LANDON FACES THE FUTURE.
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Body language.
Landon knows that Diallo has enrolled for summer school in Lawrence this week as he watches Mick become the new Darling of the Phogg. The frustrated shove against Serbia at the end of the half and the “I don’t want to play in mop up duty” attitude he exhibited last night is far from the Landon Lucas we all expected this year. He has worked hard and accepted a red shirt. He has gotten much stronger but still has not learned how to use his strength. Bragg started last night and he has been relegated to the farthest end of the bench for the Bigs. Colby will also be enrolled this summer and will probably play ahead of him next year. In mop up, Jamari played with a smile on his face while Landon didn’t seem to want to be there. D1 basketball can be a cruel world. Show that you want to contribute, cheer on those teammates that are on the court and be ready when Coach puts you in. Don’t listen to any recording of the Eagles that might feature the song “There’s a new Kid in Town.”
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And please, send Norm and Kurtis to Fairway Ks. To sign this Freshman.
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@wrwlumpy Good stuff. I thought last year that Hunter looked extremely frustrated most of the time, imo, because Landen was playing ahead of him. I have always thought Hunter was a better player. The advantage of having Hunter play behind Diallo is we still will have a shot blocking presence if Diallo picks up quick fouls adjusting to the game.
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Hunter looks good in the spread out international game.
But D1 on a 30 second clock is likely to stay congested.
It remains to be seen if he can do it in D1. And D1 Prison bodies will definitely punk Hunter, so Landen will get his minutes. He is in the toughening box right now. Those big rebound numbers of his will matter. Self is tempering his steel.
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Hunter is the more skilled player than Landen. Better shot blocker. Better free throw shooter. I hope that the recent success Hunter has had means more minutes than Lucas. Lucas should be the odd man out behind 5 other post players who are either more talented or better in the system. With that much in front of him I don’t expect to see much Lucas this year.
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@jaybate-1.0 Curious, why do you think Mickelson benefits from the international game? I guess until you said it, I hadn’t considered any difference in congestion. So that’s more the question – you see more congestion in the college game?
I have been looking at it from the perspective that he was really holding up well inside with the physicality. He seems quick off his feet (tip-ins and rebounds), and his length has impacted the game. And he hustles everywhere. Loved the play last night. Very importantly, he seems fine on defense inside.
As I’d mentioned in another thread last week, the Mickelson love is relative. Is he better than Lucas and Traylor? That’s really all this is (in my mind). Now, the answer seems a pretty clear yes.
Just wondering how that answer can change so clearly in a matter of months?
It is very reasonable to assume that if Mick had been given bigger doses of playing time, we might have seen the same positives on the court last season. Tough to do that in just 133 minutes spread out over 30+ games.
I’d really like to know why Traylor – and all that his bad statistics demonstrated – was the better choice. Or why Lucas was the better choice. Particularly when we desperately need some rim protection. And when neither of those two were effective around the rim.
See Jesse Newell’s article related to scoring at the rim.
It’s hard to imagine the light switch just going on in the months between his 4th and 5th college season.
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I thought Landen looked horrible in our last game.
He hasn’t figured out how to play Int’l ball so he plays with lots of frustration and he gives up on plays. Pretty poor attitude. Jamari hasn’t figured out Int’l ball but at least he keeps his attitude up.
I remember how hard it was to flip into playing Int’l ball. It looks much easier than it is. You feel like you are being picked on because you come from the basketball powerhouse, USA.
I think Lucas isn’t quite strong enough (or heavy enough) to mask some of his contact when trying to screen off the boards or stop his man from penetrating the paint when having the ball. He’s not strong enough and too light. So his aggression gets whistled for fouls and seem quite touchy when the rest of the game (for the most part) is called loosely and hacking is allowed. He feels like he is being singled out. Been there…
This should be a good toughening lesson for him. His poor performance in WUG (not all bad) should help him by providing a chip before the real season starts.
Int’l ball… even though the players are not extremely athletic… is a very skilled game. Players know how to use their bodies. They know what leverage is and what a low center of gravity will get you. Landen could do better in this tournament just by bending his knees more and bringing down his center of gravity. D1 doesn’t really test the need to win contact battles near at the same level Int’l ball does. I wish we could leave players like Landen over there for seasoning right up until our real season starts. He could learn a ton about how to stop getting pushed around.
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@wrwlumpy They’d be crazy not to! Thats awesome!
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@jaybate-1.0 it always amazes me how your observation’s become reality. I wrote about Landon’s attitude and how it got him nudged down the bench. You mentioned the “toughening box” and of course he comes out and plays the kind of game we needed from him in the fourth quarter with his rebounding and super assist at the end.
