KU vs that other team Game Thread



  • Before Tristan came to KU he switched to right hand shooting. You always see him drive left because he’s a natural lefty. I guess shooting touch is just not there. Self has been saying for 2 yrs now that he still hasn’t hit the next gear in playing hard consistently. You see that in his spot minutes. Hope he sticks but he’s got options



  • Great D effort.

    But I don’t want to hear about Virginia’s Tony Bennett ever being a KU coach. Scores like this should be once every 10 years.



  • @DanR

    Surprisingly Virginia is scoring more this season… besides the last game where they got trounced



  • KU with their 27th straight Season of 10 Big 12 wins - -another streak



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  • @Kcmatt7

    I think you give tyon a pass for injuries and juco to big 12 adjustment. I would definitely shop Latrell and Gethro. Made KU a 10 man roster with their inability to impact. Today’s game unless your guys redshirting are studs I think its a waste to have 2 guys on scholarship that can’t play



  • @BeddieKU23 Problem is we aren’t gonna be able to add 3+ guys so you end up keeping guys around if you can for practice.



  • You wanna hear a strange stat ? - - KU 5 games behind Balor in the loss side - - BUT 1 game ahead of them on the Win side lol



  • Kenpom has the defense getting close to being Top 10 good again. #12 after last night’s win. The offense however is trending (#58) to be the worst since Kenpom started keeping track in 2002.



  • "My gut tells me this team is going to be an elite defensive team that has games where they struggle to score. We will have a nail biter or two against teams that are WAY below our level. And we will win games by 25 where the hoop is like throwing a rock into the ocean against a top 10 team.

    The two big questions in my mind are how we will be able to function with Mitch as our backup 5 and will we be able to shoot the ball consistently enough that the four guard rotation works well.

    My biggest concern is the post depth. Big Dave picks up two quick fouls and then we are playing Mitch and Gethro 25 minutes in a game. Tshiebwe would be dunking the ball every single possession.

    As far as projecting this team, it really is tough. There isn’t anyone on the roster that I have super high expectations for. At the same time, there really isn’t anyone that I think shouldn’t be getting minutes that will be. Will the depth give us enough of an advantage? Will TGF play his way into starting? Will Ochai have the All-American breakout? Can Garrett make a leap offensively? How good is Bryce going to be day 1?

    Last year, we knew we’d be good. Doke and Dot coming back virtually assured they would be a Top 5 team. But even with Dave, Ochai and Garrett coming back I definitely don’t have that same feeling.

    If this team wants to be FF good, they will need Ochai or Thompson to be a walking 15 ppg imo. Otherwise I just don’t know that we will be able to score consistently enough to make that type of a run."

    Bringing back my preseason prediciton… Looks like it is a little closer now than it was in December.



  • @BShark said in KU vs that other team Game Thread:

    @BeddieKU23 Problem is we aren’t gonna be able to add 3+ guys so you end up keeping guys around if you can for practice.

    Say this was the starting 5 next year… This assumes Tristan moves on.

    G- Thompson

    G- Agbaji

    G- Braun

    W- Wilson

    C- McCormack

    Bench-

    G- Harris

    W- Grant- Foster

    After that Self is playing Clemence (Lightfoot’s role), Adams (Enaruna’s role) & Curry (3rd big).

    Jossell is 3rd string PG again & Muscadin is 4th string big. Find these kids a good transfer destination… We need a PG & maybe Self finds another under the radar wing…



  • @BeddieKU23 Yeah the key is adding a guard if you add a decent PG to that roster it is pretty damn good with another year of guys improving as well.



  • @BShark

    A PG that can shoot and facilitate would change this team. It would have changed this current team



  • @BeddieKU23 said in KU vs that other team Game Thread:

    @BShark said in KU vs that other team Game Thread:

    @BeddieKU23 Problem is we aren’t gonna be able to add 3+ guys so you end up keeping guys around if you can for practice.

    Say this was the starting 5 next year… This assumes Tristan moves on.

    G- Thompson

    G- Agbaji

    G- Braun

    W- Wilson

    C- McCormack

    Bench-

    G- Harris

    W- Grant- Foster

    After that Self is playing Clemence (Lightfoot’s role), Adams (Enaruna’s role) & Curry (3rd big).

    Jossell is 3rd string PG again & Muscadin is 4th string big. Find these kids a good transfer destination… We need a PG & maybe Self finds another under the radar wing…

    That line up is worst case scenario next season. That’s a line up that will struggle to score worse than this group does, and will stuggle to defend anyone well.

    I also disagree about running off Jossell and Muscadin at this point and not bringing Mitch back next season. With NCAA sanctions looming, I would not run off guys that can develop into rotation level players down the road yet unless there’s scholarship reductions as part of the sanctions against KU. Is Jossell ever going to be a starting PG for KU? Probably not, but he is someone who could come off the bench and knock down a 3 and be a spark on offense and with the uncertainty about KU’s future, I wouldn’t run that skill set off at this point. Muscadin may never develop into anything special on offense, but he has the tools to become an elite rim protector and rebounder because KU’s best teams have always had an elite rim protector on defense. Because of KU’s uncertain future, I would not run off either Jossell or Muscadin at this point for a transfer player.

    I also wouldn’t let Mitch leave yet. If I’m Self and staff, I’d bring Mitch back next season in his current role because Zach Clemence is not a 5 and will struggle in that role. Clemence is a stretch 4 and would be better suited backing up Jalen Wilson next season.

    As for who needs to be sent packing to make room for a PG, the two options to me would Enaruna or TGF. Most of Enaruna’s issues stem from his lack of effort and hustle. Combine that with his poor shooting and not being a willing passer, Enaruna absolutely should be first choice to transfer out.

    The reason I would send TGF away over Jossell or Muscadin is because he’s a JuCo guy meaning he won’t be around as long to develop as those two. TGF might be the most athletic player on the team, even moreso than Agbaji, but there’s zero skill behind that athleticism and he’ll exhaust his eligibility before he can develop any skill. He’s the worst shooter I’ve ever seen at this level, even worse than Garrett and it’s taken 4 years to fix that shot, TGF doesn’t have 4 years. Combine that with him being a black hole on offense because once that ball touches his hands, it’s not going anywhere else. A ball hog who can’t shoot isn’t much incentive to keep him around.

    Ideally the rotation next year would look like this. An incoming transfer at the PG spot with Harris backing him up. Jossell in his same role as this season or a redshirt. Braun and Thompson battling for the off ball guard spot and the other being the first guard off the bench. Agbaji starting at wing with the loser of the Braun/Thompson battle being the main back up for a 5 man guard rotation.

    In the front court, Jalen Wilson at the stretch 4 spot with Zach Clemence being his primary back up and TGF being the emergency guy if he’s still around or KJ Adams if TGF is gone or an Adams redshirt if TGF is still around. At the 5 spot, Dave starts and ups his minutes to about 25-27 mpg, Mitch is his primary back up, Sydney Curry gets spot minutes, and Muscadin redshirts. If Mitch does move on, then Clemence by default would have to be a universal sub for McCormack and Wilson.



  • Agree, Enaruna would be my first choice as well. It’s just not working out.



  • @BeddieKU23 said in KU vs that other team Game Thread:

    @BShark

    A PG that can shoot and facilitate would change this team. It would have changed this current team

    It would change any team!



  • @Texas-Hawk-10

    We agree on Tristan.

    I think TGF deserves a pass, no off-season, juco adjustment, injuries. He still has two more years left here to figure it out if it plays out that way. He got some experience in a free year. His shooting is terrible and needs retooling with the staff that he didn’t even get a chance to start this season. Some of that is on TGF taking bad shots though. He’s shown he’s athletic enough to get to the rim and make some impactful plays on defense. More then anything he’s looked uncoordinated out there physically. Either he’s been playing hobbled all season or he’s just one goofy looking kid how he moves out there.

    I’m not advocating that Bryce start as the primary “PG” but if I’m forced to pick who’s better between him and Harris I’ll pick Bryce all day.

    Agree adding a starting PG gives Self a 5 guard rotation.

    I don’t want Mitch back. Clemence is way more skilled and if Dave ups his minutes to 25-27 you can split the leftovers with who’s developed (Zach/Sydney).



  • @BeddieKU23 said in KU vs that other team Game Thread:

    @Texas-Hawk-10

    We agree on Tristan.

    I think TGF deserves a pass, no off-season, juco adjustment, injuries. He still has two more years left here to figure it out if it plays out that way. He got some experience in a free year. His shooting is terrible and needs retooling with the staff that he didn’t even get a chance to start this season. Some of that is on TGF taking bad shots though. He’s shown he’s athletic enough to get to the rim and make some impactful plays on defense. More then anything he’s looked uncoordinated out there physically. Either he’s been playing hobbled all season or he’s just one goofy looking kid how he moves out there.

    I’m not advocating that Bryce start as the primary “PG” but if I’m forced to pick who’s better between him and Harris I’ll pick Bryce all day.

    Agree adding a starting PG gives Self a 5 guard rotation.

    I don’t want Mitch back. Clemence is way more skilled and if Dave ups his minutes to 25-27 you can split the leftovers with who’s developed (Zach/Sydney).

    I think I would agree with Texas-Hawk about Jossell. I know it’s just been Micro minutes but what lil bit we have seen him no matter how small and mop up , i think he could be spot backup dude has a sweet stroke from what I’ve seen and handles ok



  • @BeddieKU23 I’m going to go point by point here. TGF is a major rebuilding project. If Self finds two more players, TGF should be the second player to go after Enaruna. There’s a bunch of work to be done with TGF to make him a serviceable role player with the biggest issue being that TGF doesn’t pass the basketball once it gets to him. The problem with being able to develop TGF is I don’t see this offseason looking much different than last offseason in regards to what coaches and players can do and how much they can be together. I really don’t see TGF being much different as a player than he is this season to me which makes him expendable to me.

    If Bryce Thompson starts at PG for KU next season, KU is in deep trouble because that’s a really bad offensive team and a bad defensive team.

    Zach Clemence is not a 5 and if KU depends on him for any meaningful minutes, that’s going to be a disaster because he isn’t strong enough to play the 5. Zach Clemence is a stretch 4 and has a very similar game to Perry Ellis. In his highlight video, not one single dunk and his low post game still mostly involved him getting pushed away from the basket. He is a finesse player and I don’t see him being much of a rebounder or defender.

    As far as bringing Mitch back, he doesn’t count against the scholarship limit and he doesn’t have a professional future and he wants to be a Jayhawk. It makes all the sense in the world to bring Mitch back if he wants to be back. While Mitch isn’t much on offense, he’s an above average defender.

    Sydney Curry is a going to be a good player for Kamsas, but he needs to work on his body before he’ll be able to contribute meaningfully. If he can get down to 240 lbs., that’s probably around his sweet spot weight wise to keep his power, but have the agility and quickness to play beast ball in the Big 12. Without an offseason though, he probably won’t be able to work on his body properly with the new S&C coach.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 said in KU vs that other team Game Thread:

    @BeddieKU23 I’m going to go point by point here. TGF is a major rebuilding project. If Self finds two more players, TGF should be the second player to go after Enaruna. There’s a bunch of work to be done with TGF to make him a serviceable role player with the biggest issue being that TGF doesn’t pass the basketball once it gets to him. The problem with being able to develop TGF is I don’t see this offseason looking much different than last offseason in regards to what coaches and players can do and how much they can be together. I really don’t see TGF being much different as a player than he is this season to me which makes him expendable to me.

    If Bryce Thompson starts at PG for KU next season, KU is in deep trouble because that’s a really bad offensive team and a bad defensive team.

    Zach Clemence is not a 5 and if KU depends on him for any meaningful minutes, that’s going to be a disaster because he isn’t strong enough to play the 5. Zach Clemence is a stretch 4 and has a very similar game to Perry Ellis. In his highlight video, not one single dunk and his low post game still mostly involved him getting pushed away from the basket. He is a finesse player and I don’t see him being much of a rebounder or defender.

    As far as bringing Mitch back, he doesn’t count against the scholarship limit and he doesn’t have a professional future and he wants to be a Jayhawk. It makes all the sense in the world to bring Mitch back if he wants to be back. While Mitch isn’t much on offense, he’s an above average defender.

    Sydney Curry is a going to be a good player for Kamsas, but he needs to work on his body before he’ll be able to contribute meaningfully. If he can get down to 240 lbs., that’s probably around his sweet spot weight wise to keep his power, but have the agility and quickness to play beast ball in the Big 12. Without an offseason though, he probably won’t be able to work on his body properly with the new S&C coach.

    TGF is definitely a rebuild. I wonder if the staff is going to disclose just how much he’s been injured.

    Too early to tell for coaches this offseason. I know football programs have been able to have offseason conditioning and spring ball practices are coming up. Imagine that coaches will have some access and kids won’t be trapped at home for months like last yr. I don’t see it being the same as last yr unless something bad happens with the direction of Covid.

    Clemence certainly isn’t a 5. He needs the weight room but ill take his offensive potential any day over mitch. Defensively he will take some time. Have to let him learn in order to grow. Getting coached well right now, playing good competition. Hes held his own.

    Curry and Adams bring that raw athletic power. Excited to see how they fit. Self will be able to coach lobs again with these guys.



  • @BeddieKU23 Clemence and Mitch can coexist because they won’t play the same position on the floor. KU is going to need more a lot more help on the defensive end of the floor than they will on offense. That’s not to say the offense will be good by any stretch because we don’t know what the PG situation will look like next season. What we do know is that Marcus Garrett is leaving and that’s going have a huge negative impact on the defense. We saw how much the post defense regressed without Doke, it’s going to be very similar on the perimeter next season without Garrett on defense.

    Without Mitch, this is what KU will have for interior defense next season, Dave who will probably be improved over this season, but not significantly, Zach Clemence who gets pushed around by HS kids, so imagine how much he’d get owned by 22-23 year old men, Sydney Curry who looks like a post player version of Sherron Collins and needs to drop at least 20 lbs. to have the quickness to guard B12 bigs, or Gethro Muscadin who makes Zach Clemence look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his body building days.

    With Mitch Lightfoot back, KU wod have a guy that doesn’t get pushed around, is willing to take charges and do dirty work, is an above average shot blocker, and currently the best post defender on the team. That’s also not even factoring in all the off court intangibles Mitch brings to the table which will be needed desperately next season as well when KU likely learns their fate from the Adidas investigation.

    KU desperately needs a quality post defender next season and Mitch Lightfoot is currently the best fit for that need. His leadership is also something that will be desperately needed while KU guides the Adidas investigation and ruling waters as well. Self and staff need to do whatever they can to convince Mitch to stick around for his 6th year.



  • @BeddieKU23 @Texas-Hawk-10 based on your last few posts, there’s no mention of Dave. Are you guys expecting him to not return next year?



  • We need a scoring transfer point guard no doubt, a gritty kid in the vein of a McClung and what he has brought to TT.


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