"I'm guessing 225. You've definitely dropped a few pounds."
"Hold still, watch me pull a rabbit out of your ..."
Sports.... the one excuse for guys to get all personal with each others' tushes!
drgnslayr
11251 posts
We surely must look unique in comparison to the other WUG teams. That's fine. And we now have to be seen as one of the favorites. To be honest, I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't expecting we could subtract and add players on short notice and go play a different brand of basketball successfully. Even seems like our guys are getting used to how the refs call the game.
I know we get into some BAD BALL when our offense goes south... but I'm enjoying how they can put the brakes on other teams' offenses! We have a solid chance of winning every game and going home undefeated if our defense continues to show up!
I think @HighEliteMajor has some excellent points about Hunter. And then @globaljaybird mentioned inconsistency... which is something we've experienced from all three (Jamari, Hunter, Landen) last year. And I think the idea this year is that Jamari will offer us up more speed than both Landen and Hunter, going a long ways in Self's book.
If we think about perhaps the biggest Jayhawk problem we have had in recent years, I think it surely must be INCONSISTENT ENERGY! We've often gone to two PGs just to keep things moving more. I'm thinking the same situation of lacking energy has kept Jamari in the minutes last year, even though he was every bit as inconsistent as the other two challenging for those minutes.
This year... Hunter must know what he is up against. So if he wants PT he's going to have to earn it most with his feet.
“I think the guys are doing fine. Certainly they’re trying hard. I’m amazed at how poorly we’ve played, at times, offensively, but how well we’ve guarded defensively. It’s almost unbelievable what our first-shot defense and our rebounding has been.”
The changing of his underwear between every quarter is not an accident.... Even with all the missing players, Self hasn't seen a team guard and rebound this well before January since 2008.
"This is just as it should be. Moving Selden to the three is an absolutely great move."
It is starting to look that way!
I'm glad Wayne is proving me wrong. Previously, I liked the idea of Wayne playing the 3 but I thought he would be too mentally temperamental to change positions... kind of like when we moved EJ to point.
Glad Wayne is proving me wrong and hope he proves me wrong all year!
It seems like he is playing looser and is a lot more effective.
I don't know this Brazil team, but there is a good chance we get tested more than Turkey in tomorrow's game. Brazil usually has quite a bit of capable size and is continually improving their game. Lots of quality players coming out of Brazil... I hope Self is handing out stacks of his cards for future recruiting purposes.
Maybe the recruiting edge we thought we would get at WUG is in the future!
"I guess they would be KU, not just USA fans."
Amazing how many KU fans were there. There were also some USA fans. Easy to tell them apart... KU fans wearing Jayhawk gear and the USA fans draping American flags and what not.
We could have a game on Mars and I bet there would be at least 1000 Jayhawk fans make the long journey.
Hey... sounds amazing... interplanetary basketball game? And Kansas first again? Maybe we could sprinkle some of Naismith's remains on other planets.... Make a claim on more Jayhawk turf!
I said this earlier...
Our secret weapon will be speed. We keep the tempo moving and we will tire out ALL of these teams. These world teams are in good shape but they don't have the same level of athleticism. Push speed, tire them out, and win in the second half... a winning strategy all through WUG and something other teams will have a hard time overcoming.
Good start for us. It was clear that we are still adapting to Int'l play... but that's okay. I think we'll see steady improvements every game.
Wayne was a beast. Really liked his performance.
Jamari seemed to be nervous. Needs to play under better control. Didn't use his energy wisely. Good he has energy, but should have had more than 1 rebound and the 4 TOs exposed him as being out of control. He'll figure it out and have better games...
Carlton.... man... he's going to become a great Jayhawk! Lagerald looks like he'll quickly become a good defender. That will earn him minutes and is the right approach for a freshman to take... focus on defense first and let the offense come when it's there, don't force it.
Turkey played rough... welcome to Int'l basketball!
I don't pretend to understand the transgender world. So.... no disrespect intended by my next comment.
If I had to live in the Kardashian household I'm sure I'd have my peepee removed, too...
I see Marcus is headed to Detroit.
Maybe it is best to separate the twins. Give them more of a real life experience having to make it on their own. Less focus on both going out at night when they are on their own.
It would be great if we could dominate the rest of the teams like we did China... but I'm not counting on that. China looked bad... real bad.
At least, I hope we get challenged more than what China could do.
I'm guessing we are one of the quicker teams in the tourney. That should play into our hands.
Tonight is the night! Game 1!
All true! One thing... it certainly isn't hurting his stock to have a late growing spurt of several inches! Maybe he should spend an hour a day stretching on those arms hanging from a chin up bar....
Nice article.
It is clear that Thomas has been on a whirlwind, chaotic lifestyle since losing his mother. It seems like he doesn't have time to process anything... go through the grieving process of losing his mother and sit down and take a long hard look at where he is in perspective to league play.
His first focus has to stay on rebounding, defense, and setting hard screens. That alone will probably buy him a ticket on some teams. Then, over time, develop some offense. Develop some tools that are useful with the team he is on.. specifically.
You can pick up the anxiety of what he is going through just from reading that article.
Slow down, Mr. Robinson. Sister is going to be okay. Focus on what you have to do. It's a job like being an employee at any other job. Get the job done!
My first sports injury happened at 1 1/2 years old.
I was doing what most babies do... laying there shaking my arms and feet on the floor and my aunt dropped a vacuum cleaner on my head, requiring several stitches over my eye. I think that was the beginning of my "tough look" in my youth because it looked like a fight scar. Consequently, other guys want to challenge the guy with the fight scar, so I received plenty of attention and my life took a turn for the rough side because I wasn't going to back down from the other bullies.
BTW: Thanks Aunty!
It was a sports injury because it was a sport trying to stay out of the way of my fumbling aunty.
If Bragg is still adding inches it will be interesting to see how his game changes and if he moves more to a 5. I'm thinking he will stay a 4 and end up being a tall 4 (beyond college).
I broke my nose several times and never had it fixed until the final break. Between breaks I would get insane nose bleeds at times. I believe it related to something like the barometric pressure because during certain weather patterns, my nose would bleed. And not just bleed, but gush.
I finally had it fixed and since then I am very protective to not break it again! I could breath much better, snore less, and no more of those sudden, gushing nose bleeds that usually happened at the worst time! Needless to say the beauty aspect of having a straight nose again and reduced bump or swelling.
If you are having any breathing issues, go see a doctor!
Been there with the broken nose. Saw the photo of Bragg's nose... he nailed it good. It will require straightening and is usually the time if they want to make any other corrections to his nasal passages.
He'll still get PT minutes... but he'll only be able to go a few minutes at a time. He won't be able to breath nearly as well, so he'll get winded easily.
It might just toughen him up some.
We don't need to be the next Kentucky with a platoon system... players need to fill roles on our team. Coleby will perform and he will fill his role, whatever that turns out to be.
Plus, Coleby won't run off 5-star recruits that are afraid they might not beat him out for minutes. I have a hard time seeing us recruit a premiere big as long as we have Chukwu on the roster. He wouldn't be easy to beat out for minutes... but he may never be good enough to be the "difference maker" we need in the post.
I think a year of red shirt basketball will help Coleby adjust to Kansas basketball and he will have some offensive skills that we can count on.
In the very least we get a guy who we shouldn't have to worry about Hudy building his strength... Even though she is great, we still have weak post players in Lucas and Mickelson. There just are no guarantees in a few years a guy can turn his strength around enough to dominate in the post. I think Coleby just needs some coaching up and to be in the right offense that will accentuate his gifts.
I'm glad Self did what he did and took Coleby.
He learned from the incident where Tarc left us empty-handed and headed to Arizona. If Self hadn't taken Coleby, good chance we had neither. This is Kansas... and we don't hold spots for anyone. We are looking for players that are excited to come play basketball at Kansas. Any other situation puts us at risk of signing a bad apple who spoils the entire team... or holding spots that don't end up getting filled. Coleby is really a no-lose deal. He'll have a year to focus on his game and Self ball before stepping onto a court.
"What’s the harm in this discussion?"
No harm.... discussion is what this site is about.
But every once in a while someone in here needs to say what @JayHawkFanToo just said. Kind of a reality check and we all need it to keep the proper perspective. We all just come here to project our thoughts... gripes... and adulation.
I'm riding your optimism!
Remember back... when all the talk was about Chris Walker at Florida? I remember hearing so much hype on his potential. He was supposed to be a surefire star and high draft pick.
I'm more shocked that Lacey didn't get drafted.
If you read what Self said about Cliff... it is to Cliff's advantage that he didn't get picked in the second round because he has total freedom to tryout anywhere he wants to. He isn't locked to a team. Good point.
Not sure how you found it.. but thanks for the link on African D1 players. Yeah... most of those players I wouldn't know from a hole in the wall.
Schools can't stop a player from transferring to any particular school. They try.. but it takes only one discussion with an attorney to realize it is not legally binding.
I don't think the eyes should be focused on BamBam. Nor being too critical with expectations that he should play like a 5-star recruit. He has clearly made gains while at Kansas. We'll just have to take what we can get out of him.
The eyes should be focused on those players that should step up and take minutes away from him. Diallo, Bragg... perhaps some Lucas and Mickelson...
The key is that we get solid play out of our post this year.
I know I'm glad we have Jamari. He definitely has his weaknesses... but he offers us an option and sometimes he works out to be a good option! This year will be different because we have more post options. When Jamari is having a bad game there is no reason why Self should give him lots of minutes in that game. Pull him and see if someone else can answer the call.
A lot of what will make Jamari stand out is not just created from his hustle. We have to draw up some plays to take advantage of his post slashing ability. We have to use him to his strengths instead of just using him for everything because we are desperate for post play. That was his situation last year. He was asked to do more than his capabilities... or perhaps what his esteem would allow.
He should be working on a mid range pull up shot. Opponents totally give him that because they back off, knowing how fast he can slash. Jamari could put up some decent offensive numbers this year if he can learn to hit pull ups in the paint and around the FT line.
The other thing he needs to work on is finishing in the paint at the basket. He needs to learn several shots that use his body, the rim and backboard to shield defenders from the ball.
If he can learn some of the two things I mentioned above, he'll have a productive offense to contribute. He needs to learn this just to be considered on any kind of pro team after college. Even Europe... no one makes it there without some offense.
The last area where he needs to work on is his basketball IQ. If you review last year... you'll see him make lots of bad fouls or get caught up on something and you'll see him pull his hand up over his face and shake his head. He knows he got beat mentally. If he can learn the game better he can create lots of opportunities for himself.
Several "ifs" but his opportunity clock is moving quickly. Soon he'll be gone from Kansas and then his life will be on a short timer... trying to sign on a team and make a living.
Go Cliff!
I'd be in kimchi heaven over there!
"Will be at Table Rock till Mon..."
I'm jeolous! Enjoy the fireworks show and I hope you bring us all back a few fishing stories... or will it be water skiing? Both?
Did you catch the write up on Carlton today at KUSports.com?
Says he is still growing and has now sprouted to 6'10" or 6'11" and is still growing. We still may end up with a footer on this team, even this year!
I'm not sure why we ended up with Coleby over Chukwu, perhaps as you said, Coleby moved quicker to grab the spot. Kansas was desperate to sign at least one big so we weren't stuck all next year trying to fill too many spots. Coleby will get the advantage of a year to practice Self ball before going on the court, a huge advantage. And we didn't really have spots to fill on this team left for this year. Only so many minutes are available and we'll have lots of depth this year. I think the only question mark is at the SF.... but perhaps Wayne will slide over and help us there. It will be great to free up minutes at the 2 for the 3 very talented players we have to fill those minutes... Devonte, Brannen and Svi.
I like Coleby's energy already. He's very excited for his opportunity at Kansas. And the move for Coleby opens up our recruiting possibilities for future Bahama's players, and I guess there are a few good players coming up.
Sorry... I've shown some recent apprehension about WUG. After I didn't see us gain an advantage in recruiting from it and after Devonte whacked his knee, I started considering the worst possible scenarios.
My bad. So I'm trying to focus on the positive, and the positive is that we will gain lots of great experience on this trip and our guys will bond even tighter, though they seem very well bonded already!
Many of us "live" in here... so that means the readers must endure all our mood swings! Fancy that?! I think all of us have gone through periods of Negative Ned/Nancy and Positive Paul/Paula. All of our "flipping emotions" actually help give this site it's edge. I know I try to give our posters plenty of leg room because many have done the say for me and I empathize with posters possibly having a bad day. The only thing that bothers me is when I see two posters go at each other and make it personal. That creates the chance we might lose some readers and perhaps the posters in the disagreement. I hate to lose anyone from this bunch because I can't think of one poster that has NOT contributed to the conversation!
Very good questions.
This is just my opinion... but I'm thinking NBA GMs differ from each other, so think differently about D1 OADs only going half speed.
On one side would be the guys who may be considered the "old timers" on their thoughts. Players should always go 110% because their natural competitiveness should set the tone.
One the other side are the contemporaries who think that guys going 90% to protect the product are showing great discipline. And discipline is always considered value at the next level.
I have to say that I don't have a clue what NBA GMs think. I'm just feeding the conversation here with these ideas.
Carlton sure has a great smile. Hard to say exactly what that is worth... but I bet it is worth a lot. It sure was worth a lot when Kevin Young cracked huge smiles.
I'm really looking forward to this season. I'm already feeling like the synergy on this team is going to be off the charts!
Now I've got something to dream about through the summer heat and garden watering....
I say... wherever Wayne can be productive, he should play that position!
I've always thought we needed to lock him into the 2, but if he feels like he can go at the 3... heck yes!
Go, Wayne!
Hard to say how good we can be this year if Wayne has a great year... we'll be hard to stop!
I agree... and we all know how distracting these devices can be. But there would be nothing available to them on these devices but relevant game information and the possibility to get some "bench service."
Until the umpires start throwing out guys who are trying to take out our Royals we'll just have to keep hitting batters. It sounds so wrong, but you have to defend your guys and the umpires are allowing open season on all Royals.
At this point, the league is starting to look super stinking dirty. This has gone on all season now and enough is enough.
True... you can never take anything for granted in the league. Here today, gone tomorrow.... or a guy rips his second ACL....
Me, too. Minnesota should be a fun team to watch develop. Lots of talent, lots of youth... maybe they could use an old star in his final years to help grow up the young guys.
What do you think, LeBron... wanna be a Timberwolf? ;-)
Either of you guys know how much cap space is left for Minnesota? Do they have room to go after a top tier guy? I'm thinking Rubio is gone... not sure what his salary was but I'd he will free up some space. He is a free agent isn't he?
Oh no... he's in the first year of a 4-yr contract.... a $55 million extension! Doubtful he is gone, especially if he is banged up.
I first have to convince my wife we need to move to Lawrence.... yikes!
One of my tech buddies writes apps for phones and I'd like to get him involved in a project to write a specific app only for this purpose. It could open up several layers of communication within the players, coaches and support staff. For example... players could push a button for "bench service" to order up a banana when they feel the first signs of cramping to get their potassium levels up. Or how about an electrolyte uplift with some watermelon juice? Players could plug into some add-on devices to give instant medical data.
Imagine players coming over to the bench and seeing replays of how they got beat on a play with quick coaching tips added in?
I can see basketball going largely the way football has gone.... coaches up in booths communicating to the sidelines to run plays and to fix problems. These devices could be given to deep bench guys that can also send out sideline signals to players.
Didn't Self already state a few weeks ago that he was going to play everyone in WUG? I'm thinking he is going to give everyone some minutes in this entire tourney. I don't really care if Self Jr. or Manning Jr. get minutes.... but everyone else needs to get minutes and I hope we keep the rust off of our bench this year because we are going to need bench, especially in March.
This is going to be a season focusing on attrition. The quickened pace is going to impact most teams, especially as the season progresses. I'm hopeful that Self might consider extending his PT parameters to involve more players getting PT.
I know one thing for sure... no way Frank Mason should average the PT minutes he had last year. If he does that again this year, he'll be spent even sooner than he was last year with a high chance of injury.
I'm liking the Timberwolves in this draft. I cursed Towns through most of the season because of my disdain for the squid... but now that he's gone from the big blue nation, I can respect him for what he is... a damn good player with tons of upside. Can't wait to see him with Wigs and also Tyus Jones. Rumors have Rubio being traded... hopefully for another missing piece. Not sure what their team cap looks like now... but I'm guessing they still have room to deal.
Flip should have "flipped out" on their draft results!
I caught about half of the draft. From what I experienced the Knicks fans in attendance were downright pissed off! It even seemed like they were mad enough to create a security risk inside the building.
I always seem to be shocked at the picks teams make. But then, once in a while it shows the "management rooms" from these teams and it looks like a bunch of geeks scrambling around on laptops. You'd think they didn't already have several months to prepare for this date. I know it is hard to predict what happens before your pick comes up... but you wouldn't think they would be more organized on what their goals are far ahead of draft day.
I know there is a lot more to this than probably all of us put together understand. Teams (and their staffs) have relationships with other teams (and their staffs)... so it isn't just a matter of knowing what players are left in the draft when it comes your pick. There are communications open with all their connections for possible trade deals and most of that can't be predicted too far ahead.
This is just my opinion...
I think Dan Gilbert needs to sign LBJ to a 5-yr deal and pay him ZERO! Give him ownership stock as his salary and gradually bring him into the front office with David Griffin. That... or leave him on the court and give him an official coaching position, either replacing Blatt, or making him an equal. The current situation isn't fair for Blatt or the rest of the team (besides LBJ) because there isn't clear leadership on that team. What worked this year may just be a fluke. We could all clearly see LBJ can not carry a team to the championship, especially at his current age. Kerr was a genius this year and coached the playoffs like a seasoned veteran. He realized from Game 1 that it would be a long series and won by the team that took a broader perspective of the finals and considered attrition as a key factor.
From what I understand, LBJ was the only player that had won a ring in this year's finals. I thought Kerr easily outsmarted the Cavs and Blatt and made it seem like GS was the team with finals experience. They executed a far superior game plan.
One of the big question marks from NBA management concerning Kelly was if he would show CONSISTENT ENERGY on the floor as a pro. At KU he was great (at times) tipping balls away and hustling them down, sometimes going on the floor. But that conflicted with other times in games when he fell asleep and let his man beat him on the backdoor.. or he gave up running after an opponent on a break away.
I understand the NBA management having this concern, but on the other hand, Kelly is still just a kid. And we put kids in the draft so we have to still remember their age.
His show of overwhelming enthusiasm/confidence seemed to be something he was coached in to. It came across a little raw.. perhaps just a bit immature.
I do believe Kelly has a bright future and the key to reading him is to understand just how young he still is.
At that age, had that been me up there I probably would have said some really stupid comments... like saying "hi" to friends and family for several minutes and acting a bit too star struck from the moment. I probably would have "pee'd myself."
"Argh! I guess that’s what happens when you legalize pot. Can replaces may. Cats and dogs living together…total hysteria!!!"
Loved the grammar lesson today! Seems this thread needs to go in a more positive direction. So MAYbe I CAN help... :-)
I think you are on to something inferring that legalizing pot has facilitated people turning "MAY" into "CAN." Think of it this way... before pot was legal in Coloradical, the magic word was CAN'T! For some reason, we of the English language never got around to creating the word MAYN'T. I'm not sure why... because there doesn't seem to be a logical reason why we MAY NOT use MAYN'T in our grammar.
You MAY need to show patience reading through my tangential thought process. Okay... so... in actuality, CAN has come to replace CAN'T in the Coloradical vocabulary. MAY has been permanently erased because it came up short without MAYN'T.
"Cliff is a sad, sad situation! Probably going to repo that shiny red jeep."
You have to wonder just how much money him and his mom have already borrowed?
Don't you think NBA scouts and management get the complete scoop on players? I venture to say that even his preliminary spending habits played a part in him falling off the draft board. Personal responsibility is definitely a factor in how high players go in a draft. Cliff has basically made mistakes in every area of his life since coming to Kansas.. at least... as interpreted by NBA management.
Very tough to watch... We'll see if he is able to turn his life around. All we can do is hope a light bulb goes off in the big guy's head.
I don't understand why this game isn't televised either on cable or on the internet? This game is being produced. Video cameras will be in the right spots, including slow-mo capable cameras under each goal. If you watch the clip from my earlier post of the highlights from the last game it shows some incredible slow-mo footage on a few slams. Something we rarely get to see. So it remains a complete puzzle to me that we can't watch it live or in it's entirety.
I have the idea that these two games footage will be packaged with all our WUG games and then SOLD back to us by Zenger later.
It isn't FREE to produce these games, so there has to be money made somewhere down the line to pay for it. I know the footage is also used by the team to prepare for future games.... but this looks to be produced for market.
I've never really been critical of Zenger before... but I will say now that I don't think he has properly prioritized game exposure to fans.
I think this is a lesson for kids who usually come from nothing and suddenly receive too much attention in their lives. This is a formula for kids to get lost in the chaos and start buying in to all the ego-building chatter mostly from people who are just trying to cut themselves into the kids' futures.
Even though Cliff had people around him doing things they shouldn't have been doing... it was up to HIM to control his destination. It wasn't his mother or a flaky lender that made strange comments about KU a little while back. That was Cliff. When he grows up he will realize that HE blew it.
Now he has a couple of years to fight his way into the league. I have huge doubts that he'll mature enough quickly to play in Europe.
He didn't want to pull his weight of responsibility this last year... now the weight of his future lies in the balance and ALL the weight is on him! Maybe that is what he needs to make a new start. He can't blame anyone else moving forward.
All social media would be blocked from the devices and only capable for coaching communication.