but an undefeated champ had to happen sometime.
@HighEliteMajor Yeah.. it was especially fascinating given that Wichita State flirted with that amazing feat the year before, and everyone said a team wouldn't enter the tournament undefeated again for 30 years.
@HEM Wiggins has won me over as well and your list matches mine. Perhaps a different order (I tend to agree with the Tattoos point, but it's probably not #1 on my list.)
I would put #6 Class, #7 Humility, #10 Defensive Effort at or near the top.
Also would submit a couple of others:
Eleven -- Articulate: For an 18/19-year-old who is getting questions of all sorts and motivations, he's amazingly poised and thoughtful about his answers and responses. A great ambassador for our team and our university.
Twelve -- Sheer Athleticism: See SportsScience: Andrew Wiggins ↗
Go 'Hawks!
Put the Forbes story at the top because .. well, there's $33 million reasons to lead with it.
Not sure how they valuate these entities... but it does seem worth pondering that Self has a $50 million contract to run a $33 million entity. Is there risk if the leader is worth more than the entity he/she leads?
Anyway, the increase in value during Self's last 6 years (double!!) is pretty amazing! If you are an investor, you like that rate. In other words-- KU is a hot stock right now and has been for the last 6 years.
The best news: we were all early investors!
Do you think KU is 17 point worse without Embiid than with Embiid?
@JayHawkFanToo I think KU got 20 points from Embiid in a typical game...sometimes more: 10 points on offense -- either through points or offensive rebounds that led to additional points.. and 10 points on defense-- either through blocks, altered shots or defensive rebounds.
So, in my opinion, our chances against UNM w/o Embiid are 50-50.
Against Stanford I think we're 60-40 and it hinges on Tharpe.
Most importantly, against Eastern Kentucky, we need to get business done. Otherwise our chances against UNM or Stanford go to 0%. (stating the obvious for effect..)
The more I look at the top 4 of the regions, the more I think Midwest and South are pretty comparable... East and West are a bit easier, but I'm going to say it -- I think the committee did a pretty decent job.
Not thrilled they left SMU out, and yeah, Louisville is probably a 3 or maybe 2 seed... but I can understand the logic for the teams and their placements.
This year, it seems pretty topsy-turvy among the top 12 teams. The two most consistent teams, Florida and Wichita State. have question marks... And all the rest have had their moment.
@approxinfinity my pleasure!
Two more observations:
1) In previous years, the committee has said it tries to avoid the possibility of teams that have already played each other meeting in the first couple of rounds. Obviously, not so much this year with KU and UNM
2) St. Loius is good for fans, but the regionals are in Memphis. Is that good for Tarik? He should be very comfortable on that floor.
@approxinfinity awesome! thanks for setting it up!
Is there a rule to pick KU to win for every bracket in this group? ;-)
@MoonwalkMafia Right there with you on the Midwest -- i do not have envy for that region any more!
South is probably 2nd in strength. When I saw the teams, my thought was "it could have been worse."
The committee didn't do us any favors, but I don't think it messed with us like they did a few others (Louisville...)
Fair enough.
I saw Stanford play Washington this season and, based on what I saw, I think we could handle them, but they have a very good point guard and some quick size inside. Every bit as good as Tharpe on a good day.
If we get to the second round, Stanford is a completely different team to prepare for compared to New Mexico.
I agree with those that say that the absence of Embiid is key against UNM. Embiid helps neutralize their size.
Pick your poison btwn Stanford and UNM: which weakness would you like to see tested?
Does anyone here capture basketball stats for KU or other teams using an app called GameChanger or know if data from GameChanger for KU games is available?
Just curious about gathering some data that could be used.. Wonder if @jessenewell is using data from an app like that for his analysis..
My final thoughts on the game: Oh the drama at the end! OSU was playing in a soap opera and we were playing in a basketball game. The flops and limping and holding sides and heads... What a downtrodden bunch! What horseshlt.
The next steps for OSU: They get to go back to Stillwater early and work on their rehearsals for the big stage.
@Crimsonorblue22 Hah! I don't think I could add much to the amazing insights that everyone here has had! It's great reading everyone's observations... makes me more excited to watch!
@Hawk8086 Hope you'll see this-- I don't think @konkeyDong was picking at your correction-- just trying to offer a helpful tip that about a feature on this site that might be easily overlooked.
KUBuckets allows you to go in and edit your own posting after you posted...KU Sports didn't have this feature for a long time.
So that means if you notice that you made a typo or even want to rewrite something to make it clearer.. whatever.. you can just click the pencil icon and it will allow you to make that change, thereby avoiding correction posts..
Just sharing in case folks didn't know. Also, I think you can delete a post that you've made with the trash can.. so if you've ever had a moment where you post something and you want to take it all back.. that's possible too.
Thanks to @approxinfinity for such a robust site!
PS: I recorded the game.. Looking forward to watching it shortly. Don't tell me how it ends :-P
I liked Barry sanders but that's about it.
@VailHawk Agree. I hold Barry Sanders in high esteem. And there's one other OSU alumn that I hold in high esteem.
They are outnumbered by the knuckleheads.
@nuleafjhawk It would be cool if we had a polling feature.. but I agree 6.5 is about right... with a fairly high variance of 1.5
When you drive, shouldn't assists be an option?
@ParisHawk If not assists, then turnovers... :-(
The 2013-14 plot thickens. Still hoping for a happy ending... but it's beginning to look like it's going to take something legendary for the heroes to prevail.
I am not sure that the posters understand how good this team can be when they are really motivated and are up for a game.
@DinarHawk Hear! Hear!
:-) For now, my glass is half full.
I recall Self saying that, in addition to learning the game, language and other things, Embiid didn't know "how to eat right" when he got to Lawrence. I assumed that meant there was a nutritionist working with the team and observing Embiid's habits specifically.
He was playing with a freaking broken back!
@dylans Good point. Joel is a stud. But it makes me ponder the quote from Coach Self that went something like "His back injury can't get any worse"..
Stress fractures can get aggravated, I would think. Seems a bit like an Obi-Wan statement (what I said was true... from a certain point of view.)
sky is falling on KUSports.. ScaredMichael is scared.. etc. etc.
All Big-12 Teams Announced
Nice graphic showing Wiggins swan-song B12 performance -- not quite enough to get POY
@Crimsonorblue22 Thanks much.. updated in the top post.
I'm also going to post over on the March 9 News discussion..
Who would you take just looking at those numbers?
@JRyman B here too. although the TOs are not good.
@Crimsonorblue22 Thanks! Great suggestion! I added that to the stories above.
Some say you need some losses to expose the chinks in the armor and allow you to neutralize approaches that are likely to lead to defeat. This school of thought suggests that it is possible to grow stronger from failures if you learn from the mistakes.
Some say you don't need to lose -- in fact losing is a sign of weakness to opponents. That a loss brings confidence to the enemy and doubt to oneself.
Thus I present to you:
Exhibit A: The 2014 Jayhawks, 23-7
Exhibit B: The 2014 Shockers, 32-0
Who is in a better position to win?
And just for fun, what about Exhibit C: 2014 Florida, 28-2
@drgnslayr You have laid out some of the most important pieces of the puzzle.. and hinted at one more: How will the officials call the games?
The tournament is officiated by officials from the various conferences and, while they all were indoctrinated together on the new rules at the start of the season, a lot of time has gone by and they've adapted to fit the styles of their conferences.
I wonder if we will see some dramatically contrasting officiating from game to game and round to round as they try to figure out how to keep the spirit of the new rules, and balance with their adjustments throughout the year...
Or am I over-thinking it?
@approxinfinity My pleasure! Can't believe we're nearing the dusk of this season. As Wiggins said, It's gone too fast!
Tarik Black = Winner.
True in basketball and will be true in life.
This team is like the big diamond on the top of the diamond studded ring that is Bill Self's career at Kansas because of the amazing depth and quality of individuals. If those individuals can just play like a unit for the next month and a few days... What a ride we'll all have!
More Pics than I could put in the main posting:
@approxinfinity I am not using Firefox as much as Safari on the mac. Have never had problems with either, but Safari is my dominant browser.
@jaybate 1.0 100% agree. He is totally thinking that way. And he isn't the only one. Sometime, I'd like to see folks list the most-likely KU players to be a future branch of the Bill Self Basketball Coaching Tree.
I would put Tarik up there with some of the highest odds.
Tyrel Reed is another I think could coach. Also Kevin Young, Russ Rob. Even Justin Wesley and Elijah Johnson wouldn't surprise me.
Chase Buford is likely to be in the business. Not sure about coaching..
@globaljaybird Very interesting story...
I may be drinking the red and blue kool-aid, but I think we still have a decent shot at a #1 seed.
First, we should take care of business at home against TT. It is senior night. Emotion should be high. But this is not a gimme.
Second, go to WVU and take down a highly-competitive Huggins team with size. But we'll have size in Black and Trailer who might be a better duo to match up against the mountaineers.
At that point, I'm going to say we're still a #2.
When we get to conference tourney time, there could be some upsets that could help us. The ACC tourney will be a test for Virginia to pull off. I tend to trust Florida to handle the SEC competition, but Arizona could be upended in the PAC12. Wichita State may come through unscathed, but I'm going to say the odds are pretty good that one of these teams will lose in their conference tourney.
With a loss from one of those teams, KU is in the conversation for a #1 unless they bow out in the first game of the tourney.
If KU gets to the Big12 championship game, they are being considered for a #1 seed --with or without a loss from the top row. And if they win, they are almost certainly a #1 seed --even if the other teams win out -- by virtue of their accomplishments against the Top 50 teams in the B12 tourney they will likely encounter.
We actually have an advantage by playing in the Big12 -- more upside if we win than any of the other teams other than maybe Virginia.
@jaybate 1.0 True. Morgantown could be a place to experiment with a great many things...
I think he has done one of his best jobs ever this year! Maybe his best!
@drgnslayr I tend to agree. This was not an easy team to line up against the #1 SOS in the country. Add to that the unknowns replacing the starting 5 from last year, 80% plus of all scoring and minutes.. 5 freshmen, a transfer and new assistants.. And he still won the B12 regular season crown.
Despite the pressure of the #1 recruit or the pressure of 10 titles in a row.. he just did it.
Impressive.
While a great argument, I don't see it happening since its Senior Night and Tarik is a Senior.
Tradition will prevail and Tarik will start. Landon should get some good minutes, though.
Updated the news.. Jesse is doing his usual great stuff.. I'll try to recap his Tweets here:
Talk about bending stats: February stat comparison between Andrew Wiggins and Marcus Foster
First off, why February? Why not Tuesdays? Or games that start at 7:05 p.m.?
2nd, comparing the two on assists? Not exactly comparing apples to apples there. Just like it wouldn't be fair to compare the 2 in rebounds.
3rd, points/game doesn't paint full picture. If my math is right, Foster is averaging 2.5 more FGs/game (in Feb.). Makes a difference.
If you want to compare Big 12 offense: Wiggins 114.7 Offensive Rating, 26.4% Usage; Foster 105.5 O-Rtg, 28.9% Usage.
Translation: Foster is asked to do a lot offensively, but he's not close to Wiggins' efficiency. Both good. Wiggins better.
@Jesse Newell rocks.
YAEL T. ABOUHALKAH (the op-ed writer for the star) Apparently unable to recognize leadership when he sees it.
Instead, he presumes to criticize the winningest coach in the last decade about his motivational methods.
He can call Bill Self a jerk, but he has to be ready to assume the title of idiot.
@Crimsonorblue22 Good one. I was a little slow on that too.
@Crimsonorblue22 Thanks for sharing that link..
And if anyone wants to see the editorial from the KC Star that started the uproar:
KU’s Bill Self acts like jerk after his Jayhawks win Big 12 championship ↗
Filled with lots of pithy insights like this one:
"Well, I didn’t see Self volunteering to give any of his $5 million salary back after what he thought was a poor performance Saturday night."
I think this guy's effort was blatantly incendiary. Not sure it's worth the effort to respond to such a flimsy argument.
And you could never, ever, be as big of jerk as Marcus Smart.
@MoonwalkMafia SO TRUE:
thanks @CrimsonorBlue22 for the photo.. Wowsa.
we can swallow a little of our pride and better understand how we can capture some of those qualities that have helped them.
@drgnslayr My view is that WSU plays exceedingly well as a unit and knows how to maximize their talents. I think this is what comes with a veteran team -- understanding of how parts fit together.. greater elasticity.. ability to avoid mistakes and make up for them better.
That gives them an advantage in many situations. They also have very good talent.
We have exceptional talent at several positions, but not the experience of how to take advantage of each other. WSU is a better team right now than almost any other out there based on who they have played.
I just don't think they have been tested as much as some other schools.. That doesn't mean they won't win when tested, it just means there's a caveat in my mind. We don't know as much about their weaknesses... and they don't know as much about about their own weaknesses, either.
@drgnslayr I hear you on how impressive it is that WSU has managed to maintain a level of excellence even against lesser teams that might be hard to get 'up' for. But I also believe the margin for error is greater for WSU if they don't get as motivated for a game.
They have not played many teams with individual talent like is seen on teams throughout the power conferences. My enthusiasm is curbed by knowing that if they went up against an unranked team like OSU twice, they would likely lose once. Especially if the previous three games included teams like ISU, Texas and KU. If they were a member of the ACC, Pac12, I think they would not be undefeated.
That's not to say they wouldn't be among the best in the country.. just to say, there's context to be considered in assessing their record and it's not insignificant.
I put this into the category of "How to win even when you lose".
Lost the game, but still won the league championship outright, thanks to the efforts of others.
Lost the game, but still learned a valuable lesson on how to play down the stretch to close out a game against a surging, desperate opponent. If the team learns from this, they will have picked up a critical tool for the tournament.
-- Let's hope Embiid isn't too hurt.
@Crimsonorblue22 Well, they certainly have gotten some great PR in the last week or so. If their current accomplishments can translate into funds for a good cause, I think that's a noble and savvy move by Marshall and WSU.