🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@jaybate-1.0

"Notice the quotes were unattributed, too. That makes me wonder if the only way they could get responses was a promise the shoe companies would not learn their identities."

Not only was that part of it, but you have to wonder how many of the "no" response coaches lied because they feel like they are in a good spot with shoe companies? And how many didn't want to risk that their anonymity would be lost? They possibly risk everything if they tick off BigShoe.

It's like asking a Russian federal minister if he thinks Putin is doing a good job.... sure... anonymity...

@JayHawkFanToo

I own a manufacturing business. We are forced to buy some of our components in China. But our main product line we make right here in Kansas. I wouldn't consider moving that business to China, even though we could make (perhaps) a bit more money. Not worth the headache or the risk. And I'm willing to make some sacrifice to keep jobs here.

I believe the Chinese have been shocked to get away with bogus trade agreements for so long. The American consumer sold out decades ago. After Walmart went to a "full tilt buy China" business model, I refused to shop there. They actually forced many companies into producing in China in order to meet Walmart's price demands.

Even after Americans started realizing how much damage it was doing to our country to "buy China"... they still spent their dollars for convenience and price. When considering that, it gets even harder for someone like me, who makes a much bigger sacrifice to save American jobs than the average Walmart shopper, to make those sacrifices. I do it anyways because I like sleeping well at night. It is rewarding to know all your manufacturing people personally, and realize you are helping feed them and their families.

What really chaps me is all the ISO standards that have come to be to try to standardize manufacturing practices globally. Many of these regs hamper US production and raise costs considerably. It was thought these standards would revolutionize China production to put us all on a equal standard. BS. They cheat on their certifications and have (once again) gamed the system to their advantage. Meanwhile, we waste tons of time and resources preparing for audits in areas that have nothing to do with efficiency or daily operations.

@justanotherfan

"If you aren’t studying the success of your opponents, you are falling behind, whether in basketball or in any other profession."

Very good statement! One we need to remember!

@JayHawkFanToo

"If you think about it, which programs would you say are the top 5 programs in college basketball? KU, UK, Duke, UNC would likely be on everybody’s list but after that it gets more difficult…Louisville?, UConn? Virginia? Wisconsin? Michigan State?"

I hate to say this... but I'm not sure Kansas is on that list of top 5 programs when talking to other D1 sports fans across the country. Obviously, we consider ourselves top 5. And I know a big chunk of media has us up there pretty high. But fans... I'm not so sure.

I think our B12 winning streak has done miracles for our reputation around the D1 nation. I'm not trying to open a can of worms with those who want to compare the streak with NCs. But seriously... we've been picking up some steam the past few years and I doubt most of that steam is leftover moisture from '08. And our runner-up '12 didn't hurt us, but didn't lift us dramatically.

I think it is time we win another NC. If we can do it this year while adding another year to our streak, we will get a definite bump in prestige.

I talk D1 hoops to many people, most are not Jayhawk fans. I probe for info on where these people have Kansas on their list. In the D1 fan world, I believe we are a top 10 team, but marginally top 5. If I had to put an exact number on it, I'd say we are 6 or 7.

Funny... when I talk "Big 12" I hear just as much focus on Texas as I do Kansas. Maybe because we suck so bad in football... Football notoriety impacts basketball, too.

Like I said above... I hate to say this!

Even though Sasha might make a smaller salary in the NBA, he will still garner endorsement money. That could easily make up the difference.

@jaybate-1.0

"My ques tion is what was the guy even coming close to it for!!!"

I think the tiger decided to chill out in the stairwell and they wanted to control him moving through the building for photos. The idea with the weed whacker was supposed to scare him out of the stairwell.

Had a friend who traveled through Africa with just his backpack. He slept in his little travel tent in wild areas and kept firecrackers with him to spook off cats and hyenas. I guess firecrackers do the trick.

@mihawk

I guess he had a few exotic animals with him and I think it was just for a photo shoot.

My question: couldn't he have saved the trouble with the use of photoshop?

@justanotherfan

I'm not surprised. Kaun wants to be stateside and he's already made a boatload of money. This is about his future and I think he wants "NBA" on his resume.

@jaybate-1.0

"Euro photogs started art photography of industrial ruins and got recognition with their pics of shuttered Detroit factories."

Evidently, the recognition stopped and they had to resort to more creative methods -

An actual tiger gets loose in Packard Plant in Detroit ↗

Why a Tiger Was Let Loose in the Historic Detroit Packard Plant ↗

!635754469158357233-635754201186224902-689950128022.png ↗

Sometimes I have to root for the ferocious cat over man... come on... seriously... a weed whacker?

@konkeyDong

Good points.

We always look at the elite talent and assess if they should leave college early to avoid possible injury risk preventing them from making a big time career. But there isn't a difference for other players with other opportunities.

I have a feeling, as you mentioned, his family could really use the income, and then he received the opportunity to get it. He is wise to accept the "bird in the hand" and not make the sucker bet of returning for more risk with little to gain.

JoJo is going to be fine.

He made the right decision to leave when he did. He is the poster child for guys leaving early to reduce some injury risk. And we have examples of guys (like Josh Selby) who misplayed their one big moment and added risk by leaving early.

JoJo will either heal and play ball, or he won't heal well enough to play and he'll do something else. Whatever happens, he is a young man that will get a better start in his adult life than most young men will have. Good for him!

My personal feeling.... we haven't heard the last from JoJo Embiid!

The woes of recruiting... and worse for us fans... the up-to-the-second recruiting news feed.

It would be easier if we were left in the dark, unknowing of what players we missed on. All this does is build anxiety (and blood pressure) in us fans. If we coulda, woulda, shoulda...

@jaybate-1.0

What happens when we can't buy the resources or manufacturing for our iPhone 10s?

China is about to tighten its grip on rare earth minerals ↗

@JayHawkFanToo

Part of our "infrastructure."

Imagine what we can manufacture over here now... with all of the help from our southern friends! ;-)

@BeddieKU23

Read on KUSports... Chad Ford has Svi ranked 17th for the 2016 NBA draft. Can you friggin' believe that? How in the heck does a guy who has done nothing but stand upright and bounce a ball a couple of times done to deserve that kind of ranking? I'll say it again... the media does us no favors. We continue to get many of our players over-ranked. This is IMHO by far the biggest problem Kansas has. We have players thinking their dodo doesn't stink because media ranks them way too high and our guys leave a year or two too early, only to discover reality is a bitter pill. And we are stuck without their services.

There should be a benefit in developing players. We get these guys that are decent but won't stick around long enough to give us a benefit back.

@jaybate-1.0

Our entire country is pitted with old industry remains. If we decide warring with China is a move we need to take, then we would instantly be a country with full employment again. It is not the vision I want.... but I've been to many of the small mining towns up in Minnesota. You can move up there and homestead a free house. The locals would just like to see people move in and start paying taxes again.

Talk about a wild hedge investment... start buying up those old mining towns for a penny on the dollar....

The worlds deepest, biggest and deadliest open pit mines ↗

@jaybate-1.0

I've had these conversations before with people much smarter than me.... so I mostly listened.

Some believe we need a big war... one where key targets in the USA are hit. Detroit, Cleveland... Chicago... many of the industrial areas need to be scraped off the planet to build new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. I guess many view war bombings as a "cleansing" and opportunity to rebuild.

We can print all the money we want.... but it is only paper. Infrastructure is where its at!

@JayHawkFanToo

Sounds good to me... I'll take it!!!

@Statmachine

"What all goes in the barrel besides leaves and grass clippings?"

Kitchen scraps. It is said not to put meat in them, but I've had some in mine. Since they are off the ground the waste isn't accessible to critters. Egg shells, watermelon rinds and coffee grinds are common things i put in mine. Each day you should turn it a couple times. Make sure it is still moist inside. If I don't feel like opening up the doors, I just rotate the vents to the top and run a hose in them for a few seconds then turn. It works very fast. I have beautiful dark, rich compost usually within 5 or 6 weeks. The chain fence compost area is more or less a seasonal mix. But it is great to have that much space to dump stuff. Making compost is perhaps the "most spiritual" task I do. Feels good to help nature rebuild a little bit.

My goodness... why don't we just trade places? Your garden beds will be all ready for you! ;-)

Your property sounds amazing! I've always dreamed of having a piece of heaven like that... especially, with water!

We bought a big fixer-upper house about 5 years ago. We have almost completed the restoration. We are fixing the pool in back now. It has an old concrete pool that was put in back in the 70s. This house was a foreclosure and everything had been let go, including the pool. So we ripped out the old plumbing and are updating it and patching a few spots. Also adding in some features. I wanted to rip the entire thing out and dig in a bigger nature pond in the back. Thought it would be amazing to be able to go in my backyard and fish out some tilapia for dinner! My wife fears snakes and spiders... but I made her promise that the next house will be done my way!

@jaybate-1.0

I would love to go boating and fishing in Michigan. Minnesota, too.

Would love to see some of your photos... Detroit is an amazing city, and with its decay it in some ways is even more interesting to see.

!21DETROIT-SPAN-articleLarge.jpg ↗

Lots of great photos and stories out there. Here is one:

Capturing the Idling of the Motor City ↗

@Kip_McSmithers

"... to cover room, board and living expenses."

They have to pay rent for those killer new dorms? Hmmm... $1800 per month? ;-)

What I don't understand...

If a big-time recruit won't have a lot of PT in his freshman year at Kansas... why would he come to Kansas?

And, more important... why do we spend time and energy recruiting players at that position?

His decision must be a loss for us if we put in a lot of time recruiting him.

@Statmachine

That sounds awesome! I'm a big garden guy. Built 9 big garden boxes (4' x 16') in my back yard and also a couple rows of 8-ft fence wired beds to grow vines (beans, cucumbers, etc). This year I have 90 tomato plants, 50 pepper plants, 30 eggplant, beans, cucumbers, squash, and I keep going with my horseradish, a perennial! Love that horseradish! I have several grape vines, but I have a vine that doesn't produce grapes. We eat the leaves... Perhaps you've had grapeleaf roles? I use the leaves in several dishes. Very tasty and a definite "super food" nutritionally.

I heavily advise building boxes. You can build your own soil that way and it is very easy gardening! You don't have to squat all the time, and if you go up 12-inches (like I did) rabbit tend to stay out of it! I built my boxes out of 2x12 untreated lumber. You don't want treated lumber. It will leach toxins into your soil. I painted the outsides white to help keep them cooler in summer. Screwed in some metal corners for rigidity. Also added a cross member half way to give it more support. I've had some of these boxes 5 years now and I suspect I'll get another 5 years or more out of them.

!IMG_5182.jpg ↗ !IMG_5185.jpg ↗ !IMG_5184.jpg ↗ !IMG_5183.jpg ↗ !IMG_5186.jpg ↗

The brown barrels are a composting machine and I have a fenced compost pile. Next year I want to add a chicken coop that also lets the chickens visit the compost pile to dig for bugs.

@konkeyDong

I agree.... what was he doing over here? His NBA potential... very unlikely.

The Greek is gone. He must have missed his suvlaki!

Cyclones big guy Tsalmpouris is turning pro ↗

@Statmachine

"My Wife and I will be completely debt free in a month! Vacation here I come!"

That put a smile on my face! Congrats!

Did my first Royals game in decades on Friday night. We pulled it out... great game! Went to the Sporting KC game on Saturday night... wow! They came back, scoring 3 goals in less than 10 minutes at the end! Fab!

Taking off for Naples, Florida next month for a wedding/vacation.

@jaybate-1.0 - Motown vacation?

@JhawkAlum

"Do you know what the difference between UK fans and KU fans? Kentucky couldn’t care less about what the Jayhawks do. Aside from the usual banter of "Your team sucks", UK is busy talking about UK."

I used to read quite a bit on UK fan sites. And their fans, in comparison to what we have here, are not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Heck... I think many in here could hold a better conversation about UK players and ball than UK fans can. They have very little of the bantering discourse we have. It's mostly cheerleading stuff. And when someone challenges something about one of their players, coaches or anything Big Blue in a negative light, posters blast them out of there. Boring! Mindless!

In fact, I haven't read any other university forum where participants analyze and question things like we do on this site. That is what makes this site special.... lots of great sharing of info on everything KU... but also everything else! We talk about UK... but we also talk about WSU, B12 teams, Izzo, Coach K, and everyone else.

Cal makes an easy target, and pretty much ALL non-Kentucky D1 basketball sites blast Cal from time to time. I don't think any non-UK fans appreciates Cal wiping out half the top notch recruits every year for another one of his "dream team" runs. It isn't even envy. I know it isn't for me. I've said it once and I'll say it again... if we ever get to where we operate like Cal, I'm outta here. Let him have his revolving door teams. It is starting to look silly... that they can't own March Madness with all that talent. How many 7-footers?

I like to read KU material... but also material on other schools, coaches... players... fans... If Kentucky fans don't want to know or chat anything about Jayhawk basketball... fine... They typically aren't even well-studied for Wildcat ball, no need having them hack up our Jayhawks, too!

@justanotherfan

I totally agree!

I know college guys are young... but they've been playing their entire lives (except for a few guys like JoJo), and they should know how to execute. Sure college ball is harder than HS... but these guys have been stepping up their game constantly as they age.

I think it all starts for these guys in practice sessions. If they are slacking off, does a coach rip them a new one?

When we call a time-out because our defense has collapsed, do the guys come out of the time-out with more vigor and know more what to do?

I'm just not sure of the culture around these kids today. Back in my day, a player knew every game in D1 was part of his legacy. A legacy he would be consumed with in his memory forever. A legacy that everyone around him will remind him about it for the rest of his life. A legacy where you hope you can be proud of your accomplishments down the road, especially when you raise a family and mentor children. Is this all gone? Do most D1 players think about this stuff today? I'm not going to say "no" but I'm not going to say "yes" either.

@JayHawkFanToo

Calipari voted the 16th best “X’s and O’s” coach by his peers ↗ - and this writeup is from Cal's "girlfriend", Mrs. Tyler Thompson!

I thought this writeup was interesting...

Critical Coaches: Who is perceived to be the biggest cheater in the sport? ↗

Who would have funked it? Cal got more than a third of the votes.

@ParisHawk

I'm talking about who scores the points. We typically look good on paper. A zillion assists and well-distributed scoring. That doesn't always guarantee wins. I think we usually don't focus on a player having a hot night and taking over. If we find a weakness in a defense we don't usually continue to attack that one point, unless it is back-to-the-basket scoring close to the rim. NBA ball feels very different. And you'll see coaches calling a timeout because one guy on the other team scored 3 baskets in a row. They have to change things up to stop him immediately or the other team will continue to take those points.

But then... the NBA is full of top notch, experienced players that are also capable of scoring every time. Maybe it isn't all about the coaches. The players have something to do with it, too.

I agree with you on Self not giving enough developmental minutes. But a college season is less than half as long as a NBA season. Minutes are in short supply.

@nuleafjhawk

I hear you.

I mostly go to NBA games and a few Jayhawk games. I try to catch some NBA every year... but I carefully buy tickets on website carefully. I usually get a decent NBA ticket for around $20. It might be in the nose bleed section, but all the arenas have big vid screens.

I haven't been to a Chiefs game for about 3 years. The parking fees are an outrageous rip off. The bud I always goes with hates to pay so we usually park outside the parking lot in a secret location nearby and then we walk up to the stadium. It is a big ripoff.

Tonight I'm going to my first Royals game since back in when they had Brett and won the World Series. The World Series was the last time I went back in '85!

@justanotherfan

"When have we ever seen Self look another coach in the eye and basically say “your guy can’t cover my guy, and until you change the matchup that’s where we are going?” I say never, which is how lesser teams can stay with KU. You eliminate inferior players by isolating them and then exploiting the matchup until either the matchup changes or you have overwhelming success."

Gosh dang it... good job!

I do think when we used to run the hi/lo with a decent back-to-the-basket scorer, we sort of tried that. I said... sort of.

Maybe Cal's sour NBA experience still left him with something most (or all) college coaches lack... the philosophy that winning is everything. College coaches have a philosophy built on educating young players. That (almost always) gets in the way of having a philosophy of just going for the wins. I've said for quite some time now that there is a basic philosophic difference between college coaches and NBA coaches... this is it.

On a scale, I put Self pretty close to the "college coaches philosophy" end. He always wants to teach, teach, teach. Yes... he has gone away from that for brief moments. When we had Wigs... he just cleared out for him and told everyone to get out of his way. In the league, you might see the same example but the star player would shoot double or so what Wiggins shot at KU. Self typically teaches "team basketball" and he expects to look at a stat sheet and see a bunch of assists every game and the scoring spread around. ALL NBA coaches want to just see one stat: Win! They could care less if one guy scored 100% of their points all season, as long as they are crowned NBA Champions. It just doesn't work that way in D1.

@nuleafjhawk @KUSTEVE

Thank you... and thank you!

@BeddieKU23

I hope to hell Self invests in building a chip with this team this year. Won't be hard to do against Texas. Show our NCAA loss to Shaka in the film room before we travel to Austin. ISU... we dropped 2 out of 3 last year and there is plenty of yack out there saying ISU is better this year.

@justanotherfan

Good response... and I stand corrected. Not sure how much of that he developed or was just, once again, a great recruiter by having an eye for talent. The only one of those guys I really recall was CDR. He never seemed to have an all-around game, but was a great scorer.

Cal may be a better coach than he projects. But there is no denying the rejection from his peers. I don't believe they rank him anywhere near the top in Xs and Os.

@BeddieKU23

I think I would ask UK fans if they think Cal has underachieved. Last year's team was taller than most NBA teams, and he had plenty of experience, too, with the majority of his stack returning. I watched several of their games last year and they always looked flat. Definitely didn't look like a fun team to play on. I would say Cal underachieved last year and I'm pretty sure most of the Big Blue Nation feels the same.

The only year of KU basketball I can ever remember where we didn't win a NC and the fans were satisfied and felt like we overachieved was 2012. Finishing runner-up to a stack and without a single McDs AA.

I want to see Cal do that. Today. Not years ago when he wouldn't have to play a stack. Today. We were edged out by a stack in 2012. It took a stack to beat us.

James Harden agrees to $200 million shoe contract with Adidas ↗

The entire game of basketball is being driven by ShoeCos.

How come we get the two toughest road games on Big Monday? I guess the idea is to see Kansas upset nationwide.

@jaybate-1.0

I always liked the idea of installing big ziploc bags in pockets. You can hit the all-you-can-eat buffets and take-away a couple of extra meals... already in ziploc and ready for the fridge.

@jaybate-1.0

The day that happens... he is finished. Let's see him develop talent. Take 3 and 4-star players and build them into lottery picks.

Not gonna happen.

@Crimsonorblue22

Yikes! How about a strong sedative first?!

"The Cyclones jumped out to a 20-2 lead..."

Sounds like the same ol' clones.

@globaljaybird

I don't know if Cal beats his wife and kids... or if he ever deliberately broke NCAA recruiting rules by giving recruits Presidential Rolexs... or whatever.

I dislike Cal for the side he shows everyone. He quite possibly may be the best college recruiter of all times. But his methods have turned D1 ball into a circus. Using recruiting tools like Drake and his nonsense chatter about being connected in the league. Any D1 coach with a NBA caliber player is connected in the league. NBA scouts come a knocking. And garbage like the link above. Pure nonsense. It is playing down to the dumbing down of our youth, in this case, our young athletes.

College coaches should treat recruits like young men, not like small children, even if their mentality is of small children. These kids coming to Kentucky are months away from being in the league, and the league is no place for small children. Bogus agents, gold diggers, shyster investment brokers... These kids all have huge targets on their backs and they need to start acting like adults from HS on. Recruiting a kid and selling him on Drake is not the way to help that kid face the reality that is only a few months away.

Just watching him coach makes me puke from all orifices. The way he animates like he is talking to 5 year old children makes me sick to my stomach. It must come as quite a shock to these kids to face adulthood days after being treated like a little kid.

I don't buy the concept that he is a great coach. He is a great recruiter, just a part of coaching. I'm not convinced that any of his teams could beat another team with the same talent but WITHOUT a coach! Just deciding for themselves who plays. There is a reason why he doesn't receive respect as a coach from within his peers, even though he has won a ton of games.

@wissoxfan83

"Coach Cal is in our heads."

He's in my derriere and in my stool (approx 2 times a day).

@jaybate-1.0

"Little Big Man"

One of my favorites:

[link text](

But seriously... it seems we haven't been "Big Man U" since Manning was an assistant. Does anyone know... did Danny go out and recruit bigs for Kansas? I know he coached them up.

@jaybate-1.0

It's frightening to think that these things could happen today. I don't doubt anything being possible, especially when big bucks are involved.

You have to wonder the role of AAU coaches. Are these guys acting as agents for BigShoe? Without question, they receive benefits.

@Crimsonorblue22

What a crock of bologna. I bet Cal wrote that article about himself. Who the heck is Mrs. Tyler Thompson? And why is she standing with NCAA trophies? Perhaps Cal's wife?

This is a recruiting ploy. It's there so they can spread it to dumb recruits who believe this junk. No D1 coach in America is going to back down to Cal, and if he gets in someone's face Cal is getting pummeled.

@Kcmatt7

Well stated.

We were chatting about this the other day... how the grass always looks greener on the other side. I'm sure we all have a case of that. I know I feel like we aren't getting the bigs we used to get.

@jaybate-1.0

"P.S.: Adidas best move may be to offer UK say $200m to change to Adidas. Calipari appears to be being squeezed on talent at Nike-UK for not winning enough. Drive another wedge in there."

I'm pretty sure Cal has his gypsy attorney agent fighting every second for more dollars. I remember when he won his ONLY NC... and he was promoting the idea that everyone wanted him, including the NBA. All to squeeze more bucks on his new contract.

We can make fun of him all we want, but he is the highest (or one of the highest) paid coaches in college basketball. I'm pretty sure that is one of the goals college basketball coaches have... to make as much money as possible.

@JayHawkFanToo

I can verify how much red tape, time and money it can take anytime documentation crosses borders.

Even in European countries... everything takes time. I waited for several years to qualify as a dual-national. Until this lengthy process took place, I never knew what an apostille document authentication was. It required me to personally visit Topeka and burn up more time and money.

Now imagine the time it takes to get proper documentation from Mali... if it even exists.

These situations just require us to have patience and stay positive through the process.

@wrwlumpy

Since every single aspect of a commercial plane ride these days has fees involved, why not have recording devices on each chairs movements and charge passengers extra fees for extra leg room? Passengers could be screened ahead for what their preferences are so the seating could work best for the passengers.

If they want to charge me to take a pee... then might as well charge me for reclining or putting my entire seat backwards to gain leg room.

The best thing I've seen on all of this is the guy who designed a huge, full-length coat with huge pockets with zipper closes. It holds more than a big carry on and you don't get nailed for the carry on.

@JayHawkFanToo

I agree with you. They wait to see who declares and where other chips fall.

I think it also points to something cultural. I don't think many of these top players have a real favorite. Not many were huge fans of a program while growing up. If I had been a 5-star recruit I wouldn't have considered going anywhere else. I was born to be a Jayhawk. And I would have signed early hoping to cement my PT by having other top players not sign because I was already signed.

If a star recruit really likes a program, he should sign early. Or at least, make a verbal commitment and not sign a LOI, just to make it very easy to leave if you have to.

I think the current culture for these kids is that they are spoiled with so much attention that they really need to prolong the recruiting process to "enjoy the ride" of attention.