The great escape

I can't believe I'm witnessing a Brandon Rush on this 2010 team, but only from the mirror. X is Brandon Rush born all over again except I'm looking at them through a mirror, literally. Rush had no left hand until he finally developed it his junior year and X has virtually no right hand although that lay-up scoop with the right towards the last 10 minutes of the game was nice. I haven't seen X dribble twice consecutively with his right yet.

Also, after watching Collins sit for most of the second half has left with the conclusion that KU absolutely without hesitation needs a "True Point" next year because EJ nor Taylor are true points. Brandon Knight is "Key" for next year's squad.

November 18, 2009 at 3 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

The great escape

Freddy: "This was the first game of the season I've watched, and I'm not sold on Xavier Henry... I think he's a me-first type ballplayer, he shot the ball way too much, he's not even thinking about passing and I get the impression he's just biding his time before he declares for the draft... I hope I'm wrong, and hey, it's only two games into the season and KU looked terrible last night, but this offense looks lost and until the chemistry improves, I maintain that KU made a mistake taking the Henrys over Lance Stephenson..."

You don't remember that one handed bounce pass on a fast break X tried to get through two defenders that hit one of them in the thigh and then bounced up in their hands. I mean, that was some crisp passing? LOL!

November 18, 2009 at 2:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

The great escape

6) Brady Morningstar: I don't think people realize how much KU misses Morningstar's leadership on the court. Obviously, he made a terrible decision, but Morningstar was missed in this game because of his experience. Morningstar takes care of the ball, understands his role, and knows where everybody else should be to get them the basketball. Morningstar whether people like it or not will be a great addition after the break.

7) Reed: I thought Reed played pretty well even though he didn't hit any shots. He took care of the basketball, but he needs to play with more confidence. He played scared and tentative and it showed on the court. Reed will be fine, but I'm not sure if Morningstar returns if that spot is open to hit some clutch shots. Reed will have plenty of time to turn this game around and I have confidence in him.

8) Offensively: KU was just in a "Hurry" all night and allowed Memphis to "Dook" us tonight. They got KU in a hurry when there was no reason to get in a hurry. KU just needs to "Slow Down" and they will be fine. I was very pleased with the inside presence and the amount of times we tried to get the ball inside. Even though KU only shot 1-5 from the arc, I was impressed that it was only 5 attempts.

9) Defensively: I was pretty impressed with the Defense. There were some times when KU made a good play and got caught looking at their own highlights rather than getting back on "D". Self will address that.

10) Self said, "Our offense Stinks"! Nuff said right there for me.

November 18, 2009 at 9:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

The great escape

Here are my observations:

1) TURNOVERS! Tyshawn Taylor and the 3 freshman (X, EJ, and Robinson) did not "Value" the basketball. I am not quite sure what Taylor is thinking, but his demeanor on the court seems a little off to me right now. I don't know what it is, but he seems pretty relaxed (Too relaxed and comfortable in my opinion). When Collins came back in the game he should have subbed for Taylor and left Reed in the game. Taylor was about as careless with the ball as I've seen a player in the last two years. I have to go back to the "JuJu" days for such carlessness. As for the freshman, they need to "Focus" and understand how valuable the possessions are at the college level.

2) Marcus Morris: I thought Morris played extremely well. Out of everyone on the team I was most pleased with Morris. The reason I was so pleased because there were some pretty tense moments that did not go Mc Morris' way and he showed a lot of poise and maturity that would have been obsolete last year. I also thought Mc. Morris played within himself and wasn't frustrated at all during the night. I think if KU can get him a few more touches, I think that is a good thing. I was impressed with Morris all night.

3) Aldrich and Collins: Typical game from KU's All-Americans. For those individuals who were "Crying Foul" last year for Collins over aggressiveness, he completely played within himself and got the rest of the team involved (Even though it was ugly) when he was on the court. I am not worried about these two at all. I do think Collings was "Too Jacked" before the game and got his adrenalin pumping too much. LOL! He looked a little tired on the court in the first half. Love these two players.

4) Xavier: He is not ready for the NBA at least from I witnessed from last nights game. He Settles too much for outside shots. He's athletic enough to get the rim so he needs to do just that so it opens up his jumper more. X also had some careless turnovers and needs understand important it is to take care of the basketball. He did get some big rebounds, but I would like to see a little more assertiveness from him.

5) EJ and Robinson: They need to take advantage of their minutes and understand how important their limited minutes are to the team. EJ's last stint in the game was horrific as he committed a lane violation with Aldrich at the line on the front end of a 1 in 1. Lost two possible points there. Robinson missed that "Bunny" underneath and we didn't see him the rest of the game. They will be fine as they got caught up in the moment.

November 18, 2009 at 9:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Oh, the memories

Yahweh: "I promise I'm not trying to be that guy who points out every grammatical mistake, and I'm sure you guys will fix it anyway, but you've got a mess in the second paragraph. Just up late."

You are being "That Guy".

November 17, 2009 at 7:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

C.J. Henry cleared to play against Memphis

I'll believe it when I see it with CJ. I wasn't impressed with him during Late Night, but then again a month of practice can do wonders except, he hasn't practiced in two weeks. I don't know, his handles seem a little suspect to me, but then again Collins was guarding him on Late Night. Again, I think his maturity is a great addition to the team, but I feel the jury is still left to make decision on his overall talent level. We shall see. I hope I am completely wrong and have to eat crow.

November 17, 2009 at 7:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

X-cellent debut

Jaybate: I have to disagree because I don't think Pitt State could beat Hofstra. You could see Hofstra was pretty overwhelmed, but they got killed in the rebounding department. I thought Hofstra did an "Okay" job with their guards and their limited bigs. I thought they did a better job than Pitt State. Just my two cents.

November 14, 2009 at 7:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Harrison Barnes chooses North Carolina

drgnslayr: Maybe you should retract that statement after 27 points by X. LOL! He's gone and we're only one game into the season.

November 13, 2009 at 9:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

FINAL: Xavier Henry sets KU freshman debut record with 27 points in 101-65 rout of Hofstra

kshaw: Why you have my name? LOL! Comcast huh? I will have to check into to it.

November 13, 2009 at 8:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

FINAL: Xavier Henry sets KU freshman debut record with 27 points in 101-65 rout of Hofstra

Do you have to pay for that ESPN 360?

November 13, 2009 at 8:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )