I'm wondering if ol' Rick ends up in prison. This isn't the first time I've had that thought. The way to nail Rick is through flipping Jurich.
drgnslayr
11251 posts
Ha.... don't fret it. I agree with your post!
Also... I don't get my feathers up in a fluff very easily. Had a lifetime of hard ass coaches who needed their mouths washed out with soap.
I'm always attracted to people with an edge. It's what I know. The nice, sweet politically-correct people usually can't keep my attention.
So.... if I get too nice in here... slap me upside the head! lol
BShark said:
Svi has defensive limitations.
I don't really think this is true. Last year, he definitely gave up plenty on defense. But in a few games vid footage was captured directly on him and he was very capable of being a good defender. The question is... why wasn't he consistent on defense?
Defense is something where players can bring consistency. They will all improve their stock by playing hard defense ALL the time!
I feel like Svi was just inconsistent on defense pretty much like he was often inconsistent on offense.
Let's hope he matured a bit more and will stay focused on both sides of the ball this year!
Vick... wow! He makes big gains every year and he isn't even near the upper end of his window!
wissox said:
I do get tired of posters who say did you see the way Joe Smith played in the Late Night Scrimmage?
Ha... I deserved that smackdown. Kind of broke my own rules on that post. Just tried to keep it about extreme basics, but thanks for putting me back in place. I probably should have just let it go. It's just a friggin' scrimmage!
Think I'm just anxious to post something fruitful...
I totally agree. I also think this story shows the difference between blue blood programs... like Kansas versus Kentucky. The fan bases are completely different in terms of character.
I can't believe Kansas fans would react on this like the Kentucky fans did. But then... part of it relates to Calipari's overreaction. Bill would never intentionally motivate fans to become further enraged and out of control over officiating. Calipari really put fuel on this fire.
Good post.
Pot doesn't have money backing it. At least... not yet. Big Business likes pot's current state being diffused into many small profiteers. This helps keep big money from coming to it's rescue because no big players involved.
Pot's legality related to pot being used as a tool to demonize Hispanic people crossing our southern border as well as other people of color. Pot was the tool used to defend racism -
"The effort to demonize cannabis was spearheaded by Harry Anslinger, director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962. Anslinger was able to stir up anti-cannabis sentiment by citing it as the cause of violent and unlawful acts by minorities. "Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind," he stated. "Most marijuana smokers are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage.""
https://www.leafbuyer.com/blog/the-origin-of-the-term-marijuana/ ↗
Here is another example of how pot was attacked because of the economic threat of hemp to devastate the wood pulp industry. This is still a key factor today. Hemp has the promise to help our environment, yet it continues to be held back.
There has never been the avenue for profiteers to stand and support pot with large economic leverage. This has been the biggest issue around pot's legality.
Compare that to alcohol.
BShark said:
@wissox I don't think one should ever take much away from it as it's not even really real basketball but it's just fun to see the players again.
I'm often saying that. But I do feel like there are a few possible clues that can come out of this scrimmage, giving us directions to think about moving forward.
I wasn't impressed with Doke's footwork. I hope he is just out of shape. But, IMHO, he looked like he was stomping on potatoes instead of moving gracefully on the court.
It does have me concerned... that we may have serious post issues again. I question his stamina and ability to stay out of foul trouble while offering a consistent contribution to the team.
I hope I'm wrong... I hope Doke proves me wrong. He has a solid month to polish his game and conditioning... and his footwork. He stuck out as playing at a slower speed than the rest of the team, and that is concerning. We need to have 5 guys running at a quick pace (our pace).
Really liked the motor and aggressive play of Billy. He'll still have plenty to learn in order to be effective in D1, and also in the Big 12. But... he sure has the tools to adjust quickly to being effective and I feel confident about his game... this year!
I've always had a certain beef with Roy. I've always questioned the way he handles speaking to the public. I've never felt like he responds the way he should to best show his own qualities as well as the university he represents.
I'm not a Duke fan... but I prefer the way Coach K (and Coach Self) handled this -
I think it's relevance relates mostly to comparing it with other substances.
It won't be too much longer before sports media finally reports on the huge epidemic of athletes who have become addicted to opioids because they needed help with pain and originally turned to pain meds.
Pot can also be taken in oral form. Doesn't have to be smoked. That avoids the tar issue in lungs.
!0_1507058857257_williams-roy021916-getty-ftrjpg_zvain4y8rzf71ky7w5w0vjmau.jpg ↗
I hope I'm just being oversensitive here. Times like these (FBI sting) make me turn inwards to become more sensitive... looking for signs like a poker player.
This article rubbed me wrong. It felt to me like Roy was actually being defensive and trying to separate himself from potential issues underneath him with assistant coaches.
I hope Roy's world is clean on this. I hate to think he might have left us with a little present that is just now being unwrapped!
I'm not losing sleep over this. I'm usually trying to keep people calm around me on this topic. I just didn't want to later say I already sensed something when the bad news comes for Roy, and a small chance, for Kansas.
While Kansas is busy auditing this subject within our current program, I hope we have the resources to go backwards to Roy's days at Kansas and use the same diligence in investigating this far back. I'm doubtful we would suffer any consequences even if something is found from Roy's days. But it would be very helpful to us if we can learn about this topic going back as far as possible.
I'm not even going to mention Larry Brown!
I apologize to all if anyone feels i'm cheap-shotting Roy. That isn't the intent. Just want to make sure we have exposure to everything surrounding our program.
The pot issue in our country is an interesting one. There have been studies performed on health issues concerning pot for decades. But the sources of those studies are in question. Our gov follows a very closed system for research in which they put confidence in. To some degree... this makes sense. But it is also used to control the power with research and the path taken. So the power works it way back to Congress, which works back to lobbyists, which works back to BIG BUSINESS!
The largest issue concerning pot relates to ownership of rights. Pot is natural, been used for centuries, been manipulated for specific results, both medical and recreational. That makes it a tougher entry for BIG BUSINESS. The tobacco industry would like to become the big pot producers, but how can they monopolize pot? They do it through patents on synthetic THC. As you read this today, BIG BUSINESS is busy in the labs, trying to find useful versions of THC.... CBDs.... CBNs...
The goal will eventually be to make pot HEAVILY ILLEGAL again except for the sale of pot through BIG BUSINESS. This is the goal. It is taking the path alcohol took. So there will be a need to demonize pot again. Suddenly, there will be propaganda produced showing that pot can be harmful if not purchased through BIG BUSINESS because their synthetic pot has somehow removed the risk.
That is the plan. However... there are massive risks in this approach. What we have discovered is that pot is a cocktail of substances and compounds that create very unique results from plant to plant, often depending on slight genetics mods, horticultural methodology, etc... and the discoveries are not easily exposed through synthetic science. In fact, pot has created many new mysteries relating to clone results through synthetic processes.
So perhaps BIG BUSINESS takes over pot. Meanwhile.... undergound "illegal" groups will continue to discover new effective results through organic processes. They will be targeted by BIG BUSINESS much the way drug cartels now fight it out in Mexico. This is going to get ugly. It already has. Many real scientists have been assassinated mysteriously based on their contradictory research concerning vaccines and other meds. Realize just how much money is involved? It truly dwarfs the entire illegal drug trafficking numbers. Not even in the same arena.
My grad studies were in science. Probably the biggest take away from those long days of study is that "research" can easily be manipulated to form whatever result wanted. Ethics, high intelligence and protocols are crucial in forming quality studies. In the old days, most quality research was performed in the university setting. Many of those grants have dried up. Most research is performed by privatized research facilities, often funded through foundations trying to give an impression of legitimacy. But the truth is most of these organizations are on a mission to support their theories often motivated by profit.
Then, on top of this, the media is an uneducated soundboard of hype for all these findings, which are presented more like facts instead of just the findings of a single study. Meanwhile, the public isn't educated to know that studies do NOT prove anything beyond their findings for that particular study. And results are exposed in "confidence levels" not labels of true or false.
There are so many ways to manufacture results "researchers" want. The easiest pathway is through statistics. The methodology is crucial. Anything can be supported when working backwards through statistics, using a fishing strategy to support the target findings.
Global warming is not a scam. We are just starting to deal with some heavy realities. But the political fight should have never been directed towards global warming because it is a tougher battle to support how much of an impact mankind has on warming. The real fight should have stayed on pollution. Remember 20 or so years ago when the fight was on pollution instead of global warming? Do you think that was a mistake to change the conversation to warming?
The focus on pollution can be directly connected to our own health. The focus on pollution opens the door to just about everything concerning personal health; food and water quality, med toxicities (including vaccines), indoor pollutants, lifestyle areas impacting health... etc etc etc. That is a can of worms BIG BUSINESS does not want opened. BIG BUSINESS wants the masses focused on global warming not pollution!
I have two children.... ages 4 and 2. I am worried about the effects of global warming especially thinking of their futures. But I'm more concerned with their health. There is record respiratory disease in children. Blowing off the charts! But you don't see this hyped up on the news. You don't hear our news explaining how all the products sold in grocery stores has levels of toxicity and are basically a fraud of what they are making claim to. How much real nutrition is in that store-bought tomato? Why aren't the ingredients to processed foods easier to understand? How come the rug you bought for your house will out-gas very toxic chemistry you will inhale for decades? Why does the air we breath contain levels of benzene, toluene, xylenes, mercury, sulfur dioxide, VOCs... etc etc etc.
Confidence in "research findings" has largely collapsed and just become fuel for political partisanship. Both sides look for any findings supporting their agenda and blast all findings that go against them. This happens on both sides of the political aisle. Once again... BIG BUSINESS fuels these fights and give large contributions to both sides of the aisle. They just want the focus to stay away from their desire for a government of corporatism.
Through all of this, I am still a capitalist. I just believe that we need to regulate against monopolistic practices. Our DC politics are corrupt. Bribery is legal! Look at this FBI sting focusing on "illegal contributions." Heck... this is an everyday event in politics and all legal! More than that, it has been supercharged with recent laws like Citizens United!
How would you like to be an insurance salesman and receive a call from Jim Gatto looking to buy a $10 million life insurance policy?
This is what I wanted to hear... even though we may not even be close to the stink, we are still looking within. And if anything is found, feel sure WE will expose it and not cover it up!
"North Carolina investigators had an inkling two years ago that the feds were nosing around a financial adviser tangled up in their UNC-Chapel Hill athlete tampering case..."
Makes you wonder how busy these NC investigators are working on this case. I wonder how many are UNC grads?
As pot grows in our society through legal or semi-legal means I'm sure it will become a bigger topic when relating to athletic performance.
If anyone has good info on this, please post it!
I'm having a hard time seeing it is as positive when considered all by itself. But when comparing it to other substance uses that it may be replacing for a similar effect, I see it different.
Pain management - Personally, I think pot is extremely helpful for pain management without the addictive risk of opioids. Someone close to me is a guard who played D2 ball and was given pain meds for his Achilles injury. He got hooked and is still battling that for now 2 1/2 years. He's a clean cut kid turned into a junkie and an upside down lifestyle. It's killing me. Really.
Recreation - It is far superior to alcohol, on so many levels. Pot is 100% non-toxic. Very few substances on our planet are 100% non-toxic. Also, it doesn't impact blood sugar levels... calorie free! Another thing.. it is not a depressant! It doesn't kill the liver, and instead, may be useful in preventing some versions of cancer.
Lifestyle - Mixed results here. Pot affects people differently. Regular use can lead to productivity issues with some people. Some users suffer issues like confusion, memory loss, lethargy and other things. Here, it depends on if you are comparing it to other substances or just viewing it on its own.
As far as Lew's substance of choice.... I don't know. Obviously, his performance results were great and he had a long career. He may be considered a "poster child" for pot use within the sports world, but I'm sure there are other examples that wouldn't fit well on a poster!
Wilt was determined. And Wilt had the attitude, "whatever it takes!" Fortunately, Wilt had rare athleticism that gave him many paths on the "whatevers."
Lew was a bit more formalized and stayed within his known skills.
I think we should all be glad their paths crossed. This was, and always will be, the "Frazier vs Ali" battle.
I remember this. Lew was a couple years in the league and the sports media turned on Wilt by no longer calling him "the greatest" and flipped to a "has-been."
Wilt took it personal. And he gave Lew everything he could handle. Lew would have never mastered that sky hook without having to battle Wilt.
An inspirational thread for us to hold on to this year.
Shout out to Doke!
"multiple sources told Chat Sports exclusively Thursday afternoon."
Hahahaha... who the h#ll is "Chat Sports?" This is total bull.
I like his touch. Still too early to assess his athleticism and skills for a D1 stage, but I like what I see so far!
I think you need to remain calm. There could be a chance that one of our assistant coaches is involved, but listen to Self. He goes way back with his coaches. This is largely about management on the coaching level. I think Bill maintains a pretty tight ship.
This investigation should become huge. It should unveil the corruption in AAU ball, too.
I'm for this investigation growing. I don't necessarily agree with how the little guy can't accept this money while the bigger boys do it openly and are even protected to do so. For example... I bet everyone in here would be surprised how much of Congress is bought by Nike. Pure bribe. Pure bribe!
I'd like to see Nike's "secret economy" otherwise known as their "cash slush fund" exposed and then targeted for tax fraud. People keep chirping about the IRS going after the players and their families. Ha! Why waste time with chicken feed? We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, sheltered illegally through untraceable fund pools.
Do a little math in your head. KU gets millions in incentives from Adidas. So does all other D1 schools, and then all the dark money in AAU, high schools, junior high schools... Does anyone believe the shoe market is really THIS profitable? Drug cartels couldn't even spend money like this.
"There is nothing inherently wrong with these apparel deals between a company and a school. But given the NCAA's amateurism rules, it sure does create a contradiction. There is no question that NCAA schools could buy the apparel they need, but instead they choose to accept the revenue and profit from the relationship while using the players to do it. There is no way that the NCAA will adopt rules limiting the commercial opportunities of its members or its partners."
That same message has been playing in my head long before this scandal.
"When you use a person to make money while at the same time limiting that person from making money, you exploit. Players are certainly not mistreated, but they are exploited."
Bingo!
It is so ridiculous to think you can put athletes in a world where gold and diamonds are being thrown in the air, yet these athletes that actually create all of this wealth can not benefit from it. And the better the athlete... the more revenue he makes everyone (except himself)... and the less likely he is of finishing school (the only payment received), and last... the more that athlete risks by playing sports in college, because an injury can end all of that potential.
I've heard some downright nasty things about Billy. I guess he is just shredding everyone in practice.
Kcmatt7 said:
If UT was smart they would build a smaller, state of the art, intimate venue with amazing acoustics. Put the small crowd right on top of the action and make it a loud/tough place to play. It doesn't need to be some giant arena. An arena that holds about 10k so you know it is always sold out. You can make up for the lost revenue from the 2k in attendance by upping donation minimums for certain football tickets or something like that. Make it a fun environment to come like Sporting KC has done. Once that is accomplished, basketball ticket prices will rise and arguably make the program even more profitable.
Heck... they should just add hardwoods to their largest bar on 6th street. Fans can get drunk and fight... they'll love it! And when the Longhorns are getting smoked by teams like Kansas, they can ring the big bell over the bar... "2 for 1s!" That will pick up the crowd!
IMHO, Texas is going through an identity crisis. They've spent more money in their sports program than most other D1 schools by double or triple or even far more. Their bling runneth amuck.. but there is just no identity to their program... at all! Their closest thing to an identity is "Longhorns" and that is only valid in the State of Texas. It seems to hurt that there are so many other well-known schools in Texas, all with their brand of success.
I'm willing to do the same, and I will even supply my own shoes! lol
I've already heard that one. It's not even a proper rumor yet, pure speculation as well as kind of a cheap shot... perhaps on both sides... Louisville and Coach Marshall.
The sad thing... Pitino can coach. He can coach real well. I find it hard to take his word that he was always left in the dark on all the allegations over the years. That excuse might work once, might...
True... but the NCAA is a private authority, using their own laws (often not fair) whereas the feds have to follow federal law.
I would love to be a fly on the wall where the FBI meets with NCAA investigators.... showing the difference between professional and amateur.
Laughed so hard I could barely hold down breakfast!
Bill Self's shopping list for September 27, 2017 -
Time to fill our last scholarship! Surely, the NCAA will waiver these kids so they can transfer. (granted... hopeful thinking!)
I'm thinking Bill needs to be on the phone trying to fill that last scholarship.
I can't believe the NCAA won't allow an exception to any incoming freshmen.
!0_1506556474490_rick-pitino-makers-mark-bottle*900.jpg ↗
Karma is a beitch!
""This [investigation] is huge.""
Vaccaro is right on that. Just the fact that the feds are involved versus the typical "inside job" performed by the amateurish NCAA makes this a huge deal.
The feds can do a lot more than punish within basketball, they can put people in jail.
Even though we experienced Mitch for several minutes last year... I kind of feel like none of us have a total grip on his athleticism. Especially now since he has had a summer of Hudy.
He was so undersized for the post (compared to what we are used to) that it was hard to totally assess his athleticism because of him lacking height and girth.
I do think he has a decent vertical leap, but there is a lot more to athleticism than jumping. Others have challenged his athleticism, but I'm not one of them, only mentioning it because others have. I can honestly say I don't know what tag he has earned in this area. That is why I say "perhaps."
This will be the crucial year for Mitch and his career at Kansas. He'll have to really scrap and make an impact in order to help keep him in Bill's mind next year. Of course he will be challenged because of his size and perhaps his athleticism. I remember the same issue with Kevin Young. Mitch has to think of himself as the next Kevin Young. If he can mold into that player, he will always find some minutes, even when we have a truckload of post depth.
Every year that passes, it not only takes away a year Bill could be grinding into a new challenge, it also removes a future year he could be building on that other challenge. I don't see Bill jumping to the NBA if he isn't prepared to do at least another 5 years of coaching in his new position. I just don't see it.
As far as Bill staying at Kansas beyond 59... we just have to wait and see. For contractual reasons, it is in Bill's interest to not expose his hand now, and he has left himself wide open at 59 years of age. This is the "Riverboat Gambler" talking now, and is the proper way for him to handle this.
What I look at is health. I look at a person's body conditioning, skin and eye health to determine if they are having a healthy lifestyle. This is the main indicators I look at when thinking about Bill and how much future he has left at Kansas. Of course, this is just one factor, but it clues me in on someone's lifestyle and that usually relates to happiness and stress levels.
It's been almost a year since I've had in-person contact with Bill. I thought he looked great last year. I can think back to many years where he didn't look great at all! So I remain upbeat about Bill and his longevity at Kansas until something changes!
Caught an interview with Sonny Vaccaro this morning, and he emphasized how deep this scandal was; expecting far more schools and individuals getting dragged into this soon.
Spot on! Except Nike owns too many judges, senators, etc. IMHO, they are one of the largest crime syndicates in the world.
What I'm curious about.. is some of the fall out. Like, how about Louisville? They have been implicated. It is already being discussed if they get the death penalty now.
I think the days of the NCAA dealing death penalties is over. But it will be interesting for all of us to watch what happens to Louisville.
I'm also curious if the feds push this back into Nike. Do they have the balls to take on Nike? I doubt it. But so many people know this goes back to Nike and Nike is filthy dirty. Now we are talking about Kentucky (and others).
David is the perfect recruit to sign with us. He is still a bit of a project player, only needing the polishing touches to set him up as a top NBA pick, probably within 2 years. As others have said, Hudy must be licking her chops in excitement to bring David into her program. David has done a great job himself in bringing down his weight. Now, he needs toning, mostly aerobic conditioning to handle the speed of D1. My hopes are we can keep him for at least two years.
I think it is a big plus he has been playing with Billy at Oak Hill. They surely must already have some chemistry built, and I can't stress how important it is to have two prolific scoring big men who have established chemistry.
Watch David's videos. One thing pops out more than anything else. After he finishes in the paint he gives a hard stare down to his opponent. He's a real competitor with big man swagger... something we haven't had in a long time. Basketball is still a street game. I know it is the playground ball in me, but I still think swagger is one of the key factors in winning, especially in the low post, where your big men truly defend the rim.
This recruit class promises to be a great one for us. We've been quick out of the blocks and our momentum is riding high!
mayjay said:
@drgnslayr You could prohibit in-conference transfers or make them the only ones with a redshirt year. You could also prohibit more than 1 player per year from going to a single school. Creative minds can find ways of dealing with poaching.
Sounds way too confusing for me... in the perspective of the legal aspects. Sounds like opening a legal can of worms that will be stuck a long time in federal court.
I almost always support any move that gives more options to the student-athletes.
However, in this case, I can see it more like @HighEliteMajor ...
Imagine we are playing Shaka and Texas... Shaka likes one of our players and basically "recruits" him away from us? It seems like players would move around too much, often because they are given "incentives" for doing so.
@HighEliteMajor called it right... free agency.
College ball isn't pro ball. The more we make it look like pro ball, the more we will have to deal with "side effects" like players being paid under the table to flip teams.
Imagine going back in time at the time of that photo and telling Bill he would, one day, coach at Kansas as a HOFr!
Perfect post to fit in here. I (and others) may sound like we don't see Larry as a positive. I think all of us in here see Larry as a positive and his stay at Kansas was a positive, and will remain a positive in the future.
Bill surely learned a heck of a lot from Larry. I know he totally respects Larry and holds him in high regards.
Larry should be considered in the Top 5 of all basketball coaches, worldwide, pro and college...
HighEliteMajor said:
@JayHawkFanToo Whether LB did it right or wrong, he did rescue us from the Ted Owens abyss. He gave us a title, and paved the way for the hire of the century .. Roy Williams. But the Self way is the far, far better way.
Maybe Bob Fredrickson deserves our kudos? He has my eternal gratitude.
Great call, giving Bob Fredrickson kudos!
We looked the other way on a lot of things. We didn't know the hammer was going to drop how it did, but let's not rewrite history saying we didn't know there was risk involved at the time Larry was here.
I didn't want to open this can of worms... because it goes much deeper than what we got nailed for. Why rehash this stuff?
I am a Larry Brown fan. Big time. But he pushed the envelope in areas and put Kansas in deep peril with the NCAA.
I think it is a bit of a stretch to say Larry "saved" Kansas basketball. Larry gave Kansas basketball an injection of success again. It was big, especially during that time period. Hard to say if we would be were we are today without Larry's stint. I sort of think NOT. Especially since Larry was a part of bringing Bill to us.
The question remains... is it worth it to gamble the reputation of THE basketball landmark university for an injection of wins?
Brown's ability to recruit was something... it also opens a can of worms we can never shut if we go too deep.
Don't lose that P&V!
I don't think he will play like either TRob or Randle. If I squint my eyes, I can see the mix of these players together; TRob's hustle and Randle's skill set. But the truth is, Silvio's skill set is very different from Randle's and even his hustle looks different from TRob.
I'm not sure why we always have to connect new recruits with old players. It really isn't fair to Silvio. He isn't going to match expectations of either TRob or Randle because his game is different. He is very likely to surpass both players if we can keep him in Lawrence long enough.
He really needs to stick around at least two years. Three years would be insanely helpful to us if his development progression comes along as expected.
I don't like to add any additional pressure to incoming freshmen... but I see Silvio as our best post prospect for development since JoJo! I am still pinching myself on this unexpected, quick commitment!