Just AWESOME!
bskeet
4171 posts
Good summary.
Second half could have been better. I think they started the 2nd half with an 18 pt lead and ended with a 16 pt lead. Of course, it didn't need to be.
But, matching that 1st half with a 2nd half of equal intensity and efficiency is something to which they can aspire.
This is something to improve on (and will need to improve on) in the next game.
Good week to be an opponent of KU: Historically futile offense against Kentucky (>20% FG%) in Basketball and a historic offensive performance by Oklahoma (freshman sets NCAA rushing record with 427 yards) in Football.
Ready for next week already!
@Hawk8086 agree that we got down on ourselves after a bad start and that Kentucky's blocks got into our heads and we over-compensated..
Young teams often don't know how to respond to a gut-punch and can get down or lose focus not realizing how games ebb and flow.
Kentucky is young too.. the game might have been different if we had landed the first gut punch. I suspect Kentucky will be challenged similarly at some point this season. Might not be as big a stage, but probably will happen. Should be an interesting season.
Is Perry Mason what you get when you combine Perry Ellis with Frank Mason?
@Crimsonorblue22 said:
You take what the D gives you, and they weren't going to give us anything inside the paint.
YES! You take what the D gives you -- especially when the D is focused on guarding the two most statistically important spots -- Under the basket and the 3 pt line.
Here's the secret to the statistics: the low risk/high reward regions are based on equivalent defense everywhere.
An uncontested mid-range shot is a higher-percentage shot than a heavily contested shot under the basket or on the perimeter.
@KUSTEVE not so much of a conspiracy theory. Just a theory.
[Let's watch Fla GC and see.](
I don't mean to pile on about the coaching, but @Jesse-Newell has a great article about the insanity of our approach: doing the same thing (drive and shoot) over and over and expecting a different outcome.
http://cjonline.com/blog-post/jesse-newell/2014-11-19/kureview-definition-insanity ↗ ↗
@jaybate-1.0 said:
But i don't see this as a badly beaten good team. I see it right now as a badly beaten mediocre team at most.
I think this is a fair statement. Not sure I agree with the tough assessment of the players..
But there's a subtle theme across many posters about the coaching. Most of the comments are critical of Coach Self - that he didn't have a plan, or that his plan sucked, or that he didn't try... I don't know about that... but I do feel we need to look closer at coaching.
My hunch right now is that Self is not surrounded by the quality of assistants that he was in the first 8 years at KU. He has put more of an emphasis on recruiting and lost some X & O grey matter. He's lost some important x-factor in the locker room... the toughness.. the energy.
And -- yes -- the teaching.
We're reminded that it's early in the season and we'll improve. Well, that is certainly what we hope. But I didn't think that last year's team improved much (compare the way we played in Nov against Duke to any game in February).
I'm not convinced this team will improve. And if this is true, I will not lay the blame on the players. If the team does not improve substantially by March, it's on the staff.
And that does bring me back to Coach Self, but not because of his game plan or his recruiting or his ability to make mid-game adjustments... but rather because of his recent hiring decisions when re-building the staff.
@HighEliteMajor said:
Willie Cauley-Stein: Cauley-Stein's mom said she didn't understand why Self didn't recruit him harder. Self said, well, if we got Cauly-Stein we would not have gotten Embiid. Interesting. Because we have neither one right now.
My concern about this comment (if it's true) is that it is very limited thinking -- like, you can only have one top-notch player at a position at a time.
Calipari certainly didn't stop recruiting after he got Cauly-Stein! He didn't stop after he got any position filled with a five-star Micky-D AA. And now he has two full starting 5 teams that can compete with anyone.
That said, he's playing with fire. Chemistry is delicate, and crucial. They looked awesome last night, and people say they can be even better. But they can also be worse. Their strength can be their weakness... It will be fascinating to watch.
@drgnslayr I'm with you on the heart and effort... although some may say the effort was still not enough and that Kentucky had more 'want-to' and out-hustled us.
At this point, we'll have to wait a bit to know whether this was a confidence destroyer and we spiral down.. or if this was a wake-up call that motivates us to rise up.
If I had to pick a pivotal game to watch to know who we are, it would be the Utah game.
@DanR said:
If I shuffle my feet like Barry Sanders, I can blow by anyone too.
I think that was @MoonwalkMafia 's point. (That was an egregious travel, not an elite, athletic move).
The officiating also allowed for a tremendously physical game. Mason was body-slammed on his way to the basket repeatedly without fouls being called.
Now, I don't want to suggest that if it had been called tightly, we would have been fine.. Because we wouldn't have been. It would have simply exposed another weakness: Free-throw shooting.
And that leads us to a team in search of an identity: Right now, we can't win the physical, pounding, grind it out game.. and won't win a precise, tightly-called game.
@Blown said:
As far as the game goes, I don't think there is much to say. Kentucky is a better team, with superior individuals. And they were better coached last night. Self didn't make any adjustments. I don't know that making adjustments would have mattered anyway, unless the ball started going through the net from deep.
I think the thing that I'm ruminating most on is how far from the norm that game was. In the last 10-20 years, we've lost a few games by 10 points.. We've trailed a team by 20 or even 25 in a game and then closed it up a bit.. But this game deviated FAR from the norm. This was a beatdown that did not resemble any Kansas team in a long, long time.
Back in the day, our team was said to have "put on a clinic" when we trounced another team. Last night, I feel like we were the one in the clinic. I sure hope this team (coaches included) learns fast.
@globaljaybird said:
our team is getting to be like a revolving door almost every season now
I've heard this refrain a bit lately as an explanation for our performance: "We're young.. we're inexperienced.. not enough time to develop identity or to establish chemistry.."
The problem with those explanations (IMHO) is that Kentucky is just as young, as inexperienced, etc. They have the same revolving door--- perhaps even moreso. They should have the ego issues.. the lack of playing time concerns... the questions about whether players are getting enough time on the floor to develop... etc. etc.
And yet the record speaks for itself. Somehow, Calipari has formulated (call it stripped-down or dumbed-down) an offense and defense that his players can grasp and execute in time for the pre-season games.
I don't see why we can't do the same.
@KJD said:
I can't remember watching a Kansas basketball game like that before in my life.
That's because you haven't. And neither have I or anyone else here. I'm pretty sure that's the worst performance in the last 80 or 90 years.
The stats will flow over the next few days, but 12 points in the second half has to be the lowest since before Phog was coaching. FG% ~19% for the game... again, someone will have to check to see how long stats have been recorded for some of these things.. but it's unlikely there are any games below this one.
Silver lining: it's statistically unlikely we will see another game like this in the next 20-50 years.
Time to pause and reflect before rushing to make predictions -- such as the fate of our season or our B12 title streak or our NCAA appearance streak -- based on a small data set.
Still, such a historically poor performance begs so many questions:
Is Kentucky really that good? Are we really that bad?
Can anyone other than Kentucky beat Kentucky? Is Calipari a better coach than Self?
Which B12 teams would play Kentucky closer than 32 points? (Texas? Iowa State? Oklahoma?)
Was Frankamp missed? Tharpe?
True or False: UNLV 1991 ↗ < Kentucky 2014
Did KU ever finish a game with a lower FG%? Did Roy ever lose by 32 or more?
What needs more repetition:
- Disenchanted fans saying "I will not give up on this team", or
- team free throws in practice?
If you have Comcast and get a package with all ESPN channels, you should be able to get about 80-90% of the games. Basic cable might get you the games shown by CBS (3 games) or FOX (1 game), although, when I lived in Vermont (89-91), any simulcast would favor a Big East or ACC matchup rather than a Big12. Be prepared to watch more of Syracuse, Pitt, Georgetown and Villanova than you ever wanted.
If you look at our schedule ↗ you'll see that nearly every game is covered by ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN Networks (that would be ESPN3).
ESPN3 webcasts the games provided by the Jayhawk Network. But you can't watch ESPN3 (legally) without a Comcast account.
The games that I am not sure about are games listed as Jayhawk TV (3 games). I think those games have different rights and can't be viewed online and require some special package to be seen on TV... I could be wrong.
Hope this is accurate and helpful.
Please note one of the benefits of this site on FULL DISPLAY in this thread: No limits to the size of the post :-)
This allows @jaybate-1.0 and everyone else to write uninterrupted.... Thoughts may flow to all of us directly as they were intended, without the need to stop the post and start a new one because of an arbitrary character count limit.
I like to think this makes our site as the compact disc was to the 8-track tape, which occasionally had to switch tracks in the middle of a song (for those who aren't old enough to have had that experience.)
Well the 'Hawks won... by 10 in AFH.
How do we evaluate what we saw... and what we didn't see (Oubre), fouls in the second half?
Love the stories on Bowen. The locals who know the Bowen family - and know what a winner he has been his whole life - are thrilled with his success. Here's hoping he can shock the world this weekend and solidify his tenure.
Whoever wins this game will have to manage expectations.
Svi looked fluid out on the floor... And it's great to see someone that young and that size look comfortable at this stage.
However, let's remember that the early part of the season is where Self will experiment with different lineups. He wants to see how guys respond in games vs in practice, so he needs to try this out.
Svi will probably be a starter at some point (if not this year, then next year), but the lineup for Emporia State will not be the same lineup for Iowa State.
Can we pay the search firm based on the performance of their product?
Please?
@Crimsonorblue22 Hear! Hear!
I hope HCBS knows what he's doing.. My perspective from the outside is that we lost more than we gained. @nuleafjhawk -- he definitely deserved to play more last year.
I suspect that wherever Connor goes, if he gets the chance to match up against us, he will stick it to us. And I don't think it will be grudge like revenge.. it will be more like.. "I'm just doing what I do!"
Just hope he doesn't go to Missouri. Most likely spots: WSU and KState. Also possible: Big 10 country.
@nuleafjhawk Yes .. Forte. What the heck was I thinking? Thank you!
ugh.. this is a bummer.
He's better than Ford at OSU and Ford sticks it to you. I think this is better for Connor than for us.
For those who are data geeks:
This Guy’s Quest to Track Every Shot in the NBA Changed Basketball Forever ↗
Mark McClusky • Wired Magazine
Goldsberry called his system CourtVision, and it showed differences in players no one had ever quantified. Ray Allen, one of the NBA's best shooters, had several deadly hot zones from three-point range, and he barely attempted any midrange jumpers. Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers' dynamic star, took lots of shots from all over the court, but there were places that, if you were playing against him, you'd prefer he shoot from (like the baseline, because he struggled to convert from there). Goldsberry had generated nothing less than an instant visual signature of a player's offensive game, easy to read and understand. This went way beyond what a smart analyst or coach might intuit from courtside. The more you studied the CourtVision maps, the more insights they revealed.
!
↗
@drgnslayr said:
even if Perry makes steady improvements, he'll never get the attention of these OADs, even if he puts up better stats than OADs. He's old news, especially to all the non-KU fans. All the focus goes to super young talent, the new kids on the block.
Agree.
However, if KU gets to the final four, I am almost certain that one of the main storylines will be Perry and Jamari. We don't get there without them being special. And reaching that stage will finally provide them with the attention they deserve.
Congrats to @Jesse-Newell ! Well deserved!
Hats off to the Royals! :clap: :clap: :clap:
If you'd told me four weeks ago the Royals would be in game 7 of the WS, I would have taken it.
2014 American League Champs. No one can take that away.
When it rains, it pours:
The Daily TarHeel In his first comments about the Wainstein report, Roy Williams was shell-shocked ↗
On a more upbeat note, does anyone know if tonight's ceremony is being streamed/broadcast? I'd love to watch.
@drgnslayr said:
I know this situation makes me wonder about our program. All I can say is that I'm hopeful we are running everything on the up and up.
Same here. It's natural to be reflective when a story like this comes along.
I take some comfort that kinds of kids we are recruiting has shifted -- Ellis and Svi are pretty sharp kids as is Selden. Even Wiggins and Embiid seemed to be sincere in their interest to pursue academics.
Aldrich finished his degree in 2013 ↗ and McLemore has returned to work on his degree as well.
Let's Go Royals!
Take Game 4!
Based on what I've read, Roy knew. When he found out, he tried to steer his students away from that program, but it was already well established (10-15 years). It will be interesting to see if folks think he tried hard enough or was too complacent in his approach.
Wow.. that looks like it's just in time for a ceremony.. like the 60th Anniversary?
I expect to see this hanging in the Fieldhouse for the rest of my life.
@Jesse-Newell said:
Here's my daily contribution
Love the interview! Hope you can do this again maybe mid-season and right before the tourney.
RE Perry Ellis: Shhhhhhh! He's our secret weapon hidden in plain site! (seriously -- awesome analysis!)
One other comment.. I'm pretty sure that using the domain name: kubuckets.com is perfectly legal. I suspect it gets dicy on the 'no malice' design where the visual emphasis is on KU (very big) and bucket.com is small and separated from the KU.
If the picture of Naismith is public domain, then the "bucket bridgade' and final t-shirt design (below) seems safe to me.
!
↗
P.S. I like this one best
P.P.S. I am not a lawyer
I like the designs by @DanR :-)
I think if someone gets the shirts created (or any other merchandise) and wants to provide a link to the site where it can be purchased, it's easy and legal to post a link to that site. You can add a link to any post, any thread on the site at any time.
I haven't talked to @approxinfinity about going much further with this. But a couple of things that could be done:
1) to make it easy, we could create a 'store' or 'marketplace' section where links to shirts and more were available. The selected materials could be curated by members of the site.. So I could post a list of things that I think are great (including legit KU attire, the official video of KU's championship, etc.) all linked to a site where the item can be purchased.
2) if KUbuckets was an affiliate of the site, a small proceed from the purchase would go to KUbuckets. Here's how that works. I have an affiliate account with Amazon, skeetcom. There's a syntax to the URL that points to the product and gives me credit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001675YTI/skeetcom ↗
So I could list this item from Amazon: Rock Chalk Championship: The Kansas Jayhawks' 2008 Run To The NCAA National Championship
If anyone here clicks on that link, you'll go to Amazon and see that it's the DVD of KU's championship. If you choose to buy it from that page, Amazon will credit me a couple of cents on the purchase. Eventually, when enough purchases are made, the pennies add up, hit a threshold that triggers Amazon to send me a check... I think the trigger is like $15. It's not a lot of money, and it takes some volume of purchases to get there, but this would be a way to provide patronage to KUBuckets.
@jaybate-1.0 said:
just write Larry Keating a letter and ask him if it would be okay with him and his lawyers if you were to make up some KU Buckets t-shirts, and sell them to cover costs, and inform him that any surplus that might unintentionally result you would be happy to donate to KUAD, or the Williams Fund, or the Assists Foundation, or whatever he thinks would be appropriate.
I agree with this approach if we want to pursue this. And just follow whatever comes out of his answer to the request. However, the request needs to include the final design so that the request is specific and well understood.
We don't know how the season will play out, but based on what we know and our instincts, let's imagine that KU actually ends up with a final ranking of #5.
Are you:
- Satisfied... because that's about where you expect they will be.
- Disappointed... because it means they under-achieved.
- Excited... because it means they over-achieved.
Nice summary! Thanks @dylans
my pleasure!
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Posting the Late Night videos in case you haven't seen them.
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All.. I've added Jaybate's latest acronym:
DSC = Designated Shit-Canee (player who does not get developed and leaves)
My opinion is that past performance helps (7 teams in last years tourney) and the coaching pedigree across the conference does the rest.
Hoiberg has gained respect, Kruger and Huggins are veterans, Barnes and Weber have final four experience. Tubby Smith and Bill Self have national championships. Not sure how respected Drew is.. But Ford isn't thought to be a lightweight.
Put that group against the other conferences and it's pretty favorable.