I kind of think coaches are a bit like players. When playing an easy schedule and running up a bunch of wins, why should they change anything? Why put in extra stuff when we are winning?
Gosh... just thinking back to our last two NCs.... we had lost a bunch of games those years. It pushed our coaches to hustle in other concepts. I'll never forget when Bill put Rush out on defensive point....
After the light bulb came on with these guys they also projected better body language. I really believe that impacts refs and how they call the game.
Yep... seems our poise kicked in and we executed better. I give a lot of credit to our poise. Just hanging in there and waiting for a break. And we got several of those. There are at least a half dozen calls that could have gone against us but didn't. We didn't get those calls in Morgantown.
I believe DEFENSE has largely left college basketball. A big part of it is how they call games, definitely punishing aggressive defense. The TV marketing wonks have won.
I definitely think our conference is down this year. But I think ALL of D1 is down this year. Not really that many dominant teams.
Even though they dropped one to Rick Barnes and Company.
I also think it has been a huge problem for UK because they have an easy conference and haven't been challenged enough... just like us.
Still shocked that Willis was their only answer.... It seemed like they were running our old hi/lo for a while and it started to work before they melted down.
Kentucky showed their youth today. They didn't collapse but they clearly lost their poise and home court advantage.
I'm still smiling about Bill running "junk defense" in this game. He considers a 2-3 zone to be junk.
I feel sure the B12 will have far more than 3 teams in the dance. Our conference is rated too high to only send 3. If anything... some of these other teams will ride the coat tails of the B12 to get in.
Absolutely! We needed a victory on the road against a ranked team for March....
It wasn't a good day for the Big 12 but at least we tied on our bad hair day!
I was starting to think we were going to go 3-7 today....
Our easy schedule until now has really hurt us. Slowed us down in development and got our guys just thinking "cruise control."
Now we are in the tougher part of our schedule... GREAT! Maybe we will develop like we should and come out and really scrap!
Loved the sudden appearance of POISE!
Even if he doesn't, he gives us 5 quality low post fouls!
Just checked in on the party!
Did anyone see the light bulb go on with our guys late in the first half?
That and how about our zone?
I agree.
Enthusiasm should come from synergy created from within the team. The players. Coaches should just be there to add some fuel to the fire. Bill isn't able to get them psyched up by himself. Very few coaches ever could. I'd say probably the best in D1 ever was Jimmy V. That guy was pure salesman, pure energy, all the time.
We lack leadership. It is that simple, and I'm sure I will be pointing that out for the next two months.
That leadership should be on and off the court. Our leader should have been on Carlton's arse for the last 6 months. And if Carlton is hanging out with trashy people, he should step in and grab Carlton by the ear and drag him away.
It just feels like we have a very talented team of individuals. We need these guys to solidify as a TEAM!
Two big negatives working against us in the UK game today...
First, we have no depth. That means if we get in foul trouble, who is going in, Tyler Self? I actually see him getting a few minutes today regardless what happens.
Second, we have a heavy mismatch in the low post. That could mean a 25 point negative discrepancy in the post.
We still can win. But our guards are going to have to take over this game. This is where experience should trump talented youth, but we don't always take advantage of our experience.
I don't like our chances... but I'm just going to hope for the best.
I see KSU coming back in this game. They usually react pretty well to being kicked in the face.
We are still sitting atop the B12. We've been in a lot worse positions than this in the last 12 years and still pulled it out.
Look.... all of us in here are huge fans. We all have a lot "invested." It just doesn't help projecting to all of us you believe from here on out we are going to wipe out.
Our league threat is Baylor. We've owned Baylor forever. We always bounce back when we get kicked. Sometimes it takes a couple of games. But we come back and then we do what we have to do to win our conference.
I really don't understand how you can think we won't win conference when we have won the last 12, are still favored to win this year, and we are tied for the lead now.
I do understand your frustration. I know I'm pissed about several things happening right now. Completely friggin' pissed off!
Anyways... I'm really saying all of this for YOUR benefit. Every year we get challenged. The key is to try to ENJOY being a Kansas fan more than STRUGGLING with being a fan.
I'm psyched we have a game tomorrow. I'm not really that optimistic we are going to come out on top. But I hope it, and I damn sure am going to watch and support our guys. And if we lose, like others have said, this game means very little.
I feel like we need Devonte to step up and LEAD this team right now. And I feel like we stand little chance in March if we don't make this move now. I feel very strong about it. It ain't gonna happen. But I'm still going to HOPE for the best moving forward. I just want you to have that hope, because if you don't, you are suffering as a Jayhawk. I don't like to see any of us Jayhawk fans suffer. We have a darn good program and we are blessed to have what we have.
Take care, my Jayhawk friend!
JoJo is a man among boys.
If he stays healthy he is going to own the NBA.
The characterization that Frank is "not athletic enough" is utterly ridiculous.
Frank has two physical challenges that may hold him back in basketball.
The game of basketball has changed considerably over the years because of wingspan. This isn't talked about nearly enough. Many of the players today are kind of "freaks of nature" because their wingspans go far beyond their actual height. It used to be "normal" to have your wingspan match your height. So many of the players today gain another 6" or so in their wingspan.
If Frank just had those extra wingspan inches... If he did, you wouldn't hear this bozo claim he isn't athletic enough.
It just shows to me how little he understands about the game, players and anatomy.
Complete rubbish.
It really means a lot for the second game in a March weekend.
This team needs leadership. I've been saying it from Day 1.
They need someone to step up and bietch slap his teammates and bring them back to consciousness. The WVU game was the perfect example. At the end, we fluttered then caved in. There was no leadership to smack the boys in line.
Frank is an incredible player... but he is not a leader. Yes, he can takeover a game. So can any volume scorer. Frank IS a volume scorer, not a leader.
Devonte is the man to lead this team. But the keys have to be handed over to him and he has to commit to ownership.
Without this happening, I'm not optimistic about March. And it is a major move, especially this late in the season. I know everyone thinks we are running two PGs. No... we are running ZERO PGs, unless your definition of a PG is just to be a small guy with handles.
I'm not going to list all the responsibilities required from a real PG. I've done that probably a dozen times now.
We have the potential to go a long ways in March, I don't care what others say. But someone has to take control of this team.
This is why I'm not a D1 coach. If one of my players pulled a stunt like that I would probably pull a Bobby Knight on his arse and he wouldn't be faking it this time.
"“He needs to come back to school, because with Frank Mason leaving, he’ll be the guy next season. He’ll have the ball in his hands, and next year’s draft won’t be loaded with point guards. I like him, but don’t love him.”"
Are you listening, Devonte? Don't chase the dragon...
"I just feel sick to my stomach about this team, have played like crap half the time and all these distractions I bet we end up losing 4 straight and 13 straight ain’t gonna happen. First round loss in the NCAAs."
Come on... get it together. That's the noise of the purple kitties. You're a Jayhawk. We don't go down without a fight... and the fight has just begun.
We just took a jab from the Mountain boys. No big deal. All they do is make us focus every year and play better.
You never win a trophy without taking some punches.
I remember when the Beastie Boys hit the scene. "Who are these skinny white boys? What do they think they are doing, messin' with hip hop? Their gonna get hurt!"
That was the chatter. The pushback. Skinny white boys shouldn't be allowed to touch the coveted turf of hip hop. Fellas gotta be tough. This is music from high rise livin' it low.
These boys kicked down the barriers. There was no denying their goods. They didn't have to pose, they didn't have to pretend. They just nailed it.
By the time the smoke cleared these boys had seven platinum albums between 1986 and 2004, making them one of the longest-lived hip hop acts worldwide.
!dbead683f32d5fdfa20bd905ab33499b.jpg ↗
Mitch Lightfoot is a Beastie. Mitch "Beastie" Lightfoot. We better get used to it, because his day has arrived. Another skinny white boy ready to prove he has the goods. "Beastie" is a baller. Prepare yourselves.
!mitch-lightfoot-ftr-azcentral-071315_1utdpee01hvr71g1m7eywik3bq.jpg ↗
Yes, sir!
I'm not against this team struggling right now. They have been playing on cruise control for way too long... it has been killing our development.
We are going to get punched in the face on Saturday.... how will we respond?
I have a lot of hope and faith in this team. We've had it way too easy until Morgantown. Morgantown exposed our "innocence."
Time to get off the canvas and kick some butt!
NO EXCUSES!
Solid logic on your challenge to @Lulufulu 's comment about where Kansas belongs in March.
But I think @Lulufulu based his post on his gut and emotions right now. At times, I think just about all of us feel like our guys are completely overrated by how they are playing at that moment. Sometimes I don't even see a Top 20 team. But then there are the other times....
There are a lot of frustrated fans right now. Feeling a bit down and shocked after Morgantown, and scared to death about Lexington.
Right now I FEEL the post of @Lulufulu while I THINK your post.
My brain, heart and gut have been feuding for a while now....
I'd like to know his time in a 40 yd dash...
Parity? Or parody?
At this point, I probably have more inside connections to Duke basketball than I do Kansas.
There is talk that K will not step down, but will just limit duties moving forward.
I'd like to hear from others in here that may have other info.
I don't know if I think they were massively over-rated. Their offense can run like a Swiss clock, but like you said, their defense was (and is) weak.
Think of it this way... they have one side of the ball figured out. If they can just become a reasonable defensive team over the next month they will be a tough out in March.
Remember how they became a top ranked team? They hung a loss on Kentucky at Lexington. Let's see how we do on Saturday....
It's too bad we lost Perry..... even though he had troubles scoring on big bigs, having 4 guards out that can bomb the trey would have meant Perry anywhere near the paint without a double-team.
Then have Perry bombing treys and pulling a big out on the perimeter so our guards can drive.
He was an amazing weapon that we could never really properly utilize in the 3-guard offense.
Devonte has been fighting cramps his entire time while at KU.
I hope they know what they are doing as far as preparing him for games. There is a lot involved with cramp prevention and very few athletic programs know what they are doing. Protocols sometimes start up to a month ahead of games.
But just because Devonte has been cramping for 3 years doesn't mean KU isn't on top of it. Cramping often relates to hereditary conditions, too... so it is possible they are doing everything just to limit his cramping.
Definitely a big key is to stop them from transition scoring. I think this is the fastest team Cal has had at UK. When they get moving, they move much faster than any D1 team I have ever seen. Not even close. All they need is 2.5 seconds inbounding under their basket to dunking at their end.
But if we can keep them to half court offense, they are very disjointed. Pray a guy like Monk doesn't get hot. Our guards are going to have to start guarding.
If we don't hustle on defense we are going to get shellacked.
Harry Dean Stanton, huh?
Spent a month getting know Harry back 30 years ago or so. I was a bouncer at a bar that he frequented while in town making a movie. He came in every night and pounded whiskey and played one of those arcade games that had the stuffed toys in it with the crane. We had to start bringing in more quarters to keep up with him. Every night he convinced me to be his friend and lay the machine on its side to loosen the toys to make it easier.
He didn't speak much. I tried to ask him some questions about "Cool Hand Luke" and his answers rarely went beyond three words.
Gosh.... you think they must be able to win eventually. How many 1st round draft picks do they have?
I've been puzzled by their selections. I know teams often take a player they don't need, hoping to trade him for another player. I can see that working when the deal is done before the pick, but they often speculate.
To me, it seems pretty crazy to take a player for speculative trade unless that player clearly should have been picked long ago. Even then... it is still a risk because there are so many players available to fit every need a team can have.
I like the idea of coaches making picks, but it rarely works that way. Management has the purse.
Enjoyed the reference to Swiss cheese.
Also nice to hear your perception of "smoke and mirrors." Valid
I often see the smoke and mirrors between coaches and players. I have NO doubt that our current team can run the table all the way through April.
Does the team think that? Are they willing to bleed for it? Lay their guts out there and maybe puke blood if that is what it takes?
Where is their line in the sand?
How bad do they want it?
"Good teams win games. Great teams find a way to win every game."
One of my early coaches gave me that one back around 1972... when he took over our crap team that won half our games until he turned us into champions.
Hot from trey creates an excuse for slacking off on defense. At least, it CAN do that. The teams that figure out how to win every game come to realize they have to do more than win one side of the game.
How do we convince our guys on what it takes to win all games and then go out and do it?
That is always Bill's dilemma... as with every coach. Coaches that figure it out most of the time end up making big bucks and go up to the top of their field.
Look at 'Nova last year. There was nothing going to stop them.
"Did Huggins just expose Self’s smoke and Mirrors game?"
The game of basketball is a game of smoke and mirrors. It is a combination of illusion with delusion, hustle with laziness.
It is impossible to just point at one thing and contemplate a linear change based on one factor changing.
@dylans gave a spot on answer... or at least a possible result had our shooting from trey been off.
Here is a possibility.... we get down by 25 at half and Bill actually reaches these guys and they come out and go on a blitz. The only way we are going to really blitz a team for that kind of come back would require DEFENSE.
Until we start playing some defense our future does look bleak.
I'm hoping this game was an aberration because our guys clearly had that "deer in the headlights" look. Even our veteran players looked off. I'm not sure how much of that was screaming fans, hustling Mountaineers, or refs. Probably the combination of all of it.
Looks like paid content.
If that be the case, you don't want to copy/paste the story in here. You can reference the material and describe it in your own words.
Sometimes it is best to internalize your concerns and just let the process take place.
This is a case not so different from what Carlton went through earlier and it just doesn't do anyone good to project too much of anything because of the threat it all gets hyped up more and possibly turning in the wrong direction.
Well stated.
Hey... I'm not a happy camper that we lost Doke. My real point is that there are pluses and minuses with having him around this year.
Would we still be playing a 3-guard offense if Doke was still playing? Good chance of it.
But I have to be fair.... hard to say if we are better with a 4-1 or a 3-2? Many of us feel like we are better as a 4-1, but can't necessarily prove it.
I give Bill a lot of credit for making the right choices. He is very well paid to do that, and his record is outstanding.
I'm just putting a line of thought out there. I definitely am glad we have Doke and look forward to seeing him grow into his role next year!
I could almost guarantee you that would have happened if we had more guard depth.
And every other shout includes MF, SOB, etc.
I'm still surprised LL got that many minutes in this game. It really wasn't his cup of tea. LL does well in games that are structured tightly.
Guess he had to play since our depth was so low.
What is really hurting us this year is we could use one more quality guard. Especially one with size to play anywhere 1-4 or even 5.
Our conference might get a slight bump if we win most of those B12-SEC games. Slight. Very Slight, because the SEC totally sucks.
I wonder if Bill will be treated different after he officially becomes a HOF'r?