🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@justanotherfan

I think your posts take a critical view of Kansas basketball... and I'm glad you (and any of us) can do so without getting blasted by others.

But I'm not sure I can buy into your point of view... especially today as I'm seeing the world crimson and blue!

"There is a serious question as to whether KU can actually develop wing talent and prepare them for the NBA."

I've been one of the biggest critics of Kansas "development" lately. I don't base that on the NBA results from our wing 3s. You've painted their results with a broad stroke. Rush and Henry, simply stated, shouldn't even be in the league because of the severity of their injuries. I know Rush has now been through 2 ACL injuries, and he is viewed as a "high risk".... Henry... he's a walking injury report. His ruptured Achilles was the final blow making him "high risk."

All of these guys except Rush were, essentially, OADs. BMac got some extra practice.

So you are talking about guys that were on campus just a few months... does anyone really count these guys as "developmental players?" Definitely not at the D1 level. A few months will never convert a HS kid into a NBA-ready player. Either the kid brought the stuff with him, or forget it.

It's like giving Cal credit for developing Anthony Davis.

My dream with Kansas is we dump at least one assistant coach, maybe two. And we go out and find the best developmental coaches out there, and we are willing to pay a 7-figure salary. It's okay if they don't have a used car salesman background for recruiting, because we stop going after OADs.

Suddenly, we become "Developmental U" and every mid-ranked recruit targets Kansas as their dream school.

So then we get our pick of most of those middle guys and almost all of them are with us for a minimum of 2 years. Many for 3, and sometimes we get to have a senior, like Perry Ellis.

Now we have teams that have experience with "Self ball" and can finally execute a game plan. Finally a team that plays REAL defense! Finally a team that works the offense for excellent shot attempts via a plethora of options. Finally a team that has plenty of March experience and less choking in March. Finally a team that all of the guys return so us fans actually feel like we know them. Finally, we stop feeling like we are just a pit stop for elites. Finally, we have a team that beats teams like Duke and UK every single time because all that HS talent they have can't come close to a real team made up of older guys with experience.

Some will say... "we've already tried that." No... not even close. Self has been angling for the highest talent ever since he came to Lawrence and he grades his assistances primarily by their recruiting abilities, not developmental abilities. We are not known for being "Developmental U" so we can't even get a majority of the mid-grade players.

That would be so refreshing. And with the right planning... we would be at the top in March MOST years!

@brooksmd

Oh yes... I remember that kid. Another example of why Cal is hated everywhere but Kentucky. Jones had verbally announced and changed his mind because Cal continued closing the sell.

I've only been an employee once after finishing college. It was a big corp and was bought out a year later and they laid off everyone in our department. I said it then and I kept to my word... I would never be an employee again. That was back in the '80s.

I've always had to micromanage. There is a line that stays moving and that is the line with the right amount of micromanagement. Too much and employees can't breath and no longer feel like they have to be responsible. Not enough and you are asking for trouble! My customers expect me to micromanage, because they know the job will get done right the first time.

I have a manufacturing company and this week I'm spending my time on the plant floor, 100% involved in fixing two of our production machines. If I don't do it, it won't be done right. No one cares more about it than me. We have big orders coming soon and that equipment needs to be fixed right. Our operators and plant manager just doesn't have the creativity to make the right decisions on things like this.

@jayballer54

We are all feeling this from time to time. It is extremely frustrating.

I think we have recently addressed much of this and exposed a big part of the problem.

Two things stick out most:

First... because of technology, we are able to follow recruiting much closer than in the past. I'm willing to bet we have always had these same big misses but we didn't even know it. The fact that we are all kept PARTIALLY in the loop, makes this all very, very frustrating. We only have enough information to get frustrated and to start pointing fingers.

Second... the grass is always greener on the other side. Just two years ago, we had the #1 and #3 players picked in the NBA draft. We still land talent. Often, the problem is that we have upperclassmen locking up the slots and so incoming OADs would have to ride the pine and we know Cal is the only guy able to convince OADs they should only play a few minutes a game and be happy. (ha... sarcasm... note how Cal isn't selling the platoon system this year!)

Would you prefer we land all of these top recruits and have "revolving door teams" every year? I wouldn't trade some NCs to go that route. I don't mind having a couple of OADs, but a team full of them? Seriously... Imagine the venom our fans will have when we DON'T win a NC and we have a team full of OADs? I would hate to be a Kentucky fan. What are they supposed to expect every year? Let's not forget that Cal has only won ONE NC so far with all his dream teams. They edged us out in a year where we were undermanned in talent and didn't have a single McDs AA on our runner-up team.

These days, I have less of a problem with our recruiting and more of a problem with our development. I know there are practice limitations, but I expect more from our development, including in strength and conditioning. Yes... I'm even questioning our Oracle Of Fitness... Hudy! I look at guys like Lucas and I don't know why he has been here so long and he is still getting pushed out of the paint like a soggy leaf. That does not compute in my head, with or without Hudy.

“why O’why do KU fans still keep on using other BIG12 teams as a benchmark for greatness.”

Since when do KU fans do that?

It's SPORTS MEDIA that constantly over-hypes the Big12 and KU freshman stars dreaming of being OADs.

@JayHawkFanToo

"Well…you can get them on EBay for $20K."

Yikes! I'll run down the dude that lives in his van with his shoe collection first. Bet he has them available cheaper!

@Crimsonorblue22

Even my serious posts are sarcastic. NO ONE should ever take me serious! ;)

@JayHawkFanToo

Even though I often work in technology, I have always hated smart phones and all phones. There is no place to run and hide. I loved it when all of the carriers had dead cell spaces (and before GSM phones in the USA) so I could always claim I didn't receive a call.

My grand dad was a farmer in western Kansas and he called them by their rightful name: nuisance boxes. This goes back to the early brick phones (actually, more the size of cinder blocks). He later defined televisions with the same name.

Today I barely use any of our data allotment. My wife keeps telling me... "you wouldn't know what to do if you didn't have it." My simple reply: "I would SMILE if I didn't have one!"

I had an old clam shell phone until two years ago when we had our first child. Wife made me go for an iPhone. I've been sorry ever since. Now everyone sends me texts and expects a response, but I'm slow. Probably faster if I lit a fire and sent smoke signals. Are there laws preventing inner-state smoke signals? ;)

BTW: I do this site on a desktop computer!

@JayHawkFanToo

Sounds good to me!

My smart phone in the 70s was really slow on the internet! ;)

@wissoxfan83

"So build the wall now right down the state line between Kansas and Misery!"

And not to worry... we will maintain a tunnel between the states, too narrow for even the thinnest crackheads to crawl through but broad enough for their prized moonshine bottles to get through.

@Crimsonorblue22

I was being sarcastic. I'd wear them, too... especially if they were free!

When I went from HS to college I was unprepared for that step. My HS counselor (who I should have sued) told me I was ready for university, so I loaded up on sports study halls in my senior year. Yes, I graduated HS, no I was not prepared for university. When I was accepted in university, the first thing I had to do was take a bunch of no-credit prep courses... stuff I should have taken in HS.

I doubt much has changed since then. I thought I was prepared, and I wasn't. I wasted half of a college year taking HS classes. My parents asked me if I was ready, and I told them 'yes' because I thought I was.

So much false information travels around in these circles. People need to be held accountable. Currently, they aren't. We can blame the NCAA for everything, but truth is, they only handle monitoring and enforcement. I don't know if things have changed since my HS days... but back then, you were considered a counselor if someone called you one. These positions are very important and they should have to be qualified and accredited.

We are only experiencing what some D1 athletes are troubled with. It is just a peephole into the much larger problem everywhere.

@konkeyDong

Ha! Good one!

I think it says enough when the highest wisdom on the subject is Homer Simpson!

I can preach from the pulpit since I became a teatotaler years ago... this is my brand of hypocrisy!

@JayHawkFanToo

"...and stays out of trouble."

I hope our boys stay away from the brew this year. It tends to have a "Jekyll & Hyde" impact on some guys....

Hammer thrower wins gold medal, gets drunk, uses it to pay for taxi home ↗

Illinois forward Darius Paul dismissed after arrest in France ↗

@RockChalkinTexas

!Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 9.02.27 AM.png ↗

All those little fins... good to swim in?

Or for walking on Mars? Would the red dirt get stuck between the fins?

@Crimsonorblue22

"@jaybate-1.0 as a special agent I feel @VailHawk and I really need to protect that ks mizzou border! Wouldn’t want another border war, would we? No!"

I've recruited Donald Trump to promote the concept of building a wall between the two states. He said he'll force Missouri to pay for it.

@REHawk

"This kid is a jewel, well worth waiting on..."

For sure... just like BMac was worth the wait!

@Lulufulu

It's the Wizard of Oz!

@HighEliteMajor

Yes... Frank! And if Devonte has a good year he should be on this short list, too!

@Lulufulu

I'll bet he feels 7-feet tall now!

Go Sasha!

@jaybate-1.0

"Self says season should be lots of fun"

I took this sentence all the way to Washington.

Decided to see if I could get an answer on what exactly this means.

First went to the Whitehouse to ask Obama. He's on vacation playing golf.

Ran into Bill Clinton while there. He was in the Whitehouse doing some cleaning (mostly old paperwork)... I thought he was over-qualified to be a maid. He was still busy trying to define the word "the."

So I headed out to Crawford, Texas and asked "W." He drew me a picture, in crayon. Still didn't get it. But he did tell me where Cheney was hiding, so I visited him next.

Cheney said something about our team will be treated as "liberators" having big parades and getting wealthy on oil.

I'm still lost. Guess I have to wait for the real experts to decipher what Self said into what he meant.

@brooksmd

You mean, like Social Security?

"Social Security"... I always considered that to be the ultimate oxymoron!

@HighEliteMajor

"Has Selden been the player we hoped? No."

When was the last time we had a player meet our expectations? Wigs certainly didn't do it. Maybe JoJo?

Okay... I think I know the last guy that met our expectations. Kevin Young!

Good comparison... Wayne with Mario. And until '08, both Mario and RRob had disappointed Jayhawk fans. Even in '08, until we captured the gold, we were starting to make rumblings on why Sherron wasn't getting more minutes.

I'm starting to think Wayne is one smart cookie.

He was over-rated when he came to Kansas. As HEM noted... his shot form was atrocious. His ball-handling skills... equally atrocious.

He could have thrown his hat into a blind draft the last couple of years... a definite sign of desperation. But he didn't. I know, I know... he didn't project high. That hasn't stopped players before.

But he showed some patience and he showed some mental/spiritual control by not freaking out. He has worked on his shot and he does have it in NBA form now. His long range shooting % has and will continue to show his hard work paid off.

We have seen what he can do in the weight room. I think we can classify him as a weight room freak by now! What a stud. The addition of strength not only helps him down the road, but also helps him strengthen over some of his nagging injuries and helps prevent others.

His freshman year couldn't give him more spotlight. Wigs and JoJo owned the batteries to that flashlight. Last year, he started coming into his own.

This year... we'll just have to wait and see. I hope he decides this is the year to blast off on the stat sheet, but a part of me wants to see him graduate a Jayhawk... especially if Diallo doesn't qualify and comes back next year.

I don't think I can throw him into the Selby pile. Not now, not ever. Josh really blew it by making a childish decision. Wayne is methodical, calculating his future. Like I said, he is one smart cookie!

The British Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park, have now been brought in to attempt to decipher recent comments made by Kansas Head Basketball Coach, Bill Self.

A large team of analysts have already arrived on campus and have setup an extensive cryptanalytic facility near AFH. This is considered the toughest code-breaking challenge since Enigma in WWII. Later in the week, key mathematicians, logicians and cryptologists from Cambridge University will join the team.

The monumental task has been tagged "Operation Riverboat Gambler" with the initial emphasis being put on gambling terms, techniques and strategies. The FBI and historic groups have been contacted for involvement by sharing confidential files on Amarillo Slim, Titanic Thompson, Wild Bill Hickok and Doc Holliday.

Recent confusing and deflective comments made by Bill Self concerning prize recruit, Cheick Diallo, created the urgency by the US State Department and NATO.

!130920115157-bletchley-park-women-codebreakers-horizontal-large-gallery.jpg ↗

!images.jpg ↗

@HighEliteMajor

Good post.

I've been seeing this as a Duke vs KU competition for a while. Bolden seems to be a pretty bright guy, so I'm not thinking he could be stolen away by someone like Cal and his fancy Presidential Rolex collection.

Here is the way I currently look at it:

Duke - Main selling point is that Bolden is the next Okafor. Kid is still growing and has some of the same type of moves Okafor had in HS. Kid has big hands... similar to Okafor.

This is what Duke will be selling: http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209692777 ↗

The Kansas counter to that is here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fancy-stats/wp/2015/06/24/dukes-jahlil-okafor-is-a-risky-pick-in-the-nba-draft/ ↗

Kansas has several good things going on for enticing Bolden -

1. "Big Man U" has developed lots of post players. We have a long list of bigs in the NBA.

2. Hudy will help build him.

3. We play a lot of offense that will develop his back to the basket game with our hi/lo and if he can develop range with his shot, he will have those opportunities, too. Look at Perry.

4. He will play in the B12... much closer to home. Easier for friends and family to go to games and for Marques and family to connect at any time.

@KUSTEVE

Are the times really that interesting, or is it that media builds it up to be so interesting?

The stock market makes a needed correction actually on cue... a normal event to occur after a long bull market... and everyone goes into a deep panic and buys saltine crackers. I wish I owned the manufacturing on crackers...

The media fights for ratings and generates complete nonsense "news" based mostly on dramatics to draw people in.

If you want to take a big tablespoon serving of reality... have two screens and run current daily news on one and on the other show vintage daily news from a couple of decades ago.

@REHawk

"Maybe all that ink distorted the Morrii grey matter…or chained them in tandem, similar to cycle mamas leashed to their big daddies."

Classic comment. Thoroughly enjoyed!

@Crimsonorblue22

Yikes... sorry about that!

@BeddieKU23

Bolden looks to have a heck of a lot of potential. Kind of reminds me of a smaller Okafor. I know he has big hands and can hold a ball well. It looks like he is still growing, too. Might be a footer by the time he wears a Jayhawk uniform.

Hopefully, he would be surrounded by a big class of elites, helping convince him to stay in school because of his draft assessment being lower because of a competitive class.

I don't want to jinx anything so I won't make a prediction.

@Lulufulu

It may be that he goes to classes for a year, while sharpening his game. Look what it did for BMac! Are we sorry we signed BMac? I don't think so.

Sometimes we need to give Self credit for knowing something. He probably knew Cheick was a 50/50 on eligibility this year. So maybe he had a long talk with Cheick about it and Cheick verbally committed to staying a second year and not jumping to the draft without playing a year at Kansas. Any kid with half a mind would make that commitment. He wouldn't be a lottery pick without playing a season and showing if he really has NBA potential.

My guess is that Self got that verbal out of Cheick, and he appears to show some intelligence... enough for Self to trust he will do the right thing and stay another year.

Self can't make all this public. Especially since Cheick's current eligibility is under review.

The Riverboat Gambler is sitting on Aces and keeping quiet about it.

@KUSTEVE

I made a lot of money on Y2K. Starting to wish I had invested that in special water storage containers for basements and specially packaged crackers. Not for me... to sell. if $#it hits the fan I'll be out in wilderness... doing the same thing settlers did a couple hundred years ago. But instead of hiding from Native Americans I'll be hiding from everyone! ;-)

@jaybate-1.0

"$1,500,000 / average $100 per pair of shoes = 15,000 shoes"

I seriously doubt that the deal from BigShoe to universities involves shoes at full retail prices. Most likely, those shoes would be at a cost around $45 a pair.

@VailHawk

Happy Birthday!

@jaybate-1.0

I can probably find a van full of shoes and the owner will be happy to get you hooked up. These are all white market products, new, tagged and boxed.

Thanks, everyone... for helping lift my spirits on Diallo. I will try to be cautiously optimistic!

I have to think that Self learned a lot during our troubles with other players who had issues and he has this worked out as well as he can.

@JayHawkFanToo

Yes, yes... I recall that.

KU was busted, too.

Sounds like "no Nick" for a while at ISU...

Not sure... but I believe a felony conviction will end his D1 future.

ISU freshman Nick Noskowiak suspended amid felony charge, OWI ↗

@hawkmoon2020

My gut says "why did you eat that greasy bacon cheeseburger for lunch?"

My head says we'll go 25-6 before the B12 tourney.

My heart says we'll go undefeated all year and win a NC... and rub salt into "Mr. Perfection" Cal's imperfect wound... having boasted all his perfection nonsense last year.

@joeloveshawks

I wasn't one of those questioning signing Diallo. I have no idea what Self and staff knows or did know. Pretty hard to start slamming his judgment without knowing that.

My point is that we did potentially lose out quite a bit if he doesn't gain eligibility. And maybe he doesn't but can stay a year and get qualified for next year. Imagine if that is the case, and he has a year to work on his game? My thoughts were on that with Chukwu. I didn't care if his numbers were small at Providence. He didn't have a lot of PT, needed polishing, and a structure around him to take advantage of his size. I'm sure we would have given him that, and I'm pretty sure we would have signed him if we had the scholarship, and not having Diallo is just one more hole for next year (even though most think he is a OAD).

@justanotherfan

Didn't we have some Jayhawk staff busted for selling gear a few years ago?

@joeloveshawks

We could have signed the Providence transfer, 7'1" Chukwu... he has to sit a year, but then, he could have been a big force next year, when we lose many post players. He went to Syracuse.

!img25227364.jpg ↗

@dylans

Awesome! Super congrats!

From the stuff I read... IMHO, my guess is that Diallo has ZERO chance of qualifying.

Because Self is involved, and has experience in this area before (not always with good results).... I'm giving a "vote of confidence and trust" and tagging on a 25% chance he becomes qualified.

At this moment in time... I'm at 25%.

Got a kick out of this page on the Nike website:

http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/better-world/reuse-a-shoe ↗

If they are going to this extent, why couldn't they build a program to collect all of these only-once-worn shoes and send them to the third world? That would kill two birds with one stone. If you visit continents like Africa and parts of Asia, you will see just how big the black market is on knock-offs. I once bought a brand new pair of Adidas for $3. And... these were the real thing. Counterfeiters are not capable of making a "near-perfect" shoe. So by giving these shoes away in third world countries, Nike takes a huge chunk out of the black market... Right?

This perfect scenario is a bit too perfect. If it is this perfect, then why isn't it being done?

Why? Because contrary to belief, the black market and gray market shoes are controlled by.... (drum roll)... yes, you got it, BigShoe.

Those manufacturing plants run shoes 24/7. In the middle of the night, they run black market shoes. This is a known fact. Those shoes are released through black market channels and is a cash-operated market.

You think the richest gangsters in the world only come from drug cartels? Think again. The money is absurd. And the real reason why we don't have a bigger chain of black market shoes in America is the threat from the IRS, Homeland Security and the DOJ. Because... once the commerce is conducted in the USA, they have the capabilities to go outside US borders and arrest criminals.

The black market system is a well-run system put in place to make as much money as possible for BigShoe. The white market absorbs big sales through conventional distribution with high profits. As we all know, not all consumers in this world have $100+ to spend on a pair of shoes. The black market presents a method for these consumers to buy, too... but now you have removed taxes and expensive channels of distribution.

The recent nailed connection of Nike bribing FIFA is the first major criminal connection to part of their illegal cash supply in Swiss Banks. I'm guessing that the recent Swiss Bank whistle blower data may come back to haunt Nike far more than the FIFA bribes.

If you want to have an idea of just how big this black market system is... try to run down info on some of the real knock-off shoes. These are the ones not built in the Nike plants at 4am. These are the ones actually targeted by legal authorities and they are tipped off and pushed to make these busts by who?.... yes... BigShoe... keeping out the competition on the black market. The business model is very close to the drug distribution market.

Paying James Harden... just one athlete... $200 million for an endorsement seems excessive. Thing is... no one has a clue of what kind of money BigShoe makes and has stockpiled. How much money does BigShoe pay out every year for endorsements alone? $10 billion? Anyone really think they have that kind of money from white market sales to toss down the drain every year? They must also be masters of money laundrying. Masters....

There is the real portrait of BigShoe.

“Problem was that Kobie Eubanks couldn’t make up the credits that weren’t accepted from his time at OSNA. Ultra-reliable source,” writes Jerry Meyer of 247sports.com on Twitter.

“Can’t see this as a positive development for Cheick Diallo,” Meyer wrote in another Tweet.

SOURCE: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2015/aug/20/kobie-eubanks-out-alabama/?mens_basketball ↗

Diallo's eligibility is yet to be determined by the NCAA and from the Big 12.

What odds do each of you give for Cheick Diallo dribbling a basketball at Kansas this coming year?

@justanotherfan

I zoomed in on that stretch of the schedule, too.

I didn't look at it like a problem for being 3 games in 7 days.

I don't like that the ISU game is two days after Texas. Guessing that is one of those "Big Monday" games. So our boys battle the Longhorns then travel and two days later go to a quick ISU team at the Hilton. Can I spell "tired legs?"

That's the first problem I see.

The second problem I have is having 5 days to prepare for Kentucky. It sounds great at first. 5 friggin' days to get ready... yippeee! But once the season starts, when there is a long delay between games (like 5 days) we tend to come out flat. We should be very rested and prepared.... everything says we should be setup great for that game... but we typically don't do well with that much rest.

I wish we had 3 days to prepare for Kentucky.

I know we all want a perfect record and to smoke the B12... but I wouldn't mind it all coming down to that last game in AFH against the clowns. Those pretend contenders can only win on their home court... something Kansas has managed to do for the last hundred years. Big deal...

When is our game with Wichita State? (just kidding)

@jaybate-1.0

I've only just begun!

!adidasjayhawk.jpg ↗

Skiing anyone? Hey... it's all downhill!!!

(wow... horizontally rotating the Jayhawk logo and we are now UK!!!)

@jaybate-1.0

So Kansas brings in $6,375,000 this year from Adidas.

Let's say I'm a rich dude with a sense of humor. What if I pay Kansas $7 mil to wear my new eco-friendly shoes made out of biodegradable toilet paper?

@jaybate-1.0

Ah... what's a hundred million or so, this way or that way, going to impact influence on players? It's just a friendly endowment to the education of kids because BigShoe loves kids and likes to be generous in educating them....

Yada, yada, yada...

Why does the NCAA even exist? Why are there any rules? Why can't we recruit LeBron and pay him more than the Cavs?

The corruption is sickening and makes me want to turn off D1. Kids should be going to the schools they loved as a child, or to a school that offers them the right studies.

Excuse me while I explode my toilet!