🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@KJD Thank you

@bskeet Do the 1 and 2 sees get byes? I thought the top 6 teams got byes in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. Have they changed the format?

@drgnslayr I wish I could award multiple up votes on a post.

@KU-Flyer Can't fix the problems of the team, but I sure know the solution to "old gray hair". Found it a few years ago and have not had a gray day since. Comes in a bottle--highly recommended.

@jaybate-1.0 Ah, the voice of reason. A couple of great posts on this and the other thread. I appreciate it, because I am still in my pacing and muttering mode from last night.

I think we will hold serve at home, but I am very doubtful about going to Oklahoma and winning.

As far as back to the basket goes (and I am really not an analyst, so correct me if I'm wrong), I think Iowa State might well win the conference this year without a classic "back to the basket" guy. Sometimes they play with all 5 players outside.

@HighEliteMajor I hope you can get some sleep. I am going to be pacing the floor and muttering for awhile.

@drgnslayr Couldn't agree more. I hope Coach Self is happy with the way his square pegs look in the round holes. Many people have said "Live by the three, die by the three." I would rather die by the three--with some honest offense built around it--than die the way we died tonight. Outcoached by Weber: I may throw up.

Well now I can enjoy Disney World with my grandchildren this March, because I sure won't be having to seek out sports bars to watch the Jayhawks.

@DoubleDD Absolutely agree.

@drgnslayr Scary! Thanks for reminding me again why we are fortunate at KU.

@jaybate-1.0 Sorry about the anger statement attributed to you. Sometimes get my gurus mixed up.

@jaybate-1.0 Wow. Honored to have my name in the title. Certainly Coach Self has a sterling track record, but--referring to some of your other posts, do you ever wonder if lesson teaching is another word for anger, and offensive philosophy is just another words for stubbornness? I don't want Coach Self to change completely (I do know how lucky we are to have him at Kansas), I would just like him to move a bit. 15 3-point attempts might have gotten the job done.

@cragarhawk Thanks, I was sure it had to be something like that. We couldn't possibly be THAT stupid.

@jaybate-1.0 Perhaps some time we will all get tired of beating this horse that Self has declared dead. WHY, WHY, WHY, coach? Your team shoots a better percentage of threes than twos.. 3>2, yes indeed. I think we are seeing ample proof that this team is not going to grow substantially or get better from close in before the end of the season.

@drgnslayr I have a question for anyone who was watching more carefully than I. I deleted the game as soon as the buzzer sounded. When we had the ball and a one point lead, I though there were 30 seconds to go--this is what I may be mistaken about. If this is so, why in the world did we shoot? They would have had to foul us, and the outcome couldn't possibly have been worse. It seems so obvious, that I know I must be mistaken.

@RockChalkinTexas And the people say, Amen. Didn't see that article. Thanks for posting.

@jaybate-1.0 I wish I had seen this before I started a thread. As usual, you said it better and more entertainingly. I think Coach Self may be the most stubborn man on the planet. As I said elsewhere, my jaw was dropping over some of those post-game remarks of his.

I have never started a thread before--only replied, but I was awake last night thinking about this. I watched Coach Self in the post game interviews, and my jaw was dropping. The man has the best three-point shooting team in the conference, and he is positively glum about it. He also has the team with the second worst two-point percentage in the conference, but he thinks we need to play inside-out because some day "just making shots" is going to let us down. It seems like simple math to me, but I always thought that the team who scored the most points won.

HEM and several others have developed this topic far batter than I , so I won't belabor the point, but I think that it is common sense to play to your strengths. No one is saying to stop getting easy twos, but they have been slow in coming this year. I believe Coach is forcing square pegs into round holes, and that is what is foolish. Also, the team seems to be happier when the game is more open.

Greene took THREE three-point shots last night. In the course of a game how many does Forte take? If Greene were playing for Coach K or for Hoiberg, how many would he take?

There is not much point in hitching a race horse to a plow. I have the greatest respect for those that pull plows, they made this country bloom. This year we have race horses: let them run. They might not go far enough, or they might win the Derby.

@wrwlumpy You add so much to my enjoyment of reading these threads. Thank you for all the great pictures.

@icthawkfan316 Agree about that KU-UK Championship game. The team was so short-handed that year, and Coach Self did such a great job. I was ecstatic when they made the Final Four, and not TOO down after the championship game.

@drgnslayr I have been carrying this burden since 1997. I had a sterling silver Jayhawk pendant on a chain. On my way to a friend's house to watch the Arizona game, I twisted the chain and it broke. I couldn't wear the pendant. It is my fault that we lost that game. I still think it was the greatest KU team ever. Thanks for giving me the courage to get this off my chest.

@jaybate-1.0 A one point win may be elegant, but I'll take a 20 point win every time--much easier on my heart and blood pressure. I'm sure some of those one point wins have taken years off my life (not as much as losses have). I expect at the end, I will vote that it has been worth it.

@brooksmd I spent a career teaching every level of biology from remedial to AP at "indoctrination" centers. I coached academic teams and spent countless hours before and after school helping students who were struggling. Our indoctrination center did not get to pick and choose our students, but we did the best we could for everyone who came. Yes, some of us didn't do a good job, but most of us worked our tails off for low pay and precious little respect from the public. I kept the parents of my students informed. We welcomed volunteer help when we could get it. Sorry, I know this is a basketball site, but I found that remark deeply offensive.

@wrwlumpy Thanks for the picture. PLEASE don't take this a some kindof political remark everyone, but it is not often that you see the president in a picture where he looks short! I thought it was amusing.

@jaybate-1.0 Hadrian did build the wall marking the northern border of the empire. I will concede your point about how well that worked. He also rebuilt the Parthenon and built the Temple of Venus and Roma. I still thing the "one brick at a time" is good advice.

I did try to get kids hyped up for certain competitions. Sometimes it worked. Often it was more about who they had just broken up with. Thank goodness I preceded most of the social media and texting and twittering insanity!

Game face on for tonight, and Wednesday, and Saturday, and next Monday . . . RCJH

@jaybate-1.0 I believe it was Hadrian who said, when asked how he was going to build (or rebuild) Rome. "Brick by brick, my friend," One game at a time is all you can play. The first order of business is to root like mad for the Longhorns tonight, but either way, ONE of those two teams will pick up another loss. I never coached (except academic teams) but I taught high-schoolers. You bring your best game as a teacher, see that they have all the skills, and do all you can to motivate, Deep down, it is up to them. A week from tomorrow, we should know a lot more.

@BeddieKU23 I was just about to post the exact some thing about the free throw shooting,

I hear that several of you have been under the weather. I had gall bladder surgery and a minor hernia repair yesterday. In at 6:00 am and home by eleven. I had to fit it in between KU games. I win.

Seriously, I hope all of you feel better soon.

@jaybate-1.0 Yep, 18-20 hours, and if you come back as a lion, the females of the pride will do all the work of hunting.

@jaybate-1.0
I volunteer at the Kansas City Zoo and spend a lot of time at the various big cats exhibits. I know a lot more about big cats than I do about basketball. I really enjoyed your analogy. Big cats sleep 18-20 hours a day. Maybe Perry is about to wake up and go hunting. Hope so.

Love the Roosevelt quote.

I hope you are correct. I tend to look upon you as the man with the crystal (basket)ball. However, I also recall that Bill Self said , when Graham was hurt, that we were going to see more of Evan Manning. I am starting to take the things he says with a bucket of salt. Since I am one of Perry's biggest fans and have been worried about him, I will be cheering loudly when this prediction comes true.

There was a quote from Ellis in the same article that is very telling. He said he was trying to work on going out and having fun. It seems so like him to have to "work on" this.

@drgnslayr I agree with much of what you say about building a basketball player. I don't believe Perry has the makings of a professional ball player, although I hope he proves me wrong if that is what he wants. I do believe he has the makings of a successful human being. He has brains, he will have a degree, and, from what I understand, he is a good person.

I, too, have been very frustrated by Ellis' play this season, but I would be willing to bet that the most frustrated person of all is Perry himself.

I believe that last year Jaybate said that Ellis played like a "furiously committed Trappist monk" (excuse me if I am misquoting you, Jaybate, or not giving credit to the proper person). I though that was the best summing-up phrase ever. You do not become the valedictorian of your class and achieve that level of athletic success without being driven from within or without. This year he looks depressed to me. I think his body language is very telling. I love all the nicknames that the players are given, but I would like to see them limited to positive ones. How would we feel if the students in the opposing bleachers started chanting "butterfingers" at him (or at Lucas)?

On a totally different subject, why did Alexander receive the technical? I have seen other players do the same. Did he mouth off at someone? If so, it was not obvious on television. Trappist Monk, he is not!

Spot on, as always, Jaybate. I was literally screaming at the television for Self to get Mason out of there and put Manning (or anyone) in. My heart was in my throat when Mason pulled up lame at one point.

Having declared that Mason was the team's most valuable player, Self uses him like some kind of draft horse. Having also said that Manning should get more playing time, Self forgets about him until there are 2-3 possessions to go in the game.

I propose that one of the assistant coaches be given the sole task during the game, of reminding Coach Self of who is available on the bench, and why they should come in. If Self puts said player in, he can be given a treat. Designated Coach should also have a little clicker or whistle available as an event marker. Enough clicks and treats and Self should get the idea. It works for animal training.

@wrwlumpy Tastes differ, so this is certainly not a put down, but would you please tell me what you like about Bill Rafferty? Personally, I would rather listen to:
1. nails on a chalkboard
2. a violin played by a beginner
3. Dick Vitale

Is he a good analyst in your opinion? In what way? I can't understand him half the time, so perhaps you can give me some insight to help the next time he covers a KU game.

@dylans I quit on the Kentucky game and stuck with this one. Clearly I am the difference maker in all this.

Hello everyone. Infrequent poster, but avid reader. This was great stuff, as always Jaybate, but I am interested in your reverse case scenario. I'm not so sure that Florida would have come away with a win, because I am not sure any two of their players would have stepped up to the line and hit free throws like the two frosh did. That was beautiful to watch. I have pneumonia and am not supposed to exert myself too much. I did a lot of pounding the sofa cushions last night! Too old for games like this. Donovan is a class act.

@ralster Thanks for the great analysis and a great trip down memory lane. Guard play is my favorite part of the game, and we have had some stellar examples . Of them all, I believe Russell Robinson was my favorite. He had such a tough freshman year and overcame it to become one of the great ones at KU. I still play the DVD of the championship season occasionally. What I especially miss are all the steals that Robinson and Chalmers made. You could count on several a game. Ah, nostalgia . . .

@ParisHawk You are exactly right about the people on this site. Thanks to all of you who set this up and who post regularly. I know you put in a lot of time. I have learned a great deal from reading your viewpoints. I have appreciated not being ridiculed, and I have been inordinately proud when I have gotten a "favorite." It has been lots of fun.

@globaljaybird Good points.

@drgnslayr I absolutely agree with everything you said. I normally do not attack the coaching, letting Self's record speak for itself, but I honestly believe he was out coached in this game. What in the world had Frankamp done to earn bench time most of the second half? It is not as if anyone else was doing any better. Even so, he almost pulled it off, but by the time he came in, it was too late.

@Crimsonorblue22 Thanks for the link. Tears flowing here. I am going to try to remember this the next time I think I am having a bad day.

@Wishawk Great post. I hope you are right about the "3-bombs", but I am afraid it might be "wish"ful thinking. Sorry--couldn't resist the pun.

@drgnslayr It never occurred to me that The New York Times would cheat. That said, what I don't know about technology would fill volumes.

@bskeet Let's hear it for intelligence in a point guard.

@jaybate 1.0 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html?_r=0 ↗
Great quiz from the New York Times which identifies where you come from down to the city. I took it and it had me in Overland Park, through Des Moines, which is close enough to be scary. I thought others might enjoy taking it.

@Crimsonorblue22 I believe you are correct. Can't believe I left him out!

@HighEliteMajor Wiggens had me at hello, when he announced his commitment to Kansas at his school with ONE hometown reporter there.
If we are going to praise the tattoo-less, let's also give a shout out to Ellis, Lucas, and Seldon! Maybe starting a trend? Probably says a lot about their homes. Having said that, there are lots of KU players that I have loved that were covered in tats: Robinson and Releford come to mind.

@Hawk8086 I saw the game at Sprint Center. You are spot on.

@drgnslayr I posted this elsewhere, but this seems a more appropriate place: A couple of weeks ago I said that Tarik Black was rapidly rising on my list of favorite players. Someone asked me why. My reply was disjointed and not well thought out. After watching the Texas Tech game and the senior speeches, I don't have to say another thing. I rest my case. Thanks, Tarik, and as the logic professors say: QED.

I totally agree. A couple of weeks ago someone asked me why I had said that Tarik was rapidly rising on my list of favorite players. I gave a somewhat disjointed and hurried reply. Now I can rest my case. QED, Tarik.

@drgnslayr Absolutely! I would be happy to get on the bus, and I will bring embroidery scissors. It might take longer, but it will look superb in the end. Thanks for the laugh.