Self on Mason & Collins
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@CRH107 I think the beating we took by the 7 ft ers from Kentucky taught Frank a few things!
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Frank Mason take no prisoners farewell tour is already in full swing. Ripping out hearts, one team at a time!
I’d take the last 4 years of Frank over any other guard options Self could have pursued in 2012. You done good, Bill.
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@approxinfinity senior pm will rip my heart out, again!
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Man, I dont get calling Frank not the shooter that Sherron was. Granted, Sherron arrived with that “pure” 3ball gun, most famously shooting that OU guard out of his own gym (Willie Warren), but also shot us out of the UNI game (although hurt). Frank had to work on his shot his frosh year, but even as a soph, shot 50% from trey for most of that season. Now he’s doing it again. Is it possible to shoot better than 50% from trey?
How good do you have to get to be called a ‘shooter’?
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Agree on the physical differences. Sherron listed 205, but likely 215-ish. That’s 20-30lbs more than Frank’s listed 185-190.
Frank is quicker. Frank has hops. Unbelievable rebounder, which is a monumental Bill-Self-stat. Getting extra possessions is a game changer, literally. Frank can get his elbow above the rim. Sherron’s last dunk was in h.school.
I love Sherron, he gave KU everything he had, there is no questioning that or his heart. Sherron most directly helped deliver an NC to KU.
Frank is different, Self is right, but just didnt flesh out the reasons–and maybe he shouldnt publicly. Invariably, the comparolympics end up hurting someone’s feelings.
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2 time All America Sherron Collins is hard to beat. Time made me forget how freakin’ awesome he was! We haven’t had a player like that since.
Frank is his own man, not Sherron pt. 2.
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Frank passed Jo Jo White on the KU scoring list on Saturday.
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@wrwlumpy good company!
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I think Self is saying, very politely, that Frank is what Sherron could have been had Sherron been able to control his weight. Sherron was a tremendous athlete coming out of high school, but his battles with weight took a toll on his knees and ankles, robbing him of critical explosiveness.
Frank, on the other hand, has taken the same type of physical beating, but has kept himself in tremendous shape, which has prevented him from losing his explosiveness.
As for shooters, Sherron was the superior shooter, but Frank is surrounded by the best group of perimeter weapons at KU possibly in the history of the program. There are some groups to rival that (Hinrich-Boschee-Miles-Lee, Rush-Chalmers-Collins-Robinson, Pierce-Vaughn-Thomas-Haase), but this group is five deep and absolutely stacked. That helps Frank’s efficiency quite a bit, and he has been smart enough to take advantage of that.
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From Fansided Power Rankings (this morning):
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From ESPN Stats and Info:
This is the first time since 1994 that Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA are all ranked in the AP top 10.
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@dylans That fast break layup by Sherron at 3:05 looked a lot like Mason’s Saturday against Stanford.
About 2:05 on this video
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@dylans Nothing like dismantling higher ranked Fizzoo at home to put a big smile on the face of Sherron.
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@brooksmd And me!
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@DanR Except Sherron lands on his feet. If someone is going down it’s going to be the opponent. I wish Frank would stay upright and off his bum wrist.
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I’ll always remember Sheraton as more of the ankle-breaking type. But both were great at driving into contact, and maybe Frank has the edge in finishing through contact.
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@chriz said:
I’ll always remember Sheraton as more of the ankle-breaking type. But both were great at driving into contact, and maybe Frank has the edge in finishing through contact.
Agree-- The videos show that Frank took a hit and still delivered an amazing layup. Sherron didn’t take contact on the comparable layup…
I can’t recall if that is indicative of Sherron’s career (that defenders avoided contact with Sherron) but if so, there could be a reason for this. A collision with Sherron might feel different than a collision with Frank.
After watching the videos, my observation is that they both seemed to be dictating the speed of the game and there was nothing happening on the floor that was faster than they were. The game seems to be slow around Mason this year. This is a good sign.
I’ve seen it before a few times-- where a guard seemed to be able to do whatever he needed to do when he needed to do it… and we’ve won a lot of games those years.
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@Crimsonorblue22 mine too!!! i need to snag tickets to that game absolute must see in person game.
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@bskeet I wish Mason would speed up the game and run opponents out of the gym! There are two more gears than what we’ve seen. Frank and Devonte walk or jog the ball up the court most of the time. I want to see them push the pace even more. Especially since the four guard lineup is g0ing to be common. KU should be faster than the opponent most if not every night.
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“I think Self is saying, very politely, that Frank is what Sherron could have been had Sherron been able to control his weight.”
True… as was the rest of your post.
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I’d like to see that, too.
I think the problem is our bigs. Look at the foul trouble we are having in the post. The fouls represent just how out-of-step our post is with our perimeter. I think a lot of that has to do with pace. Our bigs are a step slow.
Imagine what we could do with 5 guards on the floor? All of our guards can bomb the trey. We would force opposing teams into going small or else. Most teams aren’t accustomed to such a lineup and would have problems with it. Imagine having 5 quick players in motion, none camping out in the low post, but keeping it open for drives?
One of the real advantages this team has is we have 2 guards that are 6’8" who can shoot the lights out, drive the ball and finish, crash the boards, or whatever we need. There are only maybe a couple teams in the country that can match-up with that.
I’d like to see Bill create a secret weapon. A 5-guard offense moving at frenetic speed. A 5-guard full-court press far more capable than Huggy’s ever was. This death squad should be able to squelch any opposing team momentum.
I’d like to see us pull this on Kentucky in January. We really need that win. Two in a row against the squid. Great recruiting tool, especially when beating them on their home court. And to do it in a real squashing fashion, like they did to us a few years ago with all their shot blockers. There is no way for Cal to prepare for something like that with a bunch of freshmen. They would just have to take their lumps, as we did a few years ago.
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@drgnslayr I’d love to see what a Bill Self Hi-Low run by the Morri would do to a 4 or 5 guard line-up. It’d be one of those 100+pt nights without a made three. Obliviously I worry about our D.
It seems KU gives up 25-30 points per night to the opponents best post right now. I don’t wanna see 2 post players going off for 25! Defense scares me. I’d like to see more perimeter pressure while in the four guard line-up. If they can’t see the post to pass him the ball he can’t torch us! Smother the perimeter, pester the opponet for 90ft. And keep them on their heels on offense - run, run, run!!! Never walk, never slow down. I wanna see the opponent grabbing their shorts within 10 minutes of the first half. Our thoroughbreds are built to run and Hudy gives us an advantage that no other school has- let’s use it!
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Can they push the pace for 35 minutes a night? That’s an awfully tough request given the demands since they both have to play on both ends. It’s not as if one of them gets to take a break on defense and guard a non-threat. That’s really demanding over the course of the season.
I would love to see KU run all the time, but the truth is that KU, while they have 5 extremely talented perimeter guys, they don’t have a sixth guy that they can play for 10 minutes in a competitive game to let Mason and Graham rest. The only other guards on the roster that are currently eligible are Tucker Vang, Tyler Self and Clay Young. You simply can’t play any of those three for more than a minute or two in a close game.
This is a year where it would be nice to have a Jeff Hawkins, Brady Morningstar or Conner Teahen type player on the roster that could be on the floor with any three of the other five perimeter guys and provide some floor spacing to let other guys in that group rest for five minutes each half. Basically, play from the under 12 timeout to the under 8 (or longer) in each half to extend the break for guys. Rather than resting for 3 or 4 minutes at a time, guys get a 6-7 minute break each half. Even Frank and Devonte would get an additional minute or two of rest each half with one extra guy.
Self may have to get creative to get guys some rest. Maybe steal a couple of minutes with Tyler at the end of the first half to rest Frank or Devonte. Maybe sub Tyler in at the under four TV timeout for Frank or Devonte, then use the use it or lose it at the 2 minute mark to get Frank or Devonte back in. Not only do you get a break for them, but you break up the last 4 minutes into a couple of minute and a half to two and a half minute bursts. That may give us a chance to push the pace the last 5-6 minutes of the first half.
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@justanotherfan You’re right there is no way they could keep it up all game, but neither could the other team. What I want to see is them running in 5 minute spurts. 5 to start and close each half. 10 minute breathers in between. But no let up in defensive pressure all game.
In a perfect world…
