Team discussion after 10 games
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I think most of the basketball analysts from around the nation have us pegged pretty well. We need that consistent 3rd scorer. Losing Morris left a huge hole because he was the perfect fit of scorer/athlete and could defend well.
Most pleasant surprise - Kevin! He’s really dialed it up a huge notch. He’s like a big Mason… willing to take it in on anyone and risk his body for a bucket. A+
Hunter - He’s a little too timid. Needs to fight harder for position and we need to set him up better. Our offense is Self’s traditional hi/lo… but that traditional hi/lo was built for 2 post players. We sometimes (not always) need to clear out an entire side of the court except for Hunter so he won’t be double-teamed. He’s such a good passer he can kick it anytime he wants, too. He needs to do a better job of fighting for position and then getting a good shot off. He should be able to get his shot on anyone, including 7’5" guys. We need him to be a constant threat, not on and off!
Juan - He hasn’t had a great season (for the most part, except UK). Too many TOs. I just don’t think he has adjusted yet to this offense. He gets sped up and anxious. I think we will see a huge breakthrough with Juan over the Christmas break.
Elmarko - He is coming on and I like what I see! I’m just not sure if he can maintain his confidence throughout the season and into post-season play.
Furphy - A nice surprise. He’s going to have a monster game within a year or two as his body develops. He’s just not strong enough now to stop many driving guards.
Timberlake - Big question mark. He hasn’t adjusted to playing tougher competition so he is out of his comfort zone. Because of that, he is playing sped up on his shot, hence the poor shooting. I’m not sure there is much more we can expect out of him on the defensive end. He needs a lot of help in placing his feet… otherwise known as “hedging against the drive.” He needs to learn the driving tendencies of all players he will face this year and then hedge against their strengths.
Parker - More than expected! He still has room to develop even more!
KJ - He’s going to work himself onto the NBA draft chart before he’s done… or if not, get some serious tryouts. That mid-range floater is deadly and just what we need! He’s a great compliment to having Hunter.
Jamari - Has great potential. Hope he sticks with us after this year but I understand he has to go where he can play. He needs minutes to develop. He’s a guy we might recruit over and then he’s gone. For now, he can be a good spark off the bench.
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I think we are right about where I thought we would be record wise. Best surprise - Kevin, looks more athletic and could be playing his way to a draft pick.
Biggest disappointment is Timberlake, dude just seems to be completely lost. I hate being this hard on him but my god. He is quickly becoming one of the worst scholarship players in memory.
I made the comparison the other day to a Tony Bennett Virginia team. They value the ball well most the time and are efficient offensively. Leading the nation in FG% and Assists. They also play pretty good defense when the starting 5 is on the floor.
The downside to being a Bennett type team, if a team gets hot from 3, pressures hard and they push the ball like Marquette. We are in trouble in those types of contests. We play at a much slower pace than we are used to here at Kansas.
My honest opinion is I don’t see this team winning the big 12 this season but I’ve said that before and been wrong. I honestly think the B12 is far and away the best conference this season.
Defense always travels and this team could develop into one of BS best teams in that category. I can see this team losing in the first round of the NCAAs or making the final four.
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Since I’m still trying to figure out who’s on the floor half the time I may not be qualified to answer. So here’s my observations
KJ, I do know who he is and he’s a blast to watch. Hilarious that misery decided not to guard him and so he poured in 10 foot little flip type shots all night long.
DaJuan is a joy, the glow from the NC game has carried over and in my book he’s a hero because of that championship season, although I’m still a little pissed at him for stepping out of bounds in that game. But his story is so great, another kid that was saved by college basketball and will graduate much better prepared because of it.
Kevin has been awesome. He’s a fierce competitor and that drive just inspires everyone on the floor. He is the heart and soul of this team right now. His performance against UCONN was legend type of stuff.
The only newcomer I know is Hunter and I still dislike him as a person, but am thrilled he came to Lawrence. Bill would have had a tough time without him.
All the other newcomers I barely recognize still. I’m always looking up numbers and realizing oh, that guy that just bricked a 3 is Timberlake, or the kid who looks lost at times is Jamari, and the kid who’s best known for being Christian Braun’s brother just did a bit of dirty work for the team. Funphee is a fun name and he, I think it was him, recently actually who made a 3 or something that helped.
I wish we could have played Kentucky when they had their bigs. It’d be interesting to see how HCBS would have game planned that one. Marquette loss was a bit concerning but they are a solid squad.
And they better not screw this one up after spending a nice bit of cash the other day to see them in Bloomington!
Nice post @BeddieKU23
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We are slightly better than I expected at this point given all the new pieces. We may fall short of expectations by season’s end (I expect somewhere between S16 and E8). with obvious weaknesses and a pretty unnuanced identity, we could run into a match up problem early that we can find no answers for.
Namely, Hunter can look mobile against another footer but his help D is always going to be a step slow. We still have too few 3balls. These could be alleviated if Kev keeps shooting out of his mind and Furphy is not a defensive liability and can keep raining 3s.
As for Nick, i am convinced he cannot shoot a 3 from the corner and thats all Self wants him to do. Need to put him at the elbow extended or on ball if we want to get any production from him. I dont think we will.
Elmarko cant shoot 3s and its going to take an offseason to fix, at least. So that limits his identity. Thats tough to pair with Juan unless Juan truly unblocks his shooting Chakra the second half and looks for his shot consistently.
I am not surprised at all by Kev. I knew he had it in him and glad we got to see it at KU.
Freethrows are a problem and another reason our identity isnt nuanced enough at this point.
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Love all the posts @rockchalkjayhawk @nuleafjhawk @rcjhdraft @drgnslayr @approxinfinity @kjayhawks @wissox. Some awesome discussion going on.
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I do wonder when Self is gonna call it on the Timberlake minutes. I understand why his leash is so long because this team desperately needs shooting but at some point you may need to cut your losses. He’s an absolute turnstile on the defensive end
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@rcjhdraft said in Team discussion after 10 games:
I do wonder when Self is gonna call it on the Timberlake minutes. I understand why his leash is so long because this team desperately needs shooting but at some point you may need to cut your losses. He’s an absolute turnstile on the defensive end
The problem is really that Self cannot call it on Timberlake minutes. We need him.
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Anyone have news on an inside track for us picking up another player at mid-semester? I guess pulling Clemence off of RS status isn’t the answer. Hope he is busy sucking down pea protein shakes every day and sweating out strengthening workouts.
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There’s been no recent news there. Not sure it’s going to happen anymore after they explored a reclass kid from 24 but the logistics etc just didn’t work out. We certainly don’t need a big and at this point getting someone acclimated to impact the backcourt seems rather improbable with conference play around the corner. Obviously, something could change but I’m not expecting we hear differently at this point.
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So obviously it’s early and guys like Elmarko/Furph especially can still make strides. However if you want to be alarmed… Our offense if you remove the first two games is 87th in the country on torvik. Of course the schedule has been absolutely insane. 4 top 10 level opponents and another P5 in Missouri. In general that EIU game where the team was coasting hurts this stuff as well.
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@BShark Offense doesn’t pass the the test. But the sample size is small. A half dozen games into conference the modeling should get better and the team closer to the finished product.
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@dylans said in Team discussion after 10 games:
@BShark Offense doesn’t pass the the test. But the sample size is small. A half dozen games into conference the modeling should get better and the team closer to the finished product.
I agree which brings up the fact that college basketball might just be very stinky. Given this team is winning at a high level.
I think we need to see Elmarko and Furph hunt for offense more to reach the potential this team has.
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Bossi’s comments about waiting for these old dudes to move on is accurate. The covid guys are going to finally dry up soon.
I agree that we could benefit from more offense from the 2 talented freshman. Elmarko is doing the right thing since he’s the 4th or 5th scoring option right now. Fitting in, starting to adapt to his role. I would just like to see a better perimeter shot from him, seem to remember him a bit more consistent there in HS. I know he would need some work, but not to the extent it looks. Furphy doesn’t lack confidence in his shot. Once he puts on some good muscle here he’s going to be a problem
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@BShark I think L is getting better at both, O and D. Furphy needs to hunt D! Johnny on the spot is hitting some 3’s and not afraid to get on the boards and getting some put backs. His angle on D is too tight and he doesn’t move his feet. He’s very capable too! When he gets it along w/his length, he’ll be a great defender. I think Mari showed why he’s not playing more in the Mizzou game. He brought the ball up dribbled around, never passed and then shot it. Jmo. Don’t think Coach was happy about that.
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Bottom 5 offense in Self era so far via Kenpom, for whatever that is worth. They can get better and hopefully they do as you said, the sample size needs to be bigger. The early portion of conference play is a lot easier then the bottom part so we might have a chance to get into a groove and keep improving which would perhaps even out the numbers a bit. No doubt they have played a tough schedule and that’s played a part in some of it.
Perhaps the one advantage to new teams joining the conference is that KU doesn’t have to face every team twice. I did love that format but the last several years certainly made it difficult to have any element of surprise against teams when you face some of them up to 3 times in a season. Perhaps an advantage Self will gain against some league opponents when he doesn’t have to face them twice.
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Just a few things. I like all of our first year Jayhawks because they may look scattered sometimes but every one plays hard. Parker I’m impressed with your skill and court awareness and you are already proving you are what we needed. Timberlake just keep playing fearless and hard and your shot will start falling when the offense finds you in the flow of things. Johnny your shot is sweet thank you and your defense may not be there yet but the last couple of games you recognize that and in the Mizzou game you got picked by a screen but astonished me when you did a sideways 15’ broad jump trying to get back in front your man and swiping at the ball as you landed scaring the heck out of the ball handler. Hell yeah. Elmarko I see you as a computer that is still booting up and your sly little passes during your lane incursions would get more credit if Hunter and KJ were more aware as your passes were bouncing off of them. Jamari you keep on focusing on your defense because you are already good at it and a kamikaze drive or two will do more damage to the defender than yourself. All of you should keep chucking it up because that’s what we need when you are on the floor. Our fab four are doing their part but still need your help to survive.
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Good idea that shows leadership. TY.
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@BeddieKU23 said in Team discussion after 10 games:
Bottom 5 offense in Self era so far via Kenpom, for whatever that is worth. They can get better and hopefully they do as you said, the sample size needs to be bigger. The early portion of conference play is a lot easier then the bottom part so we might have a chance to get into a groove and keep improving which would perhaps even out the numbers a bit. No doubt they have played a tough schedule and that’s played a part in some of it.
Perhaps the one advantage to new teams joining the conference is that KU doesn’t have to face every team twice. I did love that format but the last several years certainly made it difficult to have any element of surprise against teams when you face some of them up to 3 times in a season. Perhaps an advantage Self will gain against some league opponents when he doesn’t have to face them twice.
The funny thing is we have shot pretty well, it’s the damn turnovers mostly.
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@BShark looking at the stats from the title team vs this years, our offense looks slightly better in a majority of stats. 3p% is actually up but attempts is down 3. TOs is only up .6
Although that title team had weaknesses this changes my perspective a bit.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/kansas/men/2022.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/kansas/men/2024.html
(Scroll down on each)
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I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that we’re ranked #2 in the nation and we’re tearing our hair out over how terrible we are. Terrible defense, terrible free-throw shooting, terrible this, terrible that.
Man, it’s GOOD to be a Jayhawk fan!
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It’s not out of the question we could be 20-1 and end up 22-9 after our brutal closing stretch. Just looking in from outer space. Indiana fans are ranked as 13th for obnoxious home court fans and loud about it. Profanity and nasty chants. Hunter rhymes with ******, Furphy has herpes, Hairass Hairass Hairass, really not too much work with for them.
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@nuleafjhawk said in Team discussion after 10 games:
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that we’re ranked #2 in the nation and we’re tearing our hair out over how terrible we are. Terrible defense, terrible free-throw shooting, terrible this, terrible that.
Man, it’s GOOD to be a Jayhawk fan!
AHH YES PERFECTION - is such a great thing
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@Zabudda Punter? Bunter?
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@BShark said in Team discussion after 10 games:
@BeddieKU23 said in Team discussion after 10 games:
Bottom 5 offense in Self era so far via Kenpom, for whatever that is worth. They can get better and hopefully they do as you said, the sample size needs to be bigger. The early portion of conference play is a lot easier then the bottom part so we might have a chance to get into a groove and keep improving which would perhaps even out the numbers a bit. No doubt they have played a tough schedule and that’s played a part in some of it.
Perhaps the one advantage to new teams joining the conference is that KU doesn’t have to face every team twice. I did love that format but the last several years certainly made it difficult to have any element of surprise against teams when you face some of them up to 3 times in a season. Perhaps an advantage Self will gain against some league opponents when he doesn’t have to face them twice.
The funny thing is we have shot pretty well, it’s the damn turnovers mostly.
The turnovers are just a part of having a dominant big who is a clear option one. Everyone knows that’s where the ball is trying to go.
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@patoh3 REALLY? It’s pretty obvious that it’s Grunter…
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Offensive woes point to two areas: poor perimeter shooting and not enough low-post scoring.
Hunter needs to put on his big boy pants and fight harder for inside position and then when he gets the ball, stop holding it and go right into a scoring motion.
Perimeter shooting… hope we improve over the holidays by developing better spacing and passing. I know our assist to points is very high but it doesn’t tell the whole story or we would be leading the country in offensive efficiency.
I think a lot of this rests on Juan’s shoulders. He is our PG and playmaker. It isn’t fair to blame him… it is just a case of our offense settling in better. Christmas break should be the time when our guys can stop focusing so much on the next game and start focusing on running better offense.
I’ll know we are in good shape when Hunter has the ball around the FT line and he feeds Juan under the basket for an easy 2! That means we’ve worked hard all the way around on offensive efficiency!
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@Zabudda I’m wondering what it will be like for me there Saturday. Actually thinking of not wearing KU stuff.
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@wissox good idea. And show up at a nudist colony wearing coveralls, cowboy boots and a balaclava. You won’t stand out at all.
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@nuleafjhawk Geez, that is what I get for thinking!!
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@wissox said in Team discussion after 10 games:
@Zabudda I’m wondering what it will be like for me there Saturday. Actually thinking of not wearing KU stuff.
IDK. Nothing like going stealth.
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@wissox no way!
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@Crimsonorblue22 You think I should wear it proudly? I probably will but I hear IU fans are kind of nuts.
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@wissox well, you are too!
wave it proudly!
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@Crimsonorblue22 If I was nuts I’d go all rock chalk a jayhawkin into the place and probably get beat! Not that nuts!
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@wissox I hope you have some fun.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Oh it will be! I’ve always wanted to go to the Assembly Hall but wouldn’t make the 3 hour drive to just see any game, so the chance to see us play there is just amazing.
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@wissox hope we can find you! Remember when I saw you running?
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I’m WAY more excited about this team than I expected. I was not happy about bringing Morris to KU, so I’m still disappointed and disgusted about the way that played out. Hunter was a bit suspect to me too, but I’ve been wrong before. (Tarik Black, you’re a good dude)
In order of my happiness:
KJ–the kind of misfit guy I love (Jamari Traylor, Kevin Young etc.) Gives 100%. So, apparently he’s been hiding some handles bringing the ball up the court. Who knew that?
HD–so good popping off that 4-8 foot throw in. Gets rebounds the easy way, in position and doesn’t even jump. Kept his cool mostly so far better than I would have despite being mauled constantly. Seems to be a decent dude.
Kev–great so far, as expected. Best player for post game interviews too.
Juando–Just barely cruising. Needs to amp it up on offense. We have to have that ugly mode guy who can drive and draw a foul. Looks like he’s conserving energy at this point.
5th spot:
ElMarko–hate to think where we’d be if he was running the point, but he is definitely starting to show flashes. Looks better than average hot shot freshman on D. He’s still confident on O despite shooting like crap, so I think it’s going to click in January/February.
Furphy–play him more. I think he’s going to be a freak. Quicker than people realize. Doesn’t hesitate a bit jacking threes. One of those guys who just has a nose for rebounding and is fearless. My second favorite player to watch at this point behind KJ.
Jamari–he’s been big in big games, and that’s along the KJ track of getting coach’s trust
Braun–he’s a man. I don’t sweat a bit when he’s in for HD.
This is a pretty dang good team, folks!
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Thanks for humbling us there. It’s true, we are spoiled. It’s all Self’s fault for being so damn good at his job.
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I wonder if Juando is playing through aches and pains already. Rewatched the Missouri game and put on a game from last year and the speed/energy is different from him this year. Felt like he finally impacted a game defensively when guarding East the other day which was encouraging. Most of that guys junk came when someone else was switched on him. He’s playing a lot of minutes again and Self has consistently said he’s not built for it. I’d like to see if Elmarko can run the offense more, they did some of that in the Missouri game because Juan was spent at times. Hopefully we’ll see an uptick in from Juando with limited games for the next 3 weeks. Chance to get healthier if he is nursing something
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@drgnslayr to go along with the low post scoring, feels like out offensive rebounding is down. Hunter is good at what he does so it is hard to complain, but it is a lot harder to get your own miss with his 4 ft jumpers than when you are shooting from under the basket.
Easiest thing for me that the team can improve is to lower their turnovers. I know a high TO rate is a symptom of high assists since we are passing the ball more, and I am fine with the TOs when trying to make a play, but we seem to still have a high number of sloppy ones. Juan even seems to be ending drives every so often with a prayer of a pass and I can’t ever remember him doing that in the past. Know that is pedantic but this team’s offensive strength is ball movement and being the best passing team is country is what they should hang their hat on.
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To go along with what MR11 was saying about offensive rebounding , this is one thing that we are really , really , bad at. - -let’s see we are what 9-1 - playing what ten games this year ?
I was looking at our team stats and other then Hunter who has 27 offensive rebounds on the year and even that is not crushing it , but other then that no other KU player is in double digits for the season I think KJ is next with NINE & Kevin has EIGHT. In ten games haven’t hit double digit in offensive rebounding - -just sad, so pretty much on the offensive end if we don’t make our first shot - - -were done , empty trip. We only have a grand total of SEVENTY NINE offensive rebounds for the Season, that’s not going to get it done. Got to get better.
Something else found really interesting. For as much as other teams lay off, and for as much as we holler for him not to shoot the Three , Juan is 2nd best on the team for three point shooting % and no it’s not because he has attempted a lot less. - -Hunter leads in three point percentage at I think 51 %- - - then Juan is Second , he is shooting the three at a 45 % clip- - -making 9-20.
He has attempted the third most attempts, Hunter is first then Kevin then Juan is tied with Johnny and making 45 % - -he has to get more aggressive on the offensive end. I know he is a pass first PG but we are looking for that other guy to pick up more of the slack. Another thing Juan needs to improve on is FT %, you can’t have your PG a guy who is going to be handling the ball a lot especially late , you can’t afford for him to be shooting 61.5 % - -got to get better
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Very nice post on KUSports:
It mentions our failure to get second shots. Simply… the shot goes up and only Furphy crashes the boards. We’ve seen him snag several offensive rebounds.
What sticks out is our leading the nation in assist rate. Who doesn’t love sharing the rock, except it points to other issues? No one is driving the ball. No one. We had a taste of Kevin driving in a few games, but otherwise, no one. Juan has to drive more. KJ sticks out as our muscle and is capable, but he’s also so deadly with that little floater shot.
These are areas we should be able to address easily. The one glaring area that should set-off alarms is how many treys we give up. We will win games as long as teams only shoot 31% (mentioned in the post), but what happens when they are hot? Wasn’t this a big part of our drubbing by Marquette?
Are we sinking in our defense to stop the drive? I know we have Juan, Kevin, and KJ… capable defenders. Why aren’t they doing a better job of guarding the trey line? Or are they guarding well and opposing teams are shooting more treys because they are running out of shot clock? I’m sure the stat is out there… what is the average possession time of our opponents?
Maybe we aren’t aggressive driving on offense, aggressive defending the trey line, or aggressive on offensive boards because our starters are logging too many minutes.
Maybe we have to go backwards through the stat lines and consider how many minutes are starters are logging. At this early time in the season, too many minutes just means our guys are playing tired. As the season progresses, the symptoms shift to more possible injuries and guys showing seasonal wear that goes beyond healing with a couple nights of rest.
I think Self is going to have to be more creative giving our starters a blow.
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@HoraceZontal I agree with remarks on Harris’ scoring deficiency. I suspect his is finishing his one-handed layup attempts in practice and just worries about getting blocked at the rim. But I look for him to start finishing there and when he does it opens up more lobs -he has good length required to finish despite his height!
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@drgnslayr anecdotally, this years defensive possession times seem longer. 24 second clock violations are my crack, and there have been a lot.
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So how did yesterday change the way anyone feels about this team? I think it confirmed my thoughts. They played like they’re capable of in the 2nd half which is really effectively. But it also confirmed my view that they’re a bit inconsistent as demonstrated by the 1st half. Some headscratching moments during that time, particularly when you paid a fair bit of money to go watch those headscratching moments! The game also confirmed my view that we’ve got a shallow bench which isn’t a newsflash to anyone. Hoping to stay healthy.
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KU is a title contender, but depth will be an issue throughout the year.
Self has to find a way to give Harris some breaks during the game otherwise he won’t last the year at a productive level.
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What stuck out most was our experience. Did not panic on the road and stuck with it, then turned it up a bit towards the end… enough to win.
I thought we would have blown them out had we run a faster pace throughout the game because this Indiana team has real problems if you speed them up.
Anyways… thumbs up for a big road win!
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I don’t think it changed anything, but I was very encouraged by the poise they showed in the 2nd half when getting back into the game and leaving with a victory. Indiana isn’t very good but they played well enough to beat us & the crowd was very loud and played a big factor. Overall, I thought this was a C level game overall for KU, but they found a way to win and that’s what ultimately matters.
Agree inconsistent team especially in the 1st half. 2nd half didn’t start out hot either but then KJ gets a crowd silencing dunk within 10 seconds of Indiana going up 13 and then all of a sudden, the momentum starts shifting. I did not see us pulling this game out at any point with how the first 25 minutes or so went. Still a bit surprised we won tbh but this is the magic that Self yields at times.
Was a bit disappointed in how the bench was used in the game. Jamari gave huge minutes. He made at least 5 impactful plays in the game. A drive and assist to Hunter, an offensive rebound/putback that just missed, drilled a 3 off good perimeter ball movement and a big boy rebound in traffic that was a big play at the time. He made plays and at some point Self needs to trust him if that’s the kind of effort you’re going to get from a true freshman on the road. Parker saw only a few minutes. Nick isn’t playable imo. Furphy didn’t play enough to really impact either. The starters played too many minutes outside Elmarko. Self having a short bench isn’t anything new. He still needs to figure out the balance of playing your starters 35+ minutes and the wear and tear that causes for later in the season. Is what it is.
Hope you had a fantastic time!
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@BeddieKU23 The Indy Star called it the best crowd in years.
