So, that's what it feels like to have a real point guard for most of a game. EJ's two fouls, fair or not, gave tharpe the chance to get the lions share of minutes and get in an actual rhythm for once.
Tharpe reminded us of what it looks like to actually have your point guard create easy baskets as opposed to creating them for the opposing team.
and tharpe, of course is not an elite point guard at all. It's just that Ellijah is NOT a point, no matter how much self promised to improve his pro prospects. Johnson is fine at the two. he defends well at that position and is better on the break there. Either in the 3 guard lineup or as the first sub, he can still get plenty of minutes.
Never thought id be thanking brent muskburger for his unashamed "change the point guard" campaign during the broadcast.
Self still sounded noncomittal at the half though. Surely he can run a few numbers on efficiency here and figure it out?
Mclemore was aggressive and back to awesome.
First of all...
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU. B-MAC RULES!! WE'RE BACK, BABY!!
Ahem. Now, back to the quarterback controversy.
In fairness, it's only been recently that Tharpe has been distinctly better than Elijah. EJ has given Self ample reason to bench him, except that no one else had made a strong case to be handed the reins. But Naadir certainly did so tonight.
Is it going to happen? I don't know. Does it matter? Eh. We put a lot of stock in who starts, but Naadir played the same minutes as EJ tonight. I think it's fine having Tharpe as a J.J. Barea-like sparkplug off the bench. Or maybe Johnson can become a Vinnie Johnson-like sparkplug off the bench (going really old school there, kids).
Either way, unless Rio gets his act together, EJ will still have to handle the ball a lot, whether it's his natural position or no.
All the "#benchEJ" noise ultimately doesn't address the issue -- in fact it probably is hurting our team morale. We need Tharpe to continue to play this well and log big minutes for us, but we need EJ to play well too. This is not an either/or thing.
The noise also hurts logic.
ReplyDeleteI mean, I saw those losses, and although EJ could have been better it is simply incomprehensible to lay them at his feet. Shared failure; shared success. And for goodness sake, the last thing I would ever want would be a coach who would rely on social media or tv commentators instead of his own players. Sheesh.
Oh, but what happened last night? Man what a game! I don't think I'll ever get tired of the replay of Withey dunking off of that pass from Traylor.
And boy howdy is McLemore fun to watch.
At least we can all agree on this: Rock Chalk!
I imagine EJ would be the first to admit that he's been the weakest link on the starting five, and that Tharpe has played better than him lately. I wouldn't mind seeing Tharpe get the start on Saturday, but as long as he's giving us a lot of quality minutes as he did last night, I'm OK with whatever Self decides.
ReplyDeleteHey, Withey is now the all-time KU leader in blocked shots. Take that, Wilt! Ha ha, no. But you know what I mean. And he's about to break the Big 12 record as well. On the national level, however, he's now trailing (sigh) another Kentucky freshman -- this time it's not the unibrow but the eraser head, Nerlens Noel.
I thought it was "kid n play" head?
DeleteHa ha. That reference is almost as old as Vinnie Johnson.
DeleteAnd now, as soon as I conjure up his name, Noel hurts his knee and is out for the season. That sucks.
DeleteYancy, i dont think all three losses are ej's fault. Like i said, i think he is important to the team, but needs a new role. Basically, i feel like we've just been in 4th gear for a while because ej was playing out of position. I dont think we get to 5th gear without a true point. If we want to be a final four/possible title game team this year, tharpe has to be allowed to grow into that role. Ellijah shouldnt be stuck there at the 1 just because he inherited it by divine right under the ku-passes-down-the-point-guardship-and-we-do-not-suffer-controversies theory.
ReplyDeleteI guess I just trust the coach's judgment. I assume if he wants Johnson at the point, he has good reasons.
DeleteBut maybe I read too much Plato and place to much trust in authority?
We must accept it -- Bill Self is our philosopher-king.
DeleteThat's all I'm saying.
Delete