Thoughts on todays game



  • Kansas controlled thru out in a 89-72 victory over Nebraska, their 18th in a row against the former B12 foe. I thought we came out a little sluggish and let them think they had a shot for a few minutes. I think our guards played well which has become the norm, Mason lead us yet again with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists(all in first half). DG had 14 points but didn’t really get his usual amount of assists with only 1 today with 3 rebounds. JJ continued his explosive play and finished with 17 points. Svi was great off the bench with 15 points, besides the off the back board pass to JJ for a missed dunk that left a scowl on mine and Selfs face. Most importantly especially with Bragg being out Landen Lucas has made an appearance with his best game thus far, 12 points, 7 rebounds and a block in 19 minutes. Doke had a couple of nice moves and finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. The rebounding wasn’t great as we only outrebounded them by one, 36-35. Fts continue to hurt this club and probably will til Doke and JJ figure out (Combined 4 for 12) how to make them and if that doesn’t happen soon we could lose one because of it once the schedule stiffens up. The defense was maddening to me, we over helped several times and lost track of our man leading to open dunks and lay ups. They only average 68 points and letting up 72 to them in our building along with 16 offense rebounds tells me we didn’t play with enough pride on that end of the floor. The biggest thing going forward is for us to develop Doke and Lightfoot because we may not have Bragg for some time and we will need quality minutes from them if not Coleby as well.



  • What was Frank still doing in the game at the very end? I thought Coach did a good job substituting guys in and out to stay ahead of foul trouble but was surprised Coleby didn’t get the chance to go in until the end. Mitch “Gordon” Lightfoot needs more playing time to feel more comfortable. All you old timers like me will know who that is🎶 🎵

    Coach’s assistant sent me some magnet schedules AND the team Christmas card signed by Coach Self. Way cool!



  • The best development from the Nebraska game was our rock, Landen Lucas playing like last year: 5/5, 2/2, and 7rbs all in 19 minutes. The officiating stayed in the background where it’s supposed to be, rather than being the most notable element of the game like it was in earlier games. Perhaps that’s the reason for his improved play. But, I think Landen’s back and will become a bigger part of our offense. Start Landen against Davidson, coach.

    A close second best part of the Nebraska game for me was Svi’s aggressive play. Finally, I saw more than just a feet set, three point shooter; he drove the ball to the rim and is now a dual threat. I finally saw the athleticism that many of you have written about. Svi"s play should earned him more playing time and I say start him over Vick. RCJH



  • @RockChalkinTexas You’re feeling better. Do you have a new boyfriend this year? Josh? Mitch “Babyface” Lightfoot?



  • Svi starting to get more minutes than Vick.



  • @wrwlumpy Kelly Oubre finished with 19 points (7-11 FG), 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 assist against the Bucks tonight!



  • @RockChalkinTexas Frank was still in the game, because most of the 2nd half, KU got outplayed and outscored by Nebr. Halfway thru the 2nd half it was only a 10-13pt lead, and if KU had made a couple of poor possessions, it could have been a single digit game, late, in AFH.

    Vick and Jackson didnt have great games, although JJ got going late. Careless turnovers, defensive lapses/uncontested layups, and a NON-existent post game. (Lucas can look good against a cupcake).

    Bottom line: the guards will have to make plays, eerily similar to last year’s Villanova team. That is why you leave Frank in the game. Because you dont want to entertain late dramatics trying to beat a rebuilding Nebr team in AFH. Eventhough the W wasnt ever in doubt, the margin almost became uncomfortable.

    There are things this KU team is ridic bad at: blowbys on D, FTs, and post play.



  • Why does Mitch Lightfoot look better than Bragg? Why doesnt Udoka dunk the ball? Where is the total overhaul of FT shot mechanics for a 16, now-17 yr old Udoka? You’d only be helping his entire career by totally changing his FT shot. Udoka’s FT launch is like a ww2 plane trying to take off from a carrier deck in heavy seas. It gets launched in the general direction of the basket.

    Hack-a-Doke should be in full effect for all KU opponents. What would Vega$ say about the odds he hits 2 FTs on one possession? A “rotating fouler” strategy by the opponent could routinely keep 5-8 points off the KU scoreboard, every game. You bet against Doke because you see tremendous fundamental flaws in his shot mechanics. Its one thing to suggest “change” some NBA vet’s funky shot (Bill Cartwright back in MJ era), or some NFL vet QB’s sidearm delivery (Kosar for Browns in 80s), but there should be no question you just make Doke start over. His academy coach was right, but sarcastically so: “just dunk everything” (because he knew he has a broke FT shot).



  • @ralster Do you agree with Coach Self’s explanation that the lower percentage of made FTs is due to the minutes being played by the freshmen? I can still hit 7/10 FTs in my driveway and I was never considered by anyone other than myself to be athletic. And that’s with the Kansas wind usually blowing in my face, the sun in my eyes and a stupid tree limb that interferes with my concentration. At least once a year after a particularly poor FT shooting game, I measure a FT line on my driveway, make sure the rim is 10 feet and then shoot about a hundred shots.



  • @ralster

    Hack-a-Doke has been a concern of mine again. The one thing about it is, they can’t do it too early, or it puts KU in the bonus super quickly and then you can just pull Doke out at that point and reap the benefits.



  • @BShark said:

    @ralster Hack-a-Doke has been a concern of mine again. The one thing about it is, they can’t do it too early, or it puts KU in the bonus super quickly and then you can just pull Doke out at that point and reap the benefits.

    Aha, and that’s why it’s better to start Doke and insert Landen later.



  • Great points. The FT %, especially by more experienced players has got to be driving Self nuts. At home, in AFH. There is no excuse. Its like all these reps in 3pt shooting have paid dividends (Ali Farokhmanesh would be proud), but we cant exercise the different muscle memory of FT shooting with a ton of reps also? Just like MJ could fadeaway-left, fadeaway-right, turnaround fadeaway, pullup J, all those things take a bazillion reps. I saw Frank 2 yrs ago in April in AFH, after the Stanford loss, putting up 3 after 3 after 3. In April. Working on his shot. Currently, Frank Mason is over 50% for the season on 3%. As he was his soph season.

    It could be a frosh thing, and only playing bball since 9th grade for Udoka, but JJ has no excuse, and the KU coaching staff has no choice but to overhaul Udoka from ground zero. I see bad repetetive shot mechanics, a weird sideways hitch, etc. Almost against basketball ethics for a poor kid’s career not to overhaul his FT misadventures.

    Self no doubt is hoarse telling these frosh to get aspects of their game up to the level that is expected at this program, his program, or any program on such a level. And directly connected to such a thought is the fact that we dont need a 6’10, 240lb McDAA cheerleader on the bench. There’s far better looking cheerleaders at the Univ of KS. Self to Bragg: “what kind of highlights/mixtape you gonna show the scouts?” Light the fire, or get off the stove, return to sender.



  • @ralster

    Typically, when a player changes shooting style his numbers will go down quite a bit before they improve but the end result will be much better.

    At this point the average of some players taken a fair amount of FTs is low enough that changing their style in mid-stream will not hurt too bad and will derive big benefits as the season progresses.



  • @ralster Ya I think JJ’s shot is ugly and starts way to low but with him only being here a year we cant really change it, will just have to work on it. My thought is that I would sag off of him until he proves he can hit from the outside and bet will see that start to happen once the conference season starts. He just needs to hit a few to keep the defense honest. Doke we have time to adjust his shot and he is already shooting terrible @JayHawkFanToo so I think now is the time, I did think he had some nice foot work a few times Saturday which I liked.



  • @kjayhawks I hope we’ve seen the last of show-boating off the backboard dunks. I’m not even a fan of reverse dunks. No problem if you wanna do it during practice or for Late Night in front of recruits, but it doesn’t belong in a game situation. Besides the possible missed points, to me it’s like jabbing a hornets nest with a stick when it comes to the opposing team. Just get the job done and forget the show-boating.



  • @brooksmd 100% agreed just dunk the ball or a simple lob. I know JJ wants to make noise but we don’t have to have a top 10 play every night.



  • @RockChalkinTexas Saw him in concert one night in Duluth, Minn. He came out and after a couple of songs into the playlist he said “ah hell what do y’all wanna hear?” From then on out it was by request. Great show. Of course he’s quite popular up in that part of the country.



  • @kjayhawks

    KU really does not need JJ taking 3 point shots; plenty of outside shooting available and 3 point shooting is not his forte. JJ is best when penetrating and taking short jumpers, layups or dunks or taking mid-range jumpers where form is not critical.



  • @JayHawkFanToo But the opponents are leaving JJ open for 3, daring him. I say he gets the green light from Self (I agree with you currently), once he has put up 500 3s per day in solo practice, and then is hitting them in live practice, then let him unleash the new 3gun in live games.



  • @ralster

    He is shooting .238 from the 3… this is less than half of Mason’s and about half of Vick’s average; Devonte and Svi are shooting well over .40o. When he can hit reliably over .300 the he can get the green light



  • @JayHawkFanToo Exactly right…no green light now, but rather much later, if/when he’s above 36% in practice, he can try a couple live action. Totally agree.



  • But I agree on the difference between the 2 frosh, JJ and Doke: Not sure how much we can correct with JJ in our 4 more mos with him. But Doke deserves all the correction he can get. His success in the NBA could pay countless recruiting dividends.



  • @ralster

    Exactly. Not much that can be done about JJ; he has enough tools to get to the NBA and correct what needs correcting there,

    Doke, on the other hand, will be here longer and his shooting can’t get any worse; might as well start working on it as soon as possible and hope that by the end of the season his shooting is an asset rather than a liability.



  • They will get lots of gym time over the next month.



  • @Crimsonorblue22 Actually they need to get off the video games and practice right there in their new dorm.



  • @brooksmd Maybe the new dorms had a design glitch and the showers are all designed for 6ft people, so all the bigs have really sore backs, and its limiting their explosiveness, while its not affecting the Little Guards… …yeah! that’s it…



  • @ralster

    Umm, no. If it only was true…the showers were designed for very tall individuals.

    IMG_0004.JPG



  • I’m shocked that both JJ and Doke made it to the College level without some form correction on those FT’s. Scouts said they both struggled at the FT line in HS but I didn’t think it would be this bad.

    I do agree Doke since he’ll be here next year should be taken under an assistants wing and just work on him with it. If they don’t then they are wasting an area of his game that is so beneficial to him because Doke is never going to be taking jump-shots. Even getting him to be a 60% FT shooter would be enough to help this team out. As it stands right now he’s a huge liability in games that will be decided be possessions down the line.

    With JJ, we can see it coming where his misses are going to impact some game down the line. Other than Mason he’s the most aggressive player on the team and is going to get fouled a good amount with teams knowing he’s a liability at the line. Did his previous coaches just decide he was too good to coach him on his FT’s? Jackson is missing over 2 FT’s a game at his current rate… Get in the gym and work on repetition…



  • From Tai Webster:

    Tai Webster led Nebraska (5-5) with 22 points. Ed Morrow finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

    “Yeah, it was rough,” Webster said. “A tough environment to come into. The crowd is nothing like we’ve seen before, but they’re good at what they do. They pressure you full-court every time you take it out, and they’re relentless. They’re tough.”

    Was this called a foul? Svi got flat out hit.

    29.jpg



  • @BeddieKU23

    Many HS and AAU coaches are pathetic and all they do is send players to play and win based on talent alone and not coaching; many times what they teach is actually incorrect. I have heard college coaches say they spend the majority of the pre-season breaking players from bad habit acquired in HS. JJ and Doke appear to be good examples of what happens with inferior coaching.

    Having said that, there are also excellent HS coaches that work with players on their techniques and get them properly prepared for the next level. KU has had many players that came in with sound knowledge if the game and properly prepared and then there are the Dokes and Alexanders and Diallos that are wholy unprepared, although in some cases it is also due to Not having played long enough.



  • @ralster How dare you name him who shall not be named? 😄

    I went into convulsions when his picture flashed during the game.



  • @JayHawkFanToo That girl in the pic is 4’2"



  • @JayHawkFanToo

    I’m shocked that Jackson’s mother who played D-1 ball wouldn’t have helped him out before he got to KU. I mean other than shooting 3’s, FT’s is his biggest weakness. He does everything else so good that is hard to believe he’s not a 70% shooter at least.

    Doke has the excuse that he’s only played basketball a few years and he’s super young still so KU has the perfect chance to mold him the way they want.



  • @BeddieKU23 Udoka might have also spent a little time in HS learning (besides the entire game of BB) his new country and culture, so he might not have had all that much time to work on free throws! Edit: apparently he made 90 out of 221 in HS. Shaq 2.0?



  • @mayjay

    True its clear shooting was not a priority as Doke has continued to learn the game. Considering everything I think he’s played pretty well for all the stuff that has been thrown at him. Dropping near 40 pounds in one off-season will take some getting used to. His size has really allowed him to overcome the lack of skill in certain area’s. I really hope we get more then just the required 2 years from him that he said was his plan when he came here… He’s only going to scratch the surface at KU



  • Dok needs to shoot his free throws underhand. I doubt he can develop a mid-range jumper in his time at KU, but he can master the dunk! Also a hook shot, underhand free-throws, defensive positioning, and setting devastating screens.



  • @dylans

    He finally showed nice touch on that running hook. That was a nice development to see



  • @BeddieKU23 the running hook is the best post shot a player can learn becuase it is almost impossible to block without fouling. Thats why it’s crazy that its seldom used these days.



  • @BeddieKU23

    If his FT continues to stay low, teams will start fouling him to send him to the line and he will have to sit the end of close games. Hack-a-Shaq will become Poke-the-Doke…I should copyright that.



  • @JayHawkFanToo yes, “at the end of the game”. Some act like teams will just foul him at random points during a game, which would be a terrible strategy. Like Jay Bilas says, you can get points back but you can’t get fouls back. “Hack a Shaq” is only a strategy that would be employed, as you suggest, at the end of the game in desperation mode. Otherwise, fouls, for example, during the first half would be accumulated which obviously goes toward getting in the bonus and of course separate fouls against the players. In essence, I am not worried about this strategy because we would only see it in a close game at the end of the game. If that occurs, we would simply put Landen in, who is a proven capable foul shooter.



  • @kjayhawks he really doesn’t get enough credit around here for how much he has improved his post game. The hook shot and fadeaway are the hardest shots to defend which is why the running hook is a great shot for Dok. Like I have said before, he needs more touches down on the block so that he can work on his moves during real game situations, not just practice.



  • @HawkChamp

    Otherwise, fouls, for example, during the first half would be accumulated which obviously goes toward getting in the bonus and of course separate fouls against the players.

    It is not clear from your post but fouls counting toward the bonus are reset at the half.



  • @JayHawkFanToo I’m referring to both halves.



  • @Fightsongwriter said:

    @JayHawkFanToo That girl in the pic is 4’2"

    But…she is wearing heels. Smiley face here…




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