Bill Self Playing Favorites
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jayhawkcsg said:
KJ is just a hot mess. I can’t think of a better way to describe him or his play so far.
LOL! KU doesn’t win tonight without him.
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Despite shortcomings I still like the total package of what KJ can bring to the table more than Garrett. Just my opinion.
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Charlie Moore reminds me a little of Tyshawn in his apparent insistence on shooting the ball despite the obvious imprudence of such acts. And KJ does look like a “hot mess” — nice quote @jayhawkcsg. But he was key to winning. And I do love the irony of not having Garrett — does Garrett score KJ’s 8 points? Does Moore play as much? Does Garrett prevent some scoring from TN?
But we won, with both playing big minutes. With Udoka somewhat irrelevant. Just an excellent team effort.
Last night was a game, I think, that DeSousa would have made a huge difference. The type of matchup where he would have changed the complexion of the game.
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Moore and KJ gave great minutes last night. KJ had a really, really good stretch from late in the 2nd half all the way through OT. Looked like he gained some confidence.
I still think KJ should see very limited minutes. But, it was nice to see that we can rely on him when his number is called. Hard to believe how deep this team is.
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I was impressed with what KJ gave last night. He committed 3 quick fouls in the second half, but other than that he was really good.
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KJ had nothing for Grant Williams. But…I think that will be the case for a lot of guys this year. He was definitely much better after Williams fouled out.
@Kcmatt7 Agree. Nice depth to have but he also showed me why he isn’t getting minutes normally. He’s a nice worse case scenario starting 3/4 next year.
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Williams leaned in every time and drew the foul and so did several of the Tennessee players; a different crew would have called a lot of those a charge. The refs were really bad and really took over the game and not in a good way; I hate it when refs want to be the stars. The best refs are the ones no one talks about after the game.
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https://twitter.com/mattnorlander/status/1066386098740502528?s=21
Good article here.
Self talks about how it’s all mental right now with Q. Thinks this time off will help.
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Thought the same on Silvio. Very good point. Great team win. Had to battle being down for most of 2nd half.
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@BShark I thought he showed a lil more athleticism last pm.
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We flat out dont win tonight without Garrett’s defense. I’ll be honest, I’ll disappointed if MG doesn’t start Grimes has been lazy and flat out hasnt helped this team since Michigan State.
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@kjayhawks I can’t figure it out though. He’s not a lazy guy.
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@Crimsonorblue22 that was the recruiting spin on him, inconsistent shot and lack of effort at times. It was known, maybe he can be this seasons Newman but we are too deep to mess around with a guy that won put forth the effort in games.
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@kjayhawks he didn’t look lazy during the USA games. Shot wasn’t always there, but he played a lot of pt and got to the basket.
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@Crimsonorblue22 He is young still, plenty of time but he played very little in the second half against Tennessee and only 16 minutes tonight. It just bad deal when no part of the game he played stuck out good or bad really for like the 4th game in a row. I think we are a better team if he plays well but it all starts with him.
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Grimes is just lost on D.
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I agree that Garrett should start ahead of Q, but Garrett must limit his offense to driving and scoring at the rim, not shooting. In 33 min of playing time he correctly only took five shots and made two. But the misses spoke volumes about his lack of shooting ability. Garrett brings energy and heart. Bill Self loves the guy. But, please Marcus do all of us a favor and don’t shoot the ball. Defend, get steals and drive the rim.
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@BShark right and with his athletic ability, he should be more aggressive on offense. Maybe he just needs sometime. I trust Self and Co to help him.
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@BShark he doesn’t look like the same kid I saw play for USA.
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@stoptheflop I thought Marcus did ok fir his talent on offense tonight, missed a few at the rim but could’ve easily had foul calls on them as well.
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Crimsonorblue22 said:
@BShark he doesn’t look like the same kid I saw play for USA.
The coaching in that event was subpar.
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Q has simply lost all of his confidence. He hasn’t seen in a jumper go down in games and just can’t seem to get anything postive to work in his favor . His development is going to be the key to how far this team can go in my opinion .
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stoptheflop said:
I agree that Garrett should start ahead of Q, but Garrett must limit his offense to driving and scoring at the rim, not shooting. In 33 min of playing time he correctly only took five shots and made two. But the misses spoke volumes about his lack of shooting ability. Garrett brings energy and heart. Bill Self loves the guy. But, please Marcus do all of us a favor and don’t shoot the ball. Defend, get steals and drive the rim.
His outside shooting makes me think the cure may be an optometrist, a la “Wild Thing.”
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@Woodrow That does seem to be at least part of the problem. I wonder if we run any plays for him??? His game is not suited to running a weave just to feed the post every time down the court. The coaching staff needs to help create opportunities for him to see shots go down and build confidence.
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@DCHawker That might help, but he’s missing wide open looks. I think he needs two years- this shaken confidence thing doesn’t bode well for the NBA.
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As of today Grimes looks very little like a pro prospect. More like a Euro baller. Xavier Henry would be an upgrade at this point. Hopefully all the potiental he oozed last year comes to fruition by the end of the season like other slow starters (i.e. Oubre, Alexander etc.) I cant wait until Grimes “gets it”!
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Newman…
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I see Garrett as a vital piece to our success this year.
Everyone in here is correct to be critical of his offense.
But we will never find our way back to the Final Four without playing defense.
Garrett is one of the few players that even has a concept of defense right now.
Self has to teach defense and he has to put some defense on the floor. Right now, this is one of the poorest defensive teams I’ve seen from Bill at Kansas. Hopefully, they’ll improve dramatically over the year!
As of right now, MG may be the only player that has bought in to “Self ball” (defense).
By the way, I can easily see us lose a couple before conference play. This team is one big chaotic mess right now! We haven’t established anything on either side of the ball yet. Right now, Self will put anyone on the floor that will step up and fill in any of the holes in this team, on either side of the ball. Look, we’ve had to rely on a blistering Vick just to stay in games! What happens when he goes cold?
Right now, Self has to put any player on the floor who can execute ANYTHING! That is how loose this team is. We can’t even smack down cream puff teams with Doke in the paint. Gheez.
But I’m thrilled watching Vick finally showing us his wares. He still has other skills he’s not showing us. I’d like to see him take it to the rack more.
Have we even run our backdoor alleyoop yet this year? Wow… Self’s calling card.
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@drgnslayr Booyah! Nice post…
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drgnslayr said:
Have we even run our backdoor alleyoop yet this year? Wow… Self’s calling card.
This team is one of the least athletic teams Self has had. Grimes and Dedric do not have very good ups. Dotson is athletic but small. Doke is just big. Vick is the only top tier “athlete” on the active roster. Ochai looks to have soe serious athletic chops but we have to wait to see it develop.
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@BigBad Like Vick, I think Garrett is quick enough and athletic enough to execute the backdoor catch and dunk. But, currently on offense Garrett’s job is to execute the offense, not wait along the baseline for the backdoor pass.
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Garrett was “without a doubt” Self’s potg against Wofford. Interesting.
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Garrett really did play well, I thought. Somehow I don’t throw up when Self says that (like I did when he referenced JT in those situations – as if we weren’t watching the game).
Could Udoka really have been the potg? Meaning, that due to his absence we played better as a team?
God how I want DeSousa eligible. I’m beginning to believe that in order of importance, 1) DeSousa being eligible to play and 2) Grimes moving to his potential are the two biggest items for a national title.
Am I wrong in believing that I’d rather have DeSousa than Udoka?
I’m confused.
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@HighEliteMajor I don’t think its Doke, I think its the 4 guard line up that looks better. We used that line up against Tennessee in OT (Doke was fouled out) and it looked better. We also used it against Marquette with Doke in and it looked good. I think its fairly obvious at this point, that this team needs 4 guards on the court. I’m ok if Self wants to start Doke and Dedric and play 2 bigs here or there but the ball movement and overall play has been considerably better with 4 on the floor. I really don’t think there is an argument otherwise , watch tape of both and its a no brainer.
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Four. Guard. Line-up.
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BShark said:
Garrett was “without a doubt” Self’s potg against Wofford. Interesting.
His defense was really really good.
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@KirkIsMyHinrich he can really hit the boards, better than K.J.
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Garrett and KJ are of similar height, and that is where the similarities end.
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K.J. is a better shooter.
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This thread aged really well. Great job OP.
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dylans said:
Where’s Q gonna go juco ?!?
The kid’s hardly ready for NCAA let alone the NBA. I hope that delusion has left his skull, but you never know.Bill doesn’t even trust to put him out in key situations now and is totally correct.
Q didn’t enter in the 2nd half until very late. He promptly got lost on D and Self pulled him back out. Self can’t afford to play Q big minutes.
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Nice to see Garrett earning his keep on both ends of the floor now. Maybe by next year he’ll even hit a free throw or two!
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@BShark where is jayhawkfan2?
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@JayHawkFanToo where are you ?
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@approxinfinity Last online 25 days ago. He might be on a federal contract stranded overseas by the shutdown…
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KirkIsMyHinrich said:
Dedric was the best player tonight. Dotson was 2nd. Vick was 3rd.
Whoa…I get everyone’s reservation about Garrett, but COME ON. He deserves some credit. If this kid doesn’t stay aggressive, KU loses and that’s a fact. He was every bit as good as Dotson, but the nice fact is they came together and pulled off a win. In spite of our ignorant comments. His FTs have suffered lately.
I get the Self assessments on favs. He drives me crazy too. But we don’t have a stable of guys to choose. Agbaji is still adjusting, but rapidly. Freakin’ THT took him to school. I thought ISU did a great job creating mismatches, smart and genius from Prohm. But, KU won.
I think Self is going game to game. He just doesn’t have the luxury of having those constants each game as in the past. I really believe other than DLaw, Vick and Dotson, he’s simply game to game. I’d throw Garrett in the mix. But Ochai, Grimes, and even Garrett is still a work in progress. But we all know Self is going with tried and true Garrett. Right now, his D is what’s getting him the PT. Self will keep playing with Grimes each game.
ISU sped Ochai up too fast and it showed. His freshmen motor fouled him out. I know many were appreciating his aggressive play, but he can’t do that because it hurts the team. If Ochai and Grimes can hit their cylinders, we will be really hard to beat. Ochai shows flashes as a freshman.
Oh and…FREE SILVIO, as my cry falls on deaf ears and my fingers tirelessly type with wasted energy, SMH.
May I state the obvious to everyone? DLaw is a flatout stud. The NBA scouts must have been frothing at the mouth.
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@truehawk93 Two huge things with this team. First, much, much better to have a guy like Agbaji that you need to dial back. Intensity and aggressiveness are big deals here – this team, as much as any team under Self, needs that. Oddly, I was fine with him fouling out. I would have rather had him in the game, but this will help him learn and adjust. He needs to play. Second, Garrett deserves incredible credit for how his game has improved. It has all the earmarks of a coach in his ear continually telling him to drive, get to the rim, be aggressive – and then finally it sinking in. He’s attacking to the rim, and not falling away, sliding off, etc., which had limited that element of his game before.
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@truehawk93 That was a really old post you replied to. This thread is from early December. I bumped it back up to call out my own bad take.
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@HighEliteMajor I 100% agree with Ochai, but he’s no good with 5 fouls. I also get the the correlation with QG in too. Its unfortunate, but when they put it all together, it’s going to be a thing of beauty.
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I am both shocked by Garrett’s new found offensive mentality as well as Q’s inability to play defense (or really even ability to impact the game at all).
