Will update as people declare for the draft/transfer/commit
ROSTER:
Spoiler!
RETURNING PLAYERS
G Legerald Vick - Sr
G Marcus Garrett - Soph
F Udoka Azubuike - Jr.
F Mitch Lightfoot - Jr.
F Silvio De Sousa - Soph.
NOW ELIGIBLE TO PLAY:
G Charlie Moore - RS Soph.
F KJ Lawson - RS Jr.
2017 AAC Newcomer of the Year
F Dedric Lawson - RS Jr.
INCOMING PLAYERS:
SG Quentin Grimes
6'4" - 204 LB
Five star, ESPN 8th best player
PG Devon Dotson
6'2" - 175lb
5 star, ESPN 24th best player
C DAVID MCCORMACK
6'10" - 255 lb
4 star - ESPN 28th best player
SG OCHAI AGBAJI
6'4" - 200 LBS
3 STAR RIVALS, NO ESPN RANKING
HERE IS THE GROUP AS A WHOLE:
BYE BYE
Spoiler!
Devonte Graham - Get a clean jersey for hanging
Sviatoslav Mikhailiuk - off to the great corner three in the sky
Malik Newman - Don't forget your 80 pound balls, and thanks for the banner
Sam Cunliffe - dat sister ass tho
Honorable mention: Clay Young - you actually got minutes this year? WTF
BIG 12 FIRST ROUND
MAR 13 (WED) TBA VS TBA
KANSAS CITY, MO. SPRINT CENTER
BIG 12 QUARTERFINAL
MAR 14 (THU) TBA VS TBA
KANSAS CITY, MO. SPRINT CENTER
BIG 12 SEMIFINAL
MAR 15 (FRI) TBA VS TBA
KANSAS CITY, MO. SPRINT CENTER
BIG 12 FINAL
MAR 16 (SAT) TBA VS TBA
KANSAS CITY, MO. SPRINT CENTER
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP:
Spoiler!
FIRST ROUND
MAR 21 (THU) MAR 22 (FRI) CBS / TURNER VS TBA CAA
HARTFORD, CONN. / SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH / DES MOINES, IOWA / JACKSONVILLE, FLA. / TULSA, OKLA. / COLUMBUS, OHIO / COLUMBIA, S.C. / SEATTLE, WASH.
NCAA SECOND ROUND
MAR 23 (SAT) MAR 24 (SUN) CBS / TURNER VS TBA
HARTFORD, CONN. / SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH / DES MOINES, IOWA / JACKSONVILLE, FLA. / TULSA, OKLA. / COLUMBUS, OHIO / COLUMBIA, S.C. / SEATTLE, WASH.
NCAA SWEET SIXTEEN MAR 28 (THU) MAR 29 (FRI) CBS / TURNER VS TBA
LOUISVILLE, KY. / ANAHEIM, CALIF. / WASHINGTON, D.C. / KANSAS CITY, MO.
NCAA ELITE EIGHT
MAR 30 (SAT) MAR 31 (SUN) CBS / TURNER VS TBA
LOUISVILLE, KY. / ANAHEIM, CALIF. / WASHINGTON, D.C. / KANSAS CITY, MO.
NCAA FINAL FOUR
APR 6 (SAT) TBA CBS VS TBA
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
NCAA FINAL
APR 8 (MON) TBA CBS VS TBA
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
People keep forgetting, Dok is new to the sport relatively speaking.
As for the 3-2 vs 4-1 debate, trending in college is not the same as trending in the NBA. Most of the NBA has some sort of stability with minor changes year to year. Most of the NBA has really good players and shooters.
College isn't like that. Sure, every once in a blue moon you'll get a Villanova that can check all the boxes for that sort of thing, but rarely is a team consistent like that. Powerful and talented big men are rare. Any college team that has at least two in their starting lineup is a Top 25 team capable of making a Tournament push because close shots are higher percentage and tend to get the other team in foul trouble.
A team that can play that way is less likely to lose. KU hasn't even played a complete game yet and already has two victories over Top 10 opponents on neutral courts. The NBA has rules about defense the college game doesn't. There are a multitude of reasons why 2 dominant bigs is better in college. Most fans, however, will point to the rare exceptions and claim the game is changing.
Once the big men get more comfortable with one another and the guards pick up their entry skills, Dok is going to destroy some teams. He has to learn to pass out of a high set and then reset better, but I have confidence he will. There is an old baseball adage about scouting: Would you rather have the pitching prospect that can pitch every pitch with above average stuff or the prospect who has one pitch, but he throws it over 100mph?
They take the one trick pony guy, because that's rarer and harder to hit. Maybe he develops two more pitches with work, but you can't teach the other guy to throw it over 100mph. That's Dok. He's got one trick, but its a very powerful trick and in college its hard to stop. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
I think its the correct way to play with THIS team. Self is actively going after shooters. Braun and McBride are legit shooters.
Self has always loved the in/out game. But, he has never forced square pegs into round holes. He always finds ways to best utilize his talent in any given year. This will be a totally different team than last years team. [Reply]
Originally Posted by HolyHandgernade:
Most fans, however, will point to the rare exceptions and claim the game is changing.
It isn't some rare exception. NCAA teams are taking more threes than ever before. The 175th ranked team in 3PA% is at 38.6% this year, was at 36.8% last year and 32.7% five years ago. This isn't a trend that is going to stop either. Programs know that an open three is the most efficient shot in basketball outside of layups/dunks (which are especially difficult to get if you don't have high caliber bigs).
This version of KU may not have the personnel to take a lot of them, but they've moved to the extreme opposite end this year and it's hard to believe that's going to end up being a good thing.
Originally Posted by :
He has to learn to pass out of a high set and then reset better, but I have confidence he will.
He hasn't shown even the slightest proclivity for this skill in over two years now. It's unlikely to just show up now. The guy is still a valuable player at this level simply due to his sheer size, but when he arrived here two years ago, I had hope for so much more than what he's turned out to be. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KC_Connection:
It isn't some rare exception. NCAA teams are taking more threes than ever before. The 175th ranked team in 3PA% is at 38.6% this year, was at 36.8% last year and 32.7% five years ago. This isn't a trend that is going to stop either. Programs know that an open three is the most efficient shot in basketball outside of layups/dunks (which are especially difficult to get if you don't have high caliber bigs).
This version of KU may not have the personnel to take a lot of them, but they've moved to the extreme opposite end this year and it's hard to believe that's going to end up being a good thing.
He hasn't shown even the slightest proclivity for this skill in over two years now. It's unlikely to just show up now. The guy is still a valuable player at this level simply due to his sheer size, but when he arrived here two years ago, I had hope for so much more than what he's turned out to be.
Most of those teams shoot the three because they have to, not because they have the big men to compete. Teams with skilled big men dominate college basketball. Show me a list of Top 10 teams over the last three years, and I'll show you a bunch of teams with dominant bigs.
That's not true, he actually made more of those turnarounds last year, he's just been off this year. I don't give a shit about his pro potential, I only care how he helps KU. He's a weapon on the college level because of that sheer size. He's very nimble under the basket. [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
You ever try to fix a problem and end up making it worse? ....
The quick-fix to the long-lasting RPI problem, the "NET was built to create a ranking system that was as accurate as possible while also evaluating team performance fairly," according to the NCAA's website. Small sample size alert, but first returns are not great.
The initial ranking, proudly tweeted by the @marchmadness twitter account, announced the top 10 of:
1. Ohio State
2. Virginia
3. Texas Tech
4. Michigan State
5. Gonzaga
6. Duke
7. Michigan State
8. Wisconsin
9. Virginia Tech
and, wait for it...
10. Loyola Marymount.
Kansas, the No. 2 ranked team in the country in both the Coaches Poll and AP poll, was slotted at No. 11. Tennessee, a top-five team in both polls last week, lost one game to Kansas and is listed at No. 27 in the rankings, behind Radford, Georgia Southern, San Francisco and Belmont.
It's early in the season. RPI and tools like this aren't supposed to factor in how good a team is perceived. The data will normalize later in the year. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
It's early in the season. RPI and tools like this aren't supposed to factor in how good a team is perceived. The data will normalize later in the year.
That's incorrect, there are enough data points after 1 mo of college basketball or football to know spreads. They won't change that much here out.