Posted on: February 28th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
Editor’s note: The following is brought to you by Jayhawk-Talk contributor, @pay_heed. Great follow and twitter, so give him a shout. Rock Chalk.
Travis Releford needs to be more offensive.
Not like Anthony Jesselnik offensive, but more aggressive on offense. If you have watched much Kansas basketball this season (and since you’re reading this blog I think that’s probably a safe bet) you have probably heard commentators like Fran Fraschilla and others praise Travis Releford for his great perimeter defense. And while his defensive contributions cannot be discounted, he is much more than just a stopper on that end.
Carrington Harrison of 610 sports radio likes to point out that KU is 43-1 all time when Trav scores in double figures, which might just be a coincidence, but during the 3 game skid this season Travis scored 8, 1 and 8 respectively. So why do I think that Travis needs to be more offensive (or maybe just aggressive)?
Because the numbers back me up.
DISCLAIMER: If you don’t like advanced statistics just skip down to the last two paragraphs.
At a glance, it might be easy to mistake Ben McLemore as the most offensively efficient Jayhawk, but the numbers don’t back that up. According to KenPom.com Travis has an Offensive Rating (ORtg) of 129.8 (good for sixth in the Nation) to McLemore’s 120.1 (80th).
So why am I making a big deal about Travis being more offensive? The problem is that Travis, while playing the most minutes per game of any Jayhawk, uses the fewest number of possessions of any starter. Not only that, he actually has only the SEVENTH highest usage of any KU player.
Let that sink in for a second.
The sixth most offensively efficient player in the nation uses fewer possessions (by percentage) than six of his teammates.
Ben McLemore
ORtg – 120.1
% Possessions – 22.2
Elijah Johnson
ORtg – 96.4
% Possessions – 22.0
Jeff Withey
ORtg – 112.5
% Possessions – 21.7
Perry Ellis
ORtg – 105.4
% Possessions – 20.9
Naadir Tharpe
ORtg – 96.2
% Possessions – 20.0
Kevin Young
ORtg – 110.8
% Possessions – 19.3
Travis Releford
ORtg – 129.8
% Possessions – 15.7
Adapted from KenPom.com
Travis’ offensive numbers cannot be overstated. He leads the nation in True Shooting percentage, which is the new fancy way of saying points per weighted shot, at 71.3%. After starting the season 0-11 from deep, he now leads the team in 3pt FG % at 46.2%. In addition to his ridiculous ORtg, he has a very impressive 60.63 Floor Percentage, good for third in the Big XII, behind only Corey Jefferson and Romero Osby. He also is second in the NCAA in effective FG% at 69.1% and has the second highest free throw rate of any KU player (with a qualifying number of field goal and free throw attempts) at 41.2 (Jeff Withey leads at 63.4).
In other words, Travis has a multifaceted offensive game from a numbers perspective. While his offensive numbers are certainly helped by a high number of transition baskets, he not only can be, but needs to be, more assertive in the half-court. He is too valuable and too efficient to defer to the likes of Perry Ellis and Naadir Tharpe.
The necessity of another efficient scorer to emerge has never been clearer since the mysterious disappearance of Ben McLemore in both Stillwater and Ames the past two weeks. Not many teams have the luxury of a fifth year senior with the abundance of experience to call on in a time of need. For Kansas to have a successful March, Travis needs to become more aggressive and finish more possessions for the Jayhawks.
Posted on: February 28th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
Much has been made about the Big 12 statement that was issued on Tuesday regarding the Kansas-Iowa State game. I made a pretty big deal out of it in this story.
I wanted to provide the statement and then provide what I think the Big 12 should have said. Then I promise I’ll move on. I’m sure we’re all ready to move on.
Before you read it, put yourself in shoes of the Big 12. What are your goals in issuing this? Do you want to address the game because of media pressure? Do you want to make Iowa State feel better? Do you want to talk about officiating? Personally, I’m not sure this statement accomplished any of these goals.
Here is the actual statement in all its glory:
“The Big 12 Conference acknowledges that officiating errors were made at the end of regulation during last night’s Kansas at Iowa State men’s basketball game. The plays have been reviewed and appropriate measures will be taken by the Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officials to adjust the number of future assignments for the two officials involved in conjunction with Conference policies.”
As you can see, the Big 12 acknowledges errors made at the end of regulation, but does not make mention of any other errors potentially made by the officials which may have also impacted the game. All this statement does is acknowledge what everyone knows — the last call wasn’t a very good one. What it doesn’t do is also acknowledge that there were 39+ other minutes of basketball that happened in that game too.
Whether it meant to or not, the Big 12 put a big, fat asterisk on an otherwise amazing basketball game. It downplays Iowa State’s amazing shooting performance. It downplays Elijah Johnson’s ice-in-the-veins heroics. It gives every Big 12 coach a silver bullet the next time one of these officials works his game. It demeans a basketball game where up to the time of that one tiny possession was considered one of the best games of the year and must-see television.
Here is what I think the Big 12 should have said:
“The Big 12 Conference is committed to reviewing and improving officiating in our league games. As a result, we are constantly reviewing game tape and providing feedback to officials that work our games. From time to time, we will privately reprimand or suspend an individual official or team of officials as a result of our internal review. Consistent with our normal procedures, we have reviewed the entire tape of Monday’s Kansas-Iowa State game and will handle all potential officiating errors discovered by this review internally.”
It gets the same point across. It doesn’t incite a riot. And it doesn’t put an asterisk on the game.
Alright, I’m done. No more blog posts on this. I promise!
Posted on: February 17th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
In the 14th episode of the Jayhawk Talk podcast, the guys talk some Texas postgame, preview the big week in the Big 12 (including the upcoming OSU game), talk about College GameDay, analyze the KU Harlem Shake video, and share thoughts on the Julius Randle visit. Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy some KU Hoops talk.
As always, we appreciate you leaving us a comment on iTunes and giving the podcast a nice star rating. Rock CHALK!
Find the podcast on Podbean here (non-iTunes users and non-Apple mobile users)
Posted on: February 16th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
I’ll admit it. I’m kind of a slut for flash-in-the-pan Internet crazes.
You know how it works. You receive a link in a chat window, a message on Facebook, a retweet into your timeline. It’s a video, a picture, a “meme” or a dance. You watch it, you love it, and you find yourself searching out other examples.
Only thing I love more than awesome things on the Internet is KU basketball. This team has found a way to marry these two wonderful things.
What follows is a beautiful little video from the KU basketball team. It’s their version of the “Harlem Shake.”
It makes sense if you think about it — this team getting on board with a dance craze. As we’ve surely all seen by now, these guys are all about dancing. Who can blame them? Dancing is awesome.
There are about a million different Harlem Shake videos out there right now. This is obviously my favorite. First, a quick background. The Harlem Shake meme generally requires three things (1) at the beginning of the video one person is dancing with the crowd not paying attention; (2) when the bass or hook drops, everyone is dancing, usually with some sort of costume or general ridiculousness; (3) well, that’s it, really.
I thought it’d be interesting to take a closer look at this video, person by person. I urge you to re-watch the video each time you read a paragraph and focus only on that one person or group. It’s worth the individual attention to detail.
Bill Self: He doesn’t really fit into the meme recipe described above, but I appreciate his involvement in the shoot. He’s pictured drawing up some spectacular inbounds plays (I’m particularly impressed with the top left play, which aims to open up Ben for a corner 3). Self’s cameo ends with him erasing four of the six plays (he keeps the good one) and writing “Harlem Shake!!!” on the board and walking away. Note: Evan Manning is the only player pictured and he doesn’t seem to give one shit at all about what Coach is drawing up.
Ben McLemore: Of late, he has been the star of the Kansas basketball dance troupe. This video probably wouldn’t be a thing if not for Ben’s previous escapades, first documented in a post-Ohio State locker room celebration and later in a post-KSU dance. Ben gets us started with a solo version of “The McLemore” dance — a healthy mix between Hava Nagila, the C-Walk, and Saturday Night Fever. In any event, it’s freakin’ awesome. So there he is, dancing away while everyone is suiting up for practice — everyone except Elijah Johnson, who seems to have discovered nappy time. Ben’s also wearing the head of a chicken costume, just because. Cut to the new scene and Ben has shed the mask but found the rest of the chicken costume, again, just because. His chicken walk through the last few seconds of the scene is pure amazeballs.
Justin Wesley: Of any Jayhawk, Justin should know what it takes to shine in front of a camera. He spent the offseason playing Wilt Chamberlain in the upcoming movie, Jayhawkers. It makes you wonder why he chose one of the easiest theatrical stunts — that is, struggling to put his practice jersey on over his head — during Ben’s dance. He certainly makes up for it after the break, center frame, going full on kilt and chains. I have 10:1 that look will be in a new Chief Keef music video within the next calendar year. Flawless.
Naadir Tharpe: We’ve seen his dance moves a few times this season. His default move seems to be the “Robot.” You probably have that buddy that has a default move to the “Robot” too. Your buddy isn’t very good at it. Neither is Naadir. But it’s still sort of endearing. You have to think his teammates told him to wait in the wings and then when the time is right, just sachet across the shot from stage left to right, employing that signature move. I also tend to think that Naadir owns that green vest and did not need to make a visit to the KU Theatre Department’s prop room before filming.
Niko Roberts, Christian Garrett, and Landen Lucas: These three really need to be discussed together because of their roles in a truly meta sub plot going on inside this video. We first see Niko, in full-on onesie pajamas, a bib, and a pacifier. He seems to really be into his dance moves until he is completely distracted by a gigantic fly hanging from a 6-iron. What pacifier-sucking kid wouldn’t want to follow that? Especially if that pacifier sucking kid is also armed with a butterfly net!!! Too bad we couldn’t see just three more seconds of the video. I hope he caught that pesky fly. Meanwhile, Christian decided to go with the half-KU football player in December after a workout coat, half-Roman soldier look. He has some nice moves with that shield before taking Santa Landen on a ride in the equipment cart. Landen is holding the 6-iron/fly thingy while seemingly jamming to his own Keith Sweat slow jam that only he can hear.
Jeff Withey and Jamari Traylor: Jeff is attempting his best Slash impression, but is failing miserably. I would have preferred to see Jeff play a more vital role than “awkward white 7-footer with wig that plays fake guitar in socks,” but that’s just me. To his credit, he actually makes out a couple legit power chords between the three or four times he adjusts his hair. Like a true 80s guitarist. Jamari, on the other hand, goes with the mini-acoustic, black leather vest, and sombrero get-up. He seems to be the most accomplished musician in the bunch, with most of his focus going toward his craft. He’s also, umm, very muscly.
Travis Releford: He is probably the one in the video that makes me giggle the most. He is sporting the black boots, shorts, and soccer jacket of one of those club teams or countries or something (Germany, maybe? Clearly a huge soccer fan here), and is swinging the everliving shit out of some beads (?). His facial expressions are the real sell, though. Absolute gold, especially in slow motion.
Elijah Johnson: We know he’s been struggling to find his place on the court of late. Not here. He plays the creepy, masked joker Santa PERFECTLY. You might miss him the first couple times you watch it, but he emerges from behind Ben and finds his way to orchestra right by the end of the shot. He looks confused, but don’t let him trick you. That’s what he wants you to think.
Kevin Young and Company: Speaking of creepy, let’s talk about the guy in the back wearing the Jason mask and holding a knife. Oh, but he’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt, so it’s not near as bad. He’s standing on a chair, slashing at the air with all his Kevin Young might. You’d think Evan Manning next to him would be just slightly scared, but once again, he’s still not giving one shit. Perry Ellis looks a little scared, but that’s probably more about his discomfort with being in a group setting than a Hawaiian with a huge knife. Then there’s Andrew White III with a big goofy hat. Like Jamari, it appears he’s jamming to a different song as well. Maybe U2 or Bonnie Raitt or something.
Tyler Self: Tyler made the mistake of going shirtless in this shoot. He’s standing near Jamari Traylor, who can pull of shirtless. Tyler, not so much. I do appreciate his decision to play jungle gym on the water pipes running across the ceiling, although I think he geared up to try a “pull-up” and realized he didn’t have the arm strength for it yet. He does earn some points for his mink throw he has draped across his shoulders. Keeps him warm and hides his underdeveloped delts.
Not pictured: Supremely disappointed Rio Adams was not involved. He is the best dancer on the team not named Ben McLemore and he has an argument that he’s even better than Ben. Not sure where he was during the filming, but I’m sad he wasn’t there. Same goes for Joe Dooley and Andrea Hudy, both of which could have added a lot to this just by making a one second cameo.
I hope you enjoyed my write up as much as I enjoyed watching the video 35 times. Happy gameday!
Posted on: February 15th, 2013 by jayhawktalk 1 Comment
By: Taylor Erickson (follow on Twitter at @tc_erickson)
Fresh off an absolute beat down of K-State, Coach Self is now faced with a pretty interesting question.
What do you do with the point guard position?
There are two particular plays from the drubbing Monday night that vividly stick out in my head that perfectly encapsulate our current situation at point guard.
Midway through the first half right before we really blew the game open, Naadir caught the ball on the right wing, just outside of the three point line. If you’ve watched our first 23 games of the season, you probably knew what was coming next. Naadir would shoot a deep three off one foot, the other team would get the rebound and be off to the other end. A perfect opportunity to extend a lead would be wasted on a three point attempt by someone not named Ben McLemore.
Except that didn’t happen.
Instead, Naadir pump faked, drove into the lane, and kicked the ball out to a WIDE open Ben McLemore. If you’ve watched our first 23 games of the season, you probably know what happened next. McLemore fired that picture-perfect jump shot, and the result was nothing but net. Naadir finished with 6 assists in the first half in what was without question exactly what we need from the point guard spot to legitimately contend for a National Title.
Fast forward about 30 minutes of game action to late in the second half, when the rout was on.
KU had the ball on offense, working some clock and looking for a good shot. I can’t recall exactly how the ball ended up in his hands, but Elijah caught it right in front of the KU bench for a wide open three. There wasn’t a K-State defender within 10 feet- probably the most open Elijah’s been for a three yet this season.
Except he didn’t shoot it. Instead he passed up the wide open three, and kicked it to a different guard to continue the possession.
I couldn’t help but think about those two plays, and how similar they were yet so completely different. Naadir Tharpe is beaming with confidence, and his play on Monday night reflected it. He was constantly looking to attack and break down the defense, and proved getting a good shot at the end of the half is actually possible. Elijah, on the other hand, is not even close to the player he was last March, and continues his search for a missing jump shot.
So if you’re Coach Self, what do you do?
Do you bench Elijah, and push the chips all in on Naadir Tharpe as this team’s starting point guard and risk losing any confidence Elijah had left? Do you continue to start Elijah, and bring Naadir off the bench several minutes into the game and risk giving up an early lead rather than jumping out to a great start?
I’ve heard some people say perhaps we should play smaller, even possibly start four guards moving Releford to the four spot. While that sounds like the best way to put our best players on the floor, I think the impact on the defensive end is much greater. You move our best perimeter defender down low, and lose considerable size outside.
In my opinion, at some point the light is going to come on for Elijah, he’ll find his jump shot, and he’ll make big plays down the stretch like he did for us last year in March. I think the risk of moving him to the bench outweighs the reward of moving Naadir into the starting lineup. If Elijah continues to struggle the next several weeks and Naadir builds off an impressive performance Monday, this conundrum continues to grow.
Naadir’s performance on Monday represents a new found hope for a fan base that had none just four days ago. I think it will be extremely interesting to see how Coach Self handles this position moving forward.
Posted on: February 13th, 2013 by jayhawktalk 1 Comment
(Editor’s Note: The following blog post comes courtesy of @CrimsonBlueKU, a huge KU fan and fairly recent graduate. Also a good follow on Twitter. We’re excited that he’s joined the Jayhawk Talk team and look forward to more from him.)
Now that Kansas State is in the rearview mirror we can focus our attention on the big Saturday that lies ahead.
I know you’re all thinking: how can it be any bigger than College GameDay?
Come on, really? College GameDay in Lawrence is like Kansas winning the Big 12. It just happens every year (OK, the GameDay part isn’t, but you get the point).
You have to think bigger.
Mario* Chalmers’ jersey retirement?
Closer, but still not it.
*I also may be in the minority when it comes to feelings toward Mario. I think he had a great career at KU and he’s become a hell of a glue guy for Miami. Don’t get me wrong, his shot that sent the title game to overtime will be eternal, but I think he gets too much credit for it. Had it not been for the events that happened in the earlier 2:03, we never would have gotten to that point. I digress.
The big thing that’s happening on Saturday is a recruiting visit. And not just any visit.
Julius Randle (No. 2 by Rivals) will be in the building in what will be his final official visit before he makes a decision.
The Jayhawks, who currently have the second rated class behind Kentucky, have commits from four-stars Joel Embiid, Conner Frankamp, Brannen Greene and Wayne Selden. Those four alone provide much needed depth at the one, two, three and five. This class is only missing a stud and a power-forward, both of which Randle could provide.
Randle is so important because Kansas loses Withey and Young to graduation. I love the motor of Traylor and think he just needs time. Ellis has the skill set, but he needs to get comfortable with Self’s demands for toughness. And he needs to learn how to play pissed off. Wesley…let’s just say I hope he’s graduating because he has hands of stone. The only thing he does exceptionally well is jump (and reblog on tumblr).
The Phog needs to be just as amped as it was Monday night to show that this is where Randle needs to be. The fans need to shower him with love and show that he is wanted. With this being his final visit, he could very well commit to Bill Self and the Jayhawks (though I think he’ll take his time).
On the other hand, Andrew Wiggins (No. 1 by Rivals) just trimmed his list to four Tuesday morning: Kansas, Florida State, UNC and Kentucky.
I still say he ends up at Kentucky, but the way BBN has played this season and with Nerlens Noel injuring his knee against Florida, who knows what could happen. Calipari could send eight to the NBA or none at all.
Wiggins will visit KU on March 4, but it’s hard to say whether KU is a true player.
As I’m sure you know, we’ve seen this story before. Self is in tight with a Top 10 recruit until the very end and then something changes and he isn’t in Lawrence the next season (I’m looking at you Sean Miller and Kaleb Tarczewski).
Wiggins is icing on the cake, while Randle is the important first piece. One is nice, two is even better, but I can see KU end up with neither.
Either way, help Coach Self and show Randle some love this weekend.
He could be the difference between a good and great team in 2013-14.
Posted on: February 13th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
In the 13th installment of the Jayhawk Talk Podcast, Kevin and Andrew dive into the KU/KSU BLOWOUT win, talk about the state of the KU/KSU rivalry, get into the Big 12 race, talk some Ben McLemore dance videos (and who his competition is), and, of course, close with some ever-important Ke$ha news.
Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy. Rock Chalk!
Podbean (on the computer or non-iPhone) click HERE.
Posted on: February 12th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
(Editor’s Note: The following dating advice column comes courtesy of @FakeJeffWithey, the entertaining alter ego to KU basketball player, Jeff Withey. Follow him on Twitter for lively in-game commentary and general shenanigans and rascality. Warning, explicit/awesome language to follow).
What should I get my girlfriend for Valentine’s Day?
In a perfect world you would be enough to satisfy your girlfriend and you wouldn’t need to buy her a gift. But since you’re not me, a gift is probably a good idea.
I really feel that Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake brought gift giving to a whole new level with D*** In A Box. Unfortunately this isn’t always practical. For example, I have only pulled this move off one time, when I was able to track down an old box that was previously used to house a refrigerator (Side Note: Don’t give this gift at your girlfriend’s grandmother’s 70th birthday. Awkward for everyone).
Since I am laying claim to all the dimes in the area, I assume most of you are dating uggo’s. With that in mind, I think the best gift you can get her is something that benefits both of you. Pick something about her appearance that you don’t like. It could be anything from her weight, to her complexion, to her boob size. Next, find a way to subtly suggest that she improve this area. You might think this is insulting, but trust me women are a goal-driven species. And nothing is going to drive home your point like buying a bra two cup sizes too large, or a scale with a target weight written on the base. Be careful not to set your goals too high though, because if they get too hot they’re probably just going to leave you for a basketball player.
Do you condone online dating?
Online dating is tough. The best-case scenario here has you banging a 7 or 8 with trust issues. Worst-case, your Ms. Right turns out to be an overweight Mizzou fan named Steve. I’ll share a story below on why I think the positives of online dating do not outweigh the negatives.
The names of those involved have been changed to protect the victims’ identities.
The year was 2011 and a young man on a college basketball team was having a tough time meeting women. This was an uncommon problem for members of this particular basketball team, but senior guard Gordan Guenemann had high expectations for his women. Because of these expectations, Guenemann turned to dating website ChristianMingle.com
Through online chats and late night phone calls, Guenemann fell in love with a wonderful, kind-hearted woman. Then early in the season, tragedy struck and Gordan Guenemann’s girlfriend was killed in a car accident. Amazingly, he was able to turn this tragedy to triumph as his inspired play in mop-up minutes propelled his team to within one win of a national championship. It wasn’t until after the season that Guenemann was told his girlfriend was actually his teammate (and international sex symbol) Jeff Witheyasosopo playing an elaborate practical joke on him.
In the end, Guenemann lost the big game, lost the big award, and is generally considered to be a weird dude for falling in love with a woman who never existed. Moral of the story…online dating is sketchy.
How do I land an older woman?
The key to landing any woman is to find common interests. Unfortunately, in your question you didn’t mention the age of the older woman you’re going after. To help solve this problem, I have put together a table of common interests broken down by age, which should help you through your journey. Cut this out and keep it in your wallet for advice on the fly.
Age
Interests
16-18
Prom, posting duck face pictures to Facebook, Dollar Night at The Hawk, shoes
19-30
50 Shades of Gray, posting pictures of their food to Instagram, yoga pants, any one of the Kardashians, shoes
31-40
HGTV, their ex-husband, Adele, gluten-free meals, that cute thing their kid did once, shoes
41-60
The way things used to be, Stephen King, Home Shopping Network, gardening, shoes
61+
The Great Depression, naps, Roosevelt (either one), shoes
My girlfriend is great, except she doesn’t know anything about basketball. Is there anything I can do to fix this?
Posted on: February 10th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
Fuck it, dude. Let’s go bowling.
I mean it. Hang with me here, but first, take it from Walter:
Coming off three straight losses for the first time in, well, it doesn’t matter, the only thing this team needs is to not think about basketball for a few minutes. One of the best parts about coming to Kansas is the ridiculous passion of an adoring fan base. It can also be a burden, sometimes.
You know, when you lose three straight games for the first time in, well, it doesn’t matter.
Elijah Johnson has played his worst stretch of games as a Jayhawk. And to be honest, probably the worst stretch of his whole life. He is a head case shooting the ball. He is a head case driving the ball. He just doesn’t have it right now. You might recall when he did have “it.” About 11 months ago he was the reason we made a run in March. For a stretch of games there, he played his best games as a Jayhawk. Hell, maybe the best stretch of his whole life.
Works for Paul Pierce
I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m not buying the narrative that “this team isn’t any good.” They are good. They have two guys that will literally be making $1 million+ playing basketball next year in the National Basketball Association. They probably have another two or three other guys that will be productive professional players in a different league. Can Oklahoma say that? What about TCU?
This team isn’t bad at basketball. They’re just playing like they are. Some of it is coaching, for sure. I don’t think you can leave all the blame on the players. But now is the time for Self and Co. to make up for it. This is where he shows that he’s a Hall of Fame coach. This is where he demonstrates why we just inked a contract to pay him until my unborn child is in middle school.
So what does he need to do?
Take the team bowling this weekend.
Get their minds right! Slumpbusters obviously aren’t working. Shuffling the starting lineup ain’t working either. Running steps in Allen Fieldhouse or suicide runs or treadmill punishments don’t seem to be getting the message across either. Even Strength & Conditioning Coach, Andrea Hudy, mean-mugging players doesn’t even work (it’d work for me).
You aren’t going to learn much over the weekend. No new sets will be installed. You’ve already prepared for K-State before. I’m telling you. Bowling will do the trick.
And if ANYBODY tries to tell you that KU has no chance and that Elijah sucks and that this team is done for the season and let’s look forward to the football season and blah blah blah… just tell them this:
Posted on: February 8th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
Editor’s Note: Following post brought to you by Taylor Erickson, new contributor to Jayhawk-Talk. Follow him @tc_erickson and find his work on his blog, Rock Chalk Thoughts. We’re excited for him to join the JHT team and look forward to reading more from him.
Let me begin by saying I’m not a college basketball coach. I have no basketball coaching experience outside of a youth YMCA team. I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I have, however, played quite a bit of basketball in my life, and like probably everyone else reading this post, my mental stability relies heavily on the ability of KU to get their offensive woes straightened out.
This is my attempt to solve KU’s dreadful offense, and offer a solution for how this team can get back on track.
If you’ve read some of my previous ramblings, you know I’ve mentioned several times the correlation between Travis Releford’s point output and our team record. Prior to last Saturday’s game against Oklahoma State, KU was 38-1 when Releford scored in double figures. Against OSU, he scored eight points. Wednesday night in that debacle against TCU, Releford scored one point. Go back to mid-November & December, when we were playing really well. During that nine game stretch beginning with Washington State at the Sprint Center, and ending with the game against American U on December 29th, Releford averaged 15.7 points per game. KU’s average margin of victory during that stretch was 22.6 points. During conference play, Releford has averaged 10.2 points per game, while our margin of victory has dropped to 6.0 points per game. Obviously the level of competition has increased significantly during conference play, but there were difficult games during that November-December stretch, and the Big 12 isn’t exactly filled with good teams. Colorado could beat several teams in the Big 12, Belmont is probably a tournament team (more than what TCU and Texas Tech can say), and that win at Ohio State continues to look better and better.
I put together the chart below to show Releford’s average points in relation to our average margin of victory throughout the course of the season. I separated the season into three segments based on Releford’s point totals: 0-10 points scored, 10-15 points scored, and 15+ points scored.
From the graph you can see as Releford’s point production increases, our margin of victory increases accordingly. Common sense says that conclusion is obvious. If we’re routing a team, everyone is going to score more. I agree completely, however, I think there’s a different conclusion to be drawn. When Releford is scoring at a higher rate, most of his points come in transition where he excels at finishing plays. He doesn’t key our offense by knocking down a ton of jumpers in a half court game. Against TCU Wednesday night, KU had zero points in transition.
So what’s the conclusion I’m trying to draw? KU has been awful at getting out into transition recently. It feels like we haven’t seen a typical KU run fueled by easy transition buckets in weeks. I don’t recall seeing a dunk by McLemore or Releford for quite some time. The thing I’m struggling to wrap my head around is how a team that is so good defensively has such trouble generating steals and getting easy transition buckets. I’ve read a few columns this week that mention we get into trouble when we get sped up and try to play fast. In my opinion, I think that’s precisely what we need to do more of. Think back to most of Elijah’s turnovers. A good majority come while running our sets in the half court offense. Elijah, McLemore, and Releford are all at their best in transition, so why not try to encourage more of that?
I find myself thinking back to December when we were a dominant basketball team, trying to figure out what we were doing then that seems to be lacking now. This is the best explanation I can come up with, and one I truly believe has a big influence on our success moving forward. There’s no better way to boost the confidence of this team than easy buckets and few dunks, and it’s apparent this team is struggling for confidence right now.
Listening to national media this week, you would think we’ve lost five or six games in a row. I’ll be the first to admit, I was awfully down on this team Wednesday night. It felt like the sky was falling in Lawrence, and we were doomed for the remainder of the season. I’d love to see us get out and run on Saturday, and get back to how we know we can play. If we take care of business in Norman, and smack K-State on Monday, ESPN will be preparing a segment for Gameday in a little over a week explaining how the TCU loss was a turning point in our season. I’m looking forward to that.
Here’s to hoping for a great game tomorrow to get us back on track.
