Texas Down, Four to Go Until Morgantown
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@BeddieKU23 “I said before the game, ‘We’re going to shoot 35 threes.’ First it was 40, then I said, ‘No that’s too many. Don’t shoot 40.’ I said we’d shoot 35 threes,” Self repeated after the Jayhawks knocked down 17 threes (most ever by a KU team in a conference game) in 35 attempts in a 92-86 victory over the Longhorns before a crowd of 15,082.
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Jesus? First Mitch now Newman. Is there any KU player worthy of playing this years team?
Newman’s problem? He was taught from a very young age that he was the man. Sure fire NBA player. He’s finding out there is no sure fire thing. Work and more work is what is needed.
He’ll be alright.
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Damn Graham you just don’t finish at the rim like Mason. Maybe you need to sit on the bench? Maybe you need to red shirt?
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@BeddieKU23 I think you’re right. It seems that the decrease in rebounding and steals, possession changers, may be big contributors, plus shooting %/scoring decreasing. He should be a 16-17 PER guy by the end of the season. I liked hearing DG talking about how he was encouraging him to be aggressive. But I also appreciate the freshman taking on a complimentary role.
It is interesting that Garrett starts and Cunliffe plays zero minutes.
@DoubleDD What is “alright” to you when it comes to Newman? What you’ve seen so far?
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Last game he went after his missed shots. He knew He missed his shots. This kid is the only kid we have that can get to rim when ever he wants. He just has to learn to finish. And that is a fact.
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DoubleDD said:
Last game he went after his missed shots. He knew He missed his shots. This kid is the only kid we have that can get to rim when ever he wants. He just has to learn to finish. And that is a fact.
Finishing will come more consistently when he isn’t thinking about a hurt foot. That comes with more experience of learning to play with it, and hopefully as it gets better, too. He still has less than one season actually playing in a system as demanding as Self’s. I see improvement in game after game, and I believe we will see him as equivalent to, say, Jr-year Selden by the end of the year.
The problem for most of us as fans, I believe, is that we are always tempted to make final predictions and conclusions based on small sample sizes–usually just the last game. The season needs to play out. There is little reason to give up on anyone or think we have seen anything near full capability by this limited point.
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Thanks!! GREAT stream of consciousness game eyewitness report- awesome
Can you go to all the games and report? (There must be some Buckets petty cash to help you with expenses
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@Bosthawk Maybe @jaybate-1-0 can get a shoe company to sponsor me and I would gladly go to all games and give a first-person account. Get working @jaybate-1-0!
Happy New Year
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Rock Chalk!!
(Note: all fiction. No malice!)
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@mayjay I know what you’re saying – be patient. I agree. But I don’t think the recent hurt foot has anything to do with what we’ve learned from Newman so far. What we have with Newman is one year at MSU, a full year to practice and assimilate within Self’s system, and nearly half a season playing games in Self’s system. Newman has not had a hurt foot all season. This was just an issue.
And more importantly, what Self has learned – and Self has chosen to start a freshman over a guy that has nearly 2 1/2 seasons in college ball. Whether its temporary, or permanent, I think that tells us something.
Does Newman performance warrant this change? Maybe not. But I suspect the word “selfish”, or some derivation, is a discussion point. Or, perhaps, it’s completely benign and it’s all about Garrett’s defense. But I doubt it. Selden’s Jr. season is a reasonable expectation, but I don’t see a guy on par with that, at the same point in the year. But there is lots of time to go. He could of course break-out at any time.
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@HighEliteMajor Kansas should’ve been N. Champs that year. The team has been in decline since. However, i look for a big resurgence beginning next season.
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@HighEliteMajor Newman gets the rebound, and races down court. He has Devonte ahead on his right, Vick on his left, and three Raiders waiting in the middle. He keeps the ball himself, puts up a prayer 5 feet away from the basket, gets blocked, and looked exactly like Tyshawn at his worst. I think it’s time to free Sam.
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@KUSTEVE I was not super optimistic on Cunliffe coming in, but I really like what I see. In fact, I think he’s hustled and done well on defense. He has a very nice outside shot, and has some bounce. I hesitate to appear this critical in a question, but does Newman look like a Bill Self player on the court? I don’t see it at the moment. I see a guy itching to “get mine”, to quote the former point guard you refer to.
Newman has had zero assists in the last two games combined.
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@HighEliteMajor I think Newman is a selfish player because that’s what he had to be at Mississippi St. He was also far and away the best player on scout team last year so he’s had a lot of experience being a ball dominant player his first two years in college. Now he’s in an off ball role with a lot of talent around him and he hasn’t made the switch mentally that he doesn’t have to do everything and that he needs to defer to other players.
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Newman looks like he is still thinking out there. A guy Self would sit at this point in Big 12 play. Some like this have come back strong(Oubre), others have faded away.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 I’d be good with him being “selfish” if he was any good. If Andrew Wiggins had been selfish, we would have won the NC. Or Josh Jackson.
But selfish when you’re “meh” is just stupid. He should be riding the bench.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 I think that is a very friendly spin. He’s had over a year in Self’s system. That seems like enough time to purge – unless we have DNA issues.
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@HighEliteMajor Do you think a year on the scout team is the same as live games? He is less than 15 games into real games under Self.
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I know your question was directed at HEM but I wanted to chime in.
Are we being too critical of him just 15 games into his KU career? I thought that but then when I watch him play I don’t see the guy he was acclaimed to be. I don’t see where it changes with him. I don’t really think the next 15 games will be much different then what we’re getting currently.
Newman was probably the most coveted transfer last year. We heard a lot of good things about him from players and Self during the season on his progress. He seemed to say all the right things in interviews etc about maturing and becoming a better player. He did really well in Italy, showed out well at camps etc. So what gives? We get the most coveted transfer with a year of D-1 ball under his belt, tons of HS accolades, reputation as a scorer etc and 13 games into the season he loses his starting spot. So what gives? Has he checked out? Is he playing with another injury that’s derailing his potential? This is all from a guy we expected to be OAD here, was expected to be OAD at his first stop. I see a lot of “me” ball from him, the same mentality he had growing up. Maybe he was just overrated all this time. It’s certainly starting to look that way… Just my 2 cents
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Yes I think he was obviously overrated. He looks eerily similar to Elijah Johnson, minus explosive hops, and I dont know how he was considered so high coming out of high school. The thing is if he doesn’t act like an idiot and stays for two more seasons he can develop into a solid player. We just need to lower our expectations and look at him like the sophomore that he is.
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@nuleafjhawk The selfish thing that you’re referring to is the guy that’s selfish because it benefits the team. Not deferring. I JJ passing, and creating, and never had one hint that he was not a team player.
@BigBad Do I think practice action is akin to game action? Kind of funny you ask me that. The guys who may recall prior debates would chuckle. So no, I don’t. I do understand your point. Games forge a player where practice cannot. No doubt. But Newman’s issues are mental, his thought process, his approach. This I think is more controlled by conscious decision making. It’s not a comfort thing. It’s not a “get used to the environment” thing. It’s not a speed of the game thing. It’s not a “crazy crowd, big arena” thing. He’s already played an entire season as a starter. His is quite simple it appears. He wants to be “the man” but his production is much less than the normal “the man.”
He has had zero assists in the last two games combined. Let this sink in … 2.2 assists per game as the second ball handler. DG was 4.4 last season. Josh, as the 4, was 3.0. Good grief, Svi is at 2.6.
And if you think the 2.2 is an aberration, based on a new environment, guess again. His assists per game at MSU? 2.2.
But I have absolutely NOT given up on the guy. Things can change. We need him.
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@HighEliteMajor I would argue he’s actually spent much less than a year in Self’s system. He was running the scout team during his transfer year, he wasn’t running KU sets, he was running opponent plays on both ends of the floor. He also likely was running the point on scout team instead of playing off the ball like he is now.
Preparing for the Italy trip would’ve been the first time Newman was really running KU sets with the first team outside of watching some film study sessions.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 He’s spent a whole lot more time at KU than Trae Young has spent at OU, and he seems to have figured stuff out pretty quickly. Newman is not the b-ball player that he was hyped up to be.
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@nuleafjhawk And yet, playing with the 1st team, they’ve played about the same amount at their current schools.
I’m not saying Newman is going to end up living up to his hype, but I think it’s also be underestimated how little time he’s actually spent running Self’s system which everyone can agree is a fairly sophisticated system which is why we don’t see many freshmen or new players have an immediate impact for Self.
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@HighEliteMajor He can’t get past trying to out-athletic players, and trying to do it all himself. Worked in high school. It doesn’t work now. He is not a cerebral player. It doesn’t mean he can’t get better, perhaps much better. I don’t think the word selfish fits as much as confused…perhaps baffled. Right now, he is simply not grasping the college game. IMO, Frank had similar problems at times early in his career, and that turned out very nice. Cunliffe can defend, and can shoot. Our margin of error is so razor thin, I don’t see why we don’t simply give Cunliffe a real shot. 2nd half Svi took a dump last game. Vick was M.I.A. Put in Sam, Coach.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 That’s a really good point. Can you imagine what a Josh Jackson, Andrew Wiggins - even Selby would have done in a program like OU’s ? Don’t get me wrong, I hate Oklahoma in all sports, just using that as an example because of Young, Hield and many others they’ve had - even Bigger Mouthfield in football - they do a much better marketing job on the big names that they land in their respective sports.
