Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Biggest Takeaways for Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Through First 10 Games and 9-1 Start

Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's Locked on Jayhawks, we're through the first 10 games of the KU basketball season. Biggest positives, biggest negatives, things that maybe aren't going as well right now that we think they can figure out or have time to figure out before the end of the season. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. We are free and available anywhere that you hear podcasts. You can also like and subscribe to our show on our YouTube page where you can find us there too. We've had plenty of great content this week for the everydayers with Melo Dotson coming back, KU football adding a tight entrance

Starting point is 00:00:52 for a pretty big get from Iowa State, KU basketball recap to Missouri. We'll look ahead to the Indiana game later this week, and you can catch that all right here on Locked on Jayhawks. This episode of the show is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. These days, every new potential hire can feel like a high-stakes wager for your small business, which is why LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the right people for your team faster and for free. Post your job for free at linkedin.com

Starting point is 00:01:15 slash lockedoncollegetermsandconditions. Apply. We're going to be talking KU basketball today. They're through their first 10 games of the season, 9-1 record to this point. What are the biggest positives? What are the biggest negatives? And what are some of the areas that we're still waiting for more

Starting point is 00:01:29 that maybe haven't gone as well as you might have thought or hoped or maybe there's potential to and that maybe they can get figured out as the season goes on? Let's start with the positives here for KU through the first 10 games. I think the first big one is Hunter Dickinson being the real deal. When you talk about the courting of Hunter Dickinson over the offseason from the transfer portal and, you know, how big of a deal that was from a national college basketball perspective, and then it was such a big deal for KU to get him, and you talk about all this, I don't know, rumored NIL money that could

Starting point is 00:02:01 be coming his way. The expectation is National Player of the Year candidate. The expectation is First Team All-American candidate. And he's come in and hit the ground running. And it's almost when you have that high of expectations, it's almost impossible to, I don't know, exceed those because those expectations are so high. But for my money, he has even exceeded what he came in as, which was already billed as very high. I mean, 19 and a half points per game right now 12 and a half

Starting point is 00:02:29 rebounds which that is bonkers uh almost two assists per game over a block over a steal per game and the efficiency is out of this world he's shooting 64 from the field 58 from three and 74 percent of the free throw line this guy has been unbelievable and he is having the best offensive. And I don't know, he's having like one of the best big man seasons. We've seen not just in bill self, but in KU history, I'm not going to say the best because you have, you know, Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning and Rayful friend, Nick Collison, right? There's so many guys drew good. And then I'm not going to say it's the best,

Starting point is 00:03:01 but it is been on that short list when you're talking at least to this point, still a long way to go. Team success will matter in the end. I don't want to get too hyperbolic, but the early portions of this have been as impressive as I can remember, certainly. That's a big deal that he has been the real deal to this point. I think furthering this, one of the other big positives here is how K.J. Adams and Hunter Dickinson fit. That was a big discussion in the offseason. Would they have enough spacing around? Would you even be able to play with those two together in this new age of college basketball where it is so pace and space? And I think we saw a little bit of it in the exhibition game that it was going to be okay,

Starting point is 00:03:39 but you never really know until you get into the actual game action. And you never really know until you play some of the better teams in your actual game action. And like the UConn game, I mean, having K.J. Adams next to Hunter Dickinson kind of wins you that game, right? Like you look to a lot of games this year, and a lot of their success have come with actually those two being at the pivotal point of all that.

Starting point is 00:04:01 And it works because Hunter can shoot it. It works because K.J. is a really good passer. It works because Hunter can shoot it. It works because KJ is a really good passer. It works because Hunter can pass too. And it works because KJ has been content, you know, driving or hitting that little push shot, or at least shooting a mid range shot that makes some of this stuff work. And I've been very impressed with how that actually has fit together, especially this early into the first 10 games, that it's been kind of a seamless transition, a lot easier than I thought it would be.

Starting point is 00:04:30 Kevin McCullers' ascent, I think, is a big positive early in the season. You know, you knew Kevin McCuller was a really good player. He was third team All-Big 12 last year. He was All-Big 12 defensive team. He was a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award, like one of the best defenders in the conference and in the country. A good rebounder. You knew he could score it a little bit,

Starting point is 00:04:48 even though the three-point shot was inconsistent. He was averaging double figures per game, right? Good passer, everything. So you knew what you were getting back, that you were getting back a good player. But I don't think we all expected the Ochagbaje, the Jalen Wilson bump. You know what I mean? I don't think we all expected that Ochag Baji, the Jalen Wilson bump. You know what I mean? Like, I don't think we all expected that huge jump in play. I think if anything, the conversation was, well, can Kevin just shoot the ball better? Can he be the same guy, but just shoot the ball better? And then it

Starting point is 00:05:16 was like, okay, maybe that gets you 13, 14 points per game. I don't think anybody could have seen this 19 points over seven rebounds per game five assists per game shooting 51 from the floor 38 from three almost 82 at the foul line he's averaging 0.7 blocks per game 1.4 steals per game so he's doing a little bit of everything uh remains this ball hawk free safety on the defense side of the ball that is so good at creating chaotic plays but the scoring has really gone up i mean we've seen it in the mid-range we've seen his driving ability we've seen some kind of like post-up moves from mid range. We've seen the three point shooting go way up.

Starting point is 00:05:49 His ascent has been a huge positive for KU and that you continue to get these big jumps from these players coming back for one final season. If this is the jump that keeps happening these last couple of years, again, Ochai, Jalen, Kevin McCuller, what if Hunter Dickinson comes back for another year? Cause he's already averaging 20 and 12. is his ascent what does his jump looks like he's gonna average 30 and 15 anyway uh Kevin's been so awesome for KU and it's hard to imagine a world where he didn't come back for this KU team obviously you don't know what the ripple

Starting point is 00:06:18 effects would have been who would they have gone after in the transfer portal to try to you know come through and make up for not having him like where would the offseason have gone after in the transfer portal to try to, you know, come through and make up for not having him, like where would the offseason have gone different, all that sort of stuff, but it's so fortunate that KU had him because he has been unbelievable, he's been all-American good to this point in time. The other big positive here is the defense, right now KU is seventh on Ken Palm in defensive efficiency, we've seen some games where, or moments in games maybe, where defenses lag behind a bit, and I think that's going to happen because when you look at KU's defense, the one –

Starting point is 00:06:51 I don't know, the thing you would point to for how teams can attack them is if they can space the floor, pace and space a bit. And so we've seen the teams like Kentucky went on that big stretch at the end of the first half. It points in the second half of the Eastern Illinois game, who was a team who liked to space you out and shoot a lot of threes, right? At times, maybe here or there with the Missouri game, based on what personnel was in the game.

Starting point is 00:07:11 Like there are times where you can see some matchup issues for the KU defense, but overall the KU defense has been good. They're top 10 in the country, seventh on Ken Palm, like I said. And there have been times where they've been dominant. I mean, for the overall part of the Missouri game, you were great. For the Connecticut game, you were great on the defensive side of the ball, right? So that's been a really big positive.

Starting point is 00:07:31 They've been really strong guarding inside the paint. They've been actually a pretty good shot-blocking team, despite not having – like Dickinson's a solid shot-blocker. I think he's better than maybe like David McCormick was, though it's kind of close there. But it's not a Jeff Withey. It's not a Cole Aldridge. It's not a Joel Embiid or Yudoka Azubuke.

Starting point is 00:07:47 But he's been proficient enough, but Kevin McCuller is a good shot blocker for his position. DeJuan Harris for a point guard is actually a good shot blocker when you look at some of the numbers for specifically point guards. So they have some good shot blocking. The defensive rebounding has actually been good here, especially after the Missouri game. They're not fouling a ton right now on that end of the floor.

Starting point is 00:08:03 That's something Hunter Dickinson does a good job at. He doesn't foul a ton, which if your center're not fouling a ton right now on that end of the floor. That's something Hunter Dickinson does a good job at. He doesn't foul a ton, which if your center is not fouling a ton, that's usually the prime position where you're going to get those fouls. So he does a good job of being vertical and just kind of being straight up with his long arms and everything. The two-point dominance on offense, big positive here, 57% on twos, and that's even with a couple games lately where it's been more in the 40s, like against Missouri and against UConn. But they're top

Starting point is 00:08:25 25 in the country in two-point shots. They've been a team who's taking a ton of shots. They're getting a ton of looks at the rim when you look at not just the shots that they're making, but the shots that they're attempting and how many they're getting there. So that's been really good. And when you look at the two-point dominance, the 57% on twos, top 25 in the country, that's

Starting point is 00:08:41 considering mid-range. If you're just looking at the rim stuff, KU is even better at it. So that's another big positive here. The passing, obviously a huge positive for KU. They've been an excellent passing team. Makes sense when you have DeJuan Harris pass first point guard, who's excellent at it. But really everybody across the way is a good passer, right?

Starting point is 00:08:58 I mean, Marco Jackson playing the two for you, he's basically a point guard. Kevin McCuller is averaging five assists per game, right? He's a good passer. He's your backup point guard. Kevin McCuller is averaging five assists per game, right? He's a good passer. He's your backup point guard is what Bill Self has said. KJ Adams is a really good passer, especially for that position. Hunter Dickinson is a good passer for the center position, right? So all the way across, you have good passers coming in for KU and they are number one right now on assist per field goals made rate at 73%. So 73% of KU's made shots are coming off of assists. Now, I do have a little bit of a question of, does that mean you're not getting enough shots of guys just creating it for themselves? And is that a little bit of a worry that, you know, if it's a situation

Starting point is 00:09:39 where you're playing a team that is going to make you beat them in a one-on-one scenario, are you going to be able to do that? But the flip side of this is that maybe it just doesn't matter maybe KU is that good of a passing team it doesn't matter the next on the list of that assist to field goal made right is 68.3 percent which is Auburn and that makes the difference between Kansas in first in that stat to Auburn in second in that stat is the same as the gap between Auburn in second and 14th place, which is Samford. So it's not just that they've been the best at it. They've been by far the best at it. And I think the last big positive here is the record of the resume. You would have taken nine and one through 10 games. They've got three big wins. When you look

Starting point is 00:10:17 at the UConn game, the Kentucky game, the Tennessee game, and then a solid fourth win, like Missouri, maybe they'll be a bubble team this year. Maybe they end up making the NCAA tournament. Maybe they don't, but it's a really good resume early in the season for Kansas with plenty more to come in the big 12 portion of things. Are we going to continue on what our biggest negatives through the first 10 games for KU and what are we kind of waiting on for more with this episode of Locked on Jayhawks?

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Starting point is 00:11:23 Thankfully, with LinkedIn, the process is intuitive, quick, and easy. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on college. That is linkedin.com slash locked on college. Post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Biggest negatives for KU basketball through their first 10 games here. I think inconsistency from three-point range. Now, when you look at the overall, the net results here for KU from three, they're shooting 40.3% from three.

Starting point is 00:11:57 So that in itself should make this a huge positive. And overall, if you continue to shoot that well, yes, it is a huge positive and overall if you continue to shoot that well yes it is a huge positive the reason i have it in the negative isn't specifically the shooting from three it's the inconsistency from three because game to game has been very much a roller coaster for ku from the outside both in terms of the amount of threes and how they're making them and that makes me worry that once you get into conference play things a little bit more nailed down a scouting reports and everything is that number gonna kind of dive a little bit further i i don't know like i i don't totally buy into that number being where ku is at so if we narrow down to the consistency side of things they've had games where they've been unstoppable

Starting point is 00:12:40 from three they've had games where they just haven't taken a lot they've had games where they just haven't taken a lot. They've had games where they just haven't really hit anything. Haven't been a ton of games in the middle where they're, you know, they're shooting 36%, 37% for a stretch of three, four games. Like that hasn't really happened. KUS three games this year where they have shot better than 40%, 40% or better from three. They have two games where they have shot 50% or better from three. Actually, I think when you look at it, the first two games really did do a lot to, I don't know, improve what KU's overall three-point shooting is for the season

Starting point is 00:13:19 because you shoot 23 of 49 from three. That's basically, what, 47%, something like that in the first two games. So that's going to certainly help here. But then you have the nine to 14 game against UConn. So that's been the case. And then they also have three games this year where they've shot 30% or worse from three-point range

Starting point is 00:13:37 with two games being below 22%. So a little inconsistency there so far this season. There's also the inconsistency with the lack of volume. Kansas right now ranks 321st in the country in the amount of their shots that they're coming from three-point range. Now, when you have a two-point dominant team, you want more of your shots to come from two, and you have Hunter Dickinson, and that makes sense.

Starting point is 00:13:58 But there's levels to this. Maybe it makes sense if you're not 90th in the country in three-point. 321st, that's pretty low down there. That can be an issue in a game where you're playing a team who shoots a lot of threes and it becomes a math equation. But they've had games with 10 attempts, Missouri game, 12 attempts, 14 attempts, which happened twice, which, like I said, it's kind of tough if that's the case.

Starting point is 00:14:18 And it's not just about the three-point shooting. It's about if you're not trying them, if you're not attempting them, eventually when we get into conference play, some of these scouting reports are going to come in and say, okay, we're going to just pack the paint, and we're going to make you have a game where you shoot 25 threes. We're going to give you some more openings from three. You better take advantage of it.

Starting point is 00:14:34 So we'll see if that is kind of the case there. I think the offense overall is kind of a negative right now. Now, a lot of teams would love to be ranked 32nd nationally on Ken Palm's adjusted offensive efficiency. But for Kansas, you have higher standards, right? And there's always the numbers that go around that teams will win the title, like, you know, top 25 on offense and defense. So you're ideally trying to get top 25 there. But here are the only Bill Self offenses in his time at KU. There have only been three offenses that have ranked worse

Starting point is 00:15:07 than what this offense currently ranks at KU for a season on Ken Palm's adjusted offense efficiency. The 2021 team, which was the team that they ranked 54th on offense, they lost in the second round to USC by a billion points. Then you have to go all the way back to 2006. That team was 50th on offense. They lost in the first round to Bradley. And then you go back to 2004, which was 38th. That team did make it to the Elite Eight before losing to Georgia Tech. But that one, you would just assume

Starting point is 00:15:34 the offensive woes was, hey, new system. They're trying to figure it out under Bill Self because that was his first year there. Now, if we look at offenses in Bill Self's time at KU that were just not top 25, so 26th or worse in adjusted offensive efficiency on Ken Palm. You not only have those three teams, and then this team right now, you have the 2019 team for Kansas. They were ranked 27th. They lost in the second round to Auburn. You have the 2015 team. Kansas was 27th. They lost in the second round to Wichita State. Then you have the 2013 team, which Kansas was ranked 27th also. That's just been like a weird number for KU to get to. That team lost in the Sweet 16.

Starting point is 00:16:15 And then you have 2007, which Kansas was 29th. They lost in the Elite Eight. And that 2007 one, honestly, they probably were a top 25 offense, but they missed every layup possible in the UCLA game in the lead eight, which probably dropped them to 29th. Coming into that game, I'd imagine they would have been top 25, and that team made a lead eight. That's the best case scenario, but like I said,

Starting point is 00:16:37 I feel like coming into that game, they're probably top 25. So, I mean, there's two ways of looking at that. You can say, oh, well, those four extra teams I just mentioned there, one made the elite eight, and if they didn't miss a billion layups, maybe they make the Final Four. Then again, you could say, well, the offense is bad. Maybe that was trending towards something happening. Then you have the 2013 team, which you could say, oh, well, Sweet 16.

Starting point is 00:16:58 I mean, there were weird stuff happening at the end of the game. Trey Burke getting shots, not getting the ball over the timeline, not shooting layup, all the weird stuff that happened in that game. From making it further, from making it an Elite Eight, from maybe making it further in that tournament. Then again, you know, that's a couple second-round losses in the recent ones. So the offense needs to get better. It needs to get in the top 25, that's for sure.

Starting point is 00:17:19 I think the last big negative here is playing some games maybe too close for comfort. You look at the Eastern Illinois game. You look at the Fort Hayes State game. the Chaminade game for a little bit there. You look at the UMKC game where things got a little closer than you wanted at the end. Even a little bit of the Missouri game. I mean, you were kind of dominating that game for a bit, and you let them crawl back into it, get it to like, what, a 6-8 point game, something like that.

Starting point is 00:17:38 So playing some games maybe a little bit too close for comfort, I think might be one of the negatives you could point out here, but I think overall you're very happy with KU's start at 9-1 on the season, even if we are kind of nitpicking here a little bit. All right, we're going to continue on. What can KU improve? Where are some areas where, you know, maybe they aren't performing up to snuff right now,

Starting point is 00:17:57 but I think they can kind of get up to another level with this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. This episode of the show is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 Moneyline bet. That's $150 if your team wins. If you've been thinking about joining FanDuel, there's no better time to get in on the action. The app is so easy to use. There's a wide range of betting options, including spreads,

Starting point is 00:18:30 player props, over-unders, and more. You can get in on the bowl action, bowl games start up this weekend. College basketball is thriving. The NBA in-season tournament just ended. NFL's ongoing. There's so much that you can have fun with, with all those spreads, player props, over-unders, and more. You can put some parlays together with different sports. I've been doing same-game parlays with some of the Kansas basketball stuff with over-unders on players' points or rebounds, put it together. So visit fanduel.com slash locked on and kick off the NFL season. FanDuel, an official partner of the NFL. There are some areas the KU may be lagging behind a little bit now,

Starting point is 00:19:02 but I think it can improve. And by the way, we'll be joined by Nick Schwert later in this week on Locked On. We'll also have a KU football transfer portal tracker segment later in the week, and we'll have a KU Indiana preview. And don't forget, you can check out the KU Missouri recap. You can check out KU adding Deshaun Hanneke,

Starting point is 00:19:18 tight end from Iowa State. You can check out Mello Dotson deciding to come back for 2024, all with our shows here on Locked on Jayhawks. Thank you to every dayers tuning in to each and every one of those. So what can improve? KU right now, offensive rebounding is 265th in the country. The defensive rebounding has been solid.

Starting point is 00:19:38 Last year, KU was not a great rebounding team. They were 179th on the offensive glass, 193rd on the defensive glass. Even you go back to the 2022 team that won the title, that team was, I didn't remember them being this good on the offensive glass, 40th in offensive rebounding. That team was not great defensive rebounding though, 196th. So this team's a much better defensive rebounding team. This team's 66th in the country right now, defensive rebounding. Okay, that's good. That'll work. The offensive rebounding though, 265th in the country. I'm not saying this team even needs to be as good as the 2022 team can

Starting point is 00:20:10 you raise that to like 160th be more middle of the pack in the country and I just think they have the personnel to do it I mean you saw a reason like in the Missouri game you were good at it you got a bunch of offensive rebounds against Missouri I think that showed some of the potential like Hunter Dickinson is a good rebounder overall. KJ Adams has never been a great defensive rebounder, but he's been a solid offensive rebounder in the past. Like Kevin McCuller is a lengthy wing. He can get on the offensive glass.

Starting point is 00:20:37 When you have Johnny Furphy in there, like he's actually shown an ability to be a fine enough offensive rebounder. So I think they have the personnel to be better at it than 265th. Can you become more nationally average at it and kind of match what you're doing on the defensive side of the ball? I think that's something that can improve for them as it goes on as we just saw recently in the Missouri game. Forcing turnovers.

Starting point is 00:20:57 This is another thing that they haven't done well so far this season, but it's something that I think they can do well based on the player person. Now, so far this season, Kansas is 277th in the country in turnover rate defensively. So they're not forcing a lot of turnovers. They're 150th in the country in steal rate. So that's about average, above average nationally, but still not as good as I think they can be with the personnel. Because you look at it, and this personnel, a lot of it, not all of it, but a lot of it was the reason why they were so good at this last year. In 2023, Kansas was 65th in the country in turnover rate defensively.

Starting point is 00:21:33 That's over 200 spots better than you are right now this season. They were 17th, top 20 in the country, in steal rate defensively. That's over 130 spots better than you are right now. And yes, last year, Jalen Wilson, who was an upperclassman, older defender. So you have the kind of wise years there, right? Grady Dick was opportunistic as a defender. He would get some steals for you. But the two main, I guess, I don't know, guys that got you those steals were DeJuan Harris and Kevin McCuller. They're both back this year. And KJ Adams has been really good at getting steals.

Starting point is 00:22:05 He's averaging over a steal per game. Hunter Dickinson's averaging over a steal per game. There's no reason why the personnel of this team can't be better and a good team at forcing turnovers. And I think that's what would take them over. They're seventh right now in defense. If you get back to where you were stealing the ball last season, you might be number three.

Starting point is 00:22:20 You might be number one, right? Like, I think that's how you get to being absolutely elite at that end of the floor. The last one here I have for things I think can get better, needing more consistency from DeJuan being aggressive offensively. Even when he just scores six points, even when he scores eight points, like in the Missouri game, I think that's enough. I think you just need at least that, right? If you get the Kentucky game, great. If you get another one like that, awesome. But you just need at least a little bit of aggressiveness there that can get a few buckets for you over the course of the game, as opposed to being the guys getting 2.8 assists. I think

Starting point is 00:22:51 they'd rather have them get 8.6 assists, where it's being a little bit more aggressive out there. That'll do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcasts. Also, like and subscribe to us on our YouTube page. We'll see you next time with Locked on Jayhawks.

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Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Biggest Takeaways for Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Through First 10 Games and 9-1 Start

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