I need a new t-shirt. Let’s win this!
tis4tim
1307 posts
I was worried about this matchup coming to fruition from day 1. My disgust for Duke goes back to 1986 and knows no bounds.
Watching Duke yesterday I was not impressed. If we’re on point and we are only playing 5 on 5 we beat them by 15. If we have to play the refs as well I dont think Ill be able to watch the whole game for fear of losing my cool entirely.
I want this game so badly it hurts. So does Self and company and I think this is Grahams game to shine. KU by double digits, refs notwithstanding.
I think I just saw Graham get the scent of blood before that 3 pointer.
Looking pretty good so far. Turn up the defense a little more and get Graham rolling and we’re EE bound.
I would also add Gerry (Bloody) McNamara, a career 35% 3-point shooter, hit 6 out of 10 in that 2003 game.
Throw in the Roy Williams "Should I Stay or Should I Go" stuff and it was an unmitigated disaster.
I still cringe when I see that box score and the 18(!) missed free throws, especially when the final margin was three measly points.
It was a game we simply should have had.
Jayhawk-in-OKC said:
Which year do y'all think was the biggest failure or disappointment?
Without a doubt my top disappointment is 1986 FF vs. Duke. We lost 71-67 with three starters (Greg Dreiling, Danny Manning and Cedric Hunter fouling out) and a foul discrepancy of 26-14 in favor of Duke. Hell, 2 of our reserves had 3 fouls each the reffing was so pathetic and lopsided.
This is the game where Duke implanted itself into my consciousness forever and instantly became my most hated team in college basketball history ... something that has carried forward to today. On the flip side, it's the game where I knew I bled Crimson and Blue and ended up black and blue for kicking a hole in some sheet rock at my parent's house.
1997 would take runner up. 34-1 that year before losing to Arizona. 2003 would be third due to the missed FT and losing to Syracuse, my second most-hated team.
Syracuse can suck it. Man, how I despise that team and especially Boeheim.
Welp. Kentucky’s road just got a lot easier.
That noose around Virginia’s neck is starting to get awfully tight. What a pitiful performance so far. They need to make up 16 points in 11 minutes when they’ve only scored 29 points in 29 minutes.
Gorilla72 said:
sounds like my brackets! 🙄
I hear you! I had Arizona in the FF!
Refs are killing the momentum of the WSU/Marshall finish.
Jeez, Butler 21-2 over Arkansas with 7 minutes gone in the first half.
wrwlumpy said:
When scouting KU, many opponents look to stop the players who have been hot. Penn chose Newman and Devonte exploded. In the Big 12 Tourney, they focused on stopping Devonte and Newman was MVP.
You can't stop Devonte!
I thought Penn wasn't a good 3-point shooting team?
How many point blank misses is that now?
HawkChamp said:
Even if that hadn't happened, I think we still would have lost. You could tell in the first five minutes that they had no energy or bounce in their step. That's what needs to be avoided. That and playing smart when playing shot blockers.
I had to listen to that game on the radio, so I did not see the "bounce" of lack thereof for myself. I'm sure that played into things, but how deflating is it to lose arguably your best player 3 minutes into the game? How much of that factored into their lethargic play?
We talk a lot about refs and foul discrepancies. I've generally argued that I could care less about the discrepancy. A foul is a foul and should be called. I say the timing of the fouls and when they are called has a bigger impact on the game results. A box score may show that the fouls were fairly evenly distributed between two teams, but it doesn't tell the whole story.
KU and Oregon both had 13 total fouls in that game, but only JJ had four. Yet, Jordan Bell, who had 8 blocks and pretty much aggressively tried to swat everything in sight, somehow ended up being the only starter on both teams to have only 1 foul. I generally don't like to blame refs for losses, but that never sat well with me.
Anyway, I'm going to stop writing about that game. I can feel my blood beginning to boil just typing this.
justanotherfan said:
Remember how KU just dismantled Purdue last year in the Sweet 16? How great they looked? I certainly do. But I also remember what happened two days later. That cold shooting night is lurking.
I agree with you big picture and am concerned about when the missed bunny brick-fest that sinks us seemingly every year will rear its ugly head. But last year against Oregon I firmly believe the two quick fouls on JJ completely changed the complexion of that game and what we were able to do offensively.
I think I saw musician/producer DJ Khaled picked KU.
mayjay said:
Did he inherit the bad gene?
You mean this one?
or this one?
My non-expert opinion is that anytime DG is in the game, no matter how gassed, he poses a threat to drive, dish, score ... whatever. Even if he doesn't always finish at the rim, sometimes just the threat of his doing something is all that's needed to keep defenses honest.
As the proverbial head of the snake and the facilitator on offense he attracts undue attention for his triple-threat potential every time he touches the ball. Even when tired, his mere presence is enough of a concern that blowing an assignment on one of our other players becomes a real possibility every time down the floor.
I'm sure it's also demoralizing for opposing teams to need a blow, watching DG still in the game, still engaged and still grinding. Knowing he's not coming out while the opposition battles accordion legs has to have some psychological ramifications.
Kareem was 72% I believe for his career so it can be done.
We don't win the 2008 championship game without putting Memphis on the line repeatedly.
Just my opinion but I dont think its too much to ask a major division one player to be able to hit at least 70% from the line no matter what their physical stature.
Breaking News: Trae Young discovers just before tonight's tip-off that his birth name is actually "Deuce". The revelation is so disappointing he goes 0-19 from behind the arc versus KU then vows never to shoot another jumper beyond 17 feet.
I say Poke-a-Doke at your own peril!
Putting Doke on the line repeatedly for the remainder of the season will give him the extra FT practice he's clearly not getting outside of a game setting, which will undoubtedly improve his conversion rate. It could be just the strategy we need to cut down the nets in April.
Leave and be a legion. Stay and be a legend.
Blown said:
A dyslexic man walks into a bra.
Bad spellers of the world untie!
HighEliteMajor said:
Stranger things have happened, though.
Clint Normore, anyone? 3-3 in the '88 championship game, including a 3-pointer.
Love the avatar. One of my favorite movies when I was about 10 or 11. I thought Wez was just the coolest.
dylans said:
Lester Earl drove a very nice suv. I can't remember which school bought it for him. I don't recall any players getting in trouble for cars at KU though.
Didn't Jeff Hawkins have a fender-bender in a drive-thru once? Not quite the same scenario as Preston's, but that could be deemed "car trouble", I suppose.
Blessings to you, good sir, and continued good health through the holidays and beyond.
You're priceless. Don't ever change!
wissox said:
I'm ticked too. Now I've got to decide between going trick or treating or watching the game. I already bought my scooby doo costume and everything.
Zoinks!
dylans said:
It’d be funny if they started requiring a degree to get into the NBA.
No, it wouldn't, because UNC would get all the top recruits then. Word on the street is their academic program is fairly athlete-friendly.
@AsadZ
Something to that effect involving KU showed up on Yahoo today as well. I was surprised someone hadn't copied the link and turned it into a discussion topic today already. I'll see if I can locate the article and post a link.
Personally, I've always thought of "athleticism" as God-given ability. The more speed, strength, stamina, agility, etc. that one possesses, the higher the level of athleticism. That doesn't guarantee success or suggest there aren't areas of weakness. It just means someone has all the natural tools to become elite. There are plenty of examples of freakishly athletic individuals who simply didn't have the work ethic, the motivation or the smarts to succeed. But that's an entirely different topic.
I expect Cleveland State to get the death penalty soon!
Interesting the timing of this re: Adidas, considering they just leaped ahead of the Jordan Brand in sales in the U.S. as per an article last week. Surely, Nike is not clean in all of this. But, if this is the bombshell the media is suggesting, I'm sure the fit is about to hit the shan and more names/institutions will be exposed. Then again, I thought the same about the alleged (proven) impropriety at UNC. Whatever came of that? The golden goose always gets a reprieve.
KUSTEVE said:
@HighEliteMajor He is a Wildcat. Not a Jayhawk. Great guy, though. I used to listen to the Silo Tech games on the radio growing up, and Lonnie Kruger was one hell of a point guard.
He was one hell of an athlete, period. Was drafted by the Houston Astros out of high school among other things.
http://www.kshof.org/inductees/2-kansas-sports-hall-of-fame/inductees/168-kruger-lon.html ↗
This makes me proud. What a great story!
Thanks to everyone for responding to my query. I'm still not seeing how Weber's annoying physical attributes or sideline antics or superstitious nature make him a fool for recruiting what he believes are good players wherever he can find them. Isn't that the job of any coach? To leave no stone un-turned when seeking out players that can potentially thrive in one's system?
KU has all the advantages when it comes to recruiting and still we're looking in the Sun Belt and the CAA for players. We're a blue blood with a rich history and yet we still rely on Landen Lucas type guys to man our 5-spot. That's no knock on those conferences or Landen, whom I really like. My point is that K-State is not a blue blood program with a rich history in the sport. With the exception of Michael Beasley, there aren't exactly getting a steady supply of OAD-types beating down their door to play there, which means Weber is doing his due diligence to find guys that can compete.
As for personality clashes with players, why would anyone stay in a relationship that isn't working? What did belaboring things with Bragg, for example, do for us in the long run, except keep us in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons? Maybe Weber is the wiser for jettisoning problem children before they make national headlines instead of handing out deferred punishments and diversion programs that make our program look really bad to the average viewer.
If someone has a bone to pick with Weber's physical attributes or his quirkiness, that's a very different thread than chastising him for getting what he feels are quality players wherever he can find them. I simply can't fault him for that. So are we picking on the man or his M.O.?
Okay, I'm going to go completely contrarian here and feel free to blast me on this.
I just don't get the Bruce Weber hate. I really don't. I suppose he's an easy target because of his vocal timbre and his current locale and his hang-up with Bill Self from his days at Illinois. But weren't we just touting ourselves recently as "Transfer U"? The implication being our pipeline to superstars isn't exactly paved with the types of players KU supposedly deserves? And weren't we all just theorizing about Self's raiding of lesser conferences for potential 4-year, diamond-in-the-rough types to fill the roster as the new paradigm because of the dearth of big-time recruits coming to our campus? I guess Appalachian State, Towson State and other colleges of that ilk are now way better than some of the schools to which Weber's recruits were being courted because they produced Graham and Mason?
I'm no Weber or K-State apologist, but if we're so great we should be much better than a Svi non-travel call against Weber and his "crappy" team at home before mocking the guy mercilessly for his methods.
@KUSTEVE said in Lawson Brothers Coming to KU:
“I think there are a lot of similarities to the way (former KU forward) Marcus Morris played.
So he can't dunk?
That's just awesome. Mason is the epitome of what college basketball is and what all players should aspire to become. Nobody worked harder. Nobody is more deserving. We have witnessed the birth of a legend. Congrats, Frank!
@JayHawkFanToo said:
Given that Mason has won every other POY award already, it would be logical to assume that he will get the Wooden award as well. It would be difficult to justify giving it to anyone else since it would be contrary to what every other basketball organization believes.
I subscribe 100% to your logic. Had the other major awards been split between Hart, Swanigan and several other players, I could see the Wooden Award having a bit more intrigue surrounding it. But the fact that Mason has taken all the hardware thus far, in my mind, makes this year's winner a foregone conclusion.
Yes, the ceremony is in LA and Ball went to UCLA, and politics do come into play with these kinds of things, but should the Wooden committee give the prize to anyone else I think the world would have to question the logic and the sanity of its members. How could they possibly arrive at a different conclusion than every other media outlet? Quite "Frank"-ly, unless they want their award reduced to punchline status, it would behoove them to find in favor of our beloved Mr. Mason.
Rock Chalk!
@wissox said:
I don't think he's won the Oscar for best lead basketball player.
He actually did win an Oscar (Robertson)!
He's still in the running for the NABC POY, the Bob Cousy PG of the Year Award and the Wooden Award. Hope he makes it a clean sweep!
@nuleafjhawk said:
If they had his jersey hanging up there …tomorrow it would not be soon enough. And somebody needs to get to work on a statue - put him right out there next to Phog Allen with a plaque.
"Welcome to the Mecca of College Basketball. Stay four years and you might have a jersey hanging in the rafters and a statue on the lawn too".
He should get his jersey in the rafters, get a statue and we should call the playing surface "#BIFM & Son Court"