Frank is doing it all.
stoptheflop
3267 posts
@Crimsonorblue22 Three frogs have 2 fouls is all
Vick's 15 helps cover for Jackson's absence
10 fouls on TCU 13 on us.
Lucas double double.
Out rebounded the frogs, 21 to 14. Lucaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas with 10 boards.
TCU shot 5/8 from 3; 63.5%. That's got to change.
Fun half. Boy, our offense got going in the last 10 minutes. I hope our defense improves.
Might need to guard the shooter in the corner. Once in awhile anyway.
Many thanks, Lumpy. The images you post take a lot of talent to produce and are a huge part of my enjoyment of this site. Merry Christmas.
KU players: You don't gain anything by vigorously spinning the ball in your hands as you are preparing to shoot a FT. Where in the hell does that come from? Jackson grabs the backside of the ball and spins the hell out of it, then takes his stance to shoot the FT. Spinning the ball is an unnecessary action that is more likely to be counter-productive. I notice no one dribbles before a FT anymore.
Every KU player by now should have a productive repetition that is followed for every FT attempt. Balance, controlled breathing, looking at the back of the rim, and shooting with a lot of arc are the key factors . I'm not even a fan of placing one foot behind the other, but if it works and improves confidence and balance, maybe it's helpful to some players.
Is our poor FT shooting a coaching issue or just our players not caring enough?
I thought Jackson was great. A joy to watch. Yes, he still makes mistakes on defense and some of his missed shots are groaners, but wow, what a talent we have on our team. He's a blessing.
Svi continues to impress me and I thought Vick's defense last night was great. When UNLV had a steal and a breakaway lay up in the second half, Vick took an arc path away from the dribbler all with the intent of blocking the lay up at the rim. Instead of trailing the dribbler, Vick went to the rim and made a great block. Impressive it was.
But, there were some of negatives too: Bragg is completely missing on offense; he only took 3 shots in 15 minutes. And Devonte either took the game off or had one of his worst shooting nights. Lucas had some opportunities, but only took 3 shots, making one. Three shots in 27 minutes isn't nearly enough. And it was against inexperienced opponents. Oh, and we're still terrible at FTs. Still.
Merry Christmas to all. I enjoy your comments and always look forward to the next game. RCJH
Everyone talks about KU playing small, even coach Self. How is our Davidson starting line up small when we started a 7 footer at the 5 and two 6'8'' players? Isn't small either the wrong word or just poor terminology for a team using really, really athletic 6'8'' players who can handle the ball and shoot from the outside like traditional guards, but also bang in the paint with their front court height? We really are seeing a number of multi-skilled 6'8'' players around the country, including Jackson, Svi and Lightfoot. And soon, Billy Preston will arrive; another multi-skilled "small" player. Once upon a time, Magic Johnson was thought to be a rare athlete, but now we see a number of players with similar size and combination skills throughout the country.
When I hear the term playing small, I think of Fred Hoiberg's Iowa State offense that had four players beyond the arc and one player in the paint. George Niang was another multi-skilled 6'8'' guy. If I saw him at the local Costco, I don't think I would call him small.
As a true small myself, I wonder if 6 feet will soon become too short to play D1 ball. Global warming may be hotly disputed in our society, but no one may dispute that many tall players are changing the face of basketball because they're developing ball handling and shooting skills like true smalls. Just something to ponder on a Monday. Merry Christmas all.
@Crimsonorblue22 I too think it's unnecessary and almost meaningless to compare players. But, the TV announcers do it constantly. My comment was really aimed at the TV announcers, several of whom have said something to the effect "Jackson's good, but he's no Wiggins." I'm liking our Mr. Jackson just fine. Different players with different skills playing with different teammates make comparisons difficult at best. I agree Sir Crimson, comparisons aren't really helpful or enlightening.
My take on the Davidson game is Josh Jackson can and is willing to do it all. I'm much happier to have Josh in the line up than I ever was with Wiggins. Josh's effort is present all the time, whereas Andrew took too many plays off and was/is a one dimensional player. (But, I still love Andrew and the fact that he comes back to Lawrence.) TV announcers, stop right now saying Josh is no Andrew Wiggins. You're showing your ignorance. Josh's defense is great to watch and he's cleaning up on put backs in the offense lane. If I'm choosing a middle school team, I take Josh over Andrew.
Second, Landen is gaining confidence or whatever was missing earlier in the year. I would start Landen and let Doke watch from the bench until he is needed. Doke is a presence that coach could bring in like a hammer when the opponent is getting to the rim. But, Landen is my go to at the 5.
Third, Svi has elevated his game and is now a dual threat. I'm really glad Svi got the start over Vick. His Josh/Frank-like drives to the rim gives our offense a fourth or fifth threat that will really help keep teams from cramming the paint or taking away Frank.
I'm really excited for our team, but Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina are still playing better at the moment. We've still got a lot of wood to saw before we match up against the other elites. We need an inside presence: a reason other teams will think twice before driving to the rim. That's not going to be Landen. It will probably be Josh and Doke with there superior athleticism to our other bigs. Use Doke and Josh as the rim protectors when the opponent is getting to the rim. RCJH
Who would believe we shot 70% FTs to Davidson's 60%. They were supposed to be the much better FT shooting team. I guess that's why you still have to play the game. RCJH
@wissox Up 22; Frank needs to sit. Now.
Bragg is playing well. Very active, especially on the glass.
Aldridge is the only player keeping Davidson in this game.
Stick back Jackson. What a weapon
@BeddieKU23We are forcing too many shots.
@KUSTEVE On the court and in the paint. He's awesome with the stick backs.
Who's got the first half stats?
We don't need the 3 ball tonight. Just pound it inside.
@ParisHawk The purpose of the Kansas domestic violence statute is to stop, at least for a few hours, a violent confrontation between domestic partners. Any law enforcement officer will tell you that many times they are called upon to respond to the same couple still fighting over a long period of time. The Kansas statute was enacted to put one or both of the combatants in jail for a few hours to stop the fight if there is evidence of a battery. After an arrest, the accused's bond imposes a condition of no contact with the other person for 48 or 72 hours. The whole point is to get fighting couples apart to cool off and perhaps sober up so no one gets hurt. Lawrence PD didn't have to arrest Bragg under the strict terms of the statute, but these incidents are so routine to any beat cop, that someone always gets arrested. It might not be right, but it's the easiest way to stop the conflict and insure no one gets further hurt. Of course, Bragg and the young woman had already parted by the time law enforcement got involved, so the prospect of further problems was over. The accounts I've read indicate Bragg was arrested 5 hours after the incident in the stairwell and the young woman was contacted half a day later. Clearly, no arrests should have been made and only citations issued.
With our Mr. Bragg, I'm sure all the questions will never be answered. I'm also sure, Carlton just wants to move on and not dig into the details any further. Lessons were learned. The correct outcome has been achieved after the lawyers, who deal with these incidents every day looked at the facts and determined who was at fault. That goodness for the video or it would have been Bragg's version against the version of the young lady. That would have taken weeks to resolve.
My fingers are crossed for our Louisiana connection to continue to bring great players to KU. Thanks for keeping track and posting about football in December, 54; I can always count on you. RCJH
Davidson reminds me of Indiana and Stanford with most of it's scoring coming from a talented forward and a talented guard. These three teams show how dangerously competitive teams can be with just two very talented players. They won't win every game, but they are good enough to beat any team on any night.
I assume it will be Jackson and Bragg primarily defending Aldridge and that Mason, Graham and Vick will share the responsibilities on Gibbs. I like our chances. The defensive switches will be critical for us. When other teams have had open looks, it's usually because someone missed a switch, which happens with a young team at the beginning of the season. Now, though, our freshmen should be making huge leaps on defense. I've seen it with Jackson, but not yet with Doke. Even Vick misses defensive assignments.
O degrees predicted in my area for tonight. I can't think of a better way to spend the evening than watching our guys match up with Davidson at the Sprint Center. RCJH
Thanks for the recruiting updates. Wow, there is a lot of work to do for our coaching staff.
@HawkChamp You're right the first half was amazing. I posted that I thought we looked more athletic than any other KU team I can remember. Svi was fantastic.
@ralster I do think Danny was a very good coach for our bigs. When Danny was part of our staff, I always felt our front court players were going to be well coached. When I see Doke get the ball in the paint and then dribble the ball even though he's surrounded by defenders, I feel we miss Danny's coaching.
@ralster Do you agree with Coach Self's explanation that the lower percentage of made FTs is due to the minutes being played by the freshmen? I can still hit 7/10 FTs in my driveway and I was never considered by anyone other than myself to be athletic. And that's with the Kansas wind usually blowing in my face, the sun in my eyes and a stupid tree limb that interferes with my concentration. At least once a year after a particularly poor FT shooting game, I measure a FT line on my driveway, make sure the rim is 10 feet and then shoot about a hundred shots.
I was checking the 76's website and it reports that JoJo will be held out of Sunday's game due to minor inflammation in his elbow. We didn't get to see much of this young man at KU, but his over the top personality always makes me smile. RCJH
The best development from the Nebraska game was our rock, Landen Lucas playing like last year:
5/5, 2/2, and 7rbs all in 19 minutes. The officiating stayed in the background where it's supposed to be, rather than being the most notable element of the game like it was in earlier games. Perhaps that's the reason for his improved play. But, I think Landen's back and will become a bigger part of our offense. Start Landen against Davidson, coach.
A close second best part of the Nebraska game for me was Svi's aggressive play. Finally, I saw more than just a feet set, three point shooter; he drove the ball to the rim and is now a dual threat. I finally saw the athleticism that many of you have written about. Svi"s play should earned him more playing time and I say start him over Vick. RCJH
Lucaaaaaaaaaas 5/5 in ten minutes of play. He's back. ( I hope )
@tundrahok Thanks.
@kjayhawks do you keep the stats or have a site for them?
Nice half with everyone contributing. Svi driving the ball is great, then his teammates find him for a wide open 3. Rebounding needs to improve, though.
@Crimsonorblue22 These guys are as athletic as any KU team I can remember. Jackson's quick release reminds me of Manning.
The bigs are scoring today, Doke, Lucas, and Lightfoot. RCJH
Svi driving it like Mason.
Landen came to play. Way to go.
@chsguy2008 Yes, it's normal. If Lawrence PD is told she struck, or even just pushed Bragg and something else corroborates it, she gets charged too. Usually, the couple involved bares their souls to the helpful law enforcement officers and effectively convict themselves of battery offenses. Most people don't realize that a grab or a push can get them charged with battery.
As a Kansas lawyer, I've handled many, many misdemeanors. What helps is for all parties involved to have the time to reflect on what happened and for experienced lawyers to sort it out. My reaction to police reports ranges from "Good grief what in the hell was my client thinking" to "Oh, you've got to be kidding me-that's not a valid charge." Kansas law requires an arrest when responding officers see evidence of a battery in a domestic dispute. Here, Lawrence PD mistakenly treated Bragg's arrest as a domestic offense, when he wasn't related to the putative victim and they didn't live together. Also, quit worrying about the mug shot. The officers in the room could have been joking around or Bragg like all of us smiles any time his picture is being taken. I've seen victims of horrible offenses smile when their picture is taken, so the smile isn't determinative of what the person is feeling.
Please, let's focus on our players on the court against Nebraska and let the Bragg situation work itself out. RCJH
@KUSTEVE Really the media over reports situations like Bragg's arrest. If you look at our fans' reactions, we have been very calm. How many times today on the TV broadcast will Bragg be mentioned? I predict 50, but who wants to count? Not me; I often have to mute the announcers because their incessant talking is too seldom about the actual game.
This could be a funky game due to Bragg's absence. Warning, warning, warning. Because a boyfriend/girlfriend conflict can and does happen to most college men (but, most don't react so badly they get arrested), Braggs' difficulties may weigh heavily on the team. I'm sure the players know the situation and will be preoccupied with the facts. I've heard the girlfriend was trying to end the relationship and it appears Bragg was arrested at her college residence (Emery Road). This is going to be a real challenge for our players.
Did anyone else find Self's line up interesting at the end of the game when he was taking out the guards? He played four bigs and one guard, Vick. When Mason, Graham and Jackson came out of the game, the line up was Bragg, Lightfoot, Svi, Coleby and Vick. You may remember we had a couple of turnovers because Lightfoot and Svi were handling the ball more than usual. After a great game, I found it amusing that the bigs were trying to run the weave. I'm going to go back and watch again. It didn't last very long because the other bench players came in to finish the game. Four bigs and a guard: very interesting. RCJH
I look forward to being number 1 in the polls at any time. It gets talked about on all the sports programs and adds to our reputation as an elite basketball program. The number 1 rank means others who are not KU fanatics are impressed with our team. Yes, it means we become an even bigger target for opposing teams and it hurts like hell when we lose and drop in the polls, but at least we were there for a while; most other fans can't say that about their teams. My most painful memories of losing the number 1 poll ranking are when we became number 1 over the weekend and then played on big Monday and lose the game. I think that's happened twice when we've played K State, though I try to forget those losses.
@brooksmd I had to look at the box score to understand what you were posting. Travis only scored 10 points from the field and 19 from the free throw line. Does anyone know which conference the officials were from? Quite a few of the fouls in the paint were touch fouls. It reminds me of the tighter calls at the beginning of last year on the guards.
@BShark Post away Shark. No penalty here for bashing the refs.
How many free throws did Stanford get to shoot? The only things that kept Stanford in the game were Travis's 29 and 30+ free throws.