It Appears We Have A Tentative Deal
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@HighEliteMajor “Bragg has a little point forward in him.”
When I watched him during the pregame shoot around at Sprint last June, my first impression was of Danny Manning with his fluid. effortless ball handling & stroke. His ceiling is waaaaaay up there if he stays several years, IMO."
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@HighEliteMajor Here’s another very simple “on-court” theory to what happened to BGreene with his shove. Maybe he just got plain “punked”: Opposing player(& coach??), knowing Greene is emotional and also THE best 3pt shooter this side of the Mississippi, says something derogatory to BG (you’ll never get the verbal on the replay, and the OregSt player’s back was to the camera)…so you see the “reaction” by BG to shove the kid. That gets a foul on BG, possibly a Flag.1, but luckily it didn’t, eventhough I thought it was excessive force…
Happens all the time on the hardwood, at most levels of play, although Div1 players are supposed to know better than to retaliate. But we know how quick a trigger Greene has. And, he has no conscience about it. So you get the good + the bad with BG. How quick would any of us be to simply shove a guy once after he just gave you a put-down?..the thought would cross a lot of guys’ minds, at least…
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I just keep thinking of how unheralded Devonte and Frank were as recruits and what they have become. They are for real.
We do not really have a 5/Center, or back to the basket post presence, but we can do just about everything else pretty damn well.
Hunter and Landen are at least tall enough and Diallo and Bragg long enough to get in a 5/Centers way so it will not be that big of a weakness. We can throw bigs at them if we have to…
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@ralster Kind of how EJ had shoved the guy in the gut against Michigan
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@AsadZ Yes, and I think Self maybe ordered it in some fashion, simply playing “Big10 ball”. Very similar to Kevin Young knocking Marcus Smart down with the hard screen, clearly on-purpose. Smart spent a lot of time scowling on the bench after that, totally took that head case out of the game. Can’t blame an opposing coach for trying something subtle and similar with our own resident “head case” (BG). Who knows, I’m just speculating, since Greene’s looked like a “reaction” to me, not an initiating type of act?
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@BeddieKU23 Agree totally about Mason + Graham together being a 2-headed monster. Great comparison to Mario + Russell Robinson. I’d also like to point out 2012’s combination of Tyshawn + EJ. Another great duo, that only proved Self’s concept all the way to the Champ game. I waited 6 years to see dual combo guards together, and it paid off, almost with the ultimate prize.
The 2008 Champs actually had 3 ball handlers with Sherron off the bench. And on that critical corner steal by Sherron, all 3 were in the lineup at the same time, with Sherron steal deflect to Mario, who drove into the trees (trouble), handed off to RussRob, who finds Sherron all alone in the corner for that pre-Mario critical 3, which he buried, of course.
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@ralster Ralster, Just don’t be hateful towards the kid, he is one of us, a Jayhawk.
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@AsadZ Oh, while I’ve been “hard” on BG for detracting from the team’s goals, and also for not fully achieving his potential (yet…), deep down simply have to root for him to turn it around. Honestly, we need his 3cannon out there. But Jayhawks that see the court for Self, simply have to do it on both ends of the floor. There is great hope still for BG, I know he is trying! And he and Self still believe in each other.
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@KUSTEVE Nope. we most definitely havent reached our peak yet. That peak is at about K2 level. Thats insane.
I am sooooo unbelievably psyched for Kentucky to come to AFH on the 30th of Jan! Ohh boy are we going to get some pay back!
I loved that Bragg was our 6th man also for the Oregon st game. He showed up big time. All we need is Diallo to start catching up and Svi / Greene to get consistent.
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Damn good post!
“My friends, does this team have an identity that is beginning to solidify?”
I certainly hope so. Our PG, 2, 3 and 4 ALL are capable of driving the ball. We have to take advantage of that… drive the ball and score at the rim when it is open, and otherwise, just try to draw in the defense and then feed the open trey shooter, or feed a trey shooter who makes one more pass rotation to the open trey. Gosh… maybe Self being a San Antonio Spurs fan has paid off after all!!!
One of the biggest potential problems here is if we FAIL to finish our bunnies. If we want defenses to sag in on the drives, we first have to prove we will convert most of those drives.
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@ralster I think you are right about it being calculated by OSU. Though I am probably the least appreciative of Greene’s often negative body language. Replaying this foul it looked as though Tinkle may have sold it. Brannen pushed him on his elbow. I played basketball and it would take more than that.
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“Look, it ALL is interrelated: put more fouls on the opponent. Don’t get our own guys on foul trouble. Get more rebounds. Hit your damn FTs.”
So very true.
The bad thing about weaknesses is that they create interrelated problems.
So Greene allows his guy to drive past him and then Diallo comes over to help and draws his 4th foul…
Why isn’t Diallo getting more minutes already? Clearly, he is raw, but will only make big improvements by earning PT.
But maybe there is an interrelated reason why he isn’t seeing the floor much. The perception within the team is that he is a shot blocker (sort of true). I remember when we had Withey. He set block records not only because he was an excellent shot blocker (he was)… but also because our perimeter defense SLACKED OFF because they knew Jeff was there to fix their laziness. This created more opportunities for Jeff to get blocks. The team dynamics here fit under “codependency.”
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@drgnslayr Exactly what I was thinking. The replay of GP2’s dunk shows Mason hedge to the right, which allows GP2 to blow right by, and Diallo wasn’t in position to make the block, arriving late, picked up a foul. Self sits Diallo, Mason and Co. realize no shot blocker behind them, so they amp-up their D pressure. Its all mindset. Codependency is good only if it works positively, like TRob’s brawn-beasting + Withey’s swat-ability. But when the going got tough for 2012 Hawks, Tyshawn, EJ and Releford had to hunker down and play D (especially if Withey or TRob was in foul trouble).
Definitely interrelated.
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@ralster I saw more flop than shove. Watched it over several times. It was great acting. Do you think Greene could drop Tinkle with a shove? Something about that question just doesn’t sound right. Can’t think of a better way to ask it though.
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@KansasComet Oh, he definitely flopped, no different than Mitch McGary. To draw the call, you got to sell the call. I’ve seen Selden try to “sell” charging calls also when he is on D…with only modest success. He’s simply too big (230lbs) to get blasted back like he displays. But oh, well, he thinks he can do it better than Marcus Smart, then have at it. That’s the player’s own instinct and discretion. We fans simply hope our own players are more right than they are wrong, in such discretions…
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@ralster Do you think a scrappy team like OSU with a veteran point guard like Payton II is capable of making the Sweet 16?
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@drgnslayr We’re about 5% better at the rim this season than last. That despite Ellis being just over 3% worse at the rim this season than last, around 56% (far below all of the other post players). Ellis really is the main culprit. Selden is improved by about 6%, fyi. Gotta finish near the rim.
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@KansasComet Oreg State is skilled enough to show us those switching defenses, and they’ve got stretch-4’s. I like GP2’s apparently nightly filling of the stat sheet. They have a chance to surprise in the Dance. We’ll see.
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@HighEliteMajor I wont post this again, as I feel I’ve posted it too many times, but for a long time it really gnawed on me that Perry Ellis was the direct replacement for Thomas Robinson (“somebody tell Ellis he is manning the TRob position”), yet the comparison is almost apples/oranges. 1 inch and 25lbs difference, and a whole different temperament.
KU literally rode Thomas Robinson in 2012. Ellis’s disposition and inability to beat other post players, simply makes it a bad comparison.
I’m not intending to dogg on Perry, but we need more out of the 4…(and 5).
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Might seem like heresy, to some, but I envision late February situation in which Bragg/Ellis split evenly the 40 minutes at the 4; Diallo and Mickelson split minutes at the 5; Lucas, Traylor, Svi and Greene earn an occasional 10-15 minutes, depending on opponent style and game situation, playing to the concentrated energy factor. If those 4 occasional subs can manage to keep their heads up and positive teammanship alive, this squad can blitz some heady opposition come late March and April.
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@REHawk One man’s heresy is another man’s logic … you’re just following the trend lines. I do suspect Ellis will be a 25 min guy, though. But what’s nice is that Bragg is so obviously ready that we have great flexibility. Self has put him on the low block a number of times.
@ralster Right, TRob and Perry are much different players – much like that Sleep Number bed. But I really like the way Perry fits in with what we’re running now, particularly since he can stretch the floor. An alternative way to beat opposing post players. Something TRob couldn’t really do, and didn’t really need to do.
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@REHawk Late to the party on this but I wanted to try it a bit before posting. I signed up for SlingTV last week as I have been unable to watch any KU games up to now. It allows you to watch ESPN ESPN2 and ESPN3 on the watchespn app with the basic package. You add the sports package and I believe you get all the ESPN channels. It is working great so far and I am thinking it will allow me to watch games as I travel for work.
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@Kubie I got to look into that.
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@Kubie Thanks. I will check it out. Also, am hoping to find a better means of fetching clear radio broadcasts, as I am 100 miles and a few tall hills from 610 am signal. I enjoy the Bob Davis broadcast, but receive it with considerable static. Am attempting to receive 610 sports via internet, but no luck, to date. When guys like Fran choose to adopt the Dickie V style of droning on and on about matters other than specific game situations (a la Fran’s Harvard garbage this season; Sooner garbage in previous years) I mute the tv volume and listen to Bob Davis. Man, do I ever hate to see that guy join Max in retirement!
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@REHawk Right, I like Fran, but how many times did he say that players couldn’t redshirt in the Ivy league?
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“Gotta finish near the rim.”
I agree, 100%. We have been talking about “interrelationships” in basketball… and if we can’t finish at the rim eventually our opponents will realize that and scout it out and will sag less on post feeds and we will be guarded closer on the trey. Then our trey shot falls off (because we mostly just have spot up shooters, though Wayne is starting to look like he may have realized he can pop his shot on defense). We lose our trey shot and then Self returns to BAD BALL again.
So… it’s like dominoes. Interrelationships in basketball. At first it would seem that if we can’t finish bunnies we just stop pushing the ball into the low post and take more treys, but it actually works the opposite… if we can’t hit bunnies we force it inside and stress start making bunnies… and then we are back to scoring in the 50s and 60s in grind games.
For years now I have stressed that our real problem is chip… our lack of a chip. I put the blame on Self for not being able to develop a chip with his players. When I think about what I wrote above… it seems like he is trying to put a chip on his guys to play their best ball, and that includes shooting a bunch of treys… but to maintain high pressure defense while stroking down treys and make bunnies… or else!
It may be harder than it looks to get 19 year olds on the same page and carry a big chip.
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@REHawk For radio I’ve been using Tunein Radio App on my iPhone. It has been fairly reliable. Just search for 610 sports radio, couple times I’ve got the wrong feed and had to switch channels but that’s probably user error.
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@Kubie Thanks. I’ll have my grandkids set it up. Finally bit the bullet and bought a smart phone recently. In terms of electronic savvy, my 196 hours of college credits appear to be net negative!
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@REHawk Yeah, I feel you there!
