Self (at Kansas) is 12-2 all-time against current ACC teams. I like our odds for a weekend sweep. And I hope the media keeps proclaiming the ACC the 'best of the best', so when we beat them they can't whine 'over-rated'.
CRH107
239 posts
I will grant (to quote Winston Churchill) that this team is "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma" -- but underestimate this group of bandits at your own peril -- we have learned their mojo is coming up with different (and often head scratching) ways to win the seemingly un-winnable -- the talking heads are just late to the party!
...and FSU players rush the court!! :-)
Auburn...if they play like they are tonight ;-)
Agree...That is one 'tight-lipped' crowd in Lawrence (reporters and staff/players)...the Preston debacle comes immediately to mind, too...nary a sliver of newsworthy commentary on that saga either causing my imagination to fill in the blanks (which is never good!).
I'd rather be lucky than good. ~Lefty Gomez
UMBC -- U Must Be Cinderella!!!! ~Grant Hill
What kind of inbound play was that Shaka?!!
@KUSTEVE Agree! And I would add:
--Recall many more player 'shoutouts' to Billy Cowgill (KU Sports Medicine) this year than years' past (senior night speeches and after game interviews). Also, saw a photo with an apparatus attached to our players' legs to help recovery...not certain if it is medically sound or a placebo effect but regardless it appears to be working.
--Devonte will only be pushed if we have to play overtime(s). Otherwise, the 'forty minute man' will be good to go thanks to a season of consistent hardening.
--Coach Self appears to have modified his strategy of sending the team out flat for the first of two (or more) tournament games (e.g., March Madness 2017 and Big 12 Tournament 2018) adopting more of a 'go big or go home' approach each game.
And then there is this:
"After hitting the biggest Final Four jumper since Keith Smart's in 1987, Mario Chalmers summoned his mother, Almarie, down from the Alamodome stands to courtside. The unflappable Kansas Jayhawk wrapped both arms around her, laid his head on her shoulder and bawled like a baby.
She pumped her left arm. He wouldn't let go.
"We did it, Mom," Chalmers said between sobs.
"A dream come true," Almarie said later, her own eyes glistening. "A prayer answered. We've been waiting on this moment since he was 2."
This moment -- this Shining Moment -- was almost preordained four years earlier, when Mario went to the Final Four in this same building with his dad, current Kansas director of basketball operations Ronnie Chalmers. They watched Connecticut beat Georgia Tech for the title, and Ronnie remembers one spectacular play from that game when he jumped to his feet but Mario remained in his chair.
"What's wrong?" Ronnie asked his son.
"I'm thinking," Mario said.
"What are you thinking about?"
"One day," Mario said, "I'm going to be out there winning the national championship."
Mario's quote didn't include "...if we get an easy draw" after the word "championship".
Extra fun beating fellow blue bloods, though!
Shaka's '15 minutes of fame' is one signature win against our HOF coach...and Shaka should be sending a 'thank you' note to Self every year Shaka remains in a power conference.
@jaybate-1-0 said:
"His (Self's) first meetings with coaches can often be lackluster, because he seems not quite so good at “getting” how to stop an opponent just based on remote viewing."
Could this one statement be our biggest obstacle to deep runs in March? I have no doubt that in a best of three format, Self would be darn near invincible.
@jaybate-1-0 hmmmm....I would have mistaken you for a Betty (Rubble) type. :-)
Looks pretty happy and engaged here (seeing teeth and thinking that's even his arm wrapped around Dok):
http://ljworld.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge_remote.asp?source=jsapi&remoteimageid=22201596 ↗
Turning this detective work over to those with far better eyesight...Is Lagerald also 'MIA' during the team locker room celebration?
https://www.facebook.com/KansasBasketball/videos/10156175879234532/ ↗
What I have surmised is that Vick is an exceedingly introverted player on a team with perhaps the most extroverted leader in modern KU history. Throw in Vick's early season success and the expectations of others and the pressure may be just too much to bear. Contrast this scenario with Garrett who performed mostly under the radar this season, whose early play likely lowered fan expectations and now his incremental improvement each game is rightfully applauded.
Two polar opposite trajectories. In the after game interview last night, the only irritation I sensed in Self's voice was over the issue of social media. Self appeared to go to lengths to downplay it. While some players are wired to take the (nameless, faceless) negatives and turn them into a productive chip (e.g., Devonte), others fold under the weight of them.
I do not believe it is a lack of caring on Vick's part. I believe he is likely more disappointed in himself than anyone else can imagine and the images we are seeing are more about that than disinterest. If I could wave the proverbial magic wand, it would be to eliminate all external and internal distractions (Vick has created for himself and others have created for him) and re-find the quirky, socially awkward but endearing, phenomenal talent that he is. We certainly need Vick in March but honestly we need him far beyond that.
Regardless of Vick's stat line, he seems to be on the end of many bad plays...or maybe I am just hypersensitive to his miscues because the highlights have all but disappeared. Hope he can find his confidence again.
Texas sidelined Eric Davis Jr.
“To me, Mitch is cool because he lets everybody know how excited he is to be out there,” Self said. “He can screw up, but he screws up going 100 mph. I know his teammates and the staff appreciate it, but I also think fans appreciate it, too.”
@Crimsonorblue22 I think your first impression is the correct one.
Vick with :08 remaining.
"...a record that doesn’t feel within the grasp of any other high-major program in the near future." ~Chris Johnson SI
No kidding?!? It would take a minimum of 14 years. :-)
We also had a sitting President in 2015 who was an unabashed fan of college hoops. What wrinkle might that add to a theory of political motivation?
@mayjay ...and without nary a whisper of doping.
Consider the source.
Always!
Bill, in the after game interview, also said that he thinks Devonte "helped his stock"...as an NBA prospect.
Locker Room Celebration!!
https://www.facebook.com/KansasBasketball/videos/10156175879234532/ ↗
Caption:
"No, come on, I'm buying!"
Central Intelligence (2016)
Total class act coach and players in TT interview room.
Looks like they got hats along with t-shirts for #14!!!
Marcus went in for that dunk like LeBron! Think it even shocked the TT players.
and uh oh...they've shot 10 FTs to our 2! ;-)
...and accomplished it after normal business hours and over a weekend...only thing that would make it more impressive is some kind of holiday I missed yesterday!
Absolutely and agree with you! Just tired of 'rolling over' every time someone points a finger or brings up an allegation. How can the NCAA possible clear someone in 24 hours when it took an eternity with Preston??
Not happy it is Arizona but in some perverse way, I am delighted that Arizona and other programs are giving Yahoo, et. al. a big 'screw you'.
I think we will see the NCAA and Division I teams working together like never before...suddenly they have an intruder/enemy in common.
@HighEliteMajor Agree.
Gotta believe this "loan" operation is mostly a cash business...in the absence of a verifiable paper trail it really does come down to one person's word over another. My money is on JJ's mom.
Lonzo Ball on today’s Yahoo! report: “Everybody knows everybody’s getting paid. That’s how it is. If everybody’s getting paid anyway might as well make it legal.”
1:41 PM - Feb 23, 2018
How pervasive is this really?!? We tend to gravitate to the "one lone gunman" theory in our country so we can get closure and move on quickly. Is Miller a loner or just the 'scapegoat'? Hard to believe his contract would pay out a 'for cause' termination if others were not complicit. Hard to believe he would discuss matters over phone wires unless he felt secure in his dealings -- phones are typically for ordinary/routine business negotiations. I would have preferred that he was caught conducting a clandestine meeting under a bridge in the dark of night.
Does anyone know who our announcers are tomorrow? Going to be ugly all basketball day long having to listen to the 'talking heads' about this debacle.
Kinda like Preston's car, if it was legitimate then there should be easily traceable documentation -- same with these 'loans'. Apples Jones' denials seem credible enough to me. I am going to withhold judgment until there is more evidence than just names and dollar amounts on a spreadsheet.
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/4/10/5594348/college-football-bag-man-interview ↗
Article Title: Meet the Bag Man -- How to Buy College Football Players, in the Words of a Man Who Delivers the Money (April 10, 2014)
I lived in the heartland of SEC football and saw evidence of suspected payoffs first-hand. You are correct, this practice has been going on for a long time.
Yours is an excellent question -- "why now?" My question to you is "why basketball?"
Just teasing with you...because you posted apples and @KUSTEVE posted oranges. I know, I should take this far more seriously.
And according to Izzo, “While we will cooperate with any and all investigations,” Izzo said, “we have no reason to believe that I, any member of our staff or student-athlete did anything in violation of NCAA rules.”
And meanwhile, Self's response, “I haven't had a chance to study it yet,” Self said of the story. “At this point in time I reserve comment."
Apples (Jones)
On an entirely unrelated KU matter, why in heavens name would it be necessary for an Olympian "curler" to dope? Strange times. Hudy has produced some amazing specimens over the years and I guess I am just relieved that KU has avoided enhancement speculation.
@Crimsonorblue22 "Performance-enhancing substance" according to this article. Strange sequence of events.
Perhaps the perceived insignificance of the streak by other current players/teams lies in the fact that they will never, ever in their college basketball lifetimes, achieve such a record for their team/school. March Madness, on the other hand, is by design hope filled...how many years has a Cinderella team risen and been cheered along (before finally being thwarted by a blue blood or major)? League championships are blue collar -- the result of hard work and consistency which endears a faithful fan base. By contrast, March Madness captivates and bedazzles, drawing in throngs of 'bracket filling-out' neophytes in office pools. Yet there is little argument that the pursuit of a NC is the apex of achievement in college basketball. Interestingly, it is also the one regret NBA stars (who avoided college hoops) often voice.
"The results of that (drug) test, confirmed today, revealed the reappearance of a trace amount of a banned substance. The amount detected was miniscule by scientific standards and appears to be a remnant of a substance, which the NCAA agreed, Allonzo had unknowingly ingested in 2016."
Seriously?!?! 2016?!?!
We have shared the title 4 times in the last 13 years and like my children/grandchildren, I love them all the same!