McCullar
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Kevin only had 12 minutes today. Yesufu picked up the bulk of the minutes with little to show for it.
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I say letās not even play him tomorrow maybe not even in the first round.
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Why he was playing is a mystery to me! And Big surprise, he hurt his back againā¦stupido move by the coaches to let him play. He better be 100 for the big dance.
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@rockchalkjayhawk Lester Earl never recovered from his back issues. You never know. Hopeful Kevinās back heals up quickly, but it may be a lifelong problem.
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Everyone has said with spasms it will not make them worse by playing. Itās what Kevin can handle.
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@Crimsonorblue22 said in McCullar:
Everyone has said with spasms it will not make them worse by playing. Itās what Kevin can handle.
@Crimsonorblue22 thatās just crazy talk
I dunno how Iāve turned into the Back spasm expert, but they donāt get better without rest, recovery and hands on work. So he can for sure make it worse, and it appears he did!
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@rockchalkjayhawk we do have the best medical staff! Donāt think theyād let him play if it would further injure him.
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@Crimsonorblue22 said in McCullar:
@rockchalkjayhawk we do have the best medical staff! Donāt think theyād let him play if it would further injure him.
I just want to see him back to full health for the tourney. The Big 12 title means a lot, but less to me than the tourney crown.
And they did let him play, but unfortunately saw him come out midway thru the game, where he reinjured himself. So, knowing that Iād hope more mature brains would see the bigger picture and sit him. Kids will do anything to play, as I would. (I hid a broken ankle from a coach once so I could play!)
Backs donāt get better by playing basketball, with all the twisting and turning.
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@rockchalkjayhawk I doubt there is enough time left in McCullars tenure to rest him until healthy.
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Just chiming in as someone with back issuesā¦ rest definitely helps
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We had better hope Kevin is ready for next week
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I would rest him for the 1st game
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I donāt think we can afford to
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@BeddieKU23 we blew out a good team in wvu and a solid team in isu with him playing minimal minutes. First game I think we can get by
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We can beat a 16 seed without him, depends on how he is feeling imo.
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I agree with sitting him for the first game but knowing Kevin like I think we do there is 0% he doesnāt play.
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We can beat a 16 seed without him, depends on how he is feeling imo.
Shudder. Shades of Stanford in the if he doesnāt play in the tournament. Oh what might have beenā¦ Get well Kevin!!!
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So evidently our limit for consecutive games in a few days is 2. Luckily we never have to play more than 2 in a weekend moving forward.
Wasnāt this what happened early in the year when we faced Tennessee? Except we didnāt just give up.
And the biggest āno showā was Juan. Our two best defenders were a no show with Texas.
What it really shows is how little real defense we get out of everyone else. Kevin and Juan keep us in games. For us to win moving forward we need the rest of our guys playing real defense.
Why we lose games? When we have no defense. In case there are fans still thinking our loses are based on not hitting shotsā¦ in our losses we always count specifically on JWil to carry the load. JWil is our only player who can create his own offense. He doesnāt need us to push pace off of us playing good defense.
When we push the pace off of playing good defense everyone scores because we donāt allow our opponents to set their defense.
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I think the starting five play varying levels of D from elite to decent (Kev, Juan, KJ, Jalen, Grady). The bench does not have a great defender. It might have a decent defender and the rest are fair to inexperienced. When we have 2-3 from the bench in the game, our defense suffers significantly.
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Kev is expected to practice this week
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@drgnslayr said in McCullar:
So evidently our limit for consecutive games in a few days is 2. Luckily we never have to play more than 2 in a weekend moving forward.
Wasnāt this what happened early in the year when we faced Tennessee? Except we didnāt just give up.
And the biggest āno showā was Juan. Our two best defenders were a no show with Texas.
What it really shows is how little real defense we get out of everyone else. Kevin and Juan keep us in games. For us to win moving forward we need the rest of our guys playing real defense.
Why we lose games? When we have no defense. In case there are fans still thinking our loses are based on not hitting shotsā¦ in our losses we always count specifically on JWil to carry the load. JWil is our only player who can create his own offense. He doesnāt need us to push pace off of us playing good defense.
When we push the pace off of playing good defense everyone scores because we donāt allow our opponents to set their defense.
Juan expended a lot of energy vs Iowa state staying connected to kausher. Through out the year we saved legs by switching everything. Without that itās tough to play the type of d Juan doeās especially without his best defensive buddy.
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I hate saying anything critical about Juan because heās been unbelievable for usā¦ but I donāt think he has the physique to go 3 hard games in a row.
Same for Gradey.
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@drgnslayr you are correct. A lot of folks are going full on sky-is-falling without looking at this logically. Typical fan overreaction that results in bashing Juan. We wonāt have the 3-in-3 problem the rest of the way so hopefully we are good fam.
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@benshawks08 he also did the same on the big wv guard, Stevenson kid. Not many or any can do it one night but he did it 2 nights. Really hurt him not having Kevin to help.
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@Crimsonorblue22 said in McCullar:
@benshawks08 he also did the same on the big wv guard, Stevenson kid. Not many or any can do it one night but he did it 2 nights. Really hurt him not have Kevin to help.
Yeah Dajuan poured his soul into both games. Really did not have much left in the tank for Texas. He is slight of frame and the drop off when he is out is so big.
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@drgnslayr Juan goes a lot harder than one else on the team. Slight or not.
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These are young people in peak physical condition in the prime of their lives. Being tired from three games in three days is a made up reason to justify a reason for them losing. Its just that they had a bad game and/or the other team wanted it more. The bigger problem I see is that it seems like the team lacks heart sometimes. I never see anyone pulling the group together on the court for huddles or encouragement. Donāt see a lot of emotion on their faces or in their actions when the games start slipping away.
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Think it goes beyond theory with how the Tennessee and third Texas games went.
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@RockkChalkk said in McCullar:
These are young people in peak physical condition in the prime of their lives. Being tired from three games in three days is a made up reason to justify a reason for them losing. Its just that they had a bad game and/or the other team wanted it more. The bigger problem I see is that it seems like the team lacks heart sometimes. I never see anyone pulling the group together on the court for huddles or encouragement. Donāt see a lot of emotion on their phases or in their actions when the games start slipping away.
Lol. What games are you watching? Jalen and Juan pull the guys together all of the time. I think itās much more reasonable to question fatigue than heart. There are multiple NATIONAL CHAMPIONS on this team.
Professional athletes whose entire job is to be in peak physical condition utilize load management strategies to make sure they can PERFORM at that peak level the most often. Fatigue is just a fact of life. For everyone. Oh and how many pro teams play 3 in 3? Iām honestly curious about that one.
The reason I come to this board is to see why people think we win and lose games. So coming up with justifications for why they did or didnāt win is kinda the point. At least for me.
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Texas is a bad matchup for KU. They have size, athleticism and depth & play well as a team.
It was even worse with McCullar out since thatās 20% of our defensive rebounding not out there, among many other things.
I donāt know why Texas has made KU play two of its worst games in one week, but they found the way. Kudos to them.
I thought we lost the game defensively and it was evident early the mistakes and miscommunication going on. So many wide-open layups, Texas found what was working and kept going to it on those mid paint drives, they would stop, analyze, get the defense shifting then have a guard cut to the hoop and it was consistently there. I think Self would have made an adjustment here, perhaps Norm did and it didnāt work. Defense is what failed us and led to a lot of bad offense. They didnāt rebound situationally at all either. Texas had a few possessions where they got 3-4 offensive rebounds. Thatās where Kevin becomes so valuable besides his defensive versatility and ability to get steals is just how bigtime of a rebounder he is.
Our options after Kevin are Joe & Bobby who canāt play the position and Rice thatās so far behind. Itās easy to see the drop off instantly when you donāt have a body that can steal you minutes. The cohesiveness of those lineups when the bench comes in look like 2 completely different teams.
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@BeddieKU23 yeah, Bobby and joe are never going to be Kevin no matter how good they play. They just donāt have the same size and skill set. I wonder if anyone on the bench mentioned to Gradey that it was actually HIM that needed to be filling in for Kevinās role defensively. Heās the one with the length and athleticism to rebound and take up space defensively. He just didnāt have a good game either. Joe actually did some decent rebounding for his size but thereās only so much a guy his size can do in that area.
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Also, Texas is just a really good team. They had a ton of preseason hype because of all the returning talent and additions they made. Youād expect a team to fall apart after all the turmoil around beard but theyāve clearly come together and are playing for each other and their current coach whom they clearly love. I was cranky watching them celebrate because we lost but honestly that level of joy is telling about a team. Last years KU team had that joy. Texas has a clear chip on their shoulder and can use their adversity as motivation. I usually donāt pick Texas to go very far but think they might be my pick for the final four from their region this year.
Itās also easy to look pretty good when all you are doing is shooting uncontested layups and three pointers. Seems familiar honestly.
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@benshawks08 said in McCullar:
@BeddieKU23 yeah, Bobby and joe are never going to be Kevin no matter how good they play. They just donāt have the same size and skill set. I wonder if anyone on the bench mentioned to Gradey that it was actually HIM that needed to be filling in for Kevinās role defensively. Heās the one with the length and athleticism to rebound and take up space defensively. He just didnāt have a good game either. Joe actually did some decent rebounding for his size but thereās only so much a guy his size can do in that area.
Gradey has been feast or famine lately. Agree Joe was active on boards, effort isnāt an issue with him. Heās just wildly inconsistent.
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@benshawks08 said in McCullar:
Also, Texas is just a really good team. They had a ton of preseason hype because of all the returning talent and additions they made. Youād expect a team to fall apart after all the turmoil around beard but theyāve clearly come together and are playing for each other and their current coach whom they clearly love. I was cranky watching them celebrate because we lost but honestly that level of joy is telling about a team. Last years KU team had that joy. Texas has a clear chip on their shoulder and can use their adversity as motivation. I usually donāt pick Texas to go very far but think they might be my pick for the final four from their region this year.
Itās also easy to look pretty good when all you are doing is shooting uncontested layups and three pointers. Seems familiar honestly.
Hmm. Sounds like youāre saying Texas wanted it more than KU.
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@benshawks08 Gradey doesnāt move well without the ball or on defense. He has a lot to learn (and will get paid while learning) but also has an elite shot. Iād like to see more plays designed to get him open. However, as I recall (maybe incorrectly) Bill stated that this team doesnāt do as well with set plays so itās a bunch of improvisation off the base offense. So set plays for Gradey probably arenāt coming en masse.
Gradey is long and can be disruptive by reaching in and swatting the ball, but he canāt wall up his defender due to poor footwork it seems. Heās got tons of potential, but it will be fulfilled elsewhere. For KU he gives a needed scoring presence and great enthusiasm. My only real complaint is heās gone too soon!
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@RockkChalkk said in McCullar:
These are young people in peak physical condition in the prime of their lives. Being tired from three games in three days is a made up reason to justify a reason for them losing. Its just that they had a bad game and/or the other team wanted it more. The bigger problem I see is that it seems like the team lacks heart sometimes. I never see anyone pulling the group together on the court for huddles or encouragement. Donāt see a lot of emotion on their faces or in their actions when the games start slipping away.
I always used to believe this.
I played competitive ball not nearly at this level and I went hard every day.
Then I was blessed with an opportunity to play basketball in Europe at a higher level.
I thought I knew what being in shape was about. Then I was at puke level in my first practice on this team.
No way I could go 3 games in consecutive days playing 30+ minutesā¦ and though the speed was so fast, I seriously doubt it was the speed of a Big 12 game.
Grantedā¦ Texas was in the same boat but played with much higher energy. They also played more bench minutes. But anywaysā¦ Juan isnāt physically built up like many other players. Was it Self that said he looks like the kid hanging out at the mall?
I give Juan a huge amount of credit here for being tired first because heās built frailā¦ secondā¦ he hustles more than anyone else and spends energy.
The guys I give less credit is Gradey and KJ. These guys will have to lift their defense considerably in March our we are going home early! JWil needs help, too, but he also carries more of the scoring responsibility and that drains more energy, too.
Gradey takes half the game offā¦ standing on the side awaiting passes that donāt come. KJ needs to lift his basketball IQ. His hedging is often out of position and he just makes a lot of mistakes typical of a freshman. Basicallyā¦ he is a freshman! And Gradey is showing some signs of hustling more. Heās starting to rebound more and get loose balls.
Iām complaining a bitā¦ but we need to be honest here.
Iām hopeful that the last Texas ass-kicking will be like the UK ass-kicking last yearā¦ do your thing, Bill! Teach these kids now before itās too late!
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Iāve noticed Gradeyās reaction time on defense is slow. Heās probably overthinking his game because that will create a lag like he is showing.
As Self saidā¦ heās not weak but he isnāt strong.
It seems ridiculous to throw him in the league already. He has star potential but other guys have had that, too, and didnāt jump. Everything is conjecture off that sweet stroke he possesses. Thatās a lot of risk. That will never carry him into a leading role in the NBA without other aspects of his game coming along.
A year of body strengthening and coaching and that guy would surely bump up on the draft charts, I donāt care how much better the draft is next year. The difference would be night/day.
He impacts games now when heās hot. Otherwiseā¦ heās mostly invisible. Just what the pros want!
I knowā¦ I knowā¦ he will get guaranteed money!
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@drgnslayr If I were a GM Iād draft Gradey in the lottery and stash him for development. All he needs to do is train and grow and he can do both while making millions of guaranteed dollars and not waste time on school nonsense- basketball is his profession and he has graduated with honors. Hire a full time trainer and get after it.
Selfishly I hope he tweaks his knee going in for the game winning layup as time expires in the national championship game and has no choice but to go back to KU while he heals up and ends up with 2 rings.
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I would feel the sameā¦ except it isnāt realistic. There is so much pressure in the league. Recruits are supposed to be either earning minutes or playing developmental ball and showing promise. Even though it sounds so right to sit on him and develop him, outside of risking injury, it would carry itās own risk.
Players have notoriety and fansā¦ itās a big part of what draws fans to games. Gradey leaves this year he will have instant NBA fans. Iām afraid they will be disappointed next year. I also fear a higher chance of injury. It happens often. Newbie players get hurt. So lets give a realistic projection that Gradey is two years away before becoming a lethal NBA player. Heāll have to restart the optimism. It can be doneā¦ but what did he gain over just staying in college another year where he remains a star? Then going to the league a much better player and getting real minutes in year 1?
I donāt see risk the same as othersā¦ I think he will sign for a higher amount next year and it will be worth it to wait a year. Thenā¦ if he gets hurt in his first year he will be sitting on a higher pile of cash. I think his risk of injury is higher in the NBA, hence sign the bigger contract in year 1.
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This Gradey meritrust ad is new since the big 12 tourney, right? He is making some bucks.
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I believe McCullar needs to be almost 100%. Gradey needs to play hard and hit his shots, as he hasnāt been doing much of either. Itās almost as if heās just marking time until the draft.
I also believe Yesufu is a problem on the floor. He shoots (and misses) 3ās early in the shot clock and his defense is ānot goodā. Iād rather see almost any other guard.
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I share your concerns about Joe taking early shots and missing most.
Surely, he is being instructed to do that or he would get pulled. Iām just not sure WHY he is being told to do that?
Under the right circumstances, he should take the shot.
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@Gorilla72 said in McCullar:
I believe McCullar needs to be almost 100%. Gradey needs to play hard and hit his shots, as he hasnāt been doing much of either. Itās almost as if heās just marking time until the draft.
I also believe Yesufu is a problem on the floor. He shoots (and misses) 3ās early in the shot clock and his defense is ānot goodā. Iād rather see almost any other guard.
What other options are there in regards to Yesufu? Play Harris 40 minutes and wear him down? Play Pettiford who doesnāt shoot and turns the ball over almost 40% of the time? Kyle Cuffe whoās redshirting and likely moving down after this season,
Iāve never been a big Yesufu fan, largely for the reasons mentioned, but the reality is Kansas doesnāt have a better option for that of a guard off the bench than Yesufu. Self knows this is a problem which is why KUās 2023 recruiting looks like it does with nothing but guards right now.
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@drgnslayr KJ was TERRIBLE on hedges vs Texas and the last few games. Might be yet another reason we were just switching everything for so long.
As for joe I think some of the thought process on the early shots is a marginal to bad shot is still better than a turnover. And if Juan Is out, this team doesnāt always get good shots. Also, if you donāt shoot when you are wide open as a small guard thereās not really much else you can do and it makes life harder on the rest of the team. He believes he is a 35% shooter from three. Letās hope he gets there with a hot tournament. Heās had one before.
The margin for error for this team is small but it was last year too. Dave had to play great after struggling for a good portion of the year. Remy had to come out of nowhere and make massive contributions. We will see if anyone steps up this year.
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@drgnslayr said in McCullar:
I would feel the sameā¦ except it isnāt realistic. There is so much pressure in the league. Recruits are supposed to be either earning minutes or playing developmental ball and showing promise. Even though it sounds so right to sit on him and develop him, outside of risking injury, it would carry itās own risk.
Players have notoriety and fansā¦ itās a big part of what draws fans to games. Gradey leaves this year he will have instant NBA fans. Iām afraid they will be disappointed next year. I also fear a higher chance of injury. It happens often. Newbie players get hurt. So lets give a realistic projection that Gradey is two years away before becoming a lethal NBA player. Heāll have to restart the optimism. It can be doneā¦ but what did he gain over just staying in college another year where he remains a star? Then going to the league a much better player and getting real minutes in year 1?
I donāt see risk the same as othersā¦ I think he will sign for a higher amount next year and it will be worth it to wait a year. Thenā¦ if he gets hurt in his first year he will be sitting on a higher pile of cash. I think his risk of injury is higher in the NBA, hence sign the bigger contract in year 1.
Ehh even if he flames out 1st round contracts are fully guaranteed. Heās 99.9% gone. He could get hurt playing for KU next season as well - only up to a $5 million insurance policy the last I knew (and thatās only for special players). Iād say donāt get your hopes up no matter how much it offends our sensibilities. Iām still cheesed that Pierce left early because I didnāt expect it. This is 100% expected and the norm right or wrong.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 said in McCullar:
@Gorilla72 said in McCullar:
I believe McCullar needs to be almost 100%. Gradey needs to play hard and hit his shots, as he hasnāt been doing much of either. Itās almost as if heās just marking time until the draft.
I also believe Yesufu is a problem on the floor. He shoots (and misses) 3ās early in the shot clock and his defense is ānot goodā. Iād rather see almost any other guard.
What other options are there in regards to Yesufu? Play Harris 40 minutes and wear him down? Play Pettiford who doesnāt shoot and turns the ball over almost 40% of the time? Kyle Cuffe whoās redshirting and likely moving down after this season,
Iāve never been a big Yesufu fan, largely for the reasons mentioned, but the reality is Kansas doesnāt have a better option for that of a guard off the bench than Yesufu. Self knows this is a problem which is why KUās 2023 recruiting looks like it does with nothing but guards right now.
MJ maybe. Udeh in a weird lineup. Yesufu in more limited minutes. Bobbyā¦wellā¦he did win us that one game in the islands.
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I have zero hope of Gradey returning. Iām not attempting to change his mindā¦ he doesnāt read these boards. Iām challenging the idea that all players need to leave if they are considered a lottery pick. In most circumstances, I would agree. Gradey has so much potential he can make up any loss from going a year early. Few players are hurt these days where their career is over.
More than anythingā¦ I think his fanbase grows if he stays here another year. Fan popularity matters. It draws crowds at games and sells more everything. He would leave here next year hyped up big time. That only happens this year if he has a big tournament and we repeat. If that were to happenā¦ hell yes he should go now!
This kid isnāt coming from a poor family in a tough neighborhood. Heās a lifelong Jayhawk. Unless we make the FF again this year his one year of ball will be forgotten in a year or so. So much for being a legacy player.
I know itās all about money and nothing else mattersā¦ like the pure joy of going to KU and playing as a Jayhawk. Getting another year closer to graduating college. F it! Cash in as soon as you can draw a check and move on!
Makes me want to turn off college basketball.
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@drgnslayr Iād contend it would take 3 years in Lawrence to leave a KU legacy. Itās hard for me to come up with Darrell Arthur and he was a huge reason we won in ā08. I also donāt think it really matters to most people as much as it does to us FANaticS.
Could you imagine if Gradey came back and had a career ending injury just chasing a college legacy? That would be so pathetic and sad. If that happened kids would probably thank thatās where the phrase thatās Dicked up came from. Lol
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I think he earns legacy status when he more or less carries a team for a year. JWil is now a legacy player. I think Gradey gets there on his second year. Iād probably push him into the NBA next year because he can reach that status of out-growing college ball. He hasnāt even grown into college ball yet. But heās pro material now? I bet most people who comment on him do not watch much pro ball to know the difference in steps from college to pro. It is every bit the jump of high school to college.
Wiggins was close to legacy status in one year, but not quite. Another year and he would have been a legacy. He would have a pronounced game beyond 99% of college players and leave a memorable trail.
I consider ālegacyā to be someone leaving a memorable trail. I think Gradey would do that in his second year.
Of courseā¦ it helps when the player helps propel us into a Final Four. As I said earlierā¦ Gradey becomes a legacy this year if he becomes a huge part of taking us into a Final Four this year. Heād have to start contributing more than he is now because his shot is standing out but his total contribution isnāt.
These are just my views. But I do believe my perspective is how a player ages through history.
My typical examples of legaciesā¦ Frank Mason, Mario Chalmers, Marcus Garrett, Sherron Collins, Och, CB, of course, guys like Manningā¦
