the whole KU thing depresses me

[coolm]

the first OU/Kansas game I felt like OU was the better team.

BUT ... where OU has slid and looks worse than a few months back ... KU has surged ahead and improved dramatically.

depressing. this was OUr year. Nothing against KU - this was just finally the season where OUR team should have been top dawg for a change. A lot of us have waited rather patiently salivating for just this moment and it has been unceremoniously RIPPED from our fingers.

grats to Self and Kansas for really being a superpower this season. I am left to just sit in a corner ... humbled ... with my head shaking. This was supposed to be and should have been OUR season.

 

[OUReality]

I agree, after the 1st game I thought OU was the better team and would take the conference title outright. The frustrating thing to me is that I still feel OU has as good if not better players (starting 5) the difference is that KU has a better offensive system where they work the ball around to find the open man, OU relies too much on 1-on-1 and Buddy to bail them out. I am surprised Lon has not utilized the firepower on this team to its fullest. That is the difference - KU has a system that supersedes the players and OU relies on the talent of the players. Still love Lon where he has taken this program. But I fully respect Self & the consistent level of play he gets from his teams every year.

 

[TINY]

I was as disappointed in the conference season as anyone, but the conference tournament is equally as important as the regular season, and the NCAA tournament is infinitely more important. Last season Ou finished a game back of ku for the regular season title but went to the sweet 16. Many people would say Ou had the better season because we were more successful on a national level. Nationally no one cares that ku won another conference title when they get bounced in the first or second round of the NCAAs. Last season's ku is more known for getting run off the court by little ol' Wichita state than what they did during the conference season.

We have everything left to play for and a team capable of cutting down all the nets!

And btw, this is not our ceiling with Lon. We have only just begun to see the positive returns from the program's resurrection. Lon signed more 4-stars this season than all his other Ou seasons combined.

 

[campbest]

KU was underachieving...everyone said they were "down" but the truth is they were playing like crap. Their talent is crazy good and have incredible depth. Biggest issue they have is who to play where and how many minutes, two biggest NBA prospects don't play many minutes. Once Self moved Lucas into the starting line-up, everything clicked.

 

[TINY]

I agree, after the 1st game I thought OU was the better team and would take the conference title outright. The frustrating thing to me is that I still feel OU has as good if not better players (starting 5) the difference is that KU has a better offensive system where they work the ball around to find the open man, OU relies too much on 1-on-1 and Buddy to bail them out. I am surprised Lon has not utilized the firepower on this team to its fullest. That is the difference - KU has a system that supersedes the players and OU relies on the talent of the players. Still love Lon where he has taken this program. But I fully respect Self & the consistent level of play he gets from his teams every year.

I have been critical of Lon's in game coaching at times,especially after the tech loss, but give him the ku talent/support and he would win the conference this regular season, too. Ku has two 5-star bigs on their bench. Give Lon the least productive one they have, and we are the favorite to go all the way in March. Look at how far Lon has brought the program and remember that buddy and cousins were from his first full recruiting class. A quality recruiting class that was signed in spite of our mediocre program at the time. Let's see what Lon can do on the recruiting trail now that he has righted the ship. Three 4-stars this season alone seems to be an indicator that the future could be even more bright.

 

[campbest]

I agree, after the 1st game I thought OU was the better team and would take the conference title outright. The frustrating thing to me is that I still feel OU has as good if not better players (starting 5) the difference is that KU has a better offensive system where they work the ball around to find the open man, OU relies too much on 1-on-1 and Buddy to bail them out. I am surprised Lon has not utilized the firepower on this team to its fullest. That is the difference - KU has a system that supersedes the players and OU relies on the talent of the players. Still love Lon where he has taken this program. But I fully respect Self & the consistent level of play he gets from his teams every year.

Firepower? Where?

Buddy and Cousins are the only two who can create a shot. No inside game, no bench depth.

 

[bgrch1350]

I don't think very few people here realize how good this KU team is. This might be Self's best team from top to bottom. Maybe not his best starting 5 but his best overall team. He brought in 2 5 star post players and a really good 4 star guard and they are rarely used. Every so often Bragg or Diallo will get 10 minutes but for the most part they get around 5 minutes a game or less. Diallo didn't even play last game.

They play tough defense. They're experienced. They're deep. They can shoot, rebound and he's gone away from the high-low offense which has really help utilize Perry Ellis. For the most part, he's playing juniors and seniors. They can beat you in so many different ways.

 

[Big Old Booger]

KU is really good. They will probably win tonight and Saturday by double-digits. It is what it is.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Upper class led team with a lot of depth - early on self was still trying to juggle the roster including integrating some of their young guys like Diello who isn't ready. They had a team meeting to shore up the rotation and grew from there.

Everything for them will depend on Mason and Graham - both too inconsistent but if they get both of them playing well at the same time they probably won't lose.

 

[campbest]

I don't think very few people here realize how good this KU team is. This might be Self's best team from top to bottom. Maybe not his best starting 5 but his best overall team. He brought in 2 5 star post players and a really good 4 star guard and they are rarely used. Every so often Bragg or Diallo will get 10 minutes but for the most part they get around 5 minutes a game or less. Diallo didn't even play last game.

They play tough defense. They're experienced. They're deep. They can shoot, rebound and he's gone away from the high-low offense which has really help utilize Perry Ellis. For the most part, he's playing juniors and seniors. They can beat you in so many different ways.

They still run quite a bit high-low, it's just been extended with Ellis to take advantage of his jumper and clear space. There downfall in the tournament is if they don't hit outside shots...that is the one weakness in their game. Because if the starters aren't hitting (Mason, Selden), you got to play a couple of the guys Self doesn't trust as much on the defensive end. They are very good and have turned it on the last two months.

 

[coolm]

I don't think very few people here realize how good this KU team is. This might be Self's best team from top to bottom. Maybe not his best starting 5 but his best overall team. He brought in 2 5 star post players and a really good 4 star guard and they are rarely used. Every so often Bragg or Diallo will get 10 minutes but for the most part they get around 5 minutes a game or less. Diallo didn't even play last game.

They play tough defense. They're experienced. They're deep. They can shoot, rebound and he's gone away from the high-low offense which has really help utilize Perry Ellis. For the most part, he's playing juniors and seniors. They can beat you in so many different ways.

no doubt. they are VERY good. but we were better. we were. yet while THEY improved we didnt. In fact, we backslid while they just made huge leaps.

 

[WTSooner]

Better players and better depth. They are a blue blood for a reason. OU isn't/wasn't far off this year, but we just don't have the post players or depth to match up. Not saying we couldn't beat them if things go right, we nearly did and probably should have in Lawrence.

Really disappointed with how our post players and overall depth came together this year.

 

[bgrch1350]

I have been critical of Lon's in game coaching at times,especially after the tech loss, but give him the ku talent/support and he would win the conference this regular season, too. Ku has two 5-star bigs on their bench. Give Lon the least productive one they have, and we are the favorite to go all the way in March. Look at how far Lon has brought the program and remember that buddy and cousins were from his first full recruiting class. A quality recruiting class that was signed in spite of our mediocre program at the time. Let's see what Lon can do on the recruiting trail now that he has righted the ship. Three 4-stars this season alone seems to be an indicator that the future could be even more bright.

Agree. The future is looking better. But if Lon wants to knock the giant off he's going to have to get a 5 star recruit like Bolden, Young, Ferguson, and so on. Self isn't just a great recruiter...he's a great coach. His players get better as well just like our guys have gotten better. You may be able to beat KU here and there but they go the distance in the big 12 b/c of the talent he brings in.

 

[bgrch1350]

no doubt. they are VERY good. but we were better. we were. yet while THEY improved we didnt. In fact, we backslid while they just made huge leaps.

We were never better...we were just making more than half of every 3 we took. Everyone from Hield to Spangler was shooting over 50% from beyond the arc. Any team that shoots that well will be hard to beat.

 

[WTSooner]

Agree. The future is looking better. But if Lon wants to knock the giant off he's going to have to get a 5 star recruit like Bolden, Young, Ferguson, and so on. Self isn't just a great recruiter...he's a great coach. His players get better as well just like our guys have gotten better. You may be able to beat KU here and there but they go the distance in the big 12 b/c of the talent he brings in.

I disagree that he has to go that route. Buddy is playing as well as any 5* recruit this year, and we still lost.

We need improved post talent, and depth, more than anything else. We match up pretty well with them on the perimeter this year, but inside, they are vastly more talented, athletic, and long. And they are bringing better talent off the bench.

Once Kelvin got decent talent on his roster, he was winning about 50% of his games against KU. He didn't have 5*'s. Just a good, complete roster that was tough and somewhat deep. They "out-toughed" KU.

 

[OUReality]

Firepower? Where? Buddy and Cousins are the only two who can create a shot. No inside game, no bench depth.

The "firepower" refers to the starting 5 (maybe minus Lattin, who did hit a couple of jumpers last night). You're right that Buddy & Cousins are the only ones who can create a shot. I wish the offensive had more ball movement that helped create shots for the other shooters. The reason for the comment is my frustration with the standing around on offensive and the reliance of 1-on-1 play. It works when you have better players i.e. Buddy. But for the other players who are capable of scoring and being more involved offensively, they struggle, hence a lot of rushed/forced shots. I feel like OU did a much better job moving on offense and passing the ball around in the non-conference games, could be wrong, that is my perception.

 

[bgrch1350]

I disagree that he has to go that route. Buddy is playing as well as any 5* recruit this year, and we still lost.

We need improved post talent, and depth, more than anything else. We match up pretty well with them on the perimeter this year, but inside, they are vastly more talented, athletic, and long. And they are bringing better talent off the bench.

Once Kelvin got decent talent on his roster, he was winning about 50% of his games against KU. He didn't have 5*'s. Just a good, complete roster that was tough and somewhat deep. They "out-toughed" KU.

Why do people keep going back to when Kelvin was here. Things are not the same as when he was here.

1) Juco talent has gone in the crapper. No more Taj Grays, No more Erdmann's, etc..
2) There is a 1 and done rule now. Kansas are getting the players that are one and done that would have gone straight to the NBA and they are getting the guys who think they are one and done like Diallo who would have gone straight to the NBA but now is most likely going to be there for a while.

 

[WTSooner]

Why do people keep going back to when Kelvin was here. Things are not the same as when he was here.

1) Juco talent has gone in the crapper. No more Taj Grays, No more Erdmann's, etc..
2) There is a 1 and done rule now. Kansas are getting the players that are one and done that would have gone straight to the NBA and they are getting the guys who think they are one and done like Diallo who would have gone straight to the NBA but now is most likely going to be there for a while.

Kelvin also wasn't recruiting as many 4* guards as Lon Kruger is either. Surely some of those will turn into the Brewers and Erdmanns that Kelvin recruited out of JUCO.

And the funny thing about that is that I don't think Kelvin started winning against KU until after both of those guys were gone. Much less reliance on JUCO's during his last year's at OU, at least, in terms of who was scoring the points for OU. Hollis wasn't a JUCO. Eduardo wasn't a JUCO. Bookout wasn't a JUCO. Ebi was, but OU was going to get him out of HS.

 

[bgrch1350]

Kelvin also wasn't recruiting as many 4* guards as Lon Kruger is either. Surely some of those will turn into the Brewers and Erdmanns that Kelvin recruited out of JUCO.

And the funny thing about that is that I don't think Kelvin started winning against KU until after both of those guys were gone. Much less reliance on JUCO's during his last year's at OU, at least, in terms of who was scoring the points for OU. Hollis wasn't a JUCO. Eduardo wasn't a JUCO. Bookout wasn't a JUCO. Ebi was, but OU was going to get him out of HS.

During that same time. How many final 4's did KU go to and how many did Sampson go to?

 

[hoopsaustin]

KU players are wayyy better coached and they have extremely better raw talent overall..

i figured they were better the whole time. we played out of our minds against them for the most part in the first game and still lost.

hope we can somehow get them in the finals