Basketball is back! Here's some thoughts for my fellow preseason sickos
Disclosure: I watched the game earlier this morning because I was on a flight last night, and apparently Delta does not have a viable ESPN+ hookup. What gives!!!!
Last night’s exhibition game against Emporia State is the new season’s soft launch. The following Hawks-related observations should all be received with one major caveat in mind: that playing ESU is a glorified scout team game, except I bet our current scout team is both bigger and faster than ESU. KU has so many guys. It’s kind of wild. There’s no way we can play all of them, but let’s table that idea for another time.
Despite the scrimmage nature of the event, I have a weird gut feeling that this game will tell us more about KU’s stylistic approach than Tuesday’s game against MSU. The Champions Classic level of basketball is usually slop-tastic and brick-y, even though there’s been some fun moments along the way:
Plus, in some of these unmemorable preseason games, magic can happen. I have the following thoughts:
this is the ideal role for Ochai Agbaji. He shot the ball well and showed an increased level of decisiveness with the ball in his hands—while his assists were not exactly highlight reel material, he made the right play and got rid of the ball quickly.
That’s a striking change from last year’s Agbaji. If he plays like this and shoots 40% from three, he’s going late lotto. Not saying that for sure happens! This is not a LockyTown situation, as friend of the newsletter Mike Vernon might suggest. But we got a look at his ceiling last night.
There was some chatter about Remy Martin getting benched in favor of Chris Teahen for the ESU game, but I think Self’s Martin challenge this early on makes sense, because Self does not intend to waste time this season.
Martin gives KU something they haven’t had in recent years—a guy who wants to take the last shot. There will be some bad looks—there were a few last night—but his shotmaking could be a revelation throughout the season. He will be hunted on defense, but I think the four guard formations KU will favor should give him a little coverage there. It’s going to be boom and bust with Martin, but to really unlock what he can do, we’re going to have to learn to live with it.
I loved the lineup that ended the half, and immediately put together a 17-2 run: McCormack/Adams/Yesufu/Martin/Ochai. I’m already a diehard KJ Adams fan; it always feels like he’s in the right spot, and he made a few really nice plays (that lob into Mack!). Nick Bahe praised his hockey assists on the broadcast, and it’s true, the ball doesn’t stick around when he’s in there (which was definitely true of this particular lineup in general)
I don’t think we got the full Joseph Yesufu experience last night, because ESU never pulled KU out of what they wanted to do. Yesufu is going to have some explosive performances as this year’s sixth man, where he comes in and completely wrenches KU free of stagnant half-court. He didn’t need to do that last night.
Ah, the dulcet tones of Dave Armstrong… welcome back to ESPN+ programming. Nick Bahe was alright though! He pointed out all the right stuff, even if he did deliver a 90-second promo for his brother who is a high school coach in Olathe.
Yoooooo!
Another Martin thing: he’s kind of a butthead? He totally flexed on a ESU guard after scoring on an up-and-under, and I can’t get enough of it.
Zach Clemence is a big recruit, but Self has never had prolonged success with this player type: big shooters who aren’t rim protectors. Self loves to park a big man under the basket, no matter their aptitude for rim defense. Clemence looked lost on defense, and his man got away from him several times.
But! Clemence’s shooting could open up spots of the floor that KU has never really gotten to explore. Clemence dragging a big man out to the wing—or even better, making a smaller player guard him, opening up mismatches around the floor—could be a game changer. Will Self be patient enough to see this through, though?
At the time, I thought the signing of Cam Martin was a good hedge. We needed shooting, and he has shown that he can score from the line, at volume, in D-II. I don’t quite see where he fits, though. His shot takes a second to load up, and he was denied at the rim a few times by ESU defenders. Right now, his presence feels a little extraneous.
Something to remember: Jalen Wilson, who might be KU’s best player, did not play because of suspension related to his DUI. Neither did Jalen Coleman-Lands, who I believe will come in handy in a few big games this season. KU. Has. Guys.
Bobby Pettiford is NICE! It’s almost hilarious how well Pettiford fits into the lineage of Bill Self guards. He’s raw—he got a late start due to an injury—but he’s strong and has a great feel. He had a few Frank Mason-esque jaunts to the rim, almost vintage Collins-level, where you see someone plow into traffic only to easily arrive at the rim, somehow. (Pettiford… missed a few of these, but it’s early!) Pettiford is a guy for the future, but I’m feeling it already.
We got some Kyle Cuffe action, and while that’s another futures bet, I could see him becoming another classic Self guard, assuming he sticks with the program.
Lastly, I thought David McCormack looked really good. He was in control, got wherever he wanted on the floor, and was more active under the rim than I’m accustomed to. I get the sense that, since the bench has been fully restocked and Self will obviously play Mitch Lightfoot some, McCormack feels more freedom to defend and is less worried about foul trouble. It’s ESU, I know. But it’s a start.
