Reasons to believe in next year’s team
-
Cam Martin will enter BEAST MODE.
-
-
@bskeet said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
@approxinfinity said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
I think of Russ Rob as a better comp for Juan.
yes… And maybe Sherron.
Haaaahahahahahhahhhahahhhahah. Haaaahhahahhahahhhhhahhhahh.
-
@RockkChalkk had to check the ranking in his class. Dajuan was 39th on Rivals! Sherron was 21st. While I agree they are very different in players, I am on board with those two rankings. I think Dajuan is a better defender and leader, while Sherron is a better scorer. I think some of those Sherron led teams after the 2008 championship could have benefited from Dajuans court vision.
-
@kuballin10 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
@approxinfinity If Juan plays a full season like the Nova game he’s a stud.
Shoot 500 three’s a day and another 500 floaters!
@FarmerJayhawk you still noted it so felt compelled to comment. It’s like say Peyton’s last year winning a super bowl or an average qb winning it all because of the team.
Dave, Remy, Och, Braun, Wilson carried us and mainly Remy in crucial games. Juan’s D contributed mightily but his reduction in minutes allowed the title.
He will start but monitoring his minutes is important.
You think we get Ramey? Watched some highlights of him and he’s a solid 2. Better shooter than Hunter and honestly in our offense he would be great alongside Juan.
Defensively and ability to drive how is Ramey per staff? Seems they wanted Hunter but would be happy with Ramey.
Following that metaphor, I think Juan is more 2012 Eli than last SB Peyton. Solid, reliable, makes plays when it counts.
Ramey doesn’t really want to be in college next year, but isn’t really a prospect so we’ll see how things play out over the next month. Ramey’s performance guarding Och really impressed them. He’s a pesky defender. Not really a driver. Think more a Devonte 2016-17 role.
-
@approxinfinity Yes. And Sherron was not asked to be a primary scorer in 2008. He was a facilitator first. Then, he took on more and more responsibility until he and Aldrich were an incredible tandem in 2010.
I think that role is similar for Juan. He was not asked to be a primary scorer this year; we had plenty of other options for that. But he was trusted to be a facilitator. But I expect that he will asked to take on more scoring responsibilities in 2022-23 and the following years he will be a primary scorer.
This is the way.
-
@bskeet said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
I think that role is similar for Juan. He was not asked to be a primary scorer this year; we had plenty of other options for that.
Correction, we had plenty of other better options for that. Like literally almost everyone. The only other players with a lower FG % were Zach, Yes, Teahan and Jank.
Next year’s team is starving for scoring. Its hard enough scoring 5 vs 5 but when the other team knows they don’t really have to guard one, it becomes 4 vs 5 on the offensive end and that much harder. If the 4 are studs then it can work. I think its way more likely that we see Juan as a 6th man or 7th man rotation player next year than it is he becomes a second team all american like Sherron did. Also, this isn’t me accepting the Sherron comparison - Sherron was way better than Juan soph year especially if you do a per minute comparison because Sherron played fewer minutes per game and still almost doubled him up in points per game.
-
@RockkChalkk I wasn’t making an argument about who is better, Juan or Sherron. I was talking about career trajectories. My point is that I think they will be similar. Sherron was capable of scoring but there were better options in 2008. Later he was depended on to be a more prolific scorer. Likewise for Juan in 2022. And, in my opinion, Juan will also be depended on to be a more prolific scorer in his jr and sr years.
Your point about scoring 5v5 compared to 5v4 is a good one. When one guy isn’t a scoring threat, the defense can cheat.
As a side note, I don’t have the numbers for post-season, but it would be interesting to look at Juan’s post-season scoring to see how that compares to his full-season metrics. My observation is that he took more shots in the post season, when it was more critical to keep the defense honest. He only needed to make a few (and he did) to change the way the team was defended.
-
@bskeet I would LOVE to see Juan become that prolific scorer you describe. It would be fantastic. Its just hard for me to see that happening. You’d think that being the non scoring threat he was all year with defenses backing off of him would equate to a higher FG % since he would get those wide open looks. As a player becomes more and more the threat they start facing the other team’s best defenders, see more double teams, get the defenses attention, etc, and often we see the player’s FG % drop down a little. If I’m not mistaken this was the case with Sherron too.
Its not impossible for it to happen though so there is still hope. Hopefully he is a gym rat all off season, gets some shooting mechanics worked out, and shocks us all next year as a new player on the offensive end.
However, if you’re looking for a surprise scorer next year, I think Pettiford could be that guy. Really small sample size but 53.3% FG % raises an eyebrow. His workout tapes coming in reminded me of Dotson’s. DD’s was more impressive but still, 85% of DD is damn good. I’m hoping Bill tries him in that Mason/Dotson role and see if he sinks or swims.
-
@bskeet I can’t believe you are comparing one of the baddest guards to ever play at Kansas (Self’s words) to a guy who averages 5.4 points, 4.2 ast, and 1.5 steals
Sherron Frosh: 9.3, 2.9 and .7 Soph: 9.3, 3.1, 1.1
Also, Dajuan was no where near 39th he moved up that many spots when he committed to KU.
https://m.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2019/aug/22/kansas-commitment-dajuan-harris-jumps-in/
-
@RockkChalkk Exactly - a defense never left sherron open or played 5v4 when he was a freshman or sophmore…
If Pettiford can stay healthy he’s in the mold for sure that can get to the rim and finish strong
-
Speaking as a former player who shot so low a % from outside that it didn’t matter if I was open or not… I can honestly say I probably shot near equal % when left wide open than when guarded. I know it killed my confidence being dared to shoot it from outside and after a while I didn’t have the balls to try to prove them wrong.
My only advice to Juan on shooting from trey: don’t listen to me! lol
I will say… Juan has several offensive tools that are quality and will help his stat line; he’s actually a good finisher at the rim, and his open-court scoring is good (especially helpful when he steals passes), and he has a very soft touch at midrange. There is no reason why he can’t lift his numbers a bit from trey and become a more consistent scorer from distance. I wish people would stop bagging on him. He’s earned every bit of that championship ring on his finger and will bring his winning formula back to KU to try to do it again!
It would be sick if Mosley comes and we all get the benefit synergy created off their relationship! Absolutely sick!
And NO! I’m still praying with get McCullar! lol We get McCullar and then it comes down to Wilson or Mosley… ha… I’m becoming crazy enthusiastic about next year’s team!
My new chant: BACK-TO-BACK!
-
@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
Speaking as a former player who shot so low a % from outside that it didn’t matter if I was open or not… I can honestly say I probably shot near equal % when left wide open than when guarded. I know it killed my confidence being dared to shoot it from outside and after a while I didn’t have the balls to try to prove them wrong.
My only advice to Juan on shooting from trey: don’t listen to me! lol
I will say… Juan has several offensive tools that are quality and will help his stat line; he’s actually a good finisher at the rim, and his open-court scoring is good (especially helpful when he steals passes), and he has a very soft touch at midrange. There is no reason why he can’t lift his numbers a bit from trey and become a more consistent scorer from distance. I wish people would stop bagging on him. He’s earned every bit of that championship ring on his finger and will bring his winning formula back to KU to try to do it again!
It would be sick if Mosley comes and we all get the benefit synergy created off their relationship! Absolutely sick!
And NO! I’m still praying with get McCullar! lol We get McCullar and then it comes down to Wilson or Mosley… ha… I’m becoming crazy enthusiastic about next year’s team!
My new chant: BACK-TO-BACK!
Excellent post. We don’t need 15 a game from Juan- but I’ll bet we get 10. Juan does so much more than score- setting up the offense, hitting guys in their spots, playing tenacious on ball defense, etc. The value is immeasurable.
-
I never said Juan would be a prolific scorer. I said he would be depended on to be a more prolific scorer. In other words, he will be asked and expected to generate more scoring in his jr and sr year.
Again, I AM NOT COMPARING THE ABILITIES OF THESE TWO. I’M COMPARING THEIR ASSIGNMENTS.
-
Sherron Frosh: 9.3, 2.9 and .7 Soph: 9.3, 3.1, 1.1
Sherron Jr 18.9 pts per game; Sr 15.5 pts per game.
He basically doubled his output in his last two years. Not because he suddenly found some new ability between his Sophomore and Junior years, rather, because the team dynamics changed and his assignment changed.
DeJuan’s Frosh: 2.4 pt per game and Soph: 5.4 pts per game
I wouldn’t be surprised if Juan averaged 9-10 per game next year. That’s about double this year’s production and that’s what they will need from him.
My point is that this is a similar trajectory.
-
@Jethro said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
@drgnslayr said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
Speaking as a former player who shot so low a % from outside that it didn’t matter if I was open or not… I can honestly say I probably shot near equal % when left wide open than when guarded. I know it killed my confidence being dared to shoot it from outside and after a while I didn’t have the balls to try to prove them wrong.
My only advice to Juan on shooting from trey: don’t listen to me! lol
I will say… Juan has several offensive tools that are quality and will help his stat line; he’s actually a good finisher at the rim, and his open-court scoring is good (especially helpful when he steals passes), and he has a very soft touch at midrange. There is no reason why he can’t lift his numbers a bit from trey and become a more consistent scorer from distance. I wish people would stop bagging on him. He’s earned every bit of that championship ring on his finger and will bring his winning formula back to KU to try to do it again!
It would be sick if Mosley comes and we all get the benefit synergy created off their relationship! Absolutely sick!
And NO! I’m still praying with get McCullar! lol We get McCullar and then it comes down to Wilson or Mosley… ha… I’m becoming crazy enthusiastic about next year’s team!
My new chant: BACK-TO-BACK!
Excellent post. We don’t need 15 a game from Juan- but I’ll bet we get 10. Juan does so much more than score- setting up the offense, hitting guys in their spots, playing tenacious on ball defense, etc. The value is immeasurable.
Agree Jethro I think we could get maybe 8-10 from Juan -if we NEED/HAVE to get 15 from Juan - - -we in trouble , we should have enough scorer’s that won’t be necessary
-
Underclassman Sherron frustrated the hell out of me. If he hadn’t gotten that steal and 3 to put us in striking distance in the championship and then the fall down pass to Mario, I would have remembered a lot of the boneheaded things he did that season, including some head-scratching plays in the championship on a team full of pretty cool customers. My point being, Dajuan is not the first KU underclassman to make a few boneheaded plays in a championship he also did some very good things in.
In particular, underclassman Sherron’s drives to nowhere, getting caught in the air with no option, and either turning it over or getting packed to Kingdom Come drove me absolutely nuts. So let’s allow that there may be a bit of lip-service hypberbole in Self’s assessment of Sherron as “one of the toughest” or whatever he said. Yes, Sherron was good, had a borderline great career by KU standards (high standards). He checks all the boxes for someone Self would praise.
- Contributed his sophomore year to a championship run.
- Waited his turn to start
- Was from the Chicago area (want to recruit that!)
- Was a 5 star McD (want to recruit that!)
- Played 4 years for Self, probably should have left after his 3rd
- First team All American
- Wasn’t drafted because of size
And importantly, his senior year, with 7 guys who made an NBA roster on his team, a team you would expect senior Sherron to lead, he lost to Northern Iowa.
So don’t laugh when we suggest that lil Sophomore NCAA CHAMPION Dajuan Harris might end up having a better college career than Sherron.
He just might.
-
Can we please stop trying to compare Sherron in any season to Dejuan Harris? Their games have very little in common.
Sherron was always a score/shoot first PG that only played PG because of his height, otherwise he’d have been a 2. Sherron’s game was to drive and use his size to initiate contact and try to draw fouls which was a consistent source of frustration with him over the years.
Harris is not someone who drives looking to score or initiate contact. Harris shot 24 FT’s all season in about 1150 minutes. Harris also has a much different body type that Sherron did which has a huge influence on the differences in their games.
Would I love to have a Sherron type PG this upcoming season that could go get a bucket whenever he wanted? Absolutely because this team next season will very likely be on that’s prone to having some long scoring droughts, but we have Harris who is much better at protecting the ball and facilitating offense than Sherron was.
None of that is knocking either player, they just play very different styles of PG that each have/had their own strengths and weaknesses.
-
@bskeet got it you’re saying you hope seeing a scoring ppg jump similar to what Sherron did when he played.
Fair enough and I get what you’re saying.
-
@kuballin10 Right on. I hope Pettiford tears it up and we don’t have to rely so heavily on Juan for scoring. But I wouldn’t be too surprised if Juan is asked to contribute more. And if he is, I trust he’s preparing all summer so that he can deliver more.
-
@approxinfinity said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
Underclassman Sherron frustrated the hell out of me. If he hadn’t gotten that steal and 3 to put us in striking distance in the championship and then the fall down pass to Mario, I would have remembered a lot of the boneheaded things he did that season, including some head-scratching plays in the championship on a team full of pretty cool customers. My point being, Dajuan is not the first KU underclassman to make a few boneheaded plays in a championship he also did some very good things in.
In particular, underclassman Sherron’s drives to nowhere, getting caught in the air with no option, and either turning it over or getting packed to Kingdom Come drove me absolutely nuts. So let’s allow that there may be a bit of lip-service hypberbole in Self’s assessment of Sherron as “one of the toughest” or whatever he said. Yes, Sherron was good, had a borderline great career by KU standards (high standards). He checks all the boxes for someone Self would praise.
- Contributed his sophomore year to a championship run.
- Waited his turn to start
- Was from the Chicago area (want to recruit that!)
- Was a 5 star McD (want to recruit that!)
- Played 4 years for Self, probably should have left after his 3rd
- First team All American
- Wasn’t drafted because of size
And importantly, his senior year, with 7 guys who made an NBA roster on his team, a team you would expect senior Sherron to lead, he lost to Northern Iowa.
So don’t laugh when we suggest that lil Sophomore NCAA CHAMPION Dajuan Harris might end up having a better college career than Sherron.
He just might.
-
https://m.kusports.com/news/2022/may/31/kansas-guard-joe-yesufu-eyeing-greater-leadership-/
JOE. Needs to take a big leap this offseason.
-
Spot on! There is no real comparison between these two players because everything about them is different. Sherron was a volume-scoring 2 forced into being a PG. Juan is a natural PG and is better-rounded to fill the stat sheet like what you want from a PG.
This idea that we have to get points from our PG is a vision of desperation. Any team that has to count on points from a PG means they have shortcomings on offense, whether it be team total points are too low or not having a go-to guy for points.
Here is where I’m glad we have a HOFr head coach. He will scheme offense to best take advantage of the offensive skills we have on the floor. He can help but only do so much. Players have to step up.
-
I’d take Sherron 10x out of 10 over DeJuan. Juando is a nice complimentary player, much like Russel Robinson. Sherron could be featured in the offense. In 09 it was just cole and Sherron carrying the team. Juan isn’t that type of player and we should not expect that out of him. Juando is a defensive player that is good at involving his teammates. Sherron was good a driving and scoring the ball, not distributing. Totally different players.
-
@BeddieKU23 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
https://m.kusports.com/news/2022/may/31/kansas-guard-joe-yesufu-eyeing-greater-leadership-/
JOE. Needs to take a big leap this offseason.
Agree. Next year will need scorers. As I believe @justanotherfan has pointed out before you are either wired to be a scorer or you aren’t. Joe is wired that way. He will take shots and not care how many he has missed. We will need that. Especially if Jalen leaves.
-
@dylans Well, damn, that guy who wasn’t good at distributing the ball somehow is number 10 on KU all-time assist leaders…
-
@approxinfinity said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
Underclassman Sherron frustrated the hell out of me. If he hadn’t gotten that steal and 3 to put us in striking distance in the championship and then the fall down pass to Mario, I would have remembered a lot of the boneheaded things he did that season, including some head-scratching plays in the championship on a team full of pretty cool customers. My point being, Dajuan is not the first KU underclassman to make a few boneheaded plays in a championship he also did some very good things in.
In particular, underclassman Sherron’s drives to nowhere, getting caught in the air with no option, and either turning it over or getting packed to Kingdom Come drove me absolutely nuts. So let’s allow that there may be a bit of lip-service hypberbole in Self’s assessment of Sherron as “one of the toughest” or whatever he said. Yes, Sherron was good, had a borderline great career by KU standards (high standards). He checks all the boxes for someone Self would praise.
- Contributed his sophomore year to a championship run.
- Waited his turn to start
- Was from the Chicago area (want to recruit that!)
- Was a 5 star McD (want to recruit that!)
- Played 4 years for Self, probably should have left after his 3rd
- First team All American
- Wasn’t drafted because of size
And importantly, his senior year, with 7 guys who made an NBA roster on his team, a team you would expect senior Sherron to lead, he lost to Northern Iowa.
So don’t laugh when we suggest that lil Sophomore NCAA CHAMPION Dajuan Harris might end up having a better college career than Sherron.
He just might.
Whoa buddy, not sure what you’re mixing in that Kool-Aid you’re drinking. A two time all-american with a championship is “borderline great career”?? To me this is unquestionably great, one of the greatest we have ever had. Nobody else since Sherron has been a two time all-american for KU. The only other two in modern times is Jacque (two second team seasons) and Raef (had two first team seasons).
What would Juan have to do in his next two years for you to classify him as having a better college career than Sherron?
-
@RockkChalkk Some people weigh in post season accolades more heavily. Maybe that’s the factor for Sherron. He flamed out of the tournament twice when it was “his team”.
I think he’s a career great too, just guessing why others may feel that way.
-
@BShark you put it succinctly, exactly my thoughts. Win on the big stage. You may say thats not fair. It might also be not fair to undervalue skills less tangible than scoring.
But win on the big stage and youre a winner, however your methods.
-
Basketball is largely about having guys that fit into different roles. Sometimes, players can move between different roles, depending on their mindset and skillset, but each team has specific roles that guys will play.
For example, Thomas Robinson started his career as an energy rebounding guy off the bench. He finished it as an All-American post scorer (albeit inefficiently). He was a better fit as a rebound/energy guy than as a prrimary scorer, but he was good enough as a scorer (and was always a great rebounder) to move into that primary role.
Travis Releford came to KU as a big time scorer. He morphed into a defense first player through his career.
Some guys never find their role in college. I think Julian Wright is a good example of this. He thought he was a point forward. He should have been developed as a stretch 4. That mismatch in his approach hampered both his college and pro career.
Every good team needs the following roles filled:
- primary ball handler
- secondary ball handler
- primary scorer
- secondary scorer
- perimeter shooter/floor spacer
- primary perimeter defender
- post defender/rim protector
- rebounder
- bench scorer
- bench ball handler
- bench defender
- bench big
Let’s take this year’s KU team and fill in the blanks.
Ochai Agbaji was the primary scorer. David McCormack was the secondary scorer and post defender. Christian Braun was both the secondary ball handler and the perimeter defender. JCL was the shooter/floor spacer. Harris was the primary ball handler. Wilson was the rebounder, and could double as an additional ball handler. Lightfoot was the bench big. Remy was the bench scorer/ ball handler. Yes was the bench defender, although because the rotation was perimeter heavy, and Agbaji/Braun/Harris were all average or above defenders, his role wasn’t as prominent.
Everyone slotted into their roles nicely. Braun actually shifted from being the floor spacer in years past to more ball handling duties this season. Och obviously moved from being a secondary piece to being the primary guy this year. Wilson moved out of the secondary scoring role into a complimentary role offensively, which helped since he was not as efficient from the perimeter. Mitch kept his role as bench big. McCormack moved from a primary offensive weapon to a secondary one, which helped everyone. Yes sacrificed minutes because it was more important to have a shooter (JCL) than an additional defender given that Harris’ strength was defense rather than shooting and Harris was the primary ball handler. Had Martin been the primary ball handler, Yes plays more because you need more defense to compliment Martin rather than shooting to compliment Harris.
Next year’s team will have new roles, but the biggest thing is who the primary and secondary scorers are. Once that is clear, the other roles will fit themselves around that and will help compliment that.
-
@drgnslayr a pg who can distribute and score is not desperation. All 5 guys need to be scoring threats the pg specifically.
The pg can easily lead the team in scoring see kemba walker getting a title and heck Steph in the nba.
A scoring pg isn’t a desperation. Pg’s aren’t old school where they score minimally and must distribute anymore.
-
Without Sheron’s play we don’t win the title. Sherron was a stud. Blame the entire team or other players for the flame outs.
Juan helped defensively get the comeback going then was on the bench as Remy, Dave and Wilson made plays mid to late second half.
Och getting mop was so wrong. He was outplayed by Soph Puff once Puff entered the game. Ochai had the and one layup after puff’s dunk then missed the free throw. Puff hit a 3 and I think och had another layup.
From och checking in at 8:49 left in the game he didn’t score another bucket and from what I’ve looked up didn’t even attempt another shot.
-
@kuballin10 I am pro Sherron. Was just offering up what I figured the only detriment could be in the mind of detractors and as @approxinfinity stated, what I thought was correct for him.
Dave should have won MOP. Don’t think it’s really debatable.
-
It is debatable. I should have won MOP for the animals I sacrificed to ensure KU victories.
-
I sprinkled holy water on the Dean Dome
-
Per thread title https://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/bobby-pettiford/ASqWeb_fEeeT-Oz0u-e-FA/basketball/stats.htm
-
So with Wilson’s announcement, the most likely starting line up for next season should be Harris, McCullar, Dick, Wilson, and Clemence I’m guessing.
Next season should be interesting to see how Self handles the line up because other than Udeh, there’s not a true post that figures to be part of the rotation unless Cam Martin suddenly got good enough to play at this level. Even then, Cam’s outside shooting was a big reason why he was brought in so we could potentially see a lot of 5 out next season which is something I never thought I’d see out of a Bill Self coached team.
I’m guessing the core bench pieces will be Rice, Pettiford, Adams, Udeh, and Yesufu with Ejiofor, Martin, and Cuffe getting spot minutes unless Ejiofor jumps ahead of KJ in the rotation. I’m not knocking Ejiofor, but he’s probably looking at being the 5th big in the rotation which historically means very few minutes.
-
WELCOME BACK, JW!
-
-
Boom
-
I think I can help with this DeJuan confusion. He’s not like Sherron. I was so glad when Sherron graduated. Love the guy- he’s true blue Jayhawk. But Approx and I both know speaking ill of Sherron is a major offense in Jayhawk Land. We know it triggers you, yet somehow we do slip up and blurt out a “lousy senior year” or something offensive to St. Sherron from time to time, so we offer our humble apologies. We still love THAT shot.
The comparison is Russ Rob. “The Lurker” ( a.k.a. JayhawkFantoo) pointed out that DeJuan and Russ are literally splitting images in everything, from the defense to the offensive game, and I agree with that. My opinion is DeJuan improves offensively enough to get to 10 per, and that is plenty, folks.
-
These returns obviously reveal the players’ desire for a KU B2B.
I wonder if they might have been clued in to what our IARP sanction will be, and maybe are assured we won’t be banned from post-season 2023?
I just doubt they would invest another year in what could be a dead-end effort…
-
These two announcements on a day I received my championship tshirt, and book, and last day of school made for a very very very happy birthday!!! I’ve got one minute left.
-
We just won a natty without a scoring PG.
-
I’d rather see Juan add to his assist stat this coming year than his point stat.
-
@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
So with Wilson’s announcement, the most likely starting line up for next season should be Harris, McCullar, Dick, Wilson, and Clemence I’m guessing.
Next season should be interesting to see how Self handles the line up because other than Udeh, there’s not a true post that figures to be part of the rotation unless Cam Martin suddenly got good enough to play at this level. Even then, Cam’s outside shooting was a big reason why he was brought in so we could potentially see a lot of 5 out next season which is something I never thought I’d see out of a Bill Self coached team.
I’m guessing the core bench pieces will be Rice, Pettiford, Adams, Udeh, and Yesufu with Ejiofor, Martin, and Cuffe getting spot minutes unless Ejiofor jumps ahead of KJ in the rotation. I’m not knocking Ejiofor, but he’s probably looking at being the 5th big in the rotation which historically means very few minutes.
That is definitely a possibility. I’m thinking we might see Pettiford, Harris, McCullar, Wilson, and Clemence as starters. Rice, Yes, & Dick rotating in the 1-3 spots and Udeh/Adams rotating at the 4/5. Bigger rotation early in the season and a few will drop out as conference play picks up. There’s some big shoes to fill and lots of opportunity for whoever is ready to step up and take it.
-
Perhaps this team will grow on me as the summer goes along. I was expecting a few more chess moves from Self to bridge the gap on guys he’s lost. There’s no way around the fact this team was gutted after a Championship which usually happens.
Comparing it to past teams I’m a bit concerned about experience & where the scoring will come from. 9 of 13 guys have little to zero experience playing in games. Among those 9, as many as 6 could be regular parts of the rotation so lots of growing pains. The 3 returning Soph’s all have promise and we could even see 1 or 2 of them start. The freshman class is stellar, we got real dudes this year so talent is not a question.
It’s going to be interesting to hear who’s developing. Development is beyond vital this offseason. Will a freshman push to start in the backcourt or will Self lean on experience or another ballhandler next to Harris. That 2 spot will be a battle. Will Wilson shine being the man? I think he will. He’s waited his turn and watched his brothers take the leaps. This is his time and he’ll get every opportunity to showcase. In spite of my concerns the ceiling on this team seems high. Odds are at least one of the freshman & one of the Sophomore’s will have a breakout season. I think the keys to a successful season lie on what the young guys can give on a consistent basis. Interesting offseason. Glad its over
-
I’m not 100% sure we are done. Might Self carve a space for Mosley?
-
@wissox said in Reasons to believe in next year’s team:
These two announcements on a day I received my championship tshirt, and book, and last day of school made for a very very very happy birthday!!! I’ve got one minute left.
- Truly a day to remember!
-
The question with Wilson (and with several others) is whether he is ready to take on a bigger role.
For Wilson, that boils down to efficiency. Can he average 14 ppg while shooting at or above 45% from the field? If so, that’s a win for KU. If he averages that, but on a lower percentage, that makes it really hard to build a top notch offense around him because it will be very inefficient. Part of Wilson’s increased efficiency last year was on the offensive glass and as a second or thid option on kickouts. If he’s the primary scorer, those opportunities go away for him (and go to Adams or Udeh, or someone else). If he can be efficient even outside that, KU has another top notch offense. If he can’t be (and this is the big question), then KU can have a good offense, but it will be inefficient.
The other question is secondary scorer. Is that McCullar? Is that Dick (or is he the shooter/floor spacer). McCullar doesn’t have a history of being very efficient either, so having Wilson and McCullar as the first two options offensively is concerning from an efficiency standpoint. I will note that I think both are very good collegiate players and that I think both will play well next season. I just don’t know where the efficiency comes from. Harris won’t help bump up the efficiency. Dick, Rice, and Clemence are all unproven at the college level for that type of scoring. We could have a good team next year, but they may have to play some ugly ball to get there while they figure out how to be efficient.
This KU squad is a top 5 squad. They need to get into transition though, because the half court offense will be a work in progress for most of the season.
