Small ball is here, or is it really small ball?



  • At this time and based on the projected starters, Mason, Graham, Jackson, Bragg and Lucas, the lineup is solid at every position with the only unknown being the 4. We have seen only glimpses of what Bragg can do but the question is how much has he developed and can he stay out of foul trouble? He will be replacing the very capable and oportunistic rebounder that was Perry. If Bragg and Lightfoot develop as expected, it could be a solid position but the jury is still out.



  • @jaybate-1.0

    I always enjoy reading your posts, if for no other reason than to appreciate your use of the English language. Well done. But you also have great content, too.

    I find it unlikely we will have a post player capable of scoring like Perry for quite some time. He might not have had the needed muscle at times, but he always brought a polished arsenal to the game, and I already miss Perry!



  • @drgnslayr said:

    I already miss Perry!

    Me, too.

    And thx.



  • @JayHawkFanToo

    I’m hearing very positive things about Mitch. He is going to be a player and he will contribute something this year, too.

    I agree with your post. A lot depends on Carlton staying out of foul trouble.

    What I like most about Carlton is his potential range. By the time he leaves Kansas he will be a solid trey shooter. He will show us a bit of that this year. And he will definitely show us a huge midrange game.

    We need one big to have range.



  • @drgnslayr

    Perry will be sorely missed, not only for his basketball skills, but also for the quiet and steady leadership he provided on and off the court.

    I have Lightfoot as my surprise player, I believe he might end up being a more athletic version of Ellis.



  • @KUSTEVE said:

    Why not take some of them from the 4?

    The answer to your question depends largely on how good Bragg turns out to be this year.

    If Bragg becomes a 15/10 guy, or even a 10/10 guy, giving up more than 5 minutes per half really eats into a very productive guy, who is likely to be an efficient scorer, a solid inside defender, and a guy that can consistently prevent second shots by grabbing rebounds. Going with Vick and Svi at the 4 mean guys like Frank or Devonte likely cannot be released because they have to go in and board. Remember Frank’s freakish 10 rebound games at the point last season, when Perry was playing on the perimeter and hoisting treys?

    Self proved last year that you can play that way; that you can use your perimeter to rebound more to make up for going short at the 4, but…

    Coaches really love backboard control. Self’s closest thing to a mantra is offense starts with defense. And good defense without good rebounding is a hateful thing to Self. Rebounding is the defensive equivalent of finishing on offense. You finish on the defensive end with a rebound (or a steal).

    Unless Svi, or Vick, turn out to be freakishly good rebounders at the 4, Self would likely rather have Lucas and Bragg grabbing 10 boards apiece than have a few extra treys and drives from Svi and Vick and 6-8 fewer rebounds and 6-8 more second shots by the opponent.

    You see, the beautiful thing about a rebound is that it means the other team is stopped, and you get to go make them pay with a long trey, or a short trey.

    A big time rebounder at the 4 is like a licensed concealed EDC. It just changes the balance of every defensive discussion EVERY TIME! It takes you from the defensive to the offensive. It makes your attacker turn and run at 45 degree angles to jump back over the mid court tense and hopefully find cover to stop you from shooting him in the back. It takes the game into his back yard and out of yours.

    This is as nearly a moral good to a coach like Self as there is. Sliding defense is manhood in motion. But a rebound is finishing the act of stopping.

    Self liked 4-1 ball. He medalled at the WUGs, won 30+ in D1, and got to an Elite Eight. That is pudding with proof that it can work. But…

    Self’s 4-1 sensies ran into some trouble in an alley with Jay Wrong’s mugs from Rockyville. The refs gave the edge to Nova, whenever KU was defending; that appears undebatable (and despicable). But once the refs hamstrung KU’s sliding manhood with the asymmetric March Carney whistle, well, a manly man bunch of Jayhawks with an EDC at the 4, and not just Lucas, working the boards, likely would have grabbed enough rebounds and delivered enough hurt inside to have let KU’s great perimeter players overcome Nova and its homeboy refs. Not for certain, but a much better probability than 4-1 sensie ball.

    Self will never forget that Nova game EVER. Its stuck in his craw along with that loss to Shacka. And those couple of minutes in the second half of the 2012 Finals game against UK, when things might have gone differently and he might have pulled the upset of the century. But the Nova game is particularly bitter, because it was Jay Wrong–Self’s true arch nemesis. And Jay did it with muscle. Jay stripped 4-1 sensie naked in a big spotlight.

    Self wants to be big again! Self NEEDS to be big again!

    Self wants the EDC, when has to have it.

    He knows there IS NO guaranty in this world.

    Sometimes you lose no matter what.

    But with two true bigs, with some brawn, with an EDC at the 4, well, you can take a bunch of them with you when you go down, and given how Self keeps getting a leeeeeetle better each season, with an EDC at the 4, well, he figures he can find a way to handle the Jay Wrongs of the world.

    And if he can find a way to play 4-1 sensie ball with Bragg on the offensive end, while still getting brags defensive rebounding on the business end of the floor, well, then that is Bill Self coaching orgasm time.

    I just don’t think Self will ever willingly give up that licensed concealed EDC that Bragg could be. If Bragg can defensive rebound, then he is the difference maker Self has been needing at the 4 in this regard. Lucas is overt rebounding piece, the hog leg the opponent knows you are going to claw for when the ball comes off the iron. Bragg is the concealed EDC. He is the guy you can pull out down on the blocks so you’ve got two rebounding weapons, or he is the guy that you can keep pocketed awhile, let float out and chase, and then pow! Withdraw him and crash him on the glass so you just dominate the whole backboard!!!

    Self loves rebounding, because he loves stops.

    Vick and Svi can play some 4-1 sensie on one end, but The Vapor and the Crimean Kid are not what I would call capable of being licensed concealed EDCs on the boards for Self the way Bragg can be if he develops quickly.



  • @DoubleDD

    I think he’s being for real about going small. To what extent I don’t know.

    Is he willing to lose defense in order to gain on offense? That’s the trade-off of going small in theory. It’s possible that when Bragg needs rest, Jackson slides to the 4, and either Svi or Vick come into the game. Or when Lucas needs a rest, Bragg plays the 5 and the same rotation from the wing happens.

    It’s quite possible that Jackson is already a better defender than Bragg is. We are just hoping Bragg is not a defensive liability, and we hope his length and athleticism bring more to the table then even a Senior Ellis could. His offense has always been ahead of his defense. Speculating that putting Jackson at the 4 with Lucas and bringing another scorer into the game would be better then bringing in Coleby or the freshman. At 6’8 and crazy athletic Jackson has the ability to be that hybrid forward that often works for other teams. In theory we shouldn’t lose much, we may even be better for making such a move. Keeping Lucas on the court for his rebounding/smart defense is the smart play.

    If we go small with Lucas out of the game, we’ll most likely be a really athletic and fast 5 out there. I couldn’t predict how well we would defend anyone but offensively we could really be lethal. This lineup could match up well with some of the Big-12 teams that will play small.



  • I think we’ll see JJ and maybe even Svi at the 4 in certain situations. I also think there will be rumblings calling for Vick to start over JJ after the first few games of the season. I think Vick is that good. I just can’t wait to see him shoot that amazing jumper. The name that keeps cropping up for me is McLemore.



  • @KUSTEVE

    did anyone really say Vick would play the 4? I’m sure while we are at it, we might as well try Frank at center as well



  • Some of this discussion will depend on how smart Josh Jackson is. Can he handle prepping to play 1-4? As a freshman with an 18 year old brain, probably not. It’s clear his max potential is at the 3 so he will get a majority of his reps there. Is he good enough at 3 to give up practice time there to work on what he would have to do at the 4? And while he is 6’8", he is not wide or heavy enough to hang with most D1 4s. So he will have to develop some coping mechanisms to overcome that weight disadvantage. Even Wiggins, probably the most freakish 6’8" athlete to come through KU, couldn’t really handle defending or scoring from the 4 spot not to mention rebounding.

    My hope would be a focus on JJ at the 3. Maybe give SVI some time at the 4 if we need it. But let the young fella focus on the one thing we really need him to do, which is impact from the 3. Focus is hard for for a young brain. But it is quite possible that JJ has an above average brain. People keep talking about his polish both on and off the court which might lead one to believe that he is capable of handling multiple positions. I’d be conservative though with predictions of how much time JJ will spend NOT at the the 3.



  • @benshawks08 JJ played 4 in highschool and on the AAU circuit. Its not like he hasnt done it before. If Coach Self is serious about having a line up like 1 Frank 2 DG 3 SVI 4 JJ 5 Bragg, then Im sure he can get those guys ready for that. He is the best coach in Div 1.



  • @Lulufulu I agree that Self could get those guys ready for that. But I would argue his main focus will be on the 1 FM 2 DG 3 JJ 4 CB 5 LL line up rather than the “small ball” line up. The other question then would be if Bragg can handle the 5 spot. I assumed the small ball line up would rotate around Lucas as the 5 so he could defend and rebound. But reports say Bragg is STILL growing, so there is a possibility he could hang at the 5.



  • The small ball line up is for substitution purposes and not as an all the time deal.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 I think some will depend on matchups. There were several times we couldn’t play withey, mizzou for one. We struggled matching up w/niang and their athletic 5. Forgot his name!



  • The point remains, opposing coaches without much film of this team to look at the first few weeks of the season, are forehead palming and saying, “Okay, we have to prepare for 4-1, TOO!!!”



  • @jaybate-1.0 Villanova’s 18-19 free throw performance (we made 7-11) was a big difference. We couldn’t get to the free throw line. Villanova had a 3 quarter press it played nearly the whole game. it kind of took us out of rhythm. The refs also took us out of rhythm with the no-calls. We were the better team. I wish coach would have trusted his bench. 6 minutes for Bragg? None for Diallo?



  • @KansasComet Wont be an issue this year.



  • @jaybate-1.0 Can Bill Self beat Coach K at the 4-1 game?



  • @KansasComet

    If I could change anything about our great coach it would only be to add that 3/4 court zone to the mix



  • @Lulufulu

    With even talent and symmetric whistle? YES!

    But Nike rarely lets the talent be equal and whistles in THE MARCH CARNEY are never symmetric.

    I haven’t studied Dook. Are we equal in talent in the first 9?



  • @Crimsonorblue22

    you mean Predator, aka McKay



  • @BeddieKU23 that hair!



  • @Lulufulu

    Yes.



  • Even going small it is really not that small since we still likely play two 6’-8’ players and whoever plays center, either Bragg or Lucas at 6’-11"…that is pretty tall for many, many teams.



  • @BeddieKU23

    Well…Klingon was taken by DeMarre Carrol…


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