"Pardon me while I apply some steroidal cream to my hives."
Sounds like a case of the heebeegeebees!
drgnslayr
11251 posts
A couple of things about that write-up:
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"“I don’t anticipate this being cleared up in the near future,” Self told Dodd." - I'm curious what Self considers "near future?" For me... "near future" means between now and our season opener. That means, in the least, Cheick isn't running with the first team and will get behind for the year.
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"Diallo’s AAU coach, Terrence “Munch” Williams, ..." - I'm wondering what it would be like to go out to dinner with Terrance "Munch" Williams and Jerrance "Snacks" Howard? Pretty obvious it would be a huge mistake to put "Munch" with "Snacks" at the same dinner table... and if either has a brother nicknamed "More"... it could spell real trouble!
I'm 100%... taking the rum! Nothing else will matter after a few shots.
"He was always made of glass! Selden sucks!!!"
Pretty bad blog. I smell some fake KU fans. Reddit really invites spoof posters because of the openness of being a general site.
Teams always need walk-ons. They are allowed 2 extra places on the bench (for away games) to bump from 13 scholarships (max) to 15. Walk-ons play a key part in practices, helping the scholarship players individually, and sometimes walk-ons are needed in games. Obviously, the better the walk-on player is, chances are he can better help his team. These players are vital, and Self just mentioned how important they are.
Video clips can be misleading... but Clay looks like he is every bit as good as players Self and Manning. My guess... much better.
It is not uncommon for walk-ons to step into larger roles... just look a couple hundred miles south at WSU. Ron Baker was a walk-on. Wasn't Brady Morningstar a walk-on?
" I think his comments there are a bit counterintuitive."
I agree.
I don't think it is wise to put out generalizations... like... "speeding the game up always helps the better players or teams." On a quick thought, that sounds correct. But in reality, it would be a huge mistake for a coach to coach his strategy off such broad proclamations.
Every team, every player... is unique. The best way to play is to test the waters, based mostly on scouting. Teams and players typically have their "sweet spot" pace... and the better teams are those that sense where their sweet spots are and play to get them out of their comfort zone.
Huggins knows this. Last year, he often gave up lots of easy baskets to teams early on... enticing them to a faster pace. It seemed reckless... but it wasn't. As the game progressed, many of those teams got tired, and the WVU defense ratcheted up the pressure.
It is hard to successfully change the pace of the game and go from success to more success at a different pace. Once the game is established at a certain speed, there is no guarantee a team can slow it down and be successful... even if they are trying to slow it down to a speed they typically play well at. Some teams can do it... sometimes. Huggy Bear knows all of this. He is a very good coach, make no mistake about that.
There is no way WVU would have had the success they did have last year without Huggy having a very good understanding of the game. I thought he did one of the better coaching jobs last year in all of D1, when considering what he had to work with. It is little wonder why he has won so many games in his career and is one of the better paid coaches.
It wouldn't surprise me if Huggy took a page out of Self's playbook by bluffing his hand as a "Riverboat Gambler."
Dropping a nickel off the shot clock should help a strategy like what Huggy ran last year. They seem to either give up points quickly when teams were capable of running secondary breaks... and also those teams that were able to fight off the pressure and play a slower game and break down the WVU defense in the latter seconds of the shot clock. Well.... there will be 5-seconds less for the WVU defense to hold up and play tight.
And think of the psychology. All D1 teams are going to get stuck now and then with shot clock violations as they adjust to the 30-second clock. Teams will be a bit hypersensitive to keep the pace up. It plays right into the hands of Huggy and his all-out full-court pressure. He will be able to put opponents in a hole because they will be starting their half-court possessions with about 20-seconds left and in awkward positions.... like a guard being trapped near the half court line and sideline. When that happens... you can take another 5 to 10-seconds off the shot clock just to get the ball and player spacings in a position to run offense. Now they are down to 10 to 15-seconds left. Perhaps they can work around a couple of passes before being forced into a shot.
I think Huggy would make a huge mistake if he abandoned the strategy he used last year. What he should have been doing since last year is EMBRACE his strategy. Go out and recruit the right players, just like Syracuse does for their zone. And recruit plenty of depth.. guys with good, fast legs and reflexes.. with long arms. Play the attrition game. If they do that, they should improve on what they did last year and there is plenty of room to develop this strategy into something extremely successful over the coming years.
My thoughts were that Cliff didn't have his mind right. He was forgetful often on defense, giving up easy baskets. And then there were times where he just didn't hustle.
I think Self thought of the big picture, and he was battling Cliff to get his mind right. There is no way we can expect to win if one of our players on the floor doesn't have his mind right... like refusing to hustle. Eventually, that will eat at all of the guys' mindset.
I'm not going as far as saying Cliff was a "bad apple." He just wasn't mentally where the rest of the team was.
If he learns to get more verticality out of his jump shot he could develop into a player that might see some minutes. There always comes a time when we have to go deep on our bench. I like how he uses his body and backboard to create scoring space in the paint, and sometimes he went underneath the defense to put the ball in the hole.
Walk-ons can be a big asset, more than most fans know.
Big oil gifts money away.... like the Koch brothers giving WSU money to upgrade their arena. Texas and OU get lots of donations from oil interests... and probably other teams in the B12, too, including Kansas.
I think Huggy Bear has a grin the size of West Virginia about now....
Will we still have a 10-second back court time clock? Or is that moving to 8?
Is Hamidou Diallo the brother of Cheick?
I can see it now -
"September 19, 2015. Lawrence, KS - Cheick Diallo, a freshman basketball player for the University of Kansas, has been declared eligible to play basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks after his early education records were discovered, intact, near Kayes, Mali. Kansas head basketball coach, Bill Self, was growing skeptical with each passing day without hearing a peep from the NCAA.
According to reliable sources, part of Diallo's early education near Kayes, Mali, was in question because of the lack of proper record keeping. Diallo's classwork and grades had been written into a ledger that was buried in 2012 underneath a Baobab tree to protect villagers' identities because of the threat of Tuareg rebels moving in the area during their efforts for secession and the creation of an independent State, Azawad.
There were fears that the school records were washed down the Senegal River during a flash flood in May, 2013."
SOURCE: Flubbottomless.com
The answer is "YES, that is a real Baobab tree from Mali!"
I definitely don't have a clue on this one.
I recall a few things from my days at KU. They taught 0-hundred level courses that gave no credits but were considered HS-equivalent classes. I had to take a couple of those because my HS advisers were more interested in smoking dope than helping kids advance to college. Those classes were not a part of getting me qualified to attend KU... they were part of the core necessities needed to achieve a diploma, and those beginning classes were typically completed in HS.
I can even see how students might be able to take these classes without being accepted into KU.
What I don't understand is the grant money. Cheick is in Lawrence now... he has a roof over his head and meals provided and he is in summer school. All of that happened on his Grant-In-Aid. How did he qualify for a grant without being qualified at Kansas? The grant is connected to athletics... so how could he get the grant if he wasn't qualified for an athletic scholarship? It seems that everything is working backwards.
I would think SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE did the "homework" on what Cheick needs to qualify for a D1 education.
If he doesn't qualify... MANY people let him down, including KU. If summer school can help him qualify, we should all think that KU "was on it" and put Cheick in the right classes to get him qualified.
And even though Cheick isn't an expert at D1 qualification... at some point, responsibility has to be shared with the athlete, too. This is a personal responsibility and you can't expect other people to take control of your own responsibilities.
I'm focusing.... HE IS GOING TO BE A JAYHAWK!
Sign? Did someone say SIGN?
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The difference-maker in last year's finals for Duke was Grayson. He made a monster contribution.
I wish we would always have a hidden gem guy like Grayson in our stack!
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209693395&DB_OEM_ID=4200 ↗
I think it would be great for Cliff's development if he can get a basketball guru help him pick one NBA player for Cliff to mentor from and study that player's techniques, IQ, attitude and hustle.
Cliff has what so many players don't have... the right physical structure. That is something other guys can't train to adjust.
Hope the big guy figures it out.
Hope that driver has bulletproof glass! At least you would want it to stop a hillbilly shotgun blast!
"I can’t understand why this is not a question before they enroll in those schools! Somebody is letting these kids down."
My thoughts exactly.
Okay... I hate to be a "Dudley Downer"... but... this caught my eye this morning:
"“The issue in question here is Diallo’s prep school, Our Savior New American School, which is located on the eastern side of Long Island. Did the coursework Diallo endure while at OSNAS qualify him for immediate eligibility at KU? It seems no, but the NCAA is still going through the case and deciding,” Norlander wrote at the Web address: http://ljw.bz/1DfNZx ↗p"
IT SEEMS NO?! Seriously?!
Is there less than a 50% chance Cheick will qualify?
How much of our optimism for this coming year relates to bringing in Cheick in the post? 100%?
Please, please, please let this not be a year where Cheick is initially qualified, then later disqualified, along with our season.
Perhaps Carlton will play a much bigger role than we have been thinking?
Political influences?
Any chance he can get "the Donald" to come on as an assistant coach?
"Double-dribble... you're fired!" ;-)
It's a long shot... hoping big guys can strengthen up enough and extend their verticals and foot speed. And then there is coordination issues.
I think Withey was a rare breed... to make the improvements he made. He worked his butt off. Lucas is more the typical outcome.
Withey's volleyball background helped him with his timing, as he added strength, pounds and esteem.
For the sake of depth, I'm okay grabbing a footer who isn't great, just to have a player that size for possible match-up issues with other big teams.
But in the scheme of things... I typically prefer landing more guys around 6'9" that have better foot speed and coordination. They work better into a lineup, especially this year if we start picking up the pace. A wide-body 6'9" guy or a guy like Cheick who is a work horse can do a good job snagging boards and defending. Sure... I'd like a footer, but only if he has strength, foot speed and coordination.
Yes and no. No because perhaps some of these teams have less talent depth. Yes, especially Kentucky, can have talented newcomers receive more PT and experience during the year and may create a better bond.
I think we need to look at what players these schools return. In the end, it is the experienced players that will have to come through helping the freshmen.
I like our 2-stack... or with Vick is it now a 3-stack?
Seeding will be crucial for teams full of OADs. They benefit most from getting an easy draw until the later games. With every March game under their belt, they pickup needed experience and help their esteem.
Man... those big mean look like extreme projects. Even their highlight clips make them appear very slow, clumsy and nothing really looking D1 caliber. That scares me and I hope we can find better than the guys in those videos. I know videos are misleading... but WOW!
Really liked this:
"Q. It sounds like you think post-ups will retain a prominent place in a league moving toward small-ball, passing, and 3s.
A. The reason teams don’t post up is that nobody can do it anymore. Teams would like to do it. The post-up is conducive to small ball. If a guy can score down there, the defense has to trap, and you can get open 3s. And that’s what we’re all trying to get — open 3s.
Q. I agree. The one thing that gives me pause: Teams make it really hard to throw entry passes now, with the way they can send help from all angles.
A. It’s a lost art. Kids coming up from AAU don’t play with post-up players, so they never learn how to throw the ball into the post. One of my biggest pet peeves is when guys want to throw bounce passes into the post. No. You can’t throw a bounce pass in to a 7-foot guy in the post. Have him put his arm up, and throw it there."
None of our guards had experience feeding the low post consistently before coming to Kansas. It takes two important elements to have success in scoring in the low post.... first, you need a good big man that knows how to score with his back to the basket. Second, and equally important, you need guards that know how to space the floor, have good timing on when to feed the post, and then execute the right kind of pass down low so your big guy can score with ease. And when you do this right, especially after you execute some easy baskets inside, your perimeter players start popping open because the defense tries desperately to sag in and cut off the easy baskets.
What we have been doing is something else. We've been feeding players like Perry, who has become better at scoring with his back to the basket but still isn't great at it. We often feed him at the wrong time and in the wrong spot. Our interior passing is too telegraphed... not only that it is coming inside, but also when and where.
In the right scenario, players like Perry should often be MOVING while in the low post without the ball, and the passes should often lead in to his direction and he can just finish it out using the backboard as his friend. Low post defensive hedging is pretty bad in D1. It is easy for low post players to make lateral movements and quickly get an edge.
We should be able to get lots of easy low post feeds and baskets if we move the ball up the court quickly, with our bigs leading out and getting set quickly, before defenses set, especially in the low post. A lot of these opportunities are very short windows of time and require bullet and accurate passes.
Yes, the Orange recruits very specific players for their zone and that is a big reason why they do it well.
IMHO, I think teams with good guards and depth at the guard positions has a huge advantage with a shortened clock. They can better beat full court pressure, and the top guards can attack well off a spread defense, punishing those teams that run full court pressure. I like what we have. We have good depth. Frank and Devonte are very capable PGs and can get through most presses. We have the luxury of playing both at the same time when called for. I think Svi is 3rd for ball handling skills and there will be times that we need his skills in big games. He is our fall-back ball handler.
So... will we run more press this year? We definitely have the depth to do it, and the quickness, too.
"Sleeping On Kansas Basketball..."
Yep.... might as well hit the snooze button until March as we coast through the B12 to keep the streak alive... and then see if we can stay awake for March Madness....
;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)
Which defense should benefit most from lowering the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds - M2M or zone?
I'm thinking we should gain an advantage with our sticky M2M. One of the biggest negatives about M2M defenses is the ability to stay tight throughout the shot clock... all the way to the end of the shot clock. Knocking 5 seconds off means we can keep a higher energy and have to keep it holding up 5 seconds less.
Zones always have seams that can be attacked rapidly and get a shot off. Perhaps it is partially contested by weak side help, so it isn't wide open... but there seems to be more opportunities to get off a fairly decent shot within 30 seconds.
Opinions?
Good points. For a second there I forgot that BMac had a year to practice with the team. I also think he was a better trey baller in his one year versus Wigs.
Yes, Self is a stubborn coach, and he is the first to admit it.... but when it is too late. I agree with Kcmatt about Self being used to having a successful model. Problem is... that successful model didn't include sprinkling in OADs with the potential to heavily impact the game.
However... Self does change. He just doesn't change quickly, and he doesn't change quickly on his changes either. I do think we suffer from the consequences sometimes. Other times I think we make a gain because of his stubbornness. Sometimes his M2M DOES come around after we were getting trounced and we make a big comeback, when other coaches would have tried 3 different defenses, often falling in a deeper hole and the players losing self-confidence.
That rumor has been there even going back to before the sanctions.
I know "the official" viewpoint is that Kansas made the mistake of trying to deal with the charges in-house, when they should have been properly represented by better counsel.
Someone unloaded a bug in my ear yesterday... telling me that Kansas is about to get a verbal from a top recruit, but I didn't get a name.
Has anyone heard anything? Rumors?
" Evidently I haven’t gotten over it 34 years later."
You are not alone. When Jones hit that fade away jumper, landing himself into the bench and sealing the game, I thought I was going to die!
Good call on Darnell. I hooked up lots of 1-on-1 with Darnell when he was a Trail Blazer. We used to call him "thunder thighs" because of his monstrous thighs.
What a lot of people don't know is how good of a defender Darnell was. To this day, in my book, he had the best defense stance I've ever seen out of a guard. I'm sure part of that related to his ridiculously strong thighs and legs. It was very hard to drive around those thighs. His knees were bent and his legs were spread and it just seemed impossible to get around him. He lowered his center of gravity, but didn't give up any lateral movements by doing so. It felt like you were being double-teamed because his legs were so spread out.
He was a great hedge defender... an art that has been forgotten, even today in the NBA. There were faster guards, but Darnell made the most of his physical abilities. Had he become a little better scorer, he would have left a much bigger footprint on the NBA.
Outstanding person... quality through and through! To my knowledge, he still lives in Portland.
This is a complicated topic... but for what it is worth, Jesse did an admirable job of trying to quantify it enough to reach a conclusion.
First... What sticks out to me was Sherron Collins. He produced pretty well all 4 years! Are we flying his number in AFH? If not... that guy's jersey needs to hang with the greats, because he not only gave his guts for 4 years and produced in all of them, he was the guy that really staged the come back against Memphis that set up Chalmer's shot. All of this together is why Sherron is on my all-time Top 5 list of Jayhawks.
OADs definitely have their place in all of this. They fill talent holes immediately. That is what their worth is. No waiting around for 4 years of development to get a possible producer in a slot. They can often be that last piece needed to create a Final Four contender. I wouldn't want to be a revolving door team like Kentucky... but one or two is fine to fill in the talent gaps as long as they don't create issues with the team coming together as a team. The very rare OADs, like Wigs, may cost us because of all the media chaos. It must be hard for the guys to focus when the cameras are always around.
I was amazed to see how much better BMac did over Wigs. And in Wigs single year, Self forced him to take it to the rim a lot more than he did with BMac. BMac was a shy shooter, especially compared to Wigs, who was by no means a gunner, but he better followed Self's demands to get more shots up than did BMac. I recall Self constantly pleading with BMac to shoot more. I still can't believe our coaching staff didn't work with Wigs on a very simple pull up, that would have netted him oodles of points, while setting him up on some finishes at the rim.
Brilliant call on the "charisma factor" and right friggin' on!
Amazing... coaches all work their tails off. But one is far below another because he can not chill out and learn how to keep his personal emotions under control when needed. Notice I said... when needed. Bill has let them go a few times, sometimes intentionally to get the attention of his players, like a few years back at the conference tourney when he broke something at the scorer's table.
But there are plenty of stories about Marsha and his wife getting caught up in silly comments and actions. I understand, and respect, that Marsha came from a tough life to get where he is at. Bravo for him. But at a certain point he needs to stand back from himself and look for better pathways to get higher results. His coaching appears to be excellent, but some of his personal behaviors are holding him back.
I've always appreciated how Bill can keep his cool at the right time, and his ability to speak before a crowd and cameras is right on. He is one of the few coaches even Kansas has had that does not sometimes embarrass the fan base. Roy comes to mind, constantly making the wrong statement.
Better be a smaller slap than Syracuse received for their multiple counts ranging through decades of running a loose program.
This is apparently just one case.
SMU is always under the scope. Goes back to their football days where they received the death penalty. That was a period of major abuse and I bet the bad taste continues in the mouth of the NCAA.
This kind of stuff is usually what pushes Brown out of college ball. A secretary helping a dumb athlete do his homework... WOW! Call in the Marines!
"He is a rare breed and able to do things few are capable of."
Like having his hair cut in the dark and it still sparkles. Must be the slick gel!
[link text](
Sponsored by the LMJLC (Let's Make Jaybate Laugh Committee)
Think I would pimp it out by ditching the ribbon and putting it on a huge, gold chain.
A A A
(Andrew Adidas Ad)
Cha-ching!
We could be up against a much worse coach than Marsha in Wichita.
I respect him a lot more than I do Cal, Stumpy Miller or Scott Drew. We could be losing half our players to Wichita because they have a dirt bag coach handing out Presidential Rolexs.
Right on the mark! Well done!
You don't have to convince me that Marsha is a great coach. He is a rare breed and able to do things few are capable of.
I don't even dislike him. What do Kansas fans expect him to do? Bow down to us? He is a competitor and I respect that because he is a dang good one! I'm still trying to find him on video saying "chickenhawk" and haven't found it yet. I listened to the long speech he gave at Koch Arena... still no chickenhawk. And even if he did say it, I could care less. I'm a man and people shouting names is part of life and doesn't bother me... it just makes them look foolish and childish. So if Marsha did do that then it was a childish move.
What bothered me about Marsha was him taking job offers when his team was still playing in March. That was very inconsiderate to his players and fans. He should have made a public statement that he isn't considering anything except advancing in March.
That doesn't mean I'm not sad when we lose to the Shocks. I get mad! I want a revenge game!
He punched us in the nose and I want to punch him back!
"The list is about careers at Kansas and Danny absolutely had the better Kansas career than Wilt did."
It didn't specify that (where I could see). It should have specified their careers ONLY at Kansas. It was a bit vague. Then I'm thinking... did the players have to be from the State of Kansas?
"10 Greatest Kansas Basketball Players Of All TImes"
If I was guessing I would think it is just about the players born in Kansas.
It isn't even fair comparing Wilt to Danny. Wilt started his career at Kansas on the freshman team for a year. His first year wasn't even varsity ball. And the game was segregated back then. Wilt had far more hurdles than Danny could ever imagine.
Wilt paved the way for Danny.
I'm a huge Manning fan... but seriously.... putting Manning ahead of the Big Dipper? No friggin' way!
Jo Jo has to be on that list, and I would bump half the guys off that behind Jo Jo. He was a 7x NBA All Star and NBA Finals MVP. Actually... My Top 3 would be Wilt, Danny and then Jo Jo...
The list is weighted too much on more recent players.
Concerning the "great motor"... Cliff's "great motor" related in context to his thick size. He had a great motor for a guy his thickness.
Cheick is much thinner... with a real basketball player build. No body fat. He can run circles around Cliff.
Part of Cliff's low minutes at Kansas related to him getting winded too quickly. Bill wanted to keep him fresh, not only so he could be more effective, but the thought was he would foul less if he wasn't too winded.
The word on Cheick is that you can leave him out there for an entire game and he hustles the same in the last 30 seconds of the game as he did in the first 30 seconds. I believe he might even be quicker than TRob... a major accomplishment! I'm talking theory here... players have to prove themselves... same with Cheick.
Thinking back to all the great players and teams... it seems the "old days" had a lot more players that were true individuals that brought something very unique and outstanding to the game. Dr. Dunk brought his monster slam, Dr. J brought his art and beauty. Jordan... Wilt brought Wilt, the tower of power. Kareem brought his sky hook. Magic brought his no look pass and a forward body at PG. Bird brought his cleverness. Who can forget Pistol Pete and Earl the Pearl.
Who are the players today that are bringing something big to the game? I'm on board for adding in LeBron. Who else? Steph Curry looks like a candidate. I'm not talking about guys that just score a lot of points. I'm talking about players that appear to have come from another planet.. an advanced basketball planet. It must be Saturn... showing us a ball going through a rim.... guess Dr. Dunk broke the backboard many moons ago!
Maybe "Dr. Jay"... since Dr. J is taken....
My all-time favorite name was "Chocolate Thunder" given to "Double D" (Dr. Dunk)... Darryl Dawkins... the monster slammer who exploded more backboards than anyone else.
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I'm not sure... but I kind of think the term "throwin' it down" came to existence because of what he did.
Check out the #1 dunk... they ran an iso camera just on Darryl. That says plenty.
No doubt, we have a lot riding on Cheick to perform as a freshman.
And you are right... it is hard to count on freshmen... look at Cliff!
But Cheick has an insane motor and a desire to go get the ball. He needs a lot of offensive polishing, but we are not counting on him for points so much as for defense and rebounding. Those areas are most about hustle and attitude... two characteristics that he is full of. His big time motor should help him adjust to the quicker speed of D1 versus a guy like Cliff... who was never even considered to be in shape while at Kansas. There was always talk about him needing better conditioning. His game was slo-mo compared to Cheick.