🏀 KuBuckets Archive

@Crimsonorblue22 said:

jj loves KU and KU loves him. That’s why coach says josh is always in the right place, one step ahead! I love great D plays myself! Self asked the guys what they wanted to do at that time out and they said D. Love it! I know he was pleased!

+1 million for the inside info on that last defensive stand.

And oh how I would love to see JJ don the Jayhawk uniform for at least another year. Is it wrong to have a fantasy scenario where JJ gets a minor injury trying to hoist the NCAA championship trophy and tourney MVP trophy at the same time, and at the behest of Hudy, he decides to stay another season to bulk up a little more and to thoroughly test out his pride to make sure it was not permanently damaged, then atoning for his injury by once again winning both the championship and MVP trophies and hoisting them both high above his head in dominating fashion, proving to NBA GM's his injury is healed and then going #1 overall in the draft?

I think it may have been @approxinfinity during the in-game chat who made a comment to the effect that Josh was 2-3 steps ahead of Baylor in terms of his thought processes on the court. Since I could not watch the game live, I watched it late last night and, in watching Josh operate, he almost seems prescient at times on both offense and defense.

In one sequence in the second-half, he left his man, sliding down from the weak side near the free-throw line to reject a shot by a Baylor player, but it was like he sensed the play a full 5 seconds before the Baylor player even drove to the hoop. The shot-fake from behind the 3-point line where he then drove the baseline for a dunk was the same thing. He knew what he needed to do even before he received the pass. You could almost see he had the whole thing laid out in his mind and had mapped out the path to the basket prior to ever touching the ball. I absolutely love this kid and he has quickly become perhaps my favorite Jayhawk of all-time.

And that defense on the last sequence by Mason was unbelievable. Constant rewinds are usually reserved for dunks and ridiculous offensive plays. I can't recall ever rewinding to watch a defensive sequence until last night. To buckle down like that after nearly 40 minutes of play ... man, Mason looked like he was stalking his prey, playing with it before devouring it.

An entertaining game and a great win.

@kjayhawks said:

Scott Drew listens to Nickelback.

I think you mean Hunter Pence.

@Fightsongwriter said:

I gave up sleep for Lent.

You're a better man than me. I gave up Lent for pizza.

I hope, when his playing career is done, we can bring Tarik back to KU in some capacity. What a great role model for young players hellbent on getting to NBA, with little to no focus on academics as a back-up plan. Here's a kid who now has his masters degree and still achieved his dream of playing among the best in the world.

Along with Simien, Tarik is the kind of guy someone like Bragg could hitch his wagon to and someone with whom any parent could be comfortable mentoring their kid. Heck, with his gift of gab and his communication skills, put him out on the recruiting trail.

I hope Baylor's team managers remembered to pack their big boy highlighter unis because this will be the most ridiculous environment the Bears have played in to date with control of the conference at stake.

As for KU, every opponent circles us on their calendar. I truly, truly hope our boys circled this game on THEIR calendars - preferably in blood. They simply cannot afford to start this game as they did in Lexington because Baylor has the potential to bury us.

Here's to being the first team to 70!

@Fightsongwriter

Insomnia works for you! Excellent idea!

@KUSTEVE said:

3- Not ready to run off CB for having a bong in his dorm. Don’t tell anyone, but I had a bong at Templin Hall.

Below is one of the many bongs I had in college. I still have them all to this day. :smile:

!Depeche-Mode-Strangelove.jpg ↗

I'm going to toss this out there and I'm sure @jaybate-1.0 would have me tarred an feathered for the conspiracy talk, but ...

takes deep breath and adjusts tin foil hat

There are those out there who probably don't want John Wooden's legacy tarnished or his "unbeatable" record of consecutive conference titles shared in any way. The fact that we beat big, bad Kentucky at their own place gives us confidence going into the huge Baylor game tomorrow. A win there helps clear the path for another title as long as we take care of our business.

In a post the other day, I wondered about the pressure of the streak on these players and suggested that the media hasn't even gotten involved yet in their constant coverage of the event. Well, now suddenly there is a hit piece (I presume at this point) about an incident from 2015 regarding Vick and I fear this is only the start of the avalanche. One way or another, the powers that be will try to put an asterisk next to KU's accomplishment should they take the crown again this year.

Expect much more of this as our wins pile up and the record gets closer within reach.

Who are the commentators? Is Dickie V. Doing the game?

@JayHawkFanToo said:

My question is: Would you like to be a member of the team that ends the streak? Any one that has played competitive sports will say…no! Ask any of the current players and they will all say…hell no!

I want to reiterate I hope the streak stays intact. The main reason for my post is to wonder out loud how much the pressure of The Streak is affecting these young men both in-game and throughout the course of their daily campus lives. I can't help but think some of the off-court behavior we've seen in recent years is the result of trying to get away from the day-to-day pressure that being a KU basketball player brings.

We all look at the glory and adoration and the BMOC status many of these guys receive being in that exclusive fraternity, but there is a downside and I'm merely speculating at how much that pressure to succeed affects the mental make-up of these guys. Some may be able to handle it and others not. It's why I speculated that some of the off-court issues may be a by-product of playing in a big-time program.

It's easy to say, "hey, if you can't take it then maybe you shouldn't be playing at a program like KU", but I don't think it's that simple. Stress is an extremely debilitating entity and I really think it plays a role in injuries, in game performance and statistical aplomb. Hudy is awesome with the physical aspects of our players, but I wonder how much time is devoted to mental preparedness. For some time I've advocated for these guys to learn bio-feeback or other discipline that might help deal with some of the stress and could even push performance levels higher.

Anyway, if and when The Streak ends I think this program will finally be able to take a deep collective breath and get back to playing free and easy, something I'm not sure our team has been able to do for several years.

Apologies to those of you who clicked on this thread looking for information on Ray Stevens.

Last season, when our beloved Jayhawks were in the midst of a rough patch in conference play I wrote that I wouldn’t be too sad to see “The Streak” fall by the wayside. It wasn’t because I didn’t want the streak to continue or because, in some masochistic way, I thought losing was important for our long-term success. It was more because every year the streak continues, the pressure to keep from being the squad that let it get away grows and grows. Nobody wants to be remembered as being the team that broke the string. That’s a huge burden for any group of kids to handle no matter how tough and resilient said kids may be.

I recall years ago reading something about Steve Jobs and how much he feared failure. It was so all-encompassing that it drove him to be better every minute of every day. And he went on to achieve great things. Fear may be a good motivator for some, but I’m not so certain it is for most. Fear of failure can be a crushing blow to the psyche and can cause people to do things they ordinarily wouldn’t do. This is just speculation, but look at Bragg this year. What about Naadir Tharpe a couple years back? What about Brady Morningstar before that? We usually chalk up shenanigans such as theirs to youthful indiscretion, but how much of their odd behavior is perhaps attributable to the unspeakable pressure these kids must feel to keep the championship mantle intact?

As we know this year is supposed to be THE YEAR. Should we win conference, we’ll tie one of the all-time great programs in UCLA for the most consecutive conference titles. Winning the conference would keep the string intact, put us in line for a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney and it would guarantee immortality for all the young men involved in this amazing process. And while we sit pretty right now with a record of 18-2 and 7-1 in conference play there are signs of decay. Injuries, suspensions and a short bench have left us, despite the pretty win-loss numbers, in a very precarious situation. It’s tough enough to take on the likes of Kentucky and Baylor with a team that, in all reality, is only 7-now-6 deep after the Bragg incident. But, I fear we are only scratching the surface of the pressure cooker that a continuation of The Streak will become as the season rolls on.

I’m sure I don’t read as much sports as many of you, but to date I have not seen the media devote endless column inches to The Streak. Should our boys prove resilient enough to continue to challenge for the crown this season, the spotlight and focus on it in media circles will burn white-hot. How will our team handle the incessant, 24-hour media scrutiny that is certain to ramp up as the shadows of the current season grow longer? Will they use it as motivation, or will they crumble under the relentless pressure?

“Free your mind and the rest will follow” is the refrain sung by a prominent girl group from the early 90s. And I firmly believe in that line of logic. I just don’t know how freely the minds of our boys can be in-game and elsewhere with the specter of The Streak hanging over them and the inevitable public scrutiny and media circus that will continue to nip at their heels with every step. So I say again: perhaps it would be better if The Streak came to a merciful end.

@BeddieKU23 said:

Andy Katz-

Just visited with player of the year candidate senior Frank Mason of Kansas here in Morgantown (ESPN, 7 pm). He said something most high-level college players never say: “I wish I could play four more years.”

The boy gets it. #BIFM.

@wrwlumpy said:

Texas was considered the team that would win the Conference that year so it was a very excited crowd that did have a few kids did run onto the court until they saw how mad Heinrich was about the situation. You could actually hear him on the broadcast yelling at the students.

Thanks for the back story. I definitely remember the game. I just didn't recall any of the stuff after, aside from Vitale's standing "O". Do you or anyone else recall if anyone has tried to set foot on the court after a win since that game? Has the "no storming" mantra always been in effect at KU? I'm guessing court storming was probably non-existent prior to the 80s, but any history there would be appreciated.

So, that Collison game ... did we really storm the court? I thought we didn't do that kind of thing at Kansas. Apparently we do.

@wrwlumpy said:

Josh had a stupid turnover which started an ISU breakaway. Josh started 10 feet behind him and came up with the block of the season. Do you comment on the turnover or the block.

I now call that play a "blurnover" so I can keep an even keel during the game. It's extremely therapeutic.

They might be as important to the success of our team as the scrubs. :wink:

Kidding, @brooksmd! Just having a little fun.

@brooksmd

No disrespect intended by my use of the term "scrubs" to describe our bench. I'm sorry if I touched a nerve.

OU looked absolutely abysmal against K-State. They trailed by 16 at half, eventually losing by 11. I'm sure they will be up for us as all teams typically are, but, I don't see how we lose this game. We should win by 20+ though we'll probably win by about 17 once we put the scrubs in with under 5 mintues left.

@RockChalkinTexas said:

Miles Simon probably would be doing a lot of our games except his Dad passed away just right after Christmas. He’ll be back soon and doing one of our games. I think he possesses good ball knowledge and tells it like it is.

Yes! Miles is terrific. He is always well-prepared, knows the history and all the names of the players and coaches on each team and is very basketball savvy in light of his pedigree. He's still a touch raw and can sound a little stiff at times, but that will change as his experience level grows. Troy Aikman was that way too when he first started calling NFL games, but has eased into the job quite well. I hope Simon continues to hone his chops. I think he's excellent.

@jayballer54 said:

we need to get a pool together to see how many times he works his hair during a game.

Better yet, just do a shot every time he grooms himself. Makes watching Duke games much more enjoyable. And if Duke loses, you're already in full-on celebration mode!

@dylans said:

Brannen would shoot his free throws as soon as he was handed the ball. It was like he couldn’t wait to have the free point added to his total. No thoughts just shooting.

You nailed it. Thinking about the shot can be detrimental to making it. I recall reading an article about golf many years ago. Scientists found that professional golfers had almost zero beta activity in the brain during a shot, which is the wave form created when in an excited or agitated state. It's the state we are typically in during the day, but during play these guys were able to move to an alpha or more quiet state, which enhanced their ability to perform under pressure.

I also recall reading an article about the Chinese Olympic Diving team and even U.S. great, Greg Louganis, who discussed that more than half of their training was mental imagery and mental preparation. Only a small percentage of their training was doing any actually diving. They had rehearsed the results so often in their minds that they were able to perform flawlessly when they had to.

Perhaps biofeedback training is what these guys need to literally learn to quiet their minds on the line. I would wager if we hooked up an EEG to these guys during a freebie the electrical activity in their brains would be off the charts.

During baseball season, I like to check out Royals Review every now and then. For a while they did interviews and features on some of the more prominent posters and contributors on the site so that others gleaned a little bit of insight into their lives and backgrounds and how they became baseball/Royals fans.

I know in reading this site religiously I've learned quite a bit about a lot of you, but nothing too comprehensive. I'm not sure how many movers and shakers here would want to participate in something like that, but just tossing it out there as an idea.

I'm pretty sure I saw him on a Bible Buckets board recently with the handle LowInferiorMinor. I assumed it was him as he was arguing that just because God created the heavens and the earth does not mean He is above criticism. He went on to point out that God rested on the seventh day when he should have been developing a strategy to effectively break the press.

@DanR said:

@tis4tim said:

Robert Horry
That’s a good pick.

DanR,

I swear to goodness that guy hit more clutch shots than any human should. He also has to be one of the luckiest NBA guys ever seemingly being traded to a team just before said team became champions. 7 rings in 16 seasons for the dude, the most in a career outside of anyone on the '60s era Celtics teams. Just one of those guys who always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

Here's a few of mine:

A.C. Green

Dennis Johnson

Bruce Bowen (yes he's recognized as a defensive specialist, but still not a household name)

Robert Horry

@chriz said:

I feel somewhat bad fit the kid. Lights out shooter in high school then hits the big stage and implodes.

I think you meant to say: "lights out shooter in high school then hits the big stage and imbibes"

@Ralph

Thanks for posting the info. I know of some players who have bounced back and forth but Im not certain of how many have managed to unpack their bags and stay. I suppose the money most fringe players can make overseas is too attractive to pass up.

I would be curious if anyone has info on how many undrafted players eventually make it to the NBA and stick after a stint in the D-League. Is it the proving ground it is purported to be or does it just stigmatize guys with a "damaged goods" label?

@JayHawkFanToo said:

If you had asked me who was the least likely player to get into trouble, last season I would have said Ellis and this season I would have said Bragg. His shy demeanor, piano playing and overall niceness did not appear to show the type of person that would do something like this; it just seems out of character, on to other hand, how well do we really know him?

I would agree, but if alcohol and/or other substances are involved here I think all bets are off on assumed behavior. I've known some really pleasant people who become downright mean and belligerent when under the influence. I've also seen the reverse scenario. There's just no telling what someone may or may not do when the angels and demons on your shoulder get a little bit tipsy.

Like most of you, I don't want to post things that aren't accurate, but here's another Rumer:

!rumer.jpg ↗

@Crimsonorblue22 said:

@tis4tim a whole new game there! If haase had these refs there would be no floor burns book. They were awful!

I didnt get to see the game but listened to parts on the radio while the fam and I drove around shopping. Sounds like that stanford player Reid or whatever his name is got a foul everytime down the court - at least while I was tuned in. Also seems like Haase has instilled some scrappiness in that team already.

@Crimsonorblue22 said:

@tis4tim I do try hard not to say that word in my real life! Having a hard time not thinking that word today!

Im with you! Im probably the biggest Duke ... um ... disliker on this board. They are my least favorite team by far ... even moreso than Mizzou. BTW, saw your pic from the upgraded seats you scored for today's game. Sweet! Hope you had a blast!

@Crimsonorblue22 said:

But I hate all Duke players.

Hate is such a strong word. How about "virulently dislike"?

Nice job, Lump. Is Haase driving on Hoiberg in that pic?

I'll take the under that I'm yelling at my television within 30 seconds of the start of this game.

@drgnslayr said:

I’m forgetting someone from today. I believe he is a NFL player with a freakish vertical. Anyone know?

I recall JJ Watt having a 61-inch vertical box jump. Perhaps that is who you are thinking of?

@Texas-Hawk-10

Journalist Bob Schieffer is also an alum.

https://missouri.n.rivals.com/news/mizzou-announces-ncaa-infractions-in-basketball ↗

@Crimsonorblue22

Tell you what: if I win a billion dollars Wednesday, I'll fly all of you first-class to this year's Final Four, put you all up at the finest hotel and splurge for courtside seats. And if that's not enough, then cotton candy and a giant foam finger for everyone!

@jaybate-1.0 said:

Billionaires never run out of money.

I'll let you know after Wednesday night's drawing. :smiley:

If Calipari to the Nets is heating up then it could be the dogs have picked up the scent of squid. Most likely, though, it could be a bargaining chip situation, much like Coach Consonants did years ago pretending to court the Lakers to get the university to ante up for his services.

@DinarHawk

I'd prefer not to face them. I'd rather be behind them kicking their @$$es! In all honesty, if there were any justice in college basketball, UNC would be on double-secret probation for all the academic impropriety. How they dodged those charges is beyond me. Same for Boeheim at Syracuse.

@DinarHawk

I have not seen the 'Heels play this year, though I understand they are very good. The fact is at some point in the tourney you'll have to play really good teams. And not to dredge up our ignominious past in dealing with supposedly lesser squads in the tourney, but it seems our guys play much more focused when the lights are brighter, the opponent is better, and the stakes are higher. I also believe, in all sports, there are certain teams and players that just do better against particular teams regardless of the year or circumstances. I think Self is Roy's kryptonite and would welcome the match-up.

@jaybate-1.0

I read every word on this site (including your vast output) and contribute when I feel I have something worth adding. I learn oh-so-much more than I can possibly teach in this forum of extremely astute basketball minds. Well, that and raising a 4-year-old and a 7-month old puts a premium on free time and much of that is spent sleeping!

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement and keep cranking out the quality reads. Sure beats trying to sink my teeth into some crappy best-seller.

@ajvan

Bring on the "Heels! Self is 3-0 versus Williams while at KU, including that Final Four mauling on our way to the championship in 2008, and 4-1 all-time.

A win trumps everything in my book, so KU should be #1.

And if Oklahoma thinks they can rely on Buddy Hield doubling his season average every game, they'll be sadly disappointed. The guy is a phenomenal player and had the game of his college life against us, but he won't do that again this season. So, if we're playing a game of "what ifs" that has to be a consideration.

50% as a TEAM seems like a tough clip to sustain, but 14 games is a fairly decent sample size. And I would think as long as the looks are mostly open ones it can be done, especially with this group of marksmen.

That said, we are just now entering conference season and the competition is going to be ridiculously fierce from here on out, meaning legs that are more tired than usual, which means less lift on the jumpshot, which means a lower percentage of shots going in. I'd suspect if we do maintain 50% shooting behind the arc the results will be much like the Baylor game where we do a lot of damage in the first half and then cool off some in the second.

I think 43-45% is more realistic, but I hope I'm wrong!

@JRyman said:

There offense is all Gary Payton II

Do they call him "The Mitten"?

@JRyman

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