The Furph



  • Is starting tomorrow, per Self



  • I like the move a lot. The main 4 flow better with him. I also hope that Elmarko mainly just spills Juan now. We can’t keep playing Juan 40 a night.



  • Yeah, it lets Marko play the role he was brought in for anyway



  • It’s time…and maybe this lights a fire in Elmarko. ZERO shot attempts in a road conference game was unacceptable.



  • I pumped my fist in the air after reading it a few moments ago on 247. Elmarko is a great athlete and will be a good player for us but he just don’t look ready for B12 basketball right now. Sit him and dont play Juan and him at the same time. As I said in the UCF game chat, with two non scoring PGs in at once. They don’t have to play defense on 2 guys.



  • It’s Furphinator Time



  • Furphy! Awesome. It will be interesting to see the defensive assignments with him and McCullar. At least before all the switching. I don’t remember how small and quick Oklahoma is, but that is the main concern with Furphy. Hoping at least that his arm length can keep dribblers within range. An odd argument I know, cuz I love the Furph, but this makes us even less athletic in a way. Furphy is an athlete for sure, but not small and quick.

    I sure hope this helps.

    And I hope Self figures out how to use Elmarko and rest Juan for a few minutes at times. Ha, then I hope that Elmarko can keep it simple. Point, pass.



  • Also a bit sad for Elmarko. Other than the UCF game, I thought he had some brighter moments and was starting to get it. A tiny bit at least.



  • Also we don’t have a huge sample size yet but on evanmiya.com, the main four and Furphy has been our best 5 man group this year so far.



  • @rockchalkjayhawk It seemed that he was a step slow defensively in the past two games and really had a difficult time guarding his man.



  • @BShark said in The Furph:

    Also we don’t have a huge sample size yet but on evanmiya.com, the main four and Furphy has been our best 5 man group this year so far.

    alt text



  • Elmarko is still gonna get minutes and be a great player here, just hit a learning curve.



  • @BShark it kinda reminds of starting Braun in 19-20. Like we didn’t really have a 2 guard on that team. Point, wings, Doke



  • @kjayhawks said in The Furph:

    Elmarko is still gonna get minutes and be a great player here, just hit a learning curve.

    I’ve been trying to figure out what Elmarko brings to the table. I’m not sure what his strengths are. Ball handling? Defense is average. Can’t shoot. Doesn’t drive. Court vision? He is quick.



  • I think this is a vey obvious choice. I think Coach didn’t want to yank Marko to fast, giving him every opportunity he could to get things straightened out. – Now we are in Conference play, Coach realizes there comes a time you do what you got to do if he is not showing signs of improvement, these last two games for sure have been bad for Jackson, he has just looked baad.

    I like the switch, Johnny ha shown the ability or non fear factor to at least make the attempt to score the ball which he can do and has shown he can , gets some rebounds, and I think it very well could help El Marko in the end run. Who knows maybe he won’t feel as much pressure of starting at this point. Maybe him backing Juan can help ease him in a little bettr, just think this is a move tht makes a lot of sense- -gives us a solid starting five.- -Johnny is just scratching his surface, think he can be really good for us in time



  • @dylans said in The Furph:

    @kjayhawks said in The Furph:

    Elmarko is still gonna get minutes and be a great player here, just hit a learning curve.

    I’ve been trying to figure out what Elmarko brings to the table. I’m not sure what his strengths are. Ball handling? Defense is average. Can’t shoot. Doesn’t drive. Court vision? He is quick.

    Big issue is he plays the same position as Dajuan and pairing them is a total nightmare because it puts three non-shooters into your line-up.



  • I think there was a belief that Elmarko would be able to defend the #2 position better than others but was not getting noticeably better so enter the Furph who almost certainly brings more scoring. One question is will the Furph guard the on the wing or out front? I guess it will depend on the lineup both ours and theirs. Should be fun and more interesting I think. I hope we explode and Elmarko plays well for Juan.



  • @Zabudda Boom!



  • Furphy will have to watch his fouling! He tends to lean in after he gets beat. He’s better and his long arms help just needs to move his feet and take sharper angles.



  • Furphy has the highest ceiling of the young guys IMO. Hes gonna have his struggles but hopefully by March is ready



  • Depending on matchups, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are games where Elmarko plays more that Furphy… games where we need a guard more than a wing… But in general, I like how this team operated with Furphy starting.



  • He’s so jumpy! Hi motor. He seems to be really coachable.



  • @Crimsonorblue22 Furph is the man and not afraid. Self has figured this one out right just took a bit yet Furph was gone over December and wasn’t here as early as other guys. When look at the film and plus/minus it’s clear he’s night and day better than Elmarko so not sure why it took this long to replace him



  • @kuballin10 said in The Furph:

    @Crimsonorblue22 Furph is the man and not afraid. Self has figured this one out right just took a bit yet Furph was gone over December and wasn’t here as early as other guys. When look at the film and plus/minus it’s clear he’s night and day better than Elmarko so not sure why it took this long to replace him

    It’s an uncomfortable topic for some but I think Furph is ahead basketball wise because he played in another country and wasn’t in the putrid AAU system…



  • I’m probably way off base here, but I have been before so no difference. You know who Johnny kinda reminds me of ? - - -to me he looks like and kinda resembles to me anyways a young SVI M.,-- Furphy aggressive, might be a little better rebounder the SVI at this stage, lots of energy- -3 pt threat, which in time think Johhny gets even better. I dunno just reminds me of SVI some.



  • @BShark

    Coming from an NBA factory as well.

    Elmarko is just green to the game and it’s showing at this level. He isn’t close to his ceiling. Maybe his leap will come later in the season



  • If EJ can just focus on D and not let his man score his offense will come with time.



  • The Australian prince that was promised.



  • @BShark hope he plays like this for his parents! I love he how reacts w/out having to think. Nick is having more fun, fitting in. Marko is struggling. Need to find minutes. Has the talent! Still wish we had Udeh.



  • @Crimsonorblue22 - Udeh had 11 & 9 last night in 24 minutes in a loss vs Cincinnati. 6 offensive rebounds. Maybe he’s starting to break out.



  • Udeh made his choice. Would be nice to have him instead of Parker but the decision was understandable.



  • @Gorilla72 dont forget 5 steals!



  • @BShark

    Udeh blew the game in Allen and missed a game winning FT last night. We are absolutely okay without him being the difference between wins and losses.



  • So now we expect Furph to do this every game and he’ll get criticized when he doesn’t make the snuff! lol

    I’m hopeful we’ll see a lot more games like last night from “The Furph” this year, and feel positive that we will. OSU showed off our entire team by not showing up… but still… we typically go down to Stillwater and play poorly. Not the case last night!

    Furph definitely looks like our best fifth option… the team flows best with him out there. Without question!



  • @drgnslayr said in The Furph:

    So now we expect Furph to do this every game and he’ll get criticized when he doesn’t make the snuff! lol

    I’m hopeful we’ll see a lot more games like last night from “The Furph” this year, and feel positive that we will. OSU showed off our entire team by not showing up… but still… we typically go down to Stillwater and play poorly. Not the case last night!

    Furph definitely looks like our best fifth option… the team flows best with him out there. Without question!

    Oh you know he will get criticized , it’s the nature of the beast here lol. - -It will be all roses and candy when he does like he did last night BUT when he has a off night , some turnovers , gets beat on the on the defensive end, makes a couple of silly fouls , we will have a couple that I know of here that will be on him like White on Rice - -It will be Johnny get your gun lol. -I think he is gonna be good for us still reminds me of a young SVI



  • @drgnslayr said in The Furph:

    So now we expect Furph to do this every game and he’ll get criticized when he doesn’t make the snuff! lol

    I’m hopeful we’ll see a lot more games like last night from “The Furph” this year, and feel positive that we will. OSU showed off our entire team by not showing up… but still… we typically go down to Stillwater and play poorly. Not the case last night!

    Furph definitely looks like our best fifth option… the team flows best with him out there. Without question!

    I’m upset he was unable to duplicate his first half performance in the second. Bench him.



  • From The Athletic:

    Furphy had 15 points (which ties his season-high) on 5-of-6 shooting, three made 3s, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and no turnovers against the Cowboys. KenPom even gave him the game MVP designation for that performance. Two games is a small sample size, but is Furphy the fifth starter Kansas has been waiting on? It’s too early to say, but something here smells intriguing. Per CBB Analytics, the lineup Self started the last two games — despite only playing 92 minutes this season — is Kansas’ most efficient (amongst lineups that have played at least 10 minutes) by a significant margin. — Marks



  • He is a freshman and missed some time, so he will have ups and downs. But, he has a good stroke, size, goes after rebounds, is better for spacing, and has a high bball IQ.

    In another thread, I said if he was playing 20-25 minutes, he would be a 10 and 5 guy. I’m going to adjust that. It will be a bit match up dependent, but he should generally be getting 30 minutes a game from here on out. And, not all at the 2. He should be able to take Kev and KJ breather minutes, as well. If so, I think he can be a fairly consistent double digit scorer - similar to KJ - and 5-7 RBs per game.

    EJ should be getting mostly Juan sub minutes. Just doesn’t work well to have 2 guys who don’t look to score on the floor together for any period of time. Puts more pressure on the other 3 and allows the defense to sag.



  • I think, not 100% sure, he gets tired in 2nd half, conditioning issue. Once his strength and conditioning improve, he will have better performance in second half.



  • @AsadZ

    Yeah I think your right. He didn’t have an off-season at KU and then was limited to begin the season with shin splints. He seems to be finding ways to overcome all the obstacles thrown his way. Future pro



  • Furph is a Flying Fox, biggest bat in Oz, Aussie Batman.

    Hes actually from French Lick Indiana and is a total hick. Furphy’s a made up name.



  • @benshawks08

    I’m thinking you are being sarcastic here… but there is something to this.

    Might he be gassed going into the second half? I’m fine with getting 20 good minutes out of the Furph per game. Also… since he’s an unknown in the B12, he is probably starting to earn some respect and emphasis in scouting.

    And for those who are thinking he will run off to the NBA after this year… or even next year… here is a good read on Gradey Dick’s first year in the NBA.

    Imagine had he stayed in Lawrence. Imagine the piece he would have provided for us while taking his time developing his body (part of it is to just build on his age). He would have left Lawrence a legacy player with status and could have had a much easier transition into the next level, without having to dig himself out of a tough situation.

    I still stand by my comments that Dick should have stayed!

    https://raptorsrapture.com/posts/concerned-raptors-gradey-continues-struggle



  • @drgnslayr Gradey Dick signed a 4 year / $21,422,551 contract with the Toronto Raptors, including $21,422,551 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $5,355,638.



  • Plus I have seen him in ridiculous commercials when I set my VPN to Canada. Kid is making bank.



  • @approxinfinity

    Yep. And now they seem concerned he could be a bust. The game is more than about money, and sometimes, like poker, you hold onto a hand and not bet the pot early.

    I hope Gradey makes it, and I think, to some level, he will. I just wonder what would have happened if he didn’t race to make money.



  • @drgnslayr except in poker your King cant blow out his knee and you wont accidentally expose your Ace.



  • @approxinfinity

    Yep… good counter point!



  • @approxinfinity

    Does he stand at a higher chance of injury playing in a league above his physicality over college ball, which is more at his physical level? He wasn’t even physical enough at Kansas.

    It seems like an obvious answer to this, but I’m not sure. Toronto has a lot invested in young Gradey and he has access to the very best in sports medicine.



  • @drgnslayr interesting thought. What if the nba draft / ncaa rules change to allowing the kid to stay at college a year after getting drafted rather than going to g league? Just retain the draft rights to them? Is this not allowed and a reason why this isnt a thing?



  • @approxinfinity

    I like it!


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