🏀 KuBuckets Archive

I noticed posters adding quotes to another thread. I thought it made sense for us to create a thread specifically for posting your best quotes. This thread should have a permanent place on Featured Content because it is always great to read new quote additions. I have an old suitcase in the attic stuffed with great quotes I've picked up over the years, from following public personalities to catching an earful from my direct mentors.

I'll start it off with one of my favorites, from one of the greats who inspired me to continue my efforts in sports:

"Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful." - John Wooden

Is that right, JayHawkFanToo? I'd like to read the study and see how that works. Why would Harvard Business be interested in how basketball games finish? Very interesting post and if you have a link to this, please post it!

Personally... I can't recall a game where it went the other way when a team fouled while up by 3. I know a truck load of games that were lost by not fouling... we did it in '08! But I don't want to continually harp about it because anyone can go backwards and fix events and be a genius. I'm not a genius and having plenty of challenges just keeping up with fixing current events!

Global... quote of the day!

Thanks, nuleaf... funny... it's a word that makes you partially urp just saying it!

An understandable comment, hayshawk... it may say more about you not jumping quick on the hype bandwagon. That's an admirable trait!

We haven't really seen a team offense run yet... which means well-run plays that will showcase Wiggins, and enough structural components in the offense that creates opportunities for everyone. We should expect to see plenty of on and off ball screens soon, back doors, spacing plays where the ball whips to a targeted shooter.... etc.

This should be the worst Wiggins ever looks. He's getting his feet wet in D1, and learning the size and speed of the game, plus... he's forcing action just to create some.

Knowing all that, I'm impressed enough with him to think he still might match the hype!

But let's get real... even if he only adds up to half the hype, that means we'll experience quite a ball player because the hype is way over the top!

Wow, bskeet, great job!

I have a feeling this will drag on in controversy, and if it gets to the point of hurting viewership, the NCAA will soften their stance.

As others said in here... this isn't really rule changes, just a different interpretation, and hopefully they'll soften enough to encourage defenders to play tough d.

Another aspect of this that hasn't been covered... it not only doesn't cover what is left of the flop, it may also encourage it. Defensive players in position for a charge better flop for sure this year or they are unlikely to get the call.

I'd like to see a new rule that goes directly after flops. I think the fair penalty would not only count it as a foul against the person conducting the flop (whether on defense or offense) but also call it an intentional foul so the penalty is two FTs and the ball out. The only way to do this is to make potential flops reviewable... which is a bummer, but something should be done to stop flops entirely and return the game from actors to players.

I have to admit I place a large part of the blame on CS, too.

I think we should have fouled when up by 3 to prevent a single shot creating OT.

That's one strategy CS needs to adopt from pro ball.

I'm curious what he'll do the next time we are up by 3 and on defense in the final seconds?

I hate being the one who claims to know the answers in retrospect... anyone can be me and say this. However... I'll state it here, right now, that in the future it would be the right thing to do.

Live and learn.... which reminds me of the line told us by our coach while in HS:

"Live and learn is better than drink and drive!"

He was always throwing in responsibilities that should be on our minds and now I understand why.

I like EJ and always will... but I just urped in my mouth.

I have strong opinions on this subject anyways... so me dropping this hammer helps support this more as just a rumor.

I'm already sorry I posted it because I'm usually the one getting upset over posted rumors.

And I hope I'm wrong about this, for however the interpretations go.

In my beliefs, CS is capable to create a winner regardless of the rules.

Can I delete that last post? It doesn't help anyone to have it hanging out there.

I just hit the delete button but it stayed.

Okay... now it's gone.

(deleted!)

Kip... I followed your link and received the Bilas reply. Bilas likes it because he didn't grow up on an inner-city playground. He is a prepster, coming out of Rolling Hills HS in Rolling Hills, California. He played 'prep' basketball at Duke. Duke will quickly embrace these new interpretations of the rules because Duke plays a preppy game. They'd love the game to lose all contact.

I'm not saying I wouldn't like to see some of college bball cleaned up. Sometimes I think coaches like Izzo and Huggins have used strategy to dismantle a game by making it mug ball. The answer is have consistency in calling a game, and to find the solution somewhere between contact-free and mug ball.

Here is the real problem... it's the problem college basketball has had since it's inception. There is no consistency with the way the game is called from league to league. We all know the Big 10 plays mug ball. That goes back to it's origins, and the NCAA has never stepped in to "nationalize" the game's enforcement by referees.

If you want to fix college basketball, nationalize the rule interpretations so every conference plays the same basketball. It appears that is what they are trying to do now, but using rules that will hamper defense to the point where it will hardly exist.

Hand checking can be a foul. Two hands on a player is a foul and should be every time. A single hand check where it clearly impedes the ball handler is a foul. But making every little touch a foul is ridiculous, and when you add the body into that formula the only result can be the end of 'lock down' defense. Releford should be glad he's gone from college basketball! He wouldn't last 5 minutes under these interpretations!

If the NCAA keeps focused on calling the games this tight, basically eliminating contact, college basketball will become another version of college volleyball. Nothing wrong with volleyball... but I wouldn't trade it for basketball, and the days of lock down defense. You can kiss those days goodbye!

I hear what you are saying, wissox, but I don't think these rules will fix that the right way. These rules will completely change the fundamentals of the game and create unfair advantages for the offense.

I know if I am a college coach today I'm teaching all my better ball handlers to directly drive the ball through defenders. It's a sure call for a foul, and soon-to-be foul trouble. I'm afraid we'll get a taste of that on November 12, when we face Duke.

The way to fix the problem you are talking about is for the NCAA to crack down and ref games consistently.

I grew up on playground courts... and many college players today did not. These players should know how to drive the ball while a defender is laying down a heavy hand check. If the ball handler grew up playing real playground ball he knows how to use a 'wiper' to swat away a hand check, and flip the advantage back to him, by establishing his off-hand to guard the player and ball. Pretty basic basketball for those who grew up with contact.

And the body foul will be totally exploited this year by ball handlers who grasp the advantage given to them.

This idea of restricting defense in order to create more offense (by these manners) will not help basketball in the long run. If the game is 'cleaned up' to the point where offenses run over defenses, the game will have higher scores and just become a pissing match for offenses. Making the game easier to score will not make the game more captivating (like in football), it will just devalue baskets to the point of flattening the game to tiny nuances of differences. Actually, a big reason why the NFL is so captivating is there typically isn't scoring every 15 seconds or so. Granted... a bit more scoring can help that game.

I definitely don't mind some rule changes to speed up the game, which creates more intensity and potential for more offense. I applauded the NCAA for adopting the shot clock.

Why is adding more points the key to increase viewership in basketball? Why not just focus on increasing intensity?

Here's a rule change they should consider... moving back court violations to 8 seconds! Encourage teams to use full court pressure and let's start seeing basketball played on all 84 feet! That change would add an incredible amount of intensity to the game!

Keeg's article on Wiggins points out the obvious, but doesn't give possible explanations to 'why.'

At this early point in the season, Wiggins is pretty much like all the other freshmen on offense... they don't know "Self ball" yet so they can't execute a real team offense. What we have seen from Wiggins so far is him forcing some offense. It isn't always pretty (but sometimes it is) and it isn't always successful. But like good wine, we have to show some patience and wait for the aging process to take hold.

One issue concerning Wiggins is his need to create more drive moves to the hole, or to the spot on the court he wants to take his shot. He is (by far) the best spin-pivot player to ever play the game! His spin move is the move he used all through HS and no one could stop it. That may not have been a good thing, because it looks like Andrew counted on that move too often, and should have been developing other moves.

One thing is for sure.... the KU offense needs to create several 'go to' plays where Wiggins will take the ball and use his spin move to either go to the rim or setup in the paint for an easy shot. This involves making sure other KU players get out of his driving lane.

Yes, ParisHawk, the rule changes are at the heart of why CS doesn't want to RS anyone just yet. Everything will be known after the Duke game, not the Monroe game... unless it already becomes obvious with Monroe.

CS ran a total smoke screen mentioning not giving Conner a RS because he'd have to play backup PG this Friday. CS has even set up the reason why some players may not see the court for Monroe by declaring that equal opportunity minutes won't be the methodology moving forward.

Kip... I used to call Coach K by several names... but now my family is marrying into Duke alumni! So for the sake of world peace (especially within my family) I'm trying to refrain from specific language.

Let's just change the name of basketball to what it is becoming... biscuitball! I'm sure Monty Python will be happy to oblige.

Tea time is at 2, dress appropriately!

BTW: the over/under on KU fouls for the Duke game is 25!

And contrary to what UK Sports Radio thinks, Duke may end up the beneficiary of the new rules, because Duke masters the half court game and having the whistle blow more often will help slow down the game. And let's see how Cal's motion offense works in a fragmented game like we are about to embark on...

One last thing... these rules make college stars want to OAD even more! College basketball will "unteach" everything players need at the pro level. Imagine the "No Boys Allowed" league playing without contact?! It wouldn't surprise me if these rule changes spark the NBA to allow players to go pro right out of HS.

This year the NCAA set out to make the collegiate game of basketball a game of politeness and distance. The game will soon qualify as a "non-contact sport." In their efforts to "create more offense" the NCAA has crossed the line this time by effeminizing basketball into a game of always having to say your sorry by giving away free throws to players who were victimized by the simple touch of another player's fingers. College basketball has become the most-polite game on the planet!

And to guarantee ball handlers even more distance, the NCAA will punish defensive bodies for not trying hard enough to get out of the way of a charging ball handler. Defenders will have to anticipate where ball handlers want to go, then basically turn and run away faster than the charging ball handler in order to avoid contact, because if there is contact, the defender is at fault.

When these rule changes came into existence, my first reaction was happiness. I immediately imagined Coach K looking for a new job as a sportscaster, always reminding us how the game used to be played and flopped. The master instructor of "flop basketball" would be no more and all of college basketball (except Duke) would applaud the king's departure from the game.

On November 12, Kansas will experience the transition of Coach K. He's not prepared to leave the game just yet for the love affair with a microphone. Give Coach K some credit, he not only mastered the game of flop, he mastered the exploitation of rules in college basketball. This more general view of who Coach K is will better prepare you for what is to come... the transition away from defender flop basketball into the development of offender flop basketball. Kansas will be the first big challenge for Coach K (and his new transition) this year. Kansas better be prepared to face an offense of cry babies who will be well-groomed for the new drama performance. Duke has had a few weeks now of stage rehearsals because Coach K requested ACC officials to come and ref all his practices this year, getting a jump on all other college teams for facing the new rules. Yes, you heard me right!

Remember adding the circle under the basket a few years ago in order to slow down Coach K's skill at teaching flop right underneath the goal? The first inspiration for the NCAA was to just not allow charges from under (or near under) the goal. Coach K called the new rule "a joke" and brought his demands to the ACC, who then helped push the NCAA into implementing the circle, so Coach K could teach his flopping defenders outside of the circle.

But this time we aren't hearing much out of Coach K, and no comments from him calling the new rules "a joke." Why? Because Coach K saw the writing on the wall a long time ago for his flop basketball. He feared the NCAA might make the right call and create a penalty for flopping, so he quietly supports the new rules, which will reverse the insanity of unfairness and create the same potential of abuse but this time giving the advantage to the offense.

Everyone around college basketball thinks they've finally gotten one past Coach K. Everyone thinks Coach K will sink with these new rules. Read it here... http://kentuckysportsradio.com/1/tweaked-chargeblock-rule-good-for-uk-bad-for-duke/ ↗

Don't count on it!

So what will happen to college basketball this year if half the players foul out every game? Fans will go ballistic! What will be the NCAA's reaction this time? They don't seem to have the guts to challenge Coach K directly by making the right changes to ban flopping by adding an anti-flopping rule. So will they continue the distortion of the game by adding fuel to the fire? Could the NCAA be so lost from their own mistakes that they look to the NBA for an answer and add another personal foul gift to players?

That would be a huge mistake if they did.

Typically, these rule changes have added 30 minutes to every game, something TV execs have to consider the +/-. What is even worse is the variation of time now needed to finish a game. The rule changes can add 10 minutes to a game or it can add 1 hour. We aren't even considering OTs. The rule changes will make it even harder to schedule programming around basketball.

Then let's slow the game down even further and add in more reviewable situations! Yikes!

If the refs keep the hard enforcement on the rule changes this year and beyond, it will take several years to straighten this out. These rule changes totally change the way the game of basketball is played, and these fundamental changes have to take hold in players' games before they enter college. There isn't much defense played in HS, but enough to train players the habit of hand checking and using body. This style of play goes back even further, to the beginning... on the playground!

Every old timer (like myself) has grown up on playgrounds playing physical basketball. It was never such a technical game on asphalt and concrete. It was a game that required players to "man up" and face the challenges of other players who bullied on the court. After a year or so of playground ball, players wouldn't allow themselves to be bullied in the classrooms either.

Basketball is morphing into a "non-contact sport." Some twisted individuals now think that basketball should become just another form of ballet; high-flying pirouettes with a soft landing. These same individuals don't understand what is at the heart of basketball. Basketball was brought to us by one of our own, Dr. James Naismith, but it was developed on every inner-city playground in America! The game captured our attention because it wasn't just another version of volleyball... it was a contact sport, and contact not only adds masculinity to the game, it adds drama!

Even my spell check program is backing me. It had to learn a new word today... effeminizing!

And why I bring it all up now?

Because these guys need to practice banging down a couple hundred FT attempts every day. If they start doing it now, in November, all the way through March, the work will pay off.

If they start working on it in February, furgitabout.

Good FT shooting is all about muscle memory, focus and confidence... something you don't acquire in a week or two.

NOW is the time for these guys to do the right reps that will pay off in March!

(cough) ... (cough) ... (cough) ... Syracuse ... (cough)

Some of us were there!

Okay, we've played just two exhibition games, and there are many areas of the game needing improvement. Usually it takes a while before someone brings up FTs... like a near-loss (or actual loss) created from poor FT shooting down the stretch.

I'd like to address it early, and I have my reasons why.

First, even from watching just two exhibition games, it is clear that we will be shooting a ton of FTs this year. We shot 39 last night against FHSU and we shot 31 against PSU last week. And had we made a higher % of FTs, we would have enjoyed more FTs by getting the second of a 1-and-1. Considering the rule changes this year, basically banning all hand checks and further restricting body contact against the shooter, it is safe to say that FTs will become a bigger part of the game and will have a higher percentage of weight in determining outcomes.

Second, we are already exhibiting a poor team FT%. Granted, we've only been on the court twice now, but let's face facts; exhibition games are a lot less stressful than conference and post season play. If we can't hit our FTs now, what are the chances we hit them later on? Our FT% last night was a mere 64% and 67% last week.

Third, we have certain players that will get targeted for being intentionally-fouled to help opposing teams catch up down the stretch. Tarik Black has a history of poor FT%. Joel Embiid hardly has a history attempting or practicing FTs. These players appear to be poised to play most of the minutes at the 5-spot this year. Doesn't that create a potential threat to dropping more games this year when we always have a weak link from the line on the court at all times? Their combined FT#s through two games: 7 of 18 for a whopping 38.8%!

Fourth, there are other players who may develop issues at the line this year, too. Any of the freshmen could develop "freshmanitis" when counted to hit FTs in key situations. I might withhold Frankamp from this list... but even Conner is a maybe until we see him nail FTs under pressure.

Last year's team shot 73.8% from the line. Considerably better than what we've seen from this year's team through two easy home exhibition games.

When we weigh the importance of possessing an experienced team over a team full of newbies, isn't a big part of that consideration calculated from potential effectiveness from the FT line? Most college players lift their FT% from year-to-year as they advance with experience.

Can we afford to shoot a low team FT% this year and expect a positive outcome in conference and post season play?

Can we afford to always keep a low FT% player on the court, especially down the stretch?

Oakville and Icthawkfan have been spotted posting on KUSports today on the Wiggins Wakes Up piece.

Do we have a recruit team that can go after targets? I'd like to put these two on our list. Would like to see them posting over here.

Perhaps the pay is the same, but the perk set over here is better!

I was camping out in the Wyoming wilderness last weekend and stumbled onto quite a sighting.... I saw bigfoot dribbling some kind of handmade ball and was guarded by Wiggins. I watched for about 5 minutes until I had to take cover from a black bear that was breathing down my neck. I'll try to post some pics later...

BTW: In the few minutes I caught, Wiggins dominated. Bigfoot couldn't seem to defend against that spin move.

Glad I didn't drop the farm on an over!

Konkey... you are right... missing a few shots doesn't warrant calling it a slump or mini-slump. I think I used that term because of the expectation level of fans (and perhaps Wiggins himself). It could get as bad as saying he's in a mini-slump for missing one shot!

I haven't seen anything in these two exhibitions, or the Saturday practice, or Late Night that sticks out negatively about Wiggins. He's already doing some things other players will never be able to do, even as seniors.

I'd also like to give a thumbs up to Mason! Granted, it was against lesser competition, but still, he had to perform in front of 16k+ right out of the gates as a Jayhawk, and he did it well! There is a lot to know running point, and he maintained his composure throughout.

The offense looked much better than a week ago. The defense still looks horrible. Pretty much everyone (last night) got blown by with ease, including most of our veteran players. It will be a while before someone like Embiid learns to be a real shot blocker like Withey. Heck, I remember Withey in the beginning... he was also like Embiid, and 6' guards would shoot right over him by getting the ball to the rim before Withey could react. Also, Embiid leaves his feet off of simple head fakes... that's a sure way to find foul trouble. Black makes too many defensive mistakes, too... and he's a veteran. I can easily see us land in some foul trouble against Duke. Coach K knows how to take advantage of rules; he was the master of "flop basketball" and now he'll become the master at drawing hand checks and body fouls on the d, because games will be called tight and it will be like picking $100 bills off a Christmas tree this year. Just check out Duke's stats in another month, and the # of FT attempts they will have. Wouldn't surprise me if they lead the nation.

Once these guys learn to play d we are in for a real treat! It would be great to see some defense by the time we play Duke... but I'm not counting on it! I think we are more likely to see lots of foul calls against us against Duke.

I'm asking our team (as a personal favor to me) to please thrash Duke! I have Duke members in my family and I don't want to have to live it down all year.

I just thought Wiggins lost his confidence a bit. He wasn't shooting well, and so he backed down, hoping others would pick up the slack.

He needs to learn to shoot through mini slumps. Maybe he feels like if he isn't hitting shots, he shouldn't be shooting and everyone will think he's being a gunner.

He's just feeling things out at this level. In HS, he knew he was the man regardless of the situation and had to keep shooting. Last night was him thinking he was polite. It exposed his good nature to be unselfish.

But he's an alpha dog and Self won't have a problem flipping his switch like he did sometimes with BMac.

Anyone know the over/under for tonight's close battle?

I agree with everyone in here... we missed out on Louisville, especially when we could have landed them over West Virginia. Their stature, venue... everything is better.

"Something tells me the merry go round analogy by Paris is right on." - HEM

HEM... I think regardless what happens the OAD ride is a merry-go-round. The spin is huge! If we win it all this year, the spin intensifies. And if we lose, or don't replace OADs after they are gone, we'll have more spin, but in the other direction!

Remember being a kid on the playground? Remember spinning on the merry-go-round in one direction then quickly reversing the direction? Remember doing that right after a horrid cafeteria lunch?

I see the potential of motion sickness.

I just don't see how you can expect CS not to recruit these players. He simplified his reasoning earlier by stating that he would always go after the best talent. I'm not sure what that would do for his career if he turned away from top talent and didn't win another championship. I think part of it is a perception issue, but our reality is driven by perceptions. Self goes after the top talent and is perceived as being very competitive. His job is all about being perceived as competitive. He lands the #1 player in the country, it boosts the perception about him (and the university, and the conference).

Until recent, Self didn't always recruit up to everyone's snuff and he got criticized for it. People questioned his ability to recruit... or if he was in a slump. I'm not sure how well it works to only target a specific range of recruit. Eventually, it may get harder to get those recruits, too. I think all the current players on this team are glad Wiggins joined them. It also says something for their own talent level. And it is a big plus to get to practice against the best every day in practice. Every player on this team improves by going up against Wiggins.

What I wish for is rule changes. How about the NBA allow players right out of HS? Or make them wait 2 years? I'd even be for making them wait 3 years! Their bodies could use maturing and developing more before being pounded into submission by long, repetitive seasons!

Wishawk... don't ever worry about challenging my comments. It is a bigger compliment to me that someone considers my comments worth challenging!

I don't have a problem comparing Wiggins to anyone... I just won't easily carry him in the same light as someone like Manning even if he takes us to a NC this year. I remember Manning's entire career at KU! But if Wiggins goes on to have a huge pro career, he'll deserve plenty of comparisons in the same light.

Granted... WILL is hype! And I am part of the hype machine... and I'm sure I WILL continue to hype Wiggins! There... I've even hyped my hype! ;)

I'd like to elect myself commissioner of "Wiggymania!"

What about my super hype declaring Wigs as having the best wheels ever to play the game of basketball!!

All heed to me and my comments, for I am the "head wig" of Wiggymania!

;) I'm having a good time with this.. if anyone hasn't noticed! Thanks, Wishawk... and don't take my remarks negatively either. From it all I've landed a new job... head wig!

I guess I have to be counted as a fan riding on the OAD merry-go-round... I just hope I don't get motion sickness from the ride!

My position challenging HEM is to also see where HEM goes with it once he's challenged. I'm trying to suck the nectar out of every issue we run through here. When it is all said and done, I think we will have covered a broad scope concerning the influx of OADs in Lawrence.

One thing that gives me confidence through all of this... my belief that we want to run experience at the PG whenever possible. Tharpe's quality care of the rock should help us tremendously this year. He's also become quite the assist man in the process! It would take one heck of a OAD to unseat Tharpe! We all know that... and it helps all of us deal with Kansas and adding more OADs.

On top of that, it appears that Mason might become every bit of Tharpe before he hangs up his Jayhawk jersey!

That right there means 4 years of NC-threatening Jayhawk basketball! Bring on the talent to fill out the team, as long as we've got an experienced floor general running things (and Self on the sidelines), it is unlikely we'll be NIT-bound.

Those words can be etched on the side of a mountain and brought to the people by the bearded man named Moses... "so shall it be written, so shall it be done!" (something like that... anyone familiar with Cecil B. DeMille?)

; )

All good air in here! Welcome Gary!

Let's not forget that we are all Jayhawk fans and support the cause of Jayhawk basketball. Gary is a solid workhorse for the cause! Salute to Gary and all the staff at LJW! And let's not forget that Gary still represents the LJW in here, so he's not going to go out on a limb and post critical material against LJW. And to be frank, most of the criticism leveled at the LJW referred to the "FB policy" enacted, and some kind of verification has become typical on chat boards everywhere.

People are creatures of habit, and the habit now (for many posters) is to come here. I believe as long as this site is administered to the liking of posters, the crowd will stay here, regardless of what happens on other sites. I know I've already become used to how this works and how I visit other sites, including KUSports.

Man... Marcus Smart is the real deal! This article focuses more on what my opinion has been about Marcus... that he came back because of his competitiveness, not because of his slight injury. X-out his reverse flip in AFH and I've got total respect for Smart. I'm glad he's in our league this year bringing the challenge to us, I just hope we will be ready for those wars!

I hope Wiggins has a better year than Barnes did his freshman year!

"I guess they missed UK's final game last year."

You guessed right. And there is a reason for that. Calipari has already screwed up big time. His all-star team would get enough of the light without anything extra, but Calipari has tripled the stage lights on this team with his comments... like..."we are reaching for an undefeated record" and "yes, I perform my best when there is more pressure."

First off... why would he think his group of freshmen would perform better with more pressure?

Compare that to Self... and how he does what he can to defuse pressure.

I definitely wouldn't mind if we drop a game or two before New Year. Knock us down in the poles, shrink the media spotlight (especially on Wiggins), and help us develop a chip on our shoulders we can use in March.

Calipari's team is floating around stuck in his delusion of grandeur.

But who knows? Maybe they'll figure it out and use it to their advantage?

That's what is so great about college basketball. Every year is an experiment in personalities, team motivation, struggles... I know we better take nothing for granted! Even if Wiggins grows wings, he's still a human, and he'll be playing beside 4 other humans.

We have to stay focused on the prize, and stay disciplined away from the media chaos and magazine covers!

I just don't ever see us not having any returning players to play a key role.

And even if we land several potential OADs... they'll still have to win spots over experienced players, and if they start playing like typical freshmen in March, Self should allot playing time by who gives us the best chance of winning. I hope Self learned his lesson with Selby, when he gave him way too much leash in March and it cost us a potential NC.

I think all the recent experience of Self has brought him along to where he is today, and why we are seeing changes in recruitment. And we are all just perceiving there are changes in the way he recruits. All we have to go off of is the statement by Oubre, and we've already experienced misunderstandings from the Oubre family.

Self has always recruited the top players. Maybe more are coming here because of our recent track record landing more, and maybe for reasons none of us really know.

There are many consistencies in Self's approach all this time, including how he handled OADs. For example... Selby and X both received plenty of PT and starting nods as freshmen. Same with BMac (just consider him a one and a half done). Wiggins will step right into starting. Selden is starting.

Maybe we should be looking at who isn't starting yet... Embiid.

Perhaps I'm taking a bit of a role as devil's advocate to HEM's feature post. I definitely don't discount what HEM said and his skepticism about too many OADs on a team. I like the idea of a balance of experience and young talent. HEM said it best... "freshmen playing like freshmen."

I do respect Calipari's ability to recruit, but from what I've experienced watching media, I'm not convinced of his abilities as a practice and game coach. I'm still stuck on his recruiting comments he has always made, that he is just a servant of the talent coming in on his teams, just accommodating them to reach their capabilities. That is a ridiculous philosophy and lends itself to power struggles in the coaching process.

Calipari doesn't sell HS recruits on his ability to coach defense. But I'm not sure Self does either (these days). That is up for scrutiny, and HEM is excellent in that role. I'd like his opinion about that.

Self could always land in the NIT. He's not a God. I just believe in his coaching philosophy and credit his philosophy and execution of it as the reason why we've won 9 conference titles in a row. And who would have guessed we would finish runner-up in 2012? There were huge holes in that line-up... we were playing walk-ons in major roles! There were no McD's AAs on that team.... few, if any, 5-star recruits. Wasn't EJ a 5-star? Give Calipari our team that year and he'd have taken it to the NIT... I'm convinced of that! Imagine coaching TT and telling TT you are his servant?

RedRooster... the mistake for Wiggins would be to add mass to his body. He has unnatural strength for his existing size. And his strength is not sluggish muscle ball. His strength in play is his speed, agility and the amount of strength he does have for a player of his weight. He is a lot stronger than most people know. You'll see that come out when he rips the ball away from opposing players this year.

The years ahead for Wiggins will be interesting to see... and what happens with his body. He can always add strength by using very specific workouts that push his fast-twitch capabilities. Over the next several years I can see him adding just a few pounds, mostly because his body isn't done developing through the age process yet. His bones will continue to harden and become heavier (for example). But his biggest advantage for staying healthy and injury free is to remain light. Even adding 10 lbs to his frame will add an exponential amount of stress on his joints... especially when you consider the repetitiveness involved in this game.

I think there is risk. There is risk no matter what you do. There is risk with seasoned veterans, too... like injury.

I'm just saying the risk might be more about who is coaching than the players brought in. We've won 9 straight league titles, with all sorts of teams... and the one common factor is CS.

Calipari is a great recruiter, but he is nowhere on the screen in X's and O's. I doubt if CS had UK's team last year he would have lost in the first round of the NIT. I didn't want to say that because it just sounds like more KU vs UK chatter... but I do believe it. Self focuses first on team defense. Once you develop team defense, it is a constant. Offense comes and goes with shooting streaks, one player out to mess up the chemistry, etc.

We've won 9 in a row because of our team defense. And I'm convinced that if CS has talented freshmen who have good attitudes, we won't be losing in the first round of the NIT.

That's one of the huge differences between Self and Calipari.

New teams do run into motivation problems, too. New teams still have a few veteran players returning to help show the way. Look at us this year... we'd be f@$% without Tharpe, Ellis, AW3 and Black! And all those players go to class and hangout socially, and they pick up on the attitude of the student body. The year after a school wins a NC most of the students are immature about how to handle that and say unrealistic things to the freshmen and returning players. Egos run over the top, and it comes out in the team.

You don't see too many teams going back to the trough the year after they win it all. I can think of Florida, and then back to UCLA. I have quite a bit of experience with Wooden... "the philosopher"... and how he trained not only his team, but the student body at UCLA, and even the media.

Interesting post, wrwlumpy. I'm hoping Wiggins will quickly develop several more tools than what BMac had. BMac had limited penetration skills. He basically had no crossover moves. He could penetrate when someone gave him a lane, and opposing teams quickly realized how to stop that.

I'm anxious to see Wiggins tomorrow night. He performed much better in the second half last week. You could see his jitters easing up and his aggression coming out. Wiggins is a Type-A personality, and BMac wasn't. I'm a huge BMac fan, but recall most of his conversations to media being about how he COULD take over a game. Wiggins WILL takeover games and most of the time you won't even notice. He won't be doing it by being a ball hog.

I've really been enjoying the words from CS this year concerning the development of Wiggins. He is saying all the right things... about how he is teaching Wiggins to keep up his effort in every play and throughout the play. Wiggins should get a fourth or third of his points off of picking off rebounds and lose balls. That means he is converting off an extra possession for us. If it works out like that, it will be pretty tough to keep us out of another NC game. Players who can do this are invaluable to their team, much more than a player who just has a decent conversion rate and using up xx amount of possessions to get his points.

I agree that he'll even help us without scoring, by drawing over defense. I'm anxious to see exactly what Wiggins can do off the dribble. From what I've seen already, he has the best spin move of any player at any level (yes... better than anyone in the NBA). But I'm yet to see other skills, like crossovers and his ability to score when someone is glued on his shot. I'd love it if he could learn that skill as well as Kobe Bryant... one of the true masters of taking a shot under any circumstances and creating whatever space he needs while floating in the air, and then able to convert.

Wiggins has the best wheels I've ever seen in basketball.

I'm not sure I agree with the premise that UK's disastrous year last year is the risk for signing OADs. Historically, many teams bomb out the year after they win a NC, and many weren't stocked with OADs.

I believe it's more about coaching. Somehow you have to rebuild motivation in the following year, and that mixes with the unhealthy expectations. Fans are suddenly screaming two-peat, three-peat... meanwhile, the team coming after can do no better than match the results of the team before.

Makes you look long and hard at what Wooden did at UCLA.

I don't know... if we could get back to running the CS hi/lo, it really works so much better to have top prospects at the 4 and 5. They feed off each other and create problems for the weak side post defender coming over to seal off the middle.

I think the biggest selling point we have is the potential to have both the 4 and 5 helping each other, and Oubre helping feed it to the post.

" I am stoked with the possibility of landing Alex and Ok, with Oubre?...Sick!! Rock Chalk"

If it happens... yeah... sick! Next year could actually outbuzz this year!

"By restyling I mean fonts colors and images, not ads, questionnaires and federated authentication."

Oh dang! All the questions made me feel like someone cared about me!

; )

Ha... it's fun to read the excuses on the blog at the bottom of that article.

I'd like to see Kentucky stay undefeated for a big part of the year. It will lull them into a false sense of security and they'll start buying in to the idea they are Gods.

I have a feeling reality will strike them in the Champions Classic when the Spartans come in on big horses.

Randle wasn't happy with his performance. He should do well with the big and talented guards out front, who should have no problem feeding the post, and should keep defenses drawn to the perimeter. We'll see how that goes. Motion offense doesn't favor his style of play like the hi/lo, and Self is the master at hi/lo and all the exploits possible when the ball goes into the post.

And let's not forget that Wiggins won't touch most of the Kansas and NCAA record book. He'll be able to touch single-season and freshmen records.

Let's say it is $180m. And let's say Adidas bball shoes cost $100-per pair. That's 1.8m pair of Adidas (retail price). For a group discount on that level, you could buy at least 3m pair. Wiggins could fit a big part (or all) of youth basketball with a free pair of shoes and not really feel the financial impact. Yes... that's a load of cash... but he'll be a multi-multi-millionaire without it.

I agree with wissox and miyagi... ESPN isn't exactly unbiased in their rankings.

I've posted for more than a year now how important this "Classic" is for us to be a part of. This is the baby that some sports outlets (like ESPN) are using to separate the top blue bloods from the pack. Our recent acceptance as one of the top 4 programs has everything to do with Self and his conference winning streak of 9. I give CS a lot of credit for how he's built Kansas basketball since his arrival. It isn't all just about how many NC's you pile up (but obviously it helps). If it was the only factor, we'd fall behind UCONN for their most-recent pile of 3 versus our 2. They are nowhere in a conversation when compared to KU.

Good points, wissox.

But I'm okay with it. I'm okay with us leading the country in toughest SOS. I hope it stays that way, because it is a consideration in March when the seedings are decided. I'm like Self and feel like it helps prepare us for March, and a few early losses tend to help mature a team for an end push.

We are likely to have an early loss (or two) regardless, better it comes at the hands of a ranked team.

BTW: I'm not conceding anything to Duke, Florida or anyone else. I like our chances with anyone.

If Wiggins goes on to be another Michael Jordan in the NBA, KU will covet him in regalia... you can count on that. And if he does that, he will impact the perception of KU for a few decades (with recruiting, enrollment and everything KU). That's what Wilt and Danny did. Problem is, the youth today don't have experiences with Wilt or Danny.

But to merit the comments above... I think we will always put an asterisk behind Wiggin's name... and behind it the letters OAD.

Here is a link to a story going back to June. I'm posting it now because it was an interesting read then and still making a good read.

http://sportsinreview.com/blog/?p=8169 ↗

Enjoyed the read from everyone in here today. Great job, people!

After the fallout at KUSports we were all licking our wounds. I think the entire experience has made us all realize how special this is, and how this opportunity is a privilege and not a right. Yes, we have a right for free speech, but we don't have a guarantee we'll be able to do it in such a quality environment around the focus on what we all love, KU basketball!

I hope we can all keep that understanding as we move forward. I'm sure we will all loosen up more as time goes by, and that may even be a good thing. We do need to challenge each other, though we can do it in a respectful manner and we don't need the content police exhibiting their will and whim at every discretion.

I try to put lots of energy into posting... and I do that because I receive 10-times the energy back to me with quality posts from everyone in here. There is a level of selfishness in my time spent here... a lot more selfishness than ego. I prefer reading more than posting. Thank you (to everyone) for creating the magic!

KUBuckets does have a different feel from KUSports. Part of that relates to how KUBuckets came to be. This place feels more like a renegade step child and KUSports feels more like mainstream. I've always been someone who likes to support the underdog. I'm fine conceding the top dog award to KUSports. I was a bit t'd at them initially for assuming I wasn't giving my real name and cutting me off... but that was resolved after I devoured a nice pastry. I want to commend all the writers, photographers, webmasters and all who make that site great! It still possesses half the magic! So we'll continue on and make the other half!

Global - Maybe you give Doc a checkup... maybe he's Jaybate!

JayHawkFanToo - If he does use up the bandwidth, I'd be happy to give up some of mine. JB would obviously put some meat on the bones of this site. Some might argue fat... but let's just say he'd give us more weight on the scales, and an increase on the scales means we'll be found more often on Google. It all helps us grow as more discover this website!

Maybe we all need to help out with SEO in here by mentioning all the search keywords we want to emphasize in Google. Right now I think I'd like to mention how much we all loooove our Canadian friends to the north! Canadian basketball is growing exponentially in size and quality. I hope Andrew Wiggins is just the beginning of quality high school basketball recruits we land at Kansas! Did I say high school recruits? Let's add the keyword phrase... college basketball recruits. Laudy dee, laudy daa... Jaybate... help me out, brother! We need one of your long posts full of nice Google keyword phrases!

Couldn't have said it better, Global.

But I am missing my periodic updates on insights surrounding the shoe companies.

I hope Jaybate returns someday!

I read some stats on blog popularity in Canada and the most-popular topics:

1. Ice Hockey

2. Moose Hunting Season

3. Andrew Wiggins

...and a partridge in a pear tree.