Talk about guts, Talk about Determination. This team on tired legs did it all and won in Double OT. Selden, Mason what can you say and Moore with clutch plays in 2nd OT.
Summer Gold never felt so goood
Great Win!!! Gold Medal victory! Enjoying every minute of the ride!!
Holy damn, what a wild ride! Had to watch it on my phone while driving, so I'm glad I didn't wreck. A totally gutty performance down the stretch. Despite being held to under 33% field goal shooting, they found the will to win. If you can do that in July, you can do anything come March/April. Self is going to be able to go to the well with this game when the going gets tough. Love love love my team. Love love love my country. America is proud today! Rock Chalk Jayhawk, go World Champs!
@konkeyDong oh geez, 🚙
If Selden or Ellis could throw a rock in the ocean, Kansas would have won by 20. Can't complain, though, win's a win.
Rock Chalk
HUGE win, you could see just exhausted no lift in their shots, and of course me being skeptical Jane cursing ranting hollering at TV saying to myself Wayne has disappeared and then BAM huge 3 pt shot. Going into 2nd overtime told my wife says maybe the team is missing my good luck kiss from you and lo and behold it helped lmao.. Seriously really a bad shooting day but they gutted it out ROCK CHALK/U.S.A we were able to do what no others from the U.S.A has done in 10 yrs GOLD BABY. YES Nic Moore a defensive liability a lot in the tourney because of his size, post him up low, or just mis match on switches getting hung up in BUT what a huge huge steal like the announcers said maybe not the steal of the game but of the tourney. So proud of everybody, makes me proud ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
@BeddieKU23 such a tough gritty performance! I loved the way we battled back after squandering the lead! Coming back 3 separate times and finally holding on. Hell of a way to start my first day back from vacation and so thankful I work from home so I could scream as loud as I wanted to.!
Read this lol. UK fans complaining about our head start on the season and questioning why KU was picked and not them! Priceless!
http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/usa-jayhawks-win-gold-at-world-university-games/ ↗
@jayballer54 we had dead legs late in that game. The 3 mason left short late in the game was because of tired legs. I was surprised when Wayne's went in, but then again he has come up huge all tournament! I thought Nic Moore was just jacking shots up, he looked bad for the most part.
@Statmachine are they for real? that quick to forget they played against professional teams before the start of last season?
This team showed something they haven't shown in 3 years, MENTAL TOUGHNESS. This team put their foot on other teams throats and didn't let up. They didn't quit when they got down late and fought through absolute exhaustion to finish off a pretty good Germany team. I can't wait for KU to add their eastern Euroballer and their sniper on the perimeter and the Energizer Bunny in the paint. This is going to be a special year for Kansas basketball and this tournament has shown that the national title is a realistic expectation for this team this year.
@Statmachine LOFLMFAO. that is like a Kodiak moment bud . how classic, Kentucky Joe stating like a little 1st grader " IT AIN'T FAIR " they get a head start on the rest of us lmao. REALLY? SERIOUSLY? fair? fair, thanks for the share buddy lol. then another says WHY CAN'T WE ever represent the U.S.A lmao this makes my day, think i'll order some cheese and wine and have it ship to UK's athletic dept. ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
@Texas-Hawk-10 I believer you absolutely correct sir, spot on. you get a chance read the link from the Kentucky fans lmao
Someone predicted UK going 40-0 again. Then another guy said that the smartest guy in his trailer park predicted 40-0 too lol!!!!
@Statmachine perfect!
If you go back and look again there are ALOT more posts. The UK fans are officially stirred up lol!
@jayballer54 I tend to pay no mind to that group of fans because the vast majority I've dealt with over the years are far and away the most delusional fan base in the country. I just don't see them being a top 5 team, or even top 15 team this year. They have a good back court, but their frontcourt is an absolute mess. Poythress is going to be playing out of position, Marcus Lee has been a complete and total disaster so far, Skal should be good, but they just don't have any frontcourt depth and there's a lack of talent there as well.
@Statmachine I'M LOVING IT. why was Ku allowed to have Ku on front of their shorts lmao. must of been paid off by KU grads lmao
@Texas-Hawk-10 Exactly
Top ten things to do in Lexington:
9 through 1. Wish you had Self.
Yes, well, it's been a rough year for Kentucky sports fans.
Alabama lost to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, Kentucky lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four, and the Cavs lost to the Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Amazing, hard fought victory. Mason put this team on his back. Shots weren't falling, we persevered. Selden, after a rough, rough day, bangs home a dagger 3. Shooters have to keep shooting and he hit the one that mattered most. But goodness, back to Mason. Ice.
To the game -- I was singing Self's praises throughout this tournament .. but my mood changed in the second half. It really seemed like Self puckered a bit and didn't trust the rotation that served him so well this entire tournament. I was really wanting Self to put Vick in for a few stretches to give Moore and Selden some blows. The fresh legs thing would have been no issue for Vick. And he's proven he can bang home the three, something we desperately needed. Seemed like the perimeter was pretty open after penetration. Perfect spot for Vick.
And Self pretty much banished Mickelson to the bench. Puzzling. Mick came in and immediately changed a shot from the German big guy ( at 3:35). Plus, all of those 15 footers that Lucas turned down, Mick had been hitting at a pretty decent rate in the prior games.
But on the positive side, he resisted any urge to play Traylor. In fact, it was clear that Bragg was a better option and Self did use Bragg over Traylor.
Great win. Great end to the trip. And there is nothing better than extra Kansas basketball.
@HighEliteMajor Did you see this quote ↗ from Self after the Russian game? Thought you'd like it.
With a 24-second shot clock, Self has let the Jayhawks play without many set-plays on offense, which has helped USA’s guards create opportunities off of the dribble.
“We didn’t score on the block,” Self said after his team scored 38 of its 78 points in the paint against Russia. "Landen (Lucas) made two baskets on the block when we threw it over the top. But for the most part, everything was drive it or play to 15-foot jumpers or play to threes. I’ve never played this way. But I’ve learned a lot in the past month.
“We’ve always played to our bigs and we still have to. But you know what, the trust in guys to go one-on-one and make plays has probably made us better basketball players individually.”
I'm fortunate to have watched.
I had the unique experience of watching the game with the niece of a former KU player, walk on Joel Branstrom. She is dating my son in Chicago and came up to the lake for the weekend with us. She's from Lawrence and into KU hoops.
I was impressed by our toughness. We won that game by scrapping for every loose ball after our shots stopped dropping.
Wayne going 6 for 28 is a great sign.
How many times in the previous two years did we see him miss some shots, stop attacking, and finish the game going 1 for 7?
This is similar to Perry at the end of last year before he got injured. He wasn't shooting a great percentage but the defense always had to account for him because he was in constant attack mode.
Hopefully, we will see the Wayne we have always wanted and he can be a top 20 pick.
Now that we've all had some time to celebrate the win, it feels bigger than I thought it would. Maybe its because of how we won, having to come back 3 times to finally win is probably making this even more special. To see how tired this team was, and the resilient effort when our backs were against the wall has really made this a special win for this group of kids. All the late nights and early morning game times were worth it in the end to all those who were able to follow along this journey. This is a HUGE team bonding experience.
Some takeaways from the Tournament as it relates to this coming year.
First off Wayne Selden is our go-to player for this year. Besides tired legs today in the Gold medal game he was electric. Dunks, drives, acrobatic layups, jumpers, 3-pt shots he had it all going. His improvement is astonishing actually to me because you just never know if he was going to "get it" and then apply it. He wanted this gold medal to put the past 2 NCAA tourney's behind him and his team and he helped do that.
Hunter Mickelson has played himself into the line-up. If Diallo is slow to learn Hunter should start. He cleaned up on the offensive glass and is the only big other than Ellis who can stretch the floor. He rebounded, he ran the floor and he was a force altering shots. He fouls a lot, he may always foul a lot but he was a huge surprise.
Mason, what can you say he's the rock of the team. Without his buddy Devonte here he had even more pressure on him to play big minutes. Frank simply makes big shots, all tournament from 3's to drives to FT's he did it all. He made his huge leap in development from Fresh to Soph. I still think he's gotten even better. He was too fast for PG's to handle.
Ellis, I think I had higher hopes for because of him being a senior and the praise Self had put on him this spring saying he had improved even more but I didn't see it this tournament. He was very good in spurts and without him we don't win but the same issues that he's always had are still popping up. He's still going to have a big year but with Wayne stepping up its better that we don't have to rely on Ellis as a Go 2 player all the time. I thought the competition would be more on a level that Perry could dominate as well but these Euro's gave him just as much of a problem as D-1 College players do.
Vick, the sky is really the limit for this kid. Has a smooth jumper and great athleticism. Kid knows how to score, point blank. I hope that Self trusts in him when we need scoring because he's instant offense. Can't wait to see how this kid develops with time, he really could be a star in the making.
Bragg, he had great spurts as well all tournament. He's not afraid to get on the floor for loose balls which will really stick with Self. He has a great jumper even though they really didn't fall much in the games. Has to get stronger, but I can already see that Self will trust him on the floor. Exciting future for that guy as well.
Mari, Lucas. Lumping them together because they showed the same we've seen all along. Neither is going to improve enough to change what they are. They provide depth and experience and I'm sure we will need both at different points in the year. Lucas was strong rebounding in the last few games as the one positive I did see from him here.
What a great learning experience for these kids and I'm sure these games will go a long way to helping this team to its goals this year. Rock Chalk Gold
@tundrahok I did see the quote - appreciate you posting it. There are other ways to play this game, and other ways to win. What's interesting, of course, is that he has "never played this way" and we won eight straight. I love the high-low. But it offers a variety of options beyond "get to the third side" and "feed the post." Our offense this tournament looked pretty good to me -- except of the stretch today when all we seemed to want to do was feed an overmatched Perry Ellis. The ghosts of seasons past. We'll see how much he learns (or more precisely, if he's willing to change a bit).
If Self learns from what he's learning about his players then just maybe their is a chance that our offense could be more free flowing for individual play. I think Selden thrived on that as much as playing the 3. Even though he was 6-28 today, a few days ago that could have been 16-28. Wayne and Frank taking over some of these games are exactly how we win 8 straight. That (hopefully) sticks with Self and gives him confidence to stick with this offensive approach.
Tied up preparing for a 9:00 AM teleconference with two other parties; had to watch the last 20 minute on Mute trying not to scream at the TV while trying to follow the conference topic. Conference went snd ended up well but the KU game ended abso-friggin-lutely FANTASTIC!!!
Congrats to the team, they had a super gutsy performance that hopefully will set the tone for the upcoming season where close games will no longer be dreaded as much; this team has proven it does not get rattled, stays poised and wins close games.
A great and successful journey for the players and staff...and a real treat for all of us Jayhawk fans.
Which goes to show that you can never over-estimate the ignorance of the average Kentucky fan.
The Smiling photo of the team with Mason checking to see if it was real gold is fantastic. My new screen saver. Who is the young girl on the podium with them? Devonte has a medal! Good. Self with his arm around Tyler with huge smiles. A Father/Son moment for the ages.
Bragg and Vick - Welcome to the team.
Hunter and Landon - Welcome to the team.
Frank Mason - I would not trade him for any other NCAA Guard in the country.
Wayne Selden - Welcome to the NBA.
Perry Ellis - Thank you for playing your heart out, even though you are double and tripled teamed on every play. You reached deep to help get the gold, even when your shot wasn't falling and no air left in your lungs. You will still be our leading scorer this year.
Jamari - Thank you for subbing during crunch time when you do what you do best in guarding the outside big men.
Nic and Julian - Thank you for leaving your two great coaches to become Jayhawks. We could not have won this without either of you.
Tyler and Evan - Thank you for coming in and playing more minutes than you've played in a long time and allowing Frank, Wayne and Perry to sit for the fourth quarter against the Swiss.
Bill Self - Thank you for being the best coach in the country for your ability to adjust on the fly and create an incredible bonding experience for these young men.
Snacks - Thank you for playing the piano.
@RockChalkinTexas love the new avi!!
@Crimsonorblue22 Wanted to nab it before anyone else did.
Frank da Man!
Lost in all the excitement...did anyone notice that the Pool group A, where Germany played, had only 5 teams instead of the 6 teams all other pools had and they had to play only 4 games instead of 5 games in the initial round? KUSA ended playing 8 games and Germany only 7, no wonder the good guys were more tired than the Germans...
@JayHawkFanToo I did see that at the outset and wondered if there had been a 6th team that did not make it there for unknown reasons.
I'm having a hard time working!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wonder what the guys will do w/their new doll?
@RockChalkinTexas No wonder Germany was so fresh. Only 4 games in pool play and a cake walk to the final game compared to ours.
@JayHawkFanToo Still ate their Weiner schnitzel...
Here are a few figure for your enjoyment...
KUSA pool is the only one that sent 2 teams to the Fina Four.
KUSA beat all 3 other teams in the Final Four
KUSA beat 5 other 7 other teams in the Final Eight (Canada twice before the games)
No question that KUSA was the best team at the the WUG.
@Crimsonorblue22 In @Crimsonorblue22 words "EWWWWWWWWWWW". :-)
@RockChalkinTexas .......Well, back to the tractor... "EWWWWWWWWWWW".
@globaljaybird Couldn't resist the temptation over on that UK board. Somebody said "guess it was a good thing there were no mid-majors in the tournament." I added, "like Robert Morris?"
@globaljaybird always has a way w/words!
@RockChalkinTexas Thanks
@Crimsonorblue22 we give it our optimum effort...LOL
@globaljaybird I know but it was just one of those open doors you have to walk through when given the chance.
Well another 45 minutes on the mower for the back and that is it for the day.
@RockChalkinTexas You from Humboldt, RockChalkinTexas?
@RockChalkinTexas great avi.
@Statmachine HA! Waaah freeking Waaaah Kentucky fans! Eat dirt you losers! Just wait til you come into The Phog later this year.
@HawkInMizery Well of course they forgot! They are inbred idiots with genetically dehanced brain functions.
@Texas-Hawk-10 KU is going to beat that @$$ when UK comes to AFH. Mark it down, circle it, sharpie too.
@Crimsonorblue22 NICE!
@Crimsonorblue22 Nope, and unfortunately I had to down grade my cable due to cost cutting.
@Crimsonorblue22 Kind of short on KU fans where I live... Oh well. Thanks for the link! That was great!
KUHawkZone @KUHawkZone · 55m55 minutes ago
KU basketball team will be welcomed home at 7 p.m. Wednesday: http://cjon.co/1M6WXj9 ↗
@Statmachine Bet that Gold Medal comes out on Late Night as does the 11 straight conf. champ trophies.
KU is going to be so tough to beat this season. They have a jump on everyone else with the new rules and all the practice they are getting.
One question. That was an epic game won by KU, even more so considering they had just beaten a very good Russian team less than a day earlier!
How do the Russian and German teams we just played compare to the teams we will be playing next season during the non conf and big 12 conf games?
https://www.todaysu.com/u-news/kansas-blows-up-social-media-following-world-university-game-win-2/ ↗
Getting some media over the WUG!
We should ask Royal's fans to stir up the pot...they sure made everybody take notice with their voting for the All Star game. :)
One little paragraph in Austin paper from the "wire service."
@RockChalkinTexas atleast something!👏👏👏
@Crimsonorblue22 I emailed the sports editor and asked if he would mention in his weekly column tomorrow where he has 9 things and 1 prediction. We'll see. Liked the USA and other article. Andy Katz had at least 4 tweets about us.
You ok after tornado? Hope no damage.
@RockChalkinTexas 👍 on email and no damage. Was an ef-3, stayed on ground 20 some mins. Damage to a cabin and power lines. Lucky!
Gold medal winner gets to fly plane👀👀👀
@globaljaybird I run about twice as fast and a no-name straw hat for the bare spot. Plus goggles and dust mask for allergies and earplugs for what little earing the AF left me with.
@brooksmd Wife wooda shit a brick if she knew I gave abt $60 for the sky but I'm set in my ways-it was a George Straight Texas hat & not Mexican...helluvalot cheaper than that Grasshopper...don't know how lucky she is...tractor came from Tennessee...abt 2 G with blade,chains & weights...
@globaljaybird why r u lucky? u guys have your own lingo. Got the hat part.
@Crimsonorblue22 Wife's lucky-I'm screwed...The Grasshopper is a ZTR mower that you may be able to purchased USED for abt 4-5G...new...outta this world...
@globaljaybird sooooo it's for your wife?
@Crimsonorblue22 Ain't it all? If momma ain't happy then nobody's happy...
Speaking of SMU point guards who are not named Moore and didn't actually play for SMU, Emmanuel Mudiay is looking good in Summer League for the Nuggets and Ty Lawson just got his second DUI this year.
@approxinfinity heard about Ty. Someone thought he got one in college too.
@Crimsonorblue22 Ty Lawson will always be the guy I thought was built like Sherron with comparable skills/game who was a whole lot luckier than Sherron. I don't wish him ill will, but it sounds like the writing is on the wall.
@approxinfinity lost that luck!
@Crimsonorblue22 First 10-15 you're both still in the lying stage of marriage...15-25 it's reeeeeeeeally damn good-no guilt !! After 30 -35 it's pretty much downhill..at least it is in some Jayhawk lovers zip peoples zip codes ...Of course as always it's JMO...
@globaljaybird oh brother!!!! Your poor wife!!!
@Crimsonorblue22 Yeah, after 41 years she has the same Schpiel...sometimes I think I'm a native of the long, lost fukowee tribe of native SE Kansas ... Like ... Where da f--k are we ???!!!
@Crimsonorblue22 what say "U" ???
@globaljaybird schpeil?
@Crimsonorblue22 never ending story...or squawk...
I didn't know what u were saying or how to spell it.
Spiel! I'm sure u say it w/a C in it.
GN woman, Yost won it for da AL !!!! We got home field for da World Series !!!
@globaljaybird just wanted to tell u that I'm from sw ks. I always knew where I was, no fukowee tribe!😳
@Crimsonorblue22 don't B so sure girl...only few R enlightened to da past...
Here's a PDF file of Individual Stats & Team Stats from Korea.
You will Notice Selden's name all over these stats.
Truly awesome #'s. Imagine if he hadn't been 6-28 in the Germany game... Near 60% 2PT FG%, 50% overall. Really speaks volumes to his improvement!!
Also Mason led the tourney in Assists, speaks to his evolving development as a PG!!
http://www.gwangju2015.com/IRS/resGJ2015/pdf/GJ2015/BK/GJ2015_BK_C85B_BKM400000.pdf ↗
http://www.gwangju2015.com/IRS/resGJ2015/pdf/GJ2015/BK/GJ2015_BK_C85A_BKM400000.pdf ↗
@BeddieKU23 Of all the outstanding stats in these two charts, check this one:
Hunter ranks 5th at 61.2% on 2 Point Field Goal % (6 attempts/games minimum)
and Wayne is 8th (59.7%) and Frank is 9th (59.6%).
WOW!
@RockChalkinTexas Flight attendants don't look like that anymore ... flight attendants nowadays are much more saggy than perky. Stupid laws.
@RockChalkinTexas jethro!!
If you call the Lawrence Journal World newspaper (785-843-1000) they will ship you one of the commemorative newspapers from yesterday. Paper is $1, plus shipping. Mine is about $3.08 total.
@RockChalkinTexas have you noticed the male attendants seem soft and unattractive?
@BeddieKU23 I saw Mason all over that stat sheet too!
I try not to notice male flight attendants but having dated a couple of female flight attendants and my own observations, the majority of male flight attendants are...gay...no political correctness or incorrectness implied or intended.
@JayHawkFanToo I'm not touching that one!😳
Behavior observation? Gay-dar? Nothing closer than that.
@Crimsonorblue22 said:
@globaljaybird just wanted to tell u that I'm from sw ks. I always knew where I was, no fukowee tribe!😳
Except when in a round-a-bout!
KU Athletics site is going to broadcast the team's triumphic return in 54 minutes.
Wow! Thanks for the link, loaded and waiting for the broadcast... :)
@RockChalkinTexas Hopefully our guys liked their smiles. Thank you.
AWARDS:
Eurobasket.com All-World University Games 1st Team 2015
Finals MVP: Frank Mason (5'11''-PG) of USA
Best Player: Wayne Selden (6'5''-SF-94) of USA
Best Guard: Frank Mason (5'11''-PG) of USA
Best Forward: Wayne Selden (6'5''-SF-94) of USA
Best Center: Mangok Mathiang (6'10''-F/C-92) of Australia
1st Team
PG: Frank Mason (5'11''-PG) of USA
G: Maodo Lo (6'3''-G-92) of Germany
SF: Rokas Giedraitis (198-SF-92) of Lithuania
SF: Wayne Selden (6'5''-SF-94) of USA
F/C: Mangok Mathiang (6'10''-F/C-92) of Australia
2nd Team
G: Stefan Pot (195-G-94) of Serbia
F/G: Axel Nordstrom (193-F/G-91) of Sweden
F: Alex Murphy (6'9''-F-93) of Finland
Perry Ellis (6'8''-F-93) of USA
C/F: Yannis Morin (208-C/F-93) of France
Honorable Mention
Chris McLaughlin (208-C-92) of Canada
Henrique Coelho (183-PG-93) of Brazil
Maik-Kalev Kotsar (201-F/G-96) of Estonia
Pavel Antipov (204-F-91) of Russia
Aleksandar Marelja (207-F/C-92) of Serbia
Radosav Spasojevic (204-F/C-92) of Montenegro
Sertac Sanli (212-C-91) of Turkey
Hans-George Brase (6'8''-F-93) of Germany
Ung Heo (183-G-93) of S. Korea
Vendrame Leo (183-PG-93) of Japan
Rui Zhao (193-F-96) of China
Florian Steinmann (197-SF-91) of Switzerland
Stefan Pot of Serbia should be first team instead of the German.