We caught the freshmanitis bug. Look at the symptoms... lethargic play, slow minds, no motion, standard flu-like symptoms...
We can blame it on the flu... but in reality... it was freshmanitis. These guys probably lacked sleep and were distracted and then suddenly had to face a few different wrinkles in the game (including the strange venue)... and they froze like deer in the headlights.
I don't think the answer will come from changing the starting lineup. The answer is for Self to get these guys to play together as a team. To defend better individually and as a team... and to attack the rim better individually and as a team. I watched 'Nova in that championship game come back and take the crown. If any of you watched the interviews after the game they interviewed that little guard that nailed the loss on us and he went on and on about how he loves his teammates and how they do everything together. Totally different feel than what we have going on.
Let's face it... all the distractions from sports mag covers to media interviews has shifted the focus away from this team on what it should be; the team! It must be tough for them to focus, especially being so young. The Bahamas trip interrupted the only consistency in their lives; waking up every day on the Kansas campus and going through their daily rituals. It may not sound like a big deal to us... but we aren't a flock of teenagers being shoved onto the national spotlight.
All I care about is they bring hustle to the game. That Villanova performance made me feel like turning off the TV. They looked a little bit better for UTEP... just had some mental farting down the stretch. Those Mason fouls were largely a joke... phantom fouls. I'm surprised the announcers bagged so hard on Mason for hustling, and didn't even mention how the refs were dominating the game more than the players. I've always hated refs that hyper call the last minute of a game!
BTW: those announcers were horrible. They should do a bit of background study on teams before they get on TV and blurt out horrible comments that are untrue. When they went on and on about KU not having 3-pt shooters on this team I wanted to punch my flatscreen. We just don't have an offense in place to accommodate our shooters. That's a big reason why we are throwing up a low % from 3. You only have to look at Frankamp to see that... he's almost earned his bricklayer's union card by now! The guy won't miss if the offense flows and he gets hit in the chest with a pass where he has room and his feet are set.
Frankamp isn't even a weapon we can use yet until we have a working offense. That should help people understand just how immature our offense is right now. I'm still confident we'll get it together. The key is to turn off the media buzz. They loved to build up Wiggins before he ever dribbled a ball... and they are loving tearing him down after just a few games because his stats don't match up to Parker's or Randle's. Take it all with a grain of salt.. Actually... listen to Marcus Smart's early words about Wiggins being put on a pedestal without ever dribbling a ball. He didn't even mean it as an attack on Wiggins... he was just exposing how the media runs off in unrealistic directions.
Life will continue.
