Hell I was surprised how well he tested. Maybe I'm racist, but it looked like he was plodding at times on the court. I think a lot of it is he isn't a smooth athlete, like say Ben McLemore.

But he was getting buzz. And looking at it as if you were trying to talk yourself into CB, his defense got a lot better, he was really ****ing good in transition, he's got nice size and doesn't do a bunch of stuff that will kill you.

I probably don't agree, but I'm consistently wrong on the draft stuff. Almost to a point.

I think Braun was a very good college player. But, other than his vertical, I don't understand what any NBA person sees in his game that they think translates.

I am sorry, but who in TF can he guard in the NBA? Could he guard Poole from GSW? No.

Maybe, I mean maybe, he could guard Pritchard or Grant Williams from the Celtics. If he improves his defense.

His shot mechanics are horrible. He pulls the ball from his waist into his shooting motion as slow as anyone I can remember, and shoots a very flat shot.

Unless he is literally standing wide, wide open, that shit is going to get blocked in the NBA.

He cannot shoot coming off a screen the way Och can, and he doesn't have a tight handle that can make it through traffic.

He jumps high. That's it.

I loved Braun, and have since he was a freshman. I literally defensed him when people complained about his minutes or role in the starting lineup.

He should have come back, in regards to his development, but it looks like he got good advice and was actually taken in the first round. Good for him.

KU has lost many guys to an early draft grade, but guys like T-Rob, Julian Wright, etc. didn't make a ton of NBA money after their first contract. Why? Because they really needed more time to develop.


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To be fair if locking down Poole would be a requirement to be drafted there would be like 10 dudes drafted.

So in love with this basic post you had to make it twice? While not verbatim to the last one, it is essentially the same post.

Perhaps if you post it a 3rd time we will all really finally get your point.

I’m skeptical Braun will be a good NBA player myself but that has more to do with his shot and his basketball IQ, not his athleticism or defense.

Braun is also a Red Ass that I think some teams need. He is going to yell and get Technicals because that is apart of his game. I don't know if teams will feed off that but some of these teams are just lame. A spark would do them good. Some of that spark will be a monster dunk

Basketball IQ? I don't really remember thinking of Braun as being bone headed and he always struck me as reasonable solid when it came to fundamentals.

To get playing time in the NBA his shooting will have to continue to improve.

He does have some shot blocking skills. I am curious to see if he has enough quickness to not be a liability on defense at the NBA level.

it's been a while since I've seen the "guys can only develop in college" hot take from a KU fan who just wants guys to stay at their program for selfish reasons. As if Thomas Robinson was only going to improve at Kansas to prevent him from being a bust. What an asinine take.

Are you actually saying that TRob made the jump early after getting drafted 5? Just lmao this opinion is so early 2000s Jayhawk Slant I'm dying laughing.

If Braun had Jalen Wilsons footwork, feel and bball IQ he would he a top 10 pick.

Braun would quite often pass up open shots at times and drive into areas where he never should have. He seemed to doubt himself regularly, make decisions slowly, and it didn't help that he wasn't a particularly good passer. That's gonna have to stop at next level if he wants to play. Jokic is gonna get him open shots and he'll have to take them and make them with quick precision.

I actually think he'll be able to defend. He's quite athletic and sneaky long out there.

A lot of fans don’t like it. I think it’s pretty good considering we were picking 14. Should compliment Garland and Mobley nicely.

If Och had 30% of the Mamba Mentality, he would have been the NPOY.

He absolutely needs to develop some of that type of attitude and thinking to stay in the league and get a nice second contract.

There will be a lot of guys on NBA rosters next season who have the same skill set an weren't drafted at 14, or weren't drafted at all. Och has the skills to be great, and the work ethic to get better.

He just needs to get the right mindset.

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What's better, being a lottery pick, and ending up in the G League or in Europe before your rookie contract is up, or being drafted late 1st, or even late second, and being more developed and mature, and getting a second contract in the NBA?

When players are expected to be lottery picks, they should absolutely go, especially if they need the money.

But, if you don't need the money, or can make it through another year, stay, because you will only get better.

T-Rob didn't need the money because of the trust from people donating to him and his sister. He felt responsible for her, and left. He was a lottery pick, and it was a good call in the short term.

There were parts of his game that he could have worked on, as the combine scouts told him. He was drafted into a position he never really played in college. He had trouble adjusting to his new position and role, he got down on himself, he struggled, and in the end, he wasn't a very good NBA player.

If he had come back, and let the staff work with him for an entire season with those combine notes in mind, he could have been much more successful in the NBA.

Leaving school and being drafted in the first round, or especially as a lottery pick, is always the right decision, and what Bill Self has ALWAYS told his players to do.

Another example is Ben Mclemore. He had a textbook release and jump shot. Could jump out of the gym. Turns out, he knew nothing about playing guard in college or the pros. Was it the right decision to come out? Yes. In the short term. Had he played one more, or even two more seasons at KU, chances are much better that he would have been a real impact player in the NBA.

Julian Wright was a lottery pick. He was an extremely talented college player, who was drafted on potential. However, turns out that he didn't really have a position in the NBA. He wasn't particularly strong, and didn't really have an NBA body. Guess what would have helped him? Yep, more time in college, with a great strength & conditioning staff, and time to work on parts of his game to help him translate his talent to the NBA. But, he got that big lotto pick contract.

I am saying that a second NBA contract is better in the long run, than one contract. Players who are more developed coming out of college are more likely to get that second NBA contract.

Unless you are truly an elite player like Wiggins or Embiid, that second contract should be the goal.

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If somebody is going to give Braun a guaranteed NBA contract for two years (which is what a 1st round pick will get him, regardless of where he is drafted), he'd be out of his mind not to take that opportunity. Especially as a junior at his age (21). I'm still a bit surprised it happened for him like this and it probably wouldn't have without the fortuitous title run.

The Nuggets in particular are also a great spot for him given the space that Jokic gives his teammates. If he's got something to give at this level, you'd have to think we'll see it there.

I’m always - always - ahead of the CURVES

Christian Braun’s mom ‘knows’ she had Twitter losing it during 2022 NBA Draft

By Jaclyn Hendricks
June 24, 2022 8:26am Updated
https://nypost.com/wp-content/upload...06/braun-3.jpg

https://nypost.com/2022/06/24/twitte...022-nba-draft/

Kansas Jayhawks won the National Championship FYI

Headline is a bit of a reach given the story but yeah I’d hammer her out.

How in the hell did I not know Braun's mom is a MILF? We need her in the off and on thread.

I guess I don't think of poor passing and lacking confidence as low basketball IQ but maybe that is on me. Slow decision making and driving into areas where he shouldn't certainly is though.

His length and athleticism is certainly apparent with his shot blocking. I guess I am wondering more about lateral quickness and ability to defend someone just driving past him with a first step. But maybe I underestimate him.

I certainly wish him success.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FV--MJvW...pg&name=medium


We've been talking about this picture for a year now.

There was a thread I saw where people were trying to think of titles for this image and they were all like "Stepmom gets stuck in window"

Just double checked this. It’s still true.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">And now, the moment you&#39;ve all been waiting for...<br><br>Introducing our official 2022-23 Non-Conference Schedule.<br><br>More → <a href="https://t.co/6vDsiH4RX7">https://t.co/6vDsiH4RX7</a> <a href="https://t.co/oiKSuwGbtT">pic.twitter.com/oiKSuwGbtT</a></p>&mdash; Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/KUHoops/status/1541861125599502337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">And now, the moment you&#39;ve all been waiting for...<br><br>Introducing our official 2022-23 Non-Conference Schedule.<br><br>More → <a href="https://t.co/6vDsiH4RX7">https://t.co/6vDsiH4RX7</a> <a href="https://t.co/oiKSuwGbtT">pic.twitter.com/oiKSuwGbtT</a></p>&mdash; Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/KUHoops/status/1541861125599502337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Correct me if I’m wrong, but we’ve gone to the Final Four in each of the last three seasons that we’ve played Mizzou.

2012: Mizzou’s last season in the Big 12
2018: I think we played them in an exhibition at Sprint Center when they had the Porters
2022: Played them at AFH (we also won the National Championship in case you forgot)

Neg rep.

Non-con schedule isn't really as exciting as it usually seems (Kentucky is during conference season so not counting that). Duke is about it unless Indiana rises from the ashes. Battle 4 Atlantis has Tennessee and Wisconsin but no other major programs.

I love playing Missouri. Its because I hate them.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G5sqUopAc2w" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

FYP

Yawn.

Yeah, if they want regional, Wichita State or Creighton would be better options. If they're looking SEC besides Kentucky, I think Tennessee would be my choice.

Wow. What a video.

THis championship just feels so much better than 2008. Don't get me wrong, '08 was fantastic. However, I expected to win that year.

This year things seemed to be falling wrong all year, but Bill got the team together and guys got healthy at just the right time and it all came together. I had zero expectations beyond winning a couple games in the tourney.

Same. This year was such a surprise. I was thinking Sweet Sixteen ceiling at the start of last season.

Grady Dick is 6'8" on the official roster.
MJ Rice 6'5".
Zuby 6'9".
Udeh 6'11".
McCullar 6'6".

6'11 for Udeh is a welcome surprise, I'm not sure how much I trust that but *ahem, big if true

Yeah, it's nice when a team is playing with house money and this tournament highlighted teams getting hot at the right time and also being able to take advantage of their path to the NC game.

Different, absolutely, but I’m not sure I can go with better. 2008 washed away a metric ****ton if bad mementoes. ****ing Steph Curry, the goddamned Handsjob ball washing and the refs that tried to charge UNC back in it. The UCLA crap the year before. ****ing Jarret Jack and Georgia Tech, Bucknell, Holy Cross and Bradley. Arizona, Syracuse, every shred of Roy leaving. All of it was like a river of shit being washed away. Not unlike the playoff run that culminated with the Super Bowl. The first one was big.

This one was a pleasant surprise, but I’m guessing it is how other schools feel when they win it. There were no stakes. No prospect of disappointment. It makes it easier to take in the unbridled joy as a fan, but it is different than getting one you’re supposed to win after 20 years of should have won.

Plus 08 was some of the best basketball I’d seen played. 2022 got hot and it was a hell of a lot of fun but 08 has a special place in my heart.

Yeah. It’s a different position to be in.

Even in 2012 when that team wasn’t very good I viewed that as TRob and Taylor dragging that team through rounds with sheer “**** you.”

I can’t think of another team that just got hot. I guess an argument could be made for 88 but i was small enough I couldn’t argue it effectively.

That UNC Final Four game was ****ing magical, and of course after Self got the Elite Eight monkey off his back.

Definitely cases of higher stress/higher reward... 2008 meant more, but I probably enjoyed this one far more game to game. Even Providence was more or less "hey guys, maybe get your heads out of your ass" instead of the stress of the Davidson game and losing their grip on the Memphis game.

And before the comeback in the Memphis game, I had a deep sinking feeling..... down at halftime against UNC, I said **** it and grabbed a favorite beer that I was keeping cold for a possible victory and drank it in the 2nd half anyway.

They're both different. The 2008 team was/is one of the best teams in college basketball history (beating some other great teams along the way in Davidson, UNC and Memphis) and was super rewarding as a result. It also contained the best moment of all of them (Mario's Miracle). The 2022 team obviously is nowhere near that, but its win/run was about fortuitous as it gets. The improbable nature of it kind of made it arguably more fun.

Yeah, that team came to mind as a 'house money' team... and a few of those games were painful grinding games to watch, so once they made it through to the final, I opened a 22oz Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad and was going determined to feel good by the end of that one no matter what. :D

'04 was shorter lived, but I do remember everyone picking Pacific as the sexy upset that year, then everyone picking UAB, then everyone picking Georgia Tech... and they at least got it to OT. Not that they got hot of course, but at least that was a lower expectation year from what I remember.

And then '18 with that prick Grayson Allen's last second attempt bouncing around on the rim 400 times and then out was pretty damn glorious, as everyone expected Duke to advance.

'97 taught me to never expect to win it all.

But surprises work both ways.

According to 538, they use ELO ratings a lot to determine sports analysis (just a version of your scoring martin adj for opponent quality). The two best 16 seeds in history both played Kansas

2018 Penn (lost by 16)
2008 Portland State (lost by 24)

https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/show...8#post13461578

I don't post these things for no reason.

I feel extremely thankful that we weren't the first 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed it definitely felt like that was going to be our destiny in the early Self years.

The 2022 championship wasn’t really all THAT improbable though. Hell, most of us picked them as a top 5 team in the preseason predictions. We won a tough conference, conference tourney, and were a 1-seed in a field that was pretty flawed overall.

It’s not like if the 2012 team beat the Anthony Davis UK team. Nor is it like the ‘03 Syracuse team beating us.

Compared to the field, 2022 was absolutely a great team. They just aren’t historically great like 2008.

All that said, I probably enjoyed 2008 more.

Classic Championship game. Beat down UNC in our first meeting since Roy left. Historically great team with 0 flaws. Probably one of the strongest tourneys ever as well.

Texas with Augustine and Abrams or Stanford with the Lopez twins easily could’ve been 1-seeds in a typical year. Even guys like Blake Griffin and Michael Beasley were afterthoughts in that tourney.

Does anyone even remember all the OJ Mayo hype coming into that season?

Whichever year ('12?) it was that Tyshawn and co went to the national championship really felt like we might steal one. Kentucky was too good but that run was a lot of fun.

I think it was Ohio State in the final four? Just a series of incredible finishes.

Compared to the field, 2022 wasn't any more flawed than the competition, but, no, they weren't a great team even compared to the competition.

You run that tournament over and over a bunch of times, especially with different seeding, KU isn't winning so often as to look great or dominant.

They rarely played more than one really good half of basketball.

Yes, they got hot at the right time and had favorable matchup's in the tourny.

McCormack played great and I don't really remember him ever being in foul trouble.

Just like encountering an Arizona team in 97 that was playing crazy good and got every loose ball and made every wild 3 point shot happens.

Run that tournament over and over and KU wins a plurality if not an outright majority.

So who are the great teams of 2022 compared to the field if not Kansas?

Sure, but I don't think anybody here truly believed the 2022 KU team was going to win it all going into the tournament based on how they'd played during the season. They also got just about every break over those couple weeks imaginable. Nothing wrong with that, but it very easily could have gone differently at any point.

Puke had the best lineup by a huge margin. They had no business losing any games at all, probably shouldn't have let anybody get within 20.

Baylor was largely the same lineup that won the ship.

Arizona was really ****ing good. I didn't watch much of them to see what went wrong there.

UK rolled into AFH and handed us our ****ing asses. And that Tenn/UK SEC championship game was really good. Both teams played really well. Both those teams could, in theory of course, be better than KU. Obviously Self is superior to Barnes and Cal, but in terms of rosters, that could be argued. Tenn aside, UK beat our asses like a rented mule. That is irrefutable.

Right, and I refuse to apologize for it. We got absolutely hosed as the superior team so many times we were (and probably still are) due by the basketball gods.

My point is that our team is right there with those other teams. It’s not like we were in some lower tier than them.

Kansas was absolutely one of the top 5-10 teams in the nation in a year with no 2012 Kentucky-type team. Any one of those teams would be deserving champ.

Certainly nothing to apologize for. We've been owed those kind of breaks many times over as good as this program has been. Only Coach K/Duke are even remotely comparable in terms of quality since Self arrived.

What? They had 4 new starters last season.

****. I probably have that wrong. Seems like it was the same dudes that were killing us as the year before.

My bad.

In hindsight maybe. But in the moment, they underperformed their limited capacity all year long. They pulled out some games, caught some teams on some bad nights and didn’t have the lows that some other teams had, but I had very little confidence they could beat a good team in a pressure situation. Especially after they got absolutely shelled by Kentucky. No size. No consistent shooting. Varying intensity. Not enough talent to overcome much adversity.

But I started to get excited in the Big 12 tournament. They found an edge. Then Remy came in and started raping fools. It all fed on each other and it was incredible to watch. The journey was just as or more fun than the outcome. The reality is it would have felt different if they were heavy favorites.

I don't think anybody expected anything out of Remy. That team was dead in the water without post season (and finally healthy and confident) Remy Martin.

No Remy and they are bounced in the round of 32 to Creighton.

If you guys were missing playing against Niang, don’t worry Iowa State picked up the commitment of a similar player yesterday. Higher rated out of HS though. Assuming we pick of the commit of Omaha as well, it is probably the best recruiting class in school history.

I know I know, probably would be an average class at Kansas. I’m just glad Iowa State basketball is exciting again after the Prohm years.

How do Iowa State fans feel about the transfer portal?

I like it as a Kansas fan, because I know we can steal surprise prospects from lower ranked schools. I know we can also fill needs quickly with vets chasing titles.

I wouldn’t like it if I was a fan of a smaller school. I doubt Steph Curry stays at Davidson nowadays for instance.

Madness Remy was awesome. He gave no ****s and absolutely raped fools. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it. I've seen good performances from players in the tournament, but never anyone out of left field.

I could watch Remy tape all day long. His energy was off the charts.

God that was fun to see.

Yeah at least twice during the run I said out loud to whoever was near that we lose that game without a healthy Remy.

Also David suddenly becoming consistent.

The deal with McCormack is we didn’t play anyone that had any size or physicality in the post, except Bacot and he was hurt. The big 12 schedule was far harder than the NCAA matchups in terms of size in the post.

I Also think they were working hard to manage his foot during the season and he pulled out all the stops in the tournament because one and done.

I don’t mean to sound overly negative about our guys because damn it they’re ours, they brought a trophy and I love them for it. But they weren’t the best players and that’s why it was fun.

Hell that Puke team was absolutely brimming with talent and the trophy is at our place. Suck it bitches.

Man, I had forgotten how Remy Martin was dishing dimes in that first game. Man, that was a thing of beauty.

Dammit, PB! See what you did?

Except that Mac wasn't consistent at all. He was his normal inconsistent self. He was bad against Creighton, going for 7 pts 6 rebounds, and worse against providence with 8 points and 2 whole rebounds. He was better against Miami but missed half the game due to matchup issues, playing 18 minutes. He had a better FF, but in the end Kansas won with depth and having a different guy step up in each game. Even Remy was completely invisible in the Nova game. That's just how this team won.

I don't agree with your first sentence. Many people expected great things out of Remy. He spent most of the season just trying to adjust to his role at Kansas. Then he got hurt and that derailed his season. The March version of Remy is pretty much what Kansas fans had seen from him at AZ and what we were expecting when he transferred. Thank God he got healthy and came through. It's great to have players that don't let the moment be too big for them.

I think he was given full go for show boating since we had clearly so out classed them.

You always keep us grounded during tourney time. I myself made sure to never get overconfident with my next opponent

This 22 team had the capability all year to win it all, had as good of a team as any other team in the country. We just had some painful issue with injuries' that slowed the growth of the team.

The 12 team was good, but UK was just that much better. Arguably we were the 2nd best team that year, but a far step away from UK.

The 08 team I felt was destine to win it. The way it ended, it was destiny without a doubt. Classic finish, will forever be an all time classic.

The 88 team was awesome. But that 88 team had so many breaks along the way and then had the storybook ending that just made a lot of sense. Tubbs & OU's Cabbage Patch kids had beaten us twice before, but 3rd time charm for KU!

That 88 team once lost 5 games in a row! We lost to NU! :eek: But leading up to the tourney we had previously lost to KSU won 1 & lost 1 in season, then lost by 15 in the conf. tourney, beat them by 13, we lost to Duke in OT @ Allen, yet beat them in the Tourney , we even barely got by Murray State by 3 in the 2nd round of the tourney. To catch Oklahoma a 3rd time after having lost to them twice, just had a feel to it that we were going to win, based on the other games we lost to the same opponent previously to only get revenge in the end.

In 88 we lost to OU by 8. Then lost to them a second time by 8.

Do you know what the point spread was for the Championship?

I do not recall, but something like 10+? They had just beaten Arizona by 8pts and everybody had them punking us in the title game.

Lower

After Archie Marchall went down with a season ending injury, the team struggled and lost 5 in a row.

Enlighten us !

I knew we had a chance with them, especially playing a team 3 times in a season, it helps to know them, what they do, game plan for them easier.

Overall it’s good to us in basketball. Losing Hunter to Texas was a bummer though.

We lost by 8, then lost by 8 again. (Hint hint)

I’d guess 8