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I just took a big drink from a glass of water half full.
Jayhawk critics are all busy pointing to our tough conference schedule ahead. Good for them. They had to take the conversation to a different topic after OU took down WVU at Morgantown. Even many of the computers suddenly have it in for us. Maybe they can now process sour milk?
I'm just sitting here. Looking off into distant space. Suddenly a warm fuzzy entered my consciousness.
All we have to do to win #13 is remain poised. Don't listen to the critics. Don't listen to anyone spouting bad energy, hyper drama, or just plain bull snit.
This is NOT one of those posts proclaiming, "WE ARE KANSAS!" I've never followed that line of thinking and see it as just asking for it. It is a pompous gesture worthy of diddly squat.
Even though we have a tough schedule ahead, WHY does it feel like we are skiing downhill?
Let's start with the new guy on the block; Josh Jackson. By now even the biggest haters and cynics of OAD basketball have come around to Josh. He is the real deal and though he still makes some freshman mistakes he clearly can be labeled as an "old soul" of the game.
When we lose a game it usually relates to most of our guys having an off-night. Josh had an off-night on Monday. He only shot 3-of-11 from the field and only had 6 points and fouled out down the stretch. Boo hoo! Now take the time to read the rest of his stats.... he lead the team in rebounds with 8, he had 5 assists and 2 blocks. And what doesn't show in the stat sheet is his hustle after loose balls, often down on the hardwoods.
When a guy puts up those numbers on the road, in a hostile environment, he can continue to have more bad nights the rest of the year! I wonder what he will do when he breaks out of this horrible slump!? ha
I know ISU doesn't have a real post. That still didn't guarantee we would see production out of our post. Carlton and Landen only posted 43 minutes together, but they were responsible for 24 pts, 12 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. The stats don't tell the story here. Many times, those points came at the end of the shot clock and they bailed us out.
Frank was a little hobbled. Nothing serious. Just a banged knee. He still racked up 16 pts. But it is good to see that he didn't have to completely carry his team on his back. Others provided assistance. It was a GROUP LIFT!
On any given night, any one of our first 7 players can rule the stat sheet. Every opponent scouts us. But how do they prepare to defeat 7 players equally? It is one thing to list a players' tendencies... and it is another thing to mimic their play in practice to actually work on stopping them. And it isn't just about our individual player's skills... it is about team ball. Running 7 players creates many different possibilities. We can go big with both Landen and Carlton together, we can go with just one big, or we can go without a single big! We actually did that at ISU for a brief time.
No coach in our league is more screwed up with our possibilities than Huggybear Huggins. His highly-flammable full court pressure is all about scouting ahead. Knowing how much space is the right space around every Jayhawk. And knowing we will always have at least 2 paperweights (bigs) on the court at the same time. Those days are over! Our 4-guard lineup cuts the tether string from the WVU pressure. We've gone from our typical 3-on-5 lineup to 4-on-5 and the possibility of going 5-0n-5 with an ALL GUARD lineup!
Yes, you heard me. I'm all smiles because I do believe we could see a 5-guard lineup in Morgantown at some point. Look back at the ISU game. Josh and Svi actually out-rebounded Landen and Carlton.
What matters most is that Huggybear doesn't know what we will bring. He doesn't know if we will still be a victim to a sped up tempo or actually thrive on it. For once, our cards have not been exposed. We should all smile about the possibilities that our very own "Riverboat Gambler" is in a game (finally) where his hand isn't exposed, even partially!
