Monmouth
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@BShark jinx us!
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@Crimsonorblue22 lol
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If we struggle with Monmouth I quit.
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@BShark you did say, dare I say?
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I’m humble. I just hope we win. I’m not looking past anyone this year.
I find it unlikely we lose, but I find it probable we show signs of struggle because we are still completely lost out there (as a team).
I know many will point to Devon. He is our PG and definitely one of our leaders, if not at the top. But he isn’t going to really shine until he is completely healed up and the team is learning how to space and screen and coordinate timing. Devon needs help to shine!
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People were critical of me saying this team isn’t nearly as experienced in reality as they are on paper.
This team is showing a lot of signs of being very inexperienced and still needing to develop on court chemistry which has been difficult due to injuries.
People said I was crazy for calling Silvio an overall downgrade from Lawson. Silvio playing about 15 minutes in 2 games should be a testament to that. Moss is a solid player, but he’s not a game changer either.
Udoka is the most important player on this team. KU will go as Doke goes.
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Yes, showing lots of inexperience.
I think Silvio will show a lot more as the season progresses. He’s playing extremely soft right now and his game is strength.
David has shown more so far because he is hustling more. And he is showing a bit more range.
We don’t run anything through a 2 post offense yet. These games closer resemble a YMCA lunch ball game than a D1 game.
I’m curious if Self goes back to early Self ball… hi lo where he often split the post, left and right.
I expect him to develop some form of hybrid, taking a bit of everything from his past to combine and create offense.
So far we sure look better with just one big. Neither of our 4s are true 4s and then they don’t know what to do out there because we haven’t plugged in an offense.
Resolving the 4 may be our biggest hurdle this year.
Lots of second guessing done by all, but I think those who questioned if Marcus belongs on the floor have now gone silent. He’s a solid defender, overall scraper, and, for now, is the only player that seems to know how to take it to the rack. Devon will penetrate more as things are resolved and he is running at full strength.
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@drgnslayr The problem with the offense is pretty much what I thought would happen in the off-season. Neither McCormack nor Silvio developed the range to run the high-low which was something that had to happen in order for the high-low offense to work as effectively as possible this season. Self has tried to run the high-low this year, but defenses rightfully so don’t respect McCormack or Silvio from the top of the key and they sag down to double team Doke.
The other issue the lack of range from the 4 spot does is that it clogs the lane and takes away dribble penetration from Dotson and Garrett making them less effective.
Because Isaiah Moss is the same type of streaky shooter that Vick is, he’s not going to change the offense too much from last season.
KU needs Tristan to develop quickly because he’s the guy that can open up the floor at the 4 spot.
I got ridiculed quite a bit for saying the offense was going to regress from last season and now that they have, I wish I was wrong, but the warning signs were there.
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McCormack nailed a corner jumper last night but if you found anything else he did to impact the game I’ll gladly eat some crow
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It really depends on if Bill Self sticks with the 4 out offense. If we can Develop Tristan, get Ochai and Moss to shoot it consistently we will be a very good team. If not then we will see our guards drive in 4 or 5 bodies and have to take contested shots in the paint. We all saw how much better Doke looked with a clear path.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 the offense can be much improved by mid season. Last years offense wasn’t great with Doke and Dedric on the floor. The high low is dead period.
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You did get ridiculed for mentioning the lack of experience.
Yes, we have two 4s that have a similar game with neither developing much range. I’m more focused on them learning to guard the perimeter. They can learn to do plenty besides developing an outside shot.
Because of their limitations and I know Self will want to utilize them, I see this team having to run a more rigid offense, counting often on plays and variants.
I’m a big fan of Tristan. I see possibilities for him to gobble up quite a few minutes this year, and rightly so. Just wish he was stronger.
The game has changed since Self arrived at Kansas. Size has been traded for mobility, diversity and shooting. And because everyone else has gone this route, Self is forced to, too… or we pay the consequences. Notice how we aren’t really dominating the boards. It really isn’t necessary to have size if players seal off the boards.
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@drgnslayr anyone that didn’t think this group would have growing pains and would have to figure out how to play together doesn’t have a very high basketball IQ.
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Yep. But there are some structural issues with this team at the 4. Remember when the Morris twins arrived, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize we would be counting on their perimeter game more than anything else. We don’t have that luxury here. We have 3 low posts guys. I do see some hope for David. And who knows, maybe Silvio. The guys have to practice the perimeter and then we will see how it goes.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 Regression after 2 games? I wouldn’t declare it official yet. But I think you’re right. I think a lot of us saw a silky transition this season. Still time. But the games early on last season with Vick will be tough to top. We were stickin’ 80+ on the board like it was nothing. And as much Lawson was an athletic dud, he could score. This team will be one that builds to that, but might never get there. I do see the potential. Enaruna, as @drgnslayr mentioned, is the real deal. Truthfully, next to Dotson, who would you bet on more at the level on this team? He’s odds on favorite to be the best player on the team next season, I think. Garrett’s better shooting this season and Silvio will come around. We need give Doke space. But defense will be our key … we just need to score more than the opponent. And that will all relate to how we guard the line. But the regression prediction seems dead on.
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This team is athletic and has a high ceiling. If they just keep improving throughout the season, I think we’ll have a shot to beat anyone on most days.
Assuming the young guys improve and Dotson and Garrett gel, the big wild card is the front court players: will Azibuke and DeSousa improve to their previous level and at least become consistent there? Will McCormick improve? I feel like that’s the key to the season.
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I personally think SDS is the best candidate to improve enough to guard on the perimeter and to hit a jump shot. He looks to be much more athletic than Doke and David. This team frustrated me against Dook but make no mistake we are winning this conference and making outta the first weekend of the tournament.
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Self says Doke has the quickest feet of the bigs.
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@Crimsonorblue22 he may have but that doesn’t mean he’s faster in race or can jump higher. Doke just need space to move those feet to the right spot and when he does it’s 2 points 80% of the time.
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@kjayhawks he meant he can guard a 4 better. Does ok. Have a 5?
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@Crimsonorblue22 Doke can’t guard a 4 outside of the paint.
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@kjayhawks self said he’s the quickest of the bigs, but he needs him down low. Done
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@Crimsonorblue22 saying Doke has the quickest feet doesn’t mean he’s saying he can defend the perimeter Lmao. Anyone that has watch him try to in the past 4 years has seen it not work many times.
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@kjayhawks She is quoting Self. He said Dok has the quickest feet and is our best perimeter defender (doesn’t mean good, just best of the 3) but he will be manning the paint. Leaving Silvio and Dave whom are worse perimeter defenders at the 4, but he wants Dok’s heft by the rim.
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Dedrick inflated the score for both teams.
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The way to take advantage of our personnel and guard the three point line is a 3-2 zone. Put our big guys in back. It’s a natural fit for what we have.
The only three pointer that is difficult to rotate to is the corner three after a skip pass from the opposite wing. I’d take that.
I’ll never understand why Self won’t open his mind to this, given the obvious fit with our personnel.
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I totally agree. It’s an easy solution and one where we have the right personnel to accomplish it.
I’m thinking Self is just trying to prove to himself (first) that he tried gallantly to keep the M2M. We will see how many games we have to be burned on the perimeter before the change takes place.
I want to see if our coaches can actually “coach up” our guys to fix this. There is no reason why we can’t quickly be respectable on defense guarding the trey even from the 4 spot using a M2M.
I can see us using the zone and M2M. And it is good to be able to mix things up. Then there will be some opponents with small, fast 4s who can drain the nets from trey. With those teams we might just start with the zone and keep it all game.
It does feel like we are maybe placing too much energy in this area where we could make fast gains in a zone and then spend that extra time working on an offense that is in shambles. Losing to Duke by 2 is not the end of the world but our first home game, only winning by 12 against a team far below us was the real “eye opener.”
