Like what? They run quite a few different sets than the weave up top. The only thing they don't do much is guard/guard screen, which is far easier to defend than post/guard screens.

They don't do much of anything involving screens. I'm not a coach so I don't know the answer, but there are lots of teams who can handle nova like teams consistently. Maybe get a guy like Ellis in space. Pick and roll. Make the defense pay for being over aggressive. We run such basic motions up top. Your solution shouldn't be to ask your guards to constantly dribble drive.

It's early. It will get there. You don't remember Kaun owning SIU (IIRC) with the high screens after Como spent the whole season saying he was worthless?

He gets into foul trouble every game.

Kansas has insane talent to compete with the majority of teams. I just feel like every year, Kansas has a tougher time with a specific type of defense. And I just haven't been impressed with the adjustments. It's like romeo... You knew he had a shit team, but he had a defense that was built to bother Peyton Manning even if they weren't overly talented.

I'm not worried about the majority of games. But self has to have a better solution for nova like teams because it's always these teams that turn gimme games into nail biters.

Not true. Bigs coming out to set screens is a big part of the offense. Maybe it hasnt happened a ton this year because we are 6 games into the season with a team full of freshmen, but it will happen.

If by every, you mean about half.

KU is better than both Villanova and Iowa. The fact that they played a poor game against one of them doesn't mean they would have lost the next day if given the opportunity again.

Just like your feeling that KU has struggled against Villanova, I don't think this feeling is based on anything of substance. KU has remarkably lost only an average of 5 games a season over the last 6 seasons and most of those losses didn't come against pressure defenses. The offense is fine. It will be even better than fine when Embiid finds a way to stay on the court for longer.

There are screens and pick plays being run on most possessions (hence the reason why Traylor has so many offensive fouls).

Unless Kansas won each game by 30 and won the Atlantis title, there wasn't going to be a scenario in which the positives were going to outweigh the negatives in Atlantis.

You are playing three games where you only have mere hours to prepare for 2 of the 3 games, not to mention you have to factor in what is working and what isn't working within the confines of your own system and team.

Kansas faced 2-3, 3-2, 1-3-1, box and 1, triangle and 2, and had to defend against four corners offense over the span of three days.

With a team that is ranked 348th in the country in terms of minutes played by rotation players, you simply cannot prepare for that, nor expect your team to look fluid on offense. KU was going to have to basically labor through this tournament and just do what they do against whatever defense and hope shots were falling.

Still a fair amount of distrust from Self on the defensive end with this team, and with it being so early in the season and really not meaning all that much, he wasn't afraid to sit his best players for extended time.

My biggest problem is that considered the various and junk defenses Kansas faced, you would want your play makers to take shots and just use their athleticism to make plays.

Wiggins barely took enough shots against Wake, then took only a combined 17 shots against Nova and UTEP. Wayne Selden doesn't take enough shots either. This is why stat freaks think one and done players don't fit at Kansas. They are way too unselfish and rely on ball movement and gaining position for points. While Wiggins isn't going to take 20 shots because that won't work in this offense with this much talent and scoring, he needs to average a minimum of 12 shots a game.

That's partially on him, partially on his teammates, and partially on Self.

Way too early to take anything away other than Kansas needs to get a lot better, and the positive to that being that their ceiling is so high that you have to feel good looking at January and on.

This is a well reasoned third post.

Rep.

Agree to disagree. Again, I don't think many teams can do this. The thing is, many of the teams that play this aggressive trap defense tend to have lesser talent. Ku tends to pull these nail biters off, but it just seems that whenever a sleeper gives ku fits, it's this brand of defense that does it. There aren't enough teams that can do this well to keep me up at night. Louisville is one of the few majors.

sounds like the NCAA Tourney situation

Exactly, which is why Kansas' depth and needing its play makers to go make plays is going to be HUGE. These guys have to learn how to be a little more selfish.

Wiggins is a pleaser. He isn't Jabari Parker where he will make Kansas live or die by him like Parker will with Duke.

The good thing about that and why Kansas is a much more legit title contender in the long term of this season is that KU doesn't NEED Wiggins to score 25 like Duke needs Parker to score 25 or Kentucky needs Randle to score 25.

I think right now, Arizona and Kansas are to two most dangerous teams because they have so many players that can score and get a win, even in an ugly game. Arizona doesn't need Gordon to put up monster numbers.

Oklahoma State could probably be thrown in there too but they lack size in the low post and don't have nearly as much depth. What happens when (and if) Smart has a bad game and is shut down on the offensive end?

Self's teams always get considerably better over Christmas break. Even though the games against Wake and UTEP were closer than they should have been, you never felt like KU was going to lose.

Given all of that after 7 games, I would put good money on this team making a Final Four. I think you could argue that Self is still trying to figure out how and when to use all of his weapons and different lineups he has at his disposal. Kansas can match up with anyone.

Wished they could have won this tourney but it feels a bit too gimmicky to take it that seriously.