Which team does this year's version remind you of?
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When the season started, I was thinking this team reminded me of the 2007 KU team, but I thought I saw glimpses of the 2011/2012 team yesterday. Tough, gritty grinders smoking it on the defensive end, and shooting multiple blanks on the offensive end. Winning ugly,baby. We don’t have the massive front line we had back then, but I’ll bet we cover the perimeter better than that team. For a second, I thought it was Withey blocking all those shots. Then I put on my glasses, and realized it was Cliff. Was that the good Tyshawn, or was that Frank not playing stupidly? Was that Releford sticking it to their best player, or was that Wayne? Was that EJ out there on target, hitting 3s…or was that Svi? And then Perry, who will never be mistaken for TROB, not even with copious amounts of booze or lack of eye glasses, was looking TROBish in terms of production with his points and his boards …did we step back to the future?
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I think I need another shot of VO before I confuse Svi with EJ…
You raise a good point. The point being that Self probably recruits and tries to build teams with players filling out specific roles he wants to see.
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@drgnslayr Upvote for the VO reference. Svi is the great perimeter advantage the 2011 team never had. Of course, the 2011 team had a huge advantage in the paint.
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@KUSTEVE I’d say more like the 2012 team that 2007. 2012 was really shallow, though. This team at the moment is going 10 deep and will probably play at least 9 deep most of the year in my opinion.
I did not think about Selden being a Releford type but now that you say that it makes sense. If Selden can play the type of D Releford did and hit 3’s when needed that would be a really amazing type of player to have.
That brings me to my #1 question about this team. Who is Selden? Is he a 2014 version of Releford in that he is our best perimeter defender and a hustle player and a guy who may put up 20 one game and 4 the next? His lack of shooting so far is an issue to me. I know he changed his shot around a bit so I hope it is just a matter of time. I kind of thought he would be our leading scorer this year but that is not looking like his primary role. Ellis is going to be the man and that is fine but I would like to see Selden do a bit more scoring. He rebounds and plays great D so it is hard to argue too much with that. But who is he really this year?
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This team doesn’t really remind me of any past teams.
This team has depth, a lock down defender, multiple bigs, shooters, and toughness.
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@joeloveshawks I wonder if Wayne is 100%.
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@joeloveshawks I just can’t compare him to Releford, nobody played D like him, wiggins next. Wasn’t Releford’s shooting% pretty high?
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I think Wayne is 100% but he hasn’t found his identity on Offense with this team yet. He can hit the 3 in streaks, can drive and pull up when needed, and get to the lane as well. Now his finishing and until yesterday FT shooting has always been an issue. When are we going to see him put down 1 dunk that he launches off for. He’s clearly expending a lot of energy locking down on Defense. And he’s getting assists so he is helping. For this team to probably see its ceiling it needs Wayne above 10pts a game. He has been good with the ball for the most part and right now Self certainly doesn’t trust him not being out there for long. I would say if someone was to take Svi’s spot which looks unlikely Selden could be spelled for him, but right now we have to hope Wayne’s O starts to come around like the rest of his game has.
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I thought Brady as a senior was as equal on defense as Travis. Brady was also the best at feeding the post. Right now Frank, Wayne and Svi are good at getting it inside.
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@KUSTEVE In terms of depth and experience, Im saying the 06/07 team. They really really turned it up on defense these last few games. Makes me happy. I hope it is a continuing trend!
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@Crimsonorblue22 said:
I just can’t compare him to Releford, nobody played D like him
For my money, Brandon Rush is still the gold standard regarding perimeter D.
