Positives from this season...

[PortlandHawk]

I know right now is a rough time for everyone. This was a type of season we haven’t experienced for a while. I’m glad we haven’t had many like this recently. There are clearly some bad elements to this season like Dok’s injury and Silvio’s suspension, along with others. Some big questions still hang over the program.

Yet, despite the bad press and major obstacles, we experienced good things too, and there is hope for the future. I think some key people were good for the team culture long term.

Dedric was great. He produced and he clearly saw himself as a key player by his reaction after the loss. He definitely had times where he might have played better but he was carrying a very heavy load. We probably won’t see him in a KU uniform again but he gave us a great year and he was a good teammate.

Devon Dotson showed he is a really really good player. He had his ups and downs as pg, but when your back up is Charlie Moore, he did great and he had to be. It was clear though that when he didn’t have a fantastic game, we were shaken at best. He is my favorite of the freshman. I think he will be back but it isn’t a no brainer decision. He could declare and return just to get the attention.

David McCormack was rough to start but ended up gaining some confidence and showing some growth at season-end. He clearly hustles and looks like he can learn. He looks to be a good teammate. He is big enough to push people around but also athletic enough to jump. He will be very good.

Ochai was a nice surprise. Ochai greatly struggled to impact the game late in the season but he came in and gave us some good minutes. He was better than advertised but not as good as the early post redshirt-burn hype. He is very athletic and smart, seems like a good teammate. Love his potential.

Bill Self- he said he wants to stick around in direct opposition of people saying he is going to leave and his own statements about his desired length of career. He may not be with us if stuff gets really, really bad, but I think we could get another 10 years if we are lucky.

There are more good things, but this is already way too long of a post.

[Deleted User 104]

The best thing I can say is that this is one of those years Bill had to completely hand the keys over to the freshman. It should pay off down the road that all those guys got to play through their freshman year. It was us hitting the big reset button like in 2006 -- a clean slate. Last time that happened, it set up the foundation for what later became our best KU team in the last 15 years. I enjoyed the fact that guys like McCormack got to actually get major minutes due to there being no other option.

[pdub]

There are enough pieces there, if things go shockingly right ( i.e. Dok returning and getting one of the two top 20 forward recruits ), we could be favorites to win the national title next year.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Bill put Dotson back in with 2 fouls on Saturday. Although, that's a lot because of how bad Moore is/was.

Other than that, I've got little if anything.

[TDub]

Positives....hmmm. well. Dotson. Ochai. .... yep. That's all I've got.

The part that bugs me is that in nearly 4 decades of watching Kansas I've never felt less passionate about a team. I was very indifferent this year. Didnt get too excited about our wins, didnt get too angry at our losses....just, indifferent. Which, is frankly, suprising and sad. Not how I like to enjoy my jayhawk hoops.

[painter]

Maybe its wishful thinking or just a notion, but McCormack seems like the kind of dude that is going to put in some serious work over the summer and is going to be hard to deal with next year.

[NewtonHawk11]

Maybe its wishful thinking or just a notion, but McCormack seems like the kind of dude that is going to put in some serious work over the summer and is going to be hard to deal with next year.

His growth over the last month was a really good thing to see. He really did slow things down and brought some physicality.

Give him another spring/summer/fall of Hudy and he could be tough to stop down low.

[LVCHawk]

Bill tends to not play his freshman that aren't lotto picks unless he absolutely has too. Well this year he had too. McCormack plays like an animal, so if he improves at all which he should, he'll be fun to watch. Dotson is a stud. Grimes and Ochai should be good 3-4 year players and they got a lot of experience. They didn't lose in the first round so they won't have to deal with that next year.

Other positives: This season which wasn't all that enjoyable is over also I don't have to hear Fran for 7 months.

[jfish26]

The best thing I can say is that this is one of those years Bill had to completely hand the keys over to the freshman. It should pay off down the road that all those guys got to play through their freshman year. It was us hitting the big reset button like in 2006 -- a clean slate. Last time that happened, it set up the foundation for what later became our best KU team in the last 15 years. I enjoyed the fact that guys like McCormack got to actually get major minutes due to there being no other option.

I agree with all of this.

[LVCHawk]

Positives....hmmm. well. Dotson. Ochai. .... yep. That's all I've got.

The part that bugs me is that in nearly 4 decades of watching Kansas I've never felt less passionate about a team. I was very indifferent this year. Didnt get too excited about our wins, didnt get too angry at our losses....just, indifferent. Which, is frankly, suprising and sad. Not how I like to enjoy my jayhawk hoops.

Not trying to be hard on the guy but I think it was because Lawson just didn't show much emotion. He was the star of the team, but most of the time looked indifferent even if he wasn't actually. It's just his personality, but without someone else to help him, he was the face of the team. Perry was kind of emotionless as well but he had Withey at one point and Mason and Graham......this team was just pretty much emotionless and felt lost, not much personality once Vick went MIA. I expect next year to be much different.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Let's go glass half full:

Dotson - stud. Best frosh PG we've had here under Self.
Grimes - March Grimes is where I thought December Grimes would be, but March Grimes was so much better than what we had most of the year.
Agbaji - He got wore out, but what a wonderful surprise. Once he trusts his athleticism and skill, he's going to be a monster.
McCormack - showed flashes. A great offseason and he'll be very solid
Dedric - was as advertised. Did what we thought he'd do.
Mitch - I never thought he'd be good enough to play at this level, but he turned himself into a fine rotation player.

The others:
Garrett is so-so. Defensive first team, drives downhill. I don't know that he's a plus player in today's game.
KJ - Helped us win a couple games. Doesn't feel like he's this level of player, though.
Udoka - Great asset. Very unreliable.
Vick - most disastrous senior year of the Self era.
Moore - black eye for the staff.
De Sousa - just a sad situation.

[painter]

Let's go glass half full:

Dotson - stud. Best frosh PG we've had here under Self.
Grimes - March Grimes is where I thought December Grimes would be, but March Grimes was so much better than what we had most of the year.
Agbaji - He got wore out, but what a wonderful surprise. Once he trusts his athleticism and skill, he's going to be a monster.
McCormack - showed flashes. A great offseason and he'll be very solid
Dedric - was as advertised. Did what we thought he'd do.
Mitch - I never thought he'd be good enough to play at this level, but he turned himself into a fine rotation player.

The others:
Garrett is so-so. Defensive first team, drives downhill. I don't know that he's a plus player in today's game.
KJ - Helped us win a couple games. Doesn't feel like he's this level of player, though.
Udoka - Great asset. Very unreliable.
Vick - most disastrous senior year of the Self era.
Moore - black eye for the staff.
De Sousa - just a sad situation.

Explain what you mean about Moore being a "black eye" for the staff?

[NewtonHawk11]

I would agree Moore being a "black eye" is the wrong wording.

He was just a plain miss.

[painter]

Right on, I wasnt so much concerned with the wording, I just wasnt as invested/aware of what was going on with this team as I have been in years past. Just making sure I didnt miss anything

[CrimsonNBlue]

Well I don't know who scouted him, but given that he was brought in to be a second ballhandler, what a wild swing and miss.

That's two in a row with Cunliffe and Moore where we brought in guys that don't belong in any Big 12 program. Moore is worse because Self almost always needs/wants a second ballhandler.

[MICHHAWK]

No way does MG and The Big Fella belong in the "others" category.

Before MG tweaked his ankle he was in our top 3.

The Big Fella was so crucial to this team, the entire season turned when he went down.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Yeah, I agree now that I was overly harsh on Garrett given that I didn't mention Grimes's obvious shortcomings. Still, he wasn't a top 3 player and given today's jump shooting game, we're not going to have trouble replacing him when he's gone.

As for Udoka--you stated the same thing I did, just differently.

[ousdahl]

I was gonna type out this big long breakdown of everyone and everything but for now I'll just leave it at this:

the best thing about freshmen is, they become sophomores.

[jfish26]

Yeah, I agree now that I was overly harsh on Garrett given that I didn't mention Grimes's obvious shortcomings. Still, he wasn't a top 3 player and given today's jump shooting game, we're not going to have trouble replacing him when he's gone.

As for Udoka--you stated the same thing I did, just differently.

I think Udoka, Grimes and Garrett are the toughest calls.

Udoka is very good (when healthy), but he can't stay healthy.

Grimes was not good this year, but his track record (and our staff's) suggest there's an all-league-type player in there.

Garrett is really great at what he's good at, and really shitty at what he's not good at. Problem is, what he's not good at is a big, big deal (and not being good at it affects everyone else on the floor).

[Deleted User 89]

definite reasons for optimism: Dotson and DMac

cautiously optimistic: Ochai

disappointment: Grimes and Garrett

i can’t believe that Garrett doesn’t have it in him to be at least serviceable on the offensive end, and not just by driving. he and the staff need to get his shot fixed so that he can be at least somewhat of a threat