Lance isn't on the chopping block. Didn't we just give him a trillion dollar contract? Unless he molests an underage cheerleader (doubt we have those) then he's good for a while.
I still like him. And if this is a problem with our OC I expect him to make a change quickly. It is very clear to everyone this is not the same style offense we had last year.
Players can get tired even within one series of downs from a ball possession.
Heck, teams are now realizing how to play against Chris Jones for the Chiefs. They are now saying to run the ball directly at him on the beginning of a possession, then run your pass plays on the next set of downs.
Even if they weren't tired. We didn't control the ball when we needed to... those last 5 minutes. That 3rd and 3 play was a mistake, and the OC called it. When we needed to control the ball the most he didn't go to our strength, which was to run the ball. Two downs to pick up 3 yards? Really? Not only that, it stopped the clock.
The game is decided on both sides of the ball! First thing you learn when playing football.
I rarely disagree with you... but on this one, I blame the offense. KU has become a quality program mostly through our offense. We have several big-time tools on offense.
Yes, the defense lost away a two-score lead late in the 4th quarter. They were tired and without an offense keeping possession of the ball, they weren't allowed to rest, and possession drains the clock making it impossible for them to score twice.
We didn't need to score again while up two scores but we did need to secure ball possession. And our best offense so far this year is our ground game. As I mentioned above... two downs to make 3 yards (especially with Neal and Daniels) is an obvious situation to run, making a first down while also running clock.
My 11-yr old was even screaming at the TV!
This is fan abuse. The playcalling is atrocious. We were up two scores late and had the ball on 3rd down and 3 near the 50 yd line and we threw the friggin' ball. Even my 11-year-old son called out "it's 2 down territory!"
I feel like this is the old horrible KU football program. We had our little run... coaches get paid millions in contract... time to tank.
I'd love to feel some optimism, but I feel like a rape victim continuing to be victimized.
If I recall... In our past few seasons KU was known as the "motion offense team" and we ran an offense similar to the Chiefs.
We look like a traditional offense now and we are not owning the offensive end of the ball.
I know Lance is the HC... but wasn't he going to require a similar style as we moved on to a new OC?
I'm not sure where I place blame yet since I'm a total backseat quarterback in this game. From what I see... our defense isn't too bad, but they are on the field too much now and getting worn out!
Daniels looks to be without confidence and looks lost out there half the time. I think the first order of business is to settle him down. Run the ball more, including having him run with the ball. Call easier pass plays, and very rarely a long ball. Build his confidence and also stop the TOs!
Any Juan haters left in this group? lol
Look how valuable he has been for us. A solid rock.
My God... The Big12 lost two powerhouse football teams and traded them for several marginal programs. This is not trending positively! We can't add programs like UCONN, or it will be one more step to losing all reputation in football. I love their basketball program... unfortunately, it is football that decides the athletic prowess of universities.
We don't know the net result yet of losing OU and UT. That will show itself over the coming years when we have several recruit years going for recruits to play in a conference without powerhouse teams.
If that sounds confusing... read it a few times.
@Texas-Hawk-10 said in UConn to B12?:
UConn football is an albatross that shouldn’t come near the B12.
How many times can I second this motion!
Here is a novel idea... College sports form just one conference. All current D1 programs are invited. You have to join or you play no one. Then, since it is such a huge conference, we break down schools based on their location and history into regional groupings. Traditional rivalries count big. We make up recognizable names like ACC, B12, B10, SEC... We fire the NCAA and form our own conference system. Schools mostly play schools in their groupings. We develop a playoff system that is fair. We DICTATE to TV networks how it will be and it has to be fair to every region and school. We come up with a FAIR REVENUE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM!
I know.... it would suck to bring Texas back into our world. But we would also get back Oklahoma! And Missouri! (oh shizzz... I should have shut up while I was ahead!)
Great read. X-axis theories at work! I wonder if basketball will ever grasp the real potential of mastering lateral motion? My 11-yr old gets it. He's playing in the post and not that tall but he's the only one able to get off a shot against bigger competition. He loves Steph Curry and his ability to create scoring space with a simple step in any direction.
Maybe he can help push Harris to score a bit more! It should help bringing his wisdom onboard, plus give us another very unique option! Winning games are often about matchups and sometimes I bet he can help us in that department.
Concerning Khelif... welcome to the world of complicated sports qualifications. Almost as tricky as what is deemed performance-enhancement drugs. Quite complicated if someone is born with a vagina but also XY and has higher levels of testosterone. Yes, there is an advantage.... so is height advantage in our beloved game of bball. When I first read this story... I read misinformation. Of course, I was upset when I read that a trans person gamed the system so a male could beat up a female. But the story was dishonest and who knows what the motivation was... probably political or for profit.
The way I see it... I become a lot less emotional when I find out someone isn't trying to game the system. It seems Khelif fits into this category. However... it is a challenge to keep sports on the same equal page. I am doubtful that is possible.
Another thing... we all have natural bias. Take our very beloved Simone Biles. She has a natural genetic balance that gives her an advantage in her sport. For once... being small is an advantage. She's not only small, but packs unusual athletic prowse. If we dug deep enough through her DNA chart I'm sure we would see clear advantages she has (to go alone with her insatiable drive for success). Even her drive will eventually be studied in the genetic world.
What I'm getting at... the world we surround ourselves with plays a huge factor in our success. So does our genes. And we are only at the cusp of realizing genetic advantages and disadvantages. If you follow my drift about now you are realizing the importance of medical ethics.
This discussion will continue... and I hope for all our sakes we are able to find clear information not completely tainted by politics; the pollutant that is poisoning our society today.
Happy harvests...
the garden man
I usually let basketball rule where my heart is. When Filipowski went to Duke I had to get over a lot to have any kind of liking or respect for him. His play during his year at Duke really won me over. I've managed to forget the D on his jersey and respect the kid as a quality player. I think he has a future in the NBA.
I feel empathy for Bronny. His statement fit perfectly... he wants to carve his own path. But who will let him? Unless he ends up being a monster talent like his dad, he'll always fall in his dad's shadow. I'm sure he got a free pass in the draft, but it's not worth it to face the uphill battle ahead of him. I will be pulling for him!
Just my opinion. Furph should have stayed until he had whiskers on his face. I think Self pushes them out the door too quickly. Furph would have listened to Self to stay but he advised to go. Sometimes I think Self pushes too fast hoping this will increase more top tier recruits to Kansas. It wasn't a good look for KU yesterday to have Self and Furph stand around and not get picked.
I'm excited to see this team play and watch them come together throughout the season.
Are we playing abroad this summer? Any known scrimmages planned with another D1 team? Do I really have to wait until November? lol
Picked a tomato yesterday that looked like a basketball because of its scars.... perhaps an omen!
I know sports med technology improves constantly. My injury was back in the mid-90s. I had a well-reputed sports specialist as my doctor/surgeon. He told me even before the surgery I would never return to 100% or even close. I wore a locked leg brace for 6 months. When it came off, I had zero quad muscle left... just a string. Took me a year just to walk without any hitch at all. I had constant PT for 2 years. I was mid-30s and playing semi-pro in The Netherlands at the time. Wouldn't surprise me if every tendon rip injury is a bit unique, depending on how the tear is and other factors.
I had a 100% rip of my patella tendon. You know immediately there is a problem when your kneecap is halfway up your quad. It happened on the court and no one could look at it while they hauled me off. It marked the end of my playing days and I had to learn how to walk again and never regained athletic abilities again.
This is a huge loss... I hope he can rehab and play again.
Let's keep our fingers crossed... low injuries... no off-court "fouls"... and a team that gels well and everyone finds their happy role. Then we know we have a real shot and enough depth. I'm getting excited for fall ball and it's early June! Tomatoes are huge this year with plenty of spring moisture. Yippee! My biggest concern is defense and hungry rabbits!
Next year there will be more Jayhawk fans admitting how valuable McCullar was. I hope one of our new guys (or more) decides defense comes first!
Or if we become hugely successful on offense... perhaps we can speed teams up on their end which might help us create bigger margins.
Juan... score when you are open... but focus most on running a real offense and CONTROLLING TEMPO! We will be a team that lives and dies by tempo. Mark my words now!
@approxinfinity said in Furphy:
Our defense is going to be lazy af.
Self is going to have a love/hate relationship with this team.
He was truly a zodiac commentator. Hard to follow sometimes. But I preferred him over several other commentators. Loved watching him play and he was part of my Southern Cal youth experience at UCLA. His commentary on Wooden was priceless. Walton lived in the doghouse but deserved it but ended up with a very tight, loving relationship with Wooden. I'm going to miss him...
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2024-05-27/bill-walton-died-kindness-wackiness-true-original ↗
Again... I think you have it right... but I'd like you to tell me some kind of fantasy scenario so I an escape for a few minutes more! lol
@Texas-Hawk-10 said in SEC Wooing KU?:
Destroying the ACC and Big 12 leaving them and the Big 10 to rule major college athletics.
You could be right but what do they gain from that? Some form of masturbatory high-five from their own conference?
They've been a huge culprit in destroying college basketball by making it a conference race to the bottom. Basketball is only watchable when it's competitive... and that takes having multiple competitive conferences.
Isn’t the sec just maneuvering to bring in all d1 schools then be the next administration to college sports? What the frick does the sec gain by adding more teams?
@Texas-Hawk-10 called it right. These kids will develop best in G-league. Hard to say that... but it is what it is.
First thought, makes me think basketball, as a game, is doomed. College basketball turned into a big mess of "grab all." Meanwhile... pro ball has lost it's appeal to a broad audience.
Then everything changed!
Is it shoe companies? NO
It's the explosion of online gaming. Funny that players have to stay a million miles away from it... but who appears to be the new big sponsor of the NBA? Fanduel!
Online gaming is going to help support an audience pool.
Basketball is saved! Hallelujah! (sarcasm)
Defense! Great subject! I earned my keep on defense. "Game plan - within first-minute knee cap your opponent and accept whatever the ref gives you. After that, it's easy money!" From 8th grade, I never played a game without a cup or mouthpiece. lol
It's hard not to listen to @Texas-Hawk-10 being pessimistic about this team. So many apparent weak defensive players and we don't have the post swatter to equalize things. Hunter is maybe the worst footer we've ever had on defense. If the coaches can get a 10% defensive improvement out of him, we will probably win 2 -3 more games during the year.
I think Self overcompensated focusing only on trey shooting stats in the portal. I'm amazed he abandoned his claim to be a defensive-minded coach. At least I get to watch all the McCullar critics crap their britches next year when we don't have him playing monster man.
If ever there was a reason for Self to convert to zone in November... it is this year. Come on, Bill! You proved the critics wrong when you modified your hi-lo and embraced a 4-1 offense.
Anyone want to bet the over/under, us versus opponents free throw totals next year? We need all these guards because we are going to have serious foul issues.
If Self doesn't like my zone idea... how about he builds this team as a pressing team. Mask our weaknesses by trying to exhaust our opponents. Go from running 8 guys to running 11 or 12. There have been a lot of teams that suck at half-court defense but improved their stats by pressing.
I hope Juan isn't played 38+ minutes per game this year. I'm starting to think his exhaustion is cumulative over the years.
I love KJ... but he really needs to toughen up. All those muscles on such a polite player. If he could become an alpha defender, I'd upgrade my current team defense projection up from "sucks" to "respectable." He should be watching Dennis Rodman tape all summer to learn how to rebound and defend.
Doctors don't guarantee outcomes. When they clear a player, it's an evaluation of his current injury status. They always issue a caveat that it could worsen. Or maybe it was so severe he just couldn't perform well because of the pain. That wouldn't have helped his draft stock.
Watch Embiid right now in the playoffs. He's playing through several complications. He's being constantly evaluated by doctors to update his status. He gets cleared... but he's playing at risk.
Are you thinking Kevin just didn't want to play? He put everything into getting to this part of KU's season.
Yes! The biggest risk to Kevin was probably he became too swollen and they pulled back his minutes or he played really bad. And if it agitated his knee, it could slow him down for months while he has to go out there and nail down a NBA contract.
If he was for sure coming back to KU next year... I probably would have played him. He'd have all summer to recover. But as things stand, I would have sat him, too!
And imagine how it would look if he played and worsened his knee? Wouldn't look good for him or KU.
Self always puts his players first and if there was any risk he'd sit him. If he wanted him to play so bad he could have mentioned he hoped to get him back right at that time. Would have put a lot of pressure on Kevin. I believe Kevin wanted to play.
Kevin would have earned more cred had he kept his shooting % up... and of course... played through his injury in March. I'm not sure if it was him or Self that made the decision for him to sit. My guess... Self.
Furph tended to be only a first-half contributor. It is my opinion he wasn't quite stout enough to play 100% for two halves. I credit him for giving all he had... it just didn't translate into him being a second-half player.
@approxinfinity said in You know it's a big day:
Is that all the schollies? We done for next seasons roster?
We are definitely not finished, nor will we ever be finished in the future because of how things work today.
We are bound to see players being recruited over, including new commitments. At the same time, new commitments will also practice their rights to changing their status, depending on if they already started their financial aid.
Plus... I think we will for sure have at least one more scholarship and Bill expressed interest in taking all he can this year.
I'm hearing Philon left because Acuff will sign. It's a rumor now. Anyone have knowledge or comments about it?
He's a gifted scorer, especially for a PG. Can he run the offense well? Will he be a multi-year player? (I think so)
@nuleafjhawk said in Portal/transfer , now THIS would P - - - me off if true.:
@drgnslayr there’s a lot of crappy movies out there. And the ticket prices are the same for good or bad ones. At least the concessions are cheap.
Of course. That's why you are a Jayhawk and not a purple kitty! You enjoy good movies! lol
I feel your heart in this. Glad to see a fan who still has heart in the game (and school)!
The game is so different from a couple of decades ago. Top and mid-tier players have already made monster sacrifices in their lives to get to the level of play worthy for PT at a major university. Those sacrifices extend to their families, too. Many of them will transfer to several high schools (finishing schools). They'll play on AAU teams and play tournaments, often requiring major travel and time... and of course, energy. Many of these parents don't have the resources to do it all.
What I'm getting at... most of the talent we are shopping for (like buying a new/used bicycle) are guys who already sacrificed everything imaginable to be in this position. Even though NIL is weird, and the transfer portal causes heart attacks (ha... mine!), I am so glad players started receiving benefits and have more control on their futures. Granted... many may make huge mistakes, but it's on them then.
I've had contact with parents/family of great recent players. I can guarantee you they are stroking out more than fans! Every time we sign a player, and then recruit over him... imagine what that player, his family, and close friends go through! At this point in time, I'm not even sure it is a good thing for us to recruit players that are real KU fans. Regardless of what coaches and admins say, that means exactly NOTHING to us picking that player and that player getting PT. This is a business... THIS IS A BUSINESS!
I love KU basketball! But I try to be realistic! I view it as top-notch entertainment and put it on a level like a great movie! Watching movies... you have to "buy in" to the plot or it fails to be a great movie!
Just "buy in" and enjoy the ride for what it is worth! And it is worth whatever YOU make it to be!
To some degree, as much as all of us are sickened today by the influences of NIL... this will settle down with fans in a few years. I know we all had this idea that players (before NIL) came to Kansas because they love the school, coach, and the history, but lets face it, most top tier players came here because they thought it would be good for their futures beyond KU. NIL has brought business to the top and we don't like facing the reality that was always there before, but we lived in a dream.
Now that is out of the way... what happens to players that DO have a strong love for a school? My guess... they may sacrifice a little NIL to go where they want, but I'm pretty sure most will limit talking about that love ahead of signing because of the fear that will limit their NIL as NIL programs
see it takes little enticement to sign them.
ANNUAL UGLINESS! More and more we will face athletes going into the portal each year just to renegotiate NIL, even if their hopes are to stay with the same school. Also, more will enter the draft while keeping their amateur status alive just to test the waters. As ugly as this is, guaranteeing we will all suffer blood pressure problems, this will become standard and we will just get used to it.
GOOD NEWS! The best news is how the NCAA is losing all credibility and power. How we were treated with this last threat to our program will end up being the exclamation point on a disastrous tenure by a corrupt institution. Their delays were a tactic to punish us before the punishment they levied, and it worked! Go back and look at our recruiting the past 5 years. I guarantee you we lost out on many top recruits during this time because of the dark cloud.
@BeddieKU23 said in AJ joins Jayhawk nation:
Bill Self is a certified gangster
It's "gangsta!" He's earned street cred.
AJ is coming here for love. I can't blame him for that. Plus... he wasn't ready for the NBA.
This team is shaping up nicely, though I think we have more positive news coming soon.
Bombs away!
Well... none of us are OADs! lol
The safest quality recruits to take hoping they put in years at KU... short point guards that can offer consistent play for years... and big post players who can dominate D1 but don't translate to the NBA. I think Hunter will be back, and Juan is coming back.
I don't see the connection of Ben and KU's reputation. This allegation happened after his Kansas days. Morris is a different story. We brought him in after his first allegation. Then, you would think he would have totally dedicated himself to being clean and playing basketball, but he got in trouble here, too. Compare him to JWil. JWil is the example of a player making a mistake then truly dedicating himself to fixing his life. Back to Ben... more needs to come out but I believe in his character as described by Traylor. His comments seem to be inline with someone responsible to facing the music. This could be anything...
I'm glad we ditched him immediately. It's easy to put on rose-colored glasses and see him as a big help to our team where we needed it most. But realistically, he would likely have caused other problems... team unity... other run-ins with the law... a further tarnish of our school's reputation.
I'm still thinking Beard or Pearl, though thinking it less since they aren't appearing already in Lexington. These two guys would sell their souls for a buck and lack the brains to realize the suicide committed by going to UK. Perhaps their names come up after a few more NO beatdowns! (lol)
Visit a Kentucky fan site now. I don't see how anyone could stand that job.
Meanwhile back in Fayetteville... Cal is trying to figure out what to do with the 2-tons of toxic chicken that arrived in his new mansion! You think the players are fed that sh*t?
I'm even wrong being wrong to be wrong. If my math is right (lol) I'm infinitely wrong! My wrong goes in so many directions... could explain the big bang theory.
Confessing "wrongness" takes off all the pressure. We can always later say.. "see, I told you so!" lol
Deal! I'll go back through all my years posting in here and clean up my old posts where I admit to being wrong. Probably 1000 or so posts.
My thoughts, too... except I've been wrong before, especially when egos and greed get involved!
Ha! I'd rather just get paid a comfortable amount.. how about $150k a year?
You have my vote! Can I be your assistant? I would still get paid enough money and I'd be out of shotgun range!
UPDATE: Just read that UK is formalizing an offer for Hurley to make him the highest paid coach in college basketball. Will be a greed test for Hurley.
Hurley is working on becoming the next Wooden... and that possibility only happens at UCONN. He's the last guy on earth that would give that up for the bitchy fans at UK.
Drew is faith-based and a perfect fit at Baylor.
Remember back at UK before Calipari. They had a hard time finding someone. Not many coaches want to enter a hornet's nest. Calipari's greed and his ability to recruit made him the perfect UK match.
UK is going to have to go deep in their pockets, regardless who takes the job. I can imagine they go for an interim coach while they try to clean house a bit to become more attractive for a real coach.
BREAKING NEWS: Tang announced Head Coach at NASA! NASA officials excited to bring the high-sugar, artificially-flavored drink back into the fold.