Depth Schmepth

This is likely Self’s deepest team if you define depth as going 14 deep. Heck even 13 deep this is probably Self’s deepest team. And all things equal depth is a good thing. Over the course of a long season depth comes in handy. There will be injuries, illnesses, foul trouble, and other manner of things necessitating a need to go 11 or 12 down the bench. Depth is especially great in June, July and August when we only have the coming Season lineup to talk about. But when it comes to winning the conference and even more so when it comes to winning the NCAA tourney, depth is pretty far down the list of critical factors. Plus, let’s not ignore that depth can also come with some requisite negatives. We all want to think that these guys are like brothers. We want to think that to a man they only care about team success. I think many of them are nearing that and all of them have at least a little of that but in reality, this is more and more like a business competition and personal agendas are factors. Hopefully Self and company will be masters at placating and mullifying and bridge building and so forth to minimize these negative factors, I mean he is a HOF’er. But these are 18-22 year old’s. And the new NIL issues will not make that side of the job any easier. So if we start to think about winning the Big 12 and going to the Final Four and winning a NC then what factors rise to the top that we can discuss. Obviously we have Self. That box is checked. I’ll save the discussion of assistant coaches for another time other than to say we are better today than we were 6 months ago. You do the math. Now how about the team? If you look at the last 30 NC’s at least you will find a common thread regarding depth. They will have some serious top level talent going 2-3 deep. Then they will have a practical depth chart to 8. The 9th through 13th guys are all but inconsequential. KU may have the best 9-14 in the country by a mile and they probably do. But when it comes to winning the conference or the NCAA that and $25 will get you a Frappuccino latte at Starbucks.

So how do we look 1-8? And do we have the requisite top level core of 3 to close the deal. To be Frank, I am not sure about the core 3. The 4-8 we are pretty solid but again, a little iffy. One aspect of that core 3 is the “go to” factor. Every team needs a “go to” guy. But you can’t just have one go to guy. You need three. Last year KU had zero go to guys or maybe sort of one with McCormack. You need three because in any given game a good opposing coach can neutralize a single go to guy reasonably effectively. So you need 3 go to guys who can switch based on what the defense is doing. Or at the very least two. Devon Dotson and Udoka were a lethal combo. They complimented each other and the defense that stopped one actually tended to benefit the other. We really only had two on that team but Ochai was a decent third option although not a go-to. At this point, I would classify Ochai, Christian and Wilson as well as JCL as good options but not go-to guys. I think McCormack was rounding into a pretty lethal go-to guy at the end of the season but he really needs some back court help. I am going to put Rey Martin in the go-to category since he can shoot from outside, put the ball on the floor from either side and pull up for midrange. He is a true triple threat. Yesufu is a little more unknown but from what I have gleaned he is a go-to guy as well. But is he talented enough? Dajuan is not IMHO even a top tier option yet, although I know some of you think he is. To me he is a borderline top 8. A real wildcard that may not even break the top 8 or could be a starter is Cam Martin. If he can defend and rebound and he can do what did in D2 he will be a go-to guy. Big question mark there though. So we have Remy and Big Dave as go-to guys with Ochai, JCL, Jalen Wilson and Christian options from the perimeter and Joe Yesufu maybe bringing another go-to off the bench. I am worried about the 3rd go-to but we may not need it.

Now for the lethal 4-8 guys. We just saw what Baylor did 4-8. Pretty lethal. Mainly they defend well and shoot well and they are interchangeable. I like the looks of JCL, Jalen Wilson, Christian and Ochai in this role. Without a guy like Remy or Devon, these guys are in trouble. But with a triple threat at the point, and as 3rd or 4th options, these guys all can be lethal. All can shoot. All can defend. I sure hope Cam Martin turns out to be a player and with his bona fides he could be a big impact player. Dajuan has upside and maybe he will make the jump this year. Or one of the 4 freshmen may be a budding superstar that hits the ground running. I love me some Lightfoot and we will see him get a few minutes here or there and do some nice things. But he is not an answer in the super 8 deep category.

I think this team will go where Remy and Big Dave take it. I hope a 3rd guy emerges as a real double or triple threat guy like Yesufu. Maybe Christian or Ochai will surprise us and learn how to attack the basket or create their own shot at will. I have my doubts but they are young and developing. If Remy and Big Dave have all Big 12 type years I think that in itself will make JCL, Ochai, Jalen and Christian more effective since they will live in the third or 4th option lane. Maybe Yesufu or Cam will live up to the wildest hopes and take us to another level. We have talent but I don’t see a 1st rounder on this team unless one of the freshmen grows into one. That worries me a little. But we do have good college level talent. Let’s hope we have the right pieces to make a great team. I do like our chances.

Thank you and I agree with you regarding "like our chances".

RCJH! Go KU!

I think Cam Martin will be the sleeper third go to guy. Maturity. Production at an all america level (I know, at a lower level). Size to post up to get a shot or a foul. Can pop out and hit a three. Size to shoot over defenders to get as open a shot as possible with the game on the line.

Remy Martin will be the guy with the ball in his hands at crunch time. He can score from anywhere, and is NOT afraid to shoot - often.