You are definitely CRAZY! We are all a bunch of whackos for Kansas basketball!
RCJH!
drgnslayr
11251 posts
Lots of great college coaches have never won a NC...
Lefty Driesell, Eddie Sutton, Mark Few, Lou Henson, Ralph Miller, Brad Stevens....
Thanks for the link. Good story about our most-valuable player!
So let's look at the teams that surround us in conference streaks:
UNLV - 10 regular season conference titles in the Big West Conference.
UCLA - 13 regular season conference titles in the Pac 12.
Now Kansas - 11 regular season conference titles in the Big 12
I'd put up our 11 titles in the Big 12 over the 13 UCLA had in the Pac 12 any day of the week. And miles ahead of UNLVs streak in the Big West.
Period. End of story.
If we can match or exceed UCLA's 13 it will truly be a monumental achievement above everyone, by far. UCLA was a dominant force in everything including the NCAA tournament. But I'd put up the strength of the Big 12 to the Pac 12 back in the '60s and 70's any day of the week.
"Jeff Goodman said this back in November:"
Next time I bump into Jeff I'm going to ride him like a Longhorn!
I still can't believe he said that. He actually likes KU.
"A win tonight clinches it."
It is already clinched... but tonight we get the option of not sharing the honor with anyone!
If we win out, we take the hardest conference in the nation by 2 games! Pretty dang convincing! If we could go back and changing just a couple of possessions we would have won by 4 games.
Self will have done his best work if he can finish on a roll... convincingly win our conference, and have our guys hungry with a chip on their shoulders, playing tough, going into March.
That isn't an easy accomplishment, especially with one of the younger teams in America and our top recruit big wearing street clothes.
If I can just see my shot fake used some in March... I'll be satisfied! :-)
I watched that game late last night from my bed. I fell asleep in the middle, woke up and OU was up by something like 21 points. I thought it was over, then I saw ISU start their 22-pt straight run. Incredible finish.
I don't know if it was mostly ISU stepping up or OU collapsing. Guess it was both.
And we experienced OU come back just as hard in AFH.
They get on a roll and they roll. They get on a tumble and they tumble.
The key for us at OU is to stop them from rolling.
Could it be? Could it be another 'grind game?'
Right now... Perry puts the fork into our competition when they are done!
"Doug Gottlieb believes Kentucky junior forward Willie Cauley-Stein should be named National Player of the Year"
Yeah right..... Willie is averaging a whole 9.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg.
What a friggin' joke! If you are going to run a platoon.. then you should be sacrificing the personal accolades for players. 9.1 ppg and 6.4 rpg doesn't put you near the category of NPOY. Not even in the conversation. You can't be a part-time worker and get full-time benefits.
Kaminsky averages 18.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg. And he definitely plays a more integral role for his team. Frank gets hit with double and triple teams to earn his points. Willie is just another option on a team of McDs AAs.
"I do feel like I'm fitting the definition of insanity!"
You will never be considered a Kansas diehard if you aren't insane! It goes with the turf!
"If that comes to pass and Cliff has to sit out part of next year. I think he bails."
Good chance he will be forced to leave. Good chance he will have lost his amateur status.
"The game has moved on."
You should have posted that to me. I've been ready to explode recently because of all the poor fundamentals in college basketball today.
When I was 14, and came in contact with my new coach, a guy I believe is as good as any coach ever to coach the game, in that first year he said to our team: "This year I'm going to teach you how to rebound."
He had come in to take over on our team that was only a 500 team. After one year he turned us into an undefeated team. For the next several years... I think we maybe lost one game, a totally rigged game. In that first year, we remained a poor shooting team, but damn if we didn't get every ball that hit the glass. We spent a big part of every practice working on rebounds only. Our coach knew he had us for a few more years so he made the investment on rebounding fundamentals in year 1. We owned the glass the remainder of our years. I owned the glass for the remainder of my playing days. Once you learn it, you own it.
Today, I'm old, slow, had multiple surgeries, including my knee. I can barely leap over a phone book. But I bet I could still get out there and own the boards. I've got more butt today, too... something big to plant on another player. 30 lbs more than my weight in my playing years... more lbs to torture other players with.
The players of today would leap right over me. Great... I'd be happy to take their fouls and shoot FTs....
The game has not moved on. The players have moved on. "Over the back" is still a call that gets whistled today. It is too bad that SportsCenter doesn't run: "Top 10 Fundamental Plays" everyday....
"I'd really like someone to ask the responsible party this: Why??
Are they that desperate to get their hands in that NBA cookie jar that they'll risk the entire teams success for their own personal gain?? Because they can't wait until the season is over??"
Let me put it this way.... go to some village in the world full of starving people. Place an Oreo cookie on a stump and tell the village that you will be back tomorrow. If the cookie is still there, you will feed the village for a year. Think that cookie will still be there?
I have never been in such a desperate state... but I've known many people who have. I've had to deal with an entire community that was taking apart their own homes and selling off the scrap bits for food, alcohol and drugs.
This situation might involve an individual just wanting inroads to Cliff later, and may have greased the wheel to do it. Heck yes someone around Cliff will take the perk.
The NCAA lives in a bubble. Away from poverty. So their structure treats many of the athletes coming from limited means in an unrealistic way.
To the best of my knowledge, all Kansas sports scholarship athletes are required to be informed of the rules regarding contacts and benefits. That has been a part of our compliance program since it was formed back in the 80s.
But there isn't anything in place to fully educate all the people associated with the athlete. That is where there is a hole in our system that can't easily be fixed.
And Perry is a fork. Good analogy.
At this point... the Cliff incident can actually play to our benefit.
Yes, we give a post guy. A post guy that had only the dunk for offense and fouled constantly on defense. With him gone, it puts the pressure on all of our post guys to step up. I am betting the chip they carry is worth having Cliff be missed.
Cliff being gone is like losing Archie Marshall.... He will be sitting on the sidelines in street clothes and every time his team mates look over and see him, they have someone to play for.
I remember the Jayhawk Nation when we lost Marshall... it was a definite that our season was over then, too.
"Someone please tell me why I should have any hope we could beat Kentucky."
First... I think it is best that most of our fan base not believe it is possible. It is best that our guys have to carry this chip by themselves. It gives us a better chance when no one believe we can win. That is the exact formula used against Kansas in March. Look at all those teams that have beat us because no one gave them a chance.
It's a game. There is always a chance.
I'm still not certain Kentucky is any better than they were last year. They lost a couple of key components from last year's team who were there "go to" guys on offense. They are starting to play a bit better offense, but they have the liability of playing in a horrible conference.
Let's not forget that they have been taken to OT by Ole' Miss (a real powerhouse team) and 2OT by TAM (if still in the B12, would have finished in a race with TCU).
What makes Kentucky "unbeatable" is that few teams believe they can beat them. Kentucky still has bad offense. They have improved some... but they still don't have the offense it should take in March. Their defense is good, even great when the teams they play start giving up.
Does anyone in here really see us as losing by 32 this time?
This really is ONLY about toughness. UCONN was not even a great team last year and they beat them.
The test with Kentucky is.... DO YOU BELIEVE?
Bring more energy.... come in with any of several strategies that can win... execute.
Like I said above... we had 14 shots blocked and beat Texas. UK doesn't have a guy like Taylor to create 2/3s of their points.
If we do as I said in the paragraph above I'd go so far as to say we SHOULD beat UK!
If we attack Kentucky the right way we will win on the FT line, similar to how we won against UT. UK is a bit taller, and more skilled.... but they will be playing all jacked up and they will be ready to be hackmonsters.
Spend a couple of days in practice. Work on penetration. Work on some fade away shots and shots using the body to shield the ball (see Niang, the guy who can barely jump over a phone book). Last... work on a few shot fakes. Practice FTs. Throw in some plays to open up some 3s. Just do things a little bit smarter than our first game with them. Kentucky hasn't changed since we've played them last. We know their game. We, on the other hand, have changed. And a charged up Perry and Kelly with a team of sharpshooters, and a Frank playing under control presents a completely different game scenario than round 1.
Toughness wins National Championships! Kentucky is tall... and skilled. But they have had a cupcake schedule.... no opportunity to build toughness. It would be the greatest Jayhawk moment ever to take them down!
If we play tough we can beat any of those teams, including Kentucky.
We beat Texas, a team second in height only to Kentucky, and we beat them twice.
After Saturday, do you think we have the same fear of Kentucky we had back in November? Self got it through our guys' heads that they can win even if 14 of their shots are blocked. Guess what? Kentucky only blocked 11 of our shots.
With the right toughness we can beat anyone! We can win being blocked 14 times, shooting 12.5% from 3, and 36% from 2. We can out-rebound a team full of trees, and almost match the team that leads the nation in blocks.
That is what we take away from that Texas game. Belief.
Kentucky was supposed to be the team of destiny last year. All that talent... playing good at the end... huge size advantage.... and beaten by a team who brought toughness.
Toughness trumps all other aspects of the game.
Question is... are we now going to build off what we did yesterday, or revert back to a bunch of guys that don't believe?
I believe the new Perry is here to stay. He is ready to lead this team. He will do it his way... leading by example. Expect to see some of his blood in the coming weeks. He's ready. And he has his troops around him ready to reinforce the message.
That is my belief moving forward. I'll be surprised if they don't win out in league. Even OU on the road. It will already be over before that game but Kansas will have something to prove. Not to their fans or coaches... to themselves. If they believe now they can be the next Danny and the Miracles.
Wow... you blew me away with that post! Many thanks, my friend. And thanks for the history lesson!
The "path of least resistance" is the path many of us are taught, both in the academic world and real world. But I'm a firm believer it is seldom the road to take in building a winning program.
I don't think many of us will challenge the idea that Self took the easy road here. A few weeks ago, the obvious was for him to play to the long ball. As we were succeeding... he turned left instead of right. He went counter intuitive for reasons we can only guess. From our result against Texas, and his comments to follow, it appears as if he has been trying to teach toughness. Let's face it... inside out or outside in, this team won't win jack without toughness. That has been in question all year.
I'm sick of hearing my wife call everyone on this team (except Frank) the big "P" word. I'm most sick of it because I was believing it, too.
I'm never ashamed of Kansas basketball if our team plays their guts out. I don't care if we lose to the Topeka YMCA as long as we gave it our all. But I can't stand a team that doesn't put out the effort, even in a win. This team has largely been playing soft all year. The two big times we really stepped up was against Texas. Let's see if they can maintain this toughness.
Over the last few games... this is the first time I've felt really satisfied with Perry. I've been watching that kid play for most of his life. He hit a roadblock in D1. Ever since he missed that last second shot in WVU he has been a different player.... he's been playing like a man. Kudos, Perry! Now keep it up! Read his comments... he sounds like another person.
All I want to see from here on out is a team that leaves their guts on the court. No more "P" ball! I hope they win, and I think they will win if they just do that.
Many of us usually complain because we feel like Self puts too much emphasis on the conference season and not enough on March... In this case... it looks like he has gambled with all of our safety margin in the conference in order to try to build a tougher team. Will it work? We will have to wait and see... but I do really think he is focused harder on March this year than in past years.
"I'm not many folks' cup of tea."
Out of everything you say.... this is the one statement I'm willing to flat out call wrong!
You have plenty of conviction, knowledge of the game, and definite love for Jayhawk basketball. Don't ever feel like an outcast in here because it just isn't true! These qualities I mention because I hope in a few years, when my kids gets older, you are coaching somewhere so I can entrust my children under your wisdom and conviction.
I agree with everything you say. But I started looking at myself and realized I matched the definition of "insanity." So I refocused to what Self is doing and it helped me see a different approach.
Self definitely began swimming against the current when he pushed away from the 3-pt line. But that doesn't mean he won't go back to adding more perimeter offense. It will be a shame if he doesn't.
It helped for me to step back from all of this and start appreciating Self, the coach. I've only ever conversed with him very briefly. But if I knew him well, I'm guessing he might be similar to Mark Twain. I definitely know I see him as the "Riverboat Gambler." In doing so... I've come to think that he isn't quite as simple-minded as I thought... in fact, he may have been playing me as the simple mind.
If we had kept to the 3-pt emphasis all year might it have started backfiring? I'm not questioning your post and the FACT that we haven't been running real perimeter offense lately. But if we had kept going down that path... would it have worked now? Not sure I can say it would. Perhaps. But then we are facing teams that have 4 guys out on the perimeter. Where ever we put a guy, there can be a defender.
And even though we are a great perimeter shooting team... even our perimeter game has holes. Take Brannen... he can' only spot up shoot. Take him a step away, or make him dribble and he goes from a huge threat to no threat. I don't have lots of faith in any of our guys to hit the perimeter shot if guarded.
Through our recent struggle... we have definitely awakened Perry Ellis. He has never played at this level before. There is a good chance he won't go back to soft.
Whether we like to think different or not... our offense needs to work through Perry. That doesn't mean we don't run perimeter offense. Our perimeter threat helps spread the defense... but so does Perry! Perry is a legitimate threat to score in midrange and the rim. Teams will have to honor that moving forward.
I have bashed my brains out because this team had a chance to gain their identity as a perimeter shooting team. I felt like Self really blew that opportunity with his "fools gold" comment.
But since I stopped my own insanity I have been able to open my mind up to Self's strategy. He needed us to be able to score in the post, either by Perry or Kelly or whomever. That helps spread the defense, too. And he is right. We couldn't ever hope to continue success without post scoring.
These are growth pains we are going through... but seeing Perry and Kelly attack is something we haven't really got to enjoy all year. Both have shown signs before... but never to this level. We actually outscored Texas in the post!
I am also starting to think the easy 3 buckets makes this team play soft. I didn't really think that would be the case... but I see why Self is suddenly saying:
“We played tough. For the most part we carried out scouting report. We played through Perry. When you don’t make shots from the perimeter against a team like that (KU hit one of eight threes to UT’s six of 20), it’s hard to score inside. I thought our guys played very well and very tough,” Self added.
I hope this ends up helping us from the perimeter again.
Teams change during the year. And at this time of year, what counts heavily is the fact that every team scouts very well. They have lots of games to base their scouting on. I'm glad we aren't a one-dimensional perimeter shooting team. That would be "fools gold." But we will still have to come around to bring back the 3, or we will be be a post-playing "fools gold" team.
The season is long... and we have to keep our opponents guessing.
Just look at ISU. Their offense is something to admire. They also lost at KSU... and even lost at home to Baylor. You have to keep changing your offensive flow during the year or you become stale because teams scout you out and start challenging your strengths.
Our biggest weapon moving forward.... we are THE TEAM WITHOUT AN IDENTITY!
I never would have guessed that would be something positive this late in the season. Just goes to show that my experiences as a player don't make me a coach. I'm not totally giving in to any of this... but at least now I can sleep well at night... What I lose sleep on is player development these days... I've been grouchy as all heck because of it. But my main goal is to avoid Einstein's definition of INSANITY!
Rock on.... HEM!
"Do you see us becoming a very tough out at this point?"
Not sure. But I haven't seen us as a tough out all year.
Eventually... being a tough out relates more to players playing tough. I agree with Self on his comments after Texas... “We played tough. For the most part we carried out scouting report. We played through Perry. When you don’t make shots from the perimeter against a team like that (KU hit one of eight threes to UT’s six of 20), it’s hard to score inside. I thought our guys played very well and very tough,” Self added.
I think he has forced them to take it to the rim to toughen up everyone. And to some degree... it is working.
If we can play tough... fight hard... push the ball to the rim... and then... start working in some perimeter offense... heck yes we can become a tough out!
We did all of those things yesterday except work in some perimeter offense. When that happens... how will teams play us? How are they going to guard the trey and then stop Perry in the middle?
I think Self knows this team is really all about Perry. If he continues to play like he is playing... we will be a tough out. When we win games where we don't shoot well from 2... and also only 1 for 8 from 3... Self smiles because he knows his guys are playing tougher. Even though this is grind ball and often ugly, this team is winning with some margin for bad play.
If we strictly live by the 3... our only margin is our shooting % from trey. We all know we won't be great from 3 every game. Especially as teams start covering the perimeter better.
Perry playing big is H U G E ! Now... if we can just bounce back with some perimeter ball... we will be a tough out!
Jay is a Duke lawyer. And he has the same deep down resentment most all Duke fans have. Because of their success since 1991 they believe they have ownership of the game. Do you think it was a fluke that the second highest bidder on the basketball rules was a Dukey? Why? The rules has NO SIGNIFICANCE to Duke's basketball history. They wish they could go back and rewrite history... slipping them into a significant role. Truth is... there is NO SIGNIFICANT ROLE FROM DUKE. They have a rich heritage, but that isn't enough for the lawyers. 4th on the all-time win list... just not enough. And it is unlikely they ever catch us. 'Nuff said.
Remember the old bar sign... "Lawyers must pay in cash!"
I can hardly stand to watch Kansas basketball because I start caring so deeply for our players.
For example... Wayne Selden.
Man... I really care about Wayne. He just seems like such a quality human being. He is so likeable.
Wayne may easily be the strongest basketball player Kansas has EVER had! Examine his clean and jerk numbers with Hudy. The guy is a phenomenal athlete. And I know his heart is in this game. He is passionate about his basketball and wanting to help his team. For all of these reasons I have developed a man crush. I had the same man crush for EJ... the guy who made ultimate sacrifices for Self and Kansas basketball.
Wayne was jacked up for this game. His stat line was not outstanding... but it does show that he was involved deeply in the game. He also did a reasonable job shutting down Yancy.
With Wayne's physique and athleticism... he should be pulling huge huge stats in college. Imagine if he was taught how to rebound? Imagine if he was given enough of the scoring basics to play at a level similar to Niang? There is no reason why Wayne shouldn't be averaging 8+ rebounds a game. Imagine if we had a shooting guard averaging 8+ rebounds a game? And imagine if he knew how to score like Niang, but add in his remarkable athleticism with that skill set? His scoring average would be up there around 20 ppg.
Players don't typically develop to all that in just one year. But Wayne is on his second year. And after that... you think he'll even get there after 4 years? I doubt it. Then Wayne will struggle to make his living in basketball going through the D-league and in Europe or some other far off place. It just isn't fair. We will have had him for 4 years and he has the bones to be a top notch NBA player if he was developed right with 4 years of college ball development. It ain't gonna happen!
This is why I can hardly watch. To care about a guy so much and see the potential not even closely reached. It is tough to watch. I don't know if I blame our coaches or the players or both. Or maybe it is just our society and what I mentioned above with young people focused on stuff like video games, Spiderman and SportsCenter.
Who do we blame for this loss in fundamentals?
It appears to be a vicious circle created by modern times.
Every kid has cable tv... a smart phone with video capabilities. Gameboys... Xbox...
Young kids are having their minds shifted into unreal worlds. The worlds of 3d games.
This is where young people live.
And when you mesh that with young athletes... you throw in SportsCenter Top 10s...
Why would any athletic kid waste his time learning boring fundamentals. There is no sparkle to fundamentals. There is a lot of sparkle in a 45 inch vertical and a monster slam dunk.
Young kids spend all their time focusing on super hero moves. Young Wigs did it. His spin move was (and is) something out of Spiderman. And hey... it worked. It got him to the next level each time, with media trailing right behind. Now he's in the league.... starting to learn some fundamentals for the first time! At least... enough to help his stat line and execute his super hero movies.
So the kid athletes aren't exactly begging for fundamentals anymore. And as Kobe said... their developmental chain is corrupted with exploitative feeders, not real coaches. The same can be said about college coaches. Never thought I'd say that... but I am sick of watching dumb basketball!
Can we blame college coaches? I'm not sure.... I recall just a few years ago... before Self sold out to the OADs. He told recruits they would have to earn their minutes. Fight hard and eventually you will earn some PT. We see where that got him. I sort of view him as a victim of the game, too. He had his morals coming in. And I know he has had to sacrifice his beliefs in order to push to the top. He had to. It's what the fans want. And if the fans want it, the money follows, and the administration wants it, too.
I just wish Self could get rid of some of the dead weight assistant coaches and bring in real developers. And start selling these kids that they need more than a monster slam to make it in basketball.
As much as I despise John Calipari.... I have to hand it to him.... at least the guy has successfully convinced his crew of 5-star athletes that their best option is to share minutes and go with a team strategy. If he can convince them of that... surely Self can start focusing back on development and start teaching recruits and players that development will eventually give them more than a little sparkle in their games.
@jaybate-1.0 - perhaps consider renaming "BAD BALL" to "DUMB BALL."
"Talent stacking is going to produce some counter strains of basketball that are going to change how the game is played."
I totally believe it already has.
Let's examine our very own Wigs. He chose Kansas, and all of us could hardly contain ourselves. World media deployed permanent crews in Lawrence to document his every bowel movement.
The kid we all praised... looked like a virtual God sent from the heavens. We all bit the hook.... youtube clips showing Wigs high-flying slams through his legs. And then there was his infamous spin move. None of us have ever seen a player move like that before. Not in college, and not in the NBA. Jordan couldn't touch that spin move.
But what we came to find out was young Wigs ONLY possessed the slam and spin as his offense. He had the athleticism of a God, but the skill set of a very standard HS player.
It didn't take long before our delusions were met with reality. It didn't take long before college players had him scouted for his spin move. Suddenly Wigs had to look to create some offense. So he stepped out to the trey line with minimal results. Then Self directed him to just force it to the rim. Force contact and make a living at the FT line. To some degree that worked... at the cost of our team offense. Suddenly... the rest of our guys just turned into spectators of Wigs when he had the ball on offense. Except for a few highlight dunks... we weren't left with much from Andrew as he departed to the NBA.
The morale of that story is the message sent from a true God of the game... Kobe Bryant. Love him or hate him... you have to respect a guy that speaks his mind, regardless of the ripples it causes. His take on AAU ball was right on the mark. US players are not learning the basics. They are just meat on the slab, being weighed for profitability. It isn't any different in college ball. And us fans have looked at it all wrong. We've started to resent the OADs for only giving a few months of their lives for college ball. But what the heck does college ball offer to them? Very, very little.
I used to believe the fable, that Kansas knows how to develop players. I don't believe it any longer. The players develop themselves. I feel certain they would improve the same playing just about anywhere. Why do I believe that? Because the game we watch doesn't lie. We see so little of the fundamentals in use now. The game is a complete disaster. Players are using their raw athleticism to mask their inabilities to play fundamental basketball.
The perfect example is watching the drive. Coaches are now trained to defend their players for not defending. They give credit to the offensive player for being "unstoppable" because of their remarkable speed. Yet that same player can't seem to use his speed to defend. If he has such a speed advantage on offense, he would have the same advantage on defense. For some reason, that logic is lost in college basketball.
Yes, @jaybate-1.0 , the game is under duress... the fundamentals are gone in trade for pure athleticism. And the fans are trained to only admire the athleticism and not fundamentals. Turns out... the fans aren't as knowledgeable as they think.
Try to find some old footage of UCLA in the Wooden era. You will see the end of fundamentals in college. Or Bobby Knight at Indiana. Play that footage today and no one will watch. It's just like watching an old black-and-white movie. The visual action of the old classics doesn't interest young movie watchers today. They want to see 3-d high-motion graphics and animation. Wigs is a big hit because he resembles a super action hero.
I seriously doubt there are many young readers that understand my post here. Why? Because they have nothing to compare it to. The game seems to hold a lot of fundamentals still... hey... guys are dribbling and rarely being called for double-dribble?
I can hardly stomach college basketball today. I do enjoy the athleticism... but without fundamentals, it's not basketball.
If attendance starts to drop I'm expecting a marketing guru to just start dressing the players in action hero costumes. Who will be our next Hulk? Spiderman?
BAD BALL / GRIND BALL vs TRIFECTAVILLE
I've been supporting our shift to focus on the trey line for quite some time.
But maybe there is more to the game than just looking at stats. I often think that is where us "non-coaches" fail to understand the game.
Here is my example:
3 weeks ago, Kansas loses to Oklahoma State. We shot 50% from trifecta. 10-20. That is 30 points off of only 20 possessions... 1.5 ppp.
Yesterday, Kansas beats Texas. We shot only 12.5% from trey, and a whopping 36.2% from 2. We were 1 for 8 from trey.
Maybe we need to adjust our math. Maybe our analytics have been off by only using the "short form."
Adjust to the "long form." Factor in other variables.
Is it possible our guys just can't play tough when points come easy? Could that be true?
Look at how Self has been praising his troops for playing tough yesterday.
The dynamics involved in the game are complex. A successful coach does have to be as much of a psychologist as a "court schemester."
There is one overwhelming number that trumps everything... #11.
In the year that everyone and their one-eyed step sister had Kansas going down on our streak. All the basketball wizards with the big mouths... they could hardly contain themselves. "Could this be the year?"... spoken gleefully by media wonks who probably has our State culture similar to the hillbillies of Appalachia.
It's always a blast when the world is taught a lesson about basketball. Self is 40 minutes away from doing it again!
BTW: I can't brag about my new strategy of jinxing opponents... that could create a reverse jinx.
I'm not worried about our game with WVU.
And that has me worried! If I'm not worried, maybe our team isn't worried and WVU becomes our big trap game this year.
I'm working up a head of steam... trying to get worried!
Ah.... the "logic" of a superstitious fan!
Taylor was out of control. Frank was in control and going backwards. Frank reached in at the ball around the key, but once Taylor started his drive Frank actually played it right for a change. Maybe he learned his lesson after WVU and Staten.
I see it as the "glass half empty" or "glass half full."
I know we've all hammered down on Self for pulling away from the long ball... but maybe there is a reason why he is one of the most winning coaches in recent history.
Imagine we had stuck to our guns and developed our identity is a long ball shooting team?
Even though we would have built offense to facilitate our perimeter shooters with specific spacing and plays... without an inside game teams would have played us stretched out and it would have become tough for us to maintain the pace we had a month ago.
Now... with Perry coming on, and Kelly starting to penetrate... we are getting a lot of inside points. If I'm not mistaken, didn't we have a lot more inside points than Texas?
So how do teams scout us (moving forward)?
Do they continue to come out high and leave the middle open?
If we can just run a bit more offense to free a guy like Brannen... wow....
Now imagine Brannen and maybe Wayne gets hot from outside and we have the new, amped-up Perry in the post.
Suddenly, we become a very tough out.
Self is the "Riverboat Gambler." I've been worried all along that this team would never have an identity. I think that is what Self is playing to.... NOT having an identity! How do you scout a team without an identity?
Maybe he is playing this team for March. We usually have a strong identity and we face a team that has had a week to prep for us.
"Agree, but the ones who create have to learn to create for others as well."
Spot on!
Once again, great post and vision of what is missing.
The leadership you mention is down the road in Wichita. VanVleet is a heck of a PG. There just aren't many PGs like him around.
Correct. But in defense of Frank.. he was never been a PG until coming to Kansas. He's had to learn the spot, learn to translate his game to D1 and learn the Self system. I give him a lot of credit. Next year, Graham may be a better pick for someone to facilitate. Maybe slide Frank over more into the 2 (where he belongs) and just let him be a backup PG.
Solid post.
Ultimately... we need a few more guys that can create their own shot. We rely too much on "team ball"... meaning... the "don't let the ball stick" passing. It is a great thing when it works. But quick passing alone isn't the answer either.
At some point you need guys that can create.
Texas lived today on Taylor creating. It was almost enough to give them a victory. Without Taylor... they were toast.
Perry is our guy who creates for himself. His recent uptick has been tremendous.
Sometimes... Frank can create.
Rarely... Wayne can create.
Brannen... he's a bird perched on the 3 line waiting to receive the ball when he is wide open.
I will take Bill Self out to dinner at the best steak house in America if I ever see one of our guys pull the ultimate shot fake. Just one time!
The news isn't all negative.
Perry is doing better. So is Kelly. He is starting to take matters into his own hands. Great... we need another guy to do that.
But is there time to reformulate an offense this late in the season? I think it is tough for this team to build an identity now.
It looks like we are in for mostly grind games from here on out, unless we get a few pushover teams to play.
"Even had the volume on so I could listed to Jay "I hate KU" Bilas."
Jay drives me crazy. His end of game rant about Taylor not getting the foul call was ridiculous. There was small contact and the refs had let that go all game, even much more contact. Taylor was out of control... I didn't know he was supposed to be rewarded for driving out of control and going down.
I think everyone in the universe already knows I'm not a Bilas fan. He's just another lawyer trying to weasel through life with his sharp tongue.
Hey... if we can get our shots blocked 20 times in a game and win.... perhaps we stand a chance against Kentucky!
ha.....
No... I'm with you... I agree that it is doubtful we vacate wins.
The NCAA hasn't been pulling such harsh treatment now and they recently admitted it was wrong to over-penalize programs. It is a money thing. Also... the NCAA has suddenly become vulnerable and schools are realizing they can leverage good legal counsel and get a better outcome.
This would have to be something where Kansas was involved in doing something in violation or trying to cover up. Both of those scenarios are very very unlikely.
Today.... when a Jayhawk player farts... they run the smell through the KU compliance office.
Hunter did step up today. To count on a guy who only gets a few mop up minutes in a big game is huge.
It's "grind basketball" which is Self's brand of basketball.
I almost think he'd rather lose at grind ball than win at high-octane offense ball that ends up in a race.
All of this just reinforces that we need to continue to make post scoring our #1 offensive focus. I hope Perry can score 20+ in every game moving forward, because it will take all of that just for us to stand a chance.
Kudos to Perry.
Maybe Self will back out now and look to spread the offense..... outside and inside scoring. Maybe he was just pushing Perry to "man up?" Hey... none of us are complaining about Perry's play now. Now if we can get more of our other guys to support him.... It would help if we actually attempted to run a little offense for the long ball.
Naaaaa!
Ha... I've thrown up my hands a while back. I'm not going to be the one defined as "insane" by Einstein. I'm not pulling out my hair because we aren't setting up the long ball. I'm just going along for the ride. I hope we win the B12... and anything at all beyond that is gravy. So my expectations are squat once we edge out WVU (hopefully).
It has to be something really bad with lots of evidence for Kansas not to fight back this time.
This is the Perry I followed while at Wichita Heights. This is what he was like in Wichita city league.
I don't know why... but I finally think Perry isn't going to turn back to being a soft player again. It's like he finally broke his man cherry.
The more I think about this the more I think it will just be a case where Cliff has to sit out the rest of this year, and possibly even part of next year.
Major universities have come to realize they need the right legal help to push back against the NCAA... but the lowly athlete has no legal protection. You know... because they are slaves.
What is different this time is that Kansas has a slue of legal pros on board to handle compliance issues.
After we came a split hair away from getting the death penalty for giving a recruit a loan so he could quickly visit his sick and dying grandmother... Kansas invested big in compliance.
We shall see how this plays out. Throwing away a record conference title streak because the guy you recruit went to a BS HS that cleared the NCAA sounds like a good case to take on for any attorney worth his weight in toilet paper.
I know, I know... I shouldn't undervalue toilet paper...
What I can't get is that our assistant coaches are all about recruiting.... And so Kansas (one of the big blue bloods) ends up scraping for talent. I'm not saying Hunter isn't good talent.... just strange how we got him.
I've just been in a grumpy mood today.
At least we won, and it was nice seeing ISU blow it in purple land.
Or perhaps something was uncovered from his HS that now puts his eligibility at risk. It could easily be this.
Here is an idea of connecting the dots:
True... but Kansas does a pretty good job keeping their guys focused on academics. They all have ready access to tutors and I believe they are monitored by the AD. I believe if he had an academic issue KANSAS would be far ahead of the NCAA on something like this. In our current case it was the NCAA that notified Kansas. That doesn't sound like academics.
It sounds more like a family member might have received some benefits, or something of this nature.
I don't know... as I read more, it sounds like he may have done something else boneheaded. May not be related to academics.
Perhaps one of those things where a second cousin was approached by a handler... therefore... Kansas should be punished,
I'm going to guess he committed a no-no with his academics. Athletes have a lot of leeway for a year... so it would have to be something boneheaded.
"Now my question is...eligibility prior to signing during all that mess at his high school? Can't be, he was cleared by the NCAA. This has got to be since he's been attending classes at KU."
I am of the opinion that Kansas has a legal department on staff for many years now to deal with the NCAA and the crap they pull. That has been the case ever since Brown loaned Askew travel money to get home and visit his sick grandmother and the NCAA considered giving us the death penalty. Literally said we were "riding the fence."
I expect this to be something since he came to Kansas.
It is starting to seem like Cliff wasn't cut out for college or college basketball.
It blows my mind. I know a game can be won and loss by more than techniques. But look at all the effort we put in that WVU game only to come away with a loss from an inferior team. And it boiled down to Frank biting to the outside on the drive with just a few seconds left in the game.
That wasn't Frank's fault. He was never taught the basics of hedging. Lesson one... even though the basket is behind you (out of sight) you have to know where it is and must defend it from penetration.