Rock Chalk come back Hawk!
-
The boys grew up last night and proved what we have been thinking since the start of the year: they are tough and solid and winners, top to bottom, left to right, with no real superstar yet a TEAM in the making.
At last we saw some dibble drive, aggressive offense instead of trying to pass it around the perimeter to get an open look. Seldon, Mason and Oubre all have the potential to get into the lane and make it happen.
At last we saw some aggressive rebounding and ball hawking and full court pressure. The trapping in the first half was too slow and UF is a fast and talented team (great point guard play by the Gators). Great passing by UF and a lesson in how to beat pressure. Impressive!
Wonderful team work by KU on defense the second half and Seldon had his coming out party and finally played like an All-American lottery pick. He is such a stud and looked smooth with his pull up jump shot and powerful in his drives to the rim. We need him to lead and make plays when the offense breaks down to become an elite team.
Mason is a bulldog and even with an off night keeps fighting and competing at the highest level. What a fearless player and great athlete!
Graham is a leader and has ice in the veins. He and Frank have the point guard position locked up for the next few years and they will get better and better at finishing the game (already good beyond their years).
These three guards carried the team and played most of the minutes together the second half of the second half. Go small and stay in front of the penetrating guards on defense - first half problem solved. Go coaching and good adjustments. And they want the ball at the end of the game and like to shoot the pressure free throws. STUDS! (and still young)
Alexander the Great had a couple of rebounds which made me jump out of my chair and (almost) spill my beer. And that athletic move in the paint to score with the finger roll to start the come back demonstrates his ceiling is very, very high. 100% guaranteed lottery pick OAD, And a smooth soft shot from 15 feet + free throw accuracy, excellent form.
The bench players at the end were up and shouting and joy was on their faces, especially Greene, Svi and Kelly - nice to see - a team is born and even if they were (are) frustrated with playing time, they are into winning more at least for now.
The KU boys became men last night and the home crowd helped to bring us back from the depths of despair and we found another gear we did not yet know we had. The players were smiling on the court and having fun, even during the long come back! No panic, no worries, Rock Chalk!
Now we now we can win against small penetrating guards and a very tough defense and against hot shot making from 3 (first half UK played very, very well). Bend but do not break, keep the faith and keep working and good things will happen eventually. These are the muscle memory anchors for our players.
Can we do it against length and height and superior athletic skills (UK, TX, AZ…?). TX will be a huge challenge this year and even with their leader out with a short term wrist injury, they played the mighty Wildcats well and tough in their building.
Another great year of highly entertaining basketball for KU fans is underway. Watch out for TX. Rock Chalk!
-
@jayhawk-007 Yeah, good post! Great game. Mason is a stud. I forget his stat line but he is indeed a bulldog. Just like Sherron IMO. We haven’t had a PG like him since. Devonte’ impressed me last night too. You’re right, we got the PG spot locked up. Those guys are playing like upperclassmen. Cliff is a beast. I hope he comes back one more year. I probly shouldnt hold my breath on that.
-
Good post, you make some excellent points. Especially about the three guards who played the majority of the 2nd half. I think this dispels some of the notion that Svi is the savior and needs to be out there at all times. While he is great and hustles every second he’s in the game, there will be times when we need different pieces in the game. I like how Self recognized that and allowed some other players to play a bit. Notably Graham and Oubre.
