Best posts made by DinarHawk

Well, for all the poor passes, turnovers, bad calls, and questionable defense, the guys showed a lot of grit when Oklahoma was looking almost unstoppable. Mason, even though Hield still scored, made it a lot tougher for him. It was disappointing to see Mason and Graham have a tough first half, and the turnovers, plus poor transition D, allowed OU to gain momentum that almost got them the win. Fortunately, they both were much better in the second half and overtimes and made several really good defensive plays.

I do not want to hear anyone, ANYONE, ever say that Ellis is soft and not aggressive. We do not win tonight without him being aggressive, driving inside, and that huge open 3 to tie the game. I was also impressed with Selden. Still looks totally different than last year and made several huge plays.

Oklahoma and Hield are definitely as good as advertised. Hield was dreaming of a chance to beat KU at Allen Fieldhouse, and he almost succeeded. When they are on, I would say maybe only KU and UNC could keep up with them. Hield is Durant level good and can carry them to the Final Four.

I know that a lot of people wanted Self to sub more, but I can not blame him for going with the guys that could play defense the best, although I think Hunter should have been in more. I thought they made some very timely plays and showed championship level defense when needed.

Right now, I think Oklahoma, KU, and UNC are probably the best teams, as I feel they can play at a higher level than MSU, Maryland, and Xavier. What are your thoughts?

It was one of the most pleasant games to watch in years. I really liked how Hunter played today - he reminded me of Withey!

Graham, Mason, and Selden are definitely championship caliber guards, and the best three since Chalmers, Rush and Robinson in 08.

Really glad that Self kept an open mind in allowing more dribble drive, run and gun action instead of throwing it inside. Baylor had no way to defend all the action and was helpless. I think the reason they stayed within 15 in the first half was because Hunter got two quick fouls. I know I sound like a broken record, but kudos to Self for making the adjustment and starting Hunter next to Perry. Even though he doesnt have the potential of Diallo, Hunter impacts the game in so many ways and is so much like Withey, only he is faster. I think that we could get to the Final Four with Mickelson, if he stays out of foul trouble.

Had 35 points and led all scorers.

@DoubleDD Like I said on another thread, transition and perimeter defense was the reason why we didn’t go up double digits at half.

Vitale mentioned during the first ten minutes how well we were getting back on defense and forcing OU to play in the half court, but then got very careless about covering shooters in transition.

Second, since OU is just as good as us from 3, you have to cover their shooters better, even when Hield drives into the lane. Except for one three, all of Woodard’s threes were open jumpers. Hield will get his, but you have to force Cousins and Woodard to make individual plays and play one on one defense with them.

In my opinion, guarding perimeter shooters and forcing them into a tough guarded shot is the improvement. Not the rotation, not playing Diallo more (though it would be nice if the light bulb goes on this season) and not subbing more. And it’s not like the defense was bad, but when facing an elite shooting team, you can’t just collapse into the paint to stop penetration and hope the open shooter misses. Strong individual defense stops both.

Fortunately for us, KU and OU are the two best trey balling teams in the country outside of St Marys. The only top 25 teams that I have seen that could pose the same problem like OU are UNC, Maryland somewhat, and Villanova, though Vill is streaky.

@MoonwalkMafia I agree, but Bragg and Diallo can’t play when the game and a big 12 championship and number 1 seed are on the line - they are just not comfortable with Self’s system yet. They should only play extended minutes in blowouts.

@HighEliteMajor Excellent posts regarding Self’s recent comments.

What some on here are failing to understand is how out of place and, to an extent, inappropriate Self’s comments are. A lot of this is on him for not having the personnel to have an inside out game that we have become accustomed to. This is the team he has and he needs to let them shoot. And if the other team does its job and compensates for the trey shooting, then drive and dish.

Good perimeter shooting really opens up the middle for guys like Perry to have room to operate.

And also, just because we are not on the coaching staff does not mean we are inept or stupid. Yes, Self is most likely a better coach than any of us or any two of us put together. But that does not mean that he is perfect or all knowing, because he is far from that. He has two very apparent weaknesses: lack of flexibility and choking in the tournament, both of which have resulted in losses that are bizarre and perplexing (UNI, VCU, etc.), and should never have happened.

That said, I think he is still a very good coach and wouldn’t want someone else in his position. But at the same time he needs to work also on improving his weaknesses and not repeating those same mistakes, which is exactly what we all have to do in our everyday lives.

Selden will play the 3 spot this year and frank and devonte will most likely be the starting 1 and 2. Self would be crazy to even consider moving Selden back to the 2 spot. Svi will probably sub for Devonte and Wayne, as he can play the 1-3. Just my opinion.

@jayballer54 The last team KU had that could play a half court game and still get to the final four was in 2008. Self has to figure out how to push tempo, because all except one of his teams suck when playing slow. When that happens, all of a team’s flaws are exposed , then we get in a big discussion about this and that.

Fix the problem by playing fast.

@DoubleDD I hear you man, I feel the same way. After watching other top ten teams, there is no one that you can point to and say they are definitively better than us. Watched Oklahoma almost get beat by Hawai’i. We can most certainly give them their first loss in a few weeks.

@pa_grape yes. Would probably have helped if Hunter had played more.

@jaybate-1.0 It sure looks like it. Having 3 point shooters all over the court really helps to open the floor for Perry to score inside also.

@KUSTEVE that and those two are still struggling to be fluid on both ends of the floor.

As others have correctly stated, when don’t need 20-30 points per game from the 5 position. What do we need then? Defense, rebounding, and fundamentals. I mentioned it before but I think everyone needs to go back again and watch the Duke 2010 title team. Not a single player on that team that was even remotely as talented as Jahil Okafor back to the basket. Yes I know Zoubeck and Thomas were top 100 recruits as well as the two Plumlees, but none of them were skilled offensively. What they did have is chemistry, hustle, and could rebound well.

HEM, here is the only team to platoon the five spot and win the title. Duke had four guys, we have five guys. So with all due respect, we can win a title IF C5 shows toughness and resilience.

Like Self said on HawkTalk the other night, I too am not willing to sacrifice losses for the possibility that Bragg and/or Cheick improve. We can theorize till the cows come home, but the truth is we have no clue if they will improve this year enough to play 25 - 30 minutes a game.

@sfbahawk You miss the point - it is how we lost. None of us on here expect KU to go undefeated in the Big 12. That is unrealistic, especially against so many good teams.

The fact that they were outtoughed, outcoached, and had no in game adjustments from Self is why many, including myself, are displeased. Everyones best effort was not on display last night, including Self.

Really, in regards to getting to the final four, winning the conference is not important, Recent teams that made it to the final four have proved that. But it sure leaves a sour taste in my mouth when guys are getting punked and beaten badly all game and nothing is done by anyone. Inexcusable.

@drgnslayr You win as a team, and you lose as a team. Losses are NEVER on one person. Everyone contributed. That includes Bill Self and the coaching staff.

As I said earlier, you do with what you have, and having Tharpe with his head in the game and bringing good intensity and focus is good enough to get us to the Final Four, which would be a better result than in years past with very good teams.

Remember, there is a reason that people talk about getting hot in the tournament after having some struggles.

I want people on here to think things for the right reasons and see things for how they really are. For example, could we have a better point guard? Yes. However, we must further analyze Tharpes weaknesses to see what might cost us getting to Dallas. To me, his biggest weakness is being careless and not focusing. When Tharpe has focused and has not turned the ball over, isnt that good enough to at least get us to the Final Four? Of course it is!

It is not too much to expect your point guard to not be careless and not turn the ball over. If all Tharpe did was play good defense, move the ball well, set the pace, and not turn it over, it would be a good game.

Drgnslary you bring up a good point about this team not having a chip on its shoulder. However, the only teams we have had in the Bill Self era that have had a chip on their shoulder are the 12 and 08 teams.

You also make a point about how much better they would be if they had a better point guard. In my opinion, we do not need a different point guard. What we NEED is for coach Self to get Tharpe playing at the right level, which means not turning it over like last night. That is the job of the coach.

Also, I am not hoping and dreaming for Tharpe to mature or whatever else before the tournament. What I am hoping for is that he FOCUSES on fundamental and basic aspects of being the point guard, which is not turning the ball over, making shots when the team needs points, getting out and running(which I have seen him do numerous times despite what others say), and finding open teammates.

If they dont make it to the Final Four, it will be because Tharpe doesnt play SMART, not because he is incapable as some make him out to be. He is inconsistent, not incapable. What I hope for is Self taking charge of the team and getting the team and Tharpe ready to make a run in March.

@HighEliteMajor Great post HEM!!

Thanks for not being negative.

Right now, the team just has to think “win two games”.

They have to have their absolute best focus for two games in order to get Joel back. They need to focus on winning and not be all negative like most posters over on KU Sports. Pretty pathetic over there.

@HawkInMizery This has been exactly what I have been talking about.

They need motivation. They need someone telling them that they cant do it.

“While they were saying among themselves it can not be done, it was done.” - Helen Keller

@drgnslayr I agree, there is probably not a team in the country that can be as physical as KU.

The most fundamental aspect of winning is simply playing more aggressively than the other team.

This is basically part of. how UConn won the title last year - they were tenacious and very intense.

The way that this years team can be competitive against Duke, UK, and Arizona is to play high pressure defense and make 8 to 10 threes a game. It is possible to make it to the final four without a seven foot rim protector. The title team didn’t have a dominant rim protector but played tremendous team defense, probably the best team defense of the last ten years.

@Crimsonorblue22 Yep. One game at a time.

@tis4tim Yep, typical ISU. I think they care more about beating KU than winning in the tournament.

@jaybate-1.0 Sorry JB, but I think you’re wrong on the ND - UK game. ND had a very average game in terms of three point shooting (I think they only made 4 or 5). ND was the better team for most of the game because they fought hard getting position for rebounds, they played physical, and were crafty enough on offense to have a chance to win even without making double digit threes.

This game proved that you don’t have to play a perfect game to beat UK - you just have to not beat yourself. If it wasn’t for a couple of errors in the last minute and a half,ND would have won.

@drgnslayr I am often frustrated with people who say that Perry should go because he can’t improve anymore. This couldn’t be further from the truth. He could improve his defense, outside shot, and fade away jumper. There is still plenty of room for improvement.

With Perry returning and the possible addition of Diallo, this team certainly has the talent to win it all next year.

@justanotherfan “If you aren’t studying the success of your opponents, you are falling behind, whether in basketball or in any other profession.”

You stealing all my lines man? Lol

@Bwag Yep. I was watching UK and was impressed with what Cal does with freshman. He is better at getting his players ready and playing defense well. Been that way the last five years. Self needs to take notice.

@cragarhawk That is my opinion also. Exact same team as last year.

@KUSTEVE Jay Williams also picked KU to win it all with Diallo. Can’t wait to see him play Tuesday.

@wissoxfan83 happy to talk ball with you man!

@HighEliteMajor Also, I liked that mid first Self went with the press and the lead ballooned to 16. But no press the entire second half and it was a nailbiter.

@HighEliteMajor Your post just explained why Self struggles in the post season - lack of preparation and playing to his team’s strengths. We seem to always play the game at the pace the opponent wants, not what is best for us. Yesterday, Harvard wanted to play a half court game to keep the score low and have a chance to win. And it almost worked.

This team’s strength is playing fast, scoring the ball, and when they play with energy their defense is very good.

But Self is so stubborn that he has to pound the ball inside to sleep better at night, even though this team is dominant and almost has no equals when first playing outside then inside.

On the topic of it being his livelihood to win. Yes, that is what allows him to have a coaching job. But on the flip side, the style of play that he desperately wants to play is completely unreliable given the present personnel, and he is still having a hard time adjusting. It was an atrocity that Diallo did not play more yesterday.

As others have said, I don’t want to wait another 20 years for a championship. Let’s play our game and get to Houston in April.

Excellent post man and an accurate summation of Self exploring options other than pounding the ball inside. This is the way for this team to make a final four and compete at a high level. Really liked the use of the press to speed the game up.

@jayballer54 Merry Christmas! Love talking basketball with you guys and gals

@wissoxfan83 We have two of the best guards in the nation. These two remind me of Napier and Boatright from a couple years ago.

@jaybate-1.0 eh, not necessarily.

Great post slayr. Like you, I had a bad feeling about this game in the first - Northern Iowa and Stanfordesque. But even with a terrible first half and below average trey shooting, we still won by 25.

I was very impressed by how Perry attacked in the second half and took it right to big Mommadou and even drew a foul or two on him.

The urgency they had in the second half is how they need to play all the time.

@drgnslayr Perry I think realizes that this is his last chance for a final four and he needs to bring it every night.

@DoubleDD I had a feeling the MSU woke him up and got him thinking outside the box. “Freeing his mind” as @HighEliteMajor would say.

@JayHawkFanToo Yes, the officiating was sickening. Not surprised about Higgins - he has earned a reputation as being a dip.

@pa_grape OU is definitely legit, but we did not play as well as we could have. Poor transition defense was one area. I would say the only thing OU does more of is ball screens, but KU does of bit of that too, and Perry and Wayne do a bit of their scoring off of pick and rolls, specifically Perry. Remember he made a three off a pick and roll to tie the game at 88.

@DoubleDD OU knew they needed this one to have a chance to win the conference. They were definitely the hunter, but fortunately KU pulled it out.

He made two big threes at the end to seal the W. SMU still undefeated!

Big win in terms of the Big 12 race. Helps us out.

Just need to hang on and get out of here with a W.

@HighEliteMajor agreed. Just more excuses from Self blaming everything on the players, as if he is totally helpless from the sideline

@drgnslayr the sissification of America - all by design. Sad to see.

@HighEliteMajor I like your rankings except for Kentucky and Villanova. I know that Louisville has no inside presence, but there defense looked really good. Villanova I think should also be in the top ten. Even though the final score indicates a blowout, it was a close game in the final minutes. After watching the other elite teams this past weekend, I noticed a few things that KU has to work on in order to compete with them and consequently beat them. First, while their defense has steadily improved over the course of the season so far, it is not at the level of Syracuse or Arizona. Secondly, transition points. They have the speed, athleticism and talent to run better than anyone in the country except for Kentucky, and they have not utilized that every game. If they have a cold night shooting, this is the easiest way to get points, especially in a slow, half court game like what the Northern Iowa and VCU games were like.

Other than those two things, they stack up very well against the best teams this year, and have a solid chance(as long as they continue to improve) to make the Final Four.

Thoughts about tonight’s game:

• I would like to see Andrew have more offensive production tonight. We all know that he is capable of putting up 20 - 25 a night, but he just hasn’t been doing it. To me, it seems like he is starting to settle for the outside shot a little too much, which is what Josh Selby and Xavier Henry did too much. He is not a good enough shooter to be a consistent outside threat. He needs to drive and look to score or dish it off. With the new rules, he is the one that should benefit the most out of our perimeter players, except for maybe Mason. It think that he has been thinking too much because of all the expectations and pressure that media organizations such as ESPN are putting on him. While he doesn’t need to be averaging 35 ppg, I do feel that he needs to step it up a little bit. I agree with the analysis that has been done regarding his entry passes into the post. Guys such as Morningstar were adept in regards to their post entry passing technique. Andrew is a guy that has the ability to be Mr. Automatic in his post passing, and is something we are going to need this year with all of the defensive pressure that our outstanding post men are going to be facing.

• In regards to Frank Mason, I think it was stated best that he is best against man to man. Unfortunately, a lot of teams are playing zone, which means fewer opportunities for him to shine. However, I feel that Tharpe has been running the point pretty well, which is really all he needs to do. I also like that he has shown the ability to knock down the occasional 15 foot shot, which is something that he has to do in order to spread out the defense. I personally think that the difference between him and Tharpe on the defensive end is not that much, although one of them could prove me wrong during the course of the next couple games. As of right now, I agree with Self that Tharpe is the better option at point when we are facing zones, as they have shown improvement about how to attack zones and the vulnerable areas of said defense.

• As I have said before, Black is probably the second biggest key for us to get to Dallas. We MUST have his rebounding, especially when we face big teams such as Michigan State, Kentucky, and Syracuse. I remember Duke’s national championship team in 2010 and the good rebounders they had in Brian Zoubeck and Lance Thomas. If I am not mistaken, both of them graduated, and the following year they were defeated in the Sweet Sixteen with much of the same team. Same thing with Louisville this year. They lost Dieng and therefore have practically no inside presence and shot blocker to speak of. This year, we have so much size and ability down low that they should dominate every opponent in the paint.

• I mentioned in my post earlier that a crucial area that KU needs to improve on in order to be able to beat any team this year is their transition game. It is by far the easiest way to score points, and we have all the necessary athletes to do so. However, in order to get transition points, they must hunker down on the defensive end to get run outs on the other. The good thing about it is, this team has so much potential and room to grow on defense, and by March, I think that they will be maybe the best defensive team in the country. They have the size, speed, talent, and athleticism to do it. All they have to do is want to do it.

• While Toledo is a solid mid major and is unbeaten, they have played no one similar to the opponents that we have. For this game to be a blowout win, they must guard with full energy and not take possessions off. If anything, they can relax on offense. The national championship did not win it all because of its offense, even though their O was tremendous. The '12 team certainly didn’t go to the championship game because of its offense. Defense wins championships. Even with the new rules, they can still play Bill Self style defense that is in your face, lock down defense.

I agree it does appear as though Self is going the #1 seed way. However, I have always felt that people put too much emphasis on getting a #1 seed. It’s not as though a top seed is unimportant, but what this team needs right now until the tournament begins is development. Remember, the '12 team was a #2 seed and made it all the way to the championship, but lost because Kentucky just had more talent. Personally, it doesn’t matter if this team gets a one or two seed. Getting a two seed will not prevent them from getting to Dallas and bringing home some hardware. Not rebounding will cost them a title. Having over 15 turnovers will cost them a title. Poor defense will cost them a title. If you look at their losses this year, the former are the reasons why they lost, save maybe the Florida game.

If you think back to the last handful of years where KU has been a #1 seed('07, '10, '11, and '13), having a #1 seed has not helped them to get to the final four. The three elements that I listed have prevented them from doing better in the tournament. The one year out of the past decade besides the championship team where I felt like they were prepared was '12 when they had some disappointing losses in the non con. It’s the same thing this year. Their schedule has prepared them for the rocky road in March and potentially April.

@Crimsonorblue22 Very true. Alot of San Diego State fans talk about their win at KU, but I think that if they played in March, KU would win the rematch.

@HighEliteMajor It seems to be a common misconception that Ellis does not have the ability to win a matchup against long power forwards. The problem for Ellis is that he makes the mistake of trying to go inside against them, and in doing so gets his shot blocked.

What he needs to do is play outside in. He needs to be in pick and roll situations where he can shoot mid range jumpers and be out on the perimeter. As we all saw during the TCU game, Ellis can knock down perimeter shots with decent consistency, so that should be his primary attack against LSAs. He needs to leave the muscle ball to Black, Traylor, and Lucas while he plays his perimeter game.