The return of the high low



  • 53 / 40

    3

    39 / 28

    Kansas / Memphis Aug 8, 2008.

    FG% disparity / number of 3s Kansas made / rebounding disparity.

    We made 6.7 threes per game in 2007-2008 compared to 8.8 this year. How far does that number go down next year?

    Lawson pipeline makes me think we see the high low reintroduced next year, maybe this year.

    Anyone want to venture a guess on which key stats change and by how much, year over year?

    http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/kansas/2008.html

    http://www.kuathletics.com/cumestats.aspx?path=mbball



  • @approxinfinity

    I think you mean in 2 years since they are ineligible next year.

    I come on here constantly and whine about the possibilities of going back to the hi/lo. I do so just thinking about the hi/lo we used to run.

    But… I’m now looking at this with a “glass half full” mentality. Surely, Bill is a different coach from what he was a few years ago.

    Is it possible Bill will look at a different flavor of hi/lo now? Perhaps a hybrid version blending with a motion-style offense?

    I can imagine that having unlimited potential! The best of all worlds where we take advantage of post and perimeter scoring, while still having good possibilities to drive the ball.

    What would make this a real TURBO OFFENSE is a stretch four that can bomb the trey and also if both post players are good passers. Good hard passing with an eye for opportunities makes this vision SCREAM!



  • @drgnslayr Sounds a lot like JJ.



  • Speaking of “Bill Self vision…”

    I think the next step for Bill is to put more into his vision before recruiting and then targeting specific recruits to fulfill his dream.

    This is one area where Jim Boeheim does very well. I believe this is his one big advantage in coaching and helps gloss over some mediocre areas of his coaching. He specifically goes after very specific players to match his zone defense vision.

    I think it is possible for Bill to pull this off more in the future, as we increase our marketability with recruits.



  • @Barney

    Now I’m thinking about Billy Preston and wondering about his perimeter shooting abilities.



  • I get that. Your description sounded like JJ to me especially the passing and being able to go in out equally well. Even his outside shooting was pretty good the last half of the year. If Preston can be close to him KU can again be really tough with even more options.



  • @Barney

    Feel free to tell me JJ is staying another year! I’ve been enjoying that fantasy with @jayballer54 for quite a while now!



  • @drgnslayr Yes I have lol - - BUT I can always tell you again -it helps me to boost my own fantasy - -JJ is coming back lol. - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @drgnslayr Josh is coming back but only if… 1/2 his classes are online from North Carolina. 🤸



  • Josh WILL be coming back, perhaps for one more hearing before a judge at the court house. If he should return to play another year of college basketball it would indeed be a freak move for a lad who stands to pocket $20,000,000.00+ in the next 3 years of pro play. He has pulled off some mighty ditzy actions since November, but reporting back to Jayhawk play for a second season would top even the newsworthy knife stuff involving J R Giddens back in the day. I like the kid immensely, even identify with some of his boyhood misdeeds. But, hey, he has never appeared to be stupid in terms of his upwardly mobile progression while suited up. Well, at least since our coaching staff insisted that he learn more quickly how to deal with questionable calls from officials. Unless we are overburdened with fantasy melodrama, we wave a pleasant goodbye to one of the most prolific OAD players ever to grace a college court.



  • Nothing wrong with fantasizing, but let it go, Man. It’s over. LOL



  • The high post in the high-low has not been the issue in recent years, it’s been the low post. Azubuike is the key to the success of the high-low next year, not Preston assuming he’s eligible. Preston is a good enough outside shooter that teams will have to respect his shot.

    There’s definitely potential for a hybrid of the offense from the past couple of seasons and the high-low.



  • @hawkmoon2020

    No, no!

    It’s a safe fantasy… better than a fantasy to rob a bank or sleep with a neighbor.

    It’s just for a short time… until I get totally engulfed in MLB.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10

    Certainly right there. We need a low post scoring machine and Doke should become that.

    I just want to make sure our 4 can maneuver his man out away from the lane to reduce the clutter for driving and also allow Doke more room for rebounding/scoring.

    And then there is the pick and pop/roll from our 4 on high ball screens… something we should have received from Bragg this year but didn’t. I still can’t figure out what planet he was living on the last 12 months. It definitely wasn’t “Planet Jayhawk!”



  • @approxinfinity Great topic.

    I will again profess my love for the high/low. Not romantic love. Practical, best friend type love.

    Best offensive scheme in basketball. Self matched his scheme to his personnel this past season. He should do that every season. Here’s hoping we can get back to the high/low at some point.

    That said, I don’t think the three is going away. If it makes sense, Self will let it fly.

    I wonder if we will see some hybrid offense with Preston at the top of the high/low, and flowing in a 4/1 offense as JJ did? I bet Self has been contemplating that for a while.

    I sure do regret that Bragg was not able to be the high in the high/low. It seemed to be the perfect fit. Excellent passer. Great from 15-17 feet. Decent off the bounce.



  • @HighEliteMajor I entertain the same regrets. Bragg could have made such a difference as we headed down the final stretch this season. Perplexing no show. Whatever it was, Bill Self obviously had run out of patience. Off court carelessness is one thing, but determination for empowerment on the hardwood is another. Carlton either couldn’t or wouldn’t arrive.



  • @HighEliteMajor

    For the last couple of years we have seen a less rigid, more pragmatic Coach Self and perhaps two of his better coaching jobs.

    No question that the high low has been his preferred system the majority of his career but in the last two years he has been more open to try different systems better suited to the available personnel. While it would no surprise me to see him go back to the high low, I imagine it will depend on whether Svi comes back and who else he sign in the off season. If he signs an impact PG like Duval, we will probably see more of what KU played last season. If he signs an impact big, there is a good chance we see the high low. Of course, we might see a hybrid that combines both systems, as you mentioned. Hopefully in the next few weeks the player situation will become clearer and he can start planning nex season.



  • @REHawk Bragg certainly was the gatekeeper of his own playing time. Not once this season did I think, “Self is really underutilizing Bragg”, except in the Oregon game where I was just curious as to why he didn’t get any PT. Bragg’s no show this past season was nothing less than shocking.

    @JayHawkFanToo If we sign Duval, we’d start Graham, Duval, and Newman most likely. That would create pace, I think. Wishful thinking most likely. Svi might be 2nd off the bench after Vick. BC Dynamo if the NBA is a no go? Maybe.

    I still say last season was his best coaching job. Total change in approach. Calm on the bench. Lucas and fumes inside. Amazing.



  • @HighEliteMajor

    Considering his background and upbringing, I can see Svi going to the NBA and finishing his degree on line like Aldrich did. I just don’t see him going to Europe at this time. He is still pretty young so time is on his side.



  • Gotta think that times have changed, let’s just hope that Bill doesn’t yank the free-flowing 3s mentality from just one game of bad shooting like he yanks his players. Which he actually seemed to have gotten better at this year.



  • I wonder if running the hi/lo impacts recruiting?

    I have a hard time seeing us land a 5-star guard recruit if we are going to run the hi/lo most of the time.

    Unless… Bill has come up with a hybrid hi/lo that keeps the guards involved.

    Surely we won’t be returning to the old hi/lo where our 3 guards perch on the trey line whipping the ball back and forth waiting for the defense to not flex perfectly.


Log in to reply