State of the Union (IMHO)

Here is my assessment of where this team is currently.

Jamari - I start with Jamari only because he is a senior and has given his all for KU. He still does some of the stupidest things when he is in the game like stupid moving screens and overplaying on defense. But he is playing the best ball of his KU career and it couldn't have come at a better time. He has been very solid off the bench even with the occasional mistake. Because with the occasional mistake comes the occasional freak highlight play. Jamari is right where he needs to be.

Landen - Landen has had critics and defenders. I must say I have been perhaps Landen's most stalwart defender from the onset. But here is the reality. Landen has gotten marginally better at the physical attributes but where he excels beyond anyone else on this team is his smarts in terms of doing what he is supposed to be doing when he is supposed to be doing it and doing all of the little things that matter like setting screens, boxing out, staying vertical, etc. I have said it before, Landen does more with less than any player I can recall at KU. Brady Morninsgstar comes to mind. Landen is playing his best ball right now which is perfect.

Perry -- Perry is a force. He is somewhat unstoppable at this point. He has grown this year. In fact, I would argue that the Kentucky game last year was a turning point for Perry. He has been a different person. Had he not been hurt late last year he would have been a force in the tourney. Ha moves have gotten so much better. A season ago and even earlier this season many more shots would have been blocked. He has improved on both his decision making and his moves. I would say IMHO he is playing his best basketball of his career right now.

So far 3 for3 on best basketball of their career.

Devonte' -- Wen I thin k of Devont'e one word comes to mind. "Unleashed". Devont'e' is a personality to lead yet the pecking order of college basketball was standing in the way. H was not quite ready to step up and take charge as a sophomore, especially after his inability to play in the WUG. I think he was conflicted. No more. D'te' is unleashed. He said "to hell with it" about 15-20 games ago and has been growing into the leader this team needs. Don't get me wrong, this team is filled with great leaders of different ills. But that vocal, enthusiastic leader is unleashed. I think it is even rubbing off on Perry. Date' is playing the best ball of his career (4 for 4)

Frank -- Ahh Frank. I am a huge Frank fan. I said after last season he was clearly the MVP of the team. He has been hot and cold this season. Or more accurately he has been hot and Luke warm. It is a nice thing that when Frank has in our assessment a bad game it still includes 3-4 rebounds, decent defense, 3-4 assists and probably at least 5 points. That is his off game. Frank is an emotional guy that is non-demonstrative and when he does let it out it is passive aggressive. Self's article on Frank was no revelation. His game shows that strongly. Th counter for a stubborn, passive aggressive PG is a great coach (check) and great teammates who keep him accountable (check) and a clear goal for the team (check). Frank has been in a Frank funk the last two games which as I said is still not terrible. But I still have expectation he will at worst, not hurt the team in any way even if he is not in "A" mode.

Overall, we are in a great place. Did I mention we have the best coach in the business?

More on the reserves in another post. I have to go meet my grandkids for lunch.

great assessments corpus. i too love frank and think he must have some nagging injuries coupled with fatigue. we all saw how much coach shortened his bench yesterday so it will be good to have the rest going into thursdays game. the five starters plus mari will have to carry us from here as the nerves for the inexperienced guys will really start to show themselves in the sweet 16 onwards ( the coach yanked svi, bragg and greene very quickly yesterday after nervous errors). in addition to loving our team right now, i love our draw. increasingly it looks like all the real power is on the other side of the bracket. we match up very well with maryland, miami and villanova i think setting up a pick em final against unc who is playing their best ball ever. lots can ( and will im sure) happen to get in the way of this ending but for now am focused on the most likely probabilities. ps just one nagging concern about landon and it relates to next year. my view is that perry is making him look twice as good as he is, with opponents defensive and rebounding schemes freeing landon up much of the time for easy rebounds and points. hes going to need to improve a lot to be as successful withput perry next yr.

sorry meant to type oregon, not villanova. sorry

obviously we will worry about next year when it comes around but you are right that teams are focusing on Perry and he is so versatile he makes the defense stretch and makes things easier for Landon.

I would say, regarding Landen, that at worst he andPerry are highly synergistic. At best, Landen's presence and emergence have facilitated Perry's effectiveness. If you go back and read my posts from last year and through the beginning of this year I argued that Perry's biggest weakness (IMHO) was that his style of play required a strong front court mate to take up space, block out, set screens, I was not sure Landen would be that ideal guy since that person had to have enough offensive skill to keep opponents from constantly cheating off of him to double Perry. I think our style of play has developed (thank you coach Self) to accommodate the particular skills of this team. Landen is asked to do in this offense and defense what he is most able to do. He and Perry compliment each other extremely well. He is extremely proficient at creating space for Perry. I can see Bragg stepping into Perry's place in the same style next year. Way is scary is that if we get that Josh kid and everybody is back next year, we will not be any worse and probably potentially better.

My mind has been where your last sentence went, but I try not to go there now. Now, after we cut down the nets in Houston

With regards to next year, hopefully Carlton and Diallo will develop to the point where they individually or collectively make big strides to offset the loss of Perry.

I disagree about Lucas. He's a lot more than 'marginally' better. His rebounding is significantly better, at both ends. His hands are better. His FT shooting is better. And yesterday he did a 'drop step' move that was amazing. In fact, it was unprecedented. He's learning every day, and his skills are increasing every game, and that is more than 'intellectual.' At this point a guy who 2 months ago was arguably our worst scholarship player is now the most essential player on our team. Since he became a starter, we've lost one game, the away game in Ames. I have to say it's astonishing how much better he is now than even a month ago. If he was just beginning his career with the skills and size he's got now, he'd be a lock for some pro league somewhere and we'd all be licking our chops for next year. So, yes, I think he's become a terrific player, not just a 'glue guy.'