@Statmachine Its gonna be a tough field again this year to be certain. Duke will be good, Michigan St will be good, UNC will be good, UK? Im not sure of considering how much turnover they had. We gon beat that kitty butt when they come to AFH.
Maryland will be good. I hope Larry makes it to the second weekend in the big dance.
I hope Coach Haase does too with UAB.
Virginia will probly be good again and so will Gonzaga and AZ.
BUT, KU can beat every single one of those teams, right now. Right Now.

Come The Madness, I have high hopes for this KU team indeed. I do not say expectations though. I wont expect anything. But I have an idea, a dream, that KU will Rock Chalk well into April '16. The sun will shine down upon the KU faithful of Lawrence and all will be good.

@wrwlumpy That is really cool to see KU fans helping out a K state player in need. If I had the money to spare, I would certainly donate. I can send my warm thoughts to Will and his family though. I worked at KUMC for a total of 8 years and I can say with absolute certainty that KU Hospital is one of the best in the nation. They will absolutely take very good care of your wife and child Mr Spradling. Best wishes to you.

@JayHawkFanToo Would have been killer if Ben could have gone to Korea!!

@jaybate-1.0 Solid!

@Crimsonorblue22 OH yah, I guess I wouldnt give my Gold up either but surely KU can get a medal for display, right?

@HawksWin You know, I was wondering this exact same thing myself. Which teams in that field would be at the top of any power 5 conference? Just to hazard a guess, Id say Russia and Germany are locks and maybe Turkey and Brazil and France. But thats it.

If any one else has a more educated opinion than my own on that, I would love to hear it.

And notice, I did not say The Top just at the top of any power 5 conference.

@wrwlumpy Nah, no banner in the rafters, but it would be cool to have a spot outside the court next to all that historic stuff where they could display the medals and US flag, etc.

@jaybate-1.0 Nic was a great player for us and for KU. That late game steal should resonate with KU fans all over, remembering Sherron's steal against Memphis in 08. It was that kind of play. Mason should latch on to that kind of lead by example mentality from Nic Moore. Use it as motivation going forward.

@Crimsonorblue22 May I borrow this photo and use it else where? Im fascinated by Tornadoes.

@Texas-Hawk-10 Vick is too good to be sitting on the bench for 2 seasons. He already proved that. We are too deep at the moment for him to see major minutes this season. But next season with his experience level and Coach Self's penchant for playing his upperclassmen and giving them a longer leash, Vick will see more minutes. He is just too good to keep off the court! We all saw that in the WUGs.

@Texas-Hawk-10 I like the Bragg/TRob comparison. Only, TRob was rippling with muscle before he got to KU. Bragg's still kinda skinny but that will change. His motor is very similar to TRobs though. I mean, fighting thru games with a broken nose? That's just hard core.
Another thing, Bragg has a much better mid range game. Trob's game was pretty limited to inside the paint at KU.

@Statmachine THat is kinda cool! So if Frank = Captn America, then Selden = Iron Man

He didnt blow his top, at all! At least not that I saw. There was no red faced chewing out his players on the side lines after a botched play, lazy/bone head defensive/offensive possession.
There was no jawing at the refs after a non call or horrible call.

Im sure that representing the USA, being in another culture, not playing against Div 1 and Big 12 Refs and opposing coaches had something to do with this. But I just thought that was interesting.

@KUSTEVE I share your opinion.

@BeddieKU23 Ahhh man, I dont want to worry about who we are going to lose next spring!
Lets just focus on bringing another NC back to Larrytown, this season! ;)

RCJHKUALLDAY!

@Statmachine Bet that Gold Medal comes out on Late Night as does the 11 straight conf. champ trophies.
KU is going to be so tough to beat this season. They have a jump on everyone else with the new rules and all the practice they are getting.

One question. That was an epic game won by KU, even more so considering they had just beaten a very good Russian team less than a day earlier!

How do the Russian and German teams we just played compare to the teams we will be playing next season during the non conf and big 12 conf games?

@Crimsonorblue22 Nice shot!
Think I see the wicked witch flyin round there

@bskeet Holy Cow! I can watch the replay on ESPN!!!

@HawksWin And to expand on that, if Coach Self will learn from this and see the importance of letting his guys just play the game at times.

@HighEliteMajor Thats why I love basketball man, cuz its amazing to watch and its so intricate in the plays on both sides of the ball.

@Crimsonorblue22 Kind of short on KU fans where I live... Oh well. Thanks for the link! That was great!

@Crimsonorblue22 Nope, and unfortunately I had to down grade my cable due to cost cutting.

@Crimsonorblue22 NICE!

@Texas-Hawk-10 KU is going to beat that @$$ when UK comes to AFH. Mark it down, circle it, sharpie too.

@HawkInMizery Well of course they forgot! They are inbred idiots with genetically dehanced brain functions.

@Statmachine HA! Waaah freeking Waaaah Kentucky fans! Eat dirt you losers! Just wait til you come into The Phog later this year.

@jaybate-1.0 When I saw that KUSA won the game in 2OT, I was just jumping around at work and everyone was looking at me like I was crazy. They just dont get it up here in Vermont. ;)

@jaybate-1.0 I would kill to see this game! Someone has got to know where to find it.

@JhawkAlum No Jinx, I was merely stating that Mason is every bit as good as Sherron was and maybe even better at some things. I was saying this last year before the season started.

@Crimsonorblue22 dammit, I didnt mean to flag that!

I meant to hit reply. Im just off work and having a celebratory drink, or two. HA!

Ok seriously, NO I dont think Frank declares early. Sherron didn't.

@DoubleDD Stellar post!

I was keeping track of the box score on Ku Sports during work today and I gotta say, near the end of regulation I was saying to myself," Man, those guys fought hard, they just didnt have enough left in the tank at the end against a very good German team. I'll be happy with the Silver plus the experience those guys will be able to pull from going forward.
Then, I check the score again in the middle of what I am doing and BAM, its over time!!
Right then, when I saw that, I knew KU would pull it off.
KU is a closing team and one of the best at it, despite what our recent NCAA record shows.
I knew KU would bring the gold home, just not after a 2 OT game! Holy crap, that was Epic!

IMO, the 3 players that benefitted the most from these games are:

Wayne Selden Jr- He was the MVP of the series. He was in attack mode the whole time, from what I read. It is very feasible to assume he will continue that trend for KU this fall. Be our Alpha dog with the killer instinct and ice in his veins.

Hunter Mick- Hey @VailHawk , Hunter is gonna start the season dude. You owe me $1! LMAO
No but seriously, Hunter way out performed. No one expected him to do this! He will be a major key for us! Major! Im proud of him for what he did for team KUSA

Carlton Bragg- A freshmen, playing cojones out with a broken nose and he contributed nearly double figure minutes most games. He may not see as much court time as Diallo and Hunter but he will do some damage. Kid's got game.

Another thing, Coach Self, he actually admitted he learned some things this tournament. Possibly a testament to what you were just saying.
"HCBS is a system guy and will always be, but the game is changing and he knows it. HCBS was always good about finding talent and forming, molding that talent. Yet the WUG’s taught him when you have the best talent, sometimes you just let them play."
That speaks volumes about our season coming up. If he can just let go of the leash sometimes and let our boys play, they will be a very deadly team in March. Very deadly indeed.

Im going to put this out there. KU could go undefeated this season. It could happen.
Is it likely? Hell no. I dont even believe it myself! But, with what we just witnessed, it sure is fun to think about.

@Crimsonorblue22 said:

Selden smacked self on rear pretty hard

HAHA! Omg, did he really!?
Thats priceless!

@bskeet Rock Chalk KUSA! I gotta go to work. Wont be able to keep track on here.
But, I got a good feeling! Im wearing my KU colors to work today.

@Crimsonorblue22 He will play. Absolutely.

@JayHawkFanToo I agree with you. He wont make them go through a full 2 weeks of boot camp. It'll be altered just to keep them in shape and give them a bit more bonding time. They have excellent conditioning right now and excellent chemistry right now. Just got to keep the ship moving after the WUGs

@Crimsonorblue22 Ohhhh man, I dont want to be drawn into this pointless squabble. I should have kept my fingers shut. I take back what I said about the little girl comment.

@KUSTEVE LMAO! Holy cow that is funny! "You're wearing tuxedos to an interview for cleaning bathrooms." GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!"

@HighEliteMajor " Finishing school " HA! Thats a great one!

@Kcmatt7 Undefeated season! Kinda joking.

@HighEliteMajor I think its safe to say we got 2 alpha dogs now in Wayne and Frank. This KU team will be deadly this season!

@VailHawk Yeah thats a negative 2 Vail.

@jaybate-1.0 Very well said and the legacy has been proven true! RCJH!

@VailHawk YES!! YES!! Man Im so happy we won! Guaranteed at least Silver at this point. I wasnt able to watch but This is so awesome!!!

@HighEliteMajor Every player in Div 1 gets nicked up during the season. They are athletes playing a physical game. Its inevitable and unavoidable. It just seems like KU was even more beat up last year and the year before than they have normally been at seasons end. Maybe its just me.

The wear and tear on the players during this season will be extended due to the WUGs and Coach Self should absolutely augment his boot camp to help them stay in shape and prevent injuries. Not ride them so hard their knees and ankles and hips break down before March.

Im betting that he will do just that.

Biid's situation was not well managed, we can probly all agree on that. But we are looking forward here, to this next season, which has the potential to be very special indeed.

@Crimsonorblue22 That was a really cool video! Awesome seeing Wigs up there!
I am only a couple hours south of where they are holding the pan am games...I think. Wish I could go. Maybe one day.

@HighEliteMajor @JayHawkFanToo

LoL @ the little girl reference.

But, come on guys, chill out! You both have something in common. You both love KU Basketball and have for a pretty long time. Shouldnt that be enough common ground to diffuse the situation?
Relax, take deep breaths, beat a bongo drum, smoke some refer, I dont care, just quit arguing.
Go to the "other site" if you wanna do that K?

@wrwlumpy Wow! Liv Tyler? RDJ? DiCaprio? Pam Anderson and her augmented chest??
I had no idea.

I liked Liv Tyler as Arwen in LOTR.

I wonder if Pam got her fake boobs in Russia?

@wrwlumpy Wow, some of those Ruskie military girls look kinda hot! Wonder if they have arm pit hair? ;)

@wrwlumpy Oh! I love that Metallica song!

The Kremlin looks so pretty covered in a light snow. Well maybe its not so light, I can see drifts that look deep.

@HighEliteMajor I was thinking the same thing man. He went to the league just in time, now he is a multimillionaire and set for life regardless of what happens in his career. I do hope its a good one though and that he can get totally healed and prove all his doubters wrong.