Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Locked On Jayhawks - 11.5.19

Episode Date: November 5, 2019

Champions Classic Preview; Duke thoughts from Self, Dotson, De Sousa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up, what's up, Jayhawk Nation? Welcome in. Big time game day edition of Locked on Jayhawks. I am Sean Kellerman, Learfield IMG College Broadcaster and University of Kansas Insider. This is Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, giving you insight, numbers, and a chance to hear from all the voices within Kansas athletics. And if you're interested in hearing from Bill Self, Silvio DeSosa, and Devon Dotson, go ahead and stay tuned to this edition of Locked On Jayhawks. I've got a ton of content for you today. We're going to hear from those guys, some unbelievable clips from Silvio DeSosa that really will tug at your heartstrings if you bleed crimson and blue, as I know many of you out there do. So very excited for all of that. And, of course, we're going to preview this KU Duke game tonight, 6 o'clock tip,

first official game of the 2019 season. It's the Hawks and the Blue Devils at 6. That's the 3-versus-4 team in the country. And then it's 2-versus-1 Kentucky against Michigan State. That game is at 8.30. And if you're wondering about the Vegas line for Kansas Duke, it's a pick-em. Zero is the line for KU Duke. Michigan State, two-and-a-half-point favorites over Kentucky.

And, man, it's going to be a great night for college basketball. It's one of my favorite nights of the year because it just means that basketball is back. I've got so many college basketball games to look forward to. But, of course, the ones involving the Jayhawks, involving the Jayhawks, are the most important and the ones that we enjoy the most. And this is a KU team that, you know, they're really looking to kind of right the ship, as weird as that sounds. They don't win the Big 12 title last year. They go 26-10, 12-6 in the Big 12. You know, they advanced to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament, and that's it. And that's, by our standards, a largely disappointing year.

KU does not win the Big 12, as I mentioned. They lose it by two games to two teams, Texas Tech, the national runners-up, and K-State. K-State, of course, lost in the first round to UC Irvine at the NCAA tournament last year. But anyway, we're going to get right into the sound because I know that's what our fans want to hear in advance of this big time blockbuster tonight. First, we're going to look back on the first couple exhibition games and hear what Coach Self had to say regarding that. One of the big keys for Kansas in picking up the two big wins, of course, the talent factor was big time, but KU really did a good job holding onto the ball. Just seven turnovers in the first exhibition game against Fort Hayes State and just four in last week's game against Pitt State. Here's Bill South talking about KU's ball security. No matter what, it was good to take care of the basketball. I think at

one time, I think we had like 24 assists in one turnover or two turnovers. So that was positive, even, you know, because in practice, when we go five on zero, you know, we turn the ball over more than that. So that was positive positive so the ball security was definitely a plus for ku in the exhibition season and one thing that bill self wanted to see in terms of improvement from game one to game two of the exhibition was udoka azubuki's energy level we know he had just five points in the first game against fort hayes state he came back only tallied eight points in the game in limited minutes against Pitt State, but Bill Self was much more impressed with Yudoka's effort

and his ability to affect shots on the defensive end. I thought Doak was much more active defensively. I thought he played really well. Obviously, we've got to help him on the free throw stuff because it's just in his head, and he's watched it for four years now. And he just hadn't gotten a lot better yet, even though his form looks better. And he makes them in practice, but certainly we've got to do something to relax him a little bit on the line

and let him see a couple go down. If it goes down, then he'll be totally different after that. But I thought defensively he was much more active and certainly protected the rim better than what we did last week. If Doak can be that rim protector, that's going to be huge for this Kansas team because then you've got to feel pretty darn confident about all of the personnel on this team, especially when you look at the backcourt. You've got Marcus Garrett, Devon Dotson, and Ochai Abadji. All those guys can cause havoc defensively,

and that's important if you can get those top three guys getting out in transition, creating extra possessions, and that sort of thing. But it's also important to have a rim protector in the back end when the defense breaks down. Bill Self talks about that and how, well, yes, that would be good if KU can get four out of the five spots defending at a high level. That may not be good enough.

If you have the fourth offensive player that's always a pressure release guy, it would be like going out and guarding the heck out of every wide receiver, but they can throw it to a wide open running back every possession. So we've got to be able to do that better, and it's hard to do that without having an easy pressure release when you play two 16 guys. So, yeah yeah we got to do some adjusting uh on that but i do think at least those three that's probably got me as about as excited as i've been with three guys that can really defend on the perimeter uh uh you know you know josh and and obviously davante and frank and

and and sphee were all you know good but. But these three have potential to be terrific perimeter defenders. And then we've got potential to be terrific shot blockers. But we're just missing that one spot where, if all else fails, just let his man pop open and catch it and relieve all pressure. So if we're going to be a pressure team, we need to do it at four spots and not just three. That is one thing that we have talked about a lot on Locked On Jayhawks is, is that going to be a weakness for this KU team? Is it going to be the biggest weakness for this team? Can the four spot, whether it be Silvio De Sosa or David

McCormick, defend at a level to where they can stay on the court and prevent KU to having to go to four guards? Because we've had situations in the past where we've gotten beat. Even if you look at the first exhibition game, six of the eight threes that Fort Hayes State hit were from their stretch guys, their stretch bigs, and that's something that a lot of teams are going to throw out there, and Duke is one of those teams. They've got a lot of size, bigger than a lot of the mid-majors

that Kansas will face as the season goes on, but they also have size that can shoot. Vernon Carey and Matthew Hurt can both stretch the floor. So whether it's Silvio or McCormick, when KU does play the traditional two bigs, those guys are going to have to make sure that they are getting out on the perimeter and KU is defending as a team because a team like Duke, we know, usually a national power, they can hurt you from all five spots. So KU needs to make sure that any weakness or potential weakness they have, they fix

in time and at least can limit in the big time matchup. All right, so we talked a lot about where KU can improve, some of the things Bill Self has liked and some of the things that he has not liked. Well, one guy who's pretty high on this team is silvio de sosa and man it's just so good to have him back we all know what he's been through played uh you know 20 25 games somewhere around that region his freshman year did not play at all last year had to sit out for ncaa rules and silvio is back and he is happier than ever and he is very confident about this year's team every day when we go and we have practice

and we on the court i look at my teammates especially the freshmen as i look to them i'm like wow we're gonna be so good this year you know it's just like something that gets me excited every single day it's not like one day like out of five it's like every single day of the week i look at my teammates and i'm like we're gonna be great it's just you just need to stay focused you just need to know what we want and you know now every day when we come in for practice like we have expert daily expectations we want to get better that's our goal we understand our goal is to win a national championship but like deep in our heart is really just like we need to get better today.

That's how we're going to be able to win tomorrow. So that's pretty much what we do. A very relieved, very happy Silvio De Sosa. And wait till you hear what he says a little bit later in the show here on Locked On Jayhawks about being back and his love toward Kansas fans. So we'll hear more from Silvio. We'll hear from Devon Dotson and of course more from Bill Self as we preview the Champions Classic tonight.

Year nine of the Champions Classic. KU is four and four in this tournament. Well, I guess it's not really a tournament, more of an event, but they're four and four. They're two and oh against Duke. They had victories the year of Frank Mason. He had that game winning shot and the year of Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid. That was KU's first win in this event. And that was back in 2013.

All right, a lot more coming up on Locked On, Jayhawks, talking solely KU hoops, as we are very excited for tonight's game against Duke. Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. I would anticipate all four teams playing on Tuesday night by the end of the season could all be serious contenders. That's Bill Self talking about the four teams in action tonight in New York City. Madison Square Garden, the site of the top four teams in the country according to the initial AP and coaches poll.

KU and Duke checking in at 3-4 respectively. And then of course Michigan State and Kentucky 1-2. That'll be the night cap. So the fun will start early for Jayhawk Nation. 6 o'clock tip time. And we just cannot wait to see these guys in action. It's been fun seeing them against Fort Hayes and Pitt State, but really the game pressure, and when you know you're going against a team

with maybe as much talent as you, it should be fun. All right, before we talk a little bit more about the Champions Classic and the matchup with Duke, you've got to hear this clip from Silvio De Sosa. Just in my mind, just an unreal clip. It really talks to how far this guy has come, how much he's been through, and how much he loves it at the University of Kansas. And he starts this clip by talking about the KU fans who have supported him so much and helped him so much through his journey.

All their support, though, throughout the situation I was going through last year, I have just been thinking about how am I supposed to pay them back? You know, I love Kansas so much. And, you know, they have given me a lot of support, you know, and they love me like I have never been loved before. And so every single day I always wake up thinking about, like, dang, how can I pay them back? I feel like I owe them so much.

Again, it's a long season. I'm already here and I'm free. So I'm just going to do and play as hard as I can to make sure that I make them happy and give them what they want. If that doesn't give you goosebumps as a KU fan, I'm not sure what will. Silvio De Sosa talking about the support of Jayhawk Nation through everything he went

through last year, his time here at KU, and now he's back for what we hope is a full, healthy, and successful season beginning tonight with the Jayhawks taking on the Blue Devils. Here's Devon Dotson talking about the stakes of this Champions Classic. We know that this Champions Classic is a big deal. It's the first game of the season, so everybody should be fired up. It's against a well-known school, so that's it right there. Mentioned last segment, this is the ninth year of the Champions Classic. It wasn't until last year that this was the first official game of the season.

Usually KU would have a game before it, but it seems like it's getting earlier and earlier. And in fact, the Jayhawks do play again this week. Don't forget that. It'll be a quick turnaround Friday against UNC Greensboro. That's an 8 o'clock tip back home at Allen Fieldhouse. Usually that would be the type of game KU would have a home game, kind of get their feet wet in the regular season before this Champions Classic. But beginning last year, it kind of has served as the tip-off of the College Hoops season. And of course, November 5th,

that's going to be the same case here tonight. Here's Bill Self talking about the Classic and about the timing of it. I like playing the game. I don't think it's the best situation to play this game because you don't have a chance to scout, really. You don't have a chance to play to strengths and weaknesses or try to get match-ups and things like that because you really don't know yet what they do well and don't do well, and same thing then with us. And so I wish we had a game or two under,

but it's such a good event to be a part of, you know, tipping off the season and having a lot of interest and all eyes on Madison Square Garden. You know, certainly we're going to be one of four teams basically soaking in the exposure that night. So, you know, I wouldn't want to be not in the game, even though I bet all coaches wish they had a little bit more time. But alas, it is here.

Whether you like it or not, the schedule has this as the first game of the season for College Hoops. And as I mentioned, it's a pick-em game right off the top. Couldn't beat any better than that with the Jayhawks and the Blue Devils. A little bit yesterday, went over the Blue Devils roster. Kind of want to touch on that again

for anybody who is new. Of course, they lose two of the top three picks in the NBA draft in R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson, and they've replaced them with, first off, a couple guys that KU was going after, Cassius Stanley and Matthew Hurt, guys expected to start for this Duke team.

They've also brought in Wendell Moore Jr. He is a 6'6 freshman from Charlotte, and of course, Vernon Carey Jr. I mentioned him in the first segment as well. He's a 6'10 freshman from Charlotte, and of course, Vernon Carey Jr. I mentioned him in the first segment as well. He's a 6'10 freshman who can stretch it. He's a center, is what I was meaning to say. So he and Matt Hurt are going to be the 4 and 5 for this Duke team the majority of the night, and that's going to be a test right off the top.

Initial concern, we documented it a lot, is can the KU bigs get out on the perimeter and that's going to be a test right off the top initial concern we documented it a lot is can the KU bigs get out on the perimeter and guard those guys that'll be a problem but on the other side for Duke you know how do you guard Yudoka Azubuki you've got um you know a load in and Kerry's a big guy too 6'10 270 but Doak is a load and he has proven when he is healthy and on the court he can be the most dominant force in college basketball. So you've got that going for you if you're the Jayhawks, and he's a senior. You've got some veteran leaders on this team.

Silvio De Sousa is a junior. He's in his third year with the program. You've got sophomores who are now considered veterans, Dotson, Abadji, McCormick, and others. And then you've got some talented young guys as well. So I like KU. I like the matchup for KU in this game just because beginning of the year, you know, it's an exciting time for all players.

But guys who have been there before, even just one year, like the aforementioned sophomore trio, I think that can go a long way. KU's been kind of hot in this Champions Classic as well, winning four of their last six years after dropping the first two. And they've also been hot against Duke, three straight wins against the Blue Devils. Most recently, of course, the exciting, dramatic overtime victory in the Elite Eight in 2018. Malik Newman, 32 points and scores all 13 of KU's points in overtime, named most outstanding player of that region. What a game that was. Grayson Allen had that shot. Rim out at the

buzzer to force OT after Sfima Kailuk hit a huge three to tie the game. Just a battle. An absolute battle that game was, and there's no reason to believe that tonight's game will be any different as the Jayhawks and the Blue Devils are about to do battle. Take a little bit closer look at Duke in the final segment, and also we will hear another clip from Self, Dotson, and DeSosa on what they think about the Blue Devils. That's all coming up next, but first I want to tell you that Manscaped is number one in men's below-the-belt grooming. Get 20% off and free shipping with the code LOCKEDON at manscaped.com.

You're listening to Locked On Jayhawks, a product of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Wrapping things up here on this Tuesday edition of Locked On Jayhawks, the Champions Classic. Tonight, just a few hours away from tip, KU and Duke, number three versus number four in the first official game of the college basketball season. And we know in this Champions Classic, you're always going to face talented teams.

You're going to face Hall of Fame coaches. Of course, Mike Krzyzewski, a Hall of Fame coach, as well as our man, Bill Self. The two are 3-3 against each other. And that includes 3-0 for Coach Self in the last three against Mike Krzyzewski. It was the 2011 Maui Invitational Championship game, the last time that Duke upended our Jayhawks. But since then, it's been two victories in the Champions Classic for the Jayhawks, and of course, that Elite Eight win that I alluded to, and I'm sure everybody will always remember that game in Jayhawk Nation, and I'm sure that'll sting for a lot of Duke fans as well. That one was

in 2018, and if you're Duke, you're looking at this game like the mindset of, all right, these guys have had our number for so long. They're thinking about that 2018 game. They're thinking, all right, well, we've got to get one, so for KU, they've just got to treat this as another game. And Bill Self tends to perform very well against top tier programs. I think it's really a good thing for KU to play these teams because they so rarely get to come in with maybe not even the underdog mentality, but a little bit because you're used to being favored in every game. You're used to everyone expecting you to win every game. And Champions Classic is one of those games every year where that's not the case.

And Bill and his staff have always done an amazing job at building his guys up, making them play with a chip on their shoulder, and like they need to prove something, the few opportunities that they get. Silvio De Sosa talked about how, while, yes, it's going to be two talented teams going at it, the Champions Classic provides even more than just five-on-five basketball that these guys have to have on their minds. When I think about Duke on Tuesday, it's more like it's not really about Duke.

It's really more like about the distractions that's going to be around. You know, we're playing Madison Square. It's like everybody's going to be there. This famous person, celebrity is going to be there. And, you know, it's just like, it's a lot to just kind of focus on the game. But like I say, I've been like when we in practice, I try to tell my teammates just that's how we we got to do for us to survive and have a great game. That'll be key to knock off the Blue Devils who

their two exhibition games for them, they won by six against a Northwest Missouri State team that went 38 and 0 at their level last year and won a national championship and they gave Duke a run for their money in the first exhibition game for the Blue Devils and then the next game was not exactly close.

It was Duke 126, Fort Valley State 57, in a game in which seven Blue Devils scored in double figures. And Joey Baker, one of those bigs who can stretch it that Duke seems to always have. He was 6 of 8 from three-point range. Speaking of the bigs who can stretch it, Devon Dotson talked about that and how Duke has a lot of them that KU's going to have to have in mind. They're bigs and versatile. They have a four-man hurt that can shoot it pretty well.

The five, sometimes whoever the five can shoot it sometimes. So, you know, just the shooting and the spacing that they have. So we've highlighted those bigs a lot. We've mentioned Carey, Hurt, and Baker, and of course Jack White. And, you know, we say bigs, but for Duke, you know, with a few exceptions, that pretty much means guys who can shoot threes too. You know, they've had a few exceptions over the year that play with their back to the basket, like Jaleel Okafor comes to mind. He and, of course, Tyus Jones were the lead man on that 2015 team, one of the few college hoops teams that had multiple freshmen in their starting lineups, and they ended up actually winning the national title. We've noticed ever since one and dones have become a thing, yes,

they've provided a lot of talent for their teams, and their teams have even sometimes made deep runs in the NCAA tournament. But that 2015 Duke team, one of the few to actually close the door. They also had Justice Winslow on that team. Tyus Jones, a guy that KU recruited relatively hard, and then Trey Jones, of course, followed in his brother's footsteps and went to Duke, and he returned for his sophomore year, which is something that a couple guys unsurprisingly did not do, Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett. Bill Self is no stranger to seeing one-and-dones leave

and having to replace them for next year's team. And here's Coach talking about this Duke team having to reload and what kind of problems they have for Kansas this year. It's not an easy deal to replace those guys, but they had obviously a tremendous recruiting class last year, top two or three recruiting class. And we are familiar with a couple of guys that at least we anticipate starting for them as freshmen that we missed out on late.

But the bottom line is, you know, they'll be sound. They'll play fast. I anticipate them playing both man and zone, even though who knows. And, you know, they're not going to beat themselves. You've got to go beat them. And early in the season, you know, it's hard to go beat people. And I know that sounds strange, but more games are lost than are won, especially early in the season because, you know, teams aren't as prepared

and they make more mental mistakes and haven't been in as many situations. So hopefully, you know, hopefully we'll handle the atmosphere well enough to the point where we can actually play the game and play the possessions the way they need to be played, you know, considering time, score, and momentum. That'll be key, and we can't wait for it. Hopefully the Jayhawks get off to a good start and get their feet wet, and hopefully those veterans can come through big for Kansas. Yudoka Azubuki and Silvio De Sosa, hopefully the bigs and the depth of Kansas can wear down the Blue Devils.

Should be an exciting first game. Remember, first of two games this week for the Jayhawks. Win, lose, or draw. KU's back at it Friday against UNC Greensboro. But you know that tomorrow on the show, we'll break down this game every way possible. We'll hear postgame sound from Bill Self and KU players as well as they look to topple number four Duke in the Champions Classic and improve to five and four overall all time in the event. Hope you've enjoyed Locked On Jayhawks today,

and I hope you enjoy the game tonight, and let's get a Jayhawk victory. The Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.