@ralster .... is that you?
drgnslayr
11251 posts
Yikes... are we ever going to play another game? I need to wash some hillbilly flavoring out of my mouth.
Until then... thought this might be entertaining. Keep us busy until the next jump ball.
Decided to post an anonymous photo of myself, and thought I'd put up some photos of all of you. Feel free to jump in deep! (hint) search "Google Images" and then feed in any search term to find some material.
is that me, or Dan Akroyd? Ha.... "Doctor Detroit"
Yeah... been reading that.
Mudlay is the big experiment.
It should say something where these kids' hearts are at if they'd rather go to China then play D1. They really can't wait a year to be spoiled? Didn't grow up watching college ball and become a fan for a team or two? Or see the intensity and say they want a piece of that? I can understand how foreign players might not care... but American-born kids?
Kind of blows my mind...
@DCHawker - We had a good chance to go further with JoJo playing. And that team was pretty much all freshmen. It was extremely amazing that we could hold on to the B12 championship and have a shot in March with a team that young.
Compare it to this year. We really just exchanged Wigs and JoJo... but the rest of our team grew up a year. We all see the play difference in players like Brannen and Frank and some others. Plus.... losing Naa was a benefit after he lost his sanity.
If JoJo had stayed healthy, we might have been FF bound. Or at least Elite 8. I'm not sure I see that being realistic for this team. Sure, it is possible. But ever since the Texas win, we haven't exactly been dominating the B12. We were really shooting up in quality play, and that seems to have leveled off now. I think we need to see a big uptick to be more optimistic in March. Too many variables with this team right now to think they can make it to the promised land.
"Maybe I should not have posted this. Our players might read it and think they can coast."
If there is no sense of urgency... they will be coasting anyways.
So now all Wildcat eyes are focused in on just one future game.... with us. No other game matters. If they can just plow down Kansas, maybe they get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament (delusional) or NIT tournament (realistic).
A win against only rival Kansas, is the only way Weber "salvages" something out of his horrid season.
So we are bound to get their best shot. I'm cool with that... because we also get to be the team that stabs that last stake in their hearts.
"However, on one of the late-game Tyus Jones drives to the bucket, the UNC defender got absolutely grabbed and couldn't switch on his man. If officials call that foul, game over."
There were two of those calls late that were nothing more than "Duke calls"... There was the other one where Tyus drove in the paint and got the basket and 1. He just barreled directly into the chest of the defender, who was backing up, and got a contact call.
Ol' unbiased Bilas was praising the play. Had it gone the other way he would have been balking how the defender has a right to his own space. That play just about made me puke.
I'm just saying... we should maybe either get the uber elite, that we know will be OAD but can make a huge impact in one year, or get guys below that who will stay more than one year. Guys like Kelly and Cliff are quality players, but they aren't capable of bringing us a national title... then they are gone. Then they are buried away in D-league as representatives of the Kansas revolving door.
I don't mind Wigs and JoJo... and would love to get Thon. And I'm really happy with Cliff and Kelly if they stay more than a year. But if we only have them for one, it should create an opportunity at a NC. I don't see either one of those players bringing us that. I don't see either one of these guys making the impact of an Anthony Davis.
Self needs to do a better job now trying to get 5-stars that stick for more than one year. We can all see that Wigs and JoJo had good reasons to leave after 1.. but it damages our reputation to send players out early and have no success in the league.
Calipari is a different can of worms. He's had a lot more of the upper, upper recruits. Many of his guys play in the all star game and have made the jump. Not because of Cal... it's because they are that one step higher player. Wigs is on that level. So he made it.
If Kelly and Cliff jump, it's going to look bad on Kansas... and those guys aren't anywhere ready for the league.
A few years ago Self was in a recruiting slump. He wasn't getting his guys. Then he switched some tactics and started nailing some upper guys. His first concept was to get these guys and get them out the door as fast as possible. Prove to the world that he can get guys in the NBA quickly. He advised his guys to turn pro if they appear to be a first round pick. Take the money while it is there.
That strategy needs to change. And he needs to focus on guys that are a bit more realistic. It's better for the players, and better for Kansas.
If we lose Kelly and Cliff this year, did we gain anything by having them come to Kansas? We end up with guys that score a couple hundred points and then vacate their positions and we have to start all over again?
It's a different story with players like Wigs and JoJo. At least they brought more potential with them to have one big year that could have turned into something much bigger if JoJo had stayed healthy. I'm not going to turn down players of this caliber. You won't see me slam the door on Thon Maker.
But what about the guys a solid tier lower?
Maybe Self is doing this to keep Cliff around another year. It would not only be for our benefit, but it surely would be for Cliff's benefit. Actually, we take the risk that he won't even develop into a solid performer. What if we get a real 5? Is Cliff going to take all of Bragg's minutes? That guy brings a lot more offense with him. More offense than Cliff can develop in the next 12 months.
I agree with your post. On pure metrics... he's the guy to play, especially to armchair quarterbacks.
But his defensive skills lack refining as much as his post moves... as well as dribbling and passing skills.
Notice we don't hear Cliff screaming or throwing a fit when he sits?
Cliff knows his game is largely missing. He's okay with it, and seems to have the patience to let it develop.
Self is being a college coach... which is heavily-weighted towards teaching philosophies. The opportunistic approach to coaching is at the next level. Cliff would be playing if this was a NBA team. But he would also be taking major major doses of public criticism for all the skill areas where he is lacking.
The article implies he should enter his hat in the draft. Seriously? He'll be the next Selby if he does that. I see him as at least a 3 yr college player. It all depends on how he develops. Compare him to TRob, and his game in his final year at Kansas. And TRob isn't exactly burning the nets of the NBA. At least TRob has a motor.
The only thing really correct in that article is that Cliff's current assets aren't what the NBA is looking for. Roger dat. But... he should be turning pro this summer?
Kind of like the bs article recently printed about Kelly being NBA-ready. The guy has scored a couple hundred points in D1 so he now has what he needs to take the next step. "Jayhawk fans better enjoy him while they have him..." Rubbish.
The media works against us. Building the heads of these kids and helping persuade them to leave early, just to collect dust in D-league and fight to get a contract. If we are going to be successful moving forward, we need some of these 5-star recruits to stick around for a few years. Pay us back for wearing our name on their chests while they grow up just a little bit and maybe develop some.
No one on this team is ready for the NBA next year. No one. Not even close. Kelly has all the right potential... but he still needs major seasoning and improvements. He is left-dominant, which works great in college, but it takes very little time in the league to erase that advantage. Remember what players aren't taught in college.... hedge defense?
"As far as the computers are concerned, a rising Big Blue tide lifts all boats -- KU's included."
Love it... and it is true!
Please..... Roy... it's time to retire!
I watched the classic rivalry game UNC vs Duke last night and Roy really blew it.
His boys were playing all charged up. They really needed this win on the road at Duke, and this was their first rival game with Duke since the passing of Dean Smith. The boys were amped.
So there is like a minute and a half left in the game, Tar Heels up by 5 with the ball out under their own basket. Looked like they had the game in hand. Off the timeout Roy shoots for the stars... an in-bounds play sending a guy deep for the home run pass. Seriously? It was thrown over his head, and the ball was a turnover without running a second of clock, giving the ball to Duke under their own basket. From there on out, Roy was completely out-coached. Saving his 4 timeouts until they were in real trouble, instead of using them to preserve his margin. Didn't even setup a final play when the game was tied and his guys had plenty of time to run a play and score. Or pull out his poor FT shooters on offense. Really horrible management of every possible strategy useful at the end of the game. He just let the game play out, unassisted. He really let his troops down. And Dean... he must have rolled over on that one!
Roy really looks like he's aged a lot in just the last year.
It's time to send him to pasture.
Next time I'll record it and send it to their next practice session.
Sure... he's the Riverboat Gambler. He's parsing his words and actions carefully. He's trying to get the maximum gain out of that loss! That confirmed my suspicion that he didn't mind the loss.
"Too bad Longhorns couldn't have helped us out by taking out OU last night."
I hear you. You could see Texas losing steam. At that point I felt sure they were going to lose.
Man... that Turner sure has a bunch of talent. Mostly untapped with Rick. Guess I can say that for all his players.
They don't play well as a team. Too much focused on individuals just "getting theirs."
As a person... I think I like Barnes more than any other coach in our league. He's just a great human being. But I question some of his abilities to coach and get his guys rolling.
Still... I don't think we've heard the last from Texas this year.
The one remaining game on our schedule that I have circled is the Texas game. I think that could be every bit as tough a victory as winning in Norman. It is the one game we are completely out-sized.
There are some indications that Texas is starting to put it together. Gosh... they'll be a nasty draw for someone's bracket in March. Probably ours! Shouldn't be... but we aren't Duke so don't expect any seeding favors.
I think most everyone in here is a fan of Wayne Selden. I know I am.
Negative attention is creeping up more on Wayne as the season progresses. He received a temporary reprieve when he started lighting it up from 3 recently. But the attention to other parts of his game have become a glaring issue with this team.
The questions mount... how does an athletic 6'5" 230 lb player only get 2.7 rebounds per game, especially when averaging 30+ mpg?
That's a very good question. We are talking about less than one rebound every 10 minutes of action. If you apply some basic physics, along with the dimensions of a basketball court, you'll find that there is almost a natural occurrence that the ball will fall on a guy once every 10 minutes.
So why isn't a physically-built linebacker like Wayne Selden getting more rebounds? Does he lack hustle?
Maybe we can find some answers by looking at other parts of his game. Wayne only has 15 steals on the season. 15! He's played about 800 minutes. Do the math... that is around one steal every 52 minutes. Once again... you can explain that steal as a basic force of nature and physics.
In the blocked shots category he has 16 for the year... that's like one in every 50 minutes of action. Nothing to write home about.
His shooting, even though he has been hot recently, is still at a meager percentage... including at the FT line. That can easily be a side effect of his esteem level. His mom comes to town and he starts lighting it up!
What sticks out is his assists. Wayne does have 79 assists this season. That translates to 2.72 per game. A respectable amount, and it puts him only behind Frank in assists. What does that say? Well... it does say that he isn't mentally zoned out of games. And he does offer a certain degree of hustle. Guys that don't hustle aren't near the top of any player stat, except maybe in fouls. Ooops.... Wayne is second to top on fouling, just behind Perry. Does that indicate he isn't hustling? Or is he hustling enough to foul, but just getting himself in bad situations? Or is he hustling and bailing out other players?
What I'm wondering is if he is suffering with emotional injury scars. Wayne has been facing injuries at least going back to his junior year in HS, where he faced his first surgical repair. And last year he was in the doctor's office again.. this time for his knee.
Wayne is a tough guy. No one questions that. But might he be a victim of emotional injury scars? Might there be a little man in his head directing his play on the floor... instructing him to avoid plays that put him most at risk? I wonder.
I notice that he often shies away from contact. He does make a few nice hustle plays... but usually those seem like they are calculated as low-risk gambles. And then there are other times, when he seems to be frustrated in himself for not contributing enough in the physicality department and he over-compensates. Those plays usually don't pan out. He did have one masterful 94-foot drive in WV, all the way to the rim. A real beaut! Reminded me of what we thought we would be getting in Wayne 100% of the time.
Players can really lose the edge to their game when they get these emotional injury scars. Back in my day, I had to overcome it myself. It's hard to take the gambles again, and sometimes you just relive one of your injuries in your mind.
There has to be a reason why Wayne isn't producing like he should. Or could it be that he is carrying another actual injury?
A few games back, I thought he might be suffering from the same thing EJ suffered with.... just over-thinking during the game. This still may be part of it... and perhaps the over-thinking is focusing on some risk aversion from injury.
"I don't know where anybody ever got the idea he's a 'riverboat gambler.'"
The "riverboat gambler" wasn't a description for Self as a risk taker. It was to describe how he leaks out information and bluffs people into thinking his strategy and mindset is in one direction, while he goes in a different direction. I don't think anyone in here sees him as a big risk taker.
Many of us crush down hard on Bill. This is a forum to vent and express... there aren't too many rules around that. But I don't think many of us mind our current record this year. I know the media convinced many fans that Kansas wasn't going to get #11 (which we still have to do)... but the media had a pretty good argument on their side. Everyone has discounted his ability to produce another winner... including many of us.
I'm not going so far as to say Self got out-coached in this game. That would imply Huggy did a better job. I'm not going that far. But I believe he coached himself out of a victory. I never had us winning this game. Everything was stacked against us leaving Morgantown with a victory.
I don't believe Self went to Morgantown planning to lose this game. But I don't think he minded leaving with a "L"... I really don't We still lead our conference and another loss is more opportunity to punch his guys in the guts and try to get them to grow up. No coach can take a bunch of boys and turn them into champs. At this level, it becomes a man's game when going for crowns. There are several hundred D1 teams full of boys. Most watching March Madness at their parents' houses.
How does a coach build urgency in his players? Especially when they are just children. I can't really answer that. But that is the real task Self has. This is far more than giving Cliff more minutes or building offense around the 3.
Like I said... I don't believe Self went to Morgantown planning to lose this game. But I don't think he wanted to make it easy for these guys to leave town with the win. He knows the value of struggle... and how it builds character. Can he turn these boys into men within a month? Doubtful... Can they survive March solely on their talents? Doubtful... Is Kansas going to be the winner in my March Madness bracketology? Doubtful... Sure, I want them to win. But I don't see the urgency necessary to get there.
IMHO, we need to address the structure of Kansas coaching. Need some assistant coaches that can teach rebounding block outs.... shot fakes... hedge defense.... dribbling skills... the basics. These kids have all worked on their jump shots and slam dunks. Great... those are important, but it is the basics that will give them a chance in March. Maybe a team like Kentucky can gloss over the fundamentals, because they are just too friggin' loaded. Maybe. We'll see if they are ready to play ball after their breezy SEC schedule. We'll see if they know the value of struggle... or if it even matters. If they don't come ready in March and they actually finally play a team of experienced players who are really tough and coached in the fundamentals... they'll go down like a ton of bricks.
Hey... I just caught the classic Bogart film... "The Harder They Fall" for the millionth time. Made me think of Kentucky. Big.. and propped up with a bunch of SEC games that might as well be rigged. I hope they win out until a tough challenge in March. The Blue Nation fan base will jump out of buildings if they blow it!
I forgot to give Landen some credit. He is easily our only big that has some rebounding fundamentals.
It's hard to get down too hard on Jamari... because he doesn't have a huge basketball past. It's a coaching issue. No one is teaching him the fundamentals. He's just a guy who goes out there in a game and spends up lots of energy.... almost blindly.
How can we hold players accountable if we can't hold our coaches accountable?
There is no excuse for not teaching the fundamentals. We know it is possible for kids this age to learn fundamentals... just watch women's college basketball to see the proof!
As far as size goes... I'll take girth over height any day of the week! I wish we had Sir Charles Barkley on this team to vacuum off the boards! He battled his way to the NBA rebounding crown, often having to snare the boards over guys as much as 10 inches taller.
Give me a guy with a big butt over a guy with a 50" vertical any day of the week. If you have to rely on the vertical for rebounding you are just biding your time before a guy like that goes down hard and gets injured. If you don't have position, regardless how high you go, you have to foul to get the rebound anyways.
There are too many guys that criticize Wooden... like he couldn't win without Gilbert. Fact is... Wooden was part life philosopher... but the guy also taught fundamentals. Every season started with him teaching his players how to tie their shoe laces. He started from the beginning and he hammered his players on fundamentals. If you don't believe me.... please look it up!
" I only coached middle school girls but I was always telling them put a hip on your man, get low, and use the elbow to maintain block out."
Please... please.... go beg the Kansas coaching staff to sit in on a few practices and teach these boys some basics!
If these guys could just follow your words from one sentence we would be crowned National Champions this year!
God, I miss Kevin Young!
His biggest attributes were his motor and his heart. The guy NEEDED the ball! If he was in an area where the rebound was headed... anytime he was the same distance from the ball as a competitor, he got the ball. He wanted it more and he had the motor to win the RACE TO THE BALL!
Might someone in this coaching staff dig up a few file tapes to show these guys who Kevin Young was? And what it takes?
There is some natural instinct to it. And personality. No one is going to make our chilled out guys become hustlers. Or change their physical anatomies to become "high motor" guys.
But they can learn the technical side of rebounding and beat 99% of the players out there... because rebounding instruction is sorely lacking in college basketball. I've always preferred watching women's college basketball for rebounding. They may not leap as high and have as much height... but the ladies know how to box out.
@JayhawkRock78 - I know Kobe is addressing the men's side. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the women's side was run properly. If you want to see good basketball technique, start going to women's college games. They focus their energies on learning a complete skill set.
Jamari's example is a case where he has a motor and it is not being utilized.
"Dribble/Drive is an offense for OAD's that do not need any coach. It is throwing the ball on the floor and saying, "You Are Supposedly the Most Elite - Play Ball." I prefer not to go the way of a Kentucky that has taken the Joy and Heart out of basketball."
Man.... I about pee'd myself after reading this.... BRAVO!
Dribble-drive can best be described as "cop out" offense. When you have a bunch of guys that just won't play team offense, throw in the dribble drive and stand back. Get a guy or two out there who can drive and hope they can salvage some offense. It is often used in the NBA because there are guys who are capable of taking over offense by themselves. And if they keep shuffling lineups, it can be hard to establish team offense. It's one of those things where they just look at the game from the point of view of opportunism... not art or theory. If you have a guy like a DWade (when he was in his prime)... you look at the stats and you see that your best option for much of the game may be to let him take over. No teaching theory here... just playing to statistics.... something college basketball NEVER does.
The offense I like is similar to what the Mayor runs... a hybrid, turbocharged Princeton. Motion offense... with lots of driving and passing. Mixed. Floor spacing. Picks and backdoor cuts. Attacking match up advantages. Clearing out for isolations.
I agree with some of this story, especially about how Jamari needs help from others doing their share to box out.
But there are flaws in this story.
First off, let me premise this by stating that rebounding was my #1 specialty as a player. It helps if you have played a lot of ball, and been counted on for rebounds. Rebounding is partially about hops and height, but mostly about hips and elbows. Boxing out the right way is the key to being a good rebounder.
None of our guys know how to properly box out. The key is to control as much space NEAR the goal, but not UNDER the goal. There are a lot of other factors, too... but let's just focus on this one first.
Go back to Jesse's article, and watch the video titled "Traylorboxsout" several times. Traylor, actually, has horrible positioning in most of these plays. He's too far under. He actually gives up opportunity to have good rebound position by charging in under the basket, allowing his opposition to go right over the top and take the boards.
This is absolutely a perfect clip for instructing what not to do when fighting for position. In one of those clips.... Jamari is far away from the rim and totally charges in with a WVU player on his back, following him. He gives up ALL THE REAL ESTATE charging in under the basket. All he had to do was spread his stance, bend his knees, and stop. Absorb the contact from the WVU player coming over his back, and he probably would get a foul call "over the back."
This is the perfect example of why I came on here and spouted right after the game about our poor rebounding and how wrong we were to setup to rebound DIRECTLY under the goal! You have a better chance of getting a rebounding at the top of the key! Obviously, I'm not saying to go hang out up top to rebound, just making a point about where the ball is very unlikely to go.... DIRECTLY UNDER THE RIM!
From a ref point of view... players playing directly under the rim do not get "over the back" calls. Playing under the rim is considered "no man's land"... When I was being coached to rebound, we called it "the dead zone." "Don't be caught in the dead zone." I bet I heard that a thousand times.
The fundamentals of the game have been lost. Kobe Bryant has it right. "AAU basketball," Bryant said. "Horrible, terrible AAU basketball. It's stupid. It doesn't teach our kids how to play the game at all so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don't know how to post. They don't know the fundamentals of the game. It's stupid."
"Teach players the game at an early age and stop treating them like cash cows for everyone to profit off of," he said. "That's how you do that. You have to teach them the game. Give them instruction."
Bryant has it exactly right. What America dominates in is athleticism. And college basketball is just an extension of AAU ball. Like I said earlier... get rid of the dead weight assistant coaches that are only here as recruiters, and start bringing in developers.
I'm really getting sick of watching these kids play without the very basic fundamentals.
Svi is the only guy on this team that even has a clue what a shot fake is. That is friggin' pathetic. And the only guy we have with even a remote clue on rebounding is Frank Mason.... our shortest player. No wonder he is one of our better rebounders.
"#KUReview: When boxing out doesn't matter. "
Yeah.... when boxing out doesn't matter... is when you charge right through your box out under the rim! Friggin' unbelievable!
"But this game did cry out for playing small, and seeing how WVU reacted. Particularly when you rely on low talent guys (Traylor/Lucas)."
Yes it did.
What it really cried out for was a NBA coaching mentality. If guys don't get it done try a different rotation. Run something else.
Actually... in the second half, I liked what we ran. We had WVU spread out and we often attacked. But seriously... why was Jamari used for that?
WVU is all about foot speed. Their full court press, half court traps.... it is a team built around speed. Why did we counter with size? They ran doughnuts around our guys, especially on the offensive glass.
It was an unconventional game for us and required major adjustments... adjustments we didn't make. We got beat on the match ups. It required a NBA thinking approach.... away from the stiffness.
We could have used a lubricated Svi in this game... but he has already rusted out for this year. It would take major minutes to get him back in the flow. A piece of "depth" set out in the yard to rust.
Guys on this team rust up if they don't get lots of minutes because they don't have adequate personal development coaching. Clear as day. It is just one more reason I would restructure the coaching on this team.
The female "p"... you know... like the purple "p - - - - - s!"
TRON Legacy Giftshop
BTW: that was one heck of a movie if you were able to catch it in 3D Imax!
Cough... cough.... I believe we are the youngest team in our conference, yet we have a one-game lead and have played the most-consistent basketball in our conference.
Cough... cough... cough....
If you want to see a glaring weakness in Kansas basketball... look no further than Buddy Hield. How could we miss on that guy? Seriously? I can see him being a top 5 lottery pick. Many claim he is the best offensive college player today.
We missed on him because our coaching is defensive-minded top heavy. Beyond that... offensively... we've had our biggest luck in the post, and much of that had to do with Manning. I can't believe we had a shot at Buddy, even Self came to check him out, and he didn't see enough potential. That totally blows my mind. Forget that he was the 88th ranked pick by Rivals. He played at Sunrise Christian Academy... they don't get any love from east cost sports media.
It seems like we need a huge revamp of everything.
It seems we need to go get a new platoon of assistant coaches. Pick guys that aren't interested in becoming head coaches. That's a different kind of job.. head coach is like the general contractor. Problem is, we aren't hiring sub contractors to do the dirty work... we are hiring guys who are general contractor wannabees.
Build a real development team and let recruiting take care of itself. It will. Instead... we just look for assistants that might have some connection in a few parts of the country. I don't really see our strategy being very different from Calipari's. Not really. This isn't the coaching staff with Danny Manning.
This is what I see as the right way forward.
I don't think we can expect lots of changes without the right mechanisms in place.
We get "Self ball" because it took Self lots of energy just to get his crew to help him establish "Self ball."
I think Self is sort of forced into the stiffness he has.
We need to reboot the program if we really want to see change. And that is a gamble. Now... you are talking about a sales job to the AD and others to make it happen, and it isn't without risk.
" I think we should be discussing what we could do on the perimeter to give our mad bombers more time and room to launch."
This is what it is all about. Right there.
If Self just gives everyone a total green light from the perimeter he will end up proving his point... that it is nothing but "fools gold."
But if he develops offense trying to spread the floor and open up the right spacing for easy catch-and-shoot opportunities, there is nothing "fools gold" about that.
Some of the second half, when we were performing pretty well against WVU, we had them spread out. We did hit a few 3s, but they were giving up the middle. Its hard to turn that down, and we can't. If we don't take what they give us it is an uphill battle to hit the 3s being guarded.
The real problem was the guy the announcers kept giving total credit to. Jamari. I love me some BamBam.... but he is not the guy to run the post attack from a spread defense. First... he can't hit anything midrange. Second... he isn't really a good ball handler and often charges. Third, sometimes he plays sped up and turns the ball over with bad passes and mistakes. He actually played fairly well in this one. Only turning it over a few times. But he isn't our salvation in this offense.
Self has said all year that we may have periods of playing small. Well when the heck is that day coming? It should have been last night. Running 4 perimeter players and Perry is a killer offensive combination. And if another one of our bigs isn't contributing hugely to defense or rebounding, why the heck don't we play to our strength? (which then is offense)
This, once again, points to the difference between college coaches and NBA. NBA you play to your opportunities. To your strength. Every guy on the floor has to be productive in his role or he gets pulled. And if you start changing guys out you run a different strategy and different sets.
Remember just a few months ago when Self was talking about using Wayne at the 4? That now seems like a lifetime ago.
Not that I don't agree with almost everything stated in here... but we do need to practice some patience.
The old proverb, "be careful what you wish for... lest it come true" has never been more true.
Here is a guy who is happy to change, almost by the second....
Hard to watch without puking...
"Distractions are good sometimes."
You raise a couple of good points....
"I wonder where she shops for clothes?"
ShipwreckCastaways.com
I'm glad you posted what you did. You've come on board to publicly question some of the coaching going on this year. That is really what makes this site roll. If we all just come on here and pat the kids and coaches on the back, there is no real need to come here every day.
Everyone posting in here is hardcore Kansas basketball. That's what I really appreciate about the group we have. We don't all agree with each other, and that is what gives this site a heartbeat.
I'm one of those posters that is fast to criticize coaches and players. I'll admit that. But I do see both sides of the coin, and I remain a huge Bill Self fan. You raise points that I think most of the posters in here are raising... basically boiling down to Self adapting his game to meet the times.
I think there is a lot more involved in changing coaching philosophy than we all consider. It's been almost 40 years since I had the privilege of sitting in on a Kansas basketball practice. It was back in the 70s and practices were not nearly as guarded. However, today, I do try to keep an eye on what goes on in and around Kansas basketball.
Here are some things I think we need to consider when focusing on coaching philosophy change:
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Bill Self does a lot more than coach practices and games. Bill spends a crazy amount of time on fundraising and other programs directly and indirectly related to the university. When he's not out fundraising, he is probably out recruiting. The same can be said for his assistant coaches. They spend a lot of time recruiting and working on things that don't directly translate on the court.
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Our assistant coaches are not skilled in player coaching. In order to make some of the changes we really need to change, we need better player development. I don't really see any of our assistant coaches being quality developmental coaches. Danny Manning was the last guy on our bench that really understood player development.
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Bill Self is no spring chicken. Yes, that's right... he is no longer in his youth. As people age, they tend to put a heavy weight on the knowledge that brought them the success they have. Clearly, Bill is not an easy sell for living on the perimeter or feeling the need to invest in more motivational practices. He is largely the product of his youthful experiences in Oklahoma, where he learned about tough defense.
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We've got one of the younger teams in America. This is 2 years in a row. We are all frustrated with their inconsistent play because we are used to seeing teams run by juniors and seniors. We don't have a single senior out there. It's hard to know how difficult it is to teach young players to execute.
I'm no spring chicken myself. And because of that reason, I'm actually surprised how much Self has changed with the game. At his age, he's never going to become a chameleon like Calipari. Calipari is a chameleon that changes colors by the second to accommodate the latest trends and thinking of HS recruits. It does work for him. He has to rely on that because traditional coaching attributes are not his strength. But that isn't what Self is. And I don't think we want someone like that anyways.
I'm frustrated as all heck, too. And I want to post a bunch of stuff with video showing areas I have a deep, deep problem with. However... I'm still amazed we have only lost 5 games this year. Reminding everyone again... we are still very very young.
What I would like to know, is why we haven't gone after a few juco players or other transfers? We shouldn't ever do this again. This all started a couple of years ago when we lost everyone to either the draft or graduation. If we ever get out of whack again like that then Self should prioritize getting some experienced transfers in here to alleviate the lack of experience and youth issue.
BTW: I have the game recording on another computer right now and I just looked over at the game. With 13 minutes left in the game, Frank just took a wide open 3 and hit nothing but the bottom of the net. Self didn't mind because Frank was wide open, and there was probably 28 seconds left on the shot clock.
Well.. that was mostly a waste of a couple of hours.
The camera capture of taking video off my TV screen is a losing proposition. And it was tough to FF through the footage to find what I wanted.
I'm going to see if I can set up a better capture system. Something where I can obtain quality footage, edit it down to clips to run in here.
Imagine how groovy our site will be if we can put up our own footage?
Don't know that I have lots of time to put into this... but I'll jump in head first and see what happens for a bit.
If anyone has a rescue for me, please jump in here with the info!
Okay.... I'm outta here.
I'm off to replay the game and will take a video of my DVR. I'm on a big game hunt for that clip where the guy pretended Perry wasn't in his way for the rebound... and Perry wasn't in his way!
I'll be back soon with my trophy catch.
Not sure how to do this... but I'm not coming back without my trophy.
I want to hang this trophy over our website for the rest of the season.
This will represent the "chip"... this is how I define this team until proven otherwise. One good game won't erase it. Identity comes over time.
My wife rarely cusses.
I've never heard her say the "P" word more than last night. She called everyone on our team (except Frank) the "P" word all through the game. I definitely got a chuckle out of that.
Self was on them about rebounding... and their submissive attitudes told them to go camp underneath the basket... where rebounds don't go.
Positioning for rebounding is about screening off as much space as one can, so if the ball goes in that area, it's all yours. We didn't do that. We didn't seal off anyone, and worse, we camped underneath the goal. If you can stand to watch the game again, replay it and you'll see. The shots came off the glass in a typical fashion and the WVU guys weren't stuffed underneath the goal. They were just loose in the paint, where the rebounds went. In order for us to fight for rebounds, we had to get our collective asses out from underneath the goal and go put some body on WVU players.
This game really lacked fouls. Look at typical WVU games. There are usually a lot more fouls called because WVU will come in and fight for territory. Other teams are willing to fight back. That is the formula for heavy contact and fouls being called. We didn't fight for territory... we succumbed to their wishes. So our submissive reactions created plenty of buffer... and fewer fouls were called.
"As usual, you're on to something here. What makes Self mad? Quick 3's. Brannen and Svi both take quick open 3's and miss. Bench."
This was a game about poise. Self came to Morgantown to teach the guys about poise. His idea was to go into a mobtown gym, and execute a game plan. Many parts of the plan eventually started to work. I am for this team shooting the 3... but I understand what Self wanted in this game. He didn't mind the 3, but he wanted it to come as a quality 3. The key to our offense was to not play sped up. No quick force on the 3. Anytime Brannen is shooting the long ball and it isn't a simple catch-and-shoot, it is a forced shot. Sped up. Not what Self wanted. Self had it right. Run true half court offense, extend the defense and attack the middle. Where he screwed up was he used Mari as the surrogate instead of playing another guard. We could have fouled out WVUs post players quickly if he had.
"Cliff, silly foul by not keeping his feet. Benched rest of game."
Cliff did look out of sorts in this game. I'm not sure what the right answer is here. We either give him more time to gain experience or we play our best hand in this game, and that was with playing small. Mari was used as a key player in the offense. Post player penetrating and feeding. Should have been a guard.
"We looked scared. Were we scared of Self? Mason is the only one who didn't look scared."
We were scared. Refer to my "Boys of Summer"...
"What blue blood gets scared in a half filled gym in west virginia?""
A blue blood with mostly boys representing it. That's who...
"Win a title without the pieces you need."
We have plenty of talent to win. We have as many (or more) McDs AAs than anyone in our conference. We miss only one piece: manhood. We remain one of the youngest teams in the country, and the piece we lack is the ability to not turn submissive in games. You can review all of our losses this year and it all boils down to this. Our guys going soft.
This isn't about building bigger muscles. We have Wayne Selden, and he often plays the softest ball on the team. It's about the mind and projection. It's about accepting manhood. It's about committing to the responsibilities involved with being one and being held accountable. No team of 5 men would get manhandled like these guys did on the offensive glass. I don't care if it was a team of 6' and under.
We almost escaped with a win. The more I think about it, the more I'm glad we lost. There is no lesson in winning. We would have glossed over our biggest problem.. the one real piece this team is missing.... manhood!
We need to stop focusing on the wrong stuff. We don't have the big shot blocker in the post or the big rebounder. UCONN didn't have one either, and it didn't stop them from a national championship against a huge team.
There is only one factor with this team moving forward... it's not Cliff, or Wayne.... or any one player. It's a team effort, and this team needs to step up into manhood as a group. I just don't know how that happens quickly without something big happening. But winning a game we deserved to lose in Morgantown sure isn't part of the formula for success moving forward.
I replayed that play several times and caught it. It was a clear violation.
Totally blown call. Those are going to happen. This shouldn't have been a game where that mattered. I'm pretty sure we still would have lost because of our submissive effort.
"PERRY DUNK THE BALL!!"
I, also, replayed the last play a couple times (without barfing) to see if it was a ball Perry should have dunked.
Hard to say. But he did the right thing by not bringing it down for a dribble first. He was running full tilt, had little knowledge of what time was left on the clock. Good chance if he brought the ball down he never had the ball back up to attempt the dunk.
If he was a real leaper he could have dunked it without the dribble, but Perry is just not that kind of leaper.
He gave it the old college try, and it just didn't go in. At least he was there to give it a shot. We can't blame the loss on that. This was a game we should have manhandled control from the opening tip.
The vision of the "boys of summer" came to me in the second half, when a WVU rebound came in the vicinity of Perry. There was a WVU player on the other side of Perry and where the rebound went, and he actually jumped over Perry, extended his arm completely over Perry's head, and snatched the rebound, even without fouling. Perry didn't even have to get the rebound, he just had to react and jump to draw the foul.
This is the play that triggered my flashback. It was summer ball all over again. Before the boys of summer flipped into men, they subordinated their efforts to us probably because we were a couple of years older, and we clearly looked tougher. It doesn't take much for boys to give in.
That play was extreme. If anyone in here has video capabilities to capture that play and post it in here as video... please... please... please... do!
We'll title that clip as the "boys of summer" and we'll keep it floating on this site as an active chip for these guys to focus on manhood between now and March. I'm not sure what it takes to get them there. A few years ago it took losing TRob's mom. Look what that team did. We didn't have a single McDs AA on that team.
The focus here on out shouldn't be about talent. It should be about manhood.
In my youth, when the sunshine came, and the asphalt courts would cook up in the summer, I would gather several players and we'd get off the hot asphalt in search of a game on cooler concrete. One of our stops was at a private swim club that had a really killer full court concrete setup. It was great to play on summer concrete, especially with a basketball that was a virgin to concrete, because it was a clean ball, no blackened tar melted on it. We managed to always finesse our way into this facility, but we had to win the court from the guys at the club.
We were toughened players. We had spent most of our lives playing constant basketball on either concrete or asphalt. The "boys of summer" (as we used to call them) were not that seasoned. And they were usually a few years younger.
We always came in there and thrashed the boys of summer. And we did it without playing dirty. We simply overpowered them in all facets of the game. When you have that much physical superiority over someone, the last thing you have to do is play dirty to gain an advantage.
I look at that game last night and I experienced Kansas as the "boys of summer." We were treated like the submissive youth. We were the submissive youth.
One thing about being young.... elders are always treated with respect. And if you don't respect them, they quickly teach you a lesson, usually with ease. We were taught a lesson last night. Not sure if we will take the lesson to heart and get something out of it.
This was the same lesson instructed to us by Kentucky, Temple, ISU and OSU. We lose when we play the role of submissive youth. The lesson can come as a 32-pt blowout or a 1-pt heartbreak loss. The key is not the point margin, but the loss. Last night, we were beat by a completely inferior team.
The moral of this story takes us back to the summer country club basketball courts. The "boys of summer." Remember? Well, after several years of us coming over and beating down these guys, several actually grew out of their youthful submissiveness and the chore for us became much tougher every year. Before long, these guys with their upscale summer attire would match us step for step, point for point. The advantage was gone. They were still the same guys... a few years younger. The difference was that we experienced them in the window of their manhood breakout.
Men no longer give in to the role of submissive youth. Men come to fight.
We have a very talented team. And we have enough of the pieces to contend with anyone. But we can only be successful if we drop the submissive youth role. We will continue to win games based strictly on our talent. However... we have no shot at the big prize in March if we don't pass through the tunnel of manhood between now and then. The big prize won't be won by a team of boys who can overwhelm the field with their talent.
I respectfully disagree with your post that we don't have a closer.
I think Frank is a solid closer. He did close. We were down by one under a minute and he drove the paint and got the basket. Compare him to our PGs for the last two years.... Naa and EJ. If we would have held them that last possession, we would all be praising Frank for closing out that game. Even Wigs wasn't a closer. His victory basket there last year was the only time in his short career he closed out a game. First time. Frank has won several games for us over the past 1 1/2 years.
What we lacked was the ability to stop them from scoring with a few seconds left.
I have to pin that one on Self. He should have had Landen positioned at the rim that entire possession. The one thing you don't want to give up at that time is a layup, and Staten is the master of drive in our league. That was a Self blunder, plain and simple. WVU isn't a good outside shooting team, make them hit the long ball with one of their poorer shooters. We allowed WVU to play to their strength in the final seconds. Self was out-coached. After Staten blew by his man, there was no one to help out. No one.
It's always tough to lose by a point. It represents losing by the smallest of margins, but in the standings it changes a "W" to a "L" and that is huge. It is one tiny point that makes a huge impact.
This game started off badly. We fell behind and we looked totally unprepared. But we did get used to their game and we fought back to the perfect position of only being down 3 at half. In the final moments of the first half I begged my flatscreen TV to keep us behind at half because I knew that would give Self room to negotiate a motivational speech at halftime.
Our guys did come out with spark to start the second half. What did we do, 10 unanswered points? That was the point in the game where WE decided what kind of ending it was going to be... a Kansas comeback blowout or a one possession finish. We didn't keep the "pedal to the metal." When we let off and allowed WVU back in the game, I looked at my wife and said, "this is going to finish a one possession game."
I've been experiencing Jayhawk basketball for over 50 years now. That has to be the worst example of defensive rebounding I have ever experienced. This was a game that actually fit in the Duggy Goetlieb description of basketball being a "game of possessions." Yes it was. If this game had turned into a faster game, I wonder if we would own the NCAA record for offensive rebound give-ups? Pathetic. Our guys didn't scrap for the ball, at all. And the part I will never understand, is how they positioned themselves directly under the basket. Please review your DVRs. That is the only definite no-no place to position yourself for a rebound. What were they thinking? Surprisingly, this was not an over-physical game. WVU did not play their normal game of mugball. They actually played a game with more finesse then they usually play.
It is always a safe call to make adjustments in hindsight. But it became obvious by watching this game, that we should have gone to a smaller lineup. Perry in the middle, and 4 guards. It gave us a better chance to rebound because we had quicker guys on the floor. It gave us faster legs to attack the rim on offense. None of this game was played above the rim. None. It was completely a game decided by x-axis tactics. I feel confident we would have started fouling out their interior players much sooner. Their weakness was post defense. And we were able to spread their defense effectively.
This will make my point more obvious about playing 4 guards. Our attack man on offense was Jamari. Outside of a few TOs, he actually had some success attacking the paint and feeding. Now imagine that was any one of our guards? That bread and butter was there all 40 minutes, and had we attacked it early on, we not only would have maintained a healthy lead and forced their big in early foul trouble, we would have forced Huggy into changing his game plan.
I'm not going to be someone who piles on Wayne in this game. I think most of us in here realized he wasn't the right guy for this game, and it wasn't his choice if he played or not. He's a guy who thinks too much and these are the guys that usually have problems in a sped up game. That one foul where he just stopped playing the ball and did the strange thing with his arms trying to shield the defender was just plain strange. It gave us a glimpse of how much of his mind has to be dealt with every breathing second he is on the floor. But taking everything into consideration, I think he did much better than I thought he would do. We definitely can't pin this loss on him, or any one Jayhawk. This was definitely a team loss.
If I could go back in time and be able to throw in a few words to the team before the game I would say:
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When you break the press, if there isn't a complete "gimme" basket, pull the ball out and run our normal offense. Don't get caught up in the speed and speed up our offense.
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Do not setup right under the basket and think you are going to rebound the ball. Take turf up in the lane and fight for rebounds... especially defensive rebounds.
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Send a runner for a break away and make them pay for crashing the boards. (we did that once with Kelly, and the TV guys seemed to like it, over and over).
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Extend our runs. When we get a run going continue to add more energy to the run to extend it. Don't get a run going then go on cruise control.
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Make Staten beat you from outside. Make him shoot over you instead of blow by you.
This was a game similar to OSU. We had both of these teams where we wanted them, and we didn't finish the job. Killer instinct was lacking.
You can't give up 20+ offensive rebounds and expect to win. It goes against all laws of physics, nature and just plain common sense.
The stat guy was generous to us because I counted 22 offensive boards.
It seemed like all our guys kept hanging out directly under the basket, the one dead spot on the floor. The one spot where you will never get a rebound.
It's hard to figure this team out. We handled their pressure fairly well. Figured out the second half that once we beat the pressure take time and get a good shot. And we still lost.
Tough loss, but I hope we learn enough from it to make it worth it.
Evidently... not very well!
I remember how big a deal this was years ago concerning Alabama football. Everyone wanted to beat "Bear" Bryant, so the stakes became huge for any coach that could beat him.
Actually, I feel more optimistic about this game than I thought a few weeks ago.
I agree that Frank is wearing down a bit. He probably is carrying one or two nagging injuries that none of us know about.
However... all the effort extended by WVU for an entire season has created problems for themselves. Talk about tired guys... And the only way their strategy works is with totally fresh legs. Just a little bit of slowing turns something that can crush a team to something collapsing and creating easy run outs for the opposition.
I'm feeling really mixed now, compared to earlier in the year where I had this as an auto loss.
Still not going to predict, however.
Which Jayhawk team shows up?
I put us as first on the list for Thon if he gets his reclassification to 2015. I have nothing to base it on except reading recruiting junk online. So take it for what it is worth... nothing.
I think Self would like to use some ex players... maybe a couple.
Still not sure how this clears with the NCAA, and Kansas won't be doing anything without their legal department nailing down the NCAA in writing.
Yep.... and wasn't that the time when Kansas changed their protocol and started their in-house compliance program (along with their own legal representation).
I think Larry said he loaned Askew around $350 so he could get home for his grandmother. At the time this happened, Kansas actually filed this information with the NCAA. And the money was considered a loan, except no one expected it to be repaid.
There were other improper things noted, like free transport of players back and forth from the KC airport. I believe this is an area Kansas has since worked out with the NCAA. Schools shouldn't be punished if their locations are not so close to a major airport hub.
None of this really was enticement style violations. Not your typical alumni giving cash or fancy cars or watches to players for their signature.
Funny.... the NCAA said that Kansas was "on the bubble" for receiving the death penalty. Yet... schools like Kentucky didn't even have to vacate their National Championships when their players were nailed in a point shaving scheme... though they did receive the first ever "death penalty" having to sit out a season of basketball.
I guess point shaving is just a tad bit worse than loaning a player a few hundred bucks to get home to see his dying grandmother. Just a tad, according to the NCAA.
As @JayHawkFanToo said, the program at UCLA would not be the program I would put at the top of the list when it comes to playing by the book... though... there is no proof that Wooden himself was in the slightest involved with Gilbert and the benefits he provided players. And it is unknown of the impact it had on UCLA recruiting. UCLA quickly became known as a powerhouse, but back then, it wasn't common to recruit all over the nation.
There is little question about the quality of Wooden as a coach... and the lifelong philosophy he applied to the game (and to life). There are many players around to attest to his greatness and constantly communicate the teachings of Wooden. I've never heard of any of Calipari's players acknowledging his philosophy, his teachings or quotes. Nothing.
Indiana, under Bobby Knight, is definitely the program to be put at the top list for running a tidy ship. Funny... he is one of Calipari's strongest critics.
Ultimately, it is public opinion that determines someone's greatness beyond their own self view. In that area, Calipari appears to be near the bottom of popularity amongst college basketball fans outside of Lexington (or the State of Kentucky). It is hard to judge the comments of "basketball analysts" because anyone can call themselves one. If you look at Calipari's peers (other college basketball coaches) they usually seem to speak about him with guarded words. Coaches don't tend to throw other coaches under the bus.... but Calipari does have some baggage in that area with several coaches, including Knight and Chaney, who have apologized for their outbursts. I believe most college coaches prefer to give a "no comment" when asked about Calipari's capabilities as a coach (beyond recruiting).
All I can say is I'm glad Calipari isn't at Kansas. He can take his NCs and shove'em. I don't like his style and his focus just on landing a dozen McDs AA on one team. I don't know why his players don't seem to mind if they play many minutes or not, while other programs almost have to write it in stone before a player commits. Yes... something smells in Denmark. But I believe Calipari isn't giving them Rolex watches or fancy cars. He's probably just playing these young people against themselves. Young kids don't typically want to hear the truth... like "work hard and earn your minutes." Obviously, he knows how to get them to sign with Kentucky.
Over the weekend was the NBA All-Star game and there were plenty of Calipari's ex players. It all builds a glossy appearance over some of his rough spots, and it lures future young people into their program. And really... I'm not sure any of it matters in their futures, but it does impact college ball. You see... we are all about college basketball, so all of this matters... but for these kids, it is all about their futures, and in those regards, they might as well go play for anyone. It's only a few months of basketball enroute to an NBA career. Too bad it spoils the game for all of us, who like seeing teams really have to scrap it out and aren't loaded with decent footers in abundance.