Best posts made by justanotherfan

This post isn’t about analysis. This post is about enjoying a basketball game for being great. This will be long, so feel free to skip it if you don’t have that kind of time.

My perception of several guys was altered last night watching that game. Credit has to go to every single guy for playing their butts off last night, on both teams. The action wasn’t always perfect, but guys played extremely hard on both ends.

Both Kruger and Self squeezed every ounce of effort out of their guys. Both drew up some brilliant plays and made some questionable decisions, but they got everything out of their players.

Pack up the Big XII POY trophy and send it to Norman. Deliver it to a Mr. Hield. I went from thinking Hield was a fringe NBA prospect to being sold on him as a first rounder. Dropping 46 in AFH and playing 54 of 55 minutes, basically not letting your team die until exhaustion compromised his talents in the 54th minute of action (after playing all 40 in a wild game against ISU on Saturday). Hield was the best player on the floor. I wanted to shake his hand last night. As Vitale said last night, it wasn’t just that Hield made plays and dropped 46, it was that every single play he made was during a crucial moment. Every play was a must play. And he wasn’t just scoring. He had crucial assists, grabbed some big rebounds and played some tough D. Just incredible in every aspect.

Perry Ellis played his best game as a Jayhawk. Not best because he has never played better. He has. Best because that was the type of game that you need to play if you’re going to be a top player on a top team. He battled in a way that I had never seen him battle. He had his problems against Lattin (I will get to him in a second), but Perry just kept plugging away and made some HUGE plays down the stretch.

Isaiah Cousins has some stones. He was awful Saturday against Iowa State, until he wasn’t and keyed the win down the stretch. He struggled again last night, but then still hit a couple big buckets. He’s slumping right now, but once he gets going again, this OU team will be even more dangerous.

Frank Mason changed how I feel about him as a defensive player. I have no idea how many points he scored, or how many assists, or anything like that. I watched him get into Buddy Hield’s space last night and take on the challenge of defending a top notch player that was red hot (and stayed hot). But Frank stayed right in Hield’s space, and ended up making the two biggest plays of the night to seal the win. I said Frank was an average defender at the beginning of the season. I stand corrected. Frank is above average, maybe well above average. I can’t even describe how impressed I was with his performance on that end.

Kadeem Lattin was big time last night. He kept that game alive with his presence in the middle. He and Spangler are basically OU’s only useful bigs, and I think they both had double doubles last night. Spangler showed me more shooting than I knew he had. I was afraid he was going to be our undoing. The single biggest moment last night may have been when he left the game briefly due to injury. He wasn’t the same when he came back in. Those two are irreplaceable for the Sooners.

Devonte Graham has some Mario Chalmers in him. He wants to be the guy that has to make plays. I hadn’t really gotten to see that attitude until last night, but he wants to be in the BIG moments. It’s clear that Self realized that before I did and that Graham will be on the floor at the end of every close game from now until he graduates. He was relentless last night.

I didn’t even really think Jordan Woodard was that good until last night. He was, to me, the third of the three guards. I was so completely wrong. Woodard was in on everything. He handled the ball. He hit six threes, and I think four of them were on enormous, game altering possessions. Like Hield, he made several must plays. So very impressed.

And finally, Wayne Selden, who has morphed from a running disappointment into a legitimate NBA level performer. Wayne Selden is different. Last year, in the type of game he was having, Selden would have finished with five points on 2-6 shooting with 3 fouls in 26 minutes of a KU loss. The foul trouble would have robbed him of his aggressiveness and he would have just disappeared. Last night, Selden saw Hield going absolutely bonkers and rose to that level. No, he didn’t drop 46, too, but there were moments where Selden saw Hield making plays and went and made a play, too. That’s what the greats do. Hield and Selden raised each other’s level of play last night, and it was a joy to watch.

That was some great basketball. We will do this again in Norman in a little over 5 weeks.

I was driving to lunch earlier today when a crazy thought hit me. David McCormack could make a case to have his jersey hung in AFH with another strong performance tonight.

Traditionally, KU has retired the jersey of the Final Four MOP.

Lovellette, B.H. Born, Wilt, Manning, Chalmers. All have their jerseys in the rafters.

McCormack gave KU 25 and 9 on Saturday. If he has a big game tonight and is a key player in winning a national title (20 and 12) he probably gets named MOP unless Agbaji has a huge game. We already know Agbaji will be in the rafters someday, but tonight’s game could truly redefine David McCormack’s legacy at KU.

Tonight, McCormack could go from being a really good four year player to an absolute legend. If you were an MOP at Kansas you are a legend, full stop. The list again - Lovellette, Born, Chamberlain, Manning, Chalmers. All KU legends. If your name is on that list, you are a legend.

McCormack has 40 minutes tonight to potentially become a legend, regardless of whatever happens in the rest of his basketball career. He would be part of a championship team, and he would be MOP. Now, he doesn’t have the career accolades of those other guys, but it would be hard to argue against his legendary status because his name would be etched in KU hoops lore FOREVER.

Like I said, a crazy thought. But maybe not so crazy.

I’ve been gone for awhile. I’ve been okay, though. Part of it was being fairly busy with work and family things.

The other part was frustration with some of the topics/commentary that was going on that had shifted from enriching debate to something else.

I saw a particular topic that bothered me. I was about to respond, but I happened to be at home at the time and caught a glimpse of a picture of me and my wife. I looked around the room and saw pictures of family and other reminders of how much I have been blessed and it reminded me of all of the good things going on in my life despite that topic being on an internet message board. I decided not to respond and logged off.

I hadn’t logged on since then for a lot of reasons, not really related to this board or the people on it. Moreso related to being busy, a couple of health scares in the family (all good now, but a bit concerning at the time) and the normal things in life.

I will admit that stepping away from the board helped me gain a bit more perspective.

I probably won’t engage in the political stuff much on here, but I should be back on about basketball more consistently.

@wrwlumpy

There’s a concept in basketball called gravity. It is basically an offensive player’s pull to keep defenders close to them. Brannen Greene has gravity because he’s an incredible shooter. He spaces the floor because if he is outside the three point line and there are no defenders around, you might as well just put the points on the board and run to the other end.

Landen Lucas has no gravity. We saw on Monday against OU that they did not guard him. Lon Kruger actively strategized to leave Lucas open, even near the basket, recovering to him only when he had the ball. That meant that Lucas’ man (Lattin for most of that time) was standing in the middle of the lane, clogging it for any drives. After Spangler picked up his fourth foul and Lattin (OU’s top shot blocker) had to switch to Perry, a player with some gravity, KU’s possessions went as follows:

1. 1-2 FT from Devonte Graham on penetration
2. 2-2 FT from Perry Ellis inside
3. 2-2 FT from Graham on penetration
4. Missed jumper from Mason
5. Layup from Selden
6. Missed jumper from Mason

After that was the turnovers and FTs that ultimately ended the game. After Lattin had to move from the middle of the lane, KU got 7 points in 6 possessions, and the only time they didn’t score was when they didn’t get into the lane.

Lucas, and to a similar extent, Traylor, simply do not have gravity. They may set good screens and get rebounds, etc., but they do not pose enough offensive threat to merit being guarded. I could not believe that OU didn’t guard Lucas even when he was underneath the basket!

Diallo and Bragg and Mickelson can do those same little things, but they can also do big things like make jump shots that force defensive guys to do something other than camp in the lane and block shots.

@BeddieKU23

Oregon is us (or we are Oregon) to a large degree. They run almost everything through Brooks. He and Jackson going back and forth should be some of the best basketball we will see all year. That matchup alone is worth the price of admission.

Their key guy will be Dorsey. He and Graham should matchup, although it will be interesting to see what happens when Vick is in the game. Had Dorsey not gone to Oregon, it’s likely he would be at KU and Vick would be somewhere else. Vick has to know that, and probably would like to demonstrate that KU ended up in the superior position.

I expect a huge game from Lucas, oddly enough. He struggled last night, but he remembers that Villanova game and I don’t think he wants his career to end like that. Lucas double double to the tune of 14 points, 15 boards.

I think the Big 12 suffers from one major issue - the schools in this conference other than KU often suffer from a good coaching not having elite players, or elite players not having a good coach.

Huggins is a good coach. WVU has good players, but not any elite ones. That hurts come tourney time. Last year Lon Kruger had a lottery pick. He rode that team to the Final Four. This year he has nothing. We all see what happened.

Jamie Dixon is a good coach. He’s at TCU. No NBA talent there.

Hoiberg was a good coach at ISU. Can anyone think of any lottery picks that he had?

Part of that is that the Big 12 conference footprint doesn’t have a ton of basketball talent aside from Texas. There’s just not a lot to draw from as far as local NBA caliber talent.

That makes it really difficult come March. The Big 12 has lots of really good college teams, but you have to raise the talent level to match that on the coaching side of things (the Big 12 has, top to bottom, probably the most coaching talent of any league). Who has the most talent in the Big 12 consistently? KU of course. Is there any surprise we dominate the league? We have the most talent and generally speaking, that is a huge difference.

Let’s look at the three major games (McDs, Jordan Brand and Nike Hoops Summit) and check the rosters to see how many are committed to Big 12 schools:

McDs - 2, Billy Preston (Kansas) and Trae Young (Oklahoma).

Jordan - 2, Preston and Matt Coleman (Texas).

Nike - 1, Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State).

Think about that for a second. Out of the players considered elite, the Big 12 has four (4!!!) that are committed to play in the conference.

Flip over to the ESPN 100 recruiting. Let’s look at the top 50 players.

Zero top 10 recruits heading to the Big 12 so far, although 4 top 10 players are still uncommitted.

2 top 20 recruits coming to Kansas (Preston) and Oklahoma (Young).

Coleman (ranked 27) heading to Texas.

Wigginton (ranked 42) going to ISU.

That’s it for the top 50.

Here’s the rest of the hundred - 58 (Terrance Lewis to ISU), 61 (Marcus Garrett to Kansas), 66 (Jericho Sims to Texas), 68 (Zach Dawson to Oklahoma State), 74 (Royce Hamm to Texas), 89 (Derek Culver to West Virginia).

10 players in the top 100 are heading to the Big 12, with two each to KU and Iowa State, three to Texas and one each to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia.

The SEC has 20 top 100 guys going to 9 different conference schools.

Pac-12 has landed 18 going to 9 of their schools.

The ACC has 16 going to 9 schools.

Even the Big 10 has 12 going to 8 schools.

6 schools in the Big 12 split 10 top 100 guys. That means nearly half of the conference is missing any top 100 talent. Three quarters of the Pac 12 has top 100 talent. The SEC, ACC and Big 10 are all bigger, but they have 8 or 9 schools getting top 100 talent, which means the top of their conferences boast more talent (although the Big 10 is pretty thin talentwise, but we saw what happened to that conference in the regular season).

Simply put, the Big 12 isn’t getting enough talent into the conference, particularly at Oklahoma, Iowa State and Baylor, 3 schools that have done well enough recently enough to compete for recruits. You can’t expect to compete at an elite level if you lack elite talent. Just ask the Big 10, the conference most comparable to the Big 12 in terms of incoming talent, about how that’s working out.

I think Davis was trying to make a very simple point. Here’s a coach that knew going into the game that his team was going to be overmatched by KU. He was asked a classic coachspeak question about picking your poison, and he replied in a simple way that conveyed both his respect for KU’s talent, and his frustration at not having an answer - “they all poison”.

Could he have used proper grammar and said “All of the players at the University of Kansas are talented enough offensively to be considered poisonous to the opponent.”

Sure, but that seems silly.

Remember Jim Mora’s “Playoffs? Don’t talk about—playoffs?! You kidding me? Playoffs?!” rant. That’s not perfect English, but it conveys the point perfectly.

Let’s remember, language is about conveying ideas. Sometimes, those ideas are best conveyed through the use of the grammatical rules because the discussion is in a formal setting. At other times, the formality can be discarded to convey an idea through colloquialism, knowing that the audience will understand the point. This is often done to be humorous or sarcastic. That’s all Davis was doing here.

Postgame picture of Lagerald Vick

I used to be a frequent poster on this website. It was really fun.

Around mid 2018 some of the politics and race stuff started getting pretty intense, and I ended up in some pretty heated exchanges with other posters. I realized that I was becoming something I didn’t want to be and took a step back for a while. Blocked some of the more problematic posters (the right decision for me personally).

I know I post less as a result of that. But it isn’t just that. I also have had a lot of things in my life change (many of them positive, but some negative) that have taken my time away from this board. I wouldn’t change that now.

I used to never miss a KU basketball game. Now I miss two or three a season easily. I haven’t watched every game since probably the 2017-18 season. Life just kind of evolved along the way.

Was the politics stuff messy? Yeah. Did it take me away from the board? For a time, yes. But the bigger thing is that my life changed over that span of time just as much, maybe even more. I miss enough games these days that my analysis isn’t very in depth anymore. I used to know all the recruits, all the players, all the matchups. Now I barely know anyone that isn’t on KU’s team, and don’t even know every guy on the team that well. I used to know each guys high school highlights and could compare them easily. Now I see guys once they get into games at KU. It’s just different now, but I am getting some more time freed up and will probably be on here more, though you won’t see me posting about politics anytime soon.

The big difference between this KU team and so many others is Josh Jackson. Stay with me here because this may get crazy.

Josh Jackson is the most complete player to come to KU under Self. He can affect the game in a million different ways. Already this year I can think of him making big plays with perimeter shooting, rebounding, drives, passing, defense, shot blocking, steals, big time dunks, etc. He can literally do it all.

That should be the difference come March. Jackson can just decide that KU isn’t going home that night when things aren’t going well and whether its defense, offense, transition or whatever, Josh Jackson will make plays because he can make a million different plays to help us win.

Frank and Devonte are carrying us now, but don’t be shocked when its Josh dropping a 20 point, 11 rebound, 6 assist, 4 steal, 2 block gem of a performance at the most critical time you could imagine. He has that talent and that will.

That will matter come March.

@drgnslayr

This team can really put a college team into a meat grinder on both ends.

On defense, because Josh Jackson is so versatile, he can anchor the defense the way a traditional shot blocking center usually would, but still also destroy ball handlers off switches in the PnR. He can trap, and with his size he is disruptive on traps (forced the travel in the corner and created the Vick 360 off double teams).

The rest of the guards can turn up the pressure on the perimeter. Graham, Mason, and Vick can really get after guys, and because Mason is such a good rebounder even at his size, KU gives up nothing on the glass even playing four guards.

On offense the weapons are overwhelming. A million ways for a season to die - choose one:

1. Mason iso
2. Graham iso
3. Jackson iso
4. Mason drive and kick
5. Graham drive and kick
6. Jackson drive and kick
7. Svi for three
8. Vick lob
9. Lucas lob
10. Jackson lob
11. Jackson post up
12. Lucas post up
13. Svi drive
14. Graham corner three
15. Vick transition
16. Jackson transition
17. Mason transition
18. Graham transition
19. Mason PnR
20. Graham PnR
21. Jackson PnR
22. Weave
23. I think you get the point

That’s a lot of ways for a season to die. Purdue experienced them all. Their season is now dead. That is not a coincidence.

12 more months to wrap up an investigation into things that happened going on four years ago now? At this point, even if they do find wrongdoing, what are the appropriate penalties?

Preston is gone from KU. The coach that primarily recruited him is also gone.

The big names from other schools like Duke and Arizona are playing out the last years of their rookie contract by next spring, or working on extensions. What’s the point in pursuing those schools. Zona has a new coach, also. The investigations are taking so long that, if they decide to penalize anyone, they are penalizing kids that were freshmen and sophomores in high school when the events that led to any penalties actually happened.

This is beyond ridiculous. At this point its just silly.

@Jethro said in Just Beat Duke, OK!:

https://twitter.com/JoelKlattShow/status/1571901990048858113

He makes a great point about losing small. The biggest game of last year that is kind of forgotten (because of the Texas win) is that KU led Oklahoma 10-0 at halftime in Lawrence last year, and 17-14 after 3 quarters. OU was undefeated and #3 in the country at the time. And KU stayed with them for basically the whole game. When KU went up 17-7 in the 3rd, the Hawks actually had a better than 60% chance to win the game.

Of course, Oklahoma was better and the talent won out in the end, but KU didn’t hang with OU based on trickery or flukes. They played a competitive game.

And that was a big sign that we all should have seen. KU was getting blown out to start the year. Lost by 27 at Coastal Carolina, by 38 against Baylor, by 19 at Duke, by 52 at Iowa State and by 27 against Texas Tech. Zero signs of improvement. Then the OU game, followed by blowouts against Oklahoma State and K-State, then the Texas win and two close losses to end the year. In the last six games of the season, KU played pretty well in four of those games. When’s the last time you could say KU played well in 4 out of 6 games?

Upgraded the talent in the offseason and now we are here. KU still isn’t going to be able to beat the better teams in the Big 12. They aren’t at that point yet. But they are no longer the worst team in P5, or even in the Big 12. KU has a chance to win 3, or even 4 conference games this year. They have a legitimate shot at going undefeated in nonconference play.

I thought 4 wins this season would be a significant step forward. To think that 6 or 7 wins is possible is crazy, but a credit to the improvement in the product on the field.

And again, 4 wins this year would be a big step. That means either going undefeated in non-con, or winning multiple conference games. But KU has a real chance to do both and get in that 5 to 7 win range.

This is Kansas, one of the top 5 college basketball programs of all time.

Of all time

ALL TIME

Pull any period, under basically any coach, and Kansas should rank in the top 5. It’s Kansas. Where Naismith and Allen coached. Where Wilt and Dean Smith played. This is Kansas. A list like this basically has to list Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina somewhere in the top 5 because those three programs are the three best programs of all time.

UNC has won national titles under three different coaches and been to Final Fours under at least four different coaches.

Kentucky has won national titles under four different coaches and been to Final fours under at least that many.

Kansas has won national titles under three different coaches and been to Final Fours under at least five different coaches.

These are programs. It’s not about the coach. It’s about Kansas.

I don’t complain about Self (when I do) because he isn’t a good coach. I complain about him because I don’t just want Kansas basketball to be one of the best. I want Kansas basketball to be the best. Period. End of discussion.

That’s why I criticize. I want the discussion of college basketball powers to begin with Kansas, be about Kansas in the middle and end with Kansas. To do that takes national titles. This years team has a chance to win one.

Let’s do this.

This whole Charlottesville thing has been really tough on me personally. As an African American, it has been difficult to put into words what I have felt over the last several days.

The sight of hundreds of white nationalists walking down the street, proudly in broad daylight is jarring. It’s jarring because it used to be that most of these individuals wanted to hide their hateful ideals from the rest of the world. That’s no longer the case. They broadcast their hate for the world to see, arguing that they are just proud to be who they are.

Let me stop here and say that everyone should be proud of who they are, regardless of race, creed, color, orientation, ethnicity, religion, hometown or anything else. Diversity isn’t a declaration that any one group is better than another. It is a declaration that the differences within each of us make all of us better. Diversity includes everyone, including white people. The reason that diversity offers opportunities for non whites is that generally, white people already have a seat at the table for every discussion. Diversity and inclusion are trying to add a variety to the opinions available.

Let’s put this out there right now - the very ideology of white supremacy is that they want to spark a race riot or race war in which all minorities, immigrants, Jews and other “undesirables” (i.e. gays, non-English speakers, non-white supremacists) are either killed or driven from the country. That’s the endgame for white supremacists. To have the president act as an apologist to them is not just disappointing as a minority - it’s life threatening. That’s why you saw the white supremacists show up with guns and body armor. They weren’t looking for a peaceful march - they came for a fight.

These groups no longer fear public shame or identification. They are emboldened. As a black man, that puts my very life in jeopardy. That is not hyperbole. That is real life. We saw last week that one man drove his car into a crowd in an act of domestic terrorism. We have seen in the past where white supremacists have tortured and killed minorities who stopped to get gas or groceries at night. If the president is going to decry the MS-13 gang (rightly, because they are a criminal gang), he should speak just as strongly against what happened last weekend, rather than blaming both sides (white supremacy groups are often funded through criminal activity as well - drug sales, robbery, human trafficking, etc.).

This is no longer about politics. This is about human decency. One side wants equality. The other wants suppression. We fought a war 150 years ago and equality won out. Are we really interested in rolling things back, because only one side wants a do-over on that.

The only way this is superior is if it rewards wins more than “quality losses”.

A middle or low tier Power Conference team should not be rewarded simply because they have lost to the top teams in their conference. Teams should have to get some quality wins. You shouldn’t be able to play a middling non conference schedule, then finish below .500 in conference and still qualify for the NCAA tournament.

I would still like to see the committee require a .500 or better conference record to qualify for the NCAA tournament, but money probably rules that out.

mayjay said:

@justanotherfan I appreciate both your experience and your knowledge, but how are you so sure it is a problem of trying to avoid mistakes? It seems equally likely to me that he is perhaps not trying hard enough to avoid mistakes. He has been as likely to drive with nowhere to go as he has been to be too tentative, and some of his shots–feet not set, not squared to the basket–do not show signs of being cautious. Likewise, a few passes to places where his teammates are not.

I’ve spent most of the last two games watching Grimes exclusively when he has been on the floor. He’s incredibly indecisive with everything. He seems to decide to do one thing, then change his mind halfway into the move.

He will drive to nowhere rather than looking to attack his man off the dribble. If he confronts even the slightest defensive resistance, he will either dribble back out or pick up his dribble.

He will sometimes shoot as an afterthought. There have been moments where he has been looking to pass and then shot as sort of a last resort.

He needs to simplify the game for himself right now by doing two things.

1. Make it his goal to play harder than everyone else on defense. Completely lock in on that end. If that produces some transition opportunities, all the better.

2. Hit the offensive glass. Grimes hasn’t had more than 4 rebounds in any game this season. With his athleticism, that should not be the case. He needs to look to crash the offensive boards more.

Those are both “effort” things rather than skill things. Sometimes, when the skill stuff isn’t happening, you can get thrown off, but effort doesn’t get into slumps.

dylans said:

I’m with @jayballer73 on this one. Garret was never projected to score more than 7ppg (at least in my mind). His offense isn’t what’s holding this team back. It’s everyone not named Dedrick or Devon that is the problem on offense. Charlie was supposed to be KUs best shooter - he’s no better than Garrett and couldn’t defend a one legged blind man. Grimes is supposed to be mr wonderful, just perfect in every way - Mr. invisible is more like it. KJ was supposed to be a wildcard do everything Swiss armyknife- he does nothing well so far. McCormack is a McDonalds AA that has great upside, but is wild as heck and out of position/ control in his limited minutes.

Garrett is exactly what we knew he would be - a roll player. The problem is the rest of the team isn’t filling their rolls, making Garrett’s offensive roll expand, to the detriment of the team.

Your point is correct. Garrett isn’t supposed to be more than a role player. However, he’s playing 27 mpg right now. That’s too many minutes for a role player.

Garrett as a role player is excellent. He is a versatile defender that can rebound and pass. As a role player, his shooting is minimized because you can play him with other shooters to hide that. As a role player, he fits perfectly.

But he’s being used as a primary player. He’s closing games. That’s not where he can be effective because that amplifies his shortcomings.

Now, some of that is, as you correctly point out, the fault of Grimes, KJ Lawson, Moore and others for not stepping forward. Some of that is the circumstance with Doke being injured.

But you should never over-extend a role player because there is a greater chance that teams start gameplanning to their weaknesses than that they cover those weaknesses. We saw that with Lucas. We saw it with Traylor. We saw it with Morningstar.

Marcus Garrett should go down as a universally loved Jayhawk with a Swiss Army Knife of skills. But if he is put in a position to be a primary player, we will remember his deficiencies more.

Ultimately, this discussion should be about Quentin Grimes underperforming. He has the talent to be an NBA lottery pick. He should have to live up to that. Marcus Garrett is a role player. He shouldn’t be burdened with having to fill Quentin Grimes’ potential.

@Texas-Hawk-10

I actually have the opposite opinion than you. I expect this team to start very fast. Our early opponents will likely be overwhelmed by the Doke/Silvio combo inside. That will cover up some of the roster issues early in the year. Skipping the Duke game for a second (I’ll get back to them), the next four opponents are UNC-Greensboro, Monmouth, East Tennessee State and Chaminade. Then we get either a rebuilding UCLA team or an okay BYU squad. Then it’s Colorado, UMKC, UW-Milwaukee, Villanova and Stanford. Duke and Michigan State are the only two squads we really have to worry about there. Everyone else probably gets run off the floor by our size.

So back to Duke. I actually think we even handle Duke with our size. They are depending on two freshmen inside in Carey and Hurt that don’t have nearly the size and strength that Doke/Silvio have. If KU doesn’t get into foul trouble, we probably bully Duke off the floor, too. They have some really good players, but nothing like this year where they had so much individual talent that they could just blow a team off the court. Carey and Hurt will be up against grown men in the paint for the first time in their lives.

But come conference season, I think things could shift if we cannot find some consistent perimeter scoring. Not one of the players that we have on the roster has been a consistent perimeter scorer in their college careers. Maybe we can get by doing it by committee, but that’s hoping that one of the group has it going every night so teams cannot just pack the paint.

Once teams start adjusting to our size/strength advantage, we have to have a counter. That’s what I will be waiting to see. That’s what gives me pause.

What Bill Self has done from a consistency perspective is impressive. He is unquestionably the best regular season coach in the history of college basketball.

Self has been in a conference for the last 25 years. In that time, his team has never finished worse than third. Let me write that again. Self has been in a conference for the last 25 years. In that time, his team has never finished WORSE than third.

Bill Self guarantees you a top 3 conference finish every year. Oh, and by the way, his teams have finished third twice, second three times (including one tie for second), tied for first 8 times and won the league outright 12 times. That means, statistically speaking, the most likely outcome for a Bill Self coached team is to win the league outright, followed by tying for first, then finishing second outright, finishing third outright, or finishing tied for second. That’s the whole universe of outcomes for a Bill Self coached team in conference. That’s simply amazing.

Self has never lost more than six conference games in a single season, but has only won less than 11 games twice (went 9-5 twice at Tulsa, one of which was good for the conference title in a tie).

All that is to say that Self is basically automatic during the regular season. His style of having a very high floor on his teams is perfect for the regular season, when one or two extra losses could mean finishing fourth instead of tied for first.

So why hasn’t that regular season consistency and excellence translated into March? Self’s teams rarely have back to back bad games, but one bad game in March is enough to send you home. The best Self teams had veterans that Self trusted to take over the game - Keith Langford, Wayne Simien, Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, Frank Mason, Devontae Graham, the Morris Twins, Thomas Robinson, Tyshawn Taylor, Perry Ellis, etc.

So what does that mean for this team? It makes me feel pretty good. We have veterans like Agbaji, Braun, Wilson, and even McCormack that can dominate games. Self will trust them to do so in critical moments. When he has had that type of squad, he has gotten them into the Elite Eight most of the time.

Could there be hiccups? This team isn’t great defensively, though they can be good. They aren’t super athletic on the interior, so they can end up with some bad matchups. But if they stay in games, they can score with anyone and have guys Self will trust to make plays without overcoaching.

This is a Final Four level team. Good draw in the bracket. Right type of personnel and experience. Getting healthier at the right time. Lots of guys that can have a big game randomly (JCL could hit 5 threes, Yesufu could go for double figures in a half, there’s probably a Remy Martin game coming, etc.). Always a chance for upsets, but this team has the ability to get to the Final Four, or the national title game. Of course, once you get there, anything can happen, but this team is well positioned for whatever run.

You can’t discount how much Agbaji and Braun’s games complemented each other. They really could play off each other because their games matched up so well. Once they figured out how to involve McCormack in a way that fit with Wilson once he got on track, everything sort of clicked at the end of the season.

@jayballer54

K-State lives in a constant delusion. They believe that they are a power program when they have never been, nationally at least, anything more than a conference contender. Outside of the midwest, no one regards KSU as a football school. They aren’t seen as any sort of national contender or big time team.

KU has always had two major advantages to KSU in football recruiting.

1. Proximity to Kansas City. Recruits at least know what Kansas City is and are familiar with the Royals, Chiefs, etc. That’s much more attractive than KSU or even Mizzou.

2. Nationally recognized athletic program. Yeah, it’s basketball, but KU has a national brand that KSU just can’t match. You say Wildcats and people think Kentucky or Arizona before they think K-State. Even if you say purple Wildcats, people are just as likely (probably more likely) to say Northwestern as KSU. Because Snyder refused to step up his scheduling until recently, KSU missed the opportunity in the mid to late 90’s and early 2000’s to get more nationally televised games in the non-con. As a result, even when KSU was really good, they were only on TV outside of Kansas a couple times a year.

Those two factors make a huge difference when you look at the two programs and, as I have said before, if KU can ever right the ship with football consistently, it’s likely that K-State’s program falls off fairly quickly, especially since Snyder will likely retire if KSU’s edge over KU shrinks even a little bit.

The tide hasn’t turned yet, but this recruiting class definitely has the wind howling.

Dotson can do all of the things Self likes about a PG. He can get to the rim basically whenever he wants. He’s stronger than he looks. He knows how to get his teammates involved and can organize the offense.

And now he’s going to be surrounded by more top shelf talent than he’s ever had at his disposal as a PG.

In his highlights you often see him having to slow down to get his teammates involved. That’s not going to be the case with Grimes, the Lawson brothers, Moore, Agbaji, Lightfoot, etc. He will be able to turn on the afterburners without overrunning his teammates. We have not seen the best of Devon Dotson yet.

The Saudis outright lied about him being alive, then lied about him being killed in a fight.

It’s as if the truth doesn’t matter anymore and you can just continue to tell lies if it keeps you in power.

Wait a second…

If I won a gold medal and went back to my hometown, I would absolutely wear it all over town, and would have no shame in doing so. Rock that.

This is a sports board, so let’s think about this in terms of sports. No one on this board would tolerate any player or coach that would not ever own up to any mistakes, choosing instead to always blame (pick one or many) the referees, the other team, teammates, coaches, media, etc. We wouldn’t tolerate it not only because its annoying, but also because if you never take that accountability, you cannot improve as a player. If you say, hey, I’m actually a good shooter, but I was missing because the rim was bent, or, I am a good defender, but that guy was scoring because the help defense was out of position, or, those turnovers weren’t my fault, my teammates weren’t paying attention, etc., then you never improve in those areas because psychologically, you are telling yourself that your performance is fine. You will certainly plateau, meaning other, less talented players or coaches will easily bypass you in time.

Say what you want about Calipari, he’s a heck of a college basketball coach.

His record at Kentucky is outright incredible. He’s won 83% of his games. Four Final Fours in six years. UK has been the team to beat every single year he has been there. Nobody else can make a claim like that over a period that long since the UCLA dynasty under Wooden. You know a team has been extremely successful when they are only a top 10 or 15 team and everybody calls it a down year. And even with that, I consider Cal the best tournament coach in the country, so come March, he will probably be a factor if his team is healthy.

I’m not saying KU should copy Cal, but there are things to be learned. Cal is probably the most flexible coach in the country as far as coaching based on the unique talents of his players, rather than trying to run a specific system. Everybody used to talk about the Dribble Drive Motion, but Cal put that system in so that he could recruit Derrick Rose. He wasn’t running that before that time. He learned the system to take advantage of Rose’s specific skillset. The fact that he followed that by having Tyreke Evans and John Wall didn’t hurt. But you also notice that they weren’t running the DDM when he had Anthony Davis, or Julius Randle, or last year with Karl Anthony Towns. They pounded the ball inside for those guys. Cal tailors his system every year to take advantage of his best players, whether that’s a PG (Rose, Wall), a PF (Randle, Towns), or a once in a generation big man (Davis).

What could KU have been if they shaped their system around Andrew Wiggins, or Kelly Oubre, or Cliff Alexander, rather than trying to make those guys conform to a system? Not saying that Self isn’t a great coach, because he is, but I do think he left a little on the table the last couple of years by not tailoring his system to the talent he had.

Jackson needs to do one of two things

1. Re-work his jumper next summer. I’m talking a complete overhaul from his base all the way to his release point. This process will take from the end of the regular season all the way through August. He won’t have a chance to do much else because he will be working on his jump shot 4 or 5 hours a day.

2. Focus on becoming the best 1-4 defender in the league. He can stick in the league with his ancillary skills, but he would have to focus on turning himself into an elite defender that can guard everyone from Kevin Durant to Lebron James to Russell Westbrook to Bradley Beal to Kyrie Irving to Klay Thompson to Steph Curry to Kawhi Leonard to DeMar Derozan. Literally guard any of those guys night in and night out. That, plus his ball handling and passing ability would make him an above average player, but he would still be a non-star because of his lack of shooting touch.

Bill Self is not paid to win games. That is a misconception.

You don’t come to Kansas to just win games.

You come to Kansas to win championships.

You can win games at K-State, or Texas Tech, or Nebraska, or Iowa, or St. Louis, or Colorado, or LSU, or Tennessee, or New Mexico, or Arizona State or probably 300 something other D1 schools.

But if you are at Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA, Indiana, Arizona or a handful of other schools, your job is to win championships. With an S on the end. KU fans assume 20 wins (probably more like 25, honestly). You won’t get your contract renewed at Kansas just because you beat UC-Irvine and Holy Cross. You better do something come March.

Coaches are paid to win games. Basketball coaches at KU are paid to win championships.

Jalon Daniels is the difference for this team.

He is the first truly legit QB KU has had since Reesing. His dual threat abilities make this team so dangerous.

And this just raises the national profile for KU, to the point that they could keep this rolling. This team plays an exciting brand of football. That is sure to get the attention of potential recruits. KU won’t be a top 25 recruiting class, but if they are top 40 that will be huge for the program.

The other thing you have to keep in mind is the transfer portal. If you see a kid at Nebraska that is about to go through another coaching change, well, that may work into your depth chart. Same thing once the coaching carousel revs up in December in other places. There will be plenty of guys out there as a two or even three year solution to go along with the HS recruits. This could be the start of a major shift as a program.

But that momentum has to continue against Duke. You can’t give away a home game, especially with how tough the late season schedule is. This game could end up being a big chance to get bowl eligible, which means a lot for player development and exposure. Going to 4-0 means you need 2 wins against Iowa State, TCU, @ Texas Tech and @ K-State. That’s manageable, even if you fall short on the road. But lose on Saturday and now you need 3 wins, or you’re looking for an upset @ Baylor, @ OU, or at home for Texas or Oklahoma State.

Going to a bowl this year would mean a lot for this program, especially with so many guys coming back.

@globaljaybird

Slowing the game down will never keep the ball out of the hands of good guards. They handle the ball anyway, so they will have the ball by default. Self slowed the game down because he still fears the shootouts, even though this team is designed to win shootouts. This team is decidedly not designed to win a slugfest. We don’t have enough good power players to win that type of game.

We have gotten burned the last couple years by Iowa State because Self tried to force a muscle game rather than playing up and down. Lucas and Traylor are good as a change of pace, but the bulk of the minutes should go to the big guys that can play the style that favors our best four players (Mason, Ellis, Selden and now Devonte Graham). Everything should be built around playing through those four guys. That means getting up and down, spreading the floor, etc.

Jalon Daniels has been great so far this season. There are a lot of reasons why KU is undefeated going into October, but Jalon Daniels is at the top of that list. He has been a revelation at QB. So how good has he been this year?

On Saturday against Duke, Daniels was 19-23 for 324 yards and 4 touchdowns, and added 83 yards and a TD on 11 carries. He was great. Which got me thinking, is Jalon Daniels a Heisman candidate?

So I went back and looked at the last three years of Heisman trophy finalists that were QBs to see their stats and where Daniels stacks up through 4 games.

First, Daniels’ numbers through 4 games

66-93, 890 yards, 11 TDs, 1 INT passing, 38 carries, 320 yards, 4 TD rushing

Team is 4-0

So the first step is obviously staying healthy. Daniels will need to play in all 12 of KU’s scheduled games to merit a surprise Heisman bid. The second is that Daniels will need to keep winning. No matter how well he plays, he won’t be a Heisman finalist if KU is 5-7. KU needs at least 8 or 9 wins to get Daniels invited to NY.

So now the numbers. Through 4 games, the accuracy is comparable to all of the finalists. Mac Jones was obviously super efficient in 2020, but Daniels is above 70%, which is where he needs to be.

He’s also throwing for enough scores without turning the ball over. Setting aside Joe Burrow’s tour de force in 2019, passing for 40+ TDs with under 10 picks is a good measuring stick. Daniels will need to bump up the yards, though. He won’t be considered for the Heisman as a QB with only about 2500 yards passing. He needs to average closer to 250 yards per game the rest of the regular season.

Where he may set himself apart is his running. There was no way that Jalen Hurts was beating Joe Burrow in 2019. There was no way anyone was with Burrow’s numbers. But throwing for over 3800 yards and running for almost 1300 more was plenty to get invited to New York. No other recent Heisman QB has run as much. Daniels is on pace to run the ball over 200 times and, if he does that, should crack the 1000 yard mark.

So what does Jalon Daniels need to do to get invited to the Heisman ceremony.

1. Stay healthy
2. Win 8 or more regular season games
3. Pass for over 2800 yards in the regular season
4. Rush for over 1000 yards in the regular season
5. Throw 35 or more TD passes
6. Throw 10 or fewer interceptions
7. Run for 12 or more TDs
8. Complete 70% of his passes

If he can do that and KU ranks in the top 25 at the end of the regular season, he will be considered for the Heisman. The good news is that he is doing a great job of all of those things right now, with a chance for some showcase games against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Baylor in time for Heisman voters to see him play. If he tosses up a the type of game he had Saturday against one of those teams in a win or a narrow loss, that may propel him into the conversation.

Games to circle are the final two games - Texas and KState. If Daniels is to make it to NY for the ceremony, it will require a “Heisman moment.” A 300 yard passing, 150 yard rushing, 5 total TD performance against Texas (because its Texas) or in a rivalry game could be the final thing Heisman voters need to see, especially if it comes in a win.

So am I crazy, or not crazy?

@Kcmatt7

You nailed it. Jackson’s athleticism and length have changed the way this team operates. Jackson has what scouts call useful athleticism. He can use his athleticism in game situations.

For example, I remember a few years back when it was declared that Tyrel Reed had the highest vertical leap on the team. Higher than EJ. Higher than Tyshawn. Higher than Travis. Tyrel Reed had the best vertical leap. Tyrel was a heck of an athlete to be sure, but in game situations, he couldn’t tap into that same athleticism, whereas the other guys could, so even though Tyrel’s numbers in the gym were better, those other guys looked more athletic.

Perry was also a good athlete with impressive measurables, but in game, he can’t tap into that. Jackson can. He covers so much ground it’s amazing. He consumes passing lanes. He recovers before people can even realize it. And that’s just on the defensive end.

Offensively, because he can post, drive and pass, he’s a nightmare matchup. You can’t put a 4 on him because he’s too quick. A smaller wing will get eaten alive. Honestly, there’s maybe a handful guys in the entire country that truly match up with him (Josh Hart at Villanova, Justin Jackson at UNC and OG Anunoby are the ones that come to mind initially). Everyone else is either too small, too slow, not good enough or some combination of the three.

Add to that the fact that Josh is sneaky strong. I remember when we were comparing him to Wiggins over the summer (sadly lost when we had to re-load everything), I mentioned that Jackson is much stronger, and pointed to a similar play that both he and Wiggins made in their high school highlights. It was a transition play where both guys took a bump in the side from a smaller guy on the break and finished - Wiggins with a gliding fingerroll, Jackson with a thunderous two hand jam. The difference in balance, strength and body control that single play showed made me even more excited to have Jackson on this team. KU has not had anyone with this kind of size, talent and athleticism in my memory.

The three he hit in regulation off the offensive rebound was cold blooded. It was the kind of shot that made me feel good about March. I wasn’t even concerned with whether KU was going to win last night after that shot went in, because that is the kind of shot that will matter in March when we need that level of fearlessness and cojones grande (h/t @Kcmatt7) to survive and advance.

Also, has anybody ever seen a player that can make a horrendous play, and then an incredible play in almost the same breath like Josh Jackson? That turnover in OT was just a terrible play. I cannot express how bad a play it was in that moment. It was awful. And still, within like 10 seconds, Josh Jackson had gotten a steal and a layup that basically erased that turnover in an instant. He’s done that several times this year. Kid just makes plays. It’s incredible.

The Big 12 regularly produces a lot of very solid teams and generally avoids having any outright terrible teams. Once TCU stepped up, the Big 12 hasn’t had an outright awful team in the conference. Even Texas and Oklahoma, the bottom 2 in the conference this year, can punch with the middle tier teams in other conferences.

The problem is that at the top, there’s Kansas and no one else. Baylor this year, but generally, it’s KU and a bunch of 4-6 seeds in the tourney. That means that if KU underperforms, it’s highly possible the Big 12 doesn’t have a team go past the Sweet 16 because the conference is full of solid but not great teams.

The Big 12 hasn’t had a lot of teams rise to the level of national contender, which limits the greatness of the conference. Blake Griffin’s last OU team, that Frank Martin KSU team, last year’s Sooners, this year’s Baylor team, the DJ Augustin led Texas squad, TJ Ford’s Longhorns, some of those Kelvin Sampson OU teams, Eddie Sutton’s last couple of OSU teams and that’s probably about it. We’re talking about maybe a dozen non-KU title contenders from the conference in the last 15-20 years, and less than 5 in the last 6 or 7 years.

That’s why it’s important that Smart succeed at Texas, and that Drew figures it out at Baylor (I think he has), and that K-State finds a competent coach, and ISU remains solid, etc. The Big 12 needs to have other strong title contenders, not just a bunch of solid teams that can crack the top 25 at some point.

Hudy is very good at what she does. She ain’t perfect, but neither is any other strength and conditioning coach in the country.

She led groundbreaking research on the affects of stress on athletic performance a couple of years ago.

She has done some impressive things to get more explosion out of different players.

However, there’s also research out there that certain people, simply because of the way they are built, their frame can’t handle the extra explosiveness. That’s not really her fault, and I am sure she is working to guard against that, but that’s still an existing fact.

Does the fact that she’s a woman matter. Yes and no.

No, because she is skilled at her job. She’s just like anybody else.

But yes, it matters because in addition to being skilled and knowledgeable, Hudy has to convince 18-22 year old guys that they should listen to a woman about getting stronger, faster and more athletic. That’s not exactly an easy sell, and most certainly not a level playing field because she has to prove herself to be not only knowledgeable, but also gain the respect to get full buy in from the athletes themselves.

So Hudy, in addition to being a skilled strength and conditioning coach, must also be a superior communicator in order to achieve that buy in.

Does that make her better at her job than a man? No. But does she have to use more skill to get the same results? Yes.

There’s a credibility bias that women, young people, and minorities face within the workplace. It’s assumed that they just aren’t as skilled, as knowledgeable or as hard working, which requires them to do even more to prove themselves. As a minority myself, I can speak to that bias. You have to first prove that you are worthy of consideration before you can prove that you are skilled. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation about whether or not Hudy was good at her job if she were a man. Her track record would speak for itself.

I’d imagine it would have to be a specialist type player at a high mid major. I doubt a player at a power 5 school would get enough really good looks to shoot that well.

Last year Markus Howard of Marquette shot nearly 55% as a 5-11 freshman on 150 attempts (82-150). Let’s drop his attempts from 150 to 140, then he only has to make 84. Yes, that’s two more than he made last year in 10 less attempts, but it’s doable in theory.

Still, someone as small as he is probably isn’t a good candidate because he’s going to have to shoot over bigger guys.

Nick Masterson of Kennesaw St. is 6-6. He shot a shade over 54% last year (86-159). Take away his 20 most challenged shots and he only needs to make 84 to hit the magic 60%.

A guy that might be able to do it is actually someone that some on this board are familiar with - Mitchell Ballock, now at Creighton, but originally from Eudora, Ks. He’s 6-4, which is decent size for a college wing, and is likely a four year player at Creighton. The offense at Creighton creates good space for shooters, so he’s in the right type of system. He’s a very good shooter, and, if he’s selective, could probably get into that level.

It would be incredibly difficult because a player would have to go basically the entire season without a real shooting slump. A 2-7 from three evening would be backbreaking for that sort of attempt. It would take almost everything going right, but at the same time not shooting too much. The sweet spot is probably 135 - 155 total attempts. Many more and the percentages will drag you back to the low to mid 50s. Basically this would be a season long aberration of a hot streak - the only two players to shoot over 50% from three last year were also two of only three players in the top 50 to shoot fewer than 160 threes total on the season.

Can it be done - yes. But you need a team with two great shooters, one of which shoots for volume while the other racks up the higher percentages. Will it be done - doubtful. A shooter that hot is going to be tempted to increase their volume, which will erode the percentage (regression to the mean).

Newman is struggling with his rhythm right now. He’s a quarter beat off. He can feel it. He knows it. He’s trying to get back in sync, but the more he presses, the worse it gets.

It’s like a jazz musician that loses the tempo for a moment. The correct adjustment, as experienced musicians know, is to take a quick break, skip a beat, and then pick it back up. A novice will chase the beat, going too slow, then too quick, stepping on the down beat and rushing the tempo in trying to get back in time. Right now, Newman is trying so hard to succeed that he is failing.

A great basketball mind once told me that the difference between a good PG and a great one is that the great ones know who needs a layup, and when. Malik Newman desperately needs a layup. He needs Devonte to manufacture him an easy bucket early in the next game. If that happens, I would predict a big game for Malik. If it doesn’t, he will probably continue to chase the beat, likely with similar results.

Devonte can erupt for big games, but for this team to maximize its potential, a fully weaponized Malik Newman (remember, this is the guy that once went for 70+ in a high school game) is critical.

UVA got absolutely screwed as the #1 overall seed. They put two of the seven most talented (based on raw talent) teams in the country in their draw. I can’t see a way for UVA to get to the Elite Eight without going through either Arizona or Kentucky, and whichever one of those teams they face gets a few days to prepare for the packline, and they have NBA talent at their disposal. They will likely see a good shooting Creighton team in the Round of 32, followed by either UK or Zona, then possibly Cincinnati (think Virginia, but more physical with less technique) in the regional final. That is a brutal stretch of games.

Xavier has the possibility of Mizzou and Michael Porter lurking in the second round. Porter will have a full week of practices, plus a couple games under his belt by then, so he could be ready to turn things upside down. Porter will be the most talented player on the floor, and that could be enough to carry a fiesty Mizzou team to the second weekend.

Villanova drew a tough matchup as well. If they run into Collin Sexton and a healthy Alabama team, they will also not have the best player on the floor. That’s not a good combination in a single elimination tournament. Should they win that, either West Virginia or Wichita State is waiting. That’s not going to be fun for Nova.

Honestly, I was shocked at how good KU got it. No Arizona. No Kentucky. No Mizzou. No Wichita State. The four is Auburn. The five is Clemson. The 8/9 is NC State and Seton Hall. All solid teams, but all teams that are similar to Big 12 teams that KU has handled this year. Now, the Elite Eight possibility of Duke or Michigan State is scary because they can both demolish KU inside, but if KU can get to that point and then hit 15+ threes in that game, they could win even while giving up 40 points in the paint.

The potential for this KU season went up quite a bit over the weekend with how Newman and De Sousa played. It got a little more help yesterday with the draw. I’m not dreaming of a Final Four (still too much of a chance that KU gets ground to dust in the paint), but I do think KU could legitimately get to the Elite Eight again, and at that point, its one game, and for a team that can get hot from distance, that’s the kind of game where maybe a crapshoot is the best chance for an otherwise flawed team.

@mayjay

We have a very tenuous system balanced carefully on the backs of certain individuals. To upend this system would be a catastrophe (for those currently benefiting from it financially).

@Kcmatt7

Great point. Or they might turn that into something that benefits everyone in their community (the horror). I know your comment was tongue in cheek. It made me laugh at work.

One of the things I respect most about Lebron James is that he used his immense talent not just to help himself and his family, but also his friends. Maverick Carter, James’ best friend, is a millionaire now. He runs a lot of James’ businesses. While Lebron himself is probably going to be a billionaire, he has helped several of his friends become millionaires. Rich Paul runs a sports agency and is probably worth $20M. Randy Mims also runs some of Lebron’s business interests and is a millionaire himself. That’s four friends that all became extremely wealthy even though only one was actually an elite athlete. While all were good HS athletes, only Lebron was ever going to the pros. But because James was able to capitalize on his talent financially, the other three were able to start and build their own businesses as well. Instead of one kid making it out of a run down area of Akron, three did, and another kid from east Cleveland made it as well. They started a marketing agency in 2006, when James otherwise would have been just leaving college. But since he was already a pro, James was signing a big extension in the NBA.

Lebron James has completely flipped everything. He skipped college. He got rich. He stayed out of trouble. He got his friends rich. They have built their own business/sports/media empire. And he did it all outside the usual channels. That’s what it means when an athlete has a chance to capitalize on their marketability from the beginning. Not one life changed. Not one family changed. Several. Dozens. Maybe hundreds before its all said and done. And that’s just directly. Who knows how many will indirectly benefit.

I actually was pleased with both Dotson and Grimes. Dotson got after it on defense (a couple of steals, and caused at least one other turnover with his ball pressure), and once Grimes noticed the flames sparking off Vick’s shooting hand, he correctly determined to get him and Doke the ball as often as he possibly could. I can’t ask a guy with that level of talent to make a better basketball IQ decision than that. He decided to keep giving Vick shots until he started missing, except that Vick never started missing.

Dedric and Doke are a nice combination when Dedric is feeding Doke, but when Dedric is looking to score, Doke is crowding the paint a bit, making it easier to double Dedric big to big. Since Doke can’t really space the floor, they either have to find a way to get interior lobs from Dedric to Doke to force Doke’s man to stay on him, or play through Doke when he’s on the floor, and play four out to get Dedric involved. It’s not a huge concern right now, but it’s something that KU has to be thinking about because it has been an issue for back to back games. Dedric simply doesn’t have space to operate when paired with Doke inside.

stoptheflop said:

Regarding 3 point shooting at Madison Square Gardens, the bigger arena usually hampers 3 point shooters and I expect that to affect Marquette’s final score more than KU. Plus, how are they going to stop Dok? I expect a repeat of the last two games with Dok and Vick dominating. And, maybe one of our freshmen steps up. I can really see the difference not having the experience of Frank and Devonte at point. This will take awhile.

MSG is a traditional basketball arena. It’s not like the domes they convert to basketball for the Final Four. The only reason three point shooting suffers in MSG is because the Knicks play there.

This year’s team just wasn’t good enough. It had nothing to do with peak. We had a flawed team that likely would not have advanced beyond the Sweet 16 even under the most favorable circumstances. That’s just the nature of college basketball and how this team was put together.

The ceiling for this team just wasn’t that high given all of the injuries, suspensions, leaves of absence, etc. Even without all of that, I’m still not sure this would have been a Final Four team, although they certainly would have been much closer.

I am not disappointed with how this team finished. They probably got pretty close to their peak if we are really being honest. This wasn’t going to be KU’s year.

I saw this kid play in HS. At the time, he was only probably about 6-3. He was a good enough HS shooter, although he would sometimes try to force jumpers rather than be aggressive to the rim. He was a good FT shooter in HS, which suggests that his shooting stroke will do well. He also has the year of JC under his belt, where he shot well from the perimeter.

He is a big time defender. He can guard smaller guys, or handle bigger guys (and was doing this when he was still in the 6-3 or 6-4 range). He could turn into one of the best defenders on KU’s team.

The thing that sticks out most to me on video now is that he goes hard to the rim on the drive. In HS he wouldn’t do this nearly as much even though he had the physical tools to do so. The fact that he does that now suggests that he has tapped into his talent in a way that will allow him to take a huge leap forward (he was pretty clearly a D1 type talent in HS, although he wasn’t getting hype at the time).

And of course, it’s good to see a kid from KCK make it to this level. Congratulations to him. He’s a good kid from a good family. I know that his parents are extremely proud.

As I said before, I saw this kid play as a junior in HS. At the time, he was between 6-2 and 6-3. He had the makings of a good jumpshot, was a very capable HS defender (could defend anyone on the floor at the HS level, except the biggest post players). At the time he was not being recruited very heavily, but in my eye he was a clear D1 player.

He had two areas he had to improve on. One was ball handling. He was strictly a jumpshooter. If his shot wasn’t falling, he was fairly easy to neutralize, even though he was a superior athlete. The second was approach. He was simply too young at the time to understand how to consistently attack opponents and understand what opposing coaches were trying to do to take him out of his game.

I’ll cut right to the chase. He has done both, and has grown 4 inches to boot.

And the thing about him that will separate him from a lot of other guys is the fact that he didn’t become this kind of player at 14 or 15, where he has known his whole life that he would be playing at the D1 level. He earned every single second of time in HS, at JUCO and now the chance to play at KU. The reason Tyon Grant Foster is coming to KU is because he worked his tail off for the last three years. The reason he played at JUCO is because he worked his tail off.

My experience with guys that had to work that hard to get anywhere is that once they get there, they keep working because it was never promised to them in the first place. And he’s a Kansas kid on top of that.

I think this is a good deal for both parties. Ends the rumors on both sides. Gives recruits some clarity. Settles some of the chaos around the athletic department. Its a win-win-win.

I am critical of Self from time to time, but I also realize something very simple - there’s not a better coach for KU out there right now. So while I may criticize, I am NOT on the fire Bill Self trail. That’s just stupid. If KU were to fire him, we would have to hope we did as well with the next hire.

Mahomes will learn from these mistakes. He can make some spectacular plays, but he will also learn which ones he cannot make because of balance, pressure, speed of defenders, etc.

But you can’t rein in his confidence. He has a once in a generation arm, and he has the confidence to use it to its full potential. There’s no reason to rein that in, because he will make more plays than he will miss.

Vick could go in the first round because he fits a very clear role in today’s NBA.

Point out a team that doesn’t need an extra wing that can handle the ball, shoot the three, guard multiple positions and be a secondary rebounder in smaller lineups? With the way the NBA is currently working, literally every team needs a guy like that. Vick won’t necessarily be a star, but every playoff team needs a guy with his skillset, both as a starter and also coming off the bench. Basically, every team needs two or three LaGerald Vick type players.

Once the lottery picks are off the board, teams will covet wings that are athletic, can shoot, and can guard multiple spots. That’s Vick.

Let’s pump the brakes here for a second. Since 2008, KU football has been led by Mangino, Gill, Weis, Bowen (interim) and now Beaty. That’s five different coaches, philosophies, staffs, etc. in less than 10 years. Let’s slow down and let the program have something resembling stability for a minute.

Is Beaty having the type of success we want him to have? No.

Is switching coaches and starting all over going to help? Probably not.

KU hit the eject button too early on Gill, then made matters worse by bringing in Weis, who set about trying to undo everything Gill had put into place. That meant that when Weis got canned, KU was starting over for the third time in less than five years. What’s more, Beaty took the job with less than 60 scholarship players on the roster. The D1 limit is 85. Beaty was working with less than three quarters of a full D1 roster in his first year!

If KU bails out on Beaty now, we start over again. We basically guarantee that we will see 1 or 2 win seasons in 2018 and 2019 once you account for the attrition that will once again occur when we change coaches.

This is a cycle that has to stop. I said when Beaty was hired that he needed to be given a minimum of four years, regardless of how things went just because any stability within the program has value right now. You can’t develop any players when they are constantly changing offseason programs, schemes, etc. We can’t ever start winning if we do not bring some stability. The constant churn and turmoil has undermined any progress we may have made over the past several years.

Look at the basketball program here. The only coaches to stay at KU less than 10 years were Naismith (nine), Harp (eight) and Brown (five). KU has played basketball for nearly 120 years, and has had 8 coaches in that time. The football team has had five in the last 10 years. One team is nationally known and respected. The other is constantly searching for its way. The lack of consistent direction has hindered any potential growth for the program.

KU football isn’t going to resurrect overnight. We aren’t in a situation like KSU was in the late 1980s and early 1990s where there is a vacuum of strong programs within the conference that allows a mediocre team to rise. This will take time because the Big 12 has legitimate depth right now.

@marshhawk

The knife cuts both ways.

We want really talented guys that fulfill their potential, but if they do, they are gone quickly.

Wayne may very well end up being a four year guy, but if he does, that’s another two years after this one of people wishing that Wayne was more consistent, and more aggressive, and that he did more, and wondering why he didn’t step up in certain games. If Wayne is a four year player, that’s great from a “getting to know him” perspective, but it’s a downer because that probably means that he didn’t ever reach the potential that we all thought he had when he arrived.

Some of the happiest moments I have had as a sports fan and a KU basketball fan in particular have been watching guys reach their potential.

One of the most disappointing players at KU was Eric Chenowith, who actually built a pretty solid career at KU as a part time big man. But most KU fans that you talk to remember Chenowith as a huge bust because he was supposed to be so much more.

To some extent, I would say Kenny Gregory fits into that mold. Billy Thomas, on the other hand, is pretty fondly remembered by most KU fans. Gregory was always the better player, but Thomas is perceived to have reached his potential, and therefore his memory ages better.

Seeing Thomas Robinson grow into what he did in three years was awesome. I wouldn’t have wanted him to not grow into the player he did when he did, because it was much more fun to see him develop into a lottery pick and leave after three years.

I want to see guys come, reach their potential and move on into their adult lives, whether that takes one year (Wiggins) or five (Releford).

I’m somewhat sad that it feels like Perry has taken a step back this year. For all of my criticism of him, I think he’s a tremendous player and overall person, at least from all of the reports I hear since I don’t know him personally. I would much rather see Perry having a season where he’s averaging 15 and 8 and is on the short list for the Wooden award. But that’s not the case.

I’m happy that Kelly is starting to break out. Does that mean he will probably be gone at the end of this season? Yes, but that’s better than seeing a kid with that kind of talent languishing and struggling to put it all together.

That’s the thing I want for every player, ultimately. I want to see them put it all together. For a guy like Christian Garrett, that means getting a couple of buckets at the Fieldhouse that he can tell his grandkids about. For Kelly Oubre, that means being a lottery pick. For Perry Ellis, that means being a fourth year star - not starter, STAR.