Why is Frank devolving?

Word squared!!

Of course it is in the public domain . . .

Word!

RC

It's a great question and I was thinking the same thing. Is he playing hurt? Have teams just scouted him better? Teams seem to have a second (or third) body coming over to help when he drives past the man guarding him. You would think there would be a man open, but like you said, it seems he's not getting as many assists as he could/should be. I will say that a stat on the screen said that his 4.7 assists/game were good for 6th in the league.

I've actually felt Frank's play is the biggest difference between how we've played lately versus how we played early in the year. I don't think it's the conference, I think we miss the pre-conference play of Frank. It's been mentioned that there had been a noticeable difference since the 3OT win versus OK. I was expecting improvement over last year but he was actually much better last year. devolving is a good way to put it. I hope it's a funk he snaps out of soon.

I agree with your follow up post. Frank looks tired and beat up. I was disappointed Coach reinserted him in the game when we were doing fine without him. Especially when it was clear we would win, I thought Frank should be getting a break.

I definitely agree with you and Port that he is banged up and gassed. Too many hard falls and too many minutes played. Yes, he's a tough kid, but he is human, after all, and he seems to have convinced Self that he is good to go no matter what

We all remember Jerrod Hasse (sp?) and his injured wrist, but I read in his book, "Floor Burns" that he knew all along it needed surgery. He convinced RW that it was fine, and of course we know how he fared in the NCAA tournament.

Speak up, Young Man. No one will think you're soft just because you need time to heal.

I tend to disagree that Frank is tired from too much playing time. We have to rely on the coach and training staff to determine if a player is able to play or not. If the college schedule is too tough then they will surely fail in the NBA since they play a schedule with twice the number of games. They just have to play ball. Wilt Chamberlain averaged over 48 minutes per game in a NBA season so it can be done.

I agree with you to a degree but the play at the next level is going to be much tougher. NBA play is a BIG step up. Scouts are looking for players that can make that step.

Konza, my friend, this is where the Coach's stubbornness comes in. Frank is gassed, just like every lead guard Self has ever had. He plays the heck out of them...and has for years. Mason in particular burns a lot of energy on both ends of the floor. I was really disgusted last night when KU was up by 17 with about 4 minutes left...and guess who was still in the game? The only time Self didn't burn out his point guard was the 08 team when he had Chalmers, RussRob, and Sherron. Great coach, but imho this is really a blind spot, and one that always hurts this team come tournament time.

Fifteen assists to sixteen turnovers for the team . . . . four and two for Frank,

RC

I want you to consider the following. He's playing 90% plus of each game, and we've had a couple that lasted a bit longer than normal. So from a purely physical perspective, he's got to be completely exhausted. He's a student as well as a member of the basketball team, and no matter how modest his academic responsibilities are, they must impact him. Add in his practices, and then factor in his incredible number of falls, etc., and he must be beaten up really badly. So I am convinced that he's not just 'dinged,' but rather meaningfully beaten up. And it doesn't take much to alter an athletes 'edge' at this level of play. Given his overall ability level, even a modest reduction in his physical health would turn a relatively good player into a mediocre one, which is what has happened. So what we have is a guy who is tired and beaten up, playing a position that is tremendously taxing, and playing it with a style that leads to more bangs and falls, and playing 35 plus minutes a game. I don't wonder why his performance has diminished.

To be honest, I have no idea what Self is doing with this team, particularly the guards, He's playing them to death, and I am still convinced that there is a sense of real friction and unhappiness among the players. Regardless of how masterful Self is, the team dynamic this year is simply not good, and Green's bizarre last second dunk last night was a loud and clear shout out to Self, reflecting a deep seated resentment about the treatment he perceives he's received this year. Warranted or not, it's real, and it's beginning to really impact how this team feels about itself and the coaching staff.

First, I agree that he's a combination of gassed, dinged up, hurt, exhausted, and worn down like a 10 year old NYC taxi cab. His style of "slash into the paint and get the ball on the rim before getting hammered" combined with playing an average of 73 minutes a game (might need to check that stat, but I think it's close ) isn't something you can do without suffering the consequences. Even if HCBS gives him some rest, the kind of abuse he's taken tends to have a cumulative effect that won't simply go away by letting him sit for 10 minutes a game.

But the OTHER, and EQUALLY IMPORTANT part of the puzzle, as I see it, is the fact that at this point in the season, there are no secrets. Every coach in the nation has hours of game tape and fully understands Frank's game. Let's face it, if any of US were asked to come up with a strategy to stop him, it's not rocket science to figure it out. In particular, it's as easy as instructing the help defense on what to do: When Frank drives, assume he'll get past his man, and then step up and intercept him as far as possible from the rim, making sure you're set, and making sure that you keep your hands straight up in the air. When contact comes, as it inevitably will, if that contact is as far away from the rim as possible, the ball will be less likely to go in, AND if you don't slap down on him trying to block the shot (as literally every opposing big man did in the 1st half of the season) you won't send him to the line.

Is this 100% effective? Of course not, but it reduces Frank's ability to do what he does. To my eye, anyway, it seems that the opposing bigs, on a while, are getting better at keeping Frank from the rim and the free throw line.

We need Steph Curry!