beakumhawks
New member
First of all, congrats on making the big dance. Allow me to echo the sentiments of other KU posters that have visited this board and say that you got hosed on your seed.
Having watched my Jayhawks all year, I thought I would give you an idea of what to expect, warts and all.
In the past Kansas has liked to play an up-tempo style, as they have had big men who could run the floor. That's true this year as well, but I think this years team has played a half court offense better than Kansas teams in the past. If you watched the Kansas-Texas game Kansas absolutely killed the Texas zone. Any intelligent coach would have switched to a man-to-man, but Rick Barnes has never been accused of being intelligent.
Kansas basically goes with a seven man rotation (four guards and three bigs), with occasional minutes by Cole Aldrich (big man) and Roderick Stewart (forward/guard). It's not unusual to see all seven players in the rotation put in the same amount of minutes. First the guards:
Brandon Rush - First team all league selection. Brandon declared for the NBA last season, but had an injury prior to the draft and returned to school. Brandon is a good defender, and a very good shooter. He's one of KU's main three point threats. The knock on Brandon is that at times he does not play aggressive enough.
Mario Chambers - In my viewpoint I would have put Mario on the first team all league instead of Rush. Not a knock on Rush, but Mario is terrific. He scored 30 against Texas in the Big 12 Championship game. Probably Kansas's best three point shooter.
Russell Robinson Russell doesn't score much, but if ignored he can hit the three point shot. He mainly concentrates on playing defense and distributing the ball.
Sherron Collins Probably Kansas's best player at penetrating to the basket. He's really started to play well the past couple of weeks, as injuries have healed up.
The big men:
Darrell Arthur Another first team all Big 12 selection. His achilles heel this season has been foul problems. He commits too many of them, and many of them are foolish fouls. He's got the skill to manuver around the basket, and has range out to the free throw line.
Darnell Jackson The feel-good story of the year for Kansas. This kid and his family have been through hell. One of the most touching aspects of Senior night at Kansas was Darnell's speech, when he told his mom that if he could he would take all of the pain that she has experienced and put in inside of him. As a player Darnell has progressed from an occasional appearance last year to a starter this year. He also has range out to the free throw line.
Sasha Kaun - Will get his points under the basket. Sasha is KU's banger. Think Ivan Drago with curly hair.
Strengths - You really can't point at one person on the Kansas roster and say "we've got to stop him." Scoring is very distributed on this team. This is a team that plays very unselfish. Sometimes too unselfish. Against Texas Kansas had 25 assists on 26 baskets. Kansas plays a man-to-man defense probably 95% of the time. Their rebounding can be very good, but at times they have fallen asleep and been killed on the boards. In the regular season game against Texas A&M Kansas outrebounded A&M by something like 20. In the Big 12 tournament game against A&M they were outrebounded by double digits. Go figure. Kansas likes to run, and as a result I doubt that you guys will be crashing the boards with three or four players on every shot.
Weaknesses Kansas has had trouble with quick guards that can penetrate. One of the reasons that Arthur has foul problems is that he has to come over and help when a guard penetrates into the lane. Teams that have had the best luck against Kansas have had their guard penetrate, then dish it out for a three. Kansas can at times be too unselfish, and that can lead to some silly turnovers. At times Kansas will pass up a very good shot for a very, very good shot. This can lead to some frustrating turnovers. Kansas killed the zone that Texas threw at them, but they were patient. This resulted in either a wide open three point shot, or a pass inside for a dunk.
How to beat Kansas If you are going to try and rebound with Kansas you are going to need some big bodies. Otherwise I would not crash everyone, and work on getting back on defense. The Kansas bigs can run well for big bodies. Patience is going to be a key. If you work the ball on offense and not get flustered by the Kansas pressure you can get some good looks. If you are going to beat Kansas you need to avoid the Kansas run. Kansas can score points in bunches. On defense you need to pressure the ball. Collins is the best bet that Kansas has at penetrating. The others you really need to play tight defense on, as they are all three point threats. You need to limit Kansas on the offensive boards. The rebounding of your bigs will be huge in this game. If Kaun, Jackson and Arthur can control the offensive boards it is going to be along night. And finally, you need to control the tempo. Limit the number of possessions.
Good luck Thursday!
Having watched my Jayhawks all year, I thought I would give you an idea of what to expect, warts and all.
In the past Kansas has liked to play an up-tempo style, as they have had big men who could run the floor. That's true this year as well, but I think this years team has played a half court offense better than Kansas teams in the past. If you watched the Kansas-Texas game Kansas absolutely killed the Texas zone. Any intelligent coach would have switched to a man-to-man, but Rick Barnes has never been accused of being intelligent.
Kansas basically goes with a seven man rotation (four guards and three bigs), with occasional minutes by Cole Aldrich (big man) and Roderick Stewart (forward/guard). It's not unusual to see all seven players in the rotation put in the same amount of minutes. First the guards:
Brandon Rush - First team all league selection. Brandon declared for the NBA last season, but had an injury prior to the draft and returned to school. Brandon is a good defender, and a very good shooter. He's one of KU's main three point threats. The knock on Brandon is that at times he does not play aggressive enough.
Mario Chambers - In my viewpoint I would have put Mario on the first team all league instead of Rush. Not a knock on Rush, but Mario is terrific. He scored 30 against Texas in the Big 12 Championship game. Probably Kansas's best three point shooter.
Russell Robinson Russell doesn't score much, but if ignored he can hit the three point shot. He mainly concentrates on playing defense and distributing the ball.
Sherron Collins Probably Kansas's best player at penetrating to the basket. He's really started to play well the past couple of weeks, as injuries have healed up.
The big men:
Darrell Arthur Another first team all Big 12 selection. His achilles heel this season has been foul problems. He commits too many of them, and many of them are foolish fouls. He's got the skill to manuver around the basket, and has range out to the free throw line.
Darnell Jackson The feel-good story of the year for Kansas. This kid and his family have been through hell. One of the most touching aspects of Senior night at Kansas was Darnell's speech, when he told his mom that if he could he would take all of the pain that she has experienced and put in inside of him. As a player Darnell has progressed from an occasional appearance last year to a starter this year. He also has range out to the free throw line.
Sasha Kaun - Will get his points under the basket. Sasha is KU's banger. Think Ivan Drago with curly hair.
Strengths - You really can't point at one person on the Kansas roster and say "we've got to stop him." Scoring is very distributed on this team. This is a team that plays very unselfish. Sometimes too unselfish. Against Texas Kansas had 25 assists on 26 baskets. Kansas plays a man-to-man defense probably 95% of the time. Their rebounding can be very good, but at times they have fallen asleep and been killed on the boards. In the regular season game against Texas A&M Kansas outrebounded A&M by something like 20. In the Big 12 tournament game against A&M they were outrebounded by double digits. Go figure. Kansas likes to run, and as a result I doubt that you guys will be crashing the boards with three or four players on every shot.
Weaknesses Kansas has had trouble with quick guards that can penetrate. One of the reasons that Arthur has foul problems is that he has to come over and help when a guard penetrates into the lane. Teams that have had the best luck against Kansas have had their guard penetrate, then dish it out for a three. Kansas can at times be too unselfish, and that can lead to some silly turnovers. At times Kansas will pass up a very good shot for a very, very good shot. This can lead to some frustrating turnovers. Kansas killed the zone that Texas threw at them, but they were patient. This resulted in either a wide open three point shot, or a pass inside for a dunk.
How to beat Kansas If you are going to try and rebound with Kansas you are going to need some big bodies. Otherwise I would not crash everyone, and work on getting back on defense. The Kansas bigs can run well for big bodies. Patience is going to be a key. If you work the ball on offense and not get flustered by the Kansas pressure you can get some good looks. If you are going to beat Kansas you need to avoid the Kansas run. Kansas can score points in bunches. On defense you need to pressure the ball. Collins is the best bet that Kansas has at penetrating. The others you really need to play tight defense on, as they are all three point threats. You need to limit Kansas on the offensive boards. The rebounding of your bigs will be huge in this game. If Kaun, Jackson and Arthur can control the offensive boards it is going to be along night. And finally, you need to control the tempo. Limit the number of possessions.
Good luck Thursday!
