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HookEm

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Posts posted by HookEm

  1. Wow, is it already time to start fretting about NEXT year?  My goodness what a beating to be so pessimistic.  I thought everyone learned last year not to worry until like August.

    The losses last year were much more significant than they will likely be this year.  We lost Carr, Rice, Allen, Bishop, and Morris.  That is 3 starters and two key role players. Then we had the very late, surprise recruiting loss of National #2 Ron Holland and #24 AJ Johnson. And capped it off by losing 4-star Brumbaugh. Holy shit. The fact that we even have a somewhat competent team this year should tell you that RT is pretty decent in the portal.

    To summarize, last year we returned: Disu, Hunter, Mitchell, Cunningham and Anamekwe. Everyone was freaking out. We literally returned only ONE guard... and a flawed one at that.  So, RT went out and got the #1 guard in the portal in Abmas. 

    This year we could return: Hunter (80%), Mitchell (80%), Weaver (95%), Shedrick (90%), Onyema (90%), Johnson (50%), Pryor (70%), Anamekwe (50%). We are bringing in one elite recruit and another solid one.  

    I think the team will look like this:

    • PG - Hunter - The complaints are justified, but he is playing better this year according to almost every measurable stat.  PER, TS%, eFG%, PTS, AST, STL.  If he stays, he will continue to get marginally better.  And we are still talking about a senior, 3-year starter on a S16 and E8 team (plus whatever we do this year)
    • SG - Weaver - Already good and improving.  Has the potential to be great. The athleticism is there. The shot is clean. I will be surprised if he doesn't make a moderate leap.
    • G/F - Tre Johnson - National Top-5 HS Player. Great scorer off the dribble and from 3. Good rebounder. Could be really good. Will give us size on the perimeter we are missing this year.
    • PF – Dillon Mitchell - Should continue to improve. Hopefully we see a shot start to develop
    • C - Elite Transfer. Hopefully someone on the level of a Hunter Dickenson or Kel'El Ware.  Time to open the checkbook.
    • --------------------------------------------------
    • G - Elite transfer who might end up starting depending on how good he is.  
    • C - Kaeden Shedrick - Another year of continuity and hopefully a lack of injuries could help him
    • PG - Chris Johnson - TBD.  If he stays, I would expect him to be marginally improved.
    • SG - Cam Scott - Should be a role player
    • SF - Devon Pryor - Enrolled early, so he is more like a true freshman who got the benefit of a year of college level training. Doubt he does much for another year.
    • PF - Ze'Rik Onyema - Don't think he will ever be more than a 10 mpg spot defender

    There is still more talent on this roster than most. You have two National top-6 HS recruits starting. Plus a handful of other top 30-50 players. The guards will be upper-classmen. 

    All of this and we will be in the SEC, which should be considerably easier.

    • Hook 'Em 2
  2. 1 hour ago, Pancho said:

    Bracketology this morning: 

    Lunardi: 8 seed in Indy (vs 9 seed Virginia, 1 seed is Purdue)

    CBS: 9 seed in Brooklyn (vs 8 seed Michigan State, 1 seed is UConn)

    USA Today: 8 seed in Indy (vs 9 seed Colorado State, 1 seed is Purdue)

    In Massey rankings, we are #25.

    • Lunardi: Virginia is #31, Purdue #2
    • CBS: MSU is #21, UConn #1
    • USA Today: CSU is #34
  3. Last night was one of the worst shooting nights I can remember.  Sometimes shots don't fall.  If we had simply shot from deep to K-State's opponent average (31.4%), we blow them out.

    I thought the rotations last night were ok.  Horton played more than I would have liked, but I can see RT trying to find a hot hand.  Abmas + Hunter + Weaver were a combined 0-10 from 3.  Yikes.  At least Horton hit a couple.

    On the plus side, we had 38 rebounds... and somehow only 9 turnovers.  Some of the shots were so bad though that they may as well have been turnovers. (I'm looking at you Shedrick corner 3).

    I would like to see Hunter get fewer minutes.  He finished with 37 last night.  Get him down in the 30 mpg range and give more to Weaver. 

    Also good: Disu 10-11 from the line including some huge FTs when it really mattered. 

    • Hook 'Em 3
    • Like 1
  4. Good point. If we had played defense and hustled like that against UCF or at WV we win both of those. Some of that is simply getting Weaver more minutes.

    I’m still reeling from the game. So many bad decisions, bad shots, and boneheaded plays. Ugghh. Just bad basketball. Some of that can be attributed to K-State. Most of it can be attributed to RT.

  5. This game was always going to be a bloodbath. It was more like a tourney game. And K-State dirties it up but they generally play everyone close. Lost by 3 to TCU, by 6 at BYU, by 1 at Tech. They beat KU and Baylor.

    This was a critical win and we won playing absolutely terribly.

    • Hook 'Em 1
    • Like 1
  6. 1 minute ago, MuellerHorn said:

    Shedrick is at least a scoring threat. Onyema can't even catch or dribble the basketball without potentially turning it over.

    Onyema never plays so I don't have to get frustrated at him.  Horton is also spectacularly frustrating to watch.

  7. There are some frustrating players on this team, but nobody is worse than Shedrick. Dude just adds nothing.  Runs around flat footed, always out of position, taking terrible contested 12 foot shots, can't rebound, etc.  Whenever he comes in, I know that the other team is about to go on a run.  He is the definition of a stiff.

    Hunter at least gives some effort now and again.  And shows some fire and occasional explosiveness.  

  8. 4 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

    Didn’t someone post the stat the other day about teams with a NET above 40 and the likelihood of making the tournament? We are currently 33rd.

    That was me.  I believe no team ranked under 38 has ever failed to make the tournament.

  9. 2 hours ago, Pancho said:

    It’s a possibility that anyone in the tournament can make the S16. That’s just the nature of the tournament. 

    The probability, though, is that we lose in the 1st round because that is what our season is telling us this team is. 

    Right now we are 33 in NET, 29 in Kenpom, 27 in Massey.  We will end up in the top half of tournament teams according to computer rankings, regardless of what our seed is if we get in. 

    Our losses are to: #1, #3, #3, #8, #9 #17, #23, #76, #112.  And we have wins over: #10, #22, #29, #50.  Our first game in the tournament would be against a team in the 20-50 range on a neutral court.   So we are 3-1 against teams of the caliber we will get in round 1.  Our 2nd game would likely be against a team in the 1-10 range.  We are 1-5 on that front.  Not great, but you never know.

    I could see us getting an 11 seed and having to face a ~20-25 ranked team in round 1.  That is winnable for this group.  We win and now we are playing the winner of the 3-14 game.  Worst case we face a team in the 10-12 range.  Best case, there is an upset and we are facing a team ranked more like 45-50.

    Bottom line, if we get in the tourney anything can happen.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  10. If this team gets into the tourney, there is a real possibility that they can make a run to the S16.  If that happens he gets 2 years for sure.

    On the other hand, if we miss the tourney this year and miss it again next year, he is probably gone.

    • Hook 'Em 3
  11. Looking at the Big 12 standings this morning.  Man, if we could have just beaten WV on the road and closed out Houston or Iowa State at home, we could have been in 1st place in this crazy conference.

    The Massey game by game odds project the following wins at the end of the season:

    • 13.3 - Houston
    • 11.7 - Iowa St
    • 10.9 - Kansas
    • 10.6 - Baylor
    • 10.2 - Tech
    •  9.4 - BYU
    •  9.4 - TCU
    •  8.9 - OU
    •  8.5 - Texas
    •  8.0 - K-State
    •  7.9 - Cincinnati
    •  7.0 - UCF
    •  5.5 - West Virginia
    •  4.7 - OSU

    Houston looks to be separating themselves as the cream of the crop.  Our off week couldn't have come at a better time as we get ready to play them on the road.  Unfortunately they also have a week to prepare.

  12. As far as I'm concerned, our ceiling is unchanged from the start of the season... and that is Final Four.  However, our ODDS of reaching our ceiling are way lower than I thought at the start of the season.  And our floor is also way lower.

    I'm not sure there is another team in the country with two better players than Disu and Abmas.  When both of them are clicking, we can string together big wins.  And both are pretty dang consistent.  But the other pieces are just too hit or miss.  Our odds of missing the tourney are probably better than us making the Sweet 16. 

    • Hook 'Em 3
  13. 11 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

    Abmas is the best pure shooter we’ve had since J’Covan Brown and I could probably be convinced he is better than Brown.

    Abmas shoots a better percent from 3 over his whole career than J'Covan did in his BEST year... on DOUBLE  the attempts.  And he is a better free throw shooter.  And he is more efficient from 2. 

    J'Covan could use his strength to get buckets in a way Abmas can't though.

    Abmas is probably the best pure shooter we have ever had. 

    • Hook 'Em 2
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