Kansas Scouting Report

[REB1094]

Completely shameless self-promotion: Broke down the matchup with a guy that knows Kansas as well as we all know UConn, CJ Moore from The Athletic:

A couple interesting things from that discussion:

1. He expects Kevin McCullar to get matched up with Tristen and Dajuan Harris to guard Cam.
2. His take on Nick Timberlake is pretty interesting. Part of his struggles are confidence, but also a lot of it is difficulty picking up Kansas scheme.
3. The way he thinks Self will use KJ Adams to attack Karaban.

I actually think the matchup suits UConn really well. Kansas doesn't really have a guy that's elite off the bounce, and I think Karaban should be able to win the matchup with Adams on both ends. To me, it comes down to Donovan vs. Dickinson. Hunter is kinda uniquely suited to being able to attack Clingan.

Should be fantastic.

It was a good listen. Dickinson is a good matchup against Clingan because he can step out and make shots for sure

But I think Clingan is also a good matchup against Dickinson because he is mobile. He can beat Hunter down the floor after every missed shot if he wants. That would put a lot of pressure on the rest of the defense to rotate over

Wonder if it’s a viable strategy to just tell DC to book it to the rim on every break, tire them both out, then bring in Samson lol

 

[auror]

To me it's Spencer. Let Newton rest guarding Elmarko or whoever Kansas has on a wing (Timberlake, Furphy, etc.) and let Solo be a roamer/helper on Dajuan Harris. McCullar isn't overly quick, and Spencer is good enough positionally I think he'd do a good job on him.

Man I disagree. Spencer isn't strong or big enough for McCullar. McCullar is almost 6'6 barefoot (measured 6'5.5 at g league camp) with 6'9" wingspan. Spencer is at least 3 inches shorter without the wingspan or hops to make up for it. Positioning can only do so much when you are at that big of a physical disadvantage. He's just going to finish right through and over him on drives (or pass over him when the help comes).

Let Solo try to prove himself defensively here. Use that wingspan to contest. Where Solo has gotten beat in the past is by being over aggressive up in the guys shorts, knowing he has shot blocking behind him. So play off him a little bit, McCullar isn't a burner, maybe even goad him into some jump shots. He started the year shooting well, but has come back down to his low 30s averages.

If we do go double big, I think Karaban could actually hold up on him a bit. It's the bigger dudes that have given him problems in the past. He can move his feet with quicker guys okay.

 

[CTBasketball]

Let McCullar get his and lock down Hunter, Harris, and Adams. McCullar gets tunnel vision.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Man I disagree. Spencer isn't strong or big enough for McCullar. McCullar is almost 6'6 barefoot (measured 6'5.5 at g league camp) with 6'9" wingspan. Spencer is at least 3 inches shorter without the wingspan or hops to make up for it. Positioning can only do so much when you are at that big of a physical disadvantage. He's just going to finish right through and over him on drives (or pass over him when the help comes).

Let Solo try to prove himself defensively here. Use that wingspan to contest. Where Solo has gotten beat in the past is by being over aggressive up in the guys shorts, knowing he has shot blocking behind him. So play off him a little bit, McCullar isn't a burner, maybe even goad him into some jump shots. He started the year shooting well, but has come back down to his low 30s averages.

If we do go double big, I think Karaban could actually hold up on him a bit. It's the bigger dudes that have given him problems in the past. He can move his feet with quicker guys okay.

I’d put Newton on him. Solo and Diarra are the only guys we have that can really match up with Harris. But Cam is our worst perimeter defender so I’d give him the worst offensive players, Jackson and Timberlake. He is the right size for them too. Double big could be interesting, but if they do that it’s probably when Alex is out.

I expect Furphy to play quite a bit tomorrow. They need the shooting.