Comparing KJ Adams and AJ Storr
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I am not the student of basketball that many of you are so I need someone to explain to me why so many on this board seem be down on KJ Adams and so high on AJ Storr? I have not seen AJ play other than a few highlights but looking up their stats I see that AJ does score more, but not by a lot (16.8 vs. 12.6 pts/game). The other categories favor KJ: 4.6 vs 3.9 rebounds (both need to improve), 3.1 vs. 0.9 assists, 60% vs 48% shooting, 1.2 vs 0.6 steals. Others have mentioned that AJ has been questionable on defense while that’s KJ’s calling card. Even I could see his outstanding help defense in the paint when Hunter got pulled away. Does AJ have a much higher ceiling? Or is there some “the grass is always greener” thinking going on?
I have absolutely nothing against AJ, most happy to have him on board, and look forward to seeing both of them in action soon. While KJ will probably still not be much of a threat to score outside the paint, I think we’ll see him doing more dribble penetration for dunks, short passes to Hunter, and outlet passes to the new 3 point shooters. And I think he’ll be bringing up the ball more often on fast breaks; not many want to stand in his way at full speed. What new characteristics do you think AJ will be bringing to this team?
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Adams and Storr are different players with different skill sets that play different positions.
The short version this without deep diving it is that KJ’s offensive skill set isn’t a great fit for what Self traditionally likes to run or with the other players on the court and AJ Storr’s offensive strengths fill one of the biggest issues KU had last year in scoring.
I’m personally not as high on this team this season as many others are. I believe KU will be better than last season, but I don’t see a championship caliber team this season like many others do. This team wasn’t great defensively last season and most of the new players Self brought in are below average to terrible defenders so that’s going to be a major area of concern this season.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 other than the Lawson year 2018 when Kansas was 41st adjD on kenpom, Kansas has been top 25 for the last decade.
That team lacked the athleticism this team will have, i think. Will certainly be interesting.
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@ImmunoHawk Actually, if you have followed this KU bb fan forum very long, you will notice the waves of positivity and pessimism are as predictable as the tides.
Recruiting: Bill can’t recruit/We got a great player/Bill gets the wrong players/ We will win it all/Why aren’t we UConn?
Season 1st semester: We will stomp 'em/Why are we so bad?/Watch out Big 12
2nd semester: Will miss tourney/Wow, still a 1 seed/Sweet 16 is best case scenario/Damned refs cost us a Final 4
Post tourney: Why aren’t we UConn?/Got great players returning/Good players going pro/Bill can’trecruit…
and always:
Muck Fizzou!!!
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@approxinfinity said in Comparing KJ Adams and AJ Storr:
@Texas-Hawk-10 other than the Lawson year 2018 when Kansas was 41st adjD on kenpom, Kansas has been top 25 for the last decade.
That team lacked the athleticism this team will have, i think. Will certainly be interesting.
The only reason KU finished top 25 last year was because of what they were prior to McCullar getting hurt. After his injury, that was the worst defensive Bill Self team I’ve ever seen.
This year, 3 out of the 5 starters from last season are back, Griffen and Storr figure to replace Furphy and McCullar as the other two starters. The starting line up is going to be worse defensively than last season because Storr is a terrible defender that can’t hold McCullar’s jock on that end. Griffen is a slight upgrade over Furphy, but not known as a good defender either. As for the other transfers, Mayo and Coit are in Storr territory for their defensive abilities while Moore is only top level defender Self brought in, but he’s basically a Harris clone on offense so you can’t play them together frequently unless defending a lead.
The offensive issues of playing Adams and Dickinson together won’t magically go away unless Adams has developed 3 point range. Opposing defenses will still clog the paint taking away the ability to drive and iso a defender which will hurt Storr’s game. It also makes force feeding Dickinson still a challenge because he’ll still be instantly double teamed any time he catches the ball and this team still won’t be a great shooting team.
Like I said, I think this team will be better overall because they will be better offensively and should have playable depth this year. Unless Storr and Griffen have made major strides on defense, I just don’t see this team being good enough on that end to win a national title this season or even a Big 12 title.
It also concerns me a bit that AJ Storr has already said he’s planning on headed to the NBA after this season, so how committed is he really to buying in to what Self does?
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KJ Adams is not a great defensive player. See: Marquette and Gonzaga games.
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Prototypical wing vs tweener. Two different players both will play a roll for KU. One is a proven commodity in Bill’s system, the other has unseen potential. The backup QB is wildly popular in a lot of places for silly reasons too.
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Just saw this thread. My two cents as a Badger fan too where AJ played. His value is in the explosive scoring that he is capable of. He’s a high flyer and will electrify the patrons of AFH on many occasions, enough so that they won’t notice the defensive lapse on the other end. He’s pretty careless with the ball at times which is saying something because Greg Gard (his previous coach) is like Self in valuing possessions. But sometimes when the good outweighs the bad by a significant margin then you go with the good and I think AJ will be good for our team.
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A high flyer at the 3 and a freight train at the 4. Sounds like a fun combo.
