Azubuike Manned Up
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Despite getting homed out of the first half, and contending with a stud on WVU, Doke did more than dunk. These are why I am so thrilled by his play.
He showed the first flickering of big man territoriality.
He showed signs of scrappiness diving for loose balls.
He took some serious abuse and did not back down.
He looks better and better going to paint to hook , which will make his drop step dunk to baseline more deadly.
Way to play Doke!!! Way to overcome adversity and anchor our comeback!!! You Da Man, now!!!
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For a dude his size, his footwork and touch with both hands around the hoop is extremely impressive. He’s not just a brut power (although that is the crux of his game). In the short time he was out there, he did a great job of rebounding in traffic (best effort of the season in my humble opinion) and was a nuisance around the rim. He’s still not blocking shots at the rate I’d like to see, but I imagine most of that is due to the fact that he can’t aggressively go after everything because we need him out there so bad. Perhaps his little buddy, Silvio, will continue to come along and allow him a little more freedom to go after a few more balls towards the back-end of Big XII play. His importance/impact on the way this team plays is very similar to Embiid’s back in '13.
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Got to love Doke’s emotions! He will learn to harness those emotions to work for him instead of against him… but I’m not worried about that. He is learning everything so so quickly!
Doke is taking OWNERSHIP of our games! He FEELS responsible and KNOWS he must be held accountable. It is a real honor to have a player who is wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Very transparent and showing he is truly a Jayhawk!
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It has been a joy to watch him develop every game in front of our own eyes. He seems to get better every game and last night might have been his best game to date. No doubt he still gets caught out of position but he is improving and he is nowhere near his ceiling.
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Yes well we all remember the Landen years - Believe me I was a fan, but let’s face it - it really nice to have a big strong guy who can score, who can dunk STRONG. Most teams knew LL couldn’t really do much offensively, and he really didn’t have the monster mentality that doke does. Doke was pissed last night.
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Now - what’s the general feeling on Udoke staying next year???
Or is he pretty much an raw nba prospect who will be drafted high enough to go (sigh)
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I think it was Self that mentioned he wants a first round guarantee if he is going to go and that might not happen so there is a chance he could come back.
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@jaybate-1-0 It appears you are excited about the big WVU win … I think you set a record for threads started in a 24 hr period. Go get ‘em.
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drgnslayr said:
Got to love Doke’s emotions! He will learn to harness those emotions to work for him instead of against him… but I’m not worried about that. He is learning everything so so quickly!
Doke is taking OWNERSHIP of our games! He FEELS responsible and KNOWS he must be held accountable. It is a real honor to have a player who is wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Very transparent and showing he is truly a Jayhawk!
I boldfaced the part that I think is so very important. He comes from another culture on another continent, same as Embiid did. He played in America in high school, but he was learning our culture from the ground up. Probably had to develop a taste for flipping cheese burgers. What he is now doing at KU is absolutely awesome in the size of steps he is taking now. He came to KU and probably still did not fully understand and feel the game intuitively as he is beginning to do now.There was no legacy reason for him to feel possessive of the paint the way he might have for a soccer goal, or whatever the hell else they played back home. He literally is just now starting to move around that lane and look beyond his man for interlopers to dominate. He has been a little slower to grok this part of the game than Embiid, but Embiid was the father of all athletic freaks. The thing that is so awesome is that Doke does some things BETTER than Embiid. I mean Doke can literally fly end to end and beat almost everyone. And Doke is very close to having TWO offensive moves: drop step baseline; and running hook into the lane. Its not a jump hook like Danny’s. Its a running hook. I haven’t seen one for a long time. I used that exact move when I had to swing from small forward to big forward in high school sometimes. That running hook will be there every touch, as long as Doke can make that drop step baseline and dunk move. It is a killer combination for him. He is going to hurt some teams really badly with those two combined moves before the season ends and if he comes back next season with a third move, he will probably average in the mid 20s and could average high 20s if Self wanted to play through him. He is that good.
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HighEliteMajor said:
@jaybate-1-0 It appears you are excited about the big WVU win … I think you set a record for threads started in a 24 hr period. Go get ‘em.
I didn’t think I could still get this fired up!
But, shoot, these guys slogged The Canal and then went to the Tenaru and fought it out hand to hand for all the marbles on the sandbar and WON!!!
They don’t make up stuff this good in movies.
Two soon to be hall of famers going at it.
I bet Self introduces the sunnuvagun!
An absolute blocking machine in that WVU post man.
A kid stepping out of high school and INTO HARM’S WAY in D1.
Malik playing with a brain bang.
Doke overcoming a home job that is now as American as apple pie and finding the courage in himself to recover and be the hub of our victory down the stretch.
LaCobra playing on seemingly magically rejuvenated legs the last two games and just gluing and giving everyone one everything they need on this team.
Mitch jumping like a gazelle and making a key offensive play down the stretch against guys that could break him in two and knock him off any spot.
Devonte’s grandma probably driving from somewhere in Virginia, where the Father of our Country lead desperate men through a seemingly unwindable war, and his grandma getting even more fiery than Self.
Self wearing one of Bob’s wind breakers to show solidarity and respect to one of his elders and a guy born just a year before me.
The Potomac and Monongahela Rivers winding around through the country where Revolutionary and Civil Wars raged.
Holly Rowe, usually utterly a FairPlay for Kansas broadcaster and a damn cancer survivor looking healthy fighting through her loyalty to her alma mater of WVU to be just and professional and kind to both teams.
A 13 title run on the line early on the Front Nine and 14 in the mist across the river on the Back Nine.
This is soooo sweet I can’t tell ya, HEM.
If you bounce it, they will come.
Oh, they will most certainly come, HEM.
What’s going on in my beloved Washington, D.C., the seat of the country I love even more than basketball, HEM, its worn me down, and I am about as resilient and optimistic about this country as anyone could be. I am pretty sure I have figured out most of what is going on and it isn’t pretty, but its not my place to tell Americans what is going on, or what to think, or believe about it all, but, man, HEM, I really needed this weekend of basketball to recharge me.
P.S.: Thanks for occasionally giving this old coot and poke and a stroke and a little encouragement. What goes around comes around.
Rock Chalk!
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Loving the enthusiasm. A win like that will do it for alot of us. Tough, tough, tough
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Great post on Doke! Yes… Doke has some gifts better than JoJo. He definitely has a softer touch close to the rim. And some of his footwork looks every bit as good as JoJo’s. I expect we will continue to see huge improvements, almost on a game-to-game basis. When a player advances this fast, it not only shows his ability to learn quickly, but it also shows his upside is much higher.
I think Doke’s defense is also coming along, it just doesn’t always show itself like a flashy offensive move. First off… he isn’t fouling at such a high rate yet his defense is tightening up. His weakside help is still pretty bad but I think that is also being tampered down by our coaches… who are still just trying to keep him out of foul trouble. Just notice what happens when Doke makes a bad foul. Typically, he gets pulled and lectured to.
Doke is definitely doing a better job sealing off for boards. He isn’t getting pushed around like he was in November.
I’ve been tapping into some quality gossip. Heard Doke has quite the personality, and it is starting to show in his game. He is just now starting to really feel comfortable in his role as a player at Kansas.
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Thx for the gossip and for expanding on his game.
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Any man with a cragar for an icon understands enthusiasm. The vintage Cragar—still definitive!!!
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@jaybate-1.0 gotta be something to that. It was per @HighEliteMajor suggestion. Doesn’t get alot more vintage or enthusiastic right?
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Anyone see the end of the UK SCU game? Lol. Martin calls a timeout up 6 or 7 with 8 seconds left. UK players head to the bench. Cal waves them off… Stay out there. You dont need to come over here. Haha
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I saw that but I thought there was more time than 7 seconds and I am not sure Martin called a timeout. I believe the refs were conferring and the cheerleaders just run into the court. Calipari did not want SC to set up plays so he waved his team to the court.
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@jaybate-1-0 I have really been watching Dok and at the pace he is improving, I think he may just add the third post move still this season. Drop step, running hook, and up and under = 20 ppg. I get the feeling he got tired of the coaches ragging on him and he humbled himself and started doing what they said and voila! It worked in game and he turned a mental corner. It is also a real possibility that the simple fact of knowing Silvio can come in for 4-8 min has taken a burden off Dok, he can play more freely knowing there is beef off the bench to guard the trench.
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@JayHawkFanToo actually 16 seconds left and UK called the time out I believe cause they couldn’t get the ball in. Pretty sure Cal waved them off when they headed to the bench cause he didn’t have anything to say to them. They were just standing on the floor… amongst the cheer leaders. Deer in the headlights, like where ya want us to go coach? Tickled me
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HUGE WIN!!!
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Pretty funny situation. Calipari can be a colorful character, I remember him one time running into the court and pushing one of the twins into position.
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6 new notifications. This can mean only one thing… @Red-Rooster is out of the hen house!!!
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@cragarhawk and feeling good!
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@cragarhawk Yep … I got all the EGGS gathered for the day and NOW I’m catching up on my ‘back post reading.’ You, too, do a Great job on this site. Thank You!
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@Red.Rooster it’s a great day when you post! I like when you contribute.
