Kansas Crimson

I'd like to be proven wrong, as I was all aboard the Clemence train last season, but I'm not seeing it.
Too much a liability on defense and/or can't drive to the bucket.

pdub wrote: ↑Wed Nov 16, 2022 11:22 am I think we're just going to have to get over the lack of shooting from our point this season.
There isn't an answer there.

Jalen wilson??? Lol. 5 assists last night. Rebounding and bringing the ball up the court like he was a point forward

I'm kidding as far as him being point. But we could create some intriguing positionless lineups if we wanted to get shooting on the floor bad enough. There is some versatility on this roster still

is jwil having a better start to this season, than oa did last year.

could jwil have a better season this year, than oa did last.

Clemence is a dark horse candidate for minutes this year.

On a team that could use both size and shooting, that dude just might have a niche.

We've hardly seen him at all yet tho.

MICHHAWK wrote: ↑Wed Nov 16, 2022 11:33 am is jwil having a better start to this season, than oa did last year.

could jwil have a better season this year, than oa did last.

Ochai was leading the nation in pts to start the season at like 26/27 for a couple weeks. But jalen doing it all

Still cautiously optimistic on Wilson. Needs to start hitting the 3, obviously.

Just can't believe how many points he gets off of garbage. That's a great, almost Michael Beasley skill, it's just hard to quantify in an offensive set.

Wilson and Dick have to come alive on offense. We're going to have so many games in the 50's and 60's--those are games where Harris, McCullar, and KJ thrive.

ousdahl wrote: ↑Wed Nov 16, 2022 10:28 am I wonder how much we'll see KJ be anywhere besides the "5" spot going forward.

He played a few minutes at the 4 last night.

I thought I'd be all aboard the Clemence train this year, but 3 games in I have changed my mind. I think he should be 4th on the depth chart for minutes at the 5.

1. Udeh
2. KJ
3. Zuby
4. Clemence

Betting that 5th spot is more about matchup and need.

The KJ starting and Udeh first off bench thing might work out most of the season. Against Indiana and Kentucky, though, probably a different story.

CrimsonNBlue wrote: ↑Thu Nov 17, 2022 9:38 am Betting that 5th spot is more about matchup and need.

The KJ starting and Udeh first off bench thing might work out most of the season. Against Indiana and Kentucky, though, probably a different story.

Managed to get us past Duke somehow. They have to be the biggest team we play right

IU and UK might have the 2 best 5's in the country. KJ is like 6'5" without the hair.

I'd be down with KJ starting and attempting to do our small ball thing but quickly adjusting if that thing was getting exploited.

It just depends on how fast our young bigs progress.

how many teams will really be able to exploit us, tho?

Cuz the potential for exploitation prob lies in another team having a legit 5 man who's both big enough and skilled enough to exploit us, and just not sure there's many of them around.

And the other side of the coin is, maybe our 5-out small ball switch everything run opponents ragged scheme will be the one doing the exploiting.

And such a scheme prob has a better chance of being effective enough to exploit if we actually run it on the reg, versus only running it as some knee jerk last resort.

I say we keep starting KJ at the 5 as long as we keep winning games doing so.

I think it is telling that more 5 spot minutes were consumed by Udeh+Zuby than KJ. And it's only game 3.

Zuby rebounds. Duke was killing us on the glass getting a ton of offensive rebounds. That's why get got extra run.

KJ creates havoc with his speed and strength.

Udeh has the length and athleticism to be a paint presence on defense that alters and blocks shots. And he is a lob threat on offense, especially if he is in with DH and BP together.

Between the 3 of them, I am starting to think we will be just fine at the 5 spot this year. All 3 foul enough that none are capable of playing more than 25min anyway.

Seemed like our starting 5 did well when they were on the floor together and we just got off kilter when we had to start swapping rotations in the middle of the game. Udeh will gain experience and be more of a contributor over time. Adams is doing fine given what his offensive limitations are. This was a great learning opportunity for the team. I am really encouraged to see where they are defensively at this point in the season. This is shaping up to be a really nasty defense over the course of the season. The 13 blocked shots was pretty amazing given that we went small ball the majority of the game. Just a great awareness and willingness to challenge shots.

ousdahl wrote: ↑Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:22 am how many teams will really be able to exploit us, tho?

Cuz the potential for exploitation prob lies in another team having a legit 5 man who's both big enough and skilled enough to exploit us, and just not sure there's many of them around.

And the other side of the coin is, maybe our 5-out small ball switch everything run opponents ragged scheme will be the one doing the exploiting.

And such a scheme prob has a better chance of being effective enough to exploit if we actually run it on the reg, versus only running it as some knee jerk last resort.

I say we keep starting KJ at the 5 as long as we keep winning games doing so.

Filipowski had 17 and 14 and Duke and several other capable bigs and we still won so I think KU has the ability to counter virtually any lineup. Of course they will have a few WTF games where 18 things all go wrong but that happens over the course of time. If KU can hit a higher percentage of their good looks from three and continue to play defense with that level of intensity then I like our chances against any roster in the country, especially once Self gets back. Just need the bigs and the freshmen to continue to get more reps but we're off to an encouraging start so far.

5 spot by committee this year:
20ish+ minutes of udeh
10ish minutes of zuby
10ish minutes of KJ (and 10ish minutes at the 4)

Might be best to keep starting KJ at the 5. Keep udeh out of early foul trouble that freshman tend to get into

Udeh needs so much run, right now. He might be a little too green against Jackson-Davis, but he should be getting to be pretty good when we meet Tshiebwe.

I am great playing small ball, but the best teams can play a few different ways. Nothing's changed since before the season: Udeh development is a big part of reaching the team ceiling.

yea, there's that.

Freshies do have a knack for quick fouls and bonehead mistakes before ever getting in rhythm.

And besides, what's the point of starting a freshman when Self is likely to pull them before the under 16 timeout anyway?

CrimsonNBlue wrote: ↑Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:45 am Udeh needs so much run, right now. He might be a little too green against Jackson-Davis, but he should be getting to be pretty good when we meet Tshiebwe.

I am great playing small ball, but the best teams can play a few different ways. Nothing's changed since before the season: Udeh development is a big part of reaching the team ceiling.

if anything has changed, it's that maybe Zuby is more ready for minutes than we thought, too.