Okay... I realize I'm probably going to be the only one to read this, but I need to do it. It'll be therapeutic. KU lost tonight in the second round of the tournament to Northern Iowa. It's a loss that could have been seen coming for, well, most of the year.
For whatever reason, the basketball "experts" this year were blind to the huge deficiencies on this KU squad. When Bill Self was asked what his team needed to improve on, he inexplicably said rebounding and first shot defense. My answer would have been TURNOVERS. This KU team did not value the ball. This team also displayed a consistent inconsistency. From one game to the next you never knew what you were going to get. But, for the most part, you got sloppiness. There were only a couple of games this year where everything really clicked. Offense, defense, ball handling, rebounding....But why? So much talent, and results no better than last year?
I think it comes down to a personnel issue.
Things have to start with Collins. Unfortunately, Sherron Collins brilliant career began to show cracks during the second half of the season. Don't get me wrong. I loved watching Sherron... I loved his passion, toughness and intensity.... but I'm guessing he has been battling some injuries. That's the only thing that would explain his inconsistency. His junior season = brilliant. The first half of this year, for the most part = brilliant. His Big XII season and postseason = pedestrian. His shots would not fall... unfortunately injuries don't explain his carelessness with the ball. Again... turnovers.
What about Taylor? For whatever reason, sophomore Taylor = freshman Taylor. There was no visible improvement from Tyshawn. His season started with off the court issues and things never seemed to click after that. I still think he's got loads of promise and I hope he turns it around next year.
Aldrich: Cole started the year off weak. He seemed fatigued and apathetic. But, to his credit, once his health improved, and, sadly, once his grandmother passed, he began to really excel. His defense and rebounding were even better than last year. Unfortunately, for some reason, he regressed offensively. Maybe he got more attention, but it sure looked like he was simply less aggressive. Rarely did he take it strong toward the hoop instead being content to shoot fade-away hook shots or to pass it back out. If Cole chooses to come back to KU next season, he should really look to assert himself offensively. This means making moves TOWARD the hoop. He's soooo tough when he does this and again, for whatever reason, he did it more last year. I do believe it's worth noting that the team stunk at looking for Cole in the post this year. Only Brady seemed adept at it. He was the only one who would intentionally stand there waiting to give Cole the ball until Cole established position. Everyone else would glance inside, and if there wasn't an obvious opening, they'd move on. I think it would be HUGELY beneficial for the team to watch NBA film on feeding the post. How to feed a big man 101. (see Shaq, or Olajuwon)
Xavier Henry: Started out the year on fire. Then, teams figured him out and, consequently his confidence suffered. When confidence suffers, the shot suffers... he went into a LOOOONG slump. He never really seemed to get out of the slump, although late in the season he showed some flashes of aggression. He seems to suffer from Brandon Rushitis. (lack of aggression). Man, I know he is laid back and all, but I saw more fire in his high school highlights than in college. Too often he looked like a deer in the headlights. He has the whole package, but until he learns to assert himself AT LEAST AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL, he will be a bench rider in the pros. Again, love to watch him play and I think he has LOADS of talent, but he's simply not aggressive enough.
Marcus Morris: Stud. Great year, huge improvements. He was the one to carry us most of the second half... super consistent. If he keeps up the hustle he'll be great. I think the one thing he could improve on (before he goes pro) is shooting off the dribble. He's going to have to play a lot more like a guard to make it at 6'8" in the pros.
Everyone else: Pretty much as expected. Solid supporting cast. Morningstar disappeared late in the year, but Reed stepped up. Markieff was solid (other than his lack of confidence at the free throw line). The youngsters (Johnson, Withey and Robinson) will be great players...you can just tell.
Conclusion - I.e. why I wrote this: KU has some serious flaws that haunt them almost every year. And they are pretty consistently the same every year. The turnovers were a relatively new anomaly this year, but that's the only "new" thing. The two main things that have killed us almost every tournament for the last 15 years are:
1) Our help defense habitually leaves pure shooters. Whether it's by design, or by habit, our help defense continually leaves pure shooters too open. Nobody should EVER leave a shooter like Ali Farokhmanesh open... even momentarily. The instructions to his man should be "I don't care what else is going on, even if someone has a clear lane to the hoop, you stay with Farokhmanesh!" It's someone like this that kills us almost every year.
2) Very similar to the above... WHERE IS OUR ALI FAROKHMANESH? I mean, I understand recruiting the biggest, fastest, most athletic guys possible, but how about some shooters? The retort will probably be "what about Reed?" or "what about Collins?". Well, they are fine shooters... BUT, they can't shoot from anywhere in any position. A pure shooter has a quick release and only needs an inch to get his shot off. He can do it off screens or on the pull up. He can hit his shot anywhere, anytime. The problem with the guys we recruit is that they generally have slow releases and need space to shoot. Collins is the exception, but he's hardly a "shoot in any position" or a "shoot coming off a screen" type of guard. He generally needs space, and his penetration ability affords him that space.... unless his penetration isn't working (see Northern Iowa game circa TONIGHT!) I can't think of the last KU player who could do this... who could shoot quickly and in any position. (maybe Jeff Boschee? Though late in his career he was far from pure...)
And just to head anyone (Yes I know I'm talking to myself here...) off at the pass. No, our perimeter shooting is not good. Generally we get good open looks from our talented frontcourt or from penetrate and kick-outs. We don't have a single shooter, nor have we for many years, who can pop off a screen quickly and deliver a jumper. We've had a few who COULD have, but didn't for lack of aggression (see Rush and Henry)
Coach Self... You are the man. You're doing an awesome job. I never thought anyone could replace Roy Williams, but you've done it fantastically. My one piece of advice for you, from a completely outside and uneducated perspective: RECRUIT A PURE SHOOTER. A Steph Curry, an Ali Farokhmanesh, a Mickey McConnell... or, at a higher level, a Lacedarius Dunn or JJ Reddick. They're usually lightly recruited and all from mid-major schools. Almost every mid-major program has one, so they can't be that hard to find. My guess is that big schools pass them up because they're short, or slow, or can't dribble, or whatever. But come tourney time.... they kill you.
The next couple of years may be tough for KU fans as we are likely to be severely lacking in the 3-pt shooting department. If Henry DOES bolt for the pros, then next year we'd have guards of Taylor, CJ Henry (if he stays) Johnson, Little, Releford, Morningstar, Reed, Woolridge... as well as a assorted backups. The only proven shooters in the bunch are Reed and Morningstar, both of whom need a lot of daylight to get their shot off. Johnson, Henry and Woolridge are relative unknowns beyond the arc. Taylor, Little and Releford are all below average deep shooters. Oh, and ALL of these players (with the possible exception of Woolridge and Henry) need lots of daylight to get their shot off.
So... next couple of years may be more of the same. Good inside presence, lots of athletes, but inconsistent perimeter shooting.
Ahhh... that was therapeutic. Or something...
