"We’re not very big."
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I disagree, Coach. Dave is 6’ 10" 265 lbs. The heck with Silvio…FREE DAVE. Marcus Garrett guarding Osteoporosis was a joke. Our rebounding was a joke. The 4 out with no shooters was…well, I don’t want to belabor the point. How about we go with a Big Dave/Dedric/Ochai/Dotson/ and either Marcus, Vick, or Q? My preference would be Marcus, because at least I know he’ll try, even if he can’t shoot. As much as I love Coach, I don’t see why we didn’t just have Dave simply fill in for Doke. This playing completely different has thrown the whole team off.
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The title of this article is interesting. What other words could we substitute for " big " ?
I’d start with " aggressive ".
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@nuleafjhawk To me, it would be easier to teach Big Dave what to do than it is trying to teach a young team a brand new offensive system ( 4 out ) that plays to their weaknesses instead of their strengths.
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@KUSTEVE I totally agree with you Steve. I was just logging in to start a thread with the same thoughts. Cry me a river Bill, “we’re not very big”, “Our best passer doesn’t have anyone to throw it to right now”. We are one of the “have’s” and not one of the “have-not’s”. I watch a lot of ball around the country and watch what other teams do with far less talent that we have. Steve- I think your lineup is good. David would develop if Bill would leave him out there for more than a few minutes at a time. He’s been told he’s supposed to “bring energy off the bench”, so he thinks he needs to be running around crazy when he’s out there. He needs to settle down a bit and use his energy more wisely, which I think he would quickly learn to do. Marcus Garrett needs to play ahead of Vick and Grimes. Get down to a 7 man rotation with Vick and Moore being the subs. Mitch could get spot minutes if we have foul trouble. Hopefully Bill gets this figured out soon so we don’t waste David’s freshman season on the bench.
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@SlickRockJayhawk I think he is afraid to bench Q because he knows if he does, other schools will use that against us in recruiting. It doesn’t make much sense to me to allow Q to play through his mistakes, and not Big Dave.
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McCormack still fouls at a pretty high rate. Playing him more minutes isn’t going to help yet because of that. He picks up a couple quick fouls and is out of the game 4 minutes in, if that.
I’m also willing to be Dave still looks pretty sped up in practice which is why Self hasn’t played him more in games yet. If that light comes on for Dave and he slows it down, then we’ll probably see his minutes increase because his rebounding is desperately needed.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 Your comment on fouls is just unfounded regarding McCormack.
Was Doke unable to help this season? Or last? Or DeSousa last season? Or is Mitch Lightfoot unable to help because of fouls? Or heck, Landen Lucas a few years ago? Or Embiid? You should review this stuff before you post.
The fact is, McCormack does not foul at a high rate. Actually, it’s very reasonable.
Doke’s foul rate per 40 minutes was 5.7 (and 5.1 last season); Mitch’s is 6.0; DeSousa’s foul rate was 7.5 per 40 minutes last season. Landen Lucas was 5.2 his senior year and 5.4 his junior season. Embiid was 5.8.
McCormack’s is only 4.4 per 40 minutes.
Further, he’s never even had more than 2 fouls in a game all season. He’s played five games with double digit minutes, and a total of only 6 fouls in those games combined.
Now, your sped up thing is a different story. Game action. Becoming comfortable – that’s more of what he needs. DeSousa was a disaster starting out last season.
McCormack playing, starting, and this team going 3/2 is the best option right now. We need a high rate of micro-management/scripting by coach Self on offense.
I loved the zone we played. Not all the time. But as a change-up when needed. We never play zone well here. Self’s a man-to-man coach. But it’s needed now at times.
Dedric, McCormack, Vick, Agbaji, Dotson – that’s my vote to start and play the most minutes. Garrett and Grimes off the bench, with Lightfoot as needed. We’d play some 4/1, but hopefully 30-35 minutes of 3/2.
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KUSTEVE said:
@SlickRockJayhawk I think he is afraid to bench Q because he knows if he does, other schools will use that against us in recruiting. It doesn’t make much sense to me to allow Q to play through his mistakes, and not Big Dave.
He benched Oubre. If anything I would think Self knows Q has a fragile ego and cant take it. At this point he cant bring anyone in aside from Agbaji, who is playing already, that would make the team any better.
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Our record is 7 wins and 5 losses without Doke (counting South Dakota), using primarily four guards + Dedric.
Considering the supposed talent on the team, that’s NOT GOOD, and we get worse each game.
I’m going to second guess the hall of fame coach and say it’s time to free Big Dave and bench Grimes. We’re not out of the hunt yet, and there is still time to whip a new lineup into shape.
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KUSTEVE said:
@SlickRockJayhawk I think he is afraid to bench Q because he knows if he does, other schools will use that against us in recruiting. It doesn’t make much sense to me to allow Q to play through his mistakes, and not Big Dave.
What are other school recruiters going to say? – “Psst…Bill Self benches top-ten guys after 21 games, but by golly we’ll keep playing you all the way through your worthless one and done year even if you stink.”
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@DanR LOL. True that.
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Dedrick puts up stats, but they fill empty. He’s not really a go-to guy. This team really misses Dok, but he’s not coming back…at least this season. Silvio would fill the void nicely, but that seems unlikely. As for the guys that can actually play it’s time to produce. Grimes needs to get laid or something. His head is messed up. McCormack needs more minutes, but those aren’t given away so he must earn them in practice. I’d love to see him get on the floor. Charlie needs to grow about 5 inches. KJ needs to figure out the system. He’s totally lost. Dotson needs to be more aggressive while cutting down on turnovers. Garrett needs to carve out a consistent roll on offense. He’s never going to be a shooter. Mitch. Love his heart. Ochai - a very nice surprise! Vick is the same streaky moody guy he’s always been.
Jr Dotson would be a nice compliment to this team. But would it undermine future success? Maybe Jr Dotson and Jr Grimes teamed up with preseason all America Jr Agbaji is what brings home the hardware in April. Maybe this seasons hardships is what galvanizes them for future greatness. I really don’t want to wait that long though!
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I don’t know hardly anything about basketball and watching the game the other night I thought, wow, we’re really small.
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@wissox And really bad, meaning basic basketball skills.
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@Fightsongwriter IDK about that. Doke didn’t beat top ranked Tennessee by himself. We have some talent. I’m optimistic this turns around somehow or another.
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dylans said:
Dedrick puts up stats, but they fill empty.
I’d be willing to bet that at a minimum 30% of his rebounds are off his own short shot. He constantly does that.
