he should have netted a header as well.

Just disappointed in the result. It was there for the taking.

Makes you wonder if the first half or the second half was the real U.S.A.

Let's keep it close with England!

Well, that did not end well. 1-1 draw, after a tenacious first half full of excitement.

As good as the first half was, the second half was as bad. The Wales game was our ticket out of the group. Now, all sorts of factors will come into play for us to escape. The Iran game just became 100 times more important to get a blowout win. Goal differential in the England game, too. (man did they look good)

Just idiotic, mediocre play and poor decisions in the second half.

Idiotic: Zimmerman's decision to slide through the back of Bale in the penalty box, when Bale had his back to the goal and nobody near him. PK.

Mediocre: Pulisic. He made one excellent pass/assist for the first half goal. After that, hmmm. Just about every cross/free kick he made was dog shit.

Poor: When Yedlin came in, he simply gave the ball away for free more than a few times. I think i'll just kick it out of bounds for no reason! Even one that eventually lead to possession for the tying goal (if i remember). Final third decision making, skill once again was bad -- except of course for one 30 second display of brilliance in the goal.

Just steamed about this result (ha, if you can't tell already). No reason for it. Sloppy, awful second half.

A lead at the half! can't beat that.

the US picked up 2 yellows early on. Weston and Dest both on alert. The ref is high or nervous.

Otherwise dominance. keep it up!

Holy crap. Berhalter is at it already!

He’s put together a starting 11 that I’m guessing has never started as an 11 before! Yikes.

Zimm and Ream starting at CB I can understand — Ream comfy with his EPL teammate Robinson at LB.

The front three. Wow. Aaronsen? No. Gio? No. Jesus? No.

Pulisic/Sargent/Weah

Wow? WTF? Smart? Crazy?

and we’re off!

An insane offsides call in the opener, which denied a goal. I’ve watched it over and over and still don’t get it.

I guess they have a ton of tech they are using for this WC.

@stoptheflop said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

@benshawks08 said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

I am curious if folks think jalen will continue to shoot over 20 shots a night with self back at the helm. Have we had a player with that level of usage? Feels like he’s either shooting or assisting on nearly every play.

Him and Gradey have to shoot and score. That's the bulk of our offense. Until a third guy steps up, he's gotta take shots.

I sure hope McCullar gets his offensive game going. He should be our third, consistent scorer. I penciled him in for 13-15 pts a game before I knew Gradey was going to do so well. If McCullar scores 10 pts or more per game, I would like to see Dajuan also at 10 per game. The 5 spot will just be a mystery although KJ has been getting some points while sharing minutes at the 5.

Yup, McCullar should be that guy for sure.

I must have selective memory, because I don’t recall his offensive game at TT at all. At the very least I would hope with his size and ability he could score at the rim.

Benzema out for France. tragic. dang. He's one of my favs.

@benshawks08 said in "Bill Self... needed on Aisle 7, please!:

I am curious if folks think jalen will continue to shoot over 20 shots a night with self back at the helm. Have we had a player with that level of usage? Feels like he’s either shooting or assisting on nearly every play.

Him and Gradey have to shoot and score. That's the bulk of our offense. Until a third guy steps up, he's gotta take shots.

Jeez @drgnslayr Thought we had some IARP news! scared me for a sec. I'm with @Crimsonorblue22 !

It all starts tomorrow! 29 days of world class soccer!

Can’t wait.

@AsadZ said in Southern Utah Game Thread:

@tundrahok I am surprised and somewhat disappointed that JY has not scored more. It appears that he still does not have trust of coaching staff.

Hate to say it, but Joe just does not seem like a good fit at KU.

Dude is solidly built, seems like a bulldog who could drive and bounce off other players at the rim. But he doesn’t. You can see he has quickness in the open court, but what else has he shown the coaching staff?

Surprised he stuck around, would be shocked if he’s still here next season at this rate.

Big big night by Wilson. Super star kinda night! Gradey and Harris as well.

Some very strange stats tonight. We shot 51% to their 38%, but it was still close.

We scored 50 to their 34 in the paint, yet they outrebounded us 45-41.

I wondered all game about our rebounding philosophy. More than a few times there literally was nobody in the paint to hit the boards. Was it Norm’s strategy to get back up the court as fast as possible and have everybody leak out on break? That was weird.

I think teams have figured out our screen and roll lobs. Gotta go back to class on that one.

Would be ideal if we had two legit shooters parking on the 3 pt line waiting for a kick out.

KJ was nice and aggressive. Like to see that from him.

McCullar. Well, he made some plays at the end. He seems clumsy with his passing and unforced turnovers. Hoping he gets more comfortable soon.

Ha, as I write this I’m watching the postgame…and sure enough Norm said the guys all leaked out from rebounding!

Still think MJ has to work his way into more minutes, and make the most of them for us to be better.

@BeddieKU23 said in Duke Kills Kansas... Kansas Wins Game!:

@benshawks08

Great point, I noticed Duke defending Gradey a certain way. Self and Co will see that tape and adjust. Teams did it to Ochai once they caught on. Gradey has too high of a BBIQ so he'll adjust as well. I think Duke scouted us extremely well tbh. I'd hear coaches calling out a lot of our staple plays, the screen to lob was disrupted 4/5 times due to awareness from their bench for example. Gradey's man didn't help which is why he didn't get many good looks, he also struggled some in the first half with shots, so I think it was some freshman moments he was working through but the response he gave late is why he'll only be a Jayhawk one season.

Agreed on all.

Duke did a great job early on of defending our screen rolls thru the middle. None really worked until KJ? split the lane.

@benshawks08 said in Duke Kills Kansas... Kansas Wins Game!:

@kuballin10 said in Duke Kills Kansas... Kansas Wins Game!:

@benshawks08 Bilas likes KU/Self/AFH - raves about us but you could tell he was bias last night. It wasn’t blatant but more he’d talk so positively about Duke while speaking of us in a more negative light. That’s alright so be it.

Great points about assists are normally knocking down outside shots and we didn’t

This team is mature, unselfish and the experience helps. We will have that next year and need an experienced portal big or 4 man wing stud this off-season to round out the class.

Jalen is selfish when he drives but after watching our bigs not finish worth crap on some dump offs I can see why. I think as the frosh bigs get better Bill will tell him to drive and when a defender comes dish that for the dunk. I think he’s unselfish but playing the way he is because no one else can finish.

I want to be mad at jalen for “selfishness” and taking 26 shots but I just can’t. He knows he’s the leader of this team on the offensive end. He knows it is on him to score. And I honestly don’t think he took that many bad shots. Of the 26 only 2 or three were truly forced and out of the flow of the offense.

I think there was a little bit of a game plan to keep Grady under wraps because he’s the real shooter on this team. And a little of Grady not being able to figure out how to get open in the right spot at the right time in a game where if you were a fraction late, the opening closed.

The book on jalen is that he can be inconsistent. Especially as a shooter. Letting him be THE GUY may have been on purpose and not even that bad of a strategy for Duke. But this years jalen while still perhaps inconsistent as a shooter seems hyper focused on doing more of the little things that allow him to score. He hits the offensive glass. Drives hard every time. A lot of those missed shots easily could have been fouls. I know I counted at least 4. And while taking 26 shots still managed 5 assists. 5 real assists. Not just swinging the ball and a guy happens to make a jumper.

Yup.

Just speaking the obvious here (to me at least), but Jalen and Gradey are the two guys vital to us scoring more points than the other team.

You take one out of the equation for spells, and other guys have to step up. I hope that MJ will turn into that third scorer quickly.

Speaking of Gradey, and sorry if this is off topic, @drgnslayr … congrats to Matt Tait for joining in on the Gradey fun. From his story:

Kansas played from behind for most of the second half, but a seven-point spurt by Dick, who was quiet throughout the second half, broke the game open for Kansas late and the Jayhawks went on to grab the victory despite shooting just 3-of-19 from 3-point range on the night.

When Gradey finally came back in late in the game after a long spell on the bench.

The women played Germany again yesterday.

Totally got smoked and looked two steps behind in the first half. Totally overwhelmed.

Oddly, with the same team on the pitch, they had some nice individual effort to take the lead in the second half.

Still some issues with decision making and finishing in the final third.

I don't watch the women's game other than the USWNT. So, not sure how the teeny tiny Pugh and Smith do in their leagues. But, apparently they are stars? Both had goals, with nice individual efforts. Both also with some curious decisions in the 1st half. young, i guess.

Been reading a lot about how their midfield is just not cutting it, or at least within the 4-3-3 formation. I will say i used to LOVE Rose Lavelle. She's really not done anything of note in the last few games i've watched. disappointing. Horan is a beast. i like her. Not sure about Sullivan. she was bloodied yesterday, just like Zach was the other day.

@mayjay said in Chiefs signings:

@rockchalkjayhawk Chiefs said JuJu was laughing and acting normal in the locker room after the game. Hoping he will be back by next Sunday but it would be pretty amazing if he was.

I don't know if the refs can review a play like that. The Chiefs quoted afterwards said things like it should be able to be reviewed in order to avoid mistakes like this, so maybe the refs couldn't look at replay to see if their call was wrong.

JuJu displayed some head trauma signs like the Miami QB did, right? If so, Don’t rush back, man. Get that head on right.

That hit. Well. Which one??!! JuJu or Scantling? Ha.

I just don’t understand what’s a penalty and what’s not. So I dunno.

The JuJu hit seemed like he was defenseless for sure. That’s a penalty. Sucks a lot because he’s been emerging as our top WR target lately. Definite grrrr. He alive?

That dude (Cisco?) knocked the crap out of our players.

I see Cuffe went down in practice today with MCL and PCL. no surgery, they say. How do you not need surgery?

According to acting KU coach Norm Roberts, Cuffe tore his MCL and PCL ligaments while running up the court in practice. Roberts said it was a non-contact injury and that Cuffe is expected to be able to return to basketball activities in 10-12 weeks.

yup

honestly with this kicker. c'mon man.

At the very least i thought this game would be competitive.

well, this is a bit of an unexpected result so far. hmmm. crap.

just turning it on. Bean playing?

I'm guessing that Zuby will get some or lots of playing time against Duke and their FOUR 7-footers. Plus a few 6-10+ guys.

I dunno how much they all play, but Ernest will have his hands full, and no doubt do some fouling with all them big bodies flying around.

So, toss him and Zach into the fire, we'll likely need some bodies next week.

Yup, Sharkie, that rotation sounds right to me.

Before the season I thought Zuby would be a key the guy in the middle. But after seeing his slightly smaller size, he’s got some things to perfect before he sees a ton of time on the floor.

Although Jalen has helped soothe some concern about 3 pt shooting, I still think we need somebody else to make some shots from deep if Self wants to take more 3s this season.

@nwhawkfan said in USWNT:

So much for the post-draw buzz. USWNT loses again, this time to Germany, 2-1.

Midfielders/defense not looking too good tonight. Gave up both goals on German counterattacks, including a late one that gave them the win, right after we'd equalized on a Morgan-to-Rapinoe goal.

Bummer. Lots of good, some bad.

I’m on repeat here i know, but the officiating in the women’s game continues to be absolutely shoddy. Embarrassingly bad.

Rapinoe’s finish was great. Don’t see that often these days.

I thought the first German goal was offsides. But, they never showed a replay angle so who knows.

The second German goal was an absolute lazy ass breakdown on defense.

Lots of possession. Lots of good things otherwise though.

Mixed in with some pretty bad passing, finishing and decision making in the final third for the US.

Germany is a decent squad, but The US players simply aren’t as good these days,

Oh, and Wissox was hitting the bottle tonight! 🥃🏀😆

A few late night, post game thoughts:

Jalen’s stroke looked extremely good in the first half. Pure, with great form. That form broke down in the second half. Exciting to see that pure form is there. Hoping he sees the tape and realizes it’s important to maintain.

Jalen is a huge key to us winning. Duh.

Gradey, for three! He contributed in many ways tonight. Some defensive flaws, but he’s young, learning.

I am not smart enough to see how McCullar has such a great defensive reputation. other than basic things like shooting and rebounding, it’s hard for me to see. Easier to see guards at the top of the key and big guys play good D.

Udeh is fun. Seems like the life of the party!

I like KJ. But KJ can’t shoot. KJ can’t rebound. What does he do well? what does he do well to start and stay on the floor?

MJ Rice just got a new fan! There will be some growing pains with his youthful exuberance, but OK. Dude looks like a baller. I see him being very important by year’s end.

We played some crazy ass lineups tonight. I assume it was Norm looking to see who would step up and be a reliable scorer for the second unit.

Easy breezy win.

New rule at AFH...

After watching Harris stop short on reaching for a loose ball on the sideline, no babies allowed in the front row! :)

Dangerous.

Put on Hawkins and Gueldner!

@BeddieKU23 said in Gameday- North Dakota State Bison:

@stoptheflop @rockchalkjayhawk

Sounds like some growing pains.

Wonder if it’s comparable to the RussRob “growing pains”.

East Coast hardassness.

@BeddieKU23 said in Gameday- North Dakota State Bison:

@stoptheflop @rockchalkjayhawk

Sounds like some growing pains.

Growing pains I can live with!

@FarmerJayhawk said in Gameday- North Dakota State Bison:

@Woodrow he’s definitely hurt, which hasn’t helped the other stuff. I hate to be so cryptic but I don’t feel comfortable sharing any details until I understand the situation better.

And I can rule out one thing. This is absolutely not a Cliff/Cheick situation. He’s 100% cleared and there aren’t any issues there.

Let’s pray all this cryptic messaging isn’t a Carlton Bragg type situation. Jeez.

I think really the only starting 11 question is:

Aaronsen or Reyna?

Tough call. At least Aaronsen puts in nonstop effort. Reyna still a bit of a mystery to me.

It does sound like Dest is an injury concern. So I think you’re right @focojayhawk , Shaq is an insurance policy.

I wonder if there was a weird vibe or something between Steffen and Turner? Who knows.

I’ve been watching lots of Leeds games so far this season. I’m not displeased that Ream made the roster. Strong defender. A captain. I’m guessing we could be on our heels a bit in the WC, so he can play if we’re defending a lot.

Edit: oops, meant to say I’ve watched a bunch of Fulham games…but I’ve watched a bunch of Leeds too

i'm a bit surprised that Cameron Carter Vickers made the roster. But, given the injuries at center back, i suppose he had to.

As for Ream, same deal. But with Miles Robinson and Chris Richards hurt, that's what we got.

Strikers: not sure it really matters!

A bit weird that Reggie Cannon was left off in favor of Shaq Moore, whom we haven't seen too much of.

The World Cup roster is out. a few surprise, but nothing game changing.

U.S. World Cup roster for Qatar 2022

Goalkeepers: Matt Turner, Ethan Horvath, Sean Johnson

Fullbacks: Sergiño Dest, Antonee Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin, Joe Scally, Shaq Moore

Center backs: Walker Zimmerman, Aaron Long, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Tim Ream

Midfielders: Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Luca de la Torre, Kellyn Acosta, Cristian Roldan

Wingers: Christian Pulisic, Timothy Weah, Gio Reyna, Brenden Aaronson, Jordan Morris

Strikers: Jesús Ferreira, Josh Sargent, Haji Wright

Attaboy!

@tundrahok said in Peyton Manning Game Thread:

@rockchalkjayhawk KJ's offensive rebounding was stellar, but defensive rebounding was deficient. Wilson is the opposite, but he's a different position. So I'm still puzzled why the rebounding mindset on offense doesn't translate to defense for KJ.

Yup, KJ was in opposite world last night with 8 offensive boards. weird, but nice.

Are there any stats on how many times we posted up a big today? I think I counted ONCE.

So weird for a KU team.

@BShark said in Box Score Musings:

@wissox Worth noting Dajuan injured his foot in practice yesterday. Xray turned out okay but something that could linger. Noticed some movement issues at times tonight.

If Pettiford stays healthy he will be a regular contributor. Of course not 13 ppg but he will get serious run as our primary bench guard. He plays fast but under control. Really love how he gets into the lane with a purpose which he flashed last year pre injury as well.

That grade feels about right to me. Plenty to work on, but not a bad performance.

Very happy to see Bobby show some aggression on offense tonight. That kind of effort will be much needed. We still really have no idea what kind of offensive skills he has. Hope tonight was a good sign of things to come from him.

Way to go, Hawks! Nice way to open the season!

Well, we scored nearly 90 points. I thought scoring would be a big problem for us, at least early on. Glad I was wrong!

I think we all have the same takeaway from the opener… son of a bitch can Gradey shoot!!!! Jesus. What a stroke. I can’t ever remember form like that from a freshman at KU. I sure hope he keeps it up (too subtle?).

I’m down on Yesufu. Anybody watch him at Drake? How did he score all those points on the tourney?

If MJ is as advertised, he can take all his minutes.

@BShark any belated comments on KJ’s rebounding? :)

Yahoo thinks like some on this board...defense will be great, but offense a possible struggle.

1. Initiating offense against Kansas will be an absolute nightmare for opponents this season, but where are the Jayhawks’ points going to come from? The reigning champs have less offensive talent than previous Bill Self teams and could struggle to live up to their preseason No. 5 ranking as a result.

Wow! close call! Tennessee somehow has the brains and braun to give the Chiefs all they got year after year. good coaching plus a hard nosed approach. Before the game started, i was reading about how lots of people thoughts the Chiefs would blow them out. I'm like, have you watched the last half dozen Titans/Chiefs games?!! ha.

Very happy the Chiefs pulled out the win. Extremely exciting last few minutes or so.

Now about that running game...

@dylans said in The 5 spot:

@BShark must have them confused. Feed sucked here. Hard to tell the new guys apart - don’t know their tendencies/movement styles yet.

Yup. i got confused with a few faces. Didn't really know Udeh vs Zuby going in.

Udeh looks like a 40 year old! :)

And I was like, who's that guy with the mini fro? Cuffe!

@dylans said in The 5 spot:

@Kcmatt7 Not sure if that’s a rebuttal or just you dropping that you went to the game. Either way - I had never seen him until the game. I was expecting a large bruiser McCormack type, not a Darren Hancock 6’6” post type. That’s all not disparaging the guy.

Hmm, not sure we were looking at the same guy. Seemed pretty big to me. For sure not a Hancock 6-6 type to my old eyeballs. Not well defined and muscular yet. true.

@benshawks08 said in The 5 spot:

anyone know if we’ve pressed that much in a preseason game before? Was it just a result of being way down or an actual glimpse at a possible strategy this year? Normally the bill self full court defense is just straight man to man pick up your guy on the inbounds but I saw Juan and jalen working traps and trying to really disrupt, leaving a ball hawk like McCullar to get in passing lanes. Will be interesting to see if self pulls that out again or goes back to his normal stuff.

Yup, that was seemingly new territory for Self. Pressing really hasn't been part of his strategy over the years. If i were to guess i'd say he dabbles in pressing a bit more this year, given our potential scoring issues. He likely wants to create his "havoc" and some turnovers for easier buckets.

@BShark said in Pitt State Gorillas Game Thread:

Cuffe would not play much for Pitt State I would wager. Note the recruiting class this year, loaded up on guards.

Hoping he gets some PT in a real game so we can assess a bit more. Always exciting to see new players out there.