🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Back in the day OU would come to town and Jayhawk Nation would sharpen up their gameday faces because they knew it'd be a war in AFH. My limited understanding of the hatred started several seasons before I arrived in Lawrence. OU and KU went to OT and won in OT clinching the league title. They called TO with a few seconds left and celebrated in the middle of the court.

Of course overseeing this bush league display was their incorrigible coach Billy Tubbs. A hatred developed and I picked up on it when I came in the fall of 1985. They were great games between the two talented teams. But every time they took the floor those years they came out with a combination of arrogance, hutzpah, and extreme confidence. The fact we came out triumphant 5 of 6 times those first two years I was around was a testament to the ability we had.

Of course in 87-88 OU had the upper hand. Two 8 point losses to them actually felt relatively satisfying because OU was so good. And arrogance oozed from every player on that team. So when we see them in KC on April 4th, I wasn't too hopeful. And then Billy lost his mind.

In one of the all time great coaching blunders in a NCAA game he forgot about his bench. Of course they loved to get out and run. They scored over 100 19 times! Over 150 twice! You're going to gas a bunch of guys Billy scoring like that and well, that April day, they were on their way to another 100 point game, but so were we! Danny forced the pace for us in the 1st half and Billy was shocked, Billy Packer that is, who said we can't keep up with them.

2nd half, we slowed it down, OU used their bench sparingly, 3 guys played all 40 minutes. All the while Larry Brown is bringing in football players and a smattering of odd parts and OU just wore out.

After the game I remember distinctly hearing Tubbs saying OU was the better team. I also remember hearing Stacy King saying when he got drafted by MJ's Bulls that he was glad because he'll be able to get lots of endorsements in a big city like Chicago. Arrogance even in defeat.

But in my mind OU has changed. I've always like Lon Kruger. He wins regularly wherever he winds up. He's soft spoken. His teams play well, players are exciting to watch and they regularly give us a tough match.

Today was a typical matchup. We were more talented, but they have some decent players. It was the kind of game you just wonder what might happen if Garrett doesn't have an out of the blue offensive performance. Lon seemed at a loss how to respond to the onslaught. Little he could do really. They really didn't have the talent to match up with us even though they have certifiable talent.

I think todays game shows the potential of our team. This just feels like one of those seasons where the sky is the limit. These are fun times in Jayhawk Nation.

Doolittle was overshadowed by Garrett in a lopsided loss but he had a great today as well. I’ve personally never had an issue with OU but the events you speak of happened before my time lol.

I'm thinking wasn't it Chew Kennedy one of those that had their little celebration ya I remember those days

@wissox said in Sooner or Later OU was sent packing:

After the game I remember distinctly hearing Tubbs saying OU was the better team.

I wouldn't hold that statement against Tubbs. That was the consensus opinion. Rivals in 2007-8 named that OU team one of the 10 best ever in the 64-team tourney era.

And from Manning, in a retrospective 25 years later:

"We knew the best team didn't always win. It was the team that played the best that won."

In my mind Tubbs was absolutely right, which is why most Jayhawk fans spent 48 hours puckered up, hoping against hope. (That was actually the only other time other than the F4 consolation game vs Walton that I have ever dreaded game time arriving!) But beating a better team is precisely what defines greatness.

Oklahoma fans used to fairly passionate back when Tubbs was coaching. They weren't smart fans though.

Remember this?

@mayjay said in Sooner or Later OU was sent packing:

@wissox said in Sooner or Later OU was sent packing:

After the game I remember distinctly hearing Tubbs saying OU was the better team.

I wouldn't hold that statement against Tubbs. That was the consensus opinion. Rivals in 2007-8 named that OU team one of the 10 best ever in the 64-team tourney era.

And from Manning, in a retrospective 25 years later:

"We knew the best team didn't always win. It was the team that played the best that won."

In my mind Tubbs was absolutely right, which is why most Jayhawk fans spent 48 hours puckered up, hoping against hope. (That was actually the only other time other than the F4 consolation game vs Walton that I have ever dreaded game time arriving!) But beating a better team is precisely what defines greatness.

lol dam , you remember consolation games? - - me too lol - - the runner up's lol - -OMG that was some time ago . - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

@DanR said in Sooner or Later OU was sent packing:

Oklahoma fans used to fairly passionate back when Tubbs was coaching. They weren't smart fans though.

Remember this?

Oh ya I was actually was watching that game, it was actually pretty funny in truth - couldn't believe he said that, WAIT yes I can it was Billy lol. Wonder what ever happened to ol Billy ?

@jayballer73 said in Sooner or Later OU was sent packing:

@DanR said in Sooner or Later OU was sent packing:

Oklahoma fans used to fairly passionate back when Tubbs was coaching. They weren't smart fans though.

Remember this?

Oh ya I was actually was watching that game, it was actually pretty funny in truth - couldn't believe he said that, WAIT yes I can it was Billy lol. Wonder what ever happened to ol Billy ?

I remember Eddie Hightower , thought he was pretty decent. -let's see who is this in the pic? - - is that Jim Bain ?

@DanR Classic! It's funny but I still dislike him!

@mayjay I agree OU was the better team, but instead of congratulating the team that just dashed your dreams, no matter how hard it'd be to do so, instead he took the low road and gave KU no credit. He's a jerk!

@wissox Oh man, and that OU team - of course money didn't exchange hands - was loaded too. Stacy King, Harvey Grant, Mookie Blaylock - are you kidding me?

@Marco Yeah they were, but you can't play guys without a rest without it impacting them! I still maintain Billy blew it to our great favor!

@wissox said in Sooner or Later OU was sent packing:

@Marco Yeah they were, but you can't play guys without a rest without it impacting them! I still maintain Billy blew it to our great favor!

I remember in that NCAA Championship I still can remember Billy Packer saying - - OH KU doesn't wan to get into a running match with Oklahoma , in the 1st half and it ended in a 50-50 tie at the half lol

@wissox He went to the KU locker room and congratulated them. Also said:

“They did a good job against our press, they got good shots and they were knocking them down,” Tubbs said. “They did an outstanding job. This is a bitter defeat for our team, because we thought we could win it all.” (KC Times)

I think you might be carrying a grudge for 32 years over an imagined, or at least exaggerated, slight!

As to your comments about King, he said this about Manning, which doesn't sound at all arrogant:

“I knew he wanted it bad, and he came out here and proved it tonight,” Oklahoma center Stacey King said.

Not many Tubbs supporters around these parts. Kinda a rare viewpoint outside of Oklahoma actually.

@mayjay Is your last name Tubbs? :)

@wissox Ha! No, I just remembered seeing complimentary things from that time and since. Actually hated Tubbs back then but probably because they were so good!

I've always been a Sooner football fan. Most of my family is. When I grew up, KU football still stunk as well as KSU (which was even worse than KU).

So I have always attended Sooner football games and know the mentality of Sooner fans. OU is still a football school. Basketball is a game that is a little bit too intimate with fans packing into a tight space. Sooners are used to big stadium fandom. Sooners need to show more success with basketball to build the following back. If that can happen, the fans will return and would be the same as back in the Tubbs days. Billy had a personality that was good for OU because he brought extra attention to their program.

You can hardly talk about Sooner basketball without talking about Sooner football. I remember the days of the Big 8 and the entire nation would be focused on OU vs NU games every year. The Orange Bowl usually determined the National Champion, too.

@drgnslayr That's a good description of my years living in Baton Rouge. Even a year with Ben Simmons playing, I'd walk up to the PMAC 10 minutes before game time and buy my ticket and go down to empty seats right near the court, even on the floor sometimes. It was packed when Buddy Hield came to town and I was there and actually had to pony up a little to get that upper row seat. It was fun, it's a really loud arena when the place is packed. But it's rare.

@Mayjay, you're right, I did focus on the very real slight, not imagined that I heard. Interestingly Stacy King is the Bulls TV guy so I hear him when I can stomach watching them. He's pretty good I've always thought.

@wissox said in Sooner or Later OU was sent packing:

@drgnslayr That's a good description of my years living in Baton Rouge. Even a year with Ben Simmons playing, I'd walk up to the PMAC 10 minutes before game time and buy my ticket and go down to empty seats right near the court, even on the floor sometimes. It was packed when Buddy Hield came to town and I was there and actually had to pony up a little to get that upper row seat. It was fun, it's a really loud arena when the place is packed. But it's rare.

@Mayjay, you're right, I did focus on the very real slight, not imagined that I heard. Interestingly Stacy King is the Bulls TV guy so I hear him when I can stomach watching them. He's pretty good I've always thought.

Simmons was a good player, but that was still a bad team that couldn't make the tournament, so not really surprising that LSU didn't sell well that year.

@jayballer73 said in Sooner or Later OU was sent packing:

I still can remember Billy Packer saying - - OH KU doesn’t wan to get into a running match with Oklahoma

Larry Brown said after the game that getting into a running game in the 1st half was NOT the game plan, so Billy P was actually right on. We had 14 turnovers at half. The only thing that kept KU in it was our ridiculously good shooting (something like 20 of 24 first half, .633 for the game). He made KU slow it down after halftime. Still had 24 TOs for the game. Absolutely mind-bogglingly great clutch performance by the Miracles!!!

Box score:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/1988-04-04-kansas.html ↗

@mayjay I've heard it said that Danny told the guys when they went out on the floor they were going to run with them.

@Texas-Hawk-10 They haven't drawn well the last two years either with tournament teams.

@wissox I heard that too!

@wissox It sure shocked the heck out of everybody, and made that championship a lot of fun. Like the 08 comeback--much more fun to remember than one played out like any old game.

The comeback(s) made the Chiefs' playoffs and SB win more special, too, and far more memorable than most!

Billy Tubbs had his team cut down the nets at Allen Fieldhouse when they clinched the Big 8 championship in 1984. They were up by 12 and called a time out near the end of the game, just to rub it in.

“They’re a great team,” first-year KU coach Larry Brown said. “I wish they acted like a great team. I’ve never seen a team cut down the nets on a visiting court.”

Talk about a dick move.

@tundrahok that’s pretty chicken sh**, I wonder if Squeak man Bruce’s maiden name is Tubbs and he took his wife’s name. That sounds right up his alley.

The disdain for OU and Tubbs was right there with Mizzou for several years. The 88 championship was such sweet justice after the rivalry became bitter. It seemed to deflate OU and put KU on a trajectory that we continue to enjoy today.

Wayman Tisdale was the one that got it started for me.. then Stacy King, Mookie Blaylock.. the Grant brothers.. they were just stacked and had such attitude.

Over the years, I have grown to respect some of those players a bit (Tisdale RIP). But less so for Tubbs, and that video illustrates why. It's vintage Tubbs. He and Norm Stewart earned their place in basketball purgatory, as far as I'm concerned.