Post Game Observations
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@Crimsonorblue22 I caught that too! I stole this pic from Twitter
Kids got some hustle.
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@drgnslayr JMO but the shot clock makes it a totally different animal with runs, momentum swings, & lack of solid Self type defense changing the spots of the cat. We did play some great defense at times & this against a team of much older, experienced, & stronger guys-especially the guards. In international ball, all guys look for their shots & this will allow our kids to develop a confidence that Self ball at the D 1 level would never allow. Crazy ass rules-no trapezoid lane. 8 sec to bring the ball up, 5 fouls the bonus but reset at each quarter. The refs consistently called hand checks on the guards but the bigs beat the crap outta each other without much control. Believe it or not @HighEliteMajor , Self started the game with zone defense. PPoorly executed, but the element of unpredictability is there at long last. Lotsa room for much improvement but with not much of a scouting report, our kids did a remarkable job beating a fairly decent opponent at their game.
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@globaljaybird what did u think of Hunter and LL?
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@globaljaybird
Don’t forget that the lane is almost 2 feet wider on each side, the 3 point line farther than the NCAA and the ball different and slightly smaller.
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There is some speculation on how tall Bragg is in the Twitterverse? If Lucas is 6’10" then how tall is Bragg? It looks like he is on his toes to me but people at the game said they looked like they were the same height.
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Sorry we could not catch up. My daughter’s cell phone was out of batteries (normal for her) and she was using mine and before I knew she had run down the batteries on mine as well.
At half time we went to the UMB Hospitality Suite (my corporate bank)…free Boulevard beer and soft drinks…
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Coach Self was substituting constantly giving every player a chance to play…for team USA…the net result was little continuity. Once the starting line up is set we should see a much more consistent offense.
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@Statmachine when I first saw him last pm, I was, who’s that? I figured out I couldn’t recognize him w/out his headband. Duh! Didn’t Giddeons wear one? Thinking Self is not a fan of them.
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@Crimsonorblue22 As rehawk said abt their combined 2 PTS-yikes! No kool aide here either. Defensively they have got to stay with their guys even on the perimeter, which they were both slow to adjust. International bigs always shoot lights out from deep. I did think it was cool that Opie got the start & LL has a nice little baby hook that , IMO if Danny were still here would be far advanced over what it presently is. Bragg is the one that I thought showed a huge ceiling as well as Vick the stick. Also the kid from FGC has some real hops & strength to go with it. Feeding Bragg & Vick has to be a big priority now, cause a stiff wind will blow them away, especiall LV.
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@globaljaybird Bragg has the hustle and desire, love that! His post skills, offensive and defensive need a lot of work. I think he will only get better!! I like Vick as well, he’s very quick and fast. Says a lot that self had him in at the end. I was pretty disappointed w/Ll and Hunter. Ll will have his place w/big strong guys, not so much w/quick bigs. He did seem to jump better, so must be healed up. I just can’t explain Hunter. He does try hard
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@JayHawkFanToo Lotsa diff rules that will take me awhile to learn & adjust to. I think that some of the players did alright with the smaller ball, but the bigger guys with larger hands seemed adversely effected by it. The 24 second clock had Frank looking for the P & R in the 2nd half-give him a lot of credit for making that adjustment.That young man brought his A game for sure. Over all it reminded me a an NBA game with a 2 man offense being the rule & not the exception. Guess I’m just on old fart purist that still prefers the more deliberate slowed down, ball reversal type offense & stop em every time defense. Would be tough for me to embrace this type of pace in CBB, but after playing these WUG’s our guys should have a couple legs up on the forthcoming 30 sec clock this season.
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@globaljaybird
I hear that when Keegs interviews Snacks, they have to do it in IMAX.
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@jaybate-1.0 Good one dude! Keegs looked like he was ready to drop after walking 30 ft-poor guy. Needs to lay off the stogies & the rocky road…like I got some room to talk.
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@globaljaybird
FWIW, I am convinced that the key to weight management is managing food and drink consumption subject to one’s level of “insulin resistance.” I now believe many, if not most, obese people are battling an undiagnosed case of “insulin resistance.” But I am a layman. This is just based on my reading over the years. I am tired of fat persons being blamed for their weight problem. I have known three morbidly obese persons over the years and only one of them was out of control in their eating habits. The other two were constant dieters and ate not much more than me. Keegs needs to give up the stogies to save his lungs for sure. But he needs to study up on insulin resistance to address his weight problems and keep from killing himself early.
(bate steps down from soap box and has an Oreo.)
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@jaybate-1.0 I’m heatin up spaghetti as we speak…Oreos afterwards.
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Only concern I have with Mason giving up some of his PG duties is his future. If he’s got a shot at the NBA, he’s going to have to become just at good at running a team as he is scoring. His size is just not going to allow him to be one way or the other. Mason has NBA potential so I’d rather see him become a complete guard because he could be more unstoppable if he’s able to do that.
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@JayHawkFanToo Suites are a cut above for sure…only time I’ll ever sit that high up. Boy & I were 9 rows off the floor & were pretty decent seats. We were wined & dined in a vendor suite at Kansas Speedway last Oct for the Cup race & that was first flippin class. We were fortunate enough to enjoy suites at Kemper many times back in the day…
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@Statmachine said:
There is some speculation on how tall Bragg is in the Twitterverse? If Lucas is 6’10" then how tall is Bragg? It looks like he is on his toes to me but people at the game said they looked like they were the same height.
Bragg is 6’9". So is Landen. Here’s a picture of him in the team photo from the 2013 season standing next to Zach Peters (#32, also listed at 6’9" ):
I know it’s not a very big/hi res picture, but I put red lines at the tops of Zach’s and Landen’s heads, shoulders, and feet. They’re standing on the same plane and, basically, they hit the red lines at the same spots. Justin Wesley looks as tall or taller at the top, but he’s on his tip toes. Ellis looks a lot shorter, but he’s significantly further back. Traylor is a little further back but even adjusting for that, he’s still significantly shorter.
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@jaybate-1.0 Also FWIW, HCBS has definitely “expanded his geography” quite a bit also. His profile reminded me of why I often wear polo shirts tails long & out. Looks like an overindulgence in golf & recruiting food this summer IMO. A dose of boot camp conditioning wouldn’t hurt him at all. But early 50’s (his age) is about when that happened to yours truly too . I do still walk about 20-30 miles a week but to no avail on the midsection, just the feet & low back…
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Here’s one more crack at the picture:
This time, I moved everyone’s heels up to be on the same line from McLemore on the left to Traylor on the right. Ben is used for scale because he’s the only one in the photo for whom we have exact measurements from the NBA combine. There, he came in at 6’4.75" in shoes. Keegs at the old site is fond of saying that Traylor is really only 6’6" in person, but given his appearance in this photo, even if his head is craned up significantly more than McLemore’s, there’s no way he’s not basically 6’8" in shoes (and this is with his head shaved, not his current flat top look). Ellis appears to be nearly the same height, though with lower shoulders and a longer neck. Now comparing all of this to the WUG team photo, it’s possible that Lucas was further back than Bragg since we can’t see where their heels hit, but I’m still willing to bet that they are the same height at 6’9" or so.
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@konkeyDong Your analysis assumes that nobody in the pic has grown since 2013. I don’t know if anyone has but then again I also don’t know that they haven’t…
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@konkeyDong Good post KD. I was quite surprised to see DG & Bg out there at all especially DG. Svi was out for awhile also just think what we could be with those three in the process? But Nic Moore is a good little package with the keyword being little. Listed at 5’9" & that may be a stretch. Those bigger guards took him to the rack early & often & am willing to bet that trend continues. Think that’s likely why we saw more of Vic at the end & with Wayne gone, LV stepped up rather nicely. I agree our skill guys did fairly well & also that Hunter & LL leave a lot to be desired. A Draymond Green would eat those 2 alive.
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I thought the Hunter and Landon were fine on the boards and swatting away several shots, but international Big Men are allowed to roam the parameter and shoot threes. They have all been doing what Perry just began doing last year and starting from behind the Arc and driving or shooting threes. Let them suck up as many minutes doing this in the WUG, it will only benefit the team when the season starts.
The USA Conference player of the year looked good, especially with assist, but Frank had an assist to a quick Perry for an easy back door cut using an incredible no look bounce pass. Frank, Wayne, Mari and Frank are much better this year, but Frank looks like Allen Iverson in the pros. When we have a short clock with a few seconds left, Frank will have the ball every time to score or dish. What an incredible asset to have.
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@wrwlumpy as long as he doesn’t get killed under there!
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KU Athletics site highlights.
http://www.kuathletics.com/news/2015/6/23/MBB_0623151814.aspx
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@Statmachine Funny Mari at the end when he is getting up and says “It’s my birthday tomorrow.”
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@globaljaybird
This was not one of the fancy suites with a view of the court, just the one on the concourse right across the concessions; my corporate account card got us in.
