...and I'll resist the cliche "tale of two halves" thing, because that doesn't get it ---- it was actually a tale of Carolina basketball vs the opposite of that.
Look, like many of you, I told myself we were playing with house money and I wouldn't be upset if we lost tonight, but after that first half?... yeah, not being disappointed was off the table., especially given the manner in which it happened.
- I would be remiss if I didn't start with mentioning the character and toughness of these guys. Mando going 15 and 15 with maybe half his normal elevation, Caleb playing on one leg for much of the second half and Brady fighting thru multiple head-shots. Love in particular missed at least 4 rim finishes he makes easily Saturday, and the jumper wasn't there at all.
- After coming out tentative, we weathered their initial storm, but it was HOW we did it that was key. We did it by locking in on the defense that has become our trademark --- they scored 11 in the first 4:24, and 14 for the entire rest of the half(!) --- and as importantly, we stormed back offensively by rediscovering Carolina basketball, i.e., inside-out, offensive rebounding and TRANSITION.
- Speaking of that, let's be clear: there is a very VERY inaccurate narrative out there about what has driven our late-season run, not to mention network stat guys that have zero clue about how our transition game works. Fact is, we went from down-6 to up-10 in a beautiful stretch that was drven by pushing the rock --- a stretch in which we scored 12 via fast or secondary break. I posted Saturday night that we'd best be ready to run tonight, and when we did?...good things happened. It was also part of a general pattern of aggression from inside-out ball that got them in foul trouble.
So what happened?...
- I told my buddy that every time I've watched KU get in trouble, you can guarantee they're gonna come out in the second half WAY more aggressive, and they're gonna hack the shit out of you and try to get their own transition game going. And sure enough, with a zebra crew that turned a sudden blind eye, off they went. But here's the thing --- we played right into their hands by reverting to our WORST habits, most glaringly TOO DAMN MUCH DRIBBLING by Guards going nowhere, and poor decision-making. Bottom line is, when we stopped running we stopped being aggressive, and again, played right into their hands by no longer punishing their perimter over-plays. Guys, we only had 9 Assists for the game.
- Again, being candid, I've said before that we've pulled rabbits out of the proverbial hat that have rescued us recently when we've reverted to our bad tendencies, but it caught up with us tonight. Walking the ball up and being one-sided is a dangerous approach. How many possessions can we afford to go in which the best shooter on the floor doesn't even touch the ball? We found out tonight. In other words, we outscored them by 15 in a half of mostly Carolina basketball, and they outscored us by 18 in a half with very little of it.
- Finally, before I wrap, I can't overstate the impact of Puff Johnson. Fact is, his hustle and big plays kept us in a game we were about to let get away. And our guys never stopped fighting and thus we found ourselves back in it in crunch-time. Like geez, Martin banking in an awful 3-pt look seemed fatal, but we fought back. And damn, I felt so bad for Brady stumbling trying to get to his spot on the last inbound play, leaving Caleb --- who had no lift left on a bad leg --- heaving a 3.
Anyway, all that's left is to be thankful for not only this exhilarating ride, but the restoration of our brand (something I'll go into more detail in a wrap-up "stuff" post sometime this week... that is, once I'm up to it . These guys have so much to be proud of --- I couldn't help thinking of the '77 team that injuries finally caught up with at the end --- and hopefully it'll serve to usher in the next era in the Dean Smith legacy. Congrats guys on some monumental accomplishments and for being credits to the family.....
Look, like many of you, I told myself we were playing with house money and I wouldn't be upset if we lost tonight, but after that first half?... yeah, not being disappointed was off the table., especially given the manner in which it happened.
- I would be remiss if I didn't start with mentioning the character and toughness of these guys. Mando going 15 and 15 with maybe half his normal elevation, Caleb playing on one leg for much of the second half and Brady fighting thru multiple head-shots. Love in particular missed at least 4 rim finishes he makes easily Saturday, and the jumper wasn't there at all.
- After coming out tentative, we weathered their initial storm, but it was HOW we did it that was key. We did it by locking in on the defense that has become our trademark --- they scored 11 in the first 4:24, and 14 for the entire rest of the half(!) --- and as importantly, we stormed back offensively by rediscovering Carolina basketball, i.e., inside-out, offensive rebounding and TRANSITION.
- Speaking of that, let's be clear: there is a very VERY inaccurate narrative out there about what has driven our late-season run, not to mention network stat guys that have zero clue about how our transition game works. Fact is, we went from down-6 to up-10 in a beautiful stretch that was drven by pushing the rock --- a stretch in which we scored 12 via fast or secondary break. I posted Saturday night that we'd best be ready to run tonight, and when we did?...good things happened. It was also part of a general pattern of aggression from inside-out ball that got them in foul trouble.
So what happened?...
- I told my buddy that every time I've watched KU get in trouble, you can guarantee they're gonna come out in the second half WAY more aggressive, and they're gonna hack the shit out of you and try to get their own transition game going. And sure enough, with a zebra crew that turned a sudden blind eye, off they went. But here's the thing --- we played right into their hands by reverting to our WORST habits, most glaringly TOO DAMN MUCH DRIBBLING by Guards going nowhere, and poor decision-making. Bottom line is, when we stopped running we stopped being aggressive, and again, played right into their hands by no longer punishing their perimter over-plays. Guys, we only had 9 Assists for the game.
- Again, being candid, I've said before that we've pulled rabbits out of the proverbial hat that have rescued us recently when we've reverted to our bad tendencies, but it caught up with us tonight. Walking the ball up and being one-sided is a dangerous approach. How many possessions can we afford to go in which the best shooter on the floor doesn't even touch the ball? We found out tonight. In other words, we outscored them by 15 in a half of mostly Carolina basketball, and they outscored us by 18 in a half with very little of it.
- Finally, before I wrap, I can't overstate the impact of Puff Johnson. Fact is, his hustle and big plays kept us in a game we were about to let get away. And our guys never stopped fighting and thus we found ourselves back in it in crunch-time. Like geez, Martin banking in an awful 3-pt look seemed fatal, but we fought back. And damn, I felt so bad for Brady stumbling trying to get to his spot on the last inbound play, leaving Caleb --- who had no lift left on a bad leg --- heaving a 3.
Anyway, all that's left is to be thankful for not only this exhilarating ride, but the restoration of our brand (something I'll go into more detail in a wrap-up "stuff" post sometime this week... that is, once I'm up to it . These guys have so much to be proud of --- I couldn't help thinking of the '77 team that injuries finally caught up with at the end --- and hopefully it'll serve to usher in the next era in the Dean Smith legacy. Congrats guys on some monumental accomplishments and for being credits to the family.....
Last edited: