Palo is not a difference maker. I wonder if KU fans will have some witty posters ready just in case he plays :)
JayHawkFanToo
13427 posts
Good post that illustrates that pre-concived notions are just that and reality sometimes tells a different story.
Also, using seeding can be misleading because it is not the same thing as ranking as you noted. KU is not ranked in the top 4 in any current poll but is a #1 seed in the majority of current bracket predictions. Also, during selection, seeds are arbitrarily changed to fit geography or to prevent early inter-conference match ups.
According to the NCAA, KU is ranked #1 by RPI which is supposed to be the ultimate decider:
If selection Sunday was today, would KU be ranked #1 overall? Probably not.
@jaybate 1.0
I believe the basic difference is that i base my comment on actual numbers, while yours are more wishful thinking, perfect storm, all planets perfectly align type of numbers.
You wrote:
" am not assuming anything about Wiggins relationship with Adidas. I am simply using them as an example, so you were imputing that. Wigs was reputedly once a Nike lean, who then chose to play D1 for a coach and school contracted with Nike. "
Come on Jaybate, as we all know, KU is associated with Adidas not Nike....wasn't this the whole jest of your write up? And can you provide any factual evidence that players sign with a school based on brand association?
If you read my post, the sale figures I provided were for North America, I even wrote that they included Canada and Mexico, with Mexico quickly becoming a large market with a population over 3 times large than Canada. As far as Wiggins being Canadian and member of the Common Wealth of Great Britain, let me tell you that of all the European countries, Great Britain cares the least about basketball; Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey are all bigger basketball powers and by extension markets. Soccer is king in the Common Wealth even track and field is more popular in England than Basketball. Steve Nash is a Canadian superstar and he has zero marketing value in the Common Wealth. The only member of the Common Wealth that has a healthy basketball following (other than Canada) is Australia and basketball runs way behind soccer and rugby. Even in Canada, the birthplace of Naismith (and Wiggins), basketball runs a distant second to ice hockey.
You also wrote:
" Perhaps it would help you and others to think and write about this issue with a hypothetical potential great player named "John Doe." Either way, the numbers involved are apparently vast and apparently about to expand by orders of magnitude."
Orders of magnitude? Are you joking? ONE order of magnitude means that Adidas Sales go from $22B to $220B.
Not even Pope Francis (most popular person in the world) can create that increase; you can bring Jordan, and LeBron and Tiger Wood and Shaq and even throw in George Foreman to Adidas (assuming they could afford it) and their sales will not increase from $22B to $220B, just cannot happen, There is one athlete that was able to capture the attention of the entire world and that was Mohamed Ali, a boxer and one in generation personality...and he was not much of a marketer/endorser either; although in all fairness, he lived in a different era.
I don't mean to sound harsh but we are comparing reality with dreamland. Apparently planet Jaybate and planet JayHawkFanToo are light years apart. We will just have to agree to disagree
Nicely done. I think Ellis will do fine; his shots were not falling in the last game so he concentrated on rebounding and did that very well.
As you said, getting the hot players in foul trouble is one way to go about it. Just have Tharpe and Mason and Selden and Green drive constantly against Kane, Ejim and Niang and 8 out of 10 times they will get a foul. If Kane is in foul trouble early, ISU will fold like cheap suit.Kane is the key player for ISU followed by Ejim and Niang which can be trouble, since they are tall players that can extend the defense and hit the three. If KU can control these 3 players, it should win easily by double figures.
Wesley is also part of the 2013 and 2014 front courts...
I agree and the gap is even bigger. Let's remember that the top 64 (or is it 68?) teams do not make it to the tournament. Many of the automatic qualifiers are ranked well below the top 64. In some cases the top ranked teams will be playing the 60+ "seeded" teams but in reality, they are playing teams that were "ranked" in the 100+ and not in the top 60s.
I wish the "real" top 64 teams were selected, but it would mean that teams from smaller conference would not have chance to make it to the dance.
I don't know...or care about the men's Dutch team, but the women's team is the greatest assembly of hot women in one sports team...
I watched a good portion of the game and looks like Kentucky's defense is not ready for prime time. They were often caught all bunched up on the middle with no one guarding the wings. All in all, Kentucky looks more like a team playing the first week of the season and relying heavily on individual performances rather than playing as a team. Young seems to be the only Kentucky player that had a decent game. Cauley-Stein is softer than a marshmallow.
I don't, I take health related issues very seriously. I talked to my current orthopedic surgeon (did my shoulder not too long ago and will likely do my knee on the near future), and she indicated that if the injury was serious, Embiid would have left the court on crutches and would have had a hard time walking. The fact that he came back to the game and was at practice on Monday would appear to indicate a slight strain.
It would not surprise me if Coach Self sits Embiid for a couple of games to make sure his knee is 100%. More likely, he will be wearing a brace with the metal joint that prevents bending the knee past a certain point. I guess we will find out in few hours.
@jaybate 1.0
Adidas total sales for 2013 were under $22B worldwide. Of that total the lion's share was soccer related gear and again, the majority of those sales were outside the US. The North American Market (includes Canada and Mexico) accounts for about 18% of sales.
When you look at the market, you have to take into consideration that nowadays, half of the potential market is in China, where basketball is now very popular, but 95% percent of that market (or Asia or Latin America) will not sniff Adidas or any other brand name gear and will buy the pirated local brand instead. Latin America accounts for about 8% of Adidas sales and is still larger than China which brings about 6%, Europe brings the bulk of the revenue.
You also have to keep in mind that when it comes to sports worldwide, soccer is king. An endorsement contract with a soccer superstar will be considerably more lucrative for Adidas (worldwide) than one with an unproven ( marketing-wise), fresh out of college American basketball player.
But more importantly, you continue to write about Wiggins and Adidas as it was a done deal. There is nothing that indicates that Adidas has the inside track. Rumors that Adidas made and offer to Wiggins were proven to be patently false and grossly exaggerated, and if he ever had talked to them, he would not be playing at KU. Wiggins will sign with whoever gives him the best deal and it may or may not be Adidas. An up-coming, more US oriented brand such as Under Armor might end up signing Wiggins.
All the big endorsers (Jordan, LeBron, Kobe, Shaq) are extroverted, marketing aware individual that thrive outside the court. Wiggins on the other hand is a very introverted individual, at least at the present time, and does most of his talking on the court. This does not necessarily translate to marketing and sales. Maybe in time he will become more media savvy and his stock will go up. I will guess his endorsement contract will be heavily back loaded with future money based on marketing performance.
That is the play at the end of the game last night that I mentioned in my post above...
With smaller ball..it is called women's field hockey, right?
Here is a great photo of Smart flopping when Embiid stares at him...funny as hell...
How about a poster directed to the squid that says:
Mario says hello...
Or one directed to the team:
Bobby Mo is waiting for thee
...at the 2014 NIT...
Looks like the refs are finally catching up with Smart's flopping and he is acting like a drama queen about it; he has been in foul trouble in both games after the KU game of "ghost elbow flop" fame. Even with the game out of reach against OU, he felt he had to do one last dramatic flop with seconds left in the game; it looked desperate and pathetic.
Smart is quickly developing a reputation as a flopper and becoming one of the more disliked players in the league. Analyst still like him because they do not see his behavior day in and day out like we, conference followers do.
Marcus Smart reminds me of Mike Tyson. At one time he was considered pound for pound the best boxer in the world, a rarity for heavy weight, and fighters were terrified of him, Then along came Buster Douglas that was no intimidated and knocked him out in Tokyo and exposed him as a very beatable boxer; Tyson was never the same after that fight and lost his last two fights to two unknowns before retiring for good.
When you come to a fork on the road, take it - Yogi Berra
Wichita State and Arizona have the best chance of going unbeaten since both (particularly WSU) play in weaker conferences. One loss by WSU and any chance to a #1 seed they might currently have is gone; a KU team with 6 losses would be seeded ahead of them.
KU, Syracuse. Arizona and WSU are currently #1 seeds in the majority of current "Bracketology" projections; however, given the unpredictability of conference play, it is likely that the current seeds are precarious at best.
My recollection is the same as @Crimsonorblue22. KU pursued Smart but not Forte whose father had played FB at KU; Forte was not ranked, out of HS, at the level that KU offers. OSU offered to both and that is where they ended up.
To what lengths will Hoiberg go to win games?
Bubu Palo reinstated by the Court ↗
The school does not want him, the Athletic Director does not want him, Hoiberg does and he suited up for the KSU game although he did not play. Will he play against KU? Where do you draw the line?
No question that Foster has been a pleasant surprise for KSU. With Angel Rodriguez leaving there was a huge void to fill and Foster has done a remarkable job.
Let's also keep in mind that with the new contact rules, many average PGs are looking like superstars because every time they drive to the basket, they will either be given a wide berth with the hope that one of the bigs can meet him at the rim and block the shot or they draw a foul; the charge call has almost become extinct and it is rarely seen anymore.
Am i missing something here? Embiid had a very slight knees sprain and now posters are talking about Joel missing the season.
If Embiid' would have experienced anything more severe than a slight knee sprain, he would have not have been able to return to the court the same game and would have had trouble walking. The fact that he was practicing on Monday indicates that it was indeed a slight strain that had some swelling and now is pretty close to normal. I am sure a doctor saw him immediately after the game and all the applicable tests were run to ensure it was not anything more serious. Intensive treatment by staff has ensured that he is now close to fully recovered.
Anyone that has played sports, particularly soccer, often gets this type of injury when you knock knees with another player. Initially the pain is intense but abates quickly, you ice you knee after the game to prevent swelling and in a couple of days it is mostly gone, unless you press at the point of impact. I am sure Embiid will be wearing a knee pad/brace for protection next game.
There is no worse case scenario here. If Embiid was practicing on Monday he will play on Wednesday. Tarik aggravated his ankle sprain during pregame warmups and will need additional time to heal; no need to rush when we have Traylor and Lucas that more than make up for the 5-10 minutes it takes Tarik to rack up enough fouls.
Don't forget Hunter Michelson, although he is listed on the KU official roster as forward, but them so are Black, Traylor and Lucas; the only player listed as center is Embiid. Michelson had a very good freshman season at Arkansas and his sophomore year was little bit of a let down, no doubt a result of the style of play that Mike Anderson favors that uses smaller, faster players rather than the more physical players such as Michelson.
With one year of practice against the current KU bigs, he should be ready to contribute. He often seems to be forgotten amongst all the incoming and returning players, and he might well end up being a Withey type of contributor next season.
Nice post. Also, in my opinion, Niko Roberts seems the most enthusiastic player on the bench. He always has big smile and is constantly cheering for the team; nice to see the spirit.
Like many other players destined for stardom, LaFrentz career was cut short or made less successful by injuries. In any case, I always though that LaFrentz saw the NBA as the means to and end rather than the other way around, and by all accounts he has done very well financially outside basketball.
Another example well known to all Jayhawks is Danny Manning, who could have been a super star but injuries kept him form that top tier. Old man Oden is a more recent example of a player that was going to be the next superstar but injuries essentially ended his career, although he has gotten a lifeline with the Miami Heath but the outcome is yet to be decided.
I just can't agree on Ohio State or North Carolina.
All of Ohio State's wins and one loss were against teams outside the top 50; The do not have a single signature win against a top 50 team as per Sagarin and Ken Pom. I believe their record was good at one point because they had such weak schedule, and now that they are playing stronger conference teams, they are losing regularly,
North Carolina is the most dysfunctional/bi-polar team I have seen in a long time. They can beat MSU, Kentucky and Louisville and then lose at home to a no-name team. They are currently 10th in the 15 team ACC that is projected to send 5 teams to the dance. If the tournament were to start now, they would not even make it. If by a miracle they do, I hope they play in KU's brackets as Coach Self has Coach Williams number.
One of them kept referring to Selden as Shelden; even the wife noticed that.
RussRob came rom HS with a reputation as a scorer but gave that up because Coach Self had a different role for him. I have a lot of respect for him because of his unselfishness.
What browser are you using? I have had lots of issues with the latestt MS IE, not the kind you are having but mostly refreshing the lists. I now keep a version of Firefox open just for this site and I don't seem to have problems.
If only Ben McLemore would not have sat his first year, KU would have another championship. I guess Kentucky should thank the NCAA.
KenPom has WSU as #6; Jeff Sagarin, on the other hand has them as #14.
WSU is a solid, experienced team and they are now the top ranked team in the State...at least for the time being. As far as being unpopular with KU fans, I don't necessarily agree with that. I believe that most KU fans dislike Marshall (and his mouth) but not necessarily the team. A couple of the players that attended the KU-Baylor game were interviewed and they seemed to be really nice, clean cut kids, the kind you would expect from the Heart of America..
Again, as KU fans we don't like anyone else in the state wanting to take the place we feel we are entitled to and WSU has been rocking that boat for the last couple of years. Don't forget that last year they made it to the Final Four where KU (or KSU) did not. Marshall's message might not play well in Kansas with its heavy KU-KSU fan base, but it does resonate in other places. I hear from friends in other parts of the country, particularly from the basketball savvy East Coast, and they always ask why is it that KU (or KSU) will not play WSU? I understand that for KU to play WSU, the upside is very small and the potential downside is large, where the opposite is true for WSU. If WSU maintains their current success for another year or two, I just don't see how KU (or KSU) can avoid playing them.ô
I think Craft is a superior college player where his smarts and hussle can compensate for his lack of natural talent and athleticism. Once he gets to the NBA he will find out that essentially all players can play the game well and most every player will have more natural talent and athleticism. I don't believe he will have a long career in the NBA.
Cauley-Stein is as soft as they come. He should have left after last season when his stock was high and he was thought of as having potential. His stocks has dropped quite a bit this year and scouts are realizing that his potential and upside are low. He will probably get drafted anyway, since as coaches say...you can't teach 7 feet, but he has a limited ceiling.
By the way, Jeff Withey had 14 points in 27 minutes on 5-6 from the floor and 4-5 from the free throw line; he also had 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. I believe this is his best game as a pro. Their starting center is injured and he outplayed all the other centers; hopefully he will start getting more minutes from now on.
I always thought those uniforms look like glow-in-the- dark rubbers. :)
I liked Kevin Love a lot in High school and college. I had high hopes he would come to KU bu he chose UCLA instead; not really a surprise since he is West Coast guy.
Unless it is a new one I have not heard of, the suspension was back in early December and was the result of being ejected for picking up 2 Technical fouls in one game. The first one was for taunting and the second for hanging on the rim.
Since the next game was cancelled due to bad weather, the suspension was postponed so he was able to play in the Chicago Elite Classic Tournament and served the one game suspension later. Not a big deal.
WSU is a very good, experienced team, no question about it. They made to the Final Four last year when KU did not, and so far they seem headed to a #1 seed as their conference schedule is considerably easier than that of teams in conferences such as the Big 12 and B1G.
Don't care for their coach but WSU is a solid team.
Can we say that Kansas is now the hotbed of college basketball? For the third year in a row the state will send every Division 1 team in the state to the dance; no other state with at least 3 Div 1 teams can say the sames, and all 3 teams are currently ranked in the top 25,
McDermott reminds me of Adam Morrison. Morrison was an outstanding college player (his father was also a coach) but his game did not translate to the NBA.
I thought he would have a decent career in the NBA, but then I thought Stephen Curry would not. These two players have been my biggest misses when predicting professional success from college performance.
I watched part of the game and I agree with you. The NCAA should do like the NBA does now and review flops after the game and hand out penalties when warranted; a flop can result in a big point swing.
I share you feelings about our Athletic Director. Last time I talked to Surewest, now called Consolidated Communications, they indicated that they were in talks with Metro Sports, but the clear implication was that since they got the KU programming, the cost had gone up considerably making it almost prohibitively expensive for the other carriers, and clearly hoping that complaints from thousands a of fans would force other providers to carry Metro Sports.
Unlike the Adidas contract that pays a boat load of money, provides equipment to all school teams, and does not require fans to buy or wear Adidas gear in order to watch games, the Metro Sports contract does not pay any money to KU Athletics but provides sports programming "valued" at $2M, and in the process, has left a huge number of Jayhawk fan unable to watch many basketball and football games, so a dozen people around the country can watch the women's rowing team?
Some day, when all the real details of this arrangement are revealed, people are going to lose their jobs.
"Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field." —Dwight D. Eisenhower
and the corollary...
"Coaching looks mighty easy when the court and players are your computer screen and keyboard." - JayHawkFanToo
I really like this one...
"An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows." —Dwight D. Eisenhower
"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it." —Theodore Roosevelt
Athletic Directors should heed this advice.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." —William Jennings Bryan
"Confidence is contagious. So is the lack of confidence." —Vince Lombardi
"My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition." —Indira Gandhi
What browser are you using? I have all kinds of issues with the latest MS IE. I now keep KU Buckets open in Firefox and seems to work a lot better.
I requested that feature a while back; much easier to follow.
One morning a blind bunny was hopping down the bunny trail, and he tripped over a large snake and fell, kerflop, right on his twitchy little nose. "Oh, please excuse me!" said the bunny. "I didn't mean to trip over you, but I'm blind and can't see."
"That's perfectly all right," replied the snake. "To be sure, it was my fault. I didn't mean to trip you, but I'm blind too, and I didn't see you coming. By the way, what kind of animal are you?"
"Well, I really don't know," said the bunny. "I'm blind, and I've never seen myself. Maybe you could examine me and find out.
"So the snake felt the bunny all over, and he said, "Well, you're soft, and cuddly, and you have long silky ears, and a little fluffy tail and a dear twitchy little nose, you must be a bunny rabbit!"
The bunny said, "I can't thank you enough. But by the way, what kind of animal are you?"
The snake replied that he didn't know, so the bunny agreed to examine him.
When the bunny was finished, the snake said, "Well, what kind of an animal am I?"
The bunny had felt the snake all over, and replied, "You're slimy, you're low to the ground, you have a forked tongue, you're soft with no backbone and feel like a pecker with no balls and for the life of me I cannot tell your head from your ass ... YOU ARE Doug Glottlieb."
I have to say that Jack Harry is a glutton for punishment. On a related note, MU lost to LSU last night.
Not really surprising. KU does not, or at least not yet have any bad loses; all of the loses are to ranked teams. It also has a number of good wins against ranked teams...and the team keeps getting better.