BTO’s Kansas Postgame Report

[bleedingTNorange]

1. First off apologies for the delay, couldn’t watch it live and took me awhile to be able to sit down and watch the replay, love these feast weeks for hoops but work schedules make it difficult too. With that said…another tough loss, much like against Purdue the day before, although thankfully much different stylistically. However once again it’s a game that you feel much like Purdue, very well could’ve won and again went cold when you needed points, resulting in a L. Again no shame in losing that game but the way it was lost makes it feel worse as it was much like Purdue and much like other big game losses in recent memory.

2. Purdue & Kansas are both currently Top 5 defensive teams, so it’s not a total shock that they gave us trouble to score when we needed a bucket. We got points when needed against Wisconsin on the road and that’s a Top 35 defense, so maybe it was just more a case of running into great defenses more than anything. That still doesn’t likely make you feel any better but it does feel worth mentioning imo. I will say though that we combined to go 17-63 from 3, good for 27%, in the 2 losses, that’s just not gonna work. This team is built to shoot the 3 ball (more on that in the next topic), and we need to shoot them often, but we are not going to be near the team we want to be if we shooting sub 30% against the best teams we face.

3. Continuing that thought…we need some guys to find their perimeter shot in a hurry, maybe it was that gym, maybe it was the quick turnarounds or the good defenses or a combination of everything, but it’s gotta improve. I won’t harp on JJJ too much because overall he’s shot well this season, but in those 2 losses he went 1-7 from 3. Vescovi thankfully had a good last game because to that point he had started the season 3-13 (23%) from 3 and really didn’t look like himself behind the arc, maybe that’s adapting to a new role or maybe it was the time away from the team, but hopefully that last game got him going, if it did then that L may have been worth it. Zeigler at 18% on the year is the other one that needs to find it, or quit shooting it lol, more on that in a minute. But yea, this roster is constructed to play small ball, and to shoot a lot of 3’s, if as a team we can’t find a more consistent number and a few guys get it going we will struggle against good teams. Aidoo isn’t a back to the basket player, we don’t have many guys who are good drivers/finishers, this team has to shoot the 3 ball a lot, and that’s fine, but you gotta hit them too.

4. As for Zeigler, really hate it for him, and for us, but right now he’s really struggling on the offensive end. The defense as always has been good, but his perimeter shot and even layups it’s just not there right now, and it’s understandable considering he’s just recently gotten back to full contact, but it’s been bad. With that said, I fully believe that for us to reach our ceiling it involves him being at his best, and for him to get to his best it may very well mean he/we have to grind through the struggles while he gets his legs back and hopefully works things out.

5. Another additional thought on the offense, and this could probably have been lumped in above but oh well…we gotta do some self scouting with our guys and talk about some of these 2’s. Zeigler, Gainey and JJJ along with Aidoo are the 4 who come to mind most. A shot 18’-22’ is among the worst in CBB, and right now we are taking entirely way too many of them. The first 3 are a combined 20/62 (32%) from 2, this counts layups and dunks, so their long 2 percentage is likely much much lower…that’s a horrible shot to be taking and is exactly what good defenses want you to do. Same for Aidoo, his 2% is inflated by shots 3’ and in, but I would guess his 2pt % from 15’+ is around 20%, it’s a horrible shot to be taking and our offense really needs to eliminate it immediately.

6. Big picture losing 2 games against Top 5 teams on a neutral court is not cause for panic, or really even surprising in the least, after all we were underdogs in both, still doesn’t mean it’s not disappointing though. We hopefully learned a lot about ourselves and what we need to work on, and some guys individually who need to get things going. We still sit as a Top 10 team according to pretty much everything, and we have lots of basketball ahead of us still. We go to Chapel Hill on Wednesday and that won’t be an easy game by any means, likely slight underdogs, but a winnable one. After that the schedule lightens up a bit and you’d hope we can go on a bit of a run and build some momentum heading into conference play. Barttorvik projects us still at 22-9 and that’s right where we were to start the year, so no major harm done, and a win against UNC would go a long ways. Going 5-2 against @Wisconsin, N Syracuse, N Purdue, N Kansas & @UNC would be impressive and a great start to a resume for March.




GBO!!!

 

[CAVPUT]

What's weird to an OG like me is that a 12-18' jumper is considered a "bad" shot especially when you aren't hitting the 3 ball. Just a different game these days. Guess I'd better get used to dying on the 3pt hill at times this year. Won't lie....I really wish we had a post that was an offensive threat in the paint for those games when we can't spit in the ocean.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

What's weird to an OG like me is that a 12-18' jumper is considered a "bad" shot especially when you aren't hitting the 3 ball. Just a different game these days. Guess I'd better get used to dying on the 3pt hill at times this year. Won't lie....I really wish we had a post that was an offensive threat in the paint for those games when we can't spit in the ocean.

Yea, Gainey’s pump fake and 1 dribble into an 18 footer is what old school people would tell you is great basketball, new age would tell you it’s a horrible shot unless you can hit it at a 60% clip which very few can.

 

[Berry4Heisman14]

Yea, Gainey’s pump fake and 1 dribble into an 18 footer is what old school people would tell you is great basketball, new age would tell you it’s a horrible shot unless you can hit it at a 60% clip which very few can.

I’m personally stuck in a really weird spot right now. On one hand I love Barnes he’s done a lot here, ZZ is recovering from an ACL injury and definitely isn’t 100% yet at least not mentally. On the other hand we’ve all seen this before with Barnes coached teams, the long scoring droughts. I just don’t know what to think yet honestly.

 

[CAVPUT]

Yea, Gainey’s pump fake and 1 dribble into an 18 footer is what old school people would tell you is great basketball, new age would tell you it’s a horrible shot unless you can hit it at a 60% clip which very few can.

What's sad is that back in my day a layup and using the backboard was a basic skill that was consistent and routine. Now it's a surprise if they take one much less make it.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I’m personally stuck in a really weird spot right now. On one hand I love Barnes he’s done a lot here, ZZ is recovering from an ACL injury and definitely isn’t 100% yet at least not mentally. On the other hand we’ve all seen this before with Barnes coached teams, the long scoring droughts. I just don’t know what to think yet honestly.

Yea, I’m not drawing any conclusions based off 2 games against Top 5 defenses…this team hasn’t played together very much, you’ve got guys who missed a lot of time, would hope it’s not a final product as of today.

 

[Tenacjim]

What's sad is that back in my day a layup and using the backboard was a basic skill that was consistent and routine. Now it's a surprise if they take one much less make it.

Exactly. Also, I understand altering your shot so it doesn’t get blocked (especially playing a couple of freaks of nature) but how often do they “block themselves” up close by making a simple shot so much harder?

 

[CAVPUT]

Exactly. Also, I understand altering your shot so it doesn’t get blocked (especially playing a couple of freaks of nature) but how often do they “block themselves” up close by making a simple shot so much harder?

Yep, I'm not expecting Aidoo or Awaka to become Bobby Jones, but at least take it to the rim strong. With today's refs, they'll likely put you on the line even if it's a clean block. Even better try to get an opposing big on the bench with fouls. We just seem to sit outside and jack up shots while offering no challenges to a post that's cleaning our clock offensively.

 

[walkenvol]

Yea, Gainey’s pump fake and 1 dribble into an 18 footer is what old school people would tell you is great basketball, new age would tell you it’s a horrible shot unless you can hit it at a 60% clip which very few can.

Doesn’t that math only work if you’re hitting 40% of your 3’s? At the rate we were hitting 3’s in Hawaii, hitting 45% from 15-18’ was probably a better shot.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Right now we’re a team of tradeoffs. Knecht is sloppy in traffic and doubles and a little reticent on switches and recovers slowly on D. Gainey is not a great offensive piece for flow, but he reliably creates. Hopefully he’ll dump the fake three into two shot. That’s a very common high school star move, but it needs to go. JJJ is such a great defender and rebounds, but his offensive slumps are a mystery. Santi is obviously coming back from missing practice and returning to form. My assumption is that Gainey and Knecht create more shots for him, but he’s still working hard to get looks. I think that will trend in a better direction when we can play some good/not great defensive teams. Our bigs by committee approach was probably driven by the foul bank we needed to spend against to of the best in Edey and Dickinson. We need Aidoo to hold space against lesser competition and rebound consistently. Awaka is everything you want in effort and drive, but he needs to play inside what his height allows. Mashack is an enigma. He’s a freak athlete, incredible defender and shows up everywhere. He’s just a platypus on offense. Our best play with him on offense is clearing the lane for him. I wish we’d feed him after pass/cut more often. ZZ isn’t back, but he will be. He seems uncomfortable with his crossover, first passes, and hasn’t found his shot or his drive, as BTO mentioned. More than anything, we just haven’t found flow. We need players to feel space, and understand the team as a unit. I think tightening the rotation will help. We have to rebound better. Full stop. I know we have limitations here physically, but even our guards are spectating on both ends. Follow shots, please. Ultimately, this team is two percentage points off in threes from being undefeated. All the time zone changes, playing odd times of day, weird court lines etc. are harder on teams that haven’t developed chemistry. If this team gels, and learns to play well together, the sky is the limit.

 

[Chaz-Vol]

I also think to help rebounding in February/March keep playing Estrella and Cade. Let them take lumps now and it could pay dividends down the line.

Until ZZ is up to speed Mashack has gotta play take his minutes. Teams best defender plus not really losing much on offense with the state ZZ is in.

 

[tennrich1]

Maybe it was just me but in the Kansas game and some in the Purdue game we had so many balls go down and roll out. If there’s a stat kept on that I’d love to see it (yeah I hear y’all saying there is…it’s called missed field goals). Hopefully that’s early season lack of perfect shooting rhythm or whatever. Just seemed odd to me.

 

[DuckInAPen]

Maybe it was just me but in the Kansas game and some in the Purdue game we had so many balls go down and roll out.

For what it's worth, Steve Hamer agrees with you.

 

[cardvolfan]

In my opinion, this team was not going to be near their upside potential until they approached the end of 2023 and early 2024. I really feel that Feb and March will be our best months. With all the mixing and matching needed, trying to figure roles out, and the chemistry of how this team will function, we just weren’t going to have everything worked out early on. Overall, these two painful losses will do us more good than bad in the long run.

 

[cardvolfan]

I also think to help rebounding in February/March keep playing Estrella and Cade. Let them take lumps now and it could pay dividends down the line.

Until ZZ is up to speed Mashack has gotta play take his minutes. Teams best defender plus not really losing much on offense with the state ZZ is in.

Agree, although that might be a touchy situation for the coaches to navigate.

 

[njvols]

Just my personal opinion, and could be wrong, but think it will take another month or so for ZZ to totally get back in sync. There's a difference between being healthy enough to play and having your "in game" strength and conditioning dialed back in. And, when he's able to slash to the basket more, that's something no one else on the team is doing well right now, and will solve alot of problems with our offense right now. We are way too dependent on the 3 ball.

 

[hUTch2002]

1. First off apologies for the delay, couldn’t watch it live and took me awhile to be able to sit down and watch the replay, love these feast weeks for hoops but work schedules make it difficult too. With that said…another tough loss, much like against Purdue the day before, although thankfully much different stylistically. However once again it’s a game that you feel much like Purdue, very well could’ve won and again went cold when you needed points, resulting in a L. Again no shame in losing that game but the way it was lost makes it feel worse as it was much like Purdue and much like other big game losses in recent memory.

2. Purdue & Kansas are both currently Top 5 defensive teams, so it’s not a total shock that they gave us trouble to score when we needed a bucket. We got points when needed against Wisconsin on the road and that’s a Top 35 defense, so maybe it was just more a case of running into great defenses more than anything. That still doesn’t likely make you feel any better but it does feel worth mentioning imo. I will say though that we combined to go 17-63 from 3, good for 27%, in the 2 losses, that’s just not gonna work. This team is built to shoot the 3 ball (more on that in the next topic), and we need to shoot them often, but we are not going to be near the team we want to be if we shooting sub 30% against the best teams we face.

3. Continuing that thought…we need some guys to find their perimeter shot in a hurry, maybe it was that gym, maybe it was the quick turnarounds or the good defenses or a combination of everything, but it’s gotta improve. I won’t harp on JJJ too much because overall he’s shot well this season, but in those 2 losses he went 1-7 from 3. Vescovi thankfully had a good last game because to that point he had started the season 3-13 (23%) from 3 and really didn’t look like himself behind the arc, maybe that’s adapting to a new role or maybe it was the time away from the team, but hopefully that last game got him going, if it did then that L may have been worth it. Zeigler at 18% on the year is the other one that needs to find it, or quit shooting it lol, more on that in a minute. But yea, this roster is constructed to play small ball, and to shoot a lot of 3’s, if as a team we can’t find a more consistent number and a few guys get it going we will struggle against good teams. Aidoo isn’t a back to the basket player, we don’t have many guys who are good drivers/finishers, this team has to shoot the 3 ball a lot, and that’s fine, but you gotta hit them too.

4. As for Zeigler, really hate it for him, and for us, but right now he’s really struggling on the offensive end. The defense as always has been good, but his perimeter shot and even layups it’s just not there right now, and it’s understandable considering he’s just recently gotten back to full contact, but it’s been bad. With that said, I fully believe that for us to reach our ceiling it involves him being at his best, and for him to get to his best it may very well mean he/we have to grind through the struggles while he gets his legs back and hopefully works things out.

5. Another additional thought on the offense, and this could probably have been lumped in above but oh well…we gotta do some self scouting with our guys and talk about some of these 2’s. Zeigler, Gainey and JJJ along with Aidoo are the 4 who come to mind most. A shot 18’-22’ is among the worst in CBB, and right now we are taking entirely way too many of them. The first 3 are a combined 20/62 (32%) from 2, this counts layups and dunks, so their long 2 percentage is likely much much lower…that’s a horrible shot to be taking and is exactly what good defenses want you to do. Same for Aidoo, his 2% is inflated by shots 3’ and in, but I would guess his 2pt % from 15’+ is around 20%, it’s a horrible shot to be taking and our offense really needs to eliminate it immediately.

6. Big picture losing 2 games against Top 5 teams on a neutral court is not cause for panic, or really even surprising in the least, after all we were underdogs in both, still doesn’t mean it’s not disappointing though. We hopefully learned a lot about ourselves and what we need to work on, and some guys individually who need to get things going. We still sit as a Top 10 team according to pretty much everything, and we have lots of basketball ahead of us still. We go to Chapel Hill on Wednesday and that won’t be an easy game by any means, likely slight underdogs, but a winnable one. After that the schedule lightens up a bit and you’d hope we can go on a bit of a run and build some momentum heading into conference play. Barttorvik projects us still at 22-9 and that’s right where we were to start the year, so no major harm done, and a win against UNC would go a long ways. Going 5-2 against @Wisconsin, N Syracuse, N Purdue, N Kansas & @UNC would be impressive and a great start to a resume for March.




GBO!!!

We do have Knecht, Gainey, Mashack and James that can all drive and finish. They’re just not doing it often. Without having the threat of a drive or a high post (since we all agree we don’t have enough low post presence to collapse the D) it’s hard to open up those 3s. I’d love to see James running some high post as he can pass well, can hit from 12-15 feet and can also drive it deeper. It’s probably wishful thinking on that but if we do the same thing we did often last year, perimeter passing and then jacking a 3 without the ball penetrating the arc, then we will continue to struggle with 3 point percentage. If that’s what we’re going to do then 30+ 3s a game will hurt us. But we’re 6 games in and have had a brutal schedule. Barnes is still tinkering with the lineup and guys are still learning how to play together. We will be very good and I believe we will peak at the right time this year for a good March run. Thanks for your posts. They’re very good breakdowns with great knowledge of the game. Do you think running James as a high post would help?

 

[tennrich1]

For what it's worth, Steve Hamer agrees with you.

Well I certainly have a ton of respect for our friend Stevie Hamer so I’m glad to know it’s not just me. I know Gainey had 3 on a short stretch and DK had at least three. There were others but those stood out to me. And several at the rim rolled in and out. Not making excuses for losing to #1 and #2 on a neutral floor…just thought it unusual.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Just my personal opinion, and could be wrong, but think it will take another month or so for ZZ to totally get back in sync. There's a difference between being healthy enough to play and having your "in game" strength and conditioning dialed back in. And, when he's able to slash to the basket more, that's something no one else on the team is doing well right now, and will solve alot of problems with our offense right now. We are way too dependent on the 3 ball.

True. ZZ also hasn’t had a whole lot of practice time with Gainey, Knecht, Estrella, Carr, and Phillips. Plus he doesn’t have too many game minutes with Mashack and Awaka - timing and familiarity is really important for PGs and his teammates.

 

[Plateauvol]

I agree with hUTch2002 that we are reveraing th trend of recent years and instead of peaking early, and flattening out late, we will struggle some early and peak late when it really matters for a deep tournament run.

 

[Lankykong]

I think we need to still play ZZ a lot since he’ll get the majority of minutes when it matters. The wins are good and important and everything but we need to develop chemistry. Overall I agree with cardvolfan and Stoerner

 

[oldaaucoach]

I also think to help rebounding in February/March keep playing Estrella and Cade. Let them take lumps now and it could pay dividends down the line.

Until ZZ is up to speed Mashack has gotta play take his minutes. Teams best defender plus not really losing much on offense with the state ZZ is in.

I think this is spot-on. Given how bad the rebounding and low-post production has been, I would like to see them play with two bigs at the 4 and 5 position and incorporate a high/low post type of game. (Yeah I know that's old school) Aidoo and Estrella can both hit face-up shots from the free throw line area, and Awaka and Phillips are solid rebounders. If more post scoring could be generated then better looks from the 3 point area will become available.
ZZ is obviously a necessity for the long haul on this team, but I agree 100% that Mashack should be getting more minutes now.
Bringing the number 1 and 2 ranked teams right down to the wire when the Vols aren't playing at their best is impressive. There is so much talent on this team. CRB just needs to iron out the kinks.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Doesn’t that math only work if you’re hitting 40% of your 3’s? At the rate we were hitting 3’s in Hawaii, hitting 45% from 15-18’ was probably a better shot.

Gainey (the player I named in that post) shot 6/19 from 3 in Hawaii, have to hit 48% on that long 2 to make a case it’s a better shot. Gainey was 3/13 for 23% from 2 in Hawaii.

JJJ was 3/11 from 3, have to hit 41% of those long 2’s to be a better shot, he was 4/10 for 40%.

So to your point, even as poorly as we shot from 3 those were still better shots than the 2’s. As a team overall we shot 28.5% from 3, so would need to shoot at least 43% from 2 to make a case…we shot 38.7% from 2.

 

[Lankykong]

Gainey (the player I named in that post) shot 6/19 from 3 in Hawaii, have to hit 48% on that long 2 to make a case it’s a better shot. Gainey was 3/13 for 23% from 2 in Hawaii.

JJJ was 3/11 from 3, have to hit 41% of those long 2’s to be a better shot, he was 4/10 for 40%.

So to your point, even as poorly as we shot from 3 those were still better shots than the 2’s. As a team overall we shot 28.5% from 3, so would need to shoot at least 43% from 2 to make a case…we shot 38.7% from 2.

I think it’s fine for JJJ because he has usually hit that shot last year, is similar to what he needs for it to be a good shot, and it gives him more variety. Everyone else should stop till they improve significantly because they’re relatively bad at it, especially Gainey.

I understand Aidoo taking them but he needs to get way more consistent to have it be ok.

As long as they’re within 1-2% of what they should be, I think the midrange is ok. It’s just terrible for great 3 pt shooters or guys who shoot 30%

 

[Lankykong]

As a side note, people are overreacting to us not doing transition in a 3 game in 3 days tournament. Hard to run for 3 straight days; I think we’ll get it back more since we played up tempo vs Wisconsin