@RockChalkinTexas, regarding playing Kane, or not, Hoiberg is in a tough spot and Self knows it. This conference season everyone has to be thinking about playing for splits against the top 4 teams and hope to steal one sweep in order to get at least a share of the title, as I indicated after KU stole one at Norman. KU's win at Norman was big, because it means Self has his team set up for the one sweep he has to get. KU can almost certainly take OU at home barring unforeseen injuries; that's the sweep. From the win in Norman onward, unless KU makes a really poor showing at home against one of the top four teams, all Self has to do is amp his teams for the home half of the Saturday-Monday games involving top 4 teams and bide his time hoping for one more sweep on an away game by beating another top four team on a low amp, grind it out performance. Stealing two sweeps among the top four teams nearly guaranties an outright title this year, because of talent distributions and injuries to the likes of Cobbins at OSU.
So: Fred is in a pickle, because Self amped his team for KSU at AFH and so is probably rolling into Hilton without an amping. Self would tolerate a loss to ISU at Hilton, if Fred were determined to amp his team there for the reasons I discussed above.
Fred's problem is that if he amps his team for a peak performance in order to capitalize on KU's likely off shooting game, after two hot ones, and does not play Kane, ISU probably doesn't have enough fire power to win amped, even when KU is not amped and shooting so-so.
Self would love to steal another road win, but putting the spurs to his young team two straight games could lead to a huge emotional let down the next weekend.
Fred knows this.
Fred has decide whether to protect Kane by resting for later, knowing that if ISU loses in Hilton now, his team is going to be playing behind the eight ball the rest of the round robin, or play Kane and try to get the win he needs now to stay out from behind the eight ball.
Since there will four days to rehab Kane's ankle before ISU's next game, if ISU's next game is an easy opponent, then I think Hoiberg plays Kane tonight to try to squeeze out a win at home, then maybe not play Kane next Saturday to give his ankle a big block of time to heal.
I am a pussy about playing guys injured. I wish they never played injured. But Self is not alone in approaching injury as something players play through for the good of the team, if playing through were what was best for the team. The current ethic seems to be: we are not here to protect your injury at the expense of the team's interest. We will not play you if i would wreck you forever, but we will play you injured if strategy and tactics require it, and if you have the kind of injury that will simply take longer to heal if played on.
A lot has to do with the kind of player it is, the kind of injury it is, and how high that player's pain threshold his.
For example, Self apparently just told Tyrel Reed and EJ to play through, even though they needed surgery. Both guys seemed to be able to hobble through it. One time he wanted a young Travis to play on the ankle and Trav said he couldn't. Trav was not chastised. He just was sent to the far end of the bench for the rest of the season. Fine, if we can't count on him this season, then we can't count on him. But if we are going to count on him, then he HAS to play no matter what. Poor EJ got caught in the he HAS to play his two seasons. Last season he was wearing quilts and bailing wire and electricians tape and super glue on his knee for most of the season. I don't see how EJ played at all the first 2/3s of the season, but some guys just can bear enormous pain. When board rats ask why was EJ given the ball at the end of the Michigan game, implying he shouldn't have been, that was Self making clear EJ was one of the toughest hombres he had ever seen and if he had to lose, he wanted to lose with the toughest kid he ever saw, and if he had to win, he thought it would take the toughest kid he ever saw that jacked 39 on a trick knee to git-her-done. I really believe his choice of EJ in the Michigan game was Self paying his respects to EJ. Board rats can complain all they want, but something happens when players play above and beyond the call of duty regarding injury and sacrifice for extended periods. It builds a bond between a coach and a player that eventually is recognized by the coach. EJ was out in a pain zone and out in a loss of function zone that made it seem impossible for him to guide the team to 30+ wins, but he did and doing so saved Self's coaching bacon--made Self the winningest coach of the last ten years--made Self seem like a genius. Self knew that all those accomplishments hung on Self couldn't have happened if one Elijah Johnson had not played through a shoulder injury his sophomore year, a knee injury his junior year and an inadequately rehabbed knee his senior year. Self know EJ was a great talent. He knew EJ could have quit on Self at any time and said, no, my career comes first, not the team and your record. EJ manned up all over Self. EJ played through more than Self could have played through; this happens to most coaches sooner or later. And when it does, the coach, without ever publicly showing it, is in absolute awe of the player's will and willingness to sacrifice--to walk the talk of the coach about sacrifice above and beyond the coach's capacity for sacrifice.
EJ was a five star athlete that saw his awesome L&A crucified before he ever got to the money making time of his career. It is one of the unforgivable cruelties of amateurism. It should be stopped. Either injured players should sit, or amateur players should be paid to sacrifice their bodies the way EJ, and Kaun, and so on, did.
Will Fred play Kane?
I suspect he will if Kane can go at all, because ISU needs a win at home over KU in the worst way. I haven't looked at ISU's next opponent after KU, but if its next opponent is figured to finish in the bottom half of the conference, Kane gets his chance to give one of those super human performances.
IMHO.
