Last night - Great way to head into the holiday

The 11pm tip off was a little tough, and I ended up re-watching the last 10 minutes on my commute this morning since I was in-and-out last night.

Great to see Jerod Haas doing well and the confidence the "experts" seem to have in his ability to bring Stanford up to where they should be. Also great to see Frank Mason there and I really enjoyed his interview.

As for the game, some thoughts:
>Dok: He's kind of a one-trick pony, but that one trick (vicious dunks) is a pretty good one. Actually, he's showing signs of a few different shots (hook coming along), better footwork, and improving defense. He's also avoiding fouls, but I'm not sure that that is actually a "trend" yet. As others have said, he really needs to get his free throws figured out. I would absolutely LOVE to see him shoot those underhand. I think he'd be successful doing that, and I think it would actually increase his value in the draft. Great game by Dok. Keep feeding him.

>Frank Devonté: It's clearly his team and I have total confidence in his play. He can score, he can run the team, he can do whatever is needed.

>Svi: Good game by Svi, and I like to see him put the ball on the floor and try to get to the rim. One stat that literally jumps off the page: he was 0-5 from 3 last night (still got 14 points). While I still see him as a 3 point threat, I think he needs to try to play a balanced game like last night, where even if his shot isn't falling, he can find other ways to score.

>Malik: Kind of the same as Svi. Seems to be coming along a little bit, but still not where we expected him to be. I think just like Svi, it benefits him to look to score in OTHER ways besides the 3.

>Vick: He's probably the most dynamic all-around athlete on the team. Good game, nothing to complain about from him.

Bench: Cunliffe got more time last night, and aside from a terrible pass late in the game will see his contributions grow. Lightfoot and Garrett both played fairly typical games and aside from Lightfoot's lack of size, don't hurt us when guys need a break.

According to KUSports, Self sounds optimistic on both DeSousa (probable arrival on 12/26) and Preston (likely a final decision within days). It would be nice to get all of that settled soon.

Stanford hung around at 15 for a long time, which I don't think was necessarily their playing well as much as it was our guys going a little flat. I think the biggest thing we can do to improve (aside from adding depth) is getting Svi and Malik to start thinking about varying their offensive approach. Rather than thinking about the 3 as the primary option, I'd like to see them do more slashing and driving. They'll get plenty of open 3 looks, but neither of them have proven that they can shoot well consistently enough to rely on the 3 as their primary weapon.

LOL....Frank's in the house and I automatically call Devonte "Frank". Sleep deprivation. I'll fix it.

As much as I don't like the DG-Frank comparisons, I feel similar confidence in DG as I did with Frank. The only difference is that DG doesn't go on kamakazi suicide drives into the trees like Frank did.

I'd be ok with him going to every game. Somebody should invite him.

(oops....I guess I can't go back and edit it. Oh well, I'm sure that Devonte won't be offended that I called him the name of the consensus POY from last year)

Maybe someday many years from now Frank will come back to start climbing the KU Rock Chalk Jayhawk Coaching Tree!!!

Great analysis, NotO.

I totally agree with you about Svi and Devonte' and actually, pretty much all of your commentary.

Regarding Malik Newman, it did seem like he tried to drive it a few times, but he just wasn’t able to turn the corner on his man. If he hits more consistently from behind the arc, then maybe that’ll open up some more driving lanes for him. But I thought it was supposed to work the other way around? Not sure what the remedy is

As for Garrett, the kid hustles and plays great D. He had a very impressive, anticipatory steal later on in the second half. As for his shooting, he clearly is lacking confidence. At this point, as his opponent, I would sag off him completely.

I'm checking into his academic standing. I think he needs to come back and make up some classes. And since the NCAA is loose with its own rules, I'm going to suggest he enroll in North Carolina, and once the NCAA gives him 2 more years of eligibility, he can transfer to Kansas. It's a perfect plan.

We'd be the toughest team in D1. Kind of a college version of the early 1990's "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons.

Port: Agree 100% on Garrett. Every time he's in, it seems like he pulls some kind of smart/hustle play out of nowhere. He's a freshman living in a freshman world, but to me he appears to be a hard working, hustling, "team" player. Once he gets used to playing at this level, I think he'll be great. Can't wait to see him next year.

As for the driving/shooting thing with Malik, I don't have an answer either. My feeling is that, if you're not making 3's, quit shooting them and try something else. The kid has great skills, he just needs to start using them.

In my own "mediocre intramural player" experience I did this all the time. I'm 6'6" so in intramural and beer league bball, I'm a post player. When I was having a bad scoring night, I'd just work on boxing out, rebounding, playing defense and setting screens. Inevitably, that would result in some offensive rebounds and putbacks that would give me a decent offensive outing.

Applying my "crappy basketball player" experience to skilled players like Malik and Svi, I guess I feel like once you've missed 2-3 shots from beyond the arc, go try something else. Both of these guys have great skills and a variety of ways to help the team, so if the long ball isn't working, do something else and let the offensive opportunities present themselves via transition buckets, getting to the rim, or whatever else works. If a guy knows you're going to launch a 3, he'll come out and guard you. If you keep him honest by driving once in a while, you'll have better looks at the basket.

Seriously, the only guy I feel confident in as a shooter right now is Graham. Svi is hot and cold, and Malik is still trying to find his way. When Devonte launches one, I feel like it's going in. Can't say that for anybody else right now.