I think the point is the difference between the two should be even greater! Cliff's upside is huge. He really has the potential to be a difference maker. But he has to go at it, hard, all the time. Self is trying to encourage that effort through the only means he has, by rewarding effort with playing time and sitting players when they don't give it their all. Sure Cliff's numbers are better. But they should be WAY better, and I suspect that is the explanation for Jesse's observation.
tundrahok
1840 posts
@Hawk8086 I think that's the answer to Jesse's article being discussed in another thread. Cliff's upside could be so much higher if he'd just get after it all the time the way Jamari does.
I think Self is just trying to get Cliff to play harder, all the time. It's a teaching thing. Clifford does dog it sometimes, and Jamari gets rewarded for his effort. Self is hoping that Cliff will get the message by tournament time. At least, that's my interpretation.
A buddy of mine recently commented that Frank "always" chokes on his free throws at the end of games. I berated him, pointing out that we haven't had such stability at point guard (the most important position) in years and his 85% at the line is awfully good. Then yesterday Frank clanked another one in the final minute. Perhaps the pressure is getting to him a bit? Because he has been carrying the team so much??
Actually his FT% is down to 76% (I just checked).
I'm all for saving money. But I'd happily go deep into debt to give my kids the best college experience possible. It's too important to make money the primary consideration. It really depends on the local college, how good it is (both generally and in her subject area), and what kind of experience she would get there compared to at KU.
Absolutely right about Calipari. Keeping all those egos in check and getting them to prioritize the team first has led to their dominance, and kudos to him for that. Kentucky will continue to stifle the opposition as long as he can maintain that attitude among his players.
@Hawk8086 If you can get a Canadian sports bar to change the channel away from hockey, you are doing pretty well! Hockey is still king, even junior hockey, but it is getting better for basketball fans.
Canadian networks are required by law to show a certain percentage of Canadian content....Wiggins must count, because last year all KU games were shown on one of the sports networks here (ESPN2 equivalent). Sometimes it was delayed by a few hours though, after a big hockey game finished. The best option was usually ESPN online (using a Baltimore account and an Alaska IP address), and usually still is, with no Canadian KU players this year.
@jaybate-1.0 How do you get Kentucky, this year, to beat themselves?
@Crimsonorblue22 I'm out of the country and watch almost all the games on ESPN3 with a buddy's account and password. My computer tells ESPN I'm in Alaska. Anybody who is blacked out can do the same thing; trick the site to think you're somewhere else.
@brooksmd Yes, 12 of 30. Missed 18 free throws and lost by 3 points. Just hitting 50% would have tied. Horrible.
That game taught me that free throws aren't free. They are actually rather costly. Probably worth practicing.
1957 is also outside the parameters of the article, but would be at the top. I wasn't around then, but age improves my appreciation of historical occurrences outside the realm of my personal experience.
Triple overtime? Wilt freakin' Chamberlain? From what I've read of his dominance in college, there's no way KU shouldn't have won everything, all the time. What a heart breaker.
They are dominating, not corrupting. They're just too damn good. I don't like it either, but hats of to Calipari for assembling such a team. I'm sure plenty of other coaches would love to smother and bully opponents as effectively.
She has 4 peer-reviewed publications listed on Web of Science (in case anybody wondered):
Andre MJ, Fry AC, Heyrman MA, Hudy A, Holt B, Roberts C, et al. 2012. A reliable method for assessing rotational power. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26:720-724.
Fry AC, Hudy A, Gallagher PM, Vardiman JP, Kudrna RA, Moodie NG, et al. 2010. Lower body power-load curves for NCAA division I men's and women's collegiate basketball players. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 42:65-65.
Lane M, Fry AC, Gallagher PM, Vardiman JP, Hudy A, Graham ZA, et al. 2011. Relationships of lower body power and strength for NCAA division I men's collegiate basketball players. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 43:398-398.
Lane M, Fry AC, Gallagher PM, Vardiman JP, Hudy A, Graham ZA, et al. 2012. Relationships of lower body power and strength for NCAA division I men's collegiate basketball players. Journal of General Internal Medicine 27:398-398.
@HighEliteMajor It will be hard for Self to reward Cliff with minutes if he doesn't perform during practice like we've seen he can perform during games. My interpretation from what I've read is he has a bit of an Allen Iverson approach to practice. I could be wrong, but isn't that why he got pulled from the starting lineup last game, because of his effort during practice? It's a conundrum.
@KUSTEVE I saw that too. That's what he was brought here for, to be the true point guard, the real leader of the team. Pretty cool that he's given such recognition before even playing his first game. Bodes well for things to come.
@wissoxfan83 Brilliant!
@bskeet Thanks so much for starting this list. I've been thinking about doing something similar for months! When you're away and miss some critical definitions, it's hard to keep up. I've been struggling with MUA for a long time.
Acronyms and initialisms are the bane of my existence. I have a hard time remembering their meaning, especially when the same initials can mean different things in different settings. When an academic administrator references a Program Of Study using the initials POS I start to giggle because in my circle of friends that same initialism stands for Piece of Sh*t. Likewise, discussions of an Executive Director hire evoke memories of Bob Dole's dysfunctional erection. Within my small sphere of influence, the initialism for deoxyribonucleic acid is the only one that gets a pass.
But as long as terms are defined, and there's an easy place to look them up, it's all good.
@Statmachine I agree, it's probably a necessary evil. It's a product of the one-and-done culture. Just disappointing, because as you noted we've enjoyed watching many of our players develop and improve, and we won't be able to afford as many of those "projects" any more. AW3 is the most recent casualty of this change in strategy.
We will also be sacificing skill for talent. The most highly talented players won't stick around as long to become truly skilled. Plays will be simpler, offenses wil be less sophisticated. This change in recruitment strategy in the one-and-done culture will have profound impacts on the whole game, as many here have noted.
I hope it doesn't hurt Self's reputation.. Even with Calipari's KU ties, many KU fans consider him somewhat slimy. And he often looks sickly. Sick and slimy.....not what we want our coach to become.
But as you point out, it's hard to argue with success.
@Statmachine I hope you're wrong, but I fear you aren't.
Nice to see Self praise him so highly. Coach always says the right things in public, but he almost gushed about AW3, something you don't usually hear about a transfer. I hope another solid program pays heed.
Self has shown he can accept more turnovers. e.g., Tyshawn's senior season. Early in the season, Tyshawn was getting crucified on the boards for his high numbers of turnovers. But apparently he was following Self's direction to be more aggressive. Turnovers were the byproduct, but Self was able to live with them. As the season wore on, the turnover rate decreased while the aggressiveness remained, and that aggressiveness was largely why we made it to the championship game.
Of course, Tyshawn was a senior, and Bill gives a lot more leeway to his seniors (as has been noted many times). The point is, he has shown he is able to accept a higher turnover percentage (selectively).
I'll also point out that HEM and konkeyDong don't really disagree on this point. HEM just says it's the turnover rate (per possession), not the number of turnovers (per game), that should be emphasized, and TO% is the stat used by konkeyDong.
Using data is indeed the only way to have meaningful debate on these issues. Kudos to both of you, great stuff.
Basketball-wise, maybe not a bad trade-off.
@HighEliteMajor You are correct, if you use that narrow criterion, number of NCAA tournament championships in the last 20 years, KU is not a top 5 program. We are 6th, tied with 7 other teams.
no. titles:
Connecticut 3
Kentucky 3
Duke 2
Florida 2
North Carolina 2
Arizona 1
Arkansas 1
Kansas 1
Louisville 1
Maryland 1
Michigan State 1
Syracuse 1
UCLA 1
However, I reject the premise that the 2 choices you offer are the only alternatives. I think reality is somewhere in between.
I was going to take a combination of the red & blue pills, which would be purple. But I hate purple.
It galls me that they are now playing up to their potential, while we did not. It should have been us. We should be the one-and-done experiment that was successful....maybe not early in the season, but by the end because of our superior coaching, tradition, and fan support! Grrr....
Now, I will say that I used to agree with @nuleafjhawk 100% about senior experience being the be-all-end-all in the tournament....until last year. We had the experience to go far, starting 4 seniors. But we got upset early, and that rocked my presumption of experience counting for so much.
So what did last year and this year have in common? A weak point guard. That's going to be my new mantra. You can't go far in the tournament without a quality point guard, who is also a good leader. Leadership in the back court is key.
Me either. I don't post as much as I'd like to. I'm the strong silent type.
@DinarHawk Yes! Nothing like a little disrespect to motivate a team. When we play with passion and fire, we're hard to beat. Our problem has been coming up with that passion and effort consistently. Manufacturing a little motivation for us can only be a good thing.
Many are predicting UNM will upset KU. That annoyed me at first. After reflecting, now I'm grateful.
@Blown I don't think Tharpe is down for the count. He still has some solid games left in him. He just can't do it consistently, certainly not for 6 games in a row. Probably not even 3 in a row. But I'm going to have faith!
Didn't Hinrich get injured in the first round one year, and wasn't expected to play the second game? Then he did come in and got a huge ovation, and a huge sigh of relief from KU nation.
Not exactly the same, as he only lost parts of 2 games, but the potential of losing him during the tournament felt huge.
@JayHawkFanToo That was great, thank you. I miss Bob.
They forgot to give Embiid an assist on that last play for his "pass" to Wiggins.
@approxinfinity Less than Scott Drew??
@Hawk8086 you simply don't strike anyone at anytime.
That should be the take-home message. I disagree with HighEliteMajor's implication that a push is ok but a punch is not. The line has to be drawn at physical vs verbal. Otherwise you get an Untouchables escalation: push, punch, knife, gun, hospital, morgue.
Verbal abuse is one thing, but getting physical is a whole other ballgame. Sticks and stones; I'm amazed at how many people didn't learn that lesson in preschool.
@JayHawkFanToo The announcers said KU has only drawn 5 charges all year, before this game. I realize the rules changes partly explain that low number, but it still surprised me. Even more surprising, Black had taken 4 of the 5 charges! That's a big guy to run into. Does it take senior experience to learn how to take a charge?
We got at least 2 yesterday, one taken by Black and one by Selden, so maybe they are coming back as you suggest.
@drgnslayr Thanks, great story. I always wanted to like Rick Barnes. I guess I never actually disliked him, but clearly he deserves respect.
@HighEliteMajor I think approxinfinity needs to get you a KU Buckets press pass so you can do those interviews. Our man on the scene.
@Crimsonorblue22 Speaking of Black's composure, how about that ball that bounced off his noggin when the BU player saved it from going out of bounds? That was a tough shot to the head, and Tarik just shook his head and smiled, as if he should have caught it when it caromed off his face. Thick skull on a tough player!
His struggles with fouls earlier this year seem to have been resolved. He stayed positive throughout his slump, and now is a huge asset to the team. I love it when guys with the right attitude are rewarded.
@HighEliteMajor Both Dykes and Sciambi are good. Games are so much more fun to watch when you aren't fuming at the idiocy spewed by commentators.
@JayhawkRock78 That's why I tried to find another site besides ESPN. I believe cbssports.com gives minutes played, but they have so many errors on other stats that I gave up on them. The site I linked above gives minutes played and updates it continuously, not just at half. There are several different tabs you can view, which makes it seem a bit complex at first, but I got used to it pretty fast and now am a huge fan.
@konkeyDong the last 4 minutes of the game Embiid came in and turned it on. He hustled and looked good, like his old self before the injury. Maybe he's back already.
I really enjoy following the box score during games. During the live chat several games ago, our favorite online sports editor provided a link to one he uses that is the best I've seen. It's called StatMonitr and is intended for use by members of the working media.
http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=ku ↗ ↗
It's not meant to be shared with the public viewing audience, so I won't mention our favorite online sports editor by name (he has a new title now anyway). The link above is for KU events, and it's comprehensive and immediate, usually updating several seconds before I see the play on my TV.
@JayHawkFanToo I would really like to see an explanation of that double foul. Never seen anything like that. One play, lots of contact, but you have to assign blame to one player, or none. If the refs can't agree, it should be a no-call.
Our bench is deeper, so a double foul instead of none benefits us. Still, it was odd.
@Blown Frankly, I was never worried about not making the tournament this year. Kentucky last year is an interesting comparison, but even when we struggled I considered our team this year superior to their team last year. And I know for sure our coach is superior, which is probably more important.
@Clydecito That makes sense, but the impression given differs if the hands are in a thumbs-backward more pronated (i.e., palm down) position vs a thumbs-forward supinated (i.e., palm up) position.
The former looks dominant, aggressive, ready to go. The latter, shoulder-shrug display suggests uncertainty or thoughtfulness.
I don't think breathing is affected whether you project dominant aggressiveness or effeminate uncertainty. I'd go for the former over the latter.
@Blown The way he stands with his hands on his hips looks a little effeminate.....is it just me? I've been wanting to tell him all year not to stand that way, but I thought maybe I'm just being a doofus.
@Blown He sat with his head down, arms on his knees, for a long time...until they made him leave for the locker room. He obviously knew he screwed up and felt bad.
@Crimsonorblue22 I used to live in Minnesota, and whenever I'd drive home to KS to visit I'd go through Iowa and get hit with whatever the worst weather is that you could imagine for that time of year: freezing rain, snow, thunderstorms, wind etc. Either going down or back up.
Kansas weather is certainly variable, but Iowa seemed to reserve its worst for me.
Glad to hear your weekend was nice. It almost got up to freezing here in the great white North. Downright balmy!
@drgnslayr I've ranted in here about Iowa's weather. That state has it in for me, weather-wise. I'd become deranged too if I had to live in that.
@ParisHawk true, good point.
@Hawk8086 I thought that was odd, too. Seems like a recipe for some shady play. If you are playing your rival in the standings and they have another tough game immediately following, have a scrub flagrantly foul their star. If he retaliates, he's out the next game your team has a better chance of moving up. If not, no great loss.
I think they distinguished between fouling and initiating a fight. If nobody fights back, you haven't initiated anything. So you only get suspended if they fight back. Has nothing to do with what you did in the first place, the distinction completely rests with the other guy's response. Doesn't seem right.