Team discussion after 10 games
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@Crimsonorblue22 You think I should wear it proudly? I probably will but I hear IU fans are kind of nuts.
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@wissox well, you are too!
wave it proudly!
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@Crimsonorblue22 If I was nuts I’d go all rock chalk a jayhawkin into the place and probably get beat! Not that nuts!
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@wissox I hope you have some fun.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Oh it will be! I’ve always wanted to go to the Assembly Hall but wouldn’t make the 3 hour drive to just see any game, so the chance to see us play there is just amazing.
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@wissox hope we can find you! Remember when I saw you running?
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I’m WAY more excited about this team than I expected. I was not happy about bringing Morris to KU, so I’m still disappointed and disgusted about the way that played out. Hunter was a bit suspect to me too, but I’ve been wrong before. (Tarik Black, you’re a good dude)
In order of my happiness:
KJ–the kind of misfit guy I love (Jamari Traylor, Kevin Young etc.) Gives 100%. So, apparently he’s been hiding some handles bringing the ball up the court. Who knew that?
HD–so good popping off that 4-8 foot throw in. Gets rebounds the easy way, in position and doesn’t even jump. Kept his cool mostly so far better than I would have despite being mauled constantly. Seems to be a decent dude.
Kev–great so far, as expected. Best player for post game interviews too.
Juando–Just barely cruising. Needs to amp it up on offense. We have to have that ugly mode guy who can drive and draw a foul. Looks like he’s conserving energy at this point.
5th spot:
ElMarko–hate to think where we’d be if he was running the point, but he is definitely starting to show flashes. Looks better than average hot shot freshman on D. He’s still confident on O despite shooting like crap, so I think it’s going to click in January/February.
Furphy–play him more. I think he’s going to be a freak. Quicker than people realize. Doesn’t hesitate a bit jacking threes. One of those guys who just has a nose for rebounding and is fearless. My second favorite player to watch at this point behind KJ.
Jamari–he’s been big in big games, and that’s along the KJ track of getting coach’s trust
Braun–he’s a man. I don’t sweat a bit when he’s in for HD.
This is a pretty dang good team, folks!
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Thanks for humbling us there. It’s true, we are spoiled. It’s all Self’s fault for being so damn good at his job.
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I wonder if Juando is playing through aches and pains already. Rewatched the Missouri game and put on a game from last year and the speed/energy is different from him this year. Felt like he finally impacted a game defensively when guarding East the other day which was encouraging. Most of that guys junk came when someone else was switched on him. He’s playing a lot of minutes again and Self has consistently said he’s not built for it. I’d like to see if Elmarko can run the offense more, they did some of that in the Missouri game because Juan was spent at times. Hopefully we’ll see an uptick in from Juando with limited games for the next 3 weeks. Chance to get healthier if he is nursing something
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@drgnslayr to go along with the low post scoring, feels like out offensive rebounding is down. Hunter is good at what he does so it is hard to complain, but it is a lot harder to get your own miss with his 4 ft jumpers than when you are shooting from under the basket.
Easiest thing for me that the team can improve is to lower their turnovers. I know a high TO rate is a symptom of high assists since we are passing the ball more, and I am fine with the TOs when trying to make a play, but we seem to still have a high number of sloppy ones. Juan even seems to be ending drives every so often with a prayer of a pass and I can’t ever remember him doing that in the past. Know that is pedantic but this team’s offensive strength is ball movement and being the best passing team is country is what they should hang their hat on.
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To go along with what MR11 was saying about offensive rebounding , this is one thing that we are really , really , bad at. - -let’s see we are what 9-1 - playing what ten games this year ?
I was looking at our team stats and other then Hunter who has 27 offensive rebounds on the year and even that is not crushing it , but other then that no other KU player is in double digits for the season I think KJ is next with NINE & Kevin has EIGHT. In ten games haven’t hit double digit in offensive rebounding - -just sad, so pretty much on the offensive end if we don’t make our first shot - - -were done , empty trip. We only have a grand total of SEVENTY NINE offensive rebounds for the Season, that’s not going to get it done. Got to get better.
Something else found really interesting. For as much as other teams lay off, and for as much as we holler for him not to shoot the Three , Juan is 2nd best on the team for three point shooting % and no it’s not because he has attempted a lot less. - -Hunter leads in three point percentage at I think 51 %- - - then Juan is Second , he is shooting the three at a 45 % clip- - -making 9-20.
He has attempted the third most attempts, Hunter is first then Kevin then Juan is tied with Johnny and making 45 % - -he has to get more aggressive on the offensive end. I know he is a pass first PG but we are looking for that other guy to pick up more of the slack. Another thing Juan needs to improve on is FT %, you can’t have your PG a guy who is going to be handling the ball a lot especially late , you can’t afford for him to be shooting 61.5 % - -got to get better
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Very nice post on KUSports:
It mentions our failure to get second shots. Simply… the shot goes up and only Furphy crashes the boards. We’ve seen him snag several offensive rebounds.
What sticks out is our leading the nation in assist rate. Who doesn’t love sharing the rock, except it points to other issues? No one is driving the ball. No one. We had a taste of Kevin driving in a few games, but otherwise, no one. Juan has to drive more. KJ sticks out as our muscle and is capable, but he’s also so deadly with that little floater shot.
These are areas we should be able to address easily. The one glaring area that should set-off alarms is how many treys we give up. We will win games as long as teams only shoot 31% (mentioned in the post), but what happens when they are hot? Wasn’t this a big part of our drubbing by Marquette?
Are we sinking in our defense to stop the drive? I know we have Juan, Kevin, and KJ… capable defenders. Why aren’t they doing a better job of guarding the trey line? Or are they guarding well and opposing teams are shooting more treys because they are running out of shot clock? I’m sure the stat is out there… what is the average possession time of our opponents?
Maybe we aren’t aggressive driving on offense, aggressive defending the trey line, or aggressive on offensive boards because our starters are logging too many minutes.
Maybe we have to go backwards through the stat lines and consider how many minutes are starters are logging. At this early time in the season, too many minutes just means our guys are playing tired. As the season progresses, the symptoms shift to more possible injuries and guys showing seasonal wear that goes beyond healing with a couple nights of rest.
I think Self is going to have to be more creative giving our starters a blow.
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@HoraceZontal I agree with remarks on Harris’ scoring deficiency. I suspect his is finishing his one-handed layup attempts in practice and just worries about getting blocked at the rim. But I look for him to start finishing there and when he does it opens up more lobs -he has good length required to finish despite his height!
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@drgnslayr anecdotally, this years defensive possession times seem longer. 24 second clock violations are my crack, and there have been a lot.
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So how did yesterday change the way anyone feels about this team? I think it confirmed my thoughts. They played like they’re capable of in the 2nd half which is really effectively. But it also confirmed my view that they’re a bit inconsistent as demonstrated by the 1st half. Some headscratching moments during that time, particularly when you paid a fair bit of money to go watch those headscratching moments! The game also confirmed my view that we’ve got a shallow bench which isn’t a newsflash to anyone. Hoping to stay healthy.
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KU is a title contender, but depth will be an issue throughout the year.
Self has to find a way to give Harris some breaks during the game otherwise he won’t last the year at a productive level.
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What stuck out most was our experience. Did not panic on the road and stuck with it, then turned it up a bit towards the end… enough to win.
I thought we would have blown them out had we run a faster pace throughout the game because this Indiana team has real problems if you speed them up.
Anyways… thumbs up for a big road win!
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I don’t think it changed anything, but I was very encouraged by the poise they showed in the 2nd half when getting back into the game and leaving with a victory. Indiana isn’t very good but they played well enough to beat us & the crowd was very loud and played a big factor. Overall, I thought this was a C level game overall for KU, but they found a way to win and that’s what ultimately matters.
Agree inconsistent team especially in the 1st half. 2nd half didn’t start out hot either but then KJ gets a crowd silencing dunk within 10 seconds of Indiana going up 13 and then all of a sudden, the momentum starts shifting. I did not see us pulling this game out at any point with how the first 25 minutes or so went. Still a bit surprised we won tbh but this is the magic that Self yields at times.
Was a bit disappointed in how the bench was used in the game. Jamari gave huge minutes. He made at least 5 impactful plays in the game. A drive and assist to Hunter, an offensive rebound/putback that just missed, drilled a 3 off good perimeter ball movement and a big boy rebound in traffic that was a big play at the time. He made plays and at some point Self needs to trust him if that’s the kind of effort you’re going to get from a true freshman on the road. Parker saw only a few minutes. Nick isn’t playable imo. Furphy didn’t play enough to really impact either. The starters played too many minutes outside Elmarko. Self having a short bench isn’t anything new. He still needs to figure out the balance of playing your starters 35+ minutes and the wear and tear that causes for later in the season. Is what it is.
Hope you had a fantastic time!
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@BeddieKU23 The Indy Star called it the best crowd in years.
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Top 5 crowd I’ve heard on TV away from Allen. I did not realize how loud they can get there so I can imagine that was something to experience. I guess that’s what KU coming to town does, great to still know that KU coming to town is a big deal. With that kind of fanbase support they should be much better than they are. Without Galloway’s super bowl game they are very average.
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They were certainly rattled most of the first half but it was great to see them buckle down in the 2nd half when it mattered most. I was rewatching the game to figure out the game switched, but I think it was KJ Adams dunk after going down 13 that started it all. Seemed like a small play at the time but one that seemed to catalyst the comeback.
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@BeddieKU23 said in Team discussion after 10 games:
Top 5 crowd I’ve heard on TV away from Allen. I did not realize how loud they can get there so I can imagine that was something to experience. I guess that’s what KU coming to town does, great to still know that KU coming to town is a big deal. With that kind of fanbase support they should be much better than they are. Without Galloway’s super bowl game they are very average.
CBS even largely mutes crowd noise. Buddies I know that went said it was a great crowd.
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Indiana basketball fans are great. I’ve known several. They know the game well and are a class act. Wish they were in the B12! (at least, basketball!) Yes… they deserve quality basketball and I still consider them a blue blood, largely because of their fan base!
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@BeddieKU23 The design of the building really contributes to it. Large flat walls above the ‘end zone’ seats. Sideline seats rise strait up, probably 15000 seats on the sidelines out of the 17000 seats. We had to stand to see the game because everyone in the nosebleeds was standing. One kid had a hat that said “The LORD is my Shepherd but Bobby Knight is my coach.”!!
I agree with a lot of you that Indiana should be better. They play in a basketball crazy state. Just look at the HS gyms they have: https://www.visitindiana.com/blog/post/high-school-gyms-basketball-best-of-indiana/
This list has the gym in my town Whiting (which incidentally is the place where Rockefeller started Standard Oil) https://valpo.life/article/top-10-gyms-in-the-region/
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I was noticing that during the intro and during the game how the design of the building is different. I haven’t watched a ton of Assembly Hall games tbh over the years since Indiana has been average for a long time now. I don’t recall hearing them this loud before but good to know it’s right up there with the best when there’s a big game in town.
If anything this was a perfect road environment for the guys to experience. I don’t imagine they will go somewhere else this year that rivals it but if they do, they will have some experience handling it.
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On Hawk Talk this past week, Juan was the player there that got to ask coach a question. Juan asked him what gym was his favorite to play in. Self said Assembly Hall.
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@BeddieKU23 You know how much KU coming to town means in Stillwater? Zip. Zero. Nada. Nothing. Next time we play there, watch the crowd. Maybe 3,500 on a good night. They must have a LOT going on in Stillwater besides watching top ranked Basketball.
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It really doesn’t matter but in a week in which #1 loses to #3 and #2 wins in a tough road environment and the mediocre team that #3 lost to earlier lost to Chicago State and #3 moves up to #1 over #2 well I feel a little tiny bit bad for #2, but I know I shouldn’t because in my mind we’ll always be #1.
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Voters have amnesia daily
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Since starting the season 2-13 from the FT line Adams has gone 19-29 for 65%. He’s now at 50% overall. Hopefully he will live in the 60’s as the season goes by. Was really hoping coming into the year he would show improvement there since he gets to the line as much as anyone.
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You know with the way Timberlake has played when in games , I’m almost to a point where I would just as soon see Coach let Jankovich have some run in Nick’s place. Put him in , let him run with the starters for some minutes, might surprise some people running with starters he sure couldn’t do any worse shooting the three - -think actually would be better , Nick’s confidence is GONE PERIOD. Defensively sure not any worse then Nick. I just think at this point he would be a better threat to shoot the three then Nick.-- -Let the guys run a play or two to open him up for the three , I think it could be done, help the team.
I know Jank has liability but at this point , can’t be worse - -never know till you try, Crazy ?- - probably but what the hell. We know he can make them , have seen it in mop up time. We were looking for an add to the roster for depth anyways , and we need three point shooters, he could be right under our nose, I’m not saying major minutes , but in time of foul trouble, stretch’s where he can give starter breaks, I mean with what we got right now, what could that possibility hurt. Again can’t be any worse then Nick, defense is about the same if not a little better , just sayin -ROCK CHALK
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Nah. Nick is definitely capable of better than how he has played thus far. Whatever the reason, P5 adjustments, good ol’ fashioned slump, etc, I think the best way to break out of it is to keep playing him and try and boost some confidence. Giving his minutes to Jank would be an even bigger hit to the confidence. We will need him this year, hopefully he can get right soon.
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Nick and Jamari played more on ball when in this last game.
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If you get a chance go to you tube, there is a really good regular podcast, talks All kind of College basketball - -the podcast is called the field of 68 ,- -they talk on different occasions about our boys, was talking today and said - -Yes Ku has flaws , still trying to figure out their 2 guard , talking about how we have 4 studs and then have a bench that should be like the 9th player
Yet they say even with the flaws he says F - - - it, no matter KU just gets it done. - -He gives and example he says just like the Miami heat , you getting 48 minutes of the heat – Well Ku is going to play 40 minutes of Jayhawk ball , saying your going to have to beat KU as KU is not going to beat themselves , brought out - -brings out solid points on the team, talking about how Juan hit a huge three at Indiana - -How El Marko hit a huge three at Indiana - -Jamari hit a huge three at Indiana, & Kevin hit a huge three at Indiana.
Then here is an interesting point one of them said - -over the last two years when DeJuan scores Seven points - -KU is 23-1 - -that’s pretty impressive. Brought up another point saying KU is making 72.9 % of their buckets off assists- -saying that’s just a stupid number- - - a silly number. --Finished one of them said on last Saturday 100— out of 103 teams probably at assembly hall would of lost that game to Indiana would of lost that game - -KU they said was probably one of only three teams that would of won Saturday. - Love this podcast
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@RockkChalkk said in Team discussion after 10 games:
Nah. Nick is definitely capable of better than how he has played thus far. Whatever the reason, P5 adjustments, good ol’ fashioned slump, etc, I think the best way to break out of it is to keep playing him and try and boost some confidence. Giving his minutes to Jank would be an even bigger hit to the confidence. We will need him this year, hopefully he can get right soon.
Jank should never get real minutes. I know you weren’t suggesting it of course but I’ve seen it mentioned here and there…and just no.
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@BShark said in Team discussion after 10 games:
@RockkChalkk said in Team discussion after 10 games:
Nah. Nick is definitely capable of better than how he has played thus far. Whatever the reason, P5 adjustments, good ol’ fashioned slump, etc, I think the best way to break out of it is to keep playing him and try and boost some confidence. Giving his minutes to Jank would be an even bigger hit to the confidence. We will need him this year, hopefully he can get right soon.
Jank should never get real minutes. I know you weren’t suggesting it of course but I’ve seen it mentioned here and there…and just no.
I responded to the comment but then decided to bite my tongue and just leave that alone, everybody has an opinion I’ve voiced mine so I’m good
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Mercy there are some people in here that are really confused all I can say is I’m sorry. -Yet there are people who says Jankovich should never see nay minutes/real minutes over Timberlake, Let me clarify if they are thinking I’m talking about 15-20 minute Jankovich then umm YA , but in a relief role, if you put him on the floor with the four starters, in NO WAY shaper or form is he worse at this point and time of the Season worse then Timberlake. - if you think he is a mistake or a turnover looking for a place to happen - -then look no further on the floor then Timberlake. - - Timberlake right now is a classic example a version of Joe Yesfu. - -I’m saying you put Jank out there with the other four starters for 3-4-5 minute stretch to give El Marko a break he would be fine. - -
Now am I saying put him on the floor over Jamari ? - -Oh Hell no. Yet between Timberlake & Jankovich - - Jankovich HANDS DOWN. At this time and point of the season Jankovich hits the three better and for sure is not any worse defensively. Hell you don’t know if the turnovers Jank makes is his fault or others, as all you see him in is with other mop up time player. Does that happen when he is on the floor with the regulars ? - I just think right now he is a better back up for spot minutes then Timberlake who hs shown nothing and his confidence is gone. --If he shoots his first three and misses - - -GET HIM OUT cause his confidence went right out the door. Agin to those confused people I’m not saying major minutes - -BUT he could be on the floor for those 3-5 minutes and be just fie and a much better option then Timberlake at this presnt time
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The point is, this is the perfect game to get his confidence back. Self picked him for a scholarship not Jank. Let’s trust our HOFer.
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@Crimsonorblue22 said in Team discussion after 10 games:
The point is, this is the perfect game to get his confidence back. Self picked him for a scholarship not Jank. Let’s trust our HOFer.
oh I’m trusting him 100 % the trust is he is yanking him out earlier cause he is costing us- -Self realizes it and that’s why your seeing Nick less
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I was refreshing my memory on Elmarko’s recruiting notes. Even Self has said he’s learning a new position, so patience required. The big question is why did we recruit a highly ranked PG and are asking him to play SG when we know Juan will be here a bit longer? The first sentence seems appropriate to my thinking on his game so far.
“Jackson needs the ball in his hands to be at his best, both because opposing help-side defenders will be able to help off him and because he will have to learn how to play without the ball after having been the focal point of every offense he’s been in to this point.”
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Upcoming games. I noticed after TCU, 3 of the next 4 are are on ESPN+. Grrr. A quick check of Dukes schedule reveals no games on ESPN+. They do have the ACC Network. One of our ESPN+ games is a (as currently ranked) #2 KU Vs. #12 Oklahoma. This is definitely a first world problem, but it aggravates me.
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@wissox How many pre-game and post-game shows does ESPN+ do for Kentucky or Duke? I can’t find any, but it’s there for all the KU games. I don’t understand why any KU fan would complain about spending about the same as a Starbucks coffee or a gallon of Biden’s gas or a movie ticket, to get KU basketball content for an entire month.
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Some stats I was looking at. We’re shooting 38% from 3. Good for 25th nationally which is really higher than expectations. I recall offseason discussions of how bad this team will be at shooting the 3.
We’re also top 25 in shooting percentage, 8th at 51%. I think it tells me we take good 3’s only. Because if we’re shooting this well inside the arc coach would say why jack them up from outside unless it’s a good look. I did notice that we have one of the lowest rates of shooting 3’s at 17 per game which is 324th nationally.
Our FG% defense is elite so far at #15 nationally, giving up 37%. Not sure which Self likes better, great defense % or great shooting %? But having both working this year shows how well this team is doing.
FT percentage, something I always believe should be near the top for a program like ours, is pedestrian at 72%.
Our worst stat is offensive rebounding grabbing only 8 per game. Of course when you make a lot of shots there’s fewer opportunities. On the other had we’re rebounding at a top 15 level.
Assist to TO is elite as well, 13th. Much has been made about our high number of assists, we’re 2nd currently, trailing BYU who laughably is 3rd in the NET currently and their 25oth ranked schedule, which is slightly better than 5th ranked ISU in the NET and their 288th ranked schedule.
Speaking of schedules, we’re fairly pedestrian at 51 strength of schedule. It will rise after the Wichita game when we begin conference game. I still don’t understand how a 12-1 record with a 51 SOS gets you ranked 16th in the NET when BYU with a 250 SOS and a similar record to ours gets you a 3rd rank. They have 1 quad 1 victory.
Still some question marks with this team, but these stats are showing we’re doing a lot of things very well.
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@dylans I get your point, but a month ago I started looking at my monthly costs and not only was it ESPN+ but others as well and it was adding up to 50 bucks or so. I was also adding a monthly expense at the same time that I need so I needed to cut out some stuff. I did throw a ‘first world problem’ disclaimer in there!
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You know All I hear from broadcasters and such , other ones that suppose to be in the know is - -We can’t shoot the ball. & yet w are 2nd in the big 12 in Fg % 51.4 % only behind Baylor who shoots at 52.4 % - -& like has been mentioned we shoot the three at 38.4 % and think they said National average is 36 % again our 3 pt % is 2nd in the Big 12 , only behind Baylor who shoots an insane 44.7 , so what am I missing ?
We have three starters shooting the three really well - -Hunter shooting at 50 % – Juan is shooting at 45 % - - & Kevin is shooting at 40.8 % - -pretty dam good, we just have to get Juan more involved with scoring the ball, a lot of times just to passive when it comes time scoring
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I don’t know about can’t shoot the ball, but KU doesn’t have a shooter. That was supposed to be Timberlake (our Moss/Coleman guy).
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@wissox Still less than going to a single game and about half what I used to pay for cable. The price of everything else is the problem, we are all severely suffering from the economic policies of the current administration. - my basic expenses are up over 18% this year after a dramatic increase last year. Biggest jump in expenses - fuel, food, taxes, health and homeowners insurance. That’s what you should be upset about in my opinion, but at ESPN+ is as good a place as any to vent your frustration I suppose.
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@dylans Ok, thanks for the advice but I’m capable of making my economic decisions!
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@dylans nail on the head there sir!
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Yes like why are we spotting teams double digit leads with too much frequency. Puts us into the position of needing heroics to score 40-45 second half points it seems. but we are capable of those bursts especially when our bench helps. I guess we will be an exciting team.
