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| Bill Self should look to John Calipari for a blueprint on how to get Kansas right. |
Kentucky has sort of been following the same trajectory for a few seasons now. Going back to the 2015-16 season, they will typically lose two games in the non conference and one early in conference play. In 15-16, they lost to UCLA and Ohio State during non-conference play, and lost to LSU on January 5. In 2016-17, they dropped games to UCLA and Louisville, although avoided an early conference loss. Last season, losses to Kansas and UCLA, again, and then lost to Tennessee on January 6. And then this year, losses to Duke and Seton Hall, before losing to Alabama on January 5. All of those conference games were on the road by the way, and I'm not going to look any further into this before I get super freaked out. Just kidding, but don't be shocked if the Cats go on a two game losing streak around the end of January. Anyways, the Wildcats always have these sort of slow starts before finishing really strong. Why does that seem to happen every season? I think the answer is pretty simple. John Calipari famously uses the one and done strategy, bringing in star freshman for one season, watching them leave for the draft, and getting another highly rated freshman class. Obviously, there are growing pains as young players adjust to the college game and adapt to their new roles. I think the second point is especially important. A lot of these guys have been the go-to option their entire lives, and now have to get used to playing on a team where they are expected to just go get rebounds, or be a spot up shooter, or a defensive stopper. Look at last years team, where the team didn't find it's identity and roles until well after conference play had started. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a lottery pick, but he didn't take over the starting point guard position for good until after the Tennessee loss. Calipari takes time to figure out what groups of players work well together, figure out roles for everyone, and most importantly, get his players to buy into those roles. I don't think anyone expected Jarred Vanderbilt, the number 12 prospect nationally coming into the year, to only play 16% of the Wildcats' minutes, good for 17 a game, and score under 6 points a game, least of all Jarred Vanderbilt. However, he did just that, and he impressed on the glass and was a second round pick and is currently on the Denver Nuggets.
Players this year have had to do the exact same thing. We've seen Ashton Hagans emerge as a star at the point, especially on the defensive end, after Immanuel Quickley was the starting point guard for the beginning of the season. EJ Montgomery is certainly not playing the role I thought he would, as the top 10 prospect has yet to start and is currently operating in a reserve capacity. Quade Green wasn't happy with his role, so he elected to transfer, which is bound to happen at times, and yet since then, the Wildcats have been better since then. We've seen PJ Washington become more of a passer this year with the addition of Reid Travis, Travis adapt to not being "the man" like he was at Stanford, and Nick Richards, a starter last season, is now a rim protector off the bench. The reason Calipari is such a great coach isn't the fact he gets some of the best recruiting classes in the country, it's that he identifies the strengths and weaknesses of those freshmen, puts them in the best role for the team to succeed, and gets them to buy into that role.
I think this is where we come to Kansas. This is a team that has gone downhill since that impressive opening night performance, and it's hard to really pinpoint why. Udoka Azubuike has been injured, and even when he's on the court, he hasn't been able to share it with Dedric Lawson as well as many hoped. Quentin Grimes hasn't been able to make shots from deep, limiting the spacing and perimeter scoring options for the Jayhawks. Lagerald Vick has been wildly inconsistent, going from 2 point performances to dropping 29 next time out. I think an underrated reason is this is largely a group of players that hadn't appeared in a Jayhawks uniform prior to this season. They play three freshen and three transfers in their rotation. The previous two seasons, Kansas has been returning roughly half of their minutes from the previous season, so there was at least a good sense of how the team would gel on the court in actually games. However, this year it's closer to a third, and I think Bill Self has struggled a little bit with all of this new blood. That's why I think he should take page out of John Calipari's book and really look hard at this team and figure out what role everyone has on the team. Some are obvious. Devon Dotson is a shifty point guard who is a solid table setter and good secondary scoring option. Marcus Garrett is a defensive stopper. I think he really needs to evaluate how this team best fits together. Is it with Lawson and Azubuike on the floor together? Is it with Lawson as a small ball center? Does Garrett factor into that best five? What about Grimes? And most importantly, how do they all compliment each other on the court. I also think he should go with a similar gameplan offensively to what Calipari is using at the moment, with Lawson functioning basically as PJ Washington, making passes to Azubuike in the post from the perimeter, while having the opportunity to drive to the other side of the lane. Lagerald Vick is basically Keldon Johnson, a good shooter, scorer, and defender on the wing. Dotson and Charlie Moore could be a point guard rotation in a similar fashion to Hagans and Quickly, sharing the floor at times while each features as a primary ball handler at others.
I personally think the Dotson-Grimes-Vick-Lawson-Azubuike lineup is the most effective, especially if Grimes can continue to show some signs of life. That would give floor spacing, playmaking, interior scoring, and solid defense. That means I think Lawson and Azubuike can share the floor, and I think they can be really effective. Lawson has shown some touch for the perimeter, and if he can make an outside shot with consistency, then he'll have no problem. Self has also touted him as the best passer he's very had, so I see no reason he can't find an open Azubuike if Doke's man helps off him when Lawson has the ball in the post. Don't forget, they did run a screen and roll that led to an alley oop from Dedric to Doke in the opening game. That's what this team can look like at it's best. And obviously, it is still very early and I think Bill Self will be able to sort out this roster. I should also make the point that the rosters of Kentucky and Kansas are not like for like, and what works for Kentucky will probably not work for the Jayhawks. Still, I think Bill Self needs to figure out what roles he needs each player to play, and get them to fully buy into that role for Kansas to reach its ceiling this season.
Players this year have had to do the exact same thing. We've seen Ashton Hagans emerge as a star at the point, especially on the defensive end, after Immanuel Quickley was the starting point guard for the beginning of the season. EJ Montgomery is certainly not playing the role I thought he would, as the top 10 prospect has yet to start and is currently operating in a reserve capacity. Quade Green wasn't happy with his role, so he elected to transfer, which is bound to happen at times, and yet since then, the Wildcats have been better since then. We've seen PJ Washington become more of a passer this year with the addition of Reid Travis, Travis adapt to not being "the man" like he was at Stanford, and Nick Richards, a starter last season, is now a rim protector off the bench. The reason Calipari is such a great coach isn't the fact he gets some of the best recruiting classes in the country, it's that he identifies the strengths and weaknesses of those freshmen, puts them in the best role for the team to succeed, and gets them to buy into that role.
I think this is where we come to Kansas. This is a team that has gone downhill since that impressive opening night performance, and it's hard to really pinpoint why. Udoka Azubuike has been injured, and even when he's on the court, he hasn't been able to share it with Dedric Lawson as well as many hoped. Quentin Grimes hasn't been able to make shots from deep, limiting the spacing and perimeter scoring options for the Jayhawks. Lagerald Vick has been wildly inconsistent, going from 2 point performances to dropping 29 next time out. I think an underrated reason is this is largely a group of players that hadn't appeared in a Jayhawks uniform prior to this season. They play three freshen and three transfers in their rotation. The previous two seasons, Kansas has been returning roughly half of their minutes from the previous season, so there was at least a good sense of how the team would gel on the court in actually games. However, this year it's closer to a third, and I think Bill Self has struggled a little bit with all of this new blood. That's why I think he should take page out of John Calipari's book and really look hard at this team and figure out what role everyone has on the team. Some are obvious. Devon Dotson is a shifty point guard who is a solid table setter and good secondary scoring option. Marcus Garrett is a defensive stopper. I think he really needs to evaluate how this team best fits together. Is it with Lawson and Azubuike on the floor together? Is it with Lawson as a small ball center? Does Garrett factor into that best five? What about Grimes? And most importantly, how do they all compliment each other on the court. I also think he should go with a similar gameplan offensively to what Calipari is using at the moment, with Lawson functioning basically as PJ Washington, making passes to Azubuike in the post from the perimeter, while having the opportunity to drive to the other side of the lane. Lagerald Vick is basically Keldon Johnson, a good shooter, scorer, and defender on the wing. Dotson and Charlie Moore could be a point guard rotation in a similar fashion to Hagans and Quickly, sharing the floor at times while each features as a primary ball handler at others.
I personally think the Dotson-Grimes-Vick-Lawson-Azubuike lineup is the most effective, especially if Grimes can continue to show some signs of life. That would give floor spacing, playmaking, interior scoring, and solid defense. That means I think Lawson and Azubuike can share the floor, and I think they can be really effective. Lawson has shown some touch for the perimeter, and if he can make an outside shot with consistency, then he'll have no problem. Self has also touted him as the best passer he's very had, so I see no reason he can't find an open Azubuike if Doke's man helps off him when Lawson has the ball in the post. Don't forget, they did run a screen and roll that led to an alley oop from Dedric to Doke in the opening game. That's what this team can look like at it's best. And obviously, it is still very early and I think Bill Self will be able to sort out this roster. I should also make the point that the rosters of Kentucky and Kansas are not like for like, and what works for Kentucky will probably not work for the Jayhawks. Still, I think Bill Self needs to figure out what roles he needs each player to play, and get them to fully buy into that role for Kansas to reach its ceiling this season.
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