Final Four bound!!!
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There is no shame in being wrong about this team.
This team has endured and triumphed over more hardship than any bunch since the Marines on Guadalcanal.
I have been optimistic about what they could accomplish since about three weeks before they won the conference title; that much I forecast correctly. But several others have seen this coming long before me.
And I believed they could get to the Final Four if they had an off shooting game in the second weekend and the other team had a worse one; that much I saw correctly.
But when @wissox put me on the spot and said, okay, batenac 1.0, tell me what’s going to happen next, I just couldn’t 't see it clearly beyond what I have so far stated above. These guys are just amazing human beings that I have nicknamed the “Find-a-Way Boys.” They are finding doors now that I can’t see.
Hell, most of the game yesterday I was ragging about how they weren’t executing, or capitalizing on, the stuff Self was giving them that was obviously shaking them loose. I don’t know how many times I jumped up off the sofa and started yelling at the big screen for Vick to shoot, or put it on the deck and drive and dish, when he would get the ball in the high post and kick it out, or just stand and look at an open man he could have bounce passed to, or driven to the post and dished off to!!! Then for another stretch I was jumping off the sofa and screaming, throw the ball into Vick again; then I went through a patch where I was yelling go inside, go inside, go inside.
I still don’t really know how they did it. @HighEliteMajor made some good points about KU 's defensive tactics that rang true with me. And its obvious that Malik supernovaed and that Duke tired some down the stretch and Silvio grabbed ten boards as a sub and Malik missed almost no free throws and KU shot 35% from trey and Duke shot 24% from trey, but as to exactly what Self and Devonte finally figured out that allowed Malik to just begin to run wild the last five of regulation and the five of over time, I really don’t have a clue.
Several stages of the first 30 minutes it was obvious the changes Self was making, most of which either didn’t work very well, or the players could not capitalize on because they were still too confused about reading the defenses well enough to take the open looks they were getting. This was the longest I have ever seen this team take to get off its heels and really attack an opponent. I can’t say if it was a plan, or if they were just so baffled by the multiple defenses of Duke that it took them 35 minutes to find the way to attack Duke.
But whether I understand it or not, and whether we can forecast it or not, shoot! It was an incredibly beautiful thing to witness down the stretch!!!
Talk about a gutsy performance!!!
Holy Cow!
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Excellent post btw.
This version of Malik has exceeded even my most optimistic thoughts of what he could be here. Its not just the scoring its everything he’s doing on the other side as well.
He dropped a dime to Svi on a drive yesterday that was a great moment of the evolution of Malik with his teammates.
I loved the story about his road to get to this point with this team. He didn’t quit on his team or his coach even as he struggled. His father didn’t overstep his reach when times got tough. Both of them showed great trust in Self to get him here. It took longer then we thought but I can’t imagine trading it for anything else now.
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I keep checking Mock Drafts to see if Newman’s name would start popping up. Haven’t seen anything yet. But he has legitimately been the best player in the country for 3 consecutive weeks. Hard to think he wouldn’t be a end of the 1st round pick at this point.
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Nobody pinch me! Let the dream go on!
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I don’t believe most mock drafts have been updated recently and likely do not reflect the last few weeks, at least they did not last time I checked…maybe they have been by now.
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@justanotherfan I do not believe I have ever seen a KU player with a steeper learning curve than Silvio’s this year. I’m sure there have been others, but to come in at semester and progress to where he is now? . . .Amazing. We are fast approaching the time when I would just as soon have him in as Doke.
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Against Villanova, Mitch and Silvio will probably be more important than Doke because Villanova will spread the floor with shooters and KU will have to match up against that. This is a huge learning curve, especially for a guy that just as likely should be practicing for the McD’s AA game as playing in the Final Four this week. A guy that should be going to prom next month might be the X-Factor in a KU national championship bid. Silvio has stepped up. Mitch has stepped up. Now we need them both to step up at the same time, in quite possibly the biggest game of the year.
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One way KU can potentially overcome Spellman’s ability from the 3 point line is to guard him with Svi. Spellman is really just a big man with a shot, not a significant low-post scorer but if your looking for a way to take away that 3 point line you put Svi on him and make him give up the ball. Spellman has made 41% of his made shots on the year from 3. Villanova in general takes 40% of their shots from 3.
With Doke, Spellman is going to get open looks especially off pick and roll situations because Doke simply cannot move his legs quick enough. Doke on Paschall however is a much better matchup for Doke because Paschall shoots only 33% from 3. You can live with him making shots just like KU survived Duval having a great game. Spellman though has proven all season long to be a difference maker in their offense. Will be interesting to see what they gameplan for them
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@BeddieKU23 can’t wait!
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KU shoots 47% from 3 and holds them to a season low 20% shooting! We win by 10!
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@BeddieKU23 Thanks for the scout there … Svi definitely showed his wares yesterday on the defensive end. I would think we’d trap Spellman here and there, but not always, and certainly not immediately. Might be good guy to catch sporadically on the first bounce.
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@justanotherfan Solid post!
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The experience he got playing in Europe against grown men probably helped.
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@jaybate-1.0 Oh yah! I almost had a heart attack last night!!
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@jaybate-1.0 Question. Where is KU on the trey % ebb/flow chart? Seems like the last couple games have been below average shooting nights as a whole for our trey gunners.
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Villanova? Bring’em on! We have a debt to collect from them. We should bring plenty of chip into that game.
Time for Devonte to earn that Naismith Award.
Nova can be beat. They play good defense, but we have played against better defensive teams. And their offense is mostly about crossing their T’s and dotting their I’s… meaning… they make the shots they are supposed to make. All we need to do is bring our A-game on defense. Overwhelm them with athleticism. Move the ball at our quicker pace. Disrupt, disrupt, disrupt!
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Here is an interesting look at 3 of the major computer rankings after the weekend games.
Ken Pomeroy - Villanova #1, Michigan #7, KU #8 and Loyola #30. He still has teams like Virginia, Duke…yes, Duke at #3, Cincinnati, Purdue and Michigan State ahead of KU. Difficult to look at the rankings with straight face and say they are correct.
Jeff Sagarin - Villanova #1, Duke #2, Kansas # 3 and Loyola checks in at #56. Duke is still #2 which seems counter intuitive given KU’s win yesterday.
Here are his predictions for the Final Four games:
Kenneth Massey - Definitely the more realistic with Villanova, Michigan and KU in the top 3 and Loyola checking in at #8.Duke dropped to #6
These are his prediction for the Final Four games:
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If Ken Pom has a non tournament team Penn State ranked 26th there’s obviously some flaws in the ratings.
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So, they are saying KU can’t win? Hmmm.
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HighEliteMajor said:
So, they are saying KU can’t win? Hmmm.
Can’t or won’t?
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Remember the Alamo…just seemed like the thing to say against Nova
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Bwag said:
HighEliteMajor said:
So, they are saying KU can’t win? Hmmm.
Can’t or won’t?
Wahwahwahwah…We weren’t supposed to win the B12.
We weren’t supposed to win the B12 tourney.
We weren’t supposed win the first game of the NCAAs
We weren’t supposed to get passed the E8…oops…I think we’ve over achieved.
We were supposed to choke? I think was the term?
Rock Chalk
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Did you guys see how emotional Self was in the locker room after the game? It really showed how much he wanted these guys to finally get over that hump to the final four.
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is there a place to watch the replay of this game
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@kjayhawks i looked for that video. couldn’t find it
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@Blown CBSSPORTS Network is showing replays of games. KU- Duke is on now (11:38 pm Monday). 45 secs before halftime. They are doing them throughout the week but they don’t announce which games.
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@truehawk93 - AlaMODE! AlaMODE! With sprinkles on top. Just ask Barkley…
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@Blown https://www.diehards.com/kansas/bill-self-locker-room-kansas-basketball-duke-final-four-elite-eight
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Most model’s I’ve seen are giving KU less then 40% chance of winning. Big whoop Models. We got this
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Until recently Villanova’s defense really wasn’t that good. I’ve seen a lot of commentators lately saying how good their defense has been the last month or so. They have been good no doubt but Self can absolutely game-plan to beat them.
It’s the #1 O vs the #5 O. According to Kenpom this is the 2nd best offensive team in the last 15 years…We will have to have something for them
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@Blown [
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@BeddieKU23 Get Spellman or Paschall in foul trouble early, and I think this game changes.
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@Kcmatt7 Paschall is pretty good. I remember KU was interested.
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@BShark Just the perfect 5th guy to have on the floor. Unselfish. Does the dirty work. But also capable of scoring when he is open. I will be interested to see if Self puts Doke on Paschall an Svi on Spellman. We can double Spellman if we need to. He is not a great passer.
I would honestly feed Doke like every possession for the first 4 minutes and see if Spellman can keep from fouling. Or even just run pick and roll with Doke and see if you can get a blocking foul on him. Either way, my goal is to get him out of the game as fast as possible.
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very good point. I would try and get one of their guards as well. Either Brunson or Bridges would really change the way they play
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Does this mean Malik is going to enter the draft for sure?
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@BucknellJayhawk3 Malik isn’t staying.
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@BeddieKU23 Both have had issues several times this season. Whoever is guarding Newman may have a tough time staying out of trouble with the way he has been driving the ball. Maybe a couple of DG head flops lol.
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I’d imagine Jay Wright will be game planning for Newman. I hope Newman rises to the occasion once again. I read from some nova people they think Bridges might cover him with his length and 7’2 wingspan.
One thing we haven’t mentioned yet is how will these teams shoot in the Dome? Both so dependent on 3 point shooting… Whoever makes em likely going to win.
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@BeddieKU23 I’d put Bridges on him if I were them, no doubt about it. Newman has been scoring at 3 levels though, so good luck to whoever is guarding him.
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@BeddieKU23 Self has a WHOLE week to prepare his team. I like our chances!
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If Nova keys on Malik then Devonte goes off. I really think Lightfoot will have an impact on this game. His speed and recovery on D vs smaller guys is better than Silvio.
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@Ziggyhawk Watching that does not get old!
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Jayhawk-in-OKC said:
@BeddieKU23 Self has a WHOLE week to prepare his team. I like our chances!
Me too. A week to prepare against Nova this time around makes a big difference.
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@BigBad I am with you, Final Four is Devontae time!
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@Ziggyhawk Thanks for posting that recap Zig!! That was GREAT!!
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Gorilla72 said:
@truehawk93 - AlaMODE! AlaMODE! With sprinkles on top. Just ask Barkley…
…yeah, they really make an azz of him on those commercials, but it pays well. He doesn’t give a ratz azz what people think either.
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I was checking the draft board and Newman is no where to be found, at all. However, they have the Kentucky losers on there. They also touted a dook player scoring 20+ points a game. They even titled one of the draft boards: Watch a few in the F4…all Nova and Michigan. Damn the bias.
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@BeddieKU23 Doke on Paschall however is a much better matchup for Doke because Paschall shoots only 33% from 3.
Paschall is trash, and he’s lazy. I watched him foul TT in the 2d half because he can’t play D. He starts grabbing and pushing to make up for his fat azz.
