🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@wrwlumpy

One more thing.

KU would not be so short, if Self were to convince Svi to play like a Bobby Jones from North Carolina back in another century.

Svi is listed at 6-8 and he is pretty solid after Hudy. He seems much more comfortable in his body this season. His problem is that he is playing the 4 like a combo guard.

Bobby Jones was a perpetual motion machine. He guarded, he ran the floor, he constantly worked for garbage, and he could drive either handed.

I believe this is the kind of player Svi can be and that this team needs now. Forget Larry Bird. Forget the trey. Think scrambling, tireless Bobby Jones. Jones wore defenders down with constant motions.

Self had Svi was doing this against Stanford. The weave is made for Svi, but only if he ceases and desists with all this three point emphasis. We need Svi driving off the weave and getting to the line. Svi should be our third option.

Devonte. Take whatever they give him every play, else dish.

Udoka. Dunk, dunk, dunk.

Svi. Drive, drive, drive. Then when Preston gets back, Preston comes in and does the same only more so. Two Bobby Jones.

Vick, trey, trey, trey! Take it every time he is open. No matter how deep. The guy is a hugely underrated shooter. He could easily be our first option this season, but this team needs to become our trifectate. The guy can shoot lights out. He's also a great do everything player. He should be the first option next season. He should be getting 20 FGAs per game. But this season? This team needs a killer trifectate, which was what Malik was supposed to be but isn't for a variety of reasons.

Malik needs to become glue. He is the most talented glue player KU has ever had. He could be first or second option next season. But this season, the team will work best with him at glue. and taking the trey off the infrequent reversals.

This team is going to look waaaaaaaaaaay better after THE WEEK OF GETTING BETTER. Self is going to fine tune the roles as soon as he has a better idea of who will arrive when.

What the hell, I have been very pessimistic about this team, while it has been shorthanded.

But I now feel a crack in the door. I feel this team can run to daylight, if they will quit relying on Svi to be a fourth guard and stop him shooting so many treys. Drive the ball. Get to the foul line with Svi. Everyone else keep playing the game they are playing. Svi's too streaky to put him in that role when of 6-9 3ptas. He will break out shortly and go 7-7 from trey, but he's too volatile even though he proved he can shoot 40%. We need a steadier 40% and have it in Devonte and Vick. We need Svi to run 4s ragged on offense, so they are not so likely to exploit him on defense.

Hell, I will predict another title, if we can get Preston and de Sousa out on the floor by TCU. But if Preston and de Sousa don't get here till February 1, or February 15, we are likely not to win another title.

@wrwlumpy

They have been wrong so many times.

They are fake news.

But it does look very bleak for the boys in blue.

But Self has two hat rabbits in Preston and De Sousa.

Its not that they are so good.

Its that they are just exactly what he needs for reserves and they are both probably good enough to be those reserves.

Could Preston and de Sousa be great? Yes, but next year.

North American Committee Nominations

Mark Aguirre (PLA)
Ray Allen (PLA)
Chauncey Billups (PLA)
Muggsy Bogues (PLA)
Irv Brown (REF)
Jim Burch (REF)
Maurice Cheeks (PLA)
Charles "Lefty" Driesell (COA)
Hugh Evans (REF)
Steve Fisher (COA)
Bill Fitch (COA)
Cotton Fitzsimmons (COA)
Richard Hamilton (PLA)
Tim Hardaway (PLA)
Ed Hightower (REF)
Grant Hill (PLA)
Bob Huggins (COA)
Kevin Johnson (PLA)
Marques Johnson (PLA)
Bobby Jones (PLA)
Jerry "Tiger" Jones (COA)
Gene Keady (COA)
Ken Kern (COA)
Jason Kidd (PLA)
Rollie Massimino (COA)
Gary McKnight (COA)
Danny Miles (COA)
Sidney Moncrief (PLA)
Dick Motta (COA)
Steve Nash (PLA)
Jake O'Donnell (REF)
Jim Phelan (COA)
Lamont Robinson (PLA)
Lee Rose (COA)
Bo Ryan (COA)
Bob Saulsbury (COA)
Jack Sikma (PLA)
Steve Smith (COA)
Harry Statham (COA)
Eddie Sutton (COA)
Rudy Tomjanovich (COA)
Ben Wallace (PLA)
Chris Webber (PLA)
Willie West (COA)
Paul Westphal (PLA)

MY LIST

Mark Aguirre (PLA)--Kind of a jerk, but he could ball.
Ray Allen (PLA)--All time great. Period.
Chauncey Billups (PLA) Anyone that can rise above Colorado and win a pro ring for LB has to get in.
Muggsy Bogues (PLA)--One of the games greatest small men.
Marques Johnson (PLA)--Dominant college player.
Eddie Sutton (COA)--bottle problems, never winning a ring, and the scandal at UK will keep a lot of people from voting for him, but he was arguably the second greatest coach of his generation behind Knight. And his version of Iba's 3-2 high-low showed that Dean's and Larry's 1-2-2 version was not the only way, and not even necessarily the best way to play it. Plus he took Arkansas, Kentucky and Okie State Deep in the Madness won a ton of games, even quite a few at Creighton. Eddie had demons. Lots of BHOF members had demons. Several of the other coaches that are accomplished only 2/3s, or 3/4s what Eddie did. The kid from Bucklin belongs in the Hall.

West Virginia is my pick for team to beat. My main reason for picking them is HC Bob Huggins, who has aged well, and seems to understand the strengths and charisma of his own personality better and better. Coach Huggins was a serious bad boy, for public consumption, for a lot of years. He reputedly had some bottle issues, but I always felt, despite the violent streak of his style of game, and his willingness to kick opponents when they were down, that there was a man inside that loved the game. He is wearing lighter colored clothing this season, showing some emotion, and saying the right things. He wants in the Hall of Fame this season for sure. But he also appears to have discovered as the years have that the game and WVU have a place for The Marlon Brando of College Basketball. I compare Huggins to Brando not just because of his volcanic emotion that seems always on the verge of eruption, but in fact rarely does, but rather because like Brando he has been able to harness his animal fury to commitment to technique. And he has done so not to impress, and dazzle, but to get to the essence of his role and the essence of the game. I would never coach the physical intimidation and aggression that Huggins, along with Izzo and Knight have brought to the game, because I think the essence of the game lies closer to balance of athleticism and fierceness. At the same time, I do not deny that basketball can be played and played well the way Huggins has taken in. Huggins coming into the Big 12 was yet another lucky break for Bill Self. Self has coached against a lot of good coaches in the Big 12, but Huggins is the only great one. And there is nothing like having to compete against greatness to force a coach to find his highest level. Would I prefer Bill Self's approach, even if the coaches switched schools? Yes. But could I get behind Bob Huggins and say, "There are more ways than one to skin a cat, and Bob's way has been proven over time." Huggins is interviewed at the following link about the possibility of the HOF. The most interesting part of the interview is Huggins saying what all good coaches say; that he has been blessed with great players. But the defining thing Huggins says is in paraphrase: I have recruited a lot of guys that no one wanted and that proved they could play with the best. THAT is the essence of Bob Huggins. Lots of great coaches could his'n and beat your'n and your'n and beat his'n. But Bob Huggins tried and often succeeded in taking no one's guys, and beating your'n, and their'n and anyone'n that got in the way. Watch these interviews and see how intense and sharp this guy really is.

http://wvusports.com/news/2017/12/21/mens-basketball-huggins-eligible-candidate-for-the-class-of-2018.aspx ↗

The dark horse is between OU and TCU. I pick TCU. I know Lonnie will field a good team and might even win it. But Jamie Dixon is on a mythic mission. He is something like Huggins in this one regard. He has proven he can win big, but now he wants to do the Odysseus thing and come home and see if he can do it there on his own terms for the place that gave him his shot. Dixon also coaches a kind of ball that Self has had trouble with in the past. He was Ben Howland's assistant at one time and then took over Pitt when Howland left for the UCLAN. Pitt never missed a beat when Dixon took over. Howland and Dixon took that Mountain West style of game and hybridized it with long exposure to the Big East warfare, and it was like Howland and Dixon ran it through a Bessemer Process to toughen pig iron into a steel alloy. Howland caught Self off guard in the NCAA's with the hack'n'slap trick. Dixon was tough with almost nothing his first season at TCU. He's gotten a few players in and his returning guys know what he's about now. If Dixon can find an angle of attack that's fresh to go with his physical game, he, like Izzo, coaches the blunt, head on style, with a Joe Frazier style of getting in close to take some punches and find some weaknesses, that Self's teams often struggle with. They take Self's teams straight to grind. They are designed to grind every game, rather than designed to grind when that is what is given. Dixon's and Izzo's grinds are who they are. Self's grind is a subset of play it anyway they want. Play it any way they want is who we are on Self's team.

The conference season comes after Christmas. The myth of conference basketball goes from away in the manger, to stuck on a cross in April, with some miracles on the road, and some amazing things happening in that building at home. Facing a round robbin with a good Huggins team and a good Dixon team blocking our way 4 times, call this: Grinding to Golgotha.

Or does Bill have Charlie and two five start point guards coming?

If it were the latter, what would become of Charlie?

@drgnslayr

PHOF

Azuibuke to red shirt to make way for future hall of gamers Preston and de Sousa!!!

Sigh.

Preston’s jersey pre-hung in rafters.

Cough.

Sigh.

DeSousa projected to break Wilt chamberlain’s First game a record for points and rebounds .

Sigh

It is quite likely that Preston and Desousa will turn out to be the two greatest players in the history of basketball the moment they arrive.

Sigh.

Si.

Sue.

Sigh.

Triple and quadruple sigh.

Inter dimensional Buffer 1

There is no question.

Preston will lead the team in scoring and rebounding the moment he returns.

De Sousa will start immediately and redefine post play as we know it.

John Brennan will incorporate the Deep State and buy digital sign board ads on Times Square claiming to have framed Trump.

Pyramids will cease to be used by the Freemasons.

Elvis is ALIVE!!!!

😀

JayHawkFanToo said:

@jaybate-1.0

No agreement from me. 17-18 year old players are quite different than 19-20 year old players. All things being equal, a 17 year old is nowhere close to a 20 year old. You can howl all you want but it does not change the facts.

Preston has been with program since the summer and he is as as conditioned as any of the players and DeSousa has been playing at a basketball prep academy where preparing players for the next level is mission 1. Bagley is 1.5 years younger and Ayton half a year younger than Preston and they are both domination with no problems; Azubuike is younger than all of them and he is doing just fine. There is no reason why Preston or DeSousa could not do the same. considering how long he has been in the program.

NO AGREEMENT? SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!

Howling! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😃😃😃

@drgnslayr

Agreed, Doke is getting better by the minute!

@HawkChamp

Thx for assist on Trae.

Trouble.

@REHawk

Not 5. 4 maybe.3 most likely.

WVU and TCU will be tough.

WVU and TCU will each beat us once on our 30% trey nights. Add an upset during a flu or injury game. That’s three.

Give us Preston and de Sousa and we are down to 2 losses.

If we fall to 5 losses, WVU or TCU. Higgs and Dixon tough outs for Bill.

Dixon’s Frogs would hop away with it,

3 losses max.

@BeddieKU23

Frank is in the big time, but still looked like himself. Go, Frank, go!

@KUSTEVE

It was not as close as the score. Self dealt Jerrod some professional curtesy. Looked like we could have boarded a little and made its 30 point win easily.

@wissox

And the purple floor—really hideous!

The first two B12 games--Texas and Texas Tech--on December 29th and January 2 will introduce our players to B12 ball, and playing through present returns, hangovers and insufficient sleep. I believe our team has the character fight the return lines, go to bed early, and drink in moderation. I believe wins can be expected, along with a few sore muscles and joint aches.

Where the Birds get a TEAM CHECKUP to see how far they have developed, should come with the TCU and ISU games that are scheduled as a 2 in 4 set with TCU on the road Saturday, January 6, and Iowa State in AFH Tuesday, January 8. The good news is they are home for the second game.

TCU is coached by hard nosed Jamie Dixon and Dixon already has Self's number. Also, TCU is off to an 11-0 start with wins over New Mexico, SMU (Janks), and Nevada. Not great competition, for sure, but not horrible either. Road game in that legendary (?) Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth. The good news is the Horned Hoppers could be stem wound by the time they meet us having played OU and Baylor previously. Still, I think TCU will give us a good taste of smash mouth and a well drilled team.

Following TCU, we fly home and get our usual Iowa State rush at home. ISU is 9-2, but they have played a lousy schedule and lost to Fizzourah of all chumps. So: why do I think this will be a good check point? We will be coming home, hopefully over confident from beating TCU, a short rest, and a little beat up, maybe even with a little flu. ISU just ingests some kind of Screw KU opioids every season, and so we will have to win one laboring. If we can win a smash mouth game against TCU, and labor for one vs. ISU, the team would seem to have the character to deal with the adversity that inevitably unfolds in places like Morgantown.

We should also have Preston and De Sousa on board by then, if they are coming at all, and we will have a pretty good idea from those games what those two players could be expected to do for us through the late January-early February grind. Oh, my, I so hope we don't have to go to Morgantown without Preston and De Sousa!!!!

Rock Chalk!

This was a tale of one center giving a dunking clinic, one center being dunked on, and two perimeters giving a mediocrity clinic.

The Dunker aka Udoka Azuibuke, went 12 for 15. He didn't bother with FTs, going 0-2. Stanford decided to reject all film evidence regarding the benefits of fouling Azuibuke, and instead fouled our best FTs most of the time. It was an odd strategic choice by Jerrod Haase, who proved himself a coach more interested in executing his system than adapting it. At a place like Stanford that is a recipe for a short tenure.

The two perimeters had the turnover equivalents of productive coughs (KU 11, SU 14), fouled each other quite a lot for a relatively slow, 61 FGA game, and matched each other with tenacious FT defense (low 50% range by both teams). KU's perimeter won the stealing game +3.

Inside, the edge in scoring effficiency was, of course, all KU. But Stanford amazingly was +1 in blocks. In rebounding, KU continued to approach the glass indifferently; i.e., as a category to dabble in, but not to dominate. Stanford was actually +2 on the glass for the game. Completely inexplicably, given KU having a footer and Stanford and KU shooting only low 30% range from trifectaville, Stanford kicked KU's butts on the offensive glass +6.

Clearly KU has decided to guard opponent's shooting percentages down, and then guard them some more, rather than guard them and then rebound. It is not an easy strategy to make sense of, but it seems to distill to this. We aren't very good at rebounding. But we can guard. If we can just keep guarding them hard, and letting them have enough second shots at low percentages, sooner or later we will get the rebound just by chance. I am not sure how this will work against better teams than Stanford.

My feeling was that the two previous losses to Washington and Arizona State ranked as conclusive evidence that our small ballers need to take rebounding slightly more seriously. But that bump in seriousness was no where visible versus Stanford. Might I recommend that the team spend some time on glass vaccing practice during the week of getting better? No, no, no. I can't suggest improvement in a fundamental of the sport after a 21 point win. That sounds churlish. Still, just between us, giving most teams plus 6 on the offensive glass could mean some more of those unsightly L's on the schedule summary, if unaddressed.

Both benches did give clinics in anti-impacting. It was actually impressive how many persons were rotated in without so much as a ripple of impact on the basketball lake.

KU won, because it Doked Stanford, and because Devonte and Vick were a combined 5 for 8 from trey.

It all worked out pretty well for KU, which won 75-54.

Yes, Stanford sucked and Jerrod Haase needs to forget everything Roy taught him about basketball, emulate Bill Self, get some players and foul a center that makes FTs around 50% of the time, instead of letting him shoot 12 of 15 (80%) literally from inside the rim itself .

The take away?

Never, never, never, never, EVER let Bill Self play 70 point take what they give us giving him his footer just dunking it.

That Canis lupus familiaris does NOT hunt.

Put another way: don't let KU Doke you.

Rock Chalk!

First, I am a life long hater of nepotism in most cases. It ruins firm cultures all the time.But there are certain circumstances when nepotism makes sense. Strategy without flexibility is insanity. Snyder's kid has a chance to continue all of the myriad relationships that Snyder used to build his program. No other coach will have those relationships without Snyder Senior's blessing. Period. For every move, there is a counter move. No matter what they do to Snyder, it will do them more harm than doing what he wants. And what is so bad with giving a brilliant coach that has saved your bacon again and again what he wants. So: since KSU needs that Snyder blessing, KSU needs to do what Snyder wants ASAP. Walk down the path. If his kid is a bozo, Snyder will be driving the value of the Power Cat franchise to zero. Snyder doesn't want to do that. What Snyder wants to do is get his kid's resume and HC on it, and worst case get his kid a little buyout money. So: fire him after two years.

But I really don't think they will have to fire him after two years. Snyder will be sitting in his wheel chair miked up to his son's earbuds and Snyder will be calling most of the shots. That means KSU will have 2-3 good years with Snyder Senior in Snyder Juniors ear buds; then Snyder Senior will have a stroke, or infarct, and they can ease Snyder Junior out then.

Really, this should have all happened four seasons ago. Waiting for Snyder to get too sick to continue is unseemly. Bad karma.

Regarding the Power Cat logo and licensing. That is completely inconsequential. If the program sucks, then sticking with that merchandizing brand will quickly be worth very little. They can just tell Snyder enjoy the logo, the school is getting a new one and new endorsement and merchandizing contracts, too.

I've always hated that logo myself. Its derivative of the Iowa Hawkeyes logo that Snyder brought with him in his head from his Iowa City days assisting Hayden Frye. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_Hawkeyes#/media/File:Iowa_Hawkeyes_logo.svg ↗

Worse, it looks just like the Seattle Seahawks logo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Seahawks#/media/File:Seattle_Seahawks_logo.svg ↗

But we are dealing with the sodbusters here and it was an accident that they ever got good in the first place.

Most likely they will recede into oblivion regardless.

@DoubleDD

Roy would have made them hire Joe and would have forced him to recruit West of the Big Easy

@HighEliteMajor

😀

If Self had the quality and quantity of Nike Power talent that the Nike schools get, my guess is our injury , wear and tear, seeding, and whistle issues would equate very “symmetrically” with Nike programs, like Oregon.

😇

@BeddieKU23

Let me respond on three levels.

1. The players you mention are playing well 10-12 games in; that’s a month and a half. Our guys will begin to be effective in that length of time. Mid February.

2. De Sousa is probably not as highly ranked as many of the players you mention.

3. Preston is highly ranked, but historically the only highly ranked bigs KU signs have admissions and developmental baggage that other elite schools do not experience. Self would not be signing baggage carousel specials, if he could get the other type, right?

Great players can step KU never gets the

@DoubleDD

KSU should gladly hire Snyder’s son. They are completely ungrateful idiots if they do not. I would not hesitate a minute to hire whomever Self recommended—even if it were Tyler. Sooner or later persons like Snyder and Self have to be recognized for being orders of magnitude more savvy about running sports programming than the idiot bureaucrats they have had to labor under. If KSU DOES NOT DO EXACTLY WHAT SNYDER SAYS, KSU WILL WITHIN TWO YEARS BE AS BAD AS KU.

Wake upandsmell the manure, sodbusters!

@KUSTEVE

It looks good on paper going in, but so did the Alexander, Diallo and Preston years.

I am not unappreciative of how good we have had it. 82% to 84% is to die for.

But with the nearly unparalleled success we have enjoyed for nearly 30 years, it sticks out anomalously that we cannot sign the basic pieces required to let Self power to a ring the way Consonants, Cal and Roy have gotten to do. Just plain wrong. Self deserves one to three POWER teams that others have to get lucky to beat instead of KU always being the team that has to get lucky.

Regardless, I will work on my attitude! 😀

@drgnslayr & @nuleafjhawk

A crutch? yes.

But that is what you use, when your leg is broken, or a knee is blown.

The crutch will be set aside when/if the bench lengthens, and in March, regardless, when we are not facing two months of 2 in 3 sets.

jayballer54 said:

BShark said:

jaybate 1.0 said:

Next season brings transfers and not one but the sudden, inexplicable anomaly of two 5-Star PGs. This all fills me with apprehension about the baggage that may hit the carousel next year.

You are overthinking it. Grimes grew up a KU fan. Dotson wanted desperately to play for a blue blood program. Dotson was targeted and prioritized in his JR year by KU while UNC and Duke closed their heavy PG leans.

jaybate 1.0 said:

As for this season, I am just advocating for tempered expectations regarding what the newbies second semester will actually enable.

All this team really needs from the newbies are subs, so our starters can play hard most of the game.

The newbies could supply that after a month or two.

More than that I doubt.

I would agree with this. I don't think Preston or Silvio save this team. Just letting the starters get a bit more rest and not having to play Mitch at the 5 could help a fair bit in the long run.

if nothing else with Silvio Coach Self can use Him like he did our football walk on the other night. Coach ask him -can you do this? - He responded I don't know any of it.

Self said then just set a high screen and then roll to the basket. Hell if nothing else Silvio can do that for the first couple of weeks when he is in till he picks up on the offense, do that and get some rebounds, - make some stick back buckets and he will be ok until he can pick up the offense gives us depth and 5 more fouls anyways for a bit. - I think he will be fine. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

I WOULD AGREE WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCEPT OVERTHINKING THIS STRUCTURALLY RECURRENT PROBLEM WITH KU’S RECRUITING.

WE HAVE OBVIOUSLY UNDERTHOUGHT THE PROBLEM, BECAUSE EACH TROUGH IS LOWER AND EACH PEAK IS NOT AS HIGH.

THINGS ARE NOT GETTING BETTER. SELF KEEPS HAVING LESS AND LESS LIKELIHOOD OF REACHING A FINAL FOUR BASED ON HIS TALENT IN COMPARISON TO THE TEAMS THAT STOP US. OREGON CLEARLY HELD MUA LAST SEASON. SINCE 2012 KU KEEPS RUNNING INTO TEAMS THAT HOLD SHARP MUA AND STOP KU COLD BEFORE THE FINAL FOUR.

dylans said:

@jaybate-1.0 I still contend this years dearth of talent allows for next years influx of 5 stars. Wax and wane.

This is what board rats have been believing for years now. Sooner or later this recurring appearance of asymmetry in recruiting and the annual constraints it imposes on KU’s pursuit of rings has to become recognized as something more than annual anomalies attributable to weather, girl friends and coaching charisma elsewhere. 🙃🤨

BShark said:

It's not that hard to imagine. The FBI put some numbers out there and it's pretty much widely known that Anthony Davis took 250k.

It’s actually very hard to imagine, because based on the last year of disclosures about corruption in Washington politics and missing monies we know that figures like those you mention are often gross understatements apparently made as effective limited hangouts.

The numbers could easily be 5, 10, or 100 times that. We have no clue really. We just know the numbers released officially tend to incompletely account for the actual magnitude of what is going on.

@BShark

I find again and again that I underthink it. I underestimate how elaborate the problems of KU and college basketball are. I suspected KU would be short handed again this season, but I never dreamed it would be this acute this soon.

@dylans

I can’t recall for sure, but believe Bob Knight was quoted in “College Sports, Inc.” (1990) as indicating a top player back then cost a school willing to cheat about $150k in under the table cash over four years in those days. It’s hard to imagine what just a year of an OAD might cost some schools today!

But my deeper concern is: what if KU we’re willing to cheat and no amount of incentivewere enough to get more than the number of players KU has this season?

I want to believe there is no giving massive incentives to top players going on and that there no embargo of constraining KU recruiting. I want to believe everything is okay. But I don’t ever recall reading that the swamp in college basketball was drained between 1990 and present.

Swamps appear to be difficult things to drain, judging by the tiny numbers of persons actually being indicted and going to jail in Washington, Hollywood, New York, and Chicago, where it increasingly appears crime is rampant, but justice is scarcer than indictments for treason and pedophilia and missing trillions.

America increasingly appears a land where the price of tax relief for corporations and billionaires is swamp expansion, not swamp draining.

To paraphrase “Jerry Maguire...

Show me the convictions, Jerry!

@Crimsonorblue22

Great news!!!

I look forward to him being a fine addition, if he were to honor us with attending!

Interdimensional Buffer 1

In the midst of an apparent power struggle over control of the American Empire, a fundamental question arises.

Is it UFOs and not an apparent Petroshoeco-Agency Complex triggering KU's apparent long term recruiting woes that have lead to a season where Self has only one big man eligible to play; no OADs, or 5-star freshmen, on the perimeter; and ne depth to speak of in back court, or front court?

I feel it is important to pose this question, after the US Gubmint has recently admitted to have seriously studied the UFO phenomena from sometime in the Naught Decade of the 21st Century to sometime in the Teen Decade of the 21st Century. It follows, like interdimensionality from dimensionality, that the research that reotedly confirmed that some UFO sightings are reputedly real objects and not just figments of obervers imaginations, ought to be taken seriously.

Now before anyone leaps to any wrong conclusions, none other than Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ph.d., astrophysist, author and science communicator (according to his Wiki page) has reputedly science-communicated that just because a UFO has been found to be real does NOT mean it is alien in origin. Thank god!

Such a confirmed UFO, for instance, I suppose, could be a radio-controlled Russian drone, thus predisposing the American tax payer to support huge spending on R&D to counter the possible threat posed by confirmed UFOs.

Alterneratively, it could also be a drone flown by the Deep State as a black op enabling Russia to be cleverly implicated for deploying it, thus predisposing the American tax payer to support huge spending on R&D to counter the possible threat posed by confirmed UFOs.

It could also be a very inexpensive RadioShak drone flown by a child that received it for a birthday present, and became expert at simulating a UFO incursion into earth's atmosphere.

Or, and this is a verrrrrrrrrrrrrry slim chance, the UFO could belong to green men from Mars, or interdimensional Archon Aliens, or what have you from deep space. This scenario would of course predispose the American tax payer to support huge spending on R&D to counter the possible threat posed by confirmed UFOs.

Now, I think we all have to agree that green men from Mars likely would have little, or no, interest in asymmetrically that skews Division 1 basketball recruiting to KU's disadvantage.

But the interdimensional Archon Aliens?

That dog could hunt.

Interdimensional Archon Aliens have long been known to play a game very close to basketball in their own dimenson, wherever and whatever that dimension may be.

So: like it or not, we face a very remote possibility that just changing PetroshoeCo-Agency Complex leans and contracts may not be enough to avoid KU ever coming up as short handed as it has this season.

We are facing a very remote possibility that we may have to subordinate our sovereignty, and our ways of life in college basketball, and our post Obama Care quasi repeal, if we are ever to get KU basketball back up to 13 credible D1 scholar student-athletes.

We are also facing an even more remote possibility that interdimensional Archon Aliens telepathically gave James Naismith the original 13 rules of the game, but I digress.

I believe it is imperative now that KUBuckets.com start a fundraiser to help incorporate and endow a power summer game team called "RunARCHONalien."

Rock Chalk!!!

(Note: All fiction. No malice. For @REHawk)

@dylans

Many appear discouraged about the lack of depth.

I am discouraged about the recruiting dynamics that lead us to this lack of depth.

I don’t expect next year’s seeming greater numbers to really solve our problems either, as so many do.

I will be very happy to get Preston and De Sousa this season.

Next season brings transfers and not one but the sudden, inexplicable anomaly of two 5-Star PGs. This all fills me with apprehension about the baggage that may hit the carousel next year.

As for this season, I am just advocating for tempered expectations regarding what the newbies second semester will actually enable.

All this team really needs from the newbies are subs, so our starters can play hard most of the game.

The newbies could supply that after a month or two.

More than that I doubt.

@REHawk

Sorry Coach, but I do not follow you.

@REHawk

I’m always pretty merry and Xmas brings out the Yule cheer, but I didn’t see much vertical on the Js, or ambidexterity out side the first second in the feed. Did I miss something?

Everyone is pretty positive about him. I’m open to persuasion by THE COACH as always!

@nuleafjhawk

They want to play a 10 minute game.

You need a full roster to play 40.

KU reaches the Finals playing 10 minute games in 2012.

Maybe he should red shirt everyone but the starters?

That might get them the ring!!!!

Less is more!

Just kidding.

@drgnslayr

I just saw an X FILES promo for episodes in January.

I want to believe!

Maybe if Self hired Mulder and Scully as Belief and Skepticism Conditioning coaches?

Also, get ready for a rumored psyops wave of ACTUAL fake ambiguous news announcements about military discovery of alien life. NYT already reputedly ran one a day or two ago. It appears the new XFILES installments last year and this have been slotted for predictive programming reinforcement!!!!

Too much woke.

The bots and shills aren’t turning the tide.

It’s 1947 and NatSecAct and Roswell 2.0.

Mix with something traumatic to NorKor, or Iran.

Shake well.

Poor and garnish with paranoia.

Grab popcorn.

Watch fake evidence.

Enjoy!!!

@BeddieKU23

All the OAD bigs I can recall had rough stretches of transition early on to D1 Team play.

The scorers could score, but they had trouble fitting with the Team and vice versa.

A few had so much MUA that the team won despite the rough early transition.

But I don’t recall any that just stepped in and fitted seamlessly with their teams.

Persons forget how much UK and Duke in their long stack years struggled early with young OADs adapting. They won because of huge MUA, but played very fitfully early on.

Do you recall thing differently?

Seamless transitions to D1 starter DO NOT HAPPEN for even the best first year bigs.

More broadly, NOTHING good happens quickly in basketball, or life. It only happens suddenly, after a ton of hard work and preparation and work at fitting in.

De Sousa has put in zero hard work and preparation under Self. He has not tried to play with teammates and learn their tendencies, much less the plays. ZERO. ZIP. NADA.

Preston put in a preseason conditioning program, then a boot camp, and played ball with the team daily and he was ready to be—drumroll please—an unimpressive sub against weak competition for 15 mpg...before vehicular issues with, um, law enforcement.

Let’s keep this in perspective, shall we?

The greatest big man prospect since JABBAR—Joel Embiid—took a quarter to a half a season to hit his stride even given a very limited job description.

Josh Jackson played, but took a third of a season to really get in the flow.

KU will be lucky to get a solid 20 mpg from Preston backing up 5 and 4 spots by February. He is a scorer who has been protected from physical play his whole life and has never been forearm smashed by a blue meanie in Morgantown.

De Sousa will be a 10 mpg type for two months, unless injury forces him into a baptism of 🔥. I will say De Sousa looks strong and solid, so Self might expose him to smash mouth a little sooner.

Frankly, Sosinski might see more time than either of them, when the going gets tough in places like Morgantown.

Board rats gotta remember: this is a very violent game within 15 feet of iron and very fast in transition for newbie big men.

@Kcmatt7

All fingers and toes I have are crossed and I am saying this prayer each night:

“Now I lay me down to sleep

Praying for our bigs to keep

Themselves in silks of red and blue

Or white that somewhere, someplace have KU!!!

dylans said:

@jaybate-1-0 If it helps any I believe Silvio is 19 year old. (Or just slightly younger than Svi as the announcers will likely point out).

I know u mean well, but it doesn’t help me much.

How many years will 19 year old Svi have been practicing and playing for KU on January 1?

How many years will 19 year old Silvio have been practicing and playing for KU on January 1?

JayHawkFanToo said:

Here is an article by Andy Katz ↗ about KU and the possible play of Preston and De Souza on the NCAA website.

Here is another by Jeff Goodman ↗ about KU with comments from other coaches about KU’s issues.

By the way, DeSouza turned 19 in Octoberand Preston turned 20 also in October, not quite 17-18 year old kids.

I am positive you will obediently agree that the difference between 17-18 and 19 approaches absolute zero, when a player has never been through D1conditioning, does not know the plays, has not played a second with his teammates and is changing climates from subtropical Florida to Kansas in January.

I am waiting for submissive agreement!

HOWLING!!!!

So: today, this situation is completely unchanged from the moment Preston disappeared into the Chronosimplastic Infindibulum, except for Sosinski getting a few minutes.

Cunliffe has shown up exactly as planned is being slowly worked in.

De Sousa, despite my doubts about him being able to improve test scores significantly, is on track to get here near January 1, after which he will be an 17-18 year old big man that will begin learning the offense and trying to get in D1 condition.

Regarding Preston, Self is still saying believe--believe a student-athlete with suspected vehicle ownership issues, will turn out not to have such issues. Believe Preston will likely be back.

But let us recall some things.

1. Preston was neither starting, nor lighting things up, when he disappeared and would take a good month month to get back to that level and another month or two to become a credible 20-25 mpg big.

2. 17-18 year old big men that neither know the plays, nor have ever achieved D1 grade physical condition, are not likely to be able to do more than back up a few minutes each half.

3. Cunliffe, despite my early optimism, is a 10-15 mpg back up until next season.

So: our starting 5 is our starting five for the season.

Preston and De Sousa jointly buy us 5-10 minutes of back up each half for Doke.

Cunliffe buys us 5-10 minutes more rest per game for our wings.

My point here is this: how good we can be is how good you think our current starters are with reasonable back ups by March.

Self has been building to this scenario, not toward another kind of team.

The reason for optimism is that with reasonable backups by March, the starters can play a 4-1set at a fairly rapid pace. That should prevent defenses from hamstringing them.

The reason for pessimism is the flaws in the games of some of the starters seem likely to be there in March just the same as they are now.

But either way, with a long bench, Self will be able to begin to substitute a little to make points with players that are not listening.

@drgnslayr and @Kcmatt7

The team would clearly be better at a faster pace, but losses of Preston, and all the other guys that didn't join, or rejoin the team, make playing any faster unfeasible IMHO.

With the starting 5 playing 35-40 minutes against any decent competition, and Self trying to hedge the wear and tear of a long season, it means Self is having the team rest on the floor the way he did during the 2012 season with 6-7 guys. Self is trying to shorten games with Devonte walking it as much as possible until the last 10. Alas, the habit sometimes carries over into the last ten making them less dynamic than they should be. Self is also apparently having them walk it to try to keep Udoka on the floor as much as possible. The object is to let Udoka cruise up floor rather than run, and then set up and take a few breaths while the ball gets passed, or weaved without him a considerable length of time. We will not likely see pace pick up much until both the existing bench gets to where it can play about double the minutes its playing now, and Preston and DeSousa show up.

Regarding Preston and De Sousa, a friend of mine in Lawrence suggests there is finally some real optimism being rumored in Lawrence about Preston and De Sousa playing shortly. No factual back up for that. Just what I heard from someone else that says that's what he heard.

JayHawkFanToo said:

@elpoyo

You post here...our standards are obviously non existent. :smiley:

PHOF