The night is dark and full of sophomores. We were due a down year, but it's back to hunting banners.
Thread to be updated as new developments emerge.
RETURNING PLAYERS:
Spoiler!
#35 Udoka Azubuike - Sr.
#44 Mitch Lightfoot - Sr.
#0 Marcus Garrett - Jr.
#22 Silvio De Sousa - Jr. (!!!!!)
#11 Devon Dotson - Soph.
#30 Ochai Agbaji - Soph.
#33 David McCormack - Soph.
#12 Chris Teahan - Jr.
#20 Garrett Luinstra - Soph.
#10 Elijah Elliott - Soph.
LEAVING PLAYERS:
Spoiler!
#1 Dedric Lawson - DRAFT
#13 K.J. Lawson - TRANSFER
#2 Charlie Moore - CRUSHED BY A DWARF
#5 Quentin Grimes - TRANSFER
INCOMING PLAYERS:
Spoiler!
SF Jalen Wilson****
6'8" 215 lbs
47 NATIONAL
9 POSITION
SF Christian Braun ****
6'6" 180lb
90 NATIONAL
24 POSITION
SF Tristan Enaruna ****
6'9" 205lb
44 NATIONAL
25 POSITION
TRANSFER Isaiah Moss
SENIOR
6'5" 208lb
IMPORTANT GAMES:
Spoiler!
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University of Kansas Athletics
2019-20 Men's Basketball Schedule
Subject to change. All times Central.
NOV 5 (TUE) TBA VS DUKE STATE FARM CHAMPIONS CLASSIC
NEW YORK, N.Y. MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
MAUI INVITATIONAL
ESPN
NOV 25 (MON) - NOV 27 (WED) vs TBD MAUI INVITATIONAL
LAHAINA, HAWAII LAHAINA CIVIC CENTER
DEC 21 (SAT) AT VILLANOVA
VILLANOVA, PA. WELLS FARGO ARENA
DEC 29 (SUN) AT STANFORD
STANFORD, CALIF. MAPLES PAVILION
PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
MAR 11 (WED) VS TBA
BIG 12 FIRST ROUND
KANSAS CITY, MO. SPRINT CENTER
MAR 12 (THU) VS TBA
BIG 12 QUARTERFINAL
KANSAS CITY, MO. SPRINT CENTER
MAR 13 (FRI) VS TBA
BIG 12 SEMIFINAL
KANSAS CITY, MO. SPRINT CENTER
MAR 14 (SAT) VS TBA
BIG 12 FINAL
KANSAS CITY, MO. SPRINT CENTER
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
MAR 19 (THU)
MAR 20 (FRI)
NCAA FIRST ROUND
ALBANY, N.Y. / SPOKANE, WASH. / ST. LOUIS, MO. / TAMPA, FLA. / GREENSBORO, N.C. / OMAHA, NEB. / SACRAMENTO, CALIF. / CLEVELAND, OHIO
MAR 21 (SAT) MAR 22 (SUN)
CBS / TURNER
NCAA SECOND ROUND
ALBANY, N.Y. / SPOKANE, WASH. / ST. LOUIS, MO. / TAMPA, FLA. / GREENSBORO, N.C. / OMAHA, NEB. / SACRAMENTO, CALIF. / CLEVELAND, OHIO
MAR 26 (THU) MAR 27 (FRI)
NCAA SWEET SIXTEEN
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. / LOS ANGELES, CALIF. / HOUSTON, TEXAS / NEW YORK, N.Y.
MAR 28 (SAT) MAR 29 (SUN)
NCAA ELITE EIGHT
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. / LOS ANGELES, CALIF. / HOUSTON, TEXAS / NEW YORK, N.Y.
APR 4 (SAT)
NCAA FINAL FOUR
ATLANTA, GA. MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM
Self has struggled in the NCAA tourney most in the second game of the weekend (Round of 32 and Elite 8). This probably speaks to how well his team performs when he has time to gameplan for a specific opponent.
I think this team makes the Final Four (at minimum), because I just don’t see how an 8/9 or Elite 8 matchup is going to prepare for Doke on a 2-day turnaround. That dude absolutely dominated Baylor on the road, and Baylor is one of the best defensive teams in the nation.
Doke’s skill set shouldn’t be as prone to an “off night” as a player who drives or shoots a lot of 3’s. The ways that he impacts the game should be there every night, unless a team way overcommits to stopping him. In that case, we do have the best point guard in the nation.
I like our chances this year. No one scares me. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
Finished reg season as the 5th best KU team ever by SRS, +25.00 better than the avg D1 team. Tied with 2003 which lost the title game to Syracuse:
Originally Posted by DJay23:
Not just realizing. This is a lamentation I have shared since the early 2000s.
He's still a good ambassador to the game of CBB for the casual fan. He is usually beaming with positivism but then goes on rants that are not even true. Amazing he can still do what he does at 80 years old, though. He's not senile at all, actually, he's just wrong like he's always been. [Reply]
Originally Posted by smithandrew051:
Self has struggled in the NCAA tourney most in the second game of the weekend (Round of 32 and Elite 8). This probably speaks to how well his team performs when he has time to gameplan for a specific opponent.
I think this team makes the Final Four (at minimum), because I just don’t see how an 8/9 or Elite 8 matchup is going to prepare for Doke on a 2-day turnaround. That dude absolutely dominated Baylor on the road, and Baylor is one of the best defensive teams in the nation.
Doke’s skill set shouldn’t be as prone to an “off night” as a player who drives or shoots a lot of 3’s. The ways that he impacts the game should be there every night, unless a team way overcommits to stopping him. In that case, we do have the best point guard in the nation.
I like our chances this year. No one scares me.
I think there's an argument that this team's "base" level of play is consistently high because they are not reliant on hitting shots to be a winning basketball team. Their defense is something that is going to be there in every game no matter what.
That said, their defensive system allows a lot of threes (mostly because nobody wants to drive at Udoka) and those shots are harder to guard and less controllable than other kinds of shots, which is problematic in a single elimination tournament. There is still every chance KU could run into somebody who just bombs the lights out in one game. KU should hope for a draw in the tournament involving teams who shoot less threes and avoid teams like Villanova, Maryland, Marquette, Wisconsin, and Auburn. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Buehler445:
You guys are just now realizing that vitale is ass? I had to shut him up far longer than a decade ago. If KU isn’t playing I won’t watch the game if he’s doing it. Stephen A Smith and Bayless are the worst thing in sports media. Vitale is the next step below.
No, not at all. He's like fingernails on the blackboard type of cringe worthy. Has been for as long as I can remember. [Reply]
Dotson and Doke make this team go offensively. Dotson is what happens if Frank Mason was 6-1 instead of 5-11. He's just the best finisher I've ever seen of guards especially of his size...and he doesn't even dunk in games. Usually when you can dunk you'll pad your 2 point FG efficiency on alley oops and open spaces because nobody can really even try to defend those plays.
Compare 2 point FG efficiency for other guards of KU and current players:
Dotson .541
Agbaji .519 - only high because of dunks
Moss .476
Garrett .473
Braun .414 - he needs to work on this. He seems to always think he can dunk over ppl and gets stuck in the air
Sherron Collins .492 - was higher before JR and SR year
Frank Mason .471 - but drew the most amount of fouls of any of these guys
Tyshawn Taylor .518
Devonte Graham .437 - just terrible inside of the 3pt line, always was.
Naadir Tharpe .423 - lol [Reply]
Originally Posted by smithandrew051:
Self has struggled in the NCAA tourney most in the second game of the weekend (Round of 32 and Elite 8). This probably speaks to how well his team performs when he has time to gameplan for a specific opponent.
I think this team makes the Final Four (at minimum), because I just don’t see how an 8/9 or Elite 8 matchup is going to prepare for Doke on a 2-day turnaround. That dude absolutely dominated Baylor on the road, and Baylor is one of the best defensive teams in the nation.
Doke’s skill set shouldn’t be as prone to an “off night” as a player who drives or shoots a lot of 3’s. The ways that he impacts the game should be there every night, unless a team way overcommits to stopping him. In that case, we do have the best point guard in the nation.
I like our chances this year. No one scares me.
The Baylor game, while truly amazing, is probably not what we should expect. Drew rolled the dice that Gillespie could defend Doke, which is reasonable because Gillespie is really good. Doke (and Dotson) demolished their soul.
I think most teams will sag on Doke and (try) to make us beat them from the outside. If the team can execute zone, I’d do that. Doke is more consistently dominant than our outside shooting.
Originally Posted by KC_Connection:
I think there's an argument that this team's "base" level of play is consistently high because they are not reliant on hitting shots to be a winning basketball team. Their defense is something that is going to be there in every game no matter what.
That said, their defensive system allows a lot of threes (mostly because nobody wants to drive at Udoka) and those shots are harder to guard and less controllable than other kinds of shots, which is problematic in a single elimination tournament. There is still every chance KU could run into somebody who just bombs the lights out in one game. KU should hope for a draw in the tournament involving teams who shoot less threes and avoid teams like Villanova, Maryland, Marquette, Wisconsin, and Auburn.
Agreed. If it were me I’d try to get Doke to hedge a screen and see if I can get a couple cheap fouls out top. Nobody does it so it suggests that it’s not a good strategy, but I’d give it a look. And then run action towards by best shooter. [Reply]
Yes if I'm defending KU, I'd just throw doubles at Udoka all game. Collapse on him and force him to make the right play. Hack at his arms/the ball and put him on the line as well.
He's obviously a ton better at recognizing doubles than ever last year, but he's still not the best at passing out of them. We also don't really have the shooting to make other teams sufficiently pay for it either (Braun is the only above average shooter the team has by the numbers). [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
Finished reg season as the 5th best KU team ever by SRS, +25.00 better than the avg D1 team. Tied with 2003 which lost the title game to Syracuse:
Originally Posted by Titty Meat:
Not sure what your obsession is with analytics they are useless in sports besides maybe baseball which isnt really a sport
Yeah I'm sure the death of the mid range jump shot in basketball had absolutely nothing to do with analytics... [Reply]
Originally Posted by KC_Connection:
Yes if I'm defending KU, I'd just throw doubles at Udoka all game. Collapse on him and force him to make the right play. Hack at his arms/the ball and put him on the line as well.
He's obviously a ton better at recognizing doubles than ever last year, but he's still not the best at passing out of them. We also don't really have the shooting to make other teams sufficiently pay for it either (Braun is the only above average shooter the team has by the numbers).
I don't understand why weve seen no coaches hack a doke yet. There have been plenty of opportunities to do so. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Titty Meat:
Not sure what your obsession is with analytics they are useless in sports besides maybe baseball which isnt really a sport
Analytics are definitely useless, which explains why every major American sports franchise has analytics and/or research departments. Most positions of which are paid great salaries in an industry that otherwise pays out pennies compared to equivalent positions outside of sports. [Reply]
Doke’s skill set shouldn’t be as prone to an “off night” as a player who drives or shoots a lot of 3’s. The ways that he impacts the game should be there every night, unless a team way overcommits to stopping him. In that case, we do have the best point guard in the nation.
I like our chances this year. No one scares me.
If Doke has an ineffective game, it will probably be because he is sitting on the bench in foul trouble.
Announcers have talked about how his conditioning has allowed him to play more minutes.
I'm just as impressed with his ability to play hard, block shots and stay out of foul trouble.
But you never know when he might get a couple of cheap fouls on a push off on the entry pass, moving screen, tangled arm on a rebound. Etc. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
I don't understand why weve seen no coaches hack a doke yet. There have been plenty of opportunities to do so.
For the life of me I don't understand it either.
Teams haven't even tried that much with honest fouls. In late game situations Doke is quick to pass the ball after a defensive rebound. But in the Baylor game and others the opposition was not focused on on trying to hack Doke the moment it became clear he was probably going to get the rebound.
Doke is Big 12 POY, First Team All Conference, and All Defense.
Dotson is First Team All Conference.
Garrett is Big 12 DPOY, All Defense, and Third Team All Conference.
Braun is All Freshmen.