@JayHawkFanToo You are probably right, although I'm not sure he advised the Morris twins or Darrel Arthur to go. I think sure lottery picks he shoves out the door, but just potential lottery picks?
This is such a strong year for the draft, there would be more upside to waiting if the lottery were just a maybe, IMO of course.
Here's what I would say to a possible OAD:
If you're not a lock for the lottery, stay a year, especially this year with the strongest draft in a decade.
Right now, Selden is not a lock for the lottery.
I miss Al McGuire. Likeable and down to earth.
I remember him saying once: "Sit a player with 3 fouls, but when he gets 4 just leave him in. He's no good to ya..."
approxinfinity has now found his website!
On the game itself, wow! What with the improvements from Traylor and Lucas, and the unbelievable evolution of Embiid, if Black can build on this game we will have a front court for the ages.
Glad to see Selden with that little smile and those eyes!
Tharpe and Mason had good games, too.
All we need is Wiggins to break out, although 2 3-pointers each from Selden and him are great to see.
Above all, we punished the bullies by beating the snot out of them -- at basketball!
@approxinfinity the KC Star link goes back to your post. Narcissistic?
Keep plugging, Jesse. Already read the article, great stuff.
@drgnslayr, thank you! I feel much less alone knowing we feel the same way.
My point of view is a bit selfish: too much emphasis on the NCAAs and the whole season becomes a preseason.
I enjoy the season much more thinking that pre-conference is a growing period and that Conference season gives us 18 games to play. Wins mean more and losses mean less. No worries about seeds and brackets until February.
Granted, make us preseason #1 next year and I may think differently, but right now I'm trying to take the season a game at a time.
@Lulufulu85 , thanks, man. What a read!
@ralster, the quality of the LJW posts is so bad that one of the guys, going by the name of Jack Wilson, seems to be cutting and pasting excerpts from HEM's posts on this board! They're the best stuff on there, but still...
I just finished watching the game and reading the postgame posts. HEM's list of positives (and one negative on White) is right on. I'd add one negative, that Wiggins is not yet a lock-down defender.
The quality of discussion on this board is so high, both after losses and wins, that it's even more fun to be a KU fan.
It's not a luxury, it's a reality. Freshmen are freshmen. It's worse when they don't have non-freshmen to show them what it's like to not be a freshman.
This team is a work in progress. The emphasis has to be more on "work" than "progress", at least until Conference starts.
This team has growing pains. The emphasis may be more on "pains" than "growing" for another month.
Get at least a share of the Conference title and we will again be a team to watch out for during the postseason.
Throughout the years HEM has sometimes said "Give up some wins to be better in March". This is what it's like.
The "other" blog says the fans are jumping all over our players: "overrated", "you suck", etc. Wiggins getting the full treatment.
HEM, thanks for your replies.
HEM, your post is also worth a detailed read.
On Embiid, what makes you think the zone will protect the post players? I thought Self went zone to protect Wiggins. Didn't Embiid foul out when we were playing zone?
Should Embiid stop hedging on ball screens?
Embiid has to avoid fouls on offense too, so should he stop doing ball screens?
To play zone, should we go to a quicker lineup to close out more quickly on 3-point shooters?
What about the impact of zone defense on our offense? How about experimenting with two 3-point specialists in the games at the same time? That's another way of giving each one enough minutes to get in the flow.
On the 12th day of Christmas, my KU gave to me:
12 rotation players,
..
9 Conference Championships,
8-ending years with NCAA titles
...
I read that use of zone defenses is up this season, no doubt because of the new "rules". We are not a good zone-beating team right now because we can't hit the outside shot.
Conclusion: the new "rules" are hurting us both on defense and on offense.
Is it heresy to suggest that shooters "warm up" by shooting some 2-pointers that have a better chance of going in (assuming they can get an open 2-point shot)?
@nuleafjhawk, those were computer animated Ts, not real ones...
As I've said before, HEM is right you have to pick one. Coach Self agrees. The question is "when?" Self is letting the three fight it out in practice and on the court. Is it fair to flip a coin at this point?
Analyze Self's comments after the game: he's thinking Conference Championship #10, not best possible preseason record and highest possible NCAA seed. That gives him until after Christmas break to decide.
Frankly, if one of those three starts playing OK and scoring 3s, shouldn't he get more minutes than the Selden we have seen so far?
"freshman point guards starting at KU?"
Aaron Miles, day 1.
Speaking of Wiggins, this article doesn't:
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/90856/brennans-wooden-watch-week-3 ↗ ↗
Not even honorable mention.
@Ralster said: "Lets not forget we are likely playing the toughest non-conf schedule in the Bill Self era...with our MOST inexperienced team. What does that add up to, intuitively speaking?"
What it adds up to is that this year's team is like the 2006 team, except that team became the 2007 team then the 2008 team.
This year's team has no future beyond this year.
We are expecting (or at least hoping) that a more talented version of 2006 will do in one year what that other team did in three years.
Not gonna happen.
Another thing: we're not alone!
Do you really think NBA teams would tank for just a chance at one player? If they're tanking, it's because the cards are stacked in their favor: there are a handful of great talents coming out, not just Wiggins -- and all those other studs are playing on other college teams.
If KU can create a great team in one season, so can those other guys -- most of whom have more experience.
I'm telling you, Coach Self is gunning for a tenth straight Conference Championship, not a great preseason record and a #1 NCAA seed. Win Conference, then hope for the best.
That is why there's no rush to get the best rotation.
Just a detail, but since Wiggins has shown he is no different from the other players right now, why not treat him the same as the other players?
He is still getting special treatment, like not being made available to the press outside of the big national "haves". Why feed the illusion he is different when he is not?
Take off the kid gloves and make him prove himself in every single way.
The players didn't mention the ballroom as a problem, they mentioned the ball.
How much do basketballs cost, anyway? If we're going to play games with another ball, why not practice with that same ball in the days preceding the game?
Many of you, and Coach Self, talk about driving to pass instead of driving to shoot. OK, but pass to whom? It's great to be able to hand off to Wiggins or Embiid, but that's only possible in transition.
Got to have the 3 point specialists spotting up to receive those passes. With our starters + Mason + Embiid, who spots up beyond the arc waiting for the pass?
Didn't jaybate mention all this before FaceGate? Something about Selden/Wiggins needing to hit the 3 so Wiggins/Selden have room to drive. If they can't, somebody else has to.
For those interested, jaybate participated in the cjonline.com live game blog yesterday. He says he reads kubuckets but doesn't feel like posting right now.
Anyway, he's alive and following KU BBall with his usual intensity.
My takeaways:
"Coach was drinking a soda on the sideline. I was like, 'What's he doing?'...I was just coming out, and he was in my way. 'Coach, get out of my way, bro.' "
Tyshawn Taylor
If anyone is reading here during halftime, jaybate is now appearing on Jesse's game blog. See link two posts up. Come!
I'm watching http://www.coolsport.tv/stream14.html ↗ ↗
@tundrahok , drgnslayr was talking about OU football, not basketball. He was saying he could appreciate top football teams despite KU not being one, so why can't people appreciate KU basketball even if their own team isn't so hot.
Another potential link that actually lists the game: http://www.coolsport.tv/schedule.html ↗ ↗
For the first time I can reply from my iPhone. Just in time, now I don't have to send it to kip.
To answer all the questions:
If memory serves, jaybate sometimes posted from an iPhone. Now, since on iPhones you can't see the latest posts and the Reply button doesn't work, it is technically impossible for jaybate to contribute.
Fix this $$*%£ site so it works on iPhones and jaybate will be able to contact us!
Free jaybate! Make this site iPhoneable!
Frankly, now that Jesse Newell is in Topeka the "golden age" of KUSports.com is over and done with. That site can no longer be the place to host our posts. It was providential that FaceGate forced us to declare our independence, won with brio at the battle of approximattox! Now we can post together about articles from both papers and other sites.
That being the case, I hope jaybate will accept to move on and join us during this special season.
What a game! What a team! What a bunch of guys it's easy to like!
I love Selden and his little smile when something great has just happened.
Embiid is the present that you never stop unwrapping. One game it's five assists, then it's four great outlet passes and three blocks...by Christmas we'll see a partridge in a pear tree on the court. Just the most amazing newcomer ever.
For once, I actually got to see the game less than 12 hours after it was played.
HEM, worthy "thread starter" post in every way: thoughtful and thought-provoking.
I am in line with the choices you either make or say need to be made, but I am not sure everything is so urgent. Coach Self has been in similar situations in his first years here, and he has played more people early in the season than late. The players will feel better about not playing if they have been given a little chance and if the rotation guys show they're better. Choosing too early could be plausibly considered "unfair".
What's wrong with waiting until after Finals? That's when Self really puts together the squad he wants to go to war with.
What he could do is clearly announce what decisions he's going to make, so the players can feel like they got a last chance to state their case.
P.S. One thing I do think is urgent is to play Embiid as much as possible. Who is this guy??? He doesn't have to start. The coaches just need to keep encouraging Black to play aggressively no matter how many fouls he has and Jojo will get all the minutes he could want :)
@drgnslayr : I think Selden is attacking the rim in the half-court offense more than Wiggins, but he picks his spots.
Maybe they're both letting Mason do it, since he has so much "want to". The problem is, only one player can handle the ball at a time.
I'd like to see Selden and Wiggins be more aggressive off the ball, but in Self Ball the inside guys fight for position and you feed the post. Lord knows it's working right now, but the result is Wiggins and Selden are doing Brady Morningstar imitations in the half court.
The PGs could penetrate and kick out better, but that sets up 3-point shooters, not slashers.
We just haven't needed those two to score much in the half court, except against Duke when they did.
And in transition, who's complaining?
Jesse, you are a terrific and unexpected plus for this site. Thank you!
What are the chances that Mr. Wiggins will become an alpha dog this season? We seem to get OADs that are either underwhelming or team players, but not "put the team on their back" types. Is this inevitable in Coach Self's system, or are we just waiting for the right game?
From Jules Renard (pre-WW I French author):
And my favorite:
"At last I know the difference between man and beast: money problems."
I hope this team handles success well.
@konkeydong , along the same lines I hope this team also realizes they are in a "getting better" race with the other potentially great teams. If we don't get better faster than everyone else, we will not have a great year - a very good year, maybe, but not a great one.
By "very good" I mean a conference title, by "great" I mean a conference title and at least 4 wins in the NCAA.
To win it all, we need to be great and lucky.
The Championship Team had 5 five star players and none of them were freshmen. We now have 4 five star players and all but one are freshmen.
The 2006-2007 team had 6 five star players of which 2 were freshmen, and that team lost in the Elite 8.
We have a stud freshman class, but so do other teams.
I say enjoy the ride, because we don't know when it will stop.
Getting back to the redshirt / transfer situation: I can't find the link, but I think Coach Self has said in the past that he offers redshirts to players he thinks can help the team significantly down the road. He knows that redshirting basically removes transferring as an option.
I think he is aware that redshirting involves some level of mutual commitment. I don't remember any redshirted player transferring later: anyone?
White background is fine, so I'm back.
Thanks for acting on the feedback.
On another note, same iPhone problems:
approx, I really appreciate your hard work and the community you have brought together here, but I'm sorry, I just can't stand this new GUI.
I'm out of here unless you bring back a reasonable, unobtrusive look.
See this tweet yesterday from Jay Bilas:
"Michigan State and Louisville had 12 and 14 team fouls, respectively, in their opening wins. All players have to do? Stop fouling."
Either Izzo and Pitino are reacting better than Self to the new rules, or their players are quicker learners, or conference supervisors aren't all on the same page.
By the way, their opponents had 9 and 22 team fouls and shot 26% and 41%. So total fouls by both teams were on a par with last year, as were the field goal percentages. Maybe we need to trade conference supervisors...
@ralster , I'm sticking up for the LJW guys. Yes, Newell and Tait are great, but Bedore has been churning out decent copy for a long time, and Keegan is the Sports Editor so he is reponsible for bringing in and keeping the talent we appreciate.
Bedore has tweeted for years his personal distaste for anonymous Internet posting. As for the others, you have to remember that the LJW has an owner who rumor says is not easy to work for.
How about we buy the paper and change the policy? Anyone know how much that would cost?
Speaking of mobile devices, on my iPhone 5S the site just doesn't work.
On the plus side, doesn't ask for a Facebook account...