This team...

[ousdahl]

The potential is there, but I dunno.

He needs to show he can do something at an elite level. He’s a really good college shooter, but I dunno if elite. He hasn’t shown nba range, and is still prone to leaving shots short.

And while he’s a really good athlete and does other things well, I just dunno if he’s displayed a comprehensive skill set or intangibles to really get the attention of GMs.

You had me until the comprehensive skill set thing. Och's path is clearly 3 and D. Comprehensive skills or the total package only really matters for the franchise changing Top 3ish picks.

Otherwise we wouldn't have Joe Harris signing $75m contracts and Corey Kispert projected lotto.

It’s not that a comprehensive skill set is required, it’s just that it certainly wouldn’t hurt, especially in lieu of elite shooting or other selling points.

If, say, he was the same shooter he is now, but also otherwise shown a knack for handles or playmaking or other skills, it would only help his draft stock.

[pdub]

I will say, despite getting trounced by Baylor and Texas, I think we can go on a good winning streak here.

If we win 9 in a row, will you guys be OK?
Or still Self should be fired kinda deal?

[jfish26]

Jesse:

Here’s something for Bill Self to consider following KU Jayhawks’ loss to Baylor

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/colle ... 70750.html

Following Monday’s loss to Baylor, McCormack has a season offensive rating of 100.7 and a usage rate of 29.0 at KenPom. In layman’s terms ... he’s been a below-average offensive option, while compounding that issue by taking on an unnecessarily huge offensive load.

[...]

Playing through McCormack has an opportunity cost too. Force-feeding the big man not only has moved KU away from an early-season five-guard epiphany that saved the Jayhawks in a few close games, but it’s seemed to crater the production of Jalen Wilson, who looked like a surefire All-Big 12 first-teamer before this stylistic change contributed to a sapping of his aggressiveness and confidence.

All this isn’t to say that McCormack shouldn’t have a role on this year’s KU team; that’s not true at all. But a quick glance to the advanced stats should be sounding alarms that even national writers are beginning to clamor about: KU should not be running its offense through a big man who has made 43% of his twos against D-I competition while not drawing an overwhelming number of fouls.

[...]

There seems to be a better path forward. KU needs its big man to fit its other four players, not the other way around. It needs better defense from that 5-spot too, with Baylor and Oklahoma State both using simple ball screens to put KU’s defense in conflict when McCormack was unable to stick with offensive players in space.

This gameplan, in other words, has had time to work, but it just isn’t.

Perhaps Self still will be proven right. Maybe McCormack will improve and turn into the player the coach has believed in all along.

The danger, though, becomes if that doesn’t happen.

Because it wouldn’t be McCormack sinking KU’s chances at a higher ceiling then; instead, it would be Self.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Newell's been reading the board . . .

[Deleted User 89]

Newell's been reading the board . . .

we’re just a smart board, save for a few idiots

[CrimsonNBlue]

The staff and players need to take a lesson from Collins, Tyshawn, Graham, and Newman and stop sulking over the loss of Azubuike and Dotson. It's their team now, move on and kick some ass.

[randylahey]

McCormack is 53-123 (43.1%) on the season. That is terrible.

If Self is going to stand by McCormack as our best player, figure out how to get him better looks. He should absolutely be shooting above 50%!

do you guys not realize that other teams think mccormack is our best player too? not just self. how often do you see och braun garret or wilson get double teamed or create their own offense? every time mccormack touches the ball the opposition sends help

[NewtonHawk11]

The staff and players need to take a lesson from Collins, Tyshawn, Graham, and Newman and stop sulking over the loss of Azubuike and Dotson. It's their team now, move on and kick some ass.

Which is why, like you mentioned, the attempted dunks by Ochai and Harris were good to see. They wanted to take them on and throw it down hard.

Aggressive dunks are something that has been missing for a while now. Ochai about had the and-one oop and then the breakaway dunk attempt.

[randylahey]

The potential is there, but I dunno.

He needs to show he can do something at an elite level. He’s a really good college shooter, but I dunno if elite. He hasn’t shown nba range, and is still prone to leaving shots short.

And while he’s a really good athlete and does other things well, I just dunno if he’s displayed a comprehensive skill set or intangibles to really get the attention of GMs.

he has. och has elite athleticism and shooting. which perfectly carves him out a role in the NBA as a 3 and D guy. if he continues to shoot 43 % from 3, I don't expect him back next year

[CrimsonNBlue]

McCormack is 53-123 (43.1%) on the season. That is terrible.

If Self is going to stand by McCormack as our best player, figure out how to get him better looks. He should absolutely be shooting above 50%!

do you guys not realize that other teams think mccormack is our best player too? not just self. how often do you see och braun garret or wilson get double teamed or create their own offense? every time mccormack touches the ball the opposition sends help

That's not true at all about Dave being double teamed every time. It also makes nearly zero sense to double team a perimeter player against a team that plays 4 out.

If other teams actually think Dave is our best player then that's even worse for us because we should smoke any team that plays that way.

[PhDhawk]

I agree with Jesse that McCormack's usage is way to high.

Here's the problem, yes McCormack has a very pedestrian ORtg of 106.9 (according to: https://www.sports-reference.com)

But, who are you gonna bench him for?

Enaruna 96.1
TGF 92.7
Thompson 89
Harris 100.2

And I disagree that you can blame Dave for Wilson's struggles. There was never a drastic shift in McCormack's minutes. He's played a little more in conference than non-conference cause he's played better, but that's a change of a few mpg. I mean, that's as dumb as saying Wilson was the reason McCormack struggled early on.

[pdub]

do you guys not realize that other teams think mccormack is our best player too? not just self. how often do you see och braun garret or wilson get double teamed or create their own offense? every time mccormack touches the ball the opposition sends help

That's not true at all about Dave being double teamed every time. It also makes nearly zero sense to double team a perimeter player against a team that plays 4 out.

He gets doubled more often than not when he gets the ball in the post.

[pdub]

And I disagree that you can blame Dave for Wilson's struggles. There was never a drastic shift in McCormack's minutes. He's played a little more in conference than non-conference cause he's played better, but that's a change of a few mpg. I mean, that's as dumb as saying Wilson was the reason McCormack struggled early on.

Yes.
The correlation is a stretch/is revisionist.
I think it's more that teams have scouted Jalen and he's finding it more difficult in conference play ( as he should, he's a freshman ).

[PhDhawk]

Yeah, Dave draws a lot of attention. Much more so than Mitch does.

Still you can't really compare a post player getting double teamed to a perimeter player.

Also, when doubled dave needs to quickly pass out of it. That's something he can get better at.

[CrimsonNBlue]

I agree with Jesse that McCormack's usage is way to high.

Here's the problem, yes McCormack has a very pedestrian ORtg of 106.9 (according to: https://www.sports-reference.com)

But, who are you gonna bench him for?

Enaruna 96.1
TGF 92.7
Thompson 89
Harris 100.2

I am a huge critic of +/- stat because there are almost no situations where it is useful. Especially in college basketball.

But, McCormack may be the one exception this year where you might want to look at it because when DMac goes to the bench that means either 1. Mitch f'n Lightfoot is playing or 2. We are playing 5 perimeter players.

That probably means really bad things if McCormack is putting up a bunch of minuses (and I haven't looked to see if he is or not).

[pdub]

+/- is dumb.
Possibly the worst stat in basketball.

[Deleted User 89]

McCormack is 53-123 (43.1%) on the season. That is terrible.

If Self is going to stand by McCormack as our best player, figure out how to get him better looks. He should absolutely be shooting above 50%!

do you guys not realize that other teams think mccormack is our best player too? not just self. how often do you see och braun garret or wilson get double teamed or create their own offense? every time mccormack touches the ball the opposition sends help

it could also be that the opposition knows he is turnover prone in those situations

[randylahey]

our guards were the ones that kept throwing the ball away last night against baylor. jay bilas actually commented on how good mccormack had been at kicking the ball out when doubled (something he's improved at this season)

[randylahey]

self seems committed to making him a focal point of our offense. the rest of the big 12 seems committed to not letting him get going. idk why this message board wants to shit on mccormack. hes is our biggest offensive threat. Our guards are not good at creating for themselves. Mccormack can actually go to work and get buckets. and his presence on the court changes the entire look of the game. opposing defenses have to help off their assignments to help down low/trap him. it opens up the perimeter for our spot up shooters. he literally changes the way the court looks and the ways teams guard us

[CrimsonNBlue]

Don’t let your eyes and stats fool you, McCormack has actually been Shaq.

Shaq was the guy that needed a vote of confidence in every presser, right?