Central Flaw rid unh-uh
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Flory Bidunga Highlights vs. UCF (12 Pts, 5 Rebs, 6 Blks)
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Rylan Griffen Highlights vs. UCF (14 Pts, 4 Rebs)
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Well then. Surprise, Surprise!
How’s about that. Anybody see that coming? Dunno where that came from, but more of it works for me!
Straight up Kentucky like bashing from way back when. Love it.
I was honestly surprised to see Shaq start. If that’s the energy or mojo we need, great. Can’t argue with the game result.
Storr has to be steaming with mop up duty. This will be interesting to watch for the rest of the season.
Well done, Jayhawks!
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KU played today?
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I’ll say it so @kuballin10 doesnt have to: Self used his personnel well today. People were used in the roles they were intended to be used and they responded.
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@kjayhawks every game I lost was not because I didn’t want to play. Maybe you didn’t show up but I did. Poor excuse.
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@approxinfinity said in Central Flaw rid unh-uh:
I’ll say it so @kuballin10 doesnt have to: Self used his personnel well today. People were used in the roles they were intended to be used and they responded.
I mean, maybe about the roles?
I’ll admit i was worried about the offense with Shaq starting today. I thought that left us down to Zeke as the only starter who could score other than Hunter in the post.
I’m gonna guess that Self uses that 5th starter spot as he needs to each game. Could see the lineup change depending on matchups? We’ll find out i suppose.
A nice way to start the new year. Expectations are now up!
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@SlimShaddy54 said in Central Flaw rid unh-uh:
Kinda funny , Gurly talking with Coach in post game and Gurly asked Coach what he thought the difference was today ? - -He said he think they were a pissed off team ( KU ) - -I said the same thing , I think the guys were just pissed off
Probably not a good idea to accidentally drop the confetti on the team you hope to upset in the pre-game shoot around. Might be a minor motivator.
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So you all think this might be a starting five that can really get these guys to click and a regular basis ? - -Moore, /juan-- -KJ- - - Hunter – -& Mayo ?
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@SlimShaddy54 yes. Also the hunter 25 minutes kj 23 minutes flory 20 minutes usage was great
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@Crimsonorblue22 right I’m just saying that they clearly didn’t show up against WV or Mizzou for matter. Rewatch those games and today’s. Tell me which one we are actually going after loose balls and rebounds.
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@SlimShaddy54 it worked well today so I wouldn’t change it, Rylan seem to be better off the bench in this one. I’m thinking Storr will start to step it up and take most of Diggys minutes.
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Wonder if Moore getting the start was matchup based, UCF runs a 3-guard lineup so matching that could have been what they thought was the best move. Perhaps also signaling a scheme change on offense given the struggles there? What doesn’t make much sense is how he played 2 minutes in the previous game then gets his first start and most minutes of the season in this one. I would say he did fine, the 6 assists were a plus including the dime he dropped into Flory for a dunk, he also made a couple 3’s late in the game to show off his shooting.
I want to see “more” from Moore since he is such an unknown still. I’m still picturing this aggressive driving guard that will give us an element we don’t have who can put pressure on defenses and get to the line/finish/get Hunt/Flory/KJ easy baskets. I’m hoping that’s what he can provide on that side of the ball while being a pesky defender on the perimeter to go with Harris.
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UCF seems like a roller coaster team. Have wins over Kenpom #12 and #14 teams (Texas A&M & Texas Tech) including the Tech game on the road in their previous game and then they come home and get walloped by 51. At least from the jump KU came out throwing punches and they didn’t have the same juice. UCF is #81 Kenpom so the metrics don’t think too highly of them so not sure what to take from this win in the bigger picture. It was a great response from the West Virginia game. Self got their attention and I hope it was the turning point to seeing this level of play more often.
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Next opponent Arizona St has two five-star freshman KU recruited to various degrees in Joson Sanon & Jayden Quaintance. Kenpom #57 team with #34 ranked defense so we’ll see how we do against a top 40 defense. Their leading scorer is a 6’9 big who can shoot the 3 (38%) and loves to get to the FT line. Hopefully we bring some of the same juice as yesterday at home this time and make another statement.
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@BeddieKU23 They were around 60 before this loss iirc. This was obviously an insane game. KU jumped 5 spots which basically never happens this late in the season.
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@BShark I saw that in the Ken Pom rankings too. Never seen it before with a team ranked so highly at this point of a season—we jumped from 13 to 8.
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An historic one-off type game, that’s crazy. I know this UCF team is better than they showed yesterday as I’ve watched them play a few times and have seen a much higher level of play from them. They just seemed shellshocked by the level of activity from KU which was a 360 from our previous game.
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KU just came our really aggressive from the start ,We just looked like we played angry ball, just dominant. KJ NINE REBOUNDS ? I’ll take that all day long , the question being where has this been all this time ?- -hopefully it continues, really like Shaq in the line up good play , really like the make up of the team yesterday,
Coach said that chances are we will see more of Hunter and Flory together, Flory being mobile and able to guard out on the floor.- - Love Flory being an athlete, King Mcclure told KU fans not to get used to seeing Flory long. - -I do think Flory will be NBA - -but I also think he will be back for his 2nd year , after that all bets are off lol.
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@SlimShaddy54 Amazing what rebounding effort does for a team!
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@SlimShaddy54 that block and transition dunk was something special.
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GOOD NEWS / BAD NEWS
Good -
Hunt went hunting. Great to see him play aggressively and it paid huge dividends.
KJ showed effort. I almost passed out when seeing him seal off the boards. Who does he think he is? Charles Barkley? 9 rebounds! As I mentioned before… we won’t lose many games where he grabs around 10 boards.
Juan was Juan. He went with the flow and was the glue guy. Great!
Moore defended. It helped lift our guys up and they all showed more energy! Offense starts with defense! A+
Flory owns everyone. I thought he had 10 blocks because he was so dominant! This guy needs more minutes!
AJ fit a bit better. Didn’t look so lost out there and found ways to contribute. Positive sign!
Rylan brought offense! This is what he can do! BAM!
Zeke was human after all. Not big scoring numbers but huge assists and aiding team basketball.
Diggy helped more than the stat sheet. Cold from outside but he gave us great energy off the bench.
This was an example of how we can play when we come prepared for a game! Energy was great and played team basketball!
THE BAD -
UCF played horribly. We deserve some of the cred for making that happen but not all. Their body language was horrible and they didn’t put up any kind of fight. My takeaway is they made us look better than we are. We will run into tougher dog fights that will better test where we are…
FINAL ASSESSMENT -
It starts with defense! Moore and Flory are big sparks! KJ can be, too, when he hustles! Having those guys focus on D makes us a tough bunch to beat and it translates to everyone playing tougher D. Offense comes naturally when playing good D.
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We saw today why we were picked #1 preseason which is this roster is loaded. I wasn’t familiar with Shak, Griffen, Storr, Coit or Zeke. I kept hearing KU fans will love Flory because he can run the court and has a big motor. We can now add fast learner to that list. I saw that opponents played him very physically which I thought he resented and now doesn’t work as a tactic. Not a lot of floor time for him but he picked up the defense quickly and true to his smarts played it to the max. As we’ve seen he takes ownership of mistakes and that’s a big reason why he is so good. I mentioned before his presence on the floor especially defensively frees up the big dog to be in rebound position and make his top level outlet passes. Can we imagine him as a 14/10/4 guy? Shak played a sneaky good game and will be a huge difference maker as a ball handler, passer, scorer and all around speed demon. Will Storrs, who was projected to be our big guard perimeter defender who could even guard a 4 if needed and Griffen who has been in the big time take over and run with it now with penetration and bombs away? Juan may finally get the pieces we were hoping for and stir up a storm. Big time defender type teams like ISU and Houston can’t shut us down when our guys are as good or better than theirs. But it was just one game. One 50 point beat down game. Which is more impressive/surprising our 99 or their 48?
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We need to make sure we get a 2nd year from Flory. Hunt’s NIL goes to him, whatever it takes. Pairing him with DP and whoever else next year could be scary. Those highlights from yesterday are a glimpse of his future. Sure, he can’t really shoot outside 4 feet right now and KU’s system is absolutely setup for a guy with his attributes to flourish. He’s a plus defender, plus athleticism and finishes at the rim at an elite level so far (81.6%). I don’t know how draftable he is right now, as is but I’m certainly paying attention now if he strings more of these kind of games together. The lightbulb has certainly come on for him and is fun to watch.
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@Zabudda I remember in his preseason interview his reason for wanting to come to Kansas was to be coached by Bill Self. He has total respect for him.
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To be able to finish at the rim 81%. Come on now, to do that you are finishing through contact which is usually a learning process for freshmen. To be already able to play at the level he does thank goodness. I can’t define his level as it keeps going up.
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I like interesting stats and Flory is certainly giving us some. He’s missed 9 shots this season. Obviously he’s a low volume guy yet that’s out of 49 shots. That seems to indicate a brain that is either afraid Bill will yank him if he misses or a brain that tells him, I’m only shooting if I know I’ll make it. I wish I had a brain like that when I play basketball!
He’s being compared to Doke and his 46% FT shooting is on par with Doke. Not many guys have a FT % that is over 30% lower than their FG%.
Yesterday he padded his blocks stat, but he now is averaging 1.2 per game. That’s a nice number for most players, but he does that while averaging 13 minutes per game.
If you extrapolate his fouls he would be fouling out every game if he played 40 minutes a game. Maybe coaches are like don’t worry about fouls because you’re not playing enough minutes for you to foul out, but 2 fouls per 13 minutes is a lot.
Before we send him off to the NBA he’s had some recent ‘duds’. They coincided with the losing streak in December coupled with the win against NCS. 3 points total in those three games. Those three games are his only games in which he’s scored less than 6 points.
I hope he stays obviously. I also hoped Grady and Johnny would have stayed as well and that didn’t go so well. Pay the man so we see him here another year or three!
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@BeddieKU23 said in Central Flaw rid unh-uh:
An historic one-off type game, that’s crazy. I know this UCF team is better than they showed yesterday as I’ve watched them play a few times and have seen a much higher level of play from them. They just seemed shellshocked by the level of activity from KU which was a 360 from our previous game.
It basically takes a perfect storm for a game like that. It was a good match-up for KU to begin with and then UCF’s gameplan on both ends made little sense.
Oh and listen to this https://x.com/LetMeC00k/status/1876307386509709454
It’s audio so you do have to go to the app to listen but Bill talks about how teams don’t have to respect KJ’s jump shot and that he is limited.
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@BShark yep that’s old news
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@BShark Yet he still gives him a ton of minutes and draws up plays for him constantly and at crucial times
Make it make sense (you can’t)
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@approxinfinity said in Central Flaw rid unh-uh:
I’ll say it so @kuballin10 doesnt have to: Self used his personnel well today. People were used in the roles they were intended to be used and they responded.
I love Shak - quick, defends and PUSHES the ball up the floor and ATTACKS (he’s the opposite of d2)
I wouldn’t get too high or think it’s fixed because kj and Juan were guarded. UCF didn’t follow wvu, creighton or mu’s scout but no shock because dukies are never as bright as they think of themselves
Does Bill practice guys not guarding kj or staying in the paint in practice or guys playing way off Juan?
Nice false hope W but the next gauge game is at Cincy and at isu to see how much we’ve magically improved (was a good bounce back but don’t get too high from it)
It’s comical as Bill hates giving up easy baskets but we do constantly against pnr and Bill loves man to man and hates junk d’s or zone…….YET
He’s getting schooled by guys literally not guarding his favorites! Haha I’ve been doing this since coaching ball entirely.
Modern defense is two options:
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Let the 4-5 option on offense shoot and barely guard them unless they set foot in the paint. They hit 2-3 three’s great let them shoot 20-30 times because they will hesitate knowing it isn’t their “role” on the team - what teams do to KJ and Juan
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let the main guy shoot 40 times and score 50 but stop everyone else or hold them to 10 points (offensively score 70 and win 70-60) - this is the Edey mode let him shoot everytime. He may make 50% but glue to everyone else and you win
The standard “tough man to man” is completely dead. Basketball is following football just way behind. Make guys beat you with their weak offensive guys (Bill Belicheck methods)……if Creighton can school Bill than anyone on This board knows how to defeat this squad this year
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I think the reasonable thing to do is to take the wins with a grain of salt and go into panic mode over the losses.
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@Jhawk69 Love the sarcasm here but typically we have 1 random dumb loss in dec non con before break and 1-2 random losses in big 12 play while typically holding serve at home
We’ve been beat in the second round a lot and had a ton of blowout losses dating back these 2-3 years and the same issues are reoccurring
When you see that same playbook ran at us with no adjustments and more L’s than ever (20-14 in 2024) it causes concern
As a program it is unfortunately trending down and we all know what’s coming in March - second round or sweet 16 loss as we have no real shot to win a title (with teams like isu, Florida, uk, tenn, aub, Bama, Marquette)
We are that 12-20 range especially in the tourney
That’s frustrating for the expectations of this progrum
We supposedly have the best coach in the game, great nil, no ncaa over our head now for a few years and we’re supposed to be “the team” as Bill road off into the sunset with 1-2 more wins - because everyone wants to play for him now….
This was all after 2022’s win and look at what we’ve rolled out now for 3 straight years……it has been the opposite of the motto #levelup which was after Bill’s heart issues
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We had a good team in 2023. We won a brutal Big 12, were in the top 5 all year, and were a one seed. Using an early tourney exit to try to say otherwise is an illogical argument. Anyone can get bounced early.
We sucked last year.
We will have to see how we play this year. We have had highs and lows already and it is too early to say. My guess is that we are better than last year but far from being one of Bill’s best squads.
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@Jhawk69 The big 12 has shown it is anything but brutal with all the ncaa tourney proof year over year. Besides Texas tech’s run pre covid and Baylor’s covid magic - big 12 is constantly underperforming in the tourney
If we’d beat Ark we’d been trounced by uconn the next round as many fans have admitted
We didn’t have a legit team in 2023 to win it all with Juan and kj playing big minutes….
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@kuballin10 You are right. If you disregard the Big 12s tournament success then they have underperformed, proving that it is a weak conference.
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You are also right about us being plagued by the same issues time and time again. Last year we were plagued by McCullar getting hurt, Arterio getting kicked off the team, and Timberlake being terrible. This year McCullar is still hurt and not playing, Arterio is still kicked off the team, and Timberlake is still terrible.
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Hey some things are still the same but let’s not talk about those because no way the coach has ever screwed up lineups, minutes or rewarding guys with low ceilings or major issues
Let me know who on this roster is an nba player (hint there is 1 and only 1)
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Looking on the bright side we are undefeated in 2025 and have an average victory of 51 points good for number 1 in the world!
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Yeah its hard to be bummed about KU basketball at this particular moment.
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@approxinfinity Do you feel like we honestly have a real chance to make a final 4 and win a title this year?
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@kuballin10 yes i do.
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Yes? Auburn look good but who else are you really scared of that makes you think they can’t? KU’s biggest opponent is themselves and there is no reason that they can’t improve to the point where they are competing for a 1 seed. Not going to say it is a lock to happen, but there is definitely a “real chance”.
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@MR11 What have you see this year from this group that makes you feel like the year won’t end like last year or the year before?
Every team in the coaches poll 1-12 is better than us and we’d face them in the sweet 16. I think we are a 3-5 seed so we’d face the 4/5 rd 32 and the 1 by the sweet 16……
Our ceiling is making the sweet 16
Our most likely out is another second round drubbing or we keep it close but just can’t score enough when it counts (go figure welcome to 2025 college ball)
Nightmare is Sanford like team actually nips us
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Because our best player isn’t injured forcing us to start a failed transfer and two freshmen that aren’t quite ready. I also think it is reasonable to expect the team to continue to gel and improve through B12 play.
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The team we saw vs UCF would have destroyed our team that limped into the post season last year
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@approxinfinity said in Central Flaw rid unh-uh:
The team we saw vs UCF would have destroyed our team that limped into the post season last year
And no KUKaren is going to tell me otherwise!!!
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I was very encouraged to see Storr contribute in some way. Most of his shots were not created for him, but by him. Seems like from what others have said, that’s his thing.
How can he keep that up in the flow of regular offense?
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@MR11 So you are confident and believe we will win the big 12?
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@dylans Haha are we better - sure - by much - no. We are 3-4 in big 12, 3-5 seed and rd 32/swt 16 team
It’s “nice” but that isn’t Kansas standards of having a team that we all know has a legit shot at a title and is a top 5 team
2019 - Auburn blow out
2020 - robbed Doke and Dotson
2021 - USC blowout
2022 - Remy saved Self’s arse but he believes Juan is the greatest pg at KU off all time and KJ impacts games like Ochai moving forward
2023 - Musselman shows he doesn’t workout
2024 - Zags blow out
50% second round blowouts 16% second round tight loss 16% title 16% - I think we make final four not sure we win it all but man that year eats at me
