Kansas - Report Card

[RayRay34]

Alex Karaban
11-Pts 6-Reb 1-Ast 38-Min
3’s seemed a little rushed at times but he is a winner and makes winning plays when needed, none bigger than his pump fake and two points in the point towards the end of the game to cap off his 7-point run. Another feather in the cap: leading these guys in exorcising the KU demons and winning at Phog Allen! Legend.
Grade: B+

Solo Ball
17-Pts 2-Reb 2-Ast 29-Min
12 points on 4-8 shooting in the first half. Disappeared for the first 15-minutes of the 2nd before hitting a smooth mid-range and a three to put them up 6. Overall a good game and stroke looks better but gotta show out for the full 40.
Grade: B

Silas Demary Jr.
2-Pts 4-Reb 4-Ast 3-TO 29-Min
Patience, he’ll be fine. Think he’s still adjusting to the role, but at some point this team is hopping on his shoulders. He’s got “it”, just hasn’t figured out the consistency yet. Not a good game though, and grade reflects that
Grade: C-

Jaylin Stewart
0-Pts 3-Reb 1-Ast 15-Min
Yikes. Poor shooting and a poor, unforced TO. This game was not a convincing argument to be an early bench piece once Braylon takes of starting role.
Grade: D-

Eric Reibe
12-Pts 8-Reb 2-Stl 2-Blk 31-Min
Doesn’t feel like we’re playing with house money anymore, this kid is legit and I have expectations when he’s on the floor now. Even though he was called for a foul on that drop step, that was some nice footwork! Great hands around the rim and some timely defensive plays. His progression has been fun to watch and can imagine his draft stock went up after this one.
Grade: A-

Malachi Smith
1-Pts 3-Reb 1-Ast 1-TO 13-Min
Didn’t stuff the stat sheet but was a serviceable backup for Silas who was having an off night. He looks out of control sometimes but overall seems to make decent decisions. We needed more from our PGs tonight.
Grade: C+

Braylon Mullins
17-Pts 5-Reb 1-Stl 23-Min
Oh my! This kid needs to be on the court. A lot.
I’m giddy.
Grade: A-

Jayden Ross
1-Pts 2-Reb 3-Ast. 16-Min
Other than a timely offensive rebound, didn’t provide much on the offensive end. Brought his usual energy and played some good D otherwise. Unsuccessfully attacked the rim a couple times, would love to see him work a floater into his game.
Grade: C+

Dwayne Karoma
0-Pts 1-Reb 1-TO 6-Min
Moment seemed a little big.
Grade: D

Overall Team Grade: B+

Game Ball - Mullins and Reibe

 

[Travelman6]

I mean, you go into Kansas, without, arguably your best player, come from behind, hold them off and win....

Everyone an A+

Point. Blank.

Although Hurely is a perfectionist I think, lol, so maybe everyone with an A so they can have something to work towards.

 

[UCan3]

I agree with grades for the most part. But, I give Reibe and A. He was a difference maker and the rest of college basketball is now going to have to taking note - we have 2 starting caliber centers.

Agree with game ball except Alex played so clutch down the stretch instead of settling for long 3s and it was the difference maker. That pump fake put back was such a critical part of the game. I add him to list for game ball.

Does ESPN like totally hate our program. Our win buried a bit and headline is "Kansas without star player loses" something like that. Meanwhile they paste the Duke win story on their front page.

 

[Dove]

Braylon got an A+ from me, man.

 

[Scot-e]

I agree with grades for the most part. But, I give Reibe and A. He was a difference maker and the rest of college basketball is now going to have to taking note - we have 2 starting caliber centers.

Agree with game ball except Alex played so clutch down the stretch instead of settling for long 3s and it was the difference maker. That pump fake put back was such a critical part of the game. I add him to list for game ball.

Does ESPN like totally hate our program. Our win buried a bit and headline is "Kansas without star player loses" something like that. Meanwhile they paste the Duke win story on their front page.

Yes they do. Surprised Quse is not front page honestly.

 

[Palatine]

Ross was a B or A-. He played a very effective game on both ends. Reibe and Mullins were both A+.

Karaban was also an A. He played big in the biggest moments of the game.

 

[InKembaITrust]

Immediately went to Braylon's NIL store after this game for some purchases.

 

[DW1361]

Very good assessment RR34! From a strictly offensive look I feel your grades were pretty much on point. I liked what Smith was doing in the second half with the ball in his hands. Ya, he got caught in no mans land a couple times, but they were attacking better overall. I would have graded him a B. Reibe played great and I would be interested in knowing why the grade A-? What could he have done better? Mullins is the reason we won the game, I was not expecting to see him play a great game in every aspect. He did a lot a nice things out there besides scoring. How can you not give the kid an A+ for stepping up in a game of that magnitude? Do you have a breakdown of how each player did defensively? Nice job. I enjoyed reading your assessment.

 

[my2cents]

Jaylin Stewart did not have a good game. But poor shooting? He was 0 for 2.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Alex Karaban
11-Pts 6-Reb 1-Ast 38-Min
3’s seemed a little rushed at times but he is a winner and makes winning plays when needed, none bigger than his pump fake and two points in the point towards the end of the game to cap off his 7-point run. Another feather in the cap: leading these guys in exorcising the KU demons and winning at Phog Allen! Legend.
Grade: B+

Solo Ball
17-Pts 2-Reb 2-Ast 29-Min
12 points on 4-8 shooting in the first half. Disappeared for the first 15-minutes of the 2nd before hitting a smooth mid-range and a three to put them up 6. Overall a good game and stroke looks better but gotta show out for the full 40.
Grade: B

Silas Demary Jr.
2-Pts 4-Reb 4-Ast 3-TO 29-Min
Patience, he’ll be fine. Think he’s still adjusting to the role, but at some point this team is hopping on his shoulders. He’s got “it”, just hasn’t figured out the consistency yet. Not a good game though, and grade reflects that
Grade: C-

Jaylin Stewart
0-Pts 3-Reb 1-Ast 15-Min
Yikes. Poor shooting and a poor, unforced TO. This game was not a convincing argument to be an early bench piece once Braylon takes of starting role.
Grade: D-

Eric Reibe
12-Pts 8-Reb 2-Stl 2-Blk 31-Min
Doesn’t feel like we’re playing with house money anymore, this kid is legit and I have expectations when he’s on the floor now. Even though he was called for a foul on that drop step, that was some nice footwork! Great hands around the rim and some timely defensive plays. His progression has been fun to watch and can imagine his draft stock went up after this one.
Grade: A-

Malachi Smith
1-Pts 3-Reb 1-Ast 1-TO 13-Min
Didn’t stuff the stat sheet but was a serviceable backup for Silas who was having an off night. He looks out of control sometimes but overall seems to make decent decisions. We needed more from our PGs tonight.
Grade: C+

Braylon Mullins
17-Pts 5-Reb 1-Stl 23-Min
Oh my! This kid needs to be on the court. A lot.
I’m giddy.
Grade: A-

Jayden Ross
1-Pts 2-Reb 3-Ast. 16-Min
Other than a timely offensive rebound, didn’t provide much on the offensive end. Brought his usual energy and played some good D otherwise. Unsuccessfully attacked the rim a couple times, would love to see him work a floater into his game.
Grade: C+

Dwayne Karoma
0-Pts 1-Reb 1-TO 6-Min
Moment seemed a little big.
Grade: D

Overall Team Grade: B+

Game Ball - Mullins and Reibe

The guy who fills out the full card makes himself a target. In that context, this is a good write-up, with tough grading and realistic assessments. Stewart & Koroma a notch or two low, in light of the others.

I mean, you go into Kansas, without, arguably your best player, come from behind, hold them off and win....

This.

Probably mentioned in the post-game thread, but wasn't this Hurley's first ever true road win against a ranked P4 opponent? Back-to-back NCs and this milestone had not been met before this. Unless I'm blanking, that's a big deal.

 

[bazz&boujee]

Stewart and Ross are on the floor for their wing defense.

 

[Kenny11]

If every player was awesome we would win by 50. Against good teams, that isn't going to happen. I thought as a team the defense and rebounding was great in the second half, we played hard without fouling, and were composed.
Demary was bad...but I don't think he will have many games like that. Stewart is going to be a guy that can score 6 points in a row but in general, is not going to be someone we expect to get double digits and that's fine. Ross played good defense and he is also a guy that isn't going to score much. Reibe was great. Karaban had a solid second half and Solo hit some big shots (though he also missed the open man a few times). Mullins is a game changer.

 

[CL82]

Think you need to grade Koroma on the curve. He is who he is, but the fact that we can squeeze valuable minutes out of him to rest Reibe is about all we can expect. I'd give him a C-.

 

[RayRay34]

Jaylin Stewart did not have a good game. But poor shooting? He was 0 for 2.

0% is pretty poor

 

[Hoopcrazee]

Alex Karaban
11-Pts 6-Reb 1-Ast 38-Min
3’s seemed a little rushed at times but he is a winner and makes winning plays when needed, none bigger than his pump fake and two points in the point towards the end of the game to cap off his 7-point run. Another feather in the cap: leading these guys in exorcising the KU demons and winning at Phog Allen! Legend.
Grade: B+

Solo Ball
17-Pts 2-Reb 2-Ast 29-Min
12 points on 4-8 shooting in the first half. Disappeared for the first 15-minutes of the 2nd before hitting a smooth mid-range and a three to put them up 6. Overall a good game and stroke looks better but gotta show out for the full 40.
Grade: B

Silas Demary Jr.
2-Pts 4-Reb 4-Ast 3-TO 29-Min
Patience, he’ll be fine. Think he’s still adjusting to the role, but at some point this team is hopping on his shoulders. He’s got “it”, just hasn’t figured out the consistency yet. Not a good game though, and grade reflects that
Grade: C-

Jaylin Stewart
0-Pts 3-Reb 1-Ast 15-Min
Yikes. Poor shooting and a poor, unforced TO. This game was not a convincing argument to be an early bench piece once Braylon takes of starting role.
Grade: D-

Eric Reibe
12-Pts 8-Reb 2-Stl 2-Blk 31-Min
Doesn’t feel like we’re playing with house money anymore, this kid is legit and I have expectations when he’s on the floor now. Even though he was called for a foul on that drop step, that was some nice footwork! Great hands around the rim and some timely defensive plays. His progression has been fun to watch and can imagine his draft stock went up after this one.
Grade: A-

Malachi Smith
1-Pts 3-Reb 1-Ast 1-TO 13-Min
Didn’t stuff the stat sheet but was a serviceable backup for Silas who was having an off night. He looks out of control sometimes but overall seems to make decent decisions. We needed more from our PGs tonight.
Grade: C+

Braylon Mullins
17-Pts 5-Reb 1-Stl 23-Min
Oh my! This kid needs to be on the court. A lot.
I’m giddy.
Grade: A-

Jayden Ross
1-Pts 2-Reb 3-Ast. 16-Min
Other than a timely offensive rebound, didn’t provide much on the offensive end. Brought his usual energy and played some good D otherwise. Unsuccessfully attacked the rim a couple times, would love to see him work a floater into his game.
Grade: C+

Dwayne Karoma
0-Pts 1-Reb 1-TO 6-Min
Moment seemed a little big.
Grade: D

Overall Team Grade: B+

Game Ball - Mullins and Reibe

 

[Gurleyman]

0% is pretty poor

One rattled out, unfortunately.

The other one didn’t rattle.

 

[RayRay34]

Very good assessment RR34! From a strictly offensive look I feel your grades were pretty much on point. I liked what Smith was doing in the second half with the ball in his hands. Ya, he got caught in no mans land a couple times, but they were attacking better overall. I would have graded him a B. Reibe played great and I would be interested in knowing why the grade A-? What could he have done better? Mullins is the reason we won the game, I was not expecting to see him play a great game in every aspect. He did a lot a nice things out there besides scoring. How can you not give the kid an A+ for stepping up in a game of that magnitude? Do you have a breakdown of how each player did defensively? Nice job. I enjoyed reading your assessment.

The A- shouldn’t be seen as a slight towards Reibe, but a compliment to his potential. I do believe he can, and will, be a dominating force on both ends and has another level that we haven’t seen yet. I now consider this level of play from him as his floor, which is a good thing.
Did he do all the things you could hope for? Absolutely.
Was he dominant? No.
My expectations for him are very high, perhaps unfairly high.

B for Malachi would be generous. He didn’t cost us anything and played with good energy but he didn’t do anything notable either. No hate, just have seen better games from him. A puffier stat line, or more disruptive defense, would’ve gotten him in to the “B” range.

As for Mullins - we’re just scraping the surface with him and being this was really his first major action, don’t have much basis for comparison. Absolutely was a stud in his first real game time, but I think he’ll have some games this year that blow this out of the water. I could be wrong but, much like Reibe, an A- is his floor.

 

[Hoopcrazee]

Overall team = A+ ( was at game and cannot believe how loud it was for entire game... makes the Civic center crowd seem almost library like )

Thought Silas while quiet offensively was very solid on the D end...would have given him C+ / B-

Mullins no less than A+ ...free throws to ice game??? NAILS!!!

Koroma D was unfair..6 valuable minutes ..not sure you could expect more = C

Stwart..clearly not his best game but D is so much better than last year...shots he took that he missed were not forced shots

 

[DW1361]

I see, your rating is based on what you perceive their ceiling (A+) game could be and that you based last night’s results on how well you thought they met that potential. I will keep that in mind for your future report cards. I, and I believe others are just looking at this game in isolation and looking at the performance based on all the intangibles. Thanks for the explanation. I wasn’t expecting the freshman to be able to perform at a high level based in the competition and the environment. Astonishingly to me, they both way exceeded my expectations and therefore I have to grade them both A+ for last night, but yes I agree that they are going to be really special as the season goes on.

 

[Gurleyman]

Mullins is tricky to grade because contextually it’s an A+ - second game, first off a minutes restriction, giving us 17 off the bench in Phog far, far exceeds reasonable expectations.

But he also has other levels to reach. He wasn’t all that great at the thing he’s best at (he missed clean looks that he’ll make more of once he’s settled) and he still has some training wheels on when it comes to playmaking/passing, which we’ll see more of when teams start running him off the line.

 

[HooperScooper]

Does ESPN like totally hate our program. Our win buried a bit and headline is "Kansas without star player loses" something like that. Meanwhile they paste the Duke win story on their front page.

There is a game article "Braylon Mullins' breakout performance lifts UConn over Kansas" near the top of the headlines. The Peterson article is further down and an update after the game to the article before the game that Peterson wasn't playing. And whatever about Duke. We all know Duke is ESPN's darling.

Men's College Basketball on ESPN - Scores, Stats and Highlights

Visit ESPN for Men's College Basketball live scores, video highlights and latest news. Get the latest NCAAM standings and game analysis.

www.espn.com

 

[Excalibur]

0% is pretty poor

He took two bad shots and missed them both. Helped on the boards early but otherwise was invisible.

 

[UCan3]

There is a game article "Braylon Mullins' breakout performance lifts UConn over Kansas" near the top of the headlines. The Peterson article is further down and an update after the game to the article before the game that Peterson wasn't playing. And whatever about Duke. We all know Duke is ESPN's darling.

Men's College Basketball on ESPN - Scores, Stats and Highlights

Visit ESPN for Men's College Basketball live scores, video highlights and latest news. Get the latest NCAAM standings and game analysis.

www.espn.com

that is good to hear as I did not see that. Thanks for sharing.

 

[inWV]

Ross was a B or A-. He played a very effective game on both ends. Reibe and Mullins were both A+.

Karaban was also an A. He played big in the biggest moments of the game.

Ross evolved into a defensive piece towards the end of last season. We will see him on sub-outs late in tight games. If his perimeter shot is falling, he's an option on offense.

 

[Dogfish]

I

Does ESPN like totally hate our program. Our win buried a bit and headline is "Kansas without star player loses" something like that. Meanwhile they paste the Duke win story on their front page.

Syracuse is a top journalism school in this part of the country and Bristol/ESPN is packed with alumni. This used to be more of a discussion on the board back in the day when Cuse was still a part of the Big East. To answer your question, yes.