I want the pool table Jayhawk felt for my own table...
JayHawkFanToo
13427 posts
They have been doing that for a while now and they have a dietician that works with Andrea and many players have diets customized to their specific needs.
Nicely done. My comment about the C vs PF issue was to point out that in the old days teams tended to have a lineup composed of a traditional C, PF, SF, SG and PG. Now a days, many if not most NBA team do not use what we would call a traditional Center and use two PFs instead. This is true for other positions as well where the line between SG and PG or SG and SF are almost gone. Many team list players simply as G or F and do not differentiate between the positions.
I will answer each one of your point one at the time:
1- We WEREN'T the best conference by any rational metric last year. ( Please, don't get me started on what a fraud the RPI system really is.)
What exactly do you think the RPI is? By definition, the RPI is an objective (that means without bias) and rational way to measure performance and compare teams. There are several way to do this and the better known are Pomeroy, Sagarin and Massey and they all had the Big 12 at the top.
Please note that this methods look at more than just wins and loses; they look at the team strength of schedule, offense and defense, margin of victory and even home court advantage, not only for a team but also for the opponents and the opponents' opponents and so on. This is not something that can be calculated by hand or in your head but something that only a computer can do as it involves literally millions of interconnected events that have to be updated after each game. The polls, on the other hand, are 100% subjective estimates that more often than not are based on the computer rankings.
2- The MWC WASN'T the "best conference" two years ago, when they were anointed with the same "best conference" title, and all 7 teams except 1 lost their first game in the tournament.
I would like to know where you got this information since I don't recall the MWC ever being in the talk for top confernce.
3- The fact we had 70% of the league make the tournament is nice to know, but the goal is to WIN in the tournament, and the league was pummeled in the tournament.
This makes absolutely no sense. Since there are automatic qualifier from smaller conferences that would not be even in the top 100, the majority of the field is select from the top 50 teams. The fact that the conference sent 7 teams means that all seven teams were ranked in the top 50, a claim that no other conference in the land can make; even our automatic qualifier, i.e. the winner of the Conference Tournament, ISU, was a number 3 seed, so you can not even say (unlike other conferences) that our automatic qualifier would not have made it to the tournament otherwise.
If the best indicator of conference strength is winning the National Title, and if Wichita State (they could have) makes a magic run in the last or previous tournament (they made to the final four), would you have said that the Missouri Valley is the top conference in the country, even when they sent only one team to the dance and the second best team in the conference was nor even ranked in the top 100? Do you really thing that UConn was the best team last season? Before the start of the tournament, UConn was not ranked in the top 20, neither on the AP nor on the Coaches poll. The NCAA title by no means indicated which was the best team in any particular year (and by extension conference), it simply indicates which team got talent AND luck to win 6 games. Do you really think that KU was the best team in 1988? I certainly don't think so and I am a die hard KU fan; however, there were several other years when KU was THE best team in college ball and yet it did not win the tournament.
4- If you tried to run a take that the Big 12 is the best conference in basketball by anybody outside of Big 12 land, you would be laughed at - the same way I was laughed at last year, when our "best conference" was exposed in the tournament. You want to claim you're the best? Fine, then win some games when it counts.
Again, you are tying strength of conference to winning in the NCAA. The year before last (and almost last year as well) UK won the title but there is no one with half a brain that would claim the SEC was the strongest conference, now way, no how, no ma'am. I periodically talk basketball with die hard and knowledgeable basketball fans mostly on the East Cost (ACC and BE fans) and they are always impressed with the Big 12 overall strength.
5- NONE of this discussion has anything to do with our amazing streak of conference titles, even though that argument has been tried to show that not proclaiming the BIG 12 as the best is somehow "dissing" our wonderful streak.
The streak and the conference strength while not mutually exclusive, they are not completely unrelated either. The fact that the Conference has been picked as the top, only helps make KU run more impressive.
I refuse, after last year's debacle, to get sucked into the "best conference" meme. I understand the compulsion to find a metric that makes us "feel" like we're the best. The best metric is found on the court in March. Beyond that, I think we're whistling in the dark.
Nobody is trying to find a metric that places the conference at the top. It is what it is. I would agree with you if one lonely analyst (and KU/Conference fan) manipulates the numbers to favor the team/conference. However, when all the unbiased metrics come up with the same or similar result, it hard to say that were are "trying to find" a metric to fit our desired outcome, wouldn't you agree?
Same here, not a baseball fan but this team is captivating...
Dude is fast...
Hosmie has been on fire!!!
How did it work out for Duke and UNC in the last tournament? Duke lost to Mercer in the first round. UNC barely beat #11 seed Providence by 2 points in the first round and lost to Iowas State in the second round...and how has UNC done against KU in the tournament lately? Also keep in mind that UNC was in the NIT as recently as 2010 where it was beaten by Dayton...when is the last time KU was not in the NCAA?...it currently has the longest streak of making it to the tournament with 25, Duke is a distant second with 19.
Again, this is not an assessment of Conference strength over the last 15, 10, 5, or even 3 years. The Big 12 was ranked at the top last year and it is projected as the top conference for the upcoming season. These are snap shots in time and not long running historical movies.
What a nice run for team of underdogs. Reminds me of the '88 basketball team that no one gave a chance and ended up winning it all.
None of the players on the official roster are listed as centers, even Mickelson is listed as Forward. However, much like in the NBA, in college the line between Centers and Power Forwards is blurry and more and more is interchangeable. Players that you would think are centers such as Ibaka, Duncan Griffin are all in reality power forwards. As Coach Self indicated, Mickelson is a power forward but will be playing more of a center, although it is really a "distinction without a difference."
Again, the analysis is about the conferences as a whole and not a few (good or even outstanding) teams in isolation. Yes, the ACC has more teams and the bottom teams dilute the conference as a whole...that was the jest of the ranking. The Big 12 might not have superior teams, although I would argue that KU falls in that category the majority of the time, but the majority of the teams are solid with normally 2-3 in the average or below category, and thus the overall strength of the conference.
This article is not the only one that has this conclusion; essentially all the computerized,objective rankings that look at the numbers without the subjective bias, unanimously had the BIG 12 as the top conference at the end of the regular season last season. The ACC as a basketball conference has been overrated for while now; it used to be the top basketball conference at one time but that is no longer true, particularly since lately they are making a push on football. They do have a few good teams but they have greater number of poor teams that bring the overall conference strength down.
I agree. Mason and Graham are play makers and thus more natural PGs, where Frankamp is a good passer and great shooter and thus a more natural SG. However, the issue is that more and more SGs in college are now much taller and Conner would have a hard time guarding an agile SG that has 4 inches or more on him or shooting over that player, unless he can learn to create his own shot or KU uses screens to get him open. The SG and SF positions on this team seem to be (at this time) interchangeable, with Selden, Oubre, Green, Svi and even Ellis playing them, all taller and more athletic and decent shooteers, which would naturally leave Conner the odd man out. Thoughts?
Is not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog that makes the difference...or words to that effect?
I mostly agree with what you wrote. As you know, I have been saying all along that Mickelson might open at center, even when his natural position is PF (as per HCBS), but being the tallest player he gets the position by default. It is difficult to draw any conclusions form a press conference before practice starts since most of the coach-talk is speculation and you have to read deep between the lines to get even bits of factual information.
This what Coach Self said about Mickelson:
"The reality is, Hunter, with his skill set, will probably have to do some more things in order to see playing time just because of what our needs are based on our other personnel."
And this is what he said about Lucas:
"Landen may have had the best spring and summer of anybody. He's had a good fall, too. He's going to play. He's fighting for major minutes. He and Cliff are probably right now based on what I've seen going to head-to-head for a lot of major minutes."
After watching Coach Self presser, it sounds like Lucas might be further along and might get more minutes.. I still think tat Mickelson is the more logical candidate but I am not privy as to what has transpired over the Summer and how far along in their development the players are; however, based on the comment above, a reasobale person would have to give the edge to Lucas.
As far as Ellis playing the 3, I can see why that could happen. While Perry fits best as a 4 in the KU team, any chance he has of playing in the NBA will likely be as 3 and not as 4. I can see where Coach Self might allow him to play the 3 or maybe a stretch 4 where he can show his longer distance shooting skills. Interesting comment by Alexander when asked about Ellis, he indicated that he tries to guard him on the perimeter but Perry is much faster than he is; I am not sure if this indicates that Perry has increased his speed over the Summer, Alexander is slow or more likely a combination of both. If Perry has indeed improved his speed and outside shooting, I can see him playing a hybrid 3-4 combination.
Make sure you read the criteria used for evaluation. Yes. some conferences such as the SEC have a couple of teams (Florida and UK) that will usually be top 5-10, but the rest of the conference is not very good. Same thing with the ACC, it was good when it was smaller and a majority of the teams were good; now, it is a big conference with a a few good team and several poor teams.
if you look at the Big 12, 7 out of 10 teams made it to the dance and West Virginia was borderline. Yes, perhaps we do not have top teams but the majority of teams (70%) were good enough to make it to the dance, no other conference comes close.
For example, look a the SEC- Big 12 challenge. the big 12 won 7-3 and that included a rare loss by KU. How about the Big 12 - PAC 12 hardwood series? The Big 12 won the last 2 years 9-3 and 8-4.
Again, the article did not rank which conference did well in the tournament but which conference was strongest top to bottom. BTW, just about every ranking site including KenPom and Sagarin had the Big 12 as the top conference at the end of the regular season last year.
Being the top conference does not necessarily translate to success in the tournament. The tournament is all about match-ups and healthy dose of luck.
When God created man he told him...I have good news and bad news...
The good news is that I gave you two heads...
...and the bad news is that you can use only one at a time...
All I can think is that they might be trying to send a message to the other prospects...not a good one though...
@drgnslayr
Since I wanted to see them all I clicked in the order presented. If I wanted to watch just a couple it would have probably been Ellis and Frankamp.
...and that was your first mistake...
I believe they might be overextended in their recruiting. This is what the KU situation looks like:
It shows as having 1 scholarship available, provide no one leaves, which is about right. The chart for Arizona looks like:
Arizona scholarship chart... ↗
At this point they are over-committed by 2 players, if I read the chart correctly. Even after all 3 senior leave that would leave 1 scholarship available and they have 9 pending offers...again if I read the chart correctly.
For the second year in row, the Big 12 is expected to be the top basketball conference. Last year it sent and unprecedented 7 out of 10 (70%) of its teams to the dance and this year there will be at least 5 and as many as 7 dancing....
Look like Bragg is down to 4 school and KU is one of them...
No worries. You are protected by the cloak of internet invisibility.
While I did not necessarily get a negative vibe on Hunter, the fact that the seems so exited about Lucas makes me think he will get more minutes than Hunter. Again, nothing specific, just a gut feeling and I could be wrong.
Everybody loves the underdog and this bunch is the text book definition of underdogs!!!
I like them. They are classic and traditional...just like us old fans like them.
He could well have gotten the last one and deservedly so. I am not sure who go the last one or if any one got it in the first place. I believe Garret's family (in California) does well, so I am not sure is money is a big concern (I could be wrong); I understand he is a very good student as well so he might have an academic scholarship.
Best lines of the video..
"You guys are so damn smart...you think you are because I don't know anything about anything other than what I try to do which is coach ball, but you are so damn smart that you not only know everything about what you do but everything about what I should be doing and I don't think it's really fair, I don't evaluate your trade every time you open the door for business..."
Or words to that effect. Priceless.
Amen to that...
We will also have Manning, Self and Pollard on the team and I will guess that Pollard got the last Scholarship since I doubt Self or Manning would need one. I am sure that if he got the last scholarship it was with the understanding that it would be only for one year. much like Wesley.
Manning, Self and Ellis are juniors and could possibly graduate in 3 years and transfer but neither Manning nor Self hold scholarships so it would not be a factor; I don't see either transferring for one year to another school just to get some playing time. Ellis either goes to the NBA or stays one extra year at KU; no way he transfers..
Traylor and Mickelson will be in their fourth year in college, so they might be able to graduate, but since they both have one year left of eligibility after this season, my guess is they stay...graduate school maybe???
I half of the players develop to the potential we think they have we should have an awesome team.
How you play in college and how you will do in the NBA are not always matched. There are many players that are true studs in college but their NBA potential is limited; Morrison and Simien come to mind.
Oubre is a true SG in the NBA where Alexander falls in the category of a "tweener;" not tall enough to be a PF and not enough of a good outside threat to be a SF. He does have heft but then, most PF in the NBA have it and height to boot. Yes, Barkley name will come up, but he is not the rule, he is the exception, and we have not yet seen Alexander play enough...or at all, to see if he can be the next "round mound of rebound." I will guess that this is why Oubre is ranked higher.
Wine is like women, it gets better with age...up to a point.
I seem to remember, and I could be wrong, than other than the die hard Jayhawk fans/players that always wanted to play for KU (Frankamp, Peters), KU normally signs players after late night, and this year there are several high ranked players attending the event. I would not be surprised to see KU sign a couple of players on the Initial signing date of November 12th.
Technically, Christian Garret is the only senior on the team and unless underclassmen decide to leave, KU really does not have any scholarships to give.
Best (or is it worst?) case scenario: No one leaves and team is intact and experienced and no new players come in, barring transfers.
Worst (or it it best? case scenario: Oubre, Alexander, Selden and Ellis leave which means there are 4 scholarships available.
NBA Draft has: 2 - Oubre, 7 - Alexander, 9 - Selden
Draft Express has: 4- Oubre, 5 - Alexander, 24 - Selden, 55- Ellis.
Chad Ford/ESPN has: 5 - Oubre, 7 - Alexander, 20 Selden, below 20 - Ellis.
NBA Draft Room has: 4- Oubre, 7 - Alexander, 13- Selden, 34 - Ellis.
SB Nation has: 7- Selden, 8 - Oubre, 13 - Alexander, 34 - Ellis.
Jeff Goodman has: 5 - Oubre, 7 - Alexander, 23- Selden
This are very early projection and could be way off. Of course, play during the season as well as team needs can drastically alter who is selected and in which position. So far, it looks like Oubre and Alexander are lottery picks and Selden is borderline. Ellis would likely be a late first to second round pick, but again, how much progress he made over the Summer and how well he performs in the season can move him up to mid first round.
Losing Embiid is the equivalent of losing Withey or Aldrich in previous years, they were all superior rim protectors that no amount of planning can compensate for the loss. After losing Embiid, KU went 3-3 the rest of the season and two of the wins were against Texas Tech. and Eastern Kentucky and the third was an OT win against OSU at home, thanks to a 30 point effort by Wiggins. The team just was not the same.
This ia class heavy on PFs and bigs in general (I am counting SFs as bigs). Not a single true PG in the bunch. Is this a sign of the times when players are more interested in scoring than quarterbacking the team and would be PGs now want to be known as SGs? BTW, the NBA has switched to the model where PGs are expected to score and not just distribute the ball.
As I understand the 2-stamp set is NBA-USPS project but I wish they would add a stamp with Wilt in KU uniform. Maybe we can use this platform to start a petition to add a third stamp to highlight his KU years.
Apparently HC Self did turned down the Cavaliers job...
Coach Self turned down Cavaliers job... ↗
Also, the basketball facilities got a face lift, even when they were pretty nice and new in the first place...
Cows, steaks and burgers! Oh, my! - Dorothy.
I don't disagree that some very good players come from JuCo but you keep naming players that are the exception rather than the rule. Aaron Rodgers was not recruited by any any majors school and had to go the JuCo route. Saying that JuCos are a source of top talent is the equivalent of saying that KU is the way to make it to the NFL...yes, KU has sent players to the NFL, some were even outstanding (although not lately), but if you have the potential and talent to play in the NFL, KU is just not the way to get there.
Here is a blurb about Rogers start:
Despite his record-setting statistics, Rodgers attracted little interest from Division I programs. In a 2011 interview with E:60, he attributed the relative lack of attention in the recruiting process to his unimposing physical stature as a high school player at 5'10 and 165 lb. Rodgers had wanted to attend Florida State University and play under Bobby Bowden, but was rejected.[22] He garnered only an offer to compete for a scholarship as a walk-on from Illinois. He declined the invitation, and considered quitting football to study for law school.
He was then recruited to play football at Butte Community College in Oroville, a junior college about 15 miles (25 km) southeast of Chico. Rodgers threw 26 touchdowns in his freshman season,[24] leading Butte to a 10–1 record, the NorCal Conference championship, and a No. 2 national ranking. While there, he was discovered by the California Golden Bears' head coach Jeff Tedford, who was recruiting Butte tight end Garrett Cross. Tedford was surprised to learn that Rodgers had not been recruited earlier. Because of Rodgers' good high school scholastic record, he was eligible to transfer after one year of junior college instead of the typical two
He was the proverbial late bloomer that overcame his physical limitations and the stereotype of what a QB should look like. Again, there are similar players that make it to D I and the NFL but they are not the norm. The JuCos in Kansas are famous for having good football since they seem to be a favorite destination for major programs needing a place to "park" players with issues until they get resolved, even KU did that a couple of times in the last few years,
I believe I mentioned in a previous posts that Kansas has the largest number of players in the Juco Top 100 ranking; so yes, I do follow the Jucos not a lot but some and mostly related to players biding their time, but I still believe that the JuCo road to Division I and potentially the NFL is definitely "the road less traveled." KU took over 20 JuCo transfers last season including top ranked and 4-star rated juco transfers Marquel Combs and Chris Martin and how did that worked out for KU? Not too well, wouldn't you agree?
A fine is a tax for doing wrong, a tax is a fine for doing right. - Read by JayHawkFanToo somewhere...
Very nice, A great read to get your day started on a good note.
Doesn't she know that Both the Chiefs and the Royals wanted to wear Crimson and Blue uniforms and ended up splitting in half, the Chief wear Crimson and the Royals wear Blue...and purple (and black and gold) is worn by the concession attendants where most KSU and MU grads work anyway. :)
This is what the forum is all about and as long as we do it respectfully, we can always agree to disagree.
I have to say that I don't really care much about baseball and don't really watch many games, partly because the Royals have not done much of anything in a long time
However, I watched the entire game and I have to admit it was pretty intense. The crowd was heavily involved...I guess you would be if you wait 29 years to cheer for your team in post-season. Last night the crowd at Arrowhead was also unbelievable and broke the Guinness World record for loudness one more time. I f you ever attend a Sporting KC soccer game, the crowd is probably the best in the country, and the favorite place to play for the National Team and the stadium is always sold out. All in all, the KC area has some of the best fans in the country, and since KU has the largest alumni base of any school in the KC metro area, it is a safe bet that most of those fans are also KU fans...which explains a lot. :) :) :)
I did not say that "all" JuCo kids were there because of off the field issues, but "a lot" of them are. No question that some will become very good Division I players, but those are not the norm, they re the minority.
As far as Can Newton, you actually made my point. Here is a snippet about him:
Newton initially attended the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Florida Gators football team in 2007 and 2008. As a freshman in 2007, Newton beat out fellow freshman quarterback John Brantley as the back-up for eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. He played in five games, passing for 40 yards on 5-of-10 and rushing 16 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns.[9] In 2008, during his sophomore season, Newton played in the season opener against Hawaii but suffered an ankle injury and took a medical redshirt season.[10]
On November 21, 2008, Newton was arrested for the theft of a laptop computer from another University of Florida student. He was subsequently suspended from the team after the laptop was found to be in his possession.[11] Campus police "tracked the stolen laptop to the athlete...Newton tossed the computer out his dorm window in a humorously ill-advised attempt to hide it from cops."[12] All charges against Newton were dropped after he completed a court-approved pre-trial diversion program. "I believe that a person should not be thought of as a bad person because of some senseless mistake that they made," said Newton in 2010. "I think every person should have a second chance. If they blow that second chance, so be it for them."[13] Newton announced his intention to transfer from Florida three days before the Gators' national championship win over Oklahoma. In January 2009, Newton transferred to Blinn College in Brenham, Texas to play for head coach Brad Franchione, son of Dennis Franchione.
So, in fact, Cam Newton did not start at JuCo but transferred to one because off-the field issues, and once things cooled he transferred to Auburn and he spend a good portion of the season mired in an eligibility controversy and at one time was suspended and then reinstated by the school. Like I said, a lot of the JuCo payers come with a lot of baggage.
... and Roy Wilkiams didn't even have HS HC experience.
Hey, wait just one minute...Williams' first coaching job was in 1973 as a high school basketball and golf coach at Charles D. Owen High School in Black Mountain, N.C. He coached basketball and boys' golf for five years, ninth-grade football for four years, and served as athletic director for two years. Roy Williams also coached the JV at UNC for 8 years when he was serving as an assistant for Dean Smith.
No college HC basketball experience other than the JV though.