Just curious,
How would you rank where you feel we are right now as a team, compared to where you thought we'd be? Rank in order from 0 - 10 with 0 being we are the worst team imaginable and 10 being we are indestructible. Then state how far you think we'll go in the NCAA's.
I'm going to say that we are at about a 6.5, I thought we would be a 9.5, and I'm guessing we get to the sweet 16.
@nuleafjhawk wow, 6.5 is the EXACT # I was thinking! My heart thinks we win national championship and it has more influence than my head!
Great question. Tough to answer because I had different expectations at the beginning of the season than I did after Embiid showed he had progressed and we realized what he could be. Also, difficult since we don't know if we have Joel or not and how effective he will be.
I'm going to say 7. I say the most likely scenario is we lose in the sweet 16, given all of the uncertainty.
But I don't think Elite 8 is by any means out of reach and if we put it together we can go to the final four.
@nuleafjhawk By the way, great comment on the other thread about everyone being happy with the way things are!
Comments like that keep me coming back to this site!
After the way this season has gone, ups and downs and surprises. Alng with the way the WV game went, down 12, down 26 got real close to lose by 6. I am not sure how I feel or have any idea how this team will do in the NCAA's.
It's always about match ups, but to me this year that is more true than years past. If we run into teams that like to drive or have power guards we might not get out of the 32s, but if we find a team that likes to throw in around the perimeter we can make the elite 8.
If they play like they did against Texas the first time it will be a short post season, if they play like they did against Texas in game two they could win it all.
So short story long I will give them a 7 on how I feel about them.
Keeping it positive and they have so so much talent and a great coach I shouldn't be worried.
@nuleafjhawk-I'm thinkin a 4 seed now, but any higher than that & I'll sound like (Eucker) Harry Doyle in Major League...
..."Personally, I think we got hosed on that call."
@nuleafjhawk It would be cool if we had a polling feature.. but I agree 6.5 is about right... with a fairly high variance of 1.5
@nuleafjhawk I said from the preseason that I honestly thought we'd have a better chance reaching serendipity next season rather than this season. In late January, however, it looked like KU might just be able to get there. Unfortunately, the progress stalled out late in the conf. season, and Joel's injuries only compound that. I also think we can reach the Sweet 16 without him, but advancing beyond that becomes a serious challenge. If JoJo comes back for the Sweet 16, I say we're an 8, likely to advance to the Elite Eight, fully capable of reaching the Final Four, but unlikely to be cutting down the nets in April. But yeah, without him, it's hard to argue the 6.5 number.
@globaljaybird As for our seeding, even if we lose tomorrow, I honestly don't think the committee can keep us off the 2 line. 9 losses for a freshmen led team that played the toughest schedule in 20 years would still be an impressive feat. Victory tomorrow should lock that in beyond the shadow of a doubt. A 4 is completely unrealistic. I mean, you realize we're still being considered for a 1 seed, right? We aren't going to fall 2-3 lines under any circumstance, even if we lost to Texas Tech.
Comparing to the past teams, I feel we are at 8 and we should get to at least elite 8.
This year we have 3 starters who were McAA, Eliis, Wiggins, and Selden, and Black who was ranked 50s nationally out of high school. Tharpe being the low man on the totem pole, at 90s. And we have 3 others ranked top 50 out of high school, Greene, Frankamp, and White. That's very good combination of talent, and better than a lot of the teams that have the potential going to the sweet 16. Right now they just need more belief in themselves and more spirit. And we fans shouldn't lose hope just because Embiid may be unavailable. Few anticipated Embiid became the player he is and the team should have same goal had Embiid not come or improve as much as he did. So my feeling toward the team is the same when the season started. We should go far, but how far will depend on our luck.
@konkeyDong Thank you for pointing out our strength of schedule. I concentrate on our 23-8 record and conveniently forget about who we've played.
It really could benefit us greatly in the NCAA's. I'm not smart enough to figure out how to provide a link to this, but look at our stats compared to WSU. Besides the obvious losses, our stats are almost identical ( or better! ) and their SOS is 109 compared to our #1.
http://statsheet.com/mcb/teams/compare?t1-season=2013-2014&t1-type=&t1=kansas&t2=wichita-state ↗ ↗
I had a wait and see attitude at the beginning of the season. I really didn't know what to think. I hate to compare us to Kentucky, but we always do so I will too. 2 years ago freshman heavy team obviously won it all. There, it can be done Kentucky proved. And the next year they proved with a freshman laden team they can be a bust.
So I would say we are at a 5 right now. Could turn out pretty sweet still or could turn out with a galling weekend (or worse) exit.
Since we keep talking about Wichita, I will defend them a bit here. I'd reckon we all dogged on their schedule last year as well and they of course, performed admirably. So if they're good, they're good, whether they're playing Haskell Indian College or Louisville.
Before JoJo went out I had us at about a 7.0. With JoJo out and not knowing if this team will stand up and fight, I'm keeping us at a 7.0 only with my hope and faith. They could easily be a 4.0 (or a 10.0).
Until I see how these guys react off of the JoJo loss the reality of this situation says they are 1/64 chance in the dance. Obviously, my hope and faith put them at a much higher chance.... the ultimate of bringing home the hardware!
Before JoJo went out I'd probably have given us a 1/10 shot at the big prize. I didn't see enough consistency, ability to close out games, leadership or chip to put them higher. I'm not saying they were an Elite 8 team... they could lose their first-round game or any to follow because they didn't bring consistency with them.
I see all of this now as an opportunity to take up the slack and start playing big time ball if these guys can get their heads on right.
I would say 7.5. If KU loses the next game they will not get a #1 seed and #2 being the most likely and #3 the worst case scenarios. Depending on how the team is playing I say they make it at least to the sweet 16.
If KU wins the Big 12 Tournament (without Embiid), it gets a #1 seed and my ranking goes to 9-9.5 and it makes at least to the Elite 8.
@konkeyDong-Never been a #1 seed with 8L's & unless we run the table at Sprint we'll have 9. However, I like what you're drinking anyway. OSU is projected as a 9 now & should we go down today, it will be 2 losses to them in a matter of weeks. No Jo, 9 losses-don't be shocked to see a 3 next Sunday.
@globaljaybird - When (if, I guess I should say) we do get our next loss, it will tie for the most Mr Self has ever had at Kansas.
Probably no correlation between that and having three potential OAD's and ONE senior on the team who never really gets significant playing time.
I know I'm swimming against the current, and I LIKE Andrew a lot, but I'd much rather have a bunch of Perry Ellis type players who are going to be here four years. Our initial expectations would not be so stupidly high and our end result would be a stronger, more mature team that goes further into the tournament each year.
Now, if we go ahead and win it all this year, I will glady eat crow, my words and about any other concoction that the OAD's come up with !