🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@benshawks08

Self is asking Diallo to do what he asked Jamari to do his first season seeing some backup rotation minutes. Come in and make plays exploding out of position to take the opponent out of its comfort zone.

It makes a lot of sense to me, unless and until Self commits to Diallo as his starter.

Self knows a green player, even a talented green player, as Diallo is, is going to make TOs and read errors, so he has to get as much positive out of him as he can as soon as he can to offset those TOs and read errors. By encouraging Diallo to explode out of position and risk fouls, that ups his net benefit while he's in, and getting the experience he will need come spring to be a serious contributor against the top teams and top players. Since Diallo is not starting, playing explosively is the way to get a feel for what he can and cannot get away with at the limits of play; then, as he figures that out, Self can reign him back in when it seems his TOs and misreads scope down to a level where he can be a net benefit starting.

My guess is that if Diallo improves sharply and proves he can protect and read correctly, then we may see him start and play more within himself, and we may see Traylor, or others, take on the task of maximizing net benefit in a short period of play by challenging every shot.

KU needs a lot more rim protection and it needs to get opposing teams out of their comfort zones more frequently.

Diallo can do it.

Diallo can also force the tempo faster, according to Self, simply by his rebounding and ability to get to the other end faster than other post men sticking around to try to block him out on defense. Self maybe overstating that some, as he overstated Jamari being the best player on the floor vs Loyola, but there was some substance to both remarks. Self exaggerates, and changes his mind, but IMHO, he only lies about injuries. :-)

@wrwlumpy

Howling!!!1

@Makeshift said:

Can we stop pretending that Calipari isn’t an excellent coach?

I'm really not pretending.

Cal just hasn't proved he can win diddledy squat without a stacked deck, and even when he had a team full of ringers and the Number 1 draft choice and top Point Guard in D1 in Derek Rose in 2008 at Memphis, he couldn't beat KU.

Cal had to have the kind of edge he had over KU in 2012 to get a ring. Cal had to coach against a team without a single Mickey D, a team that used Conner Teahan as a sixth man without any seventh or eighth man.

When Cal lost even one key player to injury, his center, on a team where he had backups that were decent, he folded like a cheap suit. He wound up in the NIT.

I am not pretending at all about Cal. Cal is an above average coach at best. But there isn't any proof at all that he can do anything at all with average talent. NOTHING. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

Find me some evidence that he can coach with lesser talent.

Hell, find me evidence that he can win more rings than Bill Self with twice as much talent as Bill gets.

The evidence isn't there.

I've looked for it.

And look at Cal's record of adaptability.

He still runs the dribble drive offense after all these years. People complain that Self doesn't change enough; that he sticks with his same offense too much. OMG! In terms of offensive schemes, Self is like Proteus compared to John Calipari. Cal runs the Dribble Drive and he runs a relatively simple version of it. There's nothing wrong with running it. But his teams look the same as they did in Memphis. The only difference is that whenever he has 3-4 footers he slows it down and pounds it inside the same as Self does, or anyone else would. Defense? I've never counted, but I have a feeling Cal is about as prone to m2m as Self is. They both have the same mentor in Larry Brown. They both believe in doing the same kinds of things. They both go after the same players. But Self has IMHO shown wildly more variation in offensive schemes than has Calipari.

Cal believes talent wins and says so. He long ago jettisoned coaching players up to learn systems. He just tries to get guys to play at what ever level they are capable of and hopes that because he has more of the top players than anyone else, he will win a ring. But the guy has only won one ring, same as Self. And about the same percentage of Ws. So: since Calipari is getting talent by the dump truck load, and coaching at another blue blood program, how can one infer anything other than that Calipari is: a.) not as good of a coach as Self; and b.) really just an above average coach with waaaaaaaay above average talent?

I don't hate John Calipari at all. He is a KU guy and a Larry Brown guy and I am like KU and Larry, so I like John Calipari. But without the talent conveyor that feeds his programs, he just would have been a coach off everyone's radar screens, or so I opine.

@benshawks08 said:

He could quit now (and maybe should) and go number 1.

PHOF!

Johnny .600 aka J.600 aka Johnny Jones is on the verge of doing the brain-damagingly unthinkable.

J.600 is taking the greatest college basketball freshman, since Andrew Wiggins and going NOT .600 but .500!!!!!!!!!

Hmmmm.

What was Bill Self's record after six games with Andrew? I can't recall exactly, but it was above .500, wasn't it? Wasn't it above maybe even .600? Gosh, Bill's career average is .821. It might have been .821 after 6 games. Well, it might even have been 1.000 after six games. Bill is pretty good. And even Bill struggled some with getting a mix right with Andrew and in the end had one of his worst seasons with him. But that included a conference title, didn't it?

Johnny.600 is really making people forget what life was like before Ben. NOT!!

How can the powers that be that ordered the dump trucks to Baton Rouge live with themselves? How do they sleep at night knowing they sent one of the best young players to enter college basketball in ages to Baton Red--to the Bayou Bungles--to Johnny.600?!!!!!!!

What kind of asymmetric talent distribution is this?

I mean at least early on in the apparent talent embargo of adidas programs, well, the top players went to coaches that had better than .600 records.

I mean, Anthony Davis went to Kentucky!!!!!! And he did so whether or not the newspaper in Chi-town that reputedly refuses to retract its story about the incentivizing of monobrow happened, or not. And to The Squid!!!!!

I know, I know, I know! I know The Squid is not among the best coaches. I know the Squid can't win with your'n and with his'n. I know The Squid would be Gianni .500 most seasons with the talent Self has been getting the last couple years. I know The Squid went to the NIT and lost in the first round the only year he faced a serious injury to a key player, where as Self seems to face several serious injuries to several key players each season the last few years and still wins conference and goes to the NCAA tourney. But I mean at least The Squid is above .600 for his career and has gone deep several times and backed into a ring with six draft choices. I mean, didn't Ben Simmons at least deserve The Squid?

Did some body make a mistake with the GPS in the dump truck?

Ben coulda been uh contenduh!!!!!

We don't want that Ben should end up uh bum!

Great talent is supposed to advance in America. It is supposed to be propelled to the top in USA. Great talent is supposed to at least get Dick Harp and to double overtime before being chiseled out of a ring by the refs and Frankie McGuire's underground railroad in reverse, ya mugs understand?

Like, uh, I am callin' Big Julie in Chicago, see, or mebbe Rahm Emanuel, and I am explaining to their honorific-nesses that, like, see, Ben Simmons, well, he has talent and, like, he desoives the best, see, Big Julie? See Rahm? Like if we can get a guy named Barrack in the White House, and we can start up ISIS and ISIL before like they gets off da leash, you knows, well, and we can redistribute the most diversified wealth in human history in 1970 up so 95% of the wealth is in the hands of the top .5% of Americans mitts by 2015, like, Big Julie, Rahm-baby, surely we can orchestrate the dump trucks to take Ben Simmons at least to Lexington, eh? Large Julie, Rahmster-baby, listen to me. If we can do a lot split with the Godfather in Chi, for the President's house, like before he was Mr. President, how come we can't put Ben Simmons in Lexington, eh? I means, Rahm&Julie, we can even get President Obama to come to Mt. Oread and hang with Bill and the Jays, soze, like, why can't we maybe close our eyes and click our heels on our emerald-like slippers and get Bennie Simmons to Lawrence, eh? Why is dis not possible in the ways of the windy city? Or mebbe someone down at the Petroleo Club in Houston, eh? Can't someone on some side of the oil/central banking scam weigh in here and get Benny the Simms outta Baton Red? I mean, I know youz guys has your differences in many highly important matters, but surely, we can agree to let the great talents be coached by Coach Bill, Ratso, or Rat Face, or, well, Rickie P, Cry Me a River Roy, or what have you. Even The Squid, okay?

Bill Self and his staff might not be starting Ben Simmons (though I said that mostly for @HighEliteMajor's edifying amusement), but they would surely be hanging Ws at greater than a .500 type proportionality with Bennie the Simm. I mean, they are hanging Ws without him, right?

And, well, you just know that The Squid would probably have put Bennie the Simm at the 3, since he has Skal Labiscleariefirstie and he would already have scored like 65 points in each cupcake game and be 6-0.

Big Julie, Rahm-baby, I beseech thy and thou. You must like intervene in this issue on behalf of this talented kid.

You must free Ben Simmons!!!!!!!

@ParisHawk

Get back to work:

/topic/3724

:-)

@KUSTEVE said:

@DoubleDD Coach Rat went 9 years w/o a Final Four…Self goes 3 years, and we’re calling for his head…

You nailed the essence of the issue.

And its crucial to add that Coach Rat had better talent than Self had MOST of those 9 years than Self has had in all but his best one or two seasons at KU. Without putting too fine of a point on it, the dump trucks have never come to Lawrence. Period.

Self is a flipping unbelievable phenomenon of winning at KU.

Coach Rat, Roy, Pitino, even Izzo, and others have mediocre seasons in their off years. They don't win conference titles. They don't win 25 games and get in the tournament. They often fall near .500.

This is what board rats and national and local pro journos and all the whore-posting, scum sucking, bottom feeding cyber site destabilizing gutter trash fail to mention. What makes him so extraordinary is NOT that he wins 11 conference titles in a row. Long streaks always require some luck. He could easily have lost one or two the last 11 years as surely as Wooden could have lost some of the rings he won without some breaks. What is so staggeringly phenomenal about Self is how little he declines in his "off" seasons. The guy plays with Conner Teahan as his sixth man with no one else credible credible on the bench, and not a single Mickey D on the roster, and he finishes runner up...in what was absolutely supposed to be an off season. Unlike mere mortals like Coach Rat, Roy Williams, and Tom Izzo, even aided as the first two are by dump trucks, and unlike other great coaches trying to get by without dump trucks like Rick Pitino and Bo Ryan, Bill Self falls to, um, well, to one double digit loss season in 11 years. HOWLING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Self is insanely successful.

And remember he is doing this in the jaws of an apparent talent embargo that has apparently been strengthening each season since 2008.

God only knows how many rings he would have won since '08 had he had the kind of stacks that the dump trucks have offloaded at Duke, UK and UNC, since 2008, and have spread the last 3 seasons to towering perennial basketball powers like UA, LSU, and Cal.

What everyone should really be astonished by of late follows:

Johnny .600 at LSU can't even win games in pre conference at LSU with Ben Simmons and his other gimmes.

Roy has already been upset by a cupcake despite his regular dump truck visitations. And brace yourselves, KU fans, Roy was 20-17 and finished 9th in 2009-10!!!! OMG! OMG! Roy would have had to be fired after that season at KU. And Roy was 19-11 his first season at UNC, and finished 6th!!!! Self won his conference his first season. OMG! OMG!!! Roy can’t coach. Fire him. He was past his prime before he got to UNC. Forget the two rings. They don’t matter any more than Bill’s ring matters. Roy has had double digit losses for the last three seasons and finished 3rd, 3rd, and 5th!!!! OMG! OMG! Fire him. He is past his prime. The game is passing him by!!!!!!!

Rick Pitino? Rick is his peer. Rick barely lost to Izzo, too. But other than MSU, Rick has played Saint Louis. Saint Louis? No UCLA? No Vanderbilt already? Nope. And since Bill came to KU, Rick has been 19-13, 20-10, 21-13, 20-13, and he has finished in conference as follows: 8th, 3rd, 6th, 11th, 2rd, 2rd, 1st, 5th, 3rd, 7th, 1st, 1st, 4th. OMG! OMG! Rick would have been fired seven years ago, ring or no ring. OMG! OMG! Rick has been to the NITs not once but twice!!!!!!!!

Tom Izzo? The God of the Damned? Since Self took over at KU? Ratso Izzo was 19-12, 22-13, 18-12, and finished 5th, 3rd and second. Then he finished .500 in conference two years and ranked 6th and 7th in his conference. while Self was inning conference titles all….the….time!!! OMG! OMG! OMG! Ratso has been on the down hill slope of his career all the years that Self has been at KU even though he went to the Final Four 4 times! OMG! OMG! OMG! He has never won a ring while Self has been at KU!!!!! Or was Self as KU in the 199-2000 season?

SELF IS A FREAKING GIANT AMONG PIGMIES RIGHT NOW. HE IS WINNING MORE GAMES AND MORE CONFERENCE TITLES THAN HIS PEERS WHO ARE NOT RECRUITING INTO THE SAME APPARENT EMBARGO. OMG! OMG! OMG! WOULD HE EVER LOSE A GAME AT ALL WITH THE TALENT THAT COACH RAT, ROY, AND CAL HAVE? WOULD HE EVER NOT WIN A RING WITH THEIR TALENT?

GO, BILL, GO!!!!

IF KU FANS HAVE SUCH FLIPPING SMALL PENISES AND CLITORISES THAT THEY CANNOT DEFEND BILL SELF WINNING BIGGER WITH ONE HAND TIED BEHIND HIS BACK THAN THE REST OF THE TOP COACHES (EXCEPT PITINO AND MAYBE RYAN WHO ARE ALSO BEHIND THE BIG SHOE EIGHT BALL), THEN KU FANS NEED TO CONTACT THEIR DOCTORS AND GET SOME GUIDANCE ON PENILE AND CLITORAL ENLARGEMENT PROCEDURES TO HELP THEM FEEL BETTER ABOUT THEMSELVES.

AND I’M NOT EVEN MENTIONING SCUM SUCKING, BOTTOM FEEDING, FECAL ENCRUSTED GUTTER TRASH LIKE FIZZOURI.

ROCK CHALK!!!!!

P.S.: God help me, I do love it so!!!!! :-)

@ZIG

:smiley:

@globaljaybird

Yup.

@HighEliteMajor

Self manages all his players' egos, when he thinks it might help; that is part of coaching and managing.

Self has to protect the egos of those he intends to depend on. Whether Diallo starts, or not, pays big minutes, or small, Self has to get and keep both guys in a frame of mind to give the team what it needs, because he thinks both guys will be needed.

Diallo is not starting to protect him from his emotional ups and downs that were in strong evidence his first game. Diallo did not play well enough the first half to warrant the minutes he got the second half, unless a lead opened up. CD was played the second half because Traylor made some plays in a short stretch that finally allowed KU to separate against a cupcake enough for Self to play Diallo again; that was a huge contribution to the team in Self's book. Self said before the game something approximating that Diallo would not start but hoped the game score would permit him to play quite a bit to help Diallo catch up. Traylor's short stretch of positive impacts enabled that and for that Self sat Traylor and let Diallo get his confidence back. Self understood that sitting probably didn't feel very rewarding to Traylor. He tried to make clear to Jamari and fans how much he valued Traylor's accomplishment. Traylornmight well have gone on to his most productive game at that moment against the over matched Loyola, much as Diallo got to use Loyola to gain some confidence afterward. But either way, Self knows what happened vs. a cupcake in early December is not decisive. All it was was a chance for Diallo to get over his nerves. Traylor is the guy Self has to keep positive and confident, because it's Traylor who has to deliver what Self asks of him game in and game out. Diallo is green wood and proved it with such a down and up performance against a cupcake.

Was Traylor the best player on KU? Probably not statistically except briefly. But what player was instrumental in buying Self and his team the separation both needed to play CD as much as he did, so CD could bounce back from a bad start?

It is not an exaggeration. Team players can contribute a lot that does not show on the line score. And it's thankless, if the coach doesn't notice and praise them.
.

He has a 5 year guy sit in a blowout

:heavy_check_mark:

It's only based on anecdotal observation, but I thought it was worth rolling the hypothesis out there. 😈

@hawkmoon2020

We will learn that if Kentucky shoots 50 to 60% from three point range, Kentucky will also blow UCLA out

I reckon self never saw Bill Russell, will Chamberlain, Bill Walton and Dave Cowens Diallo forces tempo only because he is a good rebounder, so self does not have to have his point guard, Frank Mason, stay back and rebound! :-)

@REHawk

Last season he started the guy with the tendency to quick jump and win the tip, according to @JesseNewell.

Inference: as soon as CD convinces Self he can handle a real center coming off the bench, he will get a start to win that first tip. It's always better to get out ahead.

What Self does NOT want is to start him too soon and have to put him back on the bench for loss of confidence.

Self starts great players he may have only one year on the bench, because:

a.) he is trying to avoid the first trough of lost confidence most UK guys go through, when they start for UK from game 1.; and

b.) to keep developing his lesser talents with more experience, while the star is coming up to speed.

It's a sane approach. Every season Cal has to deal with this 5-10 game slump with his freshman, while they learn to cope with lost confidence from their gaps in skills being schemed against. The most vivid case I recall is John Wall. The guy became a pop tart factory and finally Cal had to just turn him into the world's most talented non scoring PG to get through the season; that's what Self tries to avoid.

Shoes.

@globaljaybird

The hardest working man in show business!!!!

BG is in unchartered ground here, not because of length--Brady got 6 months in the hurt locker back when the Trade Bank of Iraq's loans were still secure and ISIS reputedly started by American, British and Israeli intelligence to get rid of Assad and drive the Iraqi gubmint back into the US/GB/ISRAELI fold had not been bombed by Putin.

BG is off the map in the land of screw up.

He is deep in the heart of do-do without Global Shit Positioning.

He has seen the enemy and it is a hero with a thousand faces in a hurt locker East of Eden but west of the Haiffa pipeline..

He is digging himself a hole with the big shovel down at the strip pits and just about to hit Yuen in China.

He is reaping a whirl wind on wood.

He is Beowulf on the bench.

The question is: will he stop and do epic things for The. Basketball Geats, or will he just go straight to the funeral pyre on the rocky promontory sticking far out over a Kaw river valley marked the end of a hoops hero's age?

Heroism is a bitch.

Just ask those Georgians that tried to keep Sherman in Chattanooga

There is a lesson in the hero myth.

The hero's got to be on the right side before he can make the suffering count for something more than a pine box made from north Georgia fir.

Cue the James Brown funk:

GET ON THE RIGHT SIDE

AINT IT FUNKY NOW...

You can do it, Brannen.

@ralster

Darnell was lucky Kaun had two operable knees his last two seasons or Darnell would have seen only backup duty. Kaun is in the NBA at the end of his career long after Jackson barely made a ripple.

Remember how little Jackson plated when Kaun was healthy those first two seasons? Kaun could muscle and jump at a true 6-10 or 6-11. Solid as a rock top to bottom, but hard hands. Darnell was cut on top, but he had those funny little bird legs on the bottom.

But both had champions hearts though.

@ralster

You nailed it.

@Crimsonorblue22

The better, longer and stronger the opposing centers get, the more Landen will be in the mix at the 5. Why? Because we don't have any great centers on our team that are up to the challenge of both guarding a top footer straight up, being a scoring threat and being able to lock that top footer up and being able to pull down 12-15 boards without taking most of them from Frank and Perry, rather than from the top footer.

This situation is a lot like 2008 with Shady, Jackson and Kaun.

On paper, there was no reason to play Kaun more than 5-10 mpg tops.

But the better, bigger and longer opposing centers got, the more Kaun got to play. Why?

Because at a certain point, unless Self has a top center to counter the opposing team's top center, it makes the most sense to cut mistakes to the bone, concentrate entirely on guarding and banging their top post man, and getting rebounds and scoring out of the other four positions on the floor.

This is why relying too heavily on Diallo too soon, or at all, would be such a slippery slope.

Depend heavily on Diallo and the team will come to require that contribution of his even against the top centers.

But looking at Diallo, there just isn't much reason to think that he could get all the put backs and dunks he did against Loyola against a Top 5 or Top 10 team that is long and strong at the post.

No one is talking about it right now, but Diallo is pretty slender and has not reliable outside stroke. So he is one lock down big man defender away from contained, or exposed. And you know when he gets contained for the first time in his life, he is going to get frustrated and the fouls and TOs will spike.

Diallo is kind of like Shady with a big motor, but without the offensive moves, or outside shooting touch. But my favorite comparison so far is Julian. Now, Jules was a tremendous athlete also, and could go off and have huge games against some teams (beasting thy name was Julian), but he could also meet his match and require Brandon Rush to come running. Why? Because even in college it was obvious Julian had no touch. So it all came down to whether Julian could outrun and out jump guys. If he could, then it was off to the races. If not, then it was: "Brandon, Mario, I can hold my own, but its up to you to save the team's butt tonight." It is great to have talents like Julian and Cheick, but one has to be careful not to expect them to be an every game MUA, because they won't be. A post man has to get up in Joel Embiid's league to not HAVE to have an outside and midrange touch.

There are going to be games when the muscle comes hot and heavy and one or both of the opposing bigs can get up, and can lock down. At that moment, Diallo will still be a good player we want in our mix, but he will not be able to go 6-8 and 13/6--not even close. At that point, all that will matter will having a near footer like Landen to go out and lean and body the opponent's 5 as many minutes as Landen can possibly give. Cheick will be a nice change of pace, but remember how when push came to shove, when the opposing team had to be knocked out of its comfort zone, Kaun--the man with no knees--the man who could not clear the floor much of the time--was the guy to come in and rattle some fillings in opposing bigs floating across the lane, or setting up on spots they had no right to set up on. Boom!!!! Big Boned Kaun to the rescue. Landen may not be as big boned as Kaun, and so he may not be quite as effective in bodying and making opposing players necks snap as they are bucked off spots, but Landen is the best bet we have for this job. And its a job that never goes out of style, regardless of how they call the games. When play inside becomes about who gets the spots, rather than about who jumps highest, as games invariably do against top flight opposing bigs, your guy that can lean on them and body with them is the guy that has to play.

I missed last nights game, so I still haven't seen Diallo guard the post. Maybe he can do it. But what I read and heard seemed all about athleticism and explosiveness, not about leaning, bodying and bucking long and strongs off spots.

@ralster

Yes, I doubt Self will ever shorten the C5 appreciably give the two in three, and three in 5 or 6, or 3 in 3 nature of the season all the way to Madness. I just don't think Self will ever give up the advantage of playing a bunch of guys against the lesser of two opponents in three days, to be able to give big minutes to 3 guys that match up best against the best opponent. We will see different players offering certain kinds of skills playing more against certain teams and others playing more against others. Diallo may be more frequently apart of the mix, IF he PROTECTS and DOESN'T foul. But once the good opposing coaches get footage of him to scheme against, it won't be long before Diallo goes through an "extended funk" (i.e., 2-3 weeks of learning to overcome the weaknesses good defensive coaches have found in his game). Self will be able to mask this funk by frequently moving him in an out of the line-up and playing away from his revealed weaknesses for a few minutes at a time, because Self has so many big men to rotate. Some will even think Diallo is NOT having a funk, because of Self's management of the situation. And they will demand Diallo play more. But if Diallo were to play more, he would his "extended funk" due to opposing coaches having found his weaknesses would grow rapidly more apparent.

The really good news is that because of our big man depth, Self won't have to choose between playing him exposed, or sitting him. He will get to keep plugging him into situations and keep him doing some good things and giving him opportunities to work on his holes. Doing this all season will almost certainly mean that by March, Diallo's holes will mostly be filled, even if he doesn't have that money move down on offense. The money move will come in the off season if he decides to stick around.

@benshawks08

Yes, CBragg inclusive. I have debated inclusion and exclusion, but he seems to do more than spell Perry, so I include him in C5.

@jaybate-1.0

Interesting comparison.

C5 27/20

C5 without Diallo 14/14

Diallo 13/6

Hmmmmm.

KU's great composite center, C5, as his fans are starting to call him, thundered onto the national stage with 27 points and 20 rebounds!

Bill Self minced no words.

"He's the best center in my time at Kansas," said Self. "And we've had some good ones."

Diallo a keeper?

That's cool

Score?

@brooksmd

Yessssss

@brooksmd :laughing:

@brooksmd

Oh shizzle!!!

Bad play, or just shots not going in?

Can't get to tube or pc! Be my eyes!

@JRyman

I predict 9 blocks!

@KUSTEVE

FYI Forrest is going through some re-evaluation. Not sure if enough evidence will be found ultimately refute his traditional assessment as a big time racist. But..the argument goes that he started the Klan as a legitimate militia in the disorder after the Civil War, but then withdrew when it began to be used as a terrorist organization to impose Jim Crow. One version I read had him leaving about a year after starting it. If he is kin, you may want to read up some. His stature as a pioneer and forerunner of special ops raiders tactics seems to continue unchallenged. I confess he makes me uneasy, but all these controversial civil war figures on both sides need revisiting from time to time.

@Crimsonorblue22

A hundred twenty four years ago today

Sgt. Naismith thought up the game we play

So let me introduce to you

The team we've known for all these years

Sgt. Naismith's Jayhawk. Basket. Ball. Team.

@Crimsonorblue22

I have always been fascinated by the periods after Basket. Ball.

It was like he was trying to decide what to call the game he had typed the rules for.

Initially, he thought to call it "Basket." But then added "Ball."

The periods seemed to indicate he had finished.

@Crimsonorblue22

Dang! Thanks for posting that.

Why don't players get THAT tattooed on them?!!!!!

Let's see the tattoo artists master Courier type face!

@wissoxfan83

PHOF for detailed recall from the event horizon of the memory hole.

@wrwlumpy

Just imagine how Barbara Walters says it!

1. Buddhists burning incense all the time.

2. Catholics and Anglicans leaving the Lieu and burning incense in ceremonies.

3. Orthodox Jews leaving the glosbe thanking Yahweh for orifices used to defecate and spraying Glade.

4. Islamists leaving the al qaeda saying, "Praise be to Allah who relieved me of the filth and gave me relief" and avoiding left hands.

5. Zoroastrians leaving the thunder jug saying something similar to Islamists and orthodox Jews and doing god knows what.

6. Protestants leaving the pottie waving the airwick and wanting a Wonder Bread with mayo.

7. Diallo catching ball on low block on the sacred wood and wanting to impress Coach Self.

@Statmachine

Good lord, DUNK?

Is that still allowed? :-)

I am getting an adrenal rush learning that a player views part of his role as dunking on people!

Dunking is contagious, too.

Imagine if our other guys see Diallo dunk.

They might do it, too!

So to whom, or what, does Loyola refer?

Ignigo, baby, that's who!!!!!!

This from Catholic Online.org.

"St. Ignatius was born in the family castle in Guipúzcoa, Spain, the youngest of 13 children, and was called Ińigo. When he was old enough, he became a page, and then a soldier of Spain to fight against the French. A cannon ball and a series of bad operations ended his military career in 1521. While St. Ignatius recovered, he read the lives of the saints, and decided to dedicate himself to becoming a soldier of the Catholic Faith. Soon after he experienced visions, but a year later suffered a trial of fears and scruples, driving him almost to despair. Out of this experience he wrote his famous "Spiritual Exercises". After traveling and studying in different schools, he finished in Paris, where he received his degree at the age of 43. Many first hated St. Ignatius because of his humble Lifestyle. Despite this, he attracted several followers at the university, including St. Francis Xavier, and soon started his order called The Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. There are 38 members of the Society of Jesus who have been declared Blessed, and 38 who have been canonized as saints. He died at the age of 65."
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=56 ↗

This puts Inigo in the belly of the beast that was the silver and gold trading based Habsburg's of Austria's western most monarchical head quarters for the Holy Roman Empire, which was the Vatican's secular muscle partner engaged to help the Vatican find Christendom an all water trade route to China, after the Seljuk Turks took Constantinople and then shut off the silk road 1.0 trade routes overland in the late 1300s and early 1400s, through Asia and over land-and-sea through Suez and the Indian Ocean, thus starting the Age of Discovery 1.0.

Some say the Jesuits were for a time the Vatican's private contractor Army. Others say they were just a fine bunch of guys giving up sex to do god's work. Either way, the Jesuits ties to the Habsburgs and to Vatican made them a formidable bunch to deal with. And their emphasis on orders and highly disciplined education made their graduates and followers highly effective in war and peace.

And how many Loyolas are there putting the ball on the deck for Inigo all these years later in the greatest game ever invented?

I find:

Loyola of Marymount, Los Angeles (Lions)
Loyola of New Orleans, Newahlins, LA (Wolf Pack)
Loyola of Maryland, Baltimore, MD (Greyhounds)
Loyola of Chicago, Chitown, IL (Ramblers)

Rock Chalk Saint Ignatius!

PHOF!!

@REHawk

Howling at the hanger!

Got to find a way to get ESPNtrey!

Tell the wife: this is a life and death issue, baby...like what shopping is to you. I've got to foot the bill for a tech visit quick, or 'bate will start doing song lyric spoofs of us. You are the most beautiful, caring , compassionate woman in the world. I've already bought you two Christman presents! And, baby, you will look so fine in that new Black Audi...oops, you didn't hear that, darling. Now could you pretty please call that tech BEFORE 'bate starts writin' those damn song lyrics of his and we miss another KU game?

~UK's Skal Labissiere: 2 pts., 2 reebs, in 16 minutes vs. Illinois State--not fouled up, no indication of sickness or injury, just a big no show. Cal has Marcus Lee to fall back on, but not much after that.

~UK's Ulis out with a hyperextended elbow: yo, Gianni, welcome injury city with a medium stack.

~Still More UK: Don't cry for me, Lexingtina...

It won't be greasy, you'll think it strange

When I try to explain how I feel

That I still need your love after all that I've done

You won't believe me

All you will see is a coach you once knew

Although he's dressed up to the nines

All short and long treys with you

I had to let it happen, they made me change

Couldn't stay all my life on a long stack

Looking up at World Wide, staying out of CAA's way

So I chose freedom

Running again, trying Labissiere

But nothing impressed me at all

I never expected it to

Don't cry for me Lexingtina

The truth is I never shaft you

All through my title-less years

My bad existence

I kept my promise

Don't keep your distance

And as for investigators, and as for shame

I never invited them in

Though it seems to the world they were all I desired

You have delusions

They're not the solutions I promised they'd be

The answer was here all the time

I love bones and hope you give more to me

Don't cry for me Lexingtina

Don't cry for me Lexingtina

The truth is I never shafted you

All through my title-less years

My bad existence

I kept my promise

Don't keep your distance

Have I hustled too much?

There's nothing more I can think of to say to you

But all you have to do is look at me

To know that every word is true

Don't cry for me Lexingtina

~Final UK Add: Wildcats shot 16% from trey vs. Illinois State. Another anecdotal case suggesting rising volatility in trey balling this season. Calling @Jesse-Newell!!!! Give KenPom a call and ask him to run stats on three point shooting volatility.

~LSU: d'Bayou Bengals can't d'buy a d'beignet, much less a d'W, cher, right now, despite having apparently this d'season's best OAD in d'Ben Simmons.

~Aggravated DUI 4 Ex-DUKIE DUHON: Marshall Assistant Coach Chris Duhon got an aggravated DUI, a stiffer penalty than a DUI, and got suspended. Here are 4 possible categories of aggravated DUI.

Aggravated Based on BAC
In some jurisdictions, a BAC that is significantly higher than the legal limit of 0.08 percent may result in an aggravated DUI. The exact BAC that triggers an aggravated DUI varies depending on state law, but generally ranges from 0.15 percent on up.

Aggravated Based on Prior Offenses
Depending on the jurisdiction, an aggravated DUI may be charged when the driver has been convicted of prior DUIs. Some states are more lenient than others, but the general range is two or more prior offenses in the last three to 12 years.

Aggravated Based on Concurrent Charges
An aggravated DUI can also be based on the driver committing multiple infractions simultaneously. This may involve any number of moving violations such as failure to signal, failure to maintain a single lane of travel or failure to stop. The concurrent charges could also be as simple as driving with no insurance or driving with a suspended, revoked or otherwise invalid license.

Aggravated Based on Accident
An accident that results in injury or death may be charged as an aggravated DUI in some jurisdictions. The injuries may be to passengers, bystanders or another driver.

Aggravated Based on Presence of Minor(s)
An aggravated DUI based on the presence of minors may involve a number of scenarios. In some jurisdictions, driving while under the influence in a school zone, regardless of the speed involved, can result in an aggravated DUI. In most, the presence of a minor in the vehicle will trigger the higher charge; this includes operating a school bus.

No word found on which category may have applied to Duhon.

~After Black Monday, only 9 ESPN Top 100 recruits, plus 5-star Thon Maker, remain to be signed.

~Wow, Colorado's Tory Miller apparently took Coach Tad Boyle's exhortations to scratch, and bite and give it every thing the guys had a little too literally. In a scramble on the floor for a 50/50 ball, Miller literally bit the shoulder of an Air Force player. Watch this. Not quite Mike Tyson/Evander Holyfield stuff, but still more than a love nibble.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:14230866 ↗

~Never forget the NCAA's Short-Handed Rule:

Rule 3, Section 2, Article 2 of the NCAA rulebook states "each team may continue to play with fewer than five players when all other squad members are not eligible or able to play." Article 3 continues, "when there is only one player participating for a team, that team shall forfeit unless the referee believes that both teams have an opportunity to win."

@Crimsonorblue22

Hell, I can't even sleep!

@Crimsonorblue22

Damn, and he can just do it over and over again!!!!!!

It is amazing how easy he makes that look.

I remember having to stand next to high hurdles when I was in the jump group on my high school track team and doing hops back and forth across the high hurdles. We used to have to do five over and back. I always thought sure that was going to be the way I would die. But those two blocks, though much more forgiving than those old metal and wood high hurdles, are probably a good bit higher.

Go, Cheick, go!!!!!1

@HighEliteMajor

That's incredible. Thanks for hardening it into numbers. I had no recollection of how well he had showed earlier in his career.

What the hell was Self doing NOT starting him?!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's put Self in some double jeopardy with the way back machine!!!!!!

Hey, was this shades of things to come, or what?

Kaun had no knees at all Kaun's last two seasons, and Self was playing him ahead of D-Block.

Man, would we have been on his case, or what, had we had good stats back in those days?

Bill, HEM and I are calling you out on D-Block!!!!

There is NO statute of limitations this stuff!!!!!! :-)

@HighEliteMajor

Thanks for the props.

Now, regarding that '88 team, LB started a huge portion of the future of basketball that year, didn't he?

Coaching staff: Head coach Larry Brown (1 NBA title)
Assistant coach R. C. Buford (Spurs, 5 NBA titles* )
Assistant coach Alvin Gentry (HC Clippers, Suns, Pelicans)
Assistant coach Ed Manning (Spurs asst coach and scout)
Assistant coach Mark Turgeon (HC at WSU, TAM, and Maryland)
And wasn't Calipari washing jocks for that team?

And since Buford took over as GM for Popa, who was also one of LBs gang, with the Spurs in 1992, look at the personnel the Spurs have spun off.

Mike Brown, Spurs assistant coach for 2000–2003, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach 2005-10, 2013–14, Los Angeles Lakers head coach 2011–12.
P. J. Carlesimo, Spurs assistant coach for 2002–2007, Portland Trail Blazers head coach 1994-1997, Golden State Warriors head coach 1997-99, Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder head coach 2007-08, Brooklyn Nets interim head coach 2012-13.
Mike Budenholzer, Spurs assistant coach for 1996–2013, Atlanta Hawks head coach 2013–present.
Avery Johnson, former Spurs player 1991, 1994–2001, Dallas Mavericks head coach 2004-08, 2006 Coach of the Year, 2010-12 New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets
Vinny Del Negro, former Spurs player 1992-1998, Chicago Bulls head coach 2008-10, Los Angeles Clippers head coach 2010-13.
Monty Williams, former Spurs player 1996-1998, New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans head coach 2010–present.
Jacque Vaughn, former Spurs player 2006–2009, Spurs assistant coach 2010-12, Orlando Magic head coach 2012–present.
Brett Brown, Spurs assistant coach 2007-2013, Philadelphia 76ers head coach 2013–present.
Steve Kerr, former Spurs player 1999-2001, 2002-2003, Golden State Warriors head coach 2014–present.
Sam Presti, Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder general manager 2007–present.
Danny Ferry, former Spurs player 2000-2003, middle management level at Spurs 2003-05, Cleveland Cavaliers general manager 2005-10, Spurs Vice President of Basketball Operations 2010–12, Atlanta Hawks general manager 2012–2015.
Dell Demps, former Spurs player 1995–1996, New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans general manager 2010–present.
Kevin Pritchard, Spurs scout 2001–2003, Indiana Pacers general manager 2011–present.
Lance Blanks, Spurs scout 2000–2002, Phoenix Suns general manager 2010–13.
had more highly successful personalities on it than most teams.

And of course Turg has rebuilt Wichita State, took Texas A&M up a notch from Billy, and has Maryland on a roll.

And then there were these incredible players on the 1988 team, who have all just seemed to be incredibly successful in all kinds of fields. But Pritchard and Newton come quickly to mind as major NBA front office guys. And Danny took Tulsa up a notch, and now has Wake Forest on the right track.

And Piper and Gurley running around Lawrence being local successes. And I am sure I am leaving several out.

It is freaking insane what Brown put together in Lawrence.

And in his spare time he and his staff created Late Night, which became the model for all of these crazy high production value first practices of the new season at schools all over the country.

Seminal. Just flipping seminal.

@wrwlumpy

"Four to five years sitting next to Greg Gurley would probably drive me into retirement."--Self

Coach Self gets his first PHOF!!!!!!!!