"So many bones. So much stress."
My thoughts, too.
drgnslayr
11251 posts
@jaybate 1.0
I agree.
All Brady tried to do was help Kansas win games. He will be the first to admit there have been more-productive Jayhawks than him. All he could do was play the best he could play. He would never match fan expectations.
If people want to gripe, they should aim it at the coaching staff for playing Brady. When Brady got the nod to enter a game, he wasn't going to tell Self, "hey, there are fans out there unhappy with my performance so I'll stick it out over here on the bench."
Maybe there are fans that actually think he should have done that. If so, it shows their inability to face reality.
Brady will never make my Top 10 list. So what. I still respect him for playing Jayhawk basketball and trying his hardest.
It is my belief that Coach Pop is the most-respected coach in the league (by players, coaches, management and fans).
Surely that counts when he is trying to get his players to buy in to his strategies.
I know he has me convinced and could sell me a set of snow tires in Hawaii (if only I was lucky enough to live there).
"The first thing I'd point out is that maybe the Spurs offense was so functional because they weren't firmly entrenched in a high-low scheme. I don't think even at it's most well-oiled and with the most proficient of passers that Self's offense could look near as good as the Spurs did."
I believe you hit it right on the head.
The Spurs ran so many different sets and their goal was to penetrate and force weakside help into the post and then they would feed it back out. That either created a quick trey shot or that player would continue to move the ball, like to another perimeter shooter for the trey or even back into the post for a finish at mid-range or at the rim.
Sometimes the ball moved so quickly it was even challenging to keep up with it through a compressed television screen.
I would love to see us run broader set variations.... clear outs, pick and rolls, feed the low post, back out back in... take advantage of match-up advantages created by off ball screen rotations.
I know it is tough to expect too much from a young team, but heck.. we've got the extended shot clock (compared to the NBA 24) and we have plenty of time to get something to work. Sometimes college ball looks so slow on offense... it only takes one or two offensive players standing still being a spectator to make offenses sluggish. I've always hated it when we put 3 perimeter players out sitting on the trey line passing the ball back and forth. There is this idea that if we throw it back and forth fast enough, eventually the defense won't shift with it.
"And again while not needing to make a massive overhaul, I hope Self will look at Popovich's willingness to adapt."
Again... you nailed it. We need to adapt our play and be able to do different things in a single game.
@bskeet - I thought a lot of what worked for UCONN came from their perimeter defense. They were able to win the TO battles with all that pressure which also made it tough for most teams to run an effective offense because their perimeter ball handlers were under such heavy pressure.
1971 was a long time ago. But a few things still stick in my mind from that period. And one of those sticky memories involved the British invasion, in particular, The Rolling Stones and their new release "Sticky Fingers." Hard to believe, but I have managed to stick on to that album all these years, and the zipper remains functional.
So when Coach Bill Self starts preaching from his Bible about not letting the ball stick, I can't help but think about my zipper album and the 10 songs that caught fire around the world back in '71.
Self made a statement last Monday on something that stuck on him concerning the game of basketball. He (like the rest of us) was impressed by the team effort and ball movement of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. I can't recall (in my lifetime) a better example of both team play and team passing from any past NBA Finals from all those great teams that performed in it. Every player on this Spurs team passed the ball well and padded their assist stats.
"“That was a true team and they did so many great things. To see how three Hall-of-Famers (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker), the three best players on the team, how excited they were when (Kawhi) Leonard won MVP, it makes for a pretty special situation. What Pop (coach Gregg Popovich) and the Spurs have done will make it much easier for college coaches to coach,” Self added, noting he would point out to his players how the champs moved the basketball without it sticking to hands."
Imagine for a second, that a college basketball team could grasp the ability to play and pass anything close to what the Spurs did in the Finals. How bad would that team spank the entire college basketball world? I would imagine even far worse than the Spurs spanked the Heat. We all typically criticize NBA defense, but the Finals usually brings out every team's best defensive effort. The Heat did their best to ratchet up the pressure (especially in Game 5) but they were eventually beat down by the persistent effort of the Spurs.
I may actually receive my recent wish, which involved Self showing NBA Finals game footage to his troops in hopes they absorb how effective the Spurs played and commit to focus a season-long effort to achieve as close to that level of play as they can.
It's summer (almost). We need something to dream about for a few months to tie us over until that first fall jump ball. Why can't the dream include an unselfish Jayhawk team that made crisp passes soaking in PAM (non-stick) to targets that worked their butts off away from the ball to get open and complete the scoring process (at a high rate of effectiveness)?
I want to hold on to that dream. And in the process, I want to flush away all the nightmare dreams from the past where Kansas gave away games because of either clusters of bad TOs or running an offense that "stuck" and didn't produce enough points to win.
We still have a young team, but there is a bright side to youth; they should be able to learn much faster than players older than them. Just look at the NBA. It is a league full of top-notch talent that is older than players wearing a Kansas uniform. No other team in the pros ran an offense even close to what the Spurs did in the Finals. Coach Popovich does not hold any secret weapons or strategies. There was nothing in the Spurs playbook unique to professional basketball. The Spurs just learned how to execute to the level of success they performed in the Finals. It was not a case of a team simply getting hot.
I can't wait to experience the rest of my summer. It will involve picking vegetables from my garden and having ripe dreams about a Jayhawk team that will perform to a legendary level this coming season.
Bill Self finally made his point stick about not letting the ball stick. He now owns several game tapes showing what he is reaching for... can his vision stick into his players' heads? The answer sticking into my head until fall is "yes!"
'Hail' yes!
"But that's a teen vs an old fart."
The classic confrontation! ;)
I'm a late family starter so in a few years I'll be experiencing this classic confrontation, too. At least, I hope so. I wouldn't want my little guy to be just like his old man when he's young! ha..
Enjoy the times while you have them. Kids grow up too fast!
When your coach announces to the world (prior to play) that we are not going to win it, how confident can the fans be, and, more important, how confident can the players be? (imagine the impact on media sponsorship, too)
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/06/jurgen-klinsmann-world-cup-chances ↗
That didn't exactly make many USA fans happy... along with other comments Klinsmann has made about sports in America:
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/06/michael-wilbon-jurgen-klinsmann ↗
I do believe Klinsmann could use a better agent. One that has a concept of PR.
Good luck with your daughter and her sports endeavors. She seems to be quite talented!
I could see Reed playing for us.
Boy did we get lucky. We only had 8 shots on goal... and scored on two of them. That's an effective "FG%" of 25%!
I think Ghana had something like 30 shots on goal.
I watched the entire game and couldn't believe we held them to one goal, especially after halftime.
But that was karma coming around... since Ghana has smoked us in the world cup a couple times before.
I did feel sorry for Ghana. They totally outplayed us and lost. That is one of the frustrating elements in soccer.... and it no doubt helps viewers become addicted to following it.
Oh heck...
What the heck....
Let's spend every university dollar we have right now on developing football.
And then after a few years of building real football, let's invite Mizzou back to our conference!
Imagine dominating their arzes in both basketball and football?
And at least A&M stands a chance to win a conference title in the B12.
Just imagine what this will do for the sale of Jayhawk merchandise? I want to be the one that goes to Tokyo and opens up a Jayhawk store.
One paragraph stuck out in this story... and I'm sure I am not the only one to catch this:
"If KU loses underclassmen to the pros after the 2014-15 season and needs to fill out the roster, it can apparently add ex-Jayhawks who are between the ages of 17 and 24."
So... surely we leave a spot open for 1 or 2 old Jayhawks, right? I'm not so sure, but if we do, who should we recruit back for a trip to "kimchi-land?"
Meanwhile... back at the ranch, the San Antonio ranch... KANSAS Coach Bill Self had the distinct pleasure of watching the Alamo massacre with SA GM R.C. Buford. Coincidence? Yeah... right!
I'm not going to project that Self will leave within 5 years to the Spurs. I don't have to. Everyone else will make the projection for me, starting with some neurotic sports reporters who are hungry for a story, but don't know the rules of FIFA soccer.
USA 2, Ghana 1... next!
I do believe CU was the only team with a legitimate reason to "go west."
The biggest mistake we could make as a conference is make ANOTHER knee-jerk reaction to add teams that will never really contribute to the conference. We've already done that. We really don't need anymore horny toads.
The problem is, once you get these under-producing schools in it is almost impossible to kick them out.
I'm not against us adding two teams to make it a conference of 12 (which is our name), as long as those teams will be definite contributors to the conference when it comes to both status and financially. They should also make sense as a cultural fit to the B12.
I know... we'll recruit NU and A&M!
@jaybate 1.0
And KU goes to Korea to eat kimchi. Filmed at 11...
It is just a matter of time before the music starts and stops again and everyone has to grab a chair.
All of these recent changes haven't had time to settle in for a long period to see if they actually work. I have my doubts that everyone will be happy. Long travel, time zones, expenses, and the lack of historic rivalries seems to be blasting out to me as some of the issues.
When Missouri left the B12 I think we all realized it was the end of one of the true rivalries in college sports. There was a story behind it, dating back to days before the universities were formed. These rivalries simply can not be replaced... much like an art-deco cinema house being scraped to make a parking lot will ever match the long term value offered by the cinema, which was a piece of history.
There was a lot of short-sightedness and fear-based reactions behind most of the conference changes. Decision-makers could only see the short-term gain of having a bigger parking lot.
I don't pretend to have answers on this topic, but my gut says that the B12 needs to maintain some Midwest integrity. I don't know if that can realistically be preserved at this point, but it is something we should all keep in our minds.
There are still some old rivalries and heritage left in this league. KU-KSU.... OU-OSU.... OU-UT...
Now... just imagine for a second we had kept our original B12 teams while the rest of the country played musical chairs... imagine what a dominant conference we would have. I'm certain it would be the most-dominant and prestigious conference in the country had it stayed together. Neb-OU... KU-MU... UT-A&M... CU-legal pot?
"Watching tape of this games should be required viewing for any team with high aspirations."
If I was Bill Self I would show the finals to his players. SA (as a team) showed the best passing of any team in NBA history. Sure... there were players like Bird and Magic who could pass well and average a boatload of assists... but SA did it as a team, and their post players really knew how to move the ball and create scoring opportunities.
I was amazed how many times SA would get the ball in right under the basket and then toss it out for a trey shot. I often snipped at that, but they continually proved me wrong by trading 2 for 3.
And now, today, all the talk about the Heat needing to make personnel changes because they need more talent. Ha... they had plenty of talent, but they just couldn't put it together like SA did.
SA was on a mission, and players like Duncan have been with Pop for more than a decade. They are able to effectively tweak their games to take advantage of opportunities. Miami doesn't have that kind of chemistry or capability. But give them credit for being pretty good as they are... just not as good as SA.
Let's see Spoelstra stay at Miami for 17+ years, and the same with players like Chalmers. They would end up being pretty darn good!
It was fun to see Beasley. He's such an offensive beast.... Beastley.
It really is up to him on how hard he wants to work (and sacrifice) to play at the next level.
We just watched a dominant San Antonio team manhandle the Heat with tiny Tony Parker at the helm... and what about his backup, Patty Mills?
CF might not be as athletic as either one of those guys now... but what could he be like in another 3 years if he works out diligently every breathing moment between now and then?
And if he wants to have a college life so he can enjoy these golden years, great! He can still either play abroad or find a career in coaching.
Now you've done it! You've opened a can of motivational worms!
“It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.”
"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will."
"Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price."
“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.”
All are from the great coach of football (and life), Vince Lombardi.
I just don't see a possibility of CF transferring out of KU.
He is a diehard Jayhawk. And for what purpose would it suit him better to transfer? PT at a lessor school? To do what, show off his talent to give him a shot in the NBA?
Kansas is where CF belongs, regardless of the PT minutes he will earn. And I bet he'll earn plenty of valuable PT minutes as a Jayhawk.
If CF is pursuing a basketball-related career, look what he earns on his resume as his leaves Kansas after earning his degree. He will have 4 or 5 years of experience with Self and staff.. and a Jayhawk passport allowing him access directly into the world of basketball coaching.
If CF wants to get paid for playing after Kansas, he will discover his Jayhawk passport quite useful at getting him a chance in European leagues. Kansas has a great rep abroad.
Going to a school, like Creighton, would do nothing to raise CF's future basketball stock, and a Bluejay passport is only valid in Omaha... only important if CF desires a career as an insurance agent.
SA showed exactly my point about developing a chip.
The Heat could have had every great ever to play the game on their team... it wouldn't have mattered. They were going to be spanked.
Last night's game was the point to the exclamation. The Heat could have been up by 50 at half and they still would have lost. In fact... the bigger the comeback, the more it proved SA's point... that they are the better team.
I wish Kansas could have one tiny spark of the fire SA had. All the talent in the world can be offset by a single spark. Self should spend one recruit spot every year to bring in a player that simply can not stand to lose and has the spirit to fight back harder every time he is knocked down. That player (regardless of recruit status) would be the true MVP every year.
Or... CS should take a play out of the Coach Pop book... find ways to inspire your players by building a chip!
Congrats to the Spurs, and Coach Pop for proving the NBA is still more about will than might!
Great idea!
I have so many favorites... but Langford is a guy who I always think should get more attention. I loved his game.
Loved your response to me.
I like how this team is talking about toughness... and realizing they didn't have it last year.
I like how Wayne is talking about something to prove... it smells of a chip forming. Something we never get to enjoy as Jayhawks.
This group of guys seems like they could be special. There are several guys on this team that have plenty of individual toughness. If they can come together as a group and form toughness synergy, watch out!
They've got to want to win it all... they've got to turn it from a want into a need.
Take no prisoners.
Personally... if I could have a dream come true it would be that one of these guys found a bunch of old VHS tapes marked "1989 NBA Finals."
I'm not saying we play "thug ball." But I am saying we develop the toughness that Detroit Piston team had. They were never supposed to win it all... they were never supposed to come between the power teams of that time period... LA and Boston. No one liked them except Detroit fans. But the pushed and they fought and they didn't give up. Isiah Thomas had proven his toughness the year before... when he went for 25 in a quarter with an ankle that had exploded. It was one of those few moments in the NBA where everyone should respect, even non-basketball fans.
I wish we still had Black.... he would fit perfect with this crew.
I really can't recall it. Can you clue me in? Where was it, exactly?
Thanks! The Wheel is my favorite hangout when I'm in Lawrence, and was my hangout back in my school days.
If those walls could talk... glad they can't!
Good post. I agree. What was missing with the 2012-13 team was swagger. I think Self was hoping BMac was going to offer that, but he didn't. One of those guys needed to step up with some attitude, someone who could throw out a challenging comment that would produce a shelf of expectations for these guys to reach for and otherwise be humiliated by not meeting it. The team lacked identity.
The other thing that bothered me that year was the fact that none of those guys carried a chip on their shoulders for finishing runner-up the year before. That should have been planted in them in the locker room following our loss to Kentucky. Someone saying "next year, this is ours to win and we are going to!"
You don't have to look too far in sports to see that many teams that finish runner-up one year come back to take it the next year.
It sure worked for ol' Roy in 2009. That team felt like they had to redeem themselves after we shellacked them in 2008.
""Bill Self on his PGs: 'I don’t want to play a point guard anymore ... I want to play, you play three guards and whoever gets it brings it'.”"
I read that and almost defecated in my chair.
Maybe Self just worded it wrong.
He contradicted himself later with...
"Up ’til the last five to seven minutes (when you need what he called a ‘closer’) "
Hey... I agree that all of our perimeter players should be able to handle the ball well and bring the ball up court. Even Oubre and anyone else at the 3.
But... where does the leadership come from?
UCONN won this past year with leadership at the point... and they have always won NCs with a leader at the point. To diffuse the position creates a total disregard for leadership.
What this is telling me is that none of these guys capable to play point is a"balls to the wall" leader.
And yes, we did win in '08 without a definite leader at point... but it took OT to beat a team that had a real leader with a totally inferior team.
We had everything right with the '08 team and we still got the breaks (luck) to win it all.
I'm not bashing Self on this one. He's sending out a message that he doesn't see a hardcore leader in this bunch so he is spreading out the assignment of point. That is the right strategy in this case.
It is tough to win in March with a freshman PG. And I'm a fan of Mason and Frankamp, but neither of those guys will be premiere PGs (at least, so far)... enough to give us an edge in March.
"I just wonder if Self's comment really means anything."
You may have summed it all up with that comment. It is summer... a long time before fall tip-off. Maybe that comment is meant to motivate his perimeter guys by saying... "hey, the position is really open. Show the right leadership skills (and playing skills) and the job is yours!"
It seems he is saying that none of our perimeter guys are sticking out (100%) to take the job... though it was encouraging to hear him say that Devonté may be the most-prepared of the freshmen coming in.
"All any of this really means, in my opinion, is that he is more comfortable when he has more than one guy that can handle the ball like a point guard in the game at the same time."
True dat! And look at all the failure we have had at point in March over the past several years. We need more than one guy who can handle the ball in the game at a time, but also just have at least a few guys who can run the point if our current starting point is playing bad. We didn't have an answer to replace EJ two years ago. We didn't have an answer to replace Tharpe this past year. By the time we counted on Conner to fill his shoes it was too late. Conner needed a ton more PT during the year to really fulfill that role in March.
There is a whole lot more we can read into this if we want to read it in... maybe Self is finally thinking with more of a NBA head and realizing he has options at point (and on the perimeter) this year and he will better look for match-up advantages. We'll get a true test early on with the Kentucky game. They will be bringing perhaps the biggest college team in D1 history. How we going to tackle that? We can try to run our biggest lineup and battle head-to-head on the size strategy, or we can go small and try to beat them with speed. I'm betting we will have to try both strategies and maybe go back and forth during the game. Run big size on them first, and have our guys play physical, then when UK tires, run small and run them off the court.
I think everyone in here can agree on this one... that Self needs to focus more on game-to-game match-up issues.
This may be difficult to get others on board with me...
I thought we should have won the big prize in the 2012-13 year. If you are a "Self guy" then that team represented a big part of his philosophy; defense.
We had Mr. Lockdown, Releford, in his senior year along with a senior laden team including one of the best all-time D1 shot blockers in Jeff Withey. We had Mr. Scrappy, Young at the 4, Releford at the 3, BMAC at the 2, and EJ at point. They ended up 15th in the nation on defense and 33rd on offense.
That team should have been #1 on defense and defense should have brought them another NC. But we were something like 329th out of 347 teams on TOs. Those TOs often led to run outs and those #s are part of the defensive stat bringing our d down.
This was the year we had the dead spot during conference and dropped 3 in a row, including the humiliating loss at TCU, giving them their first B12 victory (ever). Then the team had a players only meeting and improved but they never bonded to the level they need to. If that team communicated better and really came together as a team, they would have murdered everyone because their defense would have killed the field in March.
All we really had to do was tighten up a few areas and take better care of the ball. We averaged 14 TOs a game, and in our bad games we were around 20+.
That Michigan loss was terrible, and so ended our relatively easy path to the trophy.
It is difficult to be a hardcore Jayhawk fan and not feel disappointed by some of the players (or teams) who have come to Lawrence over the years.
I thought now is the time for everyone to vent their lists of all-time disappointing players and teams who wore crimson and blue. Maybe a player didn't perform well enough for your expectations. Maybe a player committed a no-no off the court. Maybe a player left college too soon or transferred for the wrong reasons. Maybe a player dropped a big goose egg trying to reach the next level.
Maybe you just didn't like a player... bad attitude?
Here is your opportunity to cut loose and let her rip!
Focus on one player, or feel free to post a list (in order) of the players who didn't make grade with your hopes and expectations.
Or.... maybe you have a particular Jayhawk team you feel under-performed and you'd like to clear your consciousness of all bad juju from the past!
Who is Cliff Alexander?
He's from the planet Lovetron.
We've seen his kind before:
LeBron really lit it up. He is one of those guys that can't be stopped, your only hope is he goes cold. Not the case last night... Wow!
I'm pulling for the Spurs... I'm a huge fan of Coach Pop! Also, Duncan, Parker and the entire team. I do think Mario's shot was intentional because those things end up motivating the team and there is no team as dangerous as the Heat once they get motivated.
Glad your produce is flowing! I got most of my stuff in the ground a little late because this year I'm growing off seedling plants. But I've had several tomatoes and I pulled them off the plants immediately so the plants could just focus on developing more structure still.
I've been eating awesome salads for a good month now. All my greens are still doing nicely because of the cool weather and rain.
Rabbits got my beans, and I'm trying to see if I can still get a few off of new seedlings. I pee'd on an 80 yr oak that is nearby my garden in hopes to keep the bunnies away. That has always worked for me in the past with all kinds of critters. They smell the protein in urine and realize it came from a predator.
Back in my day I took several minority studies courses, not because I thought it would be easy, but because I was interested in minority studies. Going in, I definitely felt they would be easy courses. Once in, I realized a different reality. Don't get me wrong, it was fairly easy to pass those classes... but to achieve 'A's was quite difficult. There was too much subjectivity in the grading and it seemed to be more of a grade system based on favoritism. And I don't mean that to have a racial tone. The favoritism showed no pattern to any specific group.
I think time will tell if Roy was involved to the degree McCants' claims. My gut feeling is that there is plenty of "subjective grading" going on with McCants' statements. Perhaps he slightly inflated his story and everything has escalated to a fevery media pitch.
I (also) shared plenty of classes with athletes... more on the football side. Some of those athletes were caught cheating on tests (along with several non-athletes). The problem in my days at school related more towards fraternities and sororities getting answers to tests before they were administered. It was a wide-spread problem and created issues for everyone, including the better students who worked hard trying to achieve good marks against a bell curve weighted down with cheaters.
I have no problem with "paper classes." There are always (and will always be) classes around that require less effort to make grade. If I could give one piece of advice to incoming students it would be to find the easier professors. That will positively impact your grade point average more than putting in extra work!
No one said life was fair. It isn't. So get on with it!
If Roy gets canned than so should the Chancellor and University President... I'm sure they would have equal knowledge.
I'm not going to bag on Wiggins... after all, I was "Head Wig of Wiggymania."
But... isn't it possible a player like Svi (or Svee), even with his youth and not quite the athleticism of Wiggins, become more productive for Kansas in his first year than Wiggins was?
Just an idea I'm throwing out there.
I know we all know very little about Svi.... but from the tapes it looks like he has a plethora of offensive moves. Andrew, primarily, had his spin/pivot move.
And perhaps Svi has that tough Eastern block attitude, which could come in handy on defense.
I've been psyched for next season to come for quite some time, but once we landed Svi, I've been really psyched! And to put it in Self terms.... I'm not far off of "really, really!"
A big part of my excitement is to just experience answers for all the questions about this kid.
I don't own season tickets to AFH because I wouldn't be able to make most of the games.
But if I did, I'm guessing my own enthusiasm would put me somewhere in the middle on distance to the floor and near the FT line on either side. Those would be great seats and I would be satisfied for the level of enthusiasm I bring to the game matching my seating quality.
I would prefer to be behind fans that would go one or two steps further than me in enthusiasm. Those fans (in my opinion) deserve slightly better seats and will be great fan representatives for our school and team.
Imagine, if you will, when Game Day comes to Lawrence and the cameras don't have to be so selective on camera angles near the student section... intentionally including only rabid students and avoiding the less-enthusiastic areas.
It really is misleading... TV attempts to show these games like the entire venue is packed with rabid fans, but in reality, those fans are only in a small area of the seating.
Imagine... an entire AFH packed with screaming fans? I'm not sure a game could even be played as the sound level might create physical issues with the players.
I'd like to test that out...
One last thought... don't we all want the most-enthusiastic fans to be seated below us so we can watch them? Doesn't that help inspire all the fans sitting behind them?
In reality... I don't care who sits near the court if they can show the most enthusiasm. But typically, it is students who own enthusiasm in AFH.
The environment in AFH is partly about history... but in a game environment it is all about enthusiasm.
The following is the answer to who gets closest to the court every year:
If you want to sit close you have to EARN those seats with something other than a financial contribution. From here on out, there will be video cameras installed to watch all seats close to the floor. After every season ticket holders will be judged on enthusiasm and those who are most enthusiastic will get options on the best seats in the following year. Every fan will be ranked and it is that ranking that will determine how close their seats are.
We'll come up with a cleaver way of forming judging panels. There will be some judging redundancy to guarantee fair and impartial judging.
Let's look at some of the things that are viewed as typical positive fan enthusiasm:
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Paying attention to the game.
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Screaming and applauding frequently.
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Wearing Kansas clothing, including face and body makeup.
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Positive and original signage. (within venue regs)
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Participation in group positive antics... group signs, group dances, etc.
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Attending games.... arriving on time and staying until the end.
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Support for the band.
There you go. Be a good fan and guarantee your seats! Imagine how competitive it would get and how much improved it would become in a short time! We would easily obtain any recruit we want. We would dominate all of college basketball when it comes to venues and fans. I seriously doubt we would ever lose another game in AFH... ever!
This country was built on a concept of competition. Let's make the rules based on American ideals instead of strictly financial royalty. If we absolutely have to tie in the financial aspect, weigh it in at a lower factor than fan enthusiasm.
" Don't you think that Greene or Oubre guarding an opposing 4 for short stretches can be overcome by double teaming on the block -- in the same manner SDSU attacked us?"
Absolutely! And sometimes smaller players are just capable on their own to guard the post. To me, it is more about body strength and knowing how to use it, than just a height issue. And sometimes small guys have a natural instinct for being good scrappers in the post. The only way to find out is to try them and see if they make it a personal challenge.
Sometimes little guys are much better at hedging off the passing angles, too. Sometimes it is the little guy that is able to stop teams from feeding into the post.
What it says is we are reaching the financial status of say a banana republic. Venture south of the border and look at what those soccer players make and compare it to the guy on the street.
Big problem with that. The starving little guy doesn't mind it as long as his team wins and his players play to his expectations. We've seen what happens when players fail to meet those expectations.
I hope we never reach that extreme!
That's what ShoeCos are for! ;)
"In other words, Alexander's 6'8" isn't Perry Ellis' 6'8"."
Love your comment!
And thanks for feeding us info on Mickelson. I haven't experienced any of his game, but on paper he appears to have great shot blocking potential for Kansas. Loved reading how he is lighter but stronger. Rarely is that a bad thing for bball players.
He can be effective on offense by playing smart. He may not have the best tool box in the post... but if he learns to read defenses and takes the right scoring angles in the post and only shoots what he is comfortable shooting, he should maintain a high FG%. If he can do that, he can leverage his high FG% to draw in the defense when he gets the ball, creating scoring space for our perimeter guys he can throw assists to. He's a guy that really has to bring smarts with him if he wants to earn his fair share of PT. He seems like he has good basketball smarts.
"“I’ve said over and over that I have the best job in the country,” Calipari said."
I could have sworn he recently said the best job in the country would be coaching LeBron James? Am I missing something?
"KU to shuffle seating at Allen Fieldhouse"
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/jun/05/ku-shuffle-seating-allen-fieldhouse/?mens_basketball ↗
They might as well have been honest with the title for that story:
"Kansas to lose a chunk of their home court advantage..."
It wouldn't surprise me if we eventually stick the students over in the DeBruce Center and have them view the game on a big screen. We might as well... at least they could see some of the action that way. Maybe we could build a sound tunnel so their screams could be piped in to AFH.
This is horrible news. AFH should be restructured to put more students near the floor to protect our home court advantage and to make sure AFH remains at the top of college basketball prestige. Noise and energy is a big part of that advantage. How many times now have we heard about our players picking Kansas because of AFH?
I understand revenue is important... but what we are doing is giving away a big part of our advantage that will one day bite us in the backside. Students are being isolated away from the game. Do you really think they will cheer as loud when their seats are moved away from the court? It is embarrassing enough today, with all the prime seating close to the floor given to a crowd that has the same energy as the crowd at bingo night at any retirement care facility.
What perfect timing for this to happen... right when students evacuate Lawrence for the summer. This is not the time for them to organize a rebellion. They'll have to deal with it in the fall, after those seats have been given away. And when those seats are gone... they are gone! It's almost impossible to throw out donors once they are planted closer to the action.
It is hard to believe the student government is responsible for this. Were they advised that this would be the result if they voted to reduce the student athletic fee? I seriously doubt it. I bet Marchiony (and others) were chomping at the bit to find a way to further enhance donor seating while maintaining a scapegoat to escape the wrath from the displaced fans. This situation was a perfect solution to them.
The only possibility for students to keep these seats is to create a mega-conflict now! Defend your turf like any sovereign entity would!
They should consider this with an adult mind and realize that if they allow themselves to get pushed around once, they'll continue to get pushed around in the future.
They better start getting used to the idea of watching Jayhawk basketball from the DeBruce Center!
All this talk about Chalmers and he dropped a big turd on game 1 last night. He certainly played out of sorts and at times played like a rookie.
I'm pretty sure he'll show up at some point in this series. He did last year and was dominant when it counted most.... games 6 and 7.
There is a factor to the playoffs this year that no one is addressing.... Coach Pop had a year of watching last year's finals tape and has such an experienced group of players to execute better strategy, better reactions to what Miami will throw at them.
I thought turning off the AC was a pretty good strategy.... for example...
Everyone is aware of LeBron's Achilles heel... his history of cramping. Did anyone notice how the three amigos were icing their necks every time they took a blow on the sidelines? That's helpful but what they needed most was the right balance of salt and potassium. They should have been eating several bananas during the game, and drink watermelon juice, especially for electrolytes.
"The next question will be whether Oubre or Greene can guard the opposing 4."
I'm not expecting to see this happen in my lifetime... but I'd like to see CS start coaching with more of a NBA style. That means, on defense, it is all about match-ups. There will be several players Oubre or Greene won't be able to guard, and others they will be able to contain quite well. The key is to start dismissing the position on the court, and look more at the attributes of the competition, what moves they like to make, and then decide what players can best defend those moves.
The future in college basketball will give big prizes (National Championships) to those coaches who start coaching with more thoughts on match-ups. I have to give the Mayor (Fred) credit at ISU for exploiting that philosophy on offense, and look how far it has lifted ISU in a short time. If he can put that same philosophy on his defense he'll become one of the best coaches in college basketball, bar none.
Imagine if we would focus on exploiting match-ups on our offense? We've had some very talented offensive players in the past that were limited within the structure of our offense. For the most part of the season it works very well in winning league championships. But the problem is we have no flexibility and that gets exposed every March.
"Let me throw this one out there. What if we were to see Ellis step out on the perimeter and play some three? Hey it could be done. The kid has a pretty good jump shot."
I think Perry will have to make a move on his game... either towards becoming a banger in the paint or move his game outside which would include minutes at the 3.
Neither move will be easy for him.
He'll have to up his long range shooting skills and improve his ball handling, including being able to score off the dribble (if he wants minutes at the 3).
And load this on top of his need to improve his defense.
Perry has his work cut out for him!
I hope we see him target one of those areas this year and show big improvements.
I think we have many guys of various size who can handle the ball fairly well.
We should take advantage of that by running both over-sized and under-sized lineups at times not only to see what works, but to get prepared for anything we might face this year.
For example, Kentucky has 3 quality footers on their roster. What if they came at us with all three on the court at the same time? Match that up with their huge perimeter and they are larger than any NBA team ever.
And then there will be other opponents who will be small but play solid x-axis basketball. Going small can work. Going small may even be the answer when playing Kentucky, if we learn to exploit the x-axis advantages from playing small.
That's another part of Chalmer's "role".. concerning his contract. Who is his agent?
Life couldn't be better for Ray Allen. He's already accomplished winning a championship for the Heat. I'm pretty sure he is one happy camper.
Another element with Chalmers is he can take on more of the load if need be. He isn't the most prolific scorer in the league, but he has held his own in long seasonal stints when they needed him to score more. They have used him on last second scoring plays, too, so they must feel comfortable with his ability to score. How perfect is that for Chalmers? He's got the three amigos to absorb all the defensive pressure so he can pop open for a trey or drive to the rim. And all the amigos have enough size to level effective screens.
Chalmers caught a huge break out of college.
There are plenty of PGs in the league who have game elevated above Mario's. But that doesn't mean they are worth more than Mario to the Heat. Mario has been one of those pieces they needed... he's an unselfish team player. Not everyone can be a highlight player like the three amigos. They win only because of all the quality support role players around them and Mario is one of them.
What makes Mario valuable is that he does have pretty decent game while still maintaining the unselfish attitude.
Think about it. Imagine many of the star PGs you mentioned and put them in at Miami and see what happens. They'll need to add an extra ball to the game to make everyone happy.
Chalmers is to the Heat what Spoelstra is to the Heat... both fulfill roles between mega egos and talented people. I doubt the Heat wins the last two championships with another coach or without Chalmers.
But on the open market... things change... and I don't think Mario (in most cases) has the same market value he has had in the past with the Heat. Problem is... as you mention... he's starting to lose minutes to Cole. I'm just not sure if Cole has the right head on to stay effective with the Heat. Time will tell. Will Cole have more success and let it get to his head?
That is the case... and always will be. Players coming back and get in on pickup games. I hope this summer, Self tells these guys coming back to play hard on Perry, push him, and play head games. Put Perry through a summer of "tough love basketball."
Perry really does have the skills to be a solid player at the next level. But he won't get there without developing some well-earned swagger!
I remember when we had a lock on Sir Lancelot at KU and I begged online for us to take him when we had the chance.
I know he appears as a headcase... but he's just a puppy in a league of big dogs. He'll come around soon enough, especially since he has incredible talent and still plenty of upside. It won't be long before his head is the target of younger players making verbal shots at him.
In reality, Lance took it on the chin for his entire team by doing what he did. He gave his team an out for why they lost AGAIN to the Heat. In the end, it may be a good thing what he did. They may go off from here to next year's playoff and really focus on the big prize more than they ever have before.
You got to appreciate how the Heat is using every comment by outside players to help motivate them to play their best basketball. I know we all get down on the NBA for various reasons... but let's get this clear right now... it's a league for men, not boys. And to win the big prize it takes men going out there and playing lots of bash ball and high injury risk play in order to win it all. It's that way now and it's been that way ever since I started watching basketball as a kid.
DWade is yet another player that is hard not to respect. He's been banged up for more than a decade and he is playing some of his best basketball in recent times because he limited his minutes and he is more selective on his shots and finishes. I'd like to have been a fly on the wall listening to Ray Allen and DWade discuss their games amongst themselves. Both of these guys are true professionals of the game, doing whatever they have to do to win the big prize.
I say all of this and I really am not a Heat fan!
" I still love what Perry Ellis could become (in the areas he needs work on). Its like Traylor is missing what Ellis has, while Ellis is missing what Traylor has. Man, meld the two together, and you get Marcus Morris. "
That says it all!