@HighEliteMajor said:

This is the year of Hunter Mickelson. Say it with me ...

Even if Diallo is cleared!

Seriously, based on Self's most recent comments, the answer is typical bureaucracy (of which I am sometimes guilty!) :
* The NCAA person handling Cheick finishes the previous case.

• Now at long last (s)he starts looking at Cheick's submitted documents.

• And (s)he decides (s)he wants additional information from Mali.

• So KU is left scrambling to get the info urgently, when objectively the NCAA could have asked for it months ago: but that would involve managing cases in parallel and not in sequence.

I believe the technical term for this is "Now they tell me!".

@Texas-Hawk-10 said:

@ParisHawk I believe the donors pay Self's salary and that the Adidas and JTV contracts fund the majority of the non-revenue programs.

Thanks for correcting me. I don't want to push incorrect stuff out in the ether. I have updated my post to take back what I said.

It's not only legal but Self's contract is mostly paid by Adidas I think.

Maybe we should start by asking the journalists how much of their Shoeco money they are willing to forego to ask that question.

[Update: @Texas-Hawk-10 has explained that I was wrong! I take it all back. Sorry about that.]

@jaybate-1.0 So you're saying Self is redshirting?

Your 5-6 man perimeter with lots is threes is tempting, and plausible unless Self is head coach.

I'm all for Brannen having the season you describe.

You pencil in Devonte for 15-25 minutes per game. If healthy, he will get more.

@Bwag Fair enough, but I think you bring up two somewhat different points.

You start by saying Self could change his style of play to get more people on the court. That would mean going from, say, an 8-man rotation to 9 or 10.

Then you say Selden played too many minutes. That might mean keeping the same rotation but adjusting the minutes, or sometimes playing a different 8-man rotation with Selden on the bench.

Reading Self's comments, he's for your second point (produce or get demoted / replaced) and against your first (we're going to play as we always have, only better).

Past reality suggests he won't pull the trigger on the second point as quickly as some of us would like.

I think when on the court performance suffers, fans tend to look at the glass half empty and Self looks at the glass half full - except for those times when we just don't think the glass is as full as he does...

@REHawk Strong arguments, but there is one counterargument:

Suppose this is the year Self finally gets that second NCAA Championship, but he needs just one or two timely 3-pointers from Greene to do it.

If there is a real possibility that this is a championship year, then why not let Self play with a full deck?

Maybe Greene would be content with a small role and a chance to create One Big Shining Moment...

Win the Brady Morningstar award by redshirting the year your team wins the NCAA? No thanks.

Here's an article with Self's comments after the first practice:

Self: KU’s first practice ‘not great’ ↗

I thought Self made some revealing comments, so here's another attempt to translate SelfSpeak into English:

"You know, you can look at teams and say, well, they look really deep, and then as you get into the season, they may only play seven or eight and you’re really not quite as deep as what you thought originally you would be."

Translation: depth is overrated. True depth is how good are the guys you actually play.

"It’s going to be hard this year figuring out who to play, and that’s what I tried to explain to our players yesterday"

Translation: I don't want to figure out who to play, I want you to show me. I want 8 guys to stand out.

"if somebody is not doing what they can do to help our team win, it’s not going to be that difficult to try to give somebody else an opportunity to do that."

Translation: the guys who stand out better keep on standing out. The other "OK" guys better stay ready to play.

(Wishful thinking: it will take more than "energy" to stay in the lineup.)

"it’s OK to put Brannen in. It’s OK to put Svi in. It’s OK to put Hunter in or Jamari in or Landen in. That’s OK to do that. Those are good players that’s proven that they can do good things when they’re in there."

Translation: we have 4 returning players (Ellis, Selden, Graham, Mason) who are not "OK": they are the foundation. They are 30+ minute core starters around whom I will build my team. Then we have 5 "OK" returning players who will compete for spots in the rotation.

Interpretation: Graham starts, it's decided. If Diallo is cleared, he must get good enough to start sooner or later. That leaves 3 rotation spots open for 5 "OK" veterans (not to mention the 2 freshmen).

Self Story: "Depth means never having to leave the bench."

(apologies to Erich Segal)

It's been a long time, but I worked in Grand Prairie and wouldn't want to live there.

Irving was OK and fairly close to downtown by freeway.

Some people I know and admire professionally have their HQ in North Irving.

Jesse Newell's most recent podcast covers a lot of ground. Here's what I heard him and the other journalists discuss:
* They think Diallo is going to wait at least 3 weeks to get a decision.

• Selden hasn't proved yet he can be consistently good, but playing him at the 3 should make it easier for him to shine.

• With Diallo KU has depth in the front court. Ellis, Diallo and Bragg will be the first 3 bigs and Hunter, Traylor and Lucas will fight for the 4 and 5 spots.

• KU is thin at the 1 and 2 spots. Mason and Graham are the only real ball handlers on the team. Vick this year is more a developer than a contributor.

• KU is crowded at the 3 with Selden, Greene and Svi (for the journalists, Svi is not really a 2).

• The biggest question mark is who will spell Mason or Graham, and for how many minutes? If they play a lot, not only will they get worn down but the logjam at the 3 will be worse.

• Based on Self's comments yesterday, Self is not going to change his offense, his players are just going to have to run it better.

I'm worried about this "gotta have both Mason and Graham on the floor" thing.

Think about it: you want them both on the floor most of the time, and at least one of them on the floor all of the time.

If you want them on the floor together 30 minutes, they can only split 10 minutes of rest between them. That's 35 minutes a game for each of them.

I would prefer them to play about 30 minutes each. That means they are on the floor together only 20 minutes. I fear that will be unacceptable to Self, so they will play until they can't.

Am I missing something? I don't see an article by @Jesse-Newell today...

@jaybate-1.0 said:

First, you go to church and they tell you wine is the blood of Christ.

They don't tell you that.

I have received communion thousands of times in 45 years. The total amount of transfigured wine I have been blessed to receive would not fill one wine glass.

I wish you hadn't written that post.

@EdwordL said:

If he cannot practice, can he at least attend practices? I mean, that way, he could learn and absorb, even if he could not actually practice.

I imagine that Coleby will keep his normal transfer redshirt and not apply for a medical redshirt. In that case he can do anything he was allowed to do before, health permitting. He could attend practices before, he can attend them now.

I don't see what a medical redshirt would buy him, since no matter what happens he will have two years of playing eligibility.

@Jesse-Newell What is WUG ball? Selden 3, Hunter over Traylor and Lucas, fast offense, freedom to take the 3 right away if it's there. Opportunism.

@konkeyDong said:

@wrwlumpy Has anyone ever waited until they reached legal age to imbibe for the first time? ;)

Everybody in France! You can let your kids taste the wine at restaurants.

@Jesse-Newell Is Self still interested in continuing WUG ball during the season?

Tennessee freshman guard declared ineligible:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/13764305/lamonte-turner-tennessee-volunteers-ruled-ineligible-2015-16-season ↗ ↗

So maybe, after a few days or weeks rest, the eligibility center can start to look at Cheick's paperwork...

@Makeshift For what it's worth, Mason and Graham really like playing together too, as they proclaimed last year.

@BeddieKU23 Two things:

• Selby and Cliff were different. Selby seemed more aware on the court and no one questioned his hustle. Also, we didn't put the same burden of expectations on Selby as we did on Cliff.

• I think it's right to say that we expected a lot, maybe too much, from Cliff. Aren't we doing the same thing to Diallo - and even to Bragg?

What we "expect" of our freshman bigs is based more on our needs than on reasoned analysis.

Freshman bigs mostly don't start and mostly don't contribute much under Self at KU. We can't have an Embiid every other year.

@BeddieKU23

Of course Mick is the wildcard & Bragg’s development to an extent is as well. We could weather the storm if both are ready to give consistent game to game production but that is such a big assumption to make…

Agreed. I think it's an even bigger assumption in Bragg's case. Hunter is a fifth-year senior with two years at KU under his belt. Bragg is a newbie, and when was the last time we had a newbie of his ranking who contributed consistently his first year?

I would like to see Diallo backed up by Hunter, and Perry backed up by Bragg. Bragg would be the fourth big in terms of minutes. Filling that role consistently is already a lot to ask.

@Statmachine you're right don't ask.

@BeddieKU23 Thanks. I meant only academic clearances anyway, so Skal would not be relevant.

@Crimsonorblue22 Cliff practiced because he was declared eligible. His eligibility was questioned much later for non-academic reasons.

@BeddieKU23 Thanks!

Does anyone know how many others are still waiting for clearance? Surely Cheick isn't the only one?

How many decisions come out per day / week / month?

Who announces them?

@ParisHawk translation service: SelfSpeak to *Speak.

Of freshman forward Diallo’s situation, Self said:“I’m not going to comment on it again. He’s being held out until his situation is resolved.”

"I'm sick and g - d tired of saying nice things about those NCAA b s . They couldn't get their heads out of their a s in time for Cheick to barf - I mean bond - with his teammates. I'm waiting..."

@Statmachine said:

Kansas Recruiting ‏@kansasrecruit · Sep 19
Can't confirm anything, but apparently Cheick Diallo is telling people on campus that he has been cleared. Obviously this is great news!

B Turn (87-62) ‏@bturner23 · Sep 19
Cheick Diallo just told me at the Hawk that's he's cleared so let's get it #kubball

I really doubt he is telling people that he is cleared BUT if he really is we should here something today.

"Kansas Recruiting" is just echoing the "B Turn" tweet, turning it from "me" into "people".

So there's just one unknown individual: we have to believe that he actually heard Cheick and that he isn't misinterpreting what he heard - or else we ignore and hope.

@HighEliteMajor Everybody with tickets to AFH, start making your signs:

THE HI/LO IS FINE - JUST SOME TWEAKS

@nuleafjhawk Uh oh, you're going to get @jaybate-1.0 going again...

His explanation is Roy didn't recruit the whole country when he was here, but recruits everywhere now.

Ooh, here's a question to get arguments going:

Who would you pick to COACH the All-Time team?

Head coaches and assistants. Former heads can be assistants.

Current UK head coaches not eligible ! No exceptions !!

I say Phog assisted by Brown + Self. Sorry, Roy, no NC...

@HighEliteMajor said:

... If Embiid had played three healthy seasons at Kansas, is it reasonable to project that he would have been the 2nd best center in the history of Kansas basketball?

Many, including me, would have projected it, reasonable or not.

I hate not having seen more of Embiid in a KU uniform.

@nuleafjhawk OK - I give up. You will always exaggerate. In fact, you are the greatest exaggerator in the history of college basketball blogs ;)

@HighEliteMajor said:

@ParisHawk Good thoughts. However, you said, "If Cheick is out the whole year, Cheick-compatibility is no longer an issue and Hunter has fewer arguments for playing time."

You know what that means? You have to make an argument for Traylor to play rotation level minutes.

Just to be clear, I said "fewer arguments", not "weaker arguments". I didn't want to address the issue of who should play if Cheick doesn't.

Since you address that, here's my position: Mickelson should have played more last year. After the WUG, he should play ahead of Traylor and Lucas.

There may be team dynamics that mandate some leeway for guys in their fifth years in the program, but we need the right guys ready in February, March and I hope April...

@nuleafjhawk "Surrounded by mediocre players", he had a 6-6 record against KU during his 4 years at KSU:

• 2-2 in Kansas City
• 2-2 at KU
• 2-2 at KSU

KU swept KSU his freshman year. KSU swept KU his sophomore year.

@jaybate-1.0 Not sure.

Based on the WUG, Hunter plays more like Cheick than our other returning bigs,

If Cheick plays right away, Hunter as a sub lets us play about the same way when Cheick is out.

If Cheick is eligible later, Hunter as a temporary starter lets us play about the same way when Cheick is out.

If Cheick is out the whole year, Cheick-compatibility is no longer an issue and Hunter has fewer arguments for playing time.

Plausible?

@nuleafjhawk Hey! Rolando Blackman! AP all-time All-Big Eight basketball team. 3-time Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year: you think Self wouldn't play him?

Tied an NBA All-Star game with two free throws and exactly 0 seconds on the clock.

Bird said he would choke and Jordan bet him 4 figures he wouldn't. Bye bye Birdie...

Dr. J tried to trash talk him.

Magic was his point guard.

Took over overtime.

Jordan said he was one of the best defenders against him (meaning he occasionally held him under 30 points).

@Lulufulu said:

@ParisHawk But I did say so! About 5 hours before you asked me to confess to saying that in jest. Sorry for the confusion. I was totally kidding.

Hm, didn't see it but I do now. OK.

@Lulufulu said:

@ParisHawk Cheick has been cleared to play.

Either you're kidding - and you should say so,

Or you're not kidding - and you should back up what you're saying with a link.

@JayHawkFanToo said:

COBOL would be really easy to hack since it is not compiled and the code is open and pretty readable even by someone with little computer knowledge, this is why it is hidden within mainframes with little communication to the outside world.

What are you talking about? COBOL has always been compiled and linked, and only the executables go to production.

In my company, the same mainframe transactions are called from within and from Internet applications.

Someone please tell me if Cheick has been cleared to play !!!!

@jaybate-1.0 said:

seeding and referee bias operating against a conference with an insignificant EST FOOTPRINT.

UConn really believe that, mon?

@jaybate-1.0 It runs "over 70% of business transactions", not 70% of apps in the Internet - at least says the article you mention.

If everyone who knows COBOL dies, how will the hackers know how to hack COBOL code? They will be dead...

And you know as well as I do that the COBOL source code is not out there, just the compiled and linked routines that would have to be hacked binarily.

Why, oh why did I ever mention COBOL???

@jaybate-1.0 see it's better already. i was getting flashbacks to cobol programming.

@jaybate-1.0 you need to read a little e e cummings

"Pittsburgh freshman Damon Wilson has been academically cleared, sources told ESPN. Spent the past two years at Our Savior New American." Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN)

Everyone is saying that's good news for Cheick, including Jesse Newell.

Hey folks, not being a coach he's not allowed to work with the players. Same with Manning when he started out.

@HighEliteMajor On Greene's slump, I'm not convinced that it was in no way injury-related.

I was wondering, is it possible to know when in the shot clock we took our 3 point attempts before and after the Self comment?

Imagine Self saying in the locker room: "3 pointers as the first option is fool's gold. Try to go inside first, and when that doesn't work then it's OK to shoot".

So shooting becomes thoughtful and not instinctive, and shots have to be taken in a hurry. Frank's attempts go up because he has the ball in his hands at the end of long possessions.

Did anyone get that impression last year?

Maybe Self was trying to have his cake and eat it too, and would up with pie - in his face...

@drgnslayr Agree 100%. Another advantage of more minutes for the bench guys is fewer minutes for the starters so they are less worn down in March.

I would thaw out the bench guys in pre-conference AND during the Big 12 Tournament - except if losing early would cost us a 1 seed.

If memory serves, there was a time when Self started the seasons with 11-12 man rotations, then gradually reduced to 8-9. That was when he was transitioning from Roy's recruits to his own. Since then, he seems to have tightened his early-season rotations a bit.

He did give Connor just enough minutes to contribute in March: that worked for one half.

@drgnslayr said:

Every loss hurts… but especially losses in our conference.

And losses in the first weekend of the NCAAs.

Self makes it to the second weekend most every year and there is much less conversation about our underperforming in the NCAAs.

@HighEliteMajor Thanks for the reply.

I understand why you bring up "trading" in the context of comparing programs.

I'm more interested in action and decision: what should be done and what choices should be made in the regular season to give KU a better chance at the end of the year?

For example:

Should Mason play 38 minutes a game to win now, at the risk of wearing him down by March, or should he play 30 at the risk of losing more games before March?

Should promising players play through mistakes and get more minutes so they will be ripe for March, or should the best players right now get all the minutes?

@HighEliteMajor Maybe I'm taking your words out of context, but why belittle our streaks? They are unique currently and are on the verge of being historic.

For you, it's NC or bust - although recently you seem to accept Final Fours as worthy achievements. I get that.

You think multiple NCs trump our streaks. I get that too.

But can't you respect people like me who think the regular season is more than just play-in games to the NCAA Tournament? Why compare us to MU fans and talk about lunacy?

On this site, you're my favorite analyst of the game and I certainly respect your preferences. Please don't diss mine.

(Aside: If we really want to concentrate on Tournament excellence, we need to tear down Allen Field House! The team is too used to the overwhelming home advantage and doesn't do as well on neutral courts. Also, no more "away" games or Big 12 Tournaments in the Sprint Center.)