Basketball Season



  • @BeddieKU23 the fit was always weird. A guy who is a ball stopper that doesn’t play D coming to a school that moves the rock and is expected to play D.

    I think he figures it out but it’s kind of Like Malik Newman where it may take some time.

    Always the possibility Griffen knocks him out of the starting lineup as well. And the Storr comes in as a “2nd unit” type of guy and that fits him better.



  • @kuballin10 said in Basketball Season:

    To add insult to injury - philon as a frosh looks like a stud

    17 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists against Memphis tonight

    Starting alongside Sears

    Bill gets to ride with his guys yet again this season to yet another round of 32 or sweet 16 loss

    Crazy to think at a premier D1 school the coach has favorites so much he will never recruit over them (kj and d2)

    Nobody would have thought the 20-21 team would develop into the ‘22 team. Also the offseason haul of guys this year was pretty insane. A bit early for this take.



  • The Juan D2 thing is the dumbest thing I’ve read on this board



  • @Kcmatt7 said in Basketball Season:

    @BeddieKU23 the fit was always weird. A guy who is a ball stopper that doesn’t play D coming to a school that moves the rock and is expected to play D.

    I think he figures it out but it’s kind of Like Malik Newman where it may take some time.

    Always the possibility Griffen knocks him out of the starting lineup as well. And the Storr comes in as a “2nd unit” type of guy and that fits him better.

    If Storr is a bench player, that’s a miss from all involved. As one of the “premiere players” that entered the portal with proven scoring production in the Big-10, I fail to see how this isn’t a miss if that’s the direction it goes. I’m hopeful for the opposite but it’s not like we have a perfect hit rate with transfers either, just look at last year. If Storr was your top transfer player and you paid a lot for him, you better get your money’s worth in a sense.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if he follows a Malik or Remy situation. The end result with both was positive.

    Griffen was IMO the one I had the most confidence in transitioning to a significant role. 3 and D type guy, perhaps spread the floor more playing the 4 if possible next to Hunter. I think he’s a starter and I’d play him over KJ personally but that’s another subject matter…



  • @FarmerJayhawk You and Self don’t get it.

    Yes, in October and November Tharpe was better and could run things having been in the system for more time.

    Come March it was a complete blunder as time beared out he wasn’t good. Had Self played Mason through the mistakes and trials…by March we’d been a better team.

    Mason was ready just needed a leash

    Labaron is ready just needed a leash and opportunity

    Mahomes was ready year 1 just needed the opportunity

    Coach is very short sighted with development and doesn’t grasp practice vs game performance differences



  • @Kcmatt7 Remy happened

    Big Dave in March happened

    Braun and Ochai became nba wings along with Jalen - which is what carried us. 3 nba level guys on that squad which we don’t have today.

    Bringing up Philon - I don’t need to see anymore. He’s better than Juan and Moore. 6-4 with 6-7 wingspan and a legit nba prospect. Yeah let’s stick with the 7th best pg in the big 12 who can’t stay in front of his man.

    Whether it’s Self, his system or what. Spencer wouldn’t have had as good of a year here as he did uconn and Labaron wouldn’t be performing the way he is here like he is at bama. The reason is because how strict Self is with running his system.

    He killed Storr’s confidence and many many others.

    He needs to balance letting guys come in and play their way aggressively and slowly meld it to fit what he wants so by January it works.

    Instead he tries to break them of every bad habit from the tip and neuters them. This has happened for two decades here with countless players. Wish he’d mature in his thought process.

    If you’ve taught any sport the ability to retain confidence while tweaking the player is crucial. With the portal we don’t have 2-3 seasons to tear a player down and rebuild him

    Self retired after this year or next - book it



  • @BShark sorry mo st level is more accurate

    I know you agree with me on Self letting guys play a bit more and have a leash

    He gives leashes to people who don’t elevate the team but then hammers the guys who could

    Juan is a high floor low ceiling guy - u know what u get

    Storr - complete opposite

    To let guys like Storr ingrain quickly you have to let them play through the crap



  • @BeddieKU23 said in Basketball Season:

    @Kcmatt7 said in Basketball Season:

    @BeddieKU23 the fit was always weird. A guy who is a ball stopper that doesn’t play D coming to a school that moves the rock and is expected to play D.

    I think he figures it out but it’s kind of Like Malik Newman where it may take some time.

    Always the possibility Griffen knocks him out of the starting lineup as well. And the Storr comes in as a “2nd unit” type of guy and that fits him better.

    If Storr is a bench player, that’s a miss from all involved. As one of the “premiere players” that entered the portal with proven scoring production in the Big-10, I fail to see how this isn’t a miss if that’s the direction it goes. I’m hopeful for the opposite but it’s not like we have a perfect hit rate with transfers either, just look at last year. If Storr was your top transfer player and you paid a lot for him, you better get our money’s worth in a sense.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if he follows a Malik or Remy situation. The end result with both was positive.

    Griffen was IMO the one I had the most confidence in transitioning to a significant role. 3 and D type guy, perhaps spread the floor more playing the 4 if possible next to Hunter. I think he’s a starter and I’d play him over KJ personally but that’s another subject matter…

    It wouldn’t be a great look that’s for sure. That said I’ve heard it likely won’t go as far south as the Remy situation in part because Storr can not afford for it to. At least Bill acknowledged that he’s screwed him up a bit, hopefully it gets resolved.

    Interestingly Torvik projected around 12ppg for Storr. At first I laughed it off but if the team is balanced I think that largely makes sense. Last year at Wisconsin he had the same kind of volume/load that Kevin did at Kansas, with similar efficiency. So if KU is better and he buys in, he may end up around 10-12 ppg.

    I’m looking forward to seeing Rylan and Shak tonight. Last I had heard we were trending towards Rylan being the primary back-up 4, in addition to other roles.



  • I do get that Philon flipped almost entirely due to geography but don’t let that ruin the narrative



  • I think Self remembers the pieces to winning in 22. A big who you could throw it in to and get a bucket, a point guard who could distribute the ball and initiate offense, hit an open jumper if dared to, and three wings who could shoot, slash, and rebound.

    Those pieces are all possibly there, but will all depend on how they develop and commit to the pieces where they may not be strong. KJ is a bit of an oddball here in that for what it’s worth to me, watching him play is so much fun because of the way he plays. He does have limitations though that impact the overall cohesiveness and effectiveness of the team on both ends. He called the 21 team unathletic and then brought them all back and somehow they played more to their athleticism.

    Defense will be this teams “athleticism.” Can this team learn to guard at the level necessary to win a championship? He’s now had significant pieces of this team get beat on the pick n roll for about 3 straight games dating back to last season, so hopefully he has their attention. Traditionally, Bill has been best at teaching guys to defend. I’ve heard over and over again on this board and others that he just needs to get guys who can shoot/score and then teach them to defend. Welp, we will see if that plan is actually viable.

    Side note: What would @kuballin10 be saying if Juan didn’t score 26 in the Arkansas game? Lol.



  • @kuballin10 said in Basketball Season:

    @Kcmatt7 Remy happened

    Big Dave in March happened

    Braun and Ochai became nba wings along with Jalen - which is what carried us. 3 nba level guys on that squad which we don’t have today.

    Bringing up Philon - I don’t need to see anymore. He’s better than Juan and Moore. 6-4 with 6-7 wingspan and a legit nba prospect. Yeah let’s stick with the 7th best pg in the big 12 who can’t stay in front of his man.

    Whether it’s Self, his system or what. Spencer wouldn’t have had as good of a year here as he did uconn and Labaron wouldn’t be performing the way he is here like he is at bama. The reason is because how strict Self is with running his system.

    He killed Storr’s confidence and many many others.

    He needs to balance letting guys come in and play their way aggressively and slowly meld it to fit what he wants so by January it works.

    Instead he tries to break them of every bad habit from the tip and neuters them. This has happened for two decades here with countless players. Wish he’d mature in his thought process.

    If you’ve taught any sport the ability to retain confidence while tweaking the player is crucial. With the portal we don’t have 2-3 seasons to tear a player down and rebuild him

    Self retired after this year or next - book it

    your fricken nuts. Self isn’t in any way shape or form retiring next Season , if he retires within the next FIVE you will have your Miracle lol



  • @FarmerJayhawk This coming from Labaron himself or what……? Or just KU coaches because ultimately he saw he’d sit behind Juan a lot



  • @jayballer67 this season or next if DP can’t get it done



  • @kuballin10 said in Basketball Season:

    @jayballer67 this season or next if DP can’t get it done

    Man you really eithre to put the pipe down and slowly back away - -or share, got to be some awesome stuff you smokin



  • @benshawks08 Hey Juan scoring 26 and trash talking Arkansas bench down 20 was a sight to behold

    He did score just granted once the game was over and Arkansas let off the gas some

    I’ll reserve judgment for his scoring until we see the full compliment of players against unc. We don’t have nba wings though so he needs to be a threat otherwise he and kj kill all spacing

    I love KJ’s dunks man - just fun to watch and a soft spot for what he’s gone through in life. Self’s stuck with him so the results this season much like last are on coach for his roster decisions

    Your remembering of the 2022 title team was quite a bit different than mine. With that pass first pg we got dominated at home by uk….and would have been bounced yet again in the 2nd round had Remy not saved us vs creighton

    Juan had 2 incredible defensive plays and the lob to get us going the 2nd half and then sat on the bench for the crucial 8 minute stretch

    Juan’s defense that Self thinks is so awesome is due to a minimal sample size against Unc. That’s forever etched in Self’s memory that he can’t see Juan’s lack of lateral movement causes him to not stay in front of his man defensively.

    Where Juan excels is off the ball steal passes and tipping them with his long wingspan. He anticipates at an extremely high level when off the ball.

    On the ball….completely different story which is just natural due to his d2 athleticism



  • @jayballer67 trust me….if he says he’s gonna take us to new heights and proceeds to have 2nd round exit, 2nd or sweet 16 exit and the same next year

    He’s going to see the grandkids growing up and be like…I’ve done all I can

    Where KU goes after Bill I’m excited to see



  • Can’t wait to hear your delightful comments through the ENTIRE SEASON , kuballin10 last year was so fun wit you constantly bringing the logic for every time Dejuan took a step - - -Sooo much fun , looking forward to it. OH wait unless we win, then we won’t hear a peep out of you da, that really sucks



  • @kuballin10 said in Basketball Season:

    @jayballer67 trust me….if he says he’s gonna take us to new heights and proceeds to have 2nd round exit, 2nd or sweet 16 exit and the same next year

    He’s going to see the grandkids growing up and be like…I’ve done all I can

    Where KU goes after Bill I’m excited to see

    Wherre KU goes after Bill WERE EXCITED TO SEE ROFLMAFO



  • @kuballin10 Swain, Bossi, Noel, @BShark, etc etc. It’s very well known his family wanted him closer to home after he went to high school at Link



  • @FarmerJayhawk said in Basketball Season:

    @kuballin10 Swain, Bossi, Noel, @BShark, etc etc. It’s very well known his family wanted him closer to home after he went to high school at Link

    Familiar friends and weed. Only reason he wasn’t already staying home is because the assistant that recruited him to Auburn left so he opened his recruitment back up. Once Alabama had a large exodus of players it was a done deal.



  • I almost cannot believe that I am reading posts saying that Self bungled Frank Mason’s development. I would argue that Self’s development of Frank is among the most impressive examples of player development I have ever seen.



  • @Jhawk69 said in Basketball Season:

    I almost cannot believe that I am reading posts saying that Self bungled Frank Mason’s development. I would argue that Self’s development of Frank is among the most impressive examples of player development I have ever seen.

    It really is unbelievable but goes to show how disingenuous some people like to be.

    We are talking about a guy that the staff discovered in a back gym who was not a top 100 recruit when he committed. People on the boards were upset that we took him.



  • Folks

    I didn’t watch the game but still I’m very surprised to hear negative chatter after our first exhibition game. Aren’t we ranked preseason #1.

    In my opinion this was perfect outcome for Self to determine what he has to work on in practice to prepare for game situations.

    I agree with some comments from Ballin but I believe overall rhetoric is way too strongly negative at least at this time of the year.



  • @kuballin10 We don’t have to go off of anyone’s memories. We have the box score. DaJuan played 27 minutes, got three steals, and played a big role in holding UNC’s backcourt to 1-13 from three.



  • @kuballin10 said in Basketball Season:

    @Kcmatt7 Remy happened

    Big Dave in March happened

    Braun and Ochai became nba wings along with Jalen - which is what carried us. 3 nba level guys on that squad which we don’t have today.

    Bringing up Philon - I don’t need to see anymore. He’s better than Juan and Moore. 6-4 with 6-7 wingspan and a legit nba prospect. Yeah let’s stick with the 7th best pg in the big 12 who can’t stay in front of his man.

    Whether it’s Self, his system or what. Spencer wouldn’t have had as good of a year here as he did uconn and Labaron wouldn’t be performing the way he is here like he is at bama. The reason is because how strict Self is with running his system.

    He killed Storr’s confidence and many many others.

    He needs to balance letting guys come in and play their way aggressively and slowly meld it to fit what he wants so by January it works.

    Instead he tries to break them of every bad habit from the tip and neuters them. This has happened for two decades here with countless players. Wish he’d mature in his thought process.

    If you’ve taught any sport the ability to retain confidence while tweaking the player is crucial. With the portal we don’t have 2-3 seasons to tear a player down and rebuild him

    Self retired after this year or next - book it

    Storr has literally not played a minute of meaningful basketball yet in a Jayhawk uniform and we are acting like he hasn’t had a game in double digits headed into conference play… get a grip lol.



  • @Jhawk69 Bill stunted his development by having such a tight leash year 1. I’ve reiterated examples that if X player who’s excelled early in another system had come here it wouldn’t have been the same.

    Mason was Virginia’s all time leading scorer for high school ball. Undersized yes, but an absolute dog that we stumbled on. Masons late nights in the gym and Self loosening the leash year 2 is what allowed the growth.



  • @AsadZ Others see it if you can’t tell by the seats being open in the lower bowl. Never happened in decades even for an exhibition…



  • @Jhawk69 said in Basketball Season:

    @kuballin10 We don’t have to go off of anyone’s memories. We have the box score. DaJuan played 27 minutes, got three steals, and played a big role in holding UNC’s backcourt to 1-13 from three.

    Man just rewriting history like our politicians

    @Jhawk69 Box score looking vs….using your eyes…got it.

    UNC missed some wide open threes.

    Three steals

    4 turnovers including what was almost the worst for a title game ever (3 seconds with the ball and ahead)

    1-5 shooting

    Remy - 14 pts, 5-9 fgs, 1 historic block, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 to

    Clearly even revisiting the box score didn’t help you



  • @Kcmatt7 When a coach admits the players lack of aggression is his own fault (the coaches)……that says all you need to know Mishandling of what is most likely our most important player this year

    Third or fourth for big 12 finish? Baylor, Houston, isu then maybe us?



  • @AsadZ Preseason rankings don’t matter….need a reminder? How’d last year turn out

    We ran it back with our 1 and 4 who kill spacing because Self sees and knows more than what idiots on a message board must only be able to clearly see



  • @kuballin10 said in Basketball Season:

    @Kcmatt7 When a coach admits the players lack of aggression is his own fault (the coaches)……that says all you need to know Mishandling of what is most likely our most important player this year

    Third or fourth for big 12 finish? Baylor, Houston, isu then maybe us?

    Again, an actual game hasn’t even been played yet.

    Do you come here to troll to just blow off steam or are you this negative of a person in your day-to-day?



  • @kuballin10 DaJuan had a bad offensive game and a great defensive game against UNC. And he did not ride the bench in that game as you said earlier he did.



  • @Jhawk69 He sat from the 10:53 mark of the second half until 4 seconds when he checked in.

    The final 10 (almost 11 minutes) he didn’t play. He got the comeback going with the lob and two huge steals but to think he would have sustained it is insanity.

    The offense stalled as a freshmen outperformed and shutdown Och and if Remy hadn’t been able to hit tough guarded shots or create one on one….we wouldn’t win

    If Harris plays the entire second half or 18-19 minutes (like he does now)….everyone including Self knows we lose that game



  • @kuballin10 So Self has shown he knows which players to play to win - he had Remy and used him to full effect - won a title. Who on the current roster should be playing over DeJuan and what are you basing that off of? Have you spent time in practice? Do you have inside info on team chemistry? Or is it just what you see for 40 minutes on game day like the rest of us.



  • @kuballin10 Well the comeback started prettj much immediately in the second half. So he played for most of the comeback and made some big plays during it.



  • It’s probably healthy if Juan gets challenged for his minutes.

    I’ll give you an idea where Juan fits in Self’s system.

    After Juan’s dominant scoring at Arkansas… probably the most points he’s had in a game at KU, I seriously doubt after that game Self came up to Juan and patted him on the back and said, “now that’s what we want to see out of you from now on!”

    I’m sure Self likes to see Juan go get some points, but it’s not a good sign anytime Juan leads us in points, especially more points than any 2 other players combined.

    Last night’s game helped me a bit with my PTSD since we hit some treys. I thought we would have made more treys at Arkansas if our guys shot with their eyes closed.

    I do not believe we will be in the cellar of the Big12 this year in made treys!

    Now… how about some defense!



  • Areas of disappointment and approval…

    I know it’s only October. However some things stand out as big question marks.

    Zach Clemence… monster nothing burger. What did he do on his year off? 0 points and 4 fouls… really?

    Rebounding… we only outrebounded this D2 school by 10 on our home court.

    Rebounding again… KJ! The first number I look for on the stat sheet is KJ’s rebounds… or lack of them. His rebounding numbers will end up reflecting how far this team goes this year. I will stand by this comment!

    Defense… not a fair game to assess anything about our defense. From what I see, it looks like we are starting from scratch.

    Coit… easy MVP in this game! His energy is electric! He filled the stat sheet with his 24 minutes. 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, on top of his team-leading points!

    Bidunga… of course I see his potential! Granted, we played a D2 team but hey… 4 blocks counts! 7 rebounds count (3 offensive), and 3 assists!

    Rylan… valuable! It is the one word that fits here. He will be a vital piece on this team!

    Storr… I see some challenges in his game. Hope he absorbs Self ball!



  • @drgnslayr said in Basketball Season:

    Areas of disappointment and approval…

    I know it’s only October. However some things stand out as big question marks.

    Zach Clemence… monster nothing burger. What did he do on his year off? 0 points and 4 fouls… really?

    Rebounding… we only outrebounded this D2 school by 10 on our home court.

    Rebounding again… KJ! The first number I look for on the stat sheet is KJ’s rebounds… or lack of them. His rebounding numbers will end up reflecting how far this team goes this year. I will stand by this comment!

    Defense… not a fair game to assess anything about our defense. From what I see, it looks like we are starting from scratch.

    Coit… easy MVP in this game! His energy is electric! He filled the stat sheet with his 24 minutes. 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, on top of his team-leading points!

    Bidunga… of course I see his potential! Granted, we played a D2 team but hey… 4 blocks counts! 7 rebounds count (3 offensive), and 3 assists!

    Rylan… valuable! It is the one word that fits here. He will be a vital piece on this team!

    Storr… I see some challenges in his game. Hope he absorbs Self ball!

    @drgnslayr said in Basketball Season:

    Areas of disappointment and approval…

    I know it’s only October. However some things stand out as big question marks.

    Zach Clemence… monster nothing burger. What did he do on his year off? 0 points and 4 fouls… really?

    Rebounding… we only outrebounded this D2 school by 10 on our home court.

    Rebounding again… KJ! The first number I look for on the stat sheet is KJ’s rebounds… or lack of them. His rebounding numbers will end up reflecting how far this team goes this year. I will stand by this comment!

    Defense… not a fair game to assess anything about our defense. From what I see, it looks like we are starting from scratch.

    Coit… easy MVP in this game! His energy is electric! He filled the stat sheet with his 24 minutes. 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, on top of his team-leading points!

    Bidunga… of course I see his potential! Granted, we played a D2 team but hey… 4 blocks counts! 7 rebounds count (3 offensive), and 3 assists!

    Rylan… valuable! It is the one word that fits here. He will be a vital piece on this team!

    Storr… I see some challenges in his game. Hope he absorbs Self ball!

    At this point in time- - -as of right now Storr just looks uninspired to me , no mo jo Coach has his work cu out for him, how many rebounds did HE get? I bet not over 4-5-- at this point looks like blow average free throw shooter Make one , miss one- -hope he is fixable, just not sure about his TEAM attitude



  • @drgnslayr Zach shouldn’t play a real minute and Hunt will definitely help with rebounding.



  • Know it was Washburn and they are undersized, but the rebounding percentages were pretty good. Not going to say that rebounding is a strength based off that, but also don’t see any cause for concern there yet.

    Also would take it in a heartbeat if KJ is averaging 6 rebounds per 24 mins. That is roughly double his rate last season.



  • @dylans Who should be playing over him…a ton of other recruits that would have came here if not for Bill’s blind loyalty to Juan.

    It all falls and Self for the roster he built



  • @kuballin10 So the mythical guard that never came to KU… The 20/20 hindsight guy? The top recruit some fantasized about, but didn’t really consider KU? The child that wanted to play closer to home? Who that can realistically play for KU, you know - a guy on the roster, should have been getting those minutes?

    As in you’ve got nothing but compliants. You can only work with the guys on the roster. No one else gets to play.

    Do you always find yourself thinking the person at the other table is hotter than your current beau? That life is unfair and has dealt you the short end of the stick? If so it might, just maybe be… well you know, not everyone else’s fault.



  • KU was missing it’s leading rebounder so we haven’t seen what this team will do at full strength. Hunt averaged just under 11 a game and would expect he might get even more this year.

    Rebounding is a concern though. KJ needs to be more consistent there and after that it’s a committee likely. I don’t see us struggling if Hunt is on the bench as Bidunga is clearly capable and that’s a big upgrade from last year’s bench. I’m hopeful this is a better rebounding team



  • Saw a twitter thing today with 5 or 6 guys FF picks. None of them picked KU. Auburn, 4 picks, Bama 2, UConn 2, ISU 4 picks. A smattering of others but none others. Are they not aware of our every other year pattern? Well, I guess the last two years were failures, but still.



  • @wissox Quite a few of the writers for the Athletic picked KU for the Final Four and couple picked KU to win it all. Right now, I don’t see it happening, but if Storr and Griffen play to their potential, then KU will have chance to make a run.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 Thanks, I was just referring to one “college basketball report” twitter page that featured the picks. With the way our last two seasons finished it’s suddenly harder to imagine us even playing into the 2nd weekend. Roy had a similar stretch from about 1995-2000 where he lost in the 2nd round most of those years. Then the monkey came off his back and he demonstrated that at a press conference after beating Syracuse in the 2nd round. For the next half decade EE’s, FF’s and NC games were accomplished.



  • Is anyone else here confused? During DaJuan’s tenure at KU we have landed a 5* PG in Elmarko Jackson, am extremely coveted portal PG in Remy Martin, and two additional coveted portal guards in Zeke Mayo and David Coit. Where exactly is the perception that we have been unable to recruit guards due to Self’s blind loyalty to DaJuan coming from?



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 absolutely no chance this team wins a title, we aren’t athletic and can’t guard to save our lives. It will look like last year a lot.



  • @kjayhawks said in Basketball Season:

    @Texas-Hawk-10 absolutely no chance this team wins a title, we aren’t athletic and can’t guard to save our lives. It will look like last year a lot.

    Have to disagree this team is miles different then lasts. Scorers galore -we have shooters this season , lsst year we had hopers,-- we have much more depth- -last year no depth to name a couple



  • @kjayhawks said in Basketball Season:

    @Texas-Hawk-10 absolutely no chance this team wins a title, we aren’t athletic and can’t guard to save our lives. It will look like last year a lot.

    Right now, I agree this isn’t title team and probably Sweet 16 team at best. However, if Storr and Griffen buy in on defense and use their athleticism on that end, then KU can contend for a title because that’s the NBA level athleticism KU needs to won in March/April.


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