@jaybate 1.0 We could really use the tools and inclination of Cliff Alexander right now!
REHawk
1583 posts
@jaybate 1.0 Sounds like a rational proposal, esp. til Embiid and Black regain wheels, and til Wiggins progresses deeper into the growing violence of the mosh pit which has become the setting for amateur hoops play in the paint. X Factor now has become officiating...from game to game, ambivalence of whistle toots.
Stevie Clark has been dismissed from OSU team. What with Cobbins' achilles injury, OSU now down to 6 of their eight rotation players.
@drgnslayr Man O Man, if we could draw Wayne and JoJo back for a second season...O My!
Definitely would do both of them limitless good to latch onto another year of optimal seasoning.
Unless, of course, a crucial injury should disrupt future professional play and earning power.
JoJo, welcome to the world of bruiserball. Please solicit the very best from the offerings of Andrea Hudy, and spend the next 15 months in intense bodily preparation to defend and dish.
@HighEliteMajor Highly rootworthy!
@jaybate 1.0 "Images burned into our memories." You betcha! Once, fire of my loins, too.
Smoldering embers....
Actually, I derive a certain taste of satisfaction when announcers spew their contrary Jayhawk predictions or declarations before, during, or after our games. It was something of a hoot when Dickie V. labeled us a fifth place pre-season league team a few years ago. Since, he has developed a rational wariness regarding any whisper of shortchanging Bill Self and his usual fast-developing minions. Dougie G. obviously bounces through his broadcasting stints with loose-lipped gusto, trapped yet within the frustrated and capricious teen mindset of an Okie State Big 12 aspirant. He offers to KU posters and bloggers a steady stream of contradictory challenges. For me, such brash braying from the announcer's booth beats hell out of the dreary or uninformed game-calling which we ocasionally fall victim to, or digressions into topics barely tangential to the game at hand. Even with commentator Bob Knight's sleepy lack of preparation, at least he was good for something colorful or pointedly informative about our sport. So long as I am in possession of a large screen TV and a working DVR and remote gizmo with volume mute, I find that I can stomach any of those donkeys. Bray, Dougie, bray! Se ya in April.
jb and fellow poster/responders, you have set my imagination in motion regarding the huge cha-chings. Considering the current play of a proven NBA superstar, just try to fathom the commercial leverage of January 2014 Kevin Durant! If his business enterprise has operated wisely in the way of open opportunity for contractual commercial expansions, HOLY MOLY!!! (As a side note, when asked point blank which NBA player his future might be most closely akin to, did not Andrew Wiggins squeeze forth the name K D?)
@HighEliteMajor Terrific post, HEM. Only game of the season I was not able to watch, as I have no access to ESPNU and do not have access to streaming Time Warner password for my rented winter lodging in S. Texas. That photo is horribly scary. ONE INCH...YIKES!
And another Yogi-ism, tho I might not have recalled the proper syntax: "It ain't over til it's over."
@TheDrunkenJhawk At this juncture, it is hard to argue against Ennis' success, considering the season record of the Orange. Sound freshman numbers, no team losses....
@globaljaybird "windex man" was Spangler, that is for certain. He was a real stud last night. Travis Ford got Krugered. Smart's frustrations appear to stretch on and on and on. Without the lethal 3 of Forte, OSU would have absolutely dissolved by the final countdown. Nash's whinings, Clark's over-bold feistiness and Smart's desperate borderline physicality were on full display for league coaches to pattern schematics. If Ford can't or won't settle them down, his squad tilts near precipice of falling into the cistern with Drew's Failor Bears.
Well, regarding tactical change, we probably have not seen the last of Bill Self's adjustment and manipulation of his defense this season. Somewhere down the pike we are bound to see him employ some zone, if not in desperation, just to satisfy his curiosity about the limits of his current long and athletic superstars (who likely will test an option to m2m in practices prior to the league tournament). Practice time programmed that direction would stem from exasperated realization that Tharpe, Mason (Frankamp) were just not yet capable of stopping a healthy Kane or Craft. Perhaps Smart, too, although we already seem to have gotten into Smart's head. His current frustrations and rages probably date back to the Cowboy loss at AFH. I see several instance of LIKELY and PROBABLY in my posting here. But that is the way I view the m2m/zone situation and eventual likelihood, as it currently exists. Wily Bill ain't displayed his sundry options yet.
@wissoxfan83 I use Yahoo via FireFox. No problem. My previous computer was set up with Googlechrome, and I became very frustrated with constant array of unwanted popups.
jb, maybe you could contact Hopper's heirs for licensing rights to print your photoshop on 100,000 fleece or velour 60" blankets to be sold at the bookstore or some trendy Country Club Plaza vendor. Turn the proceeds into airline tickets and lodgings, to lure home every living ex-Jayhawk hoopster for an early fall or midsummer halcyon occasion at The Phog. First 5,000 spectating fans to consist of school-aged kids on crimson and blue track to become lifelong Jayhawk savants.
@jaybate 1.0 Perhaps the guy with his back to us is Scott Drew, not even striving to stay incognito. Just thirsty for attachment to THE WAIT.
@jaybate 1.0 Ed Hopper must be smiling!
@jaybate 1.0 Ditto, my memory. Recently I forgot the name of our red shirt Mickelson, so referred to him as our Arkansas kid. Senior moments....
@icthawkfan316 I like your best of 5 endofseason lineup. I probably would not nominate Wigs at this stage, although your explanation for his inclusion made sense. Got me to thinking about other Big 12 players who might be nominees for this list. Okie State Smart probably the only player we have competed against, to date, who definitely bears the combined talent and desire to win. I might give him the nod over Appling.
@JayHawkFanToo Thanks for the Withey update. I occasionally check Jeff's stats, but I missed these numbers. I really hope he is able to escape the slaughter....
@jaybate 1.0 jb, your punking analysis lends credence to JoJo's declaration that he might not yet be ready to move into the crunch and grind of professional play. Brannen Green spoke today of Embiid's gains in strength this season, how he has gradually gained ability (physical capacity) to finish at the rim. JoJo has got to be weighing the upside of spending another year in the Kansas training facilities. He readily admits that he is just now learning to eat right. The kid bears a rough and tumble retaliatory streak which obviously will benefit from at least one more year of collegiate preparation before wading into the meatgrinder. If I were his parent, and the family coffers were not desperate for immediate embelliishment, I might probably be inclined to advise JoJo to wait another year, continue to learn and grow. It would encompass one hell of a serious injury for his pro career to be doomed in such a manner that he would not eventually pull down millions of dollars, whether he should fall out of a top 3 lottery slot or not.
@JayHawkFanToo Very apropos, JHFT! Made my day, the resurrection of that old joke.
@jaybate 1.0 Greene has the length and the motor. If the game can slow down for him by late Feb. I think he will be a terrific contributor as we zoom into Tournament Time. Ten to 12 minutes per game now might pay huge dividends by Madness.
And Blown, many thnx for your advice regarding my changing the avatar. Took me 24 hours to figure it all out, but the deed is done. Now I am not so anonymous.
@jaybate 1.0 Hey, jb, please forgive me for adding slayr's addition to your artwork for my avatar. Seemed fitting. Thnx again for your time, innovation, and courtesy.
@jaybate 1.0 Or is that FEYLOR Bares?
@Blown Thanks lots for that Dana O'Neil article. That probably goes down as the very best piece yet written about JoJo.
@jaybate 1.0 jb, I bought a new computer and lost my former avatar. Someone, please tell me how to download or get this avatar offering to the buckets site. Consider that you are advising a computer imbecile. jb, thanks lots for the artwork.
@JayHawkFanToo Heck, at this stage of life, I can go for PHALLIC!
@jaybate 1.0 Regarding the SEAL assassin, at this juncture I predict Greene to pull down the most PT. Not because he might be a deadlier shooter than Conner, but because his length and movement fits better to the current schematic, esp. when Wigs slips into aphasia or draws too much coverage to be effective in particular matchups. The only impediment to Greene's earning minutes (other than erratic or careless play) would be attitude...or Self's suspecting that he might bolt come May. I think that Greene would play 20 minutes per game for most of our league opponents. 35 minutes for several of them. Heck, Lucas, Greene, White, Frankamp and our big Arkansas transfer could probably outplay the bottom 2 or 3 squads in most leagues if they had the current game experience of Wigs and Wayne. Even Travis Ford declares that Self's bench is just too potent.
@jaybate 1.0 AhHa! Haymaker punch. The Bruise Brothers. Oooh. Anticipated fun for Jayhawk boosters.
@REHawk But we won. Let's hope the troops are still eager to listen.
@jaybate 1.0 Well, one thing is for certain. Jayhawk players will be in a mindset almost to beg the coaching staff for instruction involving breaking such presses. Too much panic and embarrassment now exists for our guards to take a ho-hum mind to practice sessions. In my own teaching/coaching I have found that learners learn best when they are hungry or desperate for means to compete successfully. Kinda like young drivers who oftentimes listen to instruction only after first ticketed driving infraction or fender bender. Self hanged his ball handlers on the line, allowing them to flap in the wind. He probably has maneuvered them into very close undivided attention, so that they can take quick steps to adjust. In doing so he came within seconds of hanging that dwindling lead into a loss, the outcome flapping on that same windswept line!
I gave considerable thought to jaybate's pre-game thesis that Bill Self would most probably avoid trying to amp his squad for the two consecutive home games, Sat./Mon. After watching the Sat. second half debacle, I figure that jb was right in his projection that Self would save the amp for Baylor. Evidently, the team was shown the flic of Smart's backflip, which, along with season-long media focus, was enough for the team to open the game on a natural high.
The unexpected but welcome first half surge allowed the coaching staff to back away from halftime promptings, resulting in the flat play we immediately witnessed when the team retook the court...or, better yet, failed to "retake" the court. Self's utilization of players after halftime, esp. the first ten minutes before the game almost got completely out of hand, is almost as curious as Andrew Wiggins' evaporation. The only explanation I can arrive at involving second half subbing might relate to deference to TEACHING MOMENTS, Self's calculation that the lead was substantial enough that he could keep Selden on the floor in spite of the breakddowns from OSU's press. Whatever the thinking, we came away with a very significant breathtaking win. Luck? Or crafty mentorship?
Today's (Friday's) BLEACHER REPORT. Self, Townsend, Andrew and parents quoted; up to date info.
Jason King just produced a fabulous Wiggins interview, BLEACHER REPORT. Lots of comments from KU coaches, Andrew and family.
@drgnslayr "A luxurious situation." Right on. Speaking of which, in the fall of 2015 our male and female hoops players will certainly be couched in luxury. AFH and those new basketball dorms will constitute a double whammy for Bill Self's recruiting. Gotta hope that the majority of recruits will not recline so comfortably in those lodgings that they lose the hungry edge for Jayhawk dominance. That said, I really can't fathom Self, Hudy and staffs allowing that to occur.
@Blown Nice Nolan Ryan quote. Wiggins in particular must adhere to that maxim throughout his career. I am very cognizant and respectful of the manner in which Andrew has elevated his play in gradations. His progress lies on a more subtle curve than that of Joel's. As they each keep reaching toward their current ceilings, devoted Jayhawk fans are in for special treats. Andrew has been very patient in dealing not only with the humongous expectations of media and fandom, but also with his own gametime development at this new level of play. He seems not to be rattled out of form by all the early Parker/Randle/Smart kudos and comparisons. So that now he approaches moments when he steps near the brink of leaping away from other contenders for NCAA limelights. And, of course, Joel's footsteps occasionally lurk and lurch right along, in sync.
@wissoxfan83 This quote from Self (a gymnastic judge's view of The Backflip) elicited my Friday morning smile. His wry wit sometimes approaches the level of Yogi B's.
@drgnslayr I'll opt to join the confession brigade, along with HEM and Kip. Born in Missouri, I live in Missouri most of the calendar years; have never earned credits at KU. My son and wife invested quality time at the university, and I have competed on the KU track. I am an aging rabid convert to Jayhawk Basketball via Matrimony and various Friendships. Happily, I fire up the computer every morning to catch the latest in Jayhawk Hoops news/posts before breakfast. My conversion dates to the last third of the Roy years, and I have missed very little print during the Bill Self ascension to the throne. Not a highly astute Xs and Os basketball man, my penchant for posting lies more in the realm of sports psychology and homespun surety regarding interaction between and among coaching/training professionals and their not so humble minions. KU Basketball has become a comfortable joy to fill many daily minutes of my twilight years.
Kudos to Norm Roberts for recognizing that 7' vein of gold we mined from Billy D's territory.
Flip-Flop. Eh, what?
No pain, No gain,
No Kane.
And, jb, in reference to your analysis that Self has not built this squad's play around Wiggins, do you think that maybe our wily coach is working a bit of slight of hand on opposing coaches? I foresee some key contests, deep or late into the schedule, when this team actually takes court to swirl around the hub of AW; then backs off for a few games....
Speaking of injuries and Self's ultimate respect for his talented players earning minutes regardless, I wonder about the dinged up Selden prior to Christmas break. Just at the moment when posters began clamoring for him to hit the pine, Wayne seemed to spring back to good wheels. Perhaps another example of Self's deference and reward to the talented but injured player who brings to practices relentless commitment?
@jaybate 1.0 Fred will try to play him. If early going looks bleak for ISU, Kane will limp to the bench, stay there unless a light blinks at the end of their tunnel.
Horror of all horrors: If Iowa State, with a slim lead and five seconds remaining on the clock, possesses the ball and races toward the bucket, they are going for a dunk. Subsequently, they never beat KU again this season.
@tundrahok Muchas gracias for the info.
@Lulufulu85 Heck, Lulu, I would settle for just the 10 assists...maybe 2 turnovers, 6 points and ONE STEAL!