🏀 KuBuckets Archive

I talked to my brother today that lives in Charlottesville. He and others around the program feel as if KU has already done the deal with the 16 year old Eastern Bloc's version of "Pistol Pete." This article says he will announce his decision on May 21st.

SB NATION UVA recruiting:
The other major Virginia recruiting target is somehow shrouded in even more mystery. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is a 6'5" guard from Ukraine who is considered one of Europe's best prospects - the guy's even got his own (albeit poorly written) Wikipedia page. Though he's only 16 years old, Mykhailiuk has finished high school (apparently he is a child prodigy too?), and is already on the radar of NBA teams. Mykhailiuk may decide to play professionally in Europe until he's eligible for the NBA, but is reportedly considering attending college in the US as well.

Last month, Mykhailiuk played at the 2014 Nike Hoop Summit, the youngest athlete to do so, which quickly propelled him on to everyone's radar. The Ukrainian guard has received plenty of interest from other schools, particularly Kansas. The Daily Progress reported that he'll made a decision on his future on May 21st. Until then, we'll all likely be in the dark about the outcome of this non-traditional recruiting situation.

Seems as if Devonte' Graham is ready to move to Lawrence for the Summer.!IMG_0418.jpg ↗

A picture of Frank and Conner facing off for the starting job headlines ESPN's basketball page. Here's the summary...

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/98951/position-battles-point-guards ↗

Bigger, Faster, and while he's being touted as a scorer, this video has an abundant amount of spectacular assist.
Reminds me of Mario.

Goodman expects Conner to start. Was it the picture or the defense? Losing a Senior Guard is troubling. Lots of anti- Tharpe expressed on every board. It's the old "getting what you wished for" conundrum.
Before last year, many were saying that we would have beaten Michigan if only Tharpe were in the game instead of E.J.

Norm Stewart was the man we loved to hate and he had his own KU cheer whenever he got out of his seat to complain to the refs. He was a rival that would not spend a dime in Kansas. For all of that, we at KU respected his coaching ability and especially the year he went undefeated in the Big 8. Roy brought him to KU after his retirement and 16,300 fans gave him a standing ovation when he finally sat down. Here's hoping an old school alum with 2 - D2 National championships will create a rivalry again when all of the hatred for the previous MU decisions, someday ends. Kim Anderson, a Norm Stewart guy is really the only one MU could hire to possibly regain the chance to play KU again.

I celebrated my 60th birthday, 6 years ago, with my daughter in NYC. She took be to a place called the Back Page to watch a Big 12 Tourney game. It looked like every other bar and grill in the city until you walked to the back and found a miniature Allen Field house with the Championship Banners, Beware the Phog sign, and a list of all the retired jerseys. It is only one of twenty seven Jayhawk bars in Manhatten. The place was packed, loud and of course happy at the end of the game.

TURNER TO TEXAS

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2031659-all-signs-point-to-texas-for-myles-turners-long-awaited-decision ↗

The KU Sports article used a pick and choose approach to their story. If you watch this video, the Mickelson thing was just part of an entire introduction of the team.

Once again, we are a preseason Lunardi #1 seed. Watching Self and his confidence in the returners makes me excited for next season already. For all of you anti-OADer's, are you hoping Miles Turner goes to Texas?

Damn, last year it was obvious that EJ wasn't the same from his Freshman year. I didn't notice it until Jaybate brought it up. Now Nostodamus has again been proven right about Selden.

I was at the 10,000 fan practice and thought that Mickelson was far ahead of Lucas in movement and shooting ability. Turner could easily be here, but Mickelson will see a lot of playing time.

Are you speaking of Hudy's twin brother?

Roy got to go back to Carolina and we were mad. We're not mad at Danny and he might want to go back home also.
While he was coaching at Kansas, he was called the best Big Man coach in the country. He will recruit the great Bigs on the East Coast. He knows Bill's high/low offense and has taught Bill's Defense philosophy for 6 years. He'll coach against Roy and coach K with a much better lineup. If he ever does replaces Bill at KU I hope he will have had the experience that the ACC offers and the national attention he'll receive. Whatever you decide Danny, you are a rich man again.

@JayHawkFanToo - May I use your quote at Al-Anon this Thursday night? It's amazing, the negative passion and Venom towards the team. Let Go - and this too shall pass.

!Screen-Shot-2014-03-31-at-10_25_15-AM.png ↗

Bar Stool Sports

How will Self handle this?

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Bar Stool Sports - Uncensored pics flying across the internet.

ralster. From the bottom of my heart - THANK YOU!
Just because we asked Wiggins to do it all without the Joel or a point guard, and learning how to play a different set of players on and off the bench. Look at our last 6 games without Joel. Combine that with lack of guard play the odds were stacked against us with most pundits picking Stanford even though Vegas had us winning. Playing with Withey, Young and Releford gave me a feeling of experienced confidence. They had trust in a system they had been a part of for a long, long time.
Thank you again Andrew for the Conference Championship and picking KU and Bill Self. If I was a recruit with tons of talent, I would always pick Coach Self.

Thanks for giving us a place to meet. I really don't know how you did all of this. There are a lot of very appreciative folks who are in your debt.

Here is this year's T. Black. Jayhawk slant says he added KU to the mix to transfer.
http://www.owlsports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6578 ↗

http://kansas.247sports.com/Article/Wayne-Selden-Announces-He-Will-Return-184807 ↗

Really?

http://espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology ↗ ↗

If this pans out, ISU has the easiest route of the B 12 teams to the Final Four.

Larry Brown vs Kentucky
Danny vs Creighton

Self vs Syracuse

Shocker vs KSU second round.

KU still a two but moving to the South region.

Here's an interesting "Smart Flopper" video made by a K Stater at last years Big 12 tourney. Who ever plays OSU in the tournament needs to be aware of this B-Movie actor.

Here's Kevin's side of all this.

Open Letter About KU, Show
Mar 12, 2014 -- 10:10am

By Kevin Kietzman

It's been a bad couple weeks for KU basketball and my inbox and Twitter are stuffed with more than I can handle. So here's an open letter to all those I can't respond to and any fans of any other teams in the past or future that will be upset with our work on Between the Lines:

First let me say that I greatly appreciate anyone that listens to the show, it's been an honor to do this going on 17 years. Over the years, we have angered the Chiefs, Royals, Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri fans equally. We were the first to report the drug dealing scandal in the locker room at Arrowhead. I was the guy that confronted Gunther Cunningham about his two point conversion chart, proving it was wrong and it was changed. I challenged Scott Pioli about his position on quarterbacks and created quite a stir. He was fired months later.

We've beaten a drum constantly about David Glass never moving to Kansas City as he promised and putting his son, clearly in over his head, in charge of the Royals. Kansas has had a volatile football coach banned from his own son's high school football games and an FBI ticket scandal that''s landed employees in prison. We got clobbered by fans for reporting these things and providing edgy commentary. I was the guy that made fun of Kansas State President Jon Wefald when he made some comments about the University of Texas and tried to take them back saying he didn't know the internet would reach all the way to Texas. Bill Snyder famously called our studio control room years ago when I was reporting a story that he had not given his Big 12 Title rings to his players months after they won, because he wasn't happy with the way they were performing. I first reported the rift between Frank Martin and AD John Currie's compliance staff and weeks later he left KSU for South Carolina.

And Mizzou, well, they haven't been real happy with my stance on the SEC and they hate it when I say they don't play Kansas anymore because they chose to leave. We played the Ricky Clemons tapes on the air. And we reported, way back in 1999 that Norm Stewart was out at Mizzou and fans and other media outlets were saying our report was just an April Fool's joke.

This is why I cannot, and will not, take any e-mail or Tweet seriously that accuses me or our show of bias. We have years of proof on our side. Currently, Kansas fans are mad at us because Bill Self put his foot in his mouth. I didn't do it for him and he's normally great in the media and great at handling this stuff. But the Joel Embiid injury situation has been an uncharacteristic fiasco. The contradictions in all of this continue today as Self, just hours after saying he wouldn't have any further comment, talked to KU.sports.com's Tom Keegan about the timeline of all that went down with Embiid. As much as I love Tom Keegan, and Bill Self for that matter, I was left asking even more questions. "Why" is always the best question and it's even more unclear today. Why, if the diagnosis didn't change Monday, did Embiid's playing status change?

Bill Self told ESPN mid morning Monday that he was "100 percent" certain Embiid would play in Kansas City at the Big 12 Tourney or next week in the first round of the NCAA's. The second opinion was a "precaution" and there won't be any change. Ten hours later, KU basketball announces Embiid is out for Kansas City AND the first round of the NCAA's? Set aside for a moment that this is KU and think of it as Mizzou. Or KSU or OSU or anyone else. Wouldn't you think that something actually changed by visiting the second doctor? I sure think that and most people do.

But the lifeline of college basketball is recruiting and the last thing Kansas wants, whether as fact or the mere appearance of such, is for potential recruits and families to think KU botched something with a stress fracture in the back of the number one pick in the draft. I'd be in damage control mode, too.

And finally, no matter who your team is or what the issue is, know this. If you reach out to me in any way accusing me of an agenda or bias, I will laugh inside and you will have just complimented me on doing my job extremely well. It's worked for nearly 17 years so pack your lunch. I've got at least 17 more left if I choose.

Well, so much for Joel's family's feelings.

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/mar/13/embiids-dad-says-sons-injury-not-serious-expects-h/?mens_basketball ↗

Last night the "between the lines" guys were saying that Jo Jo's parents hate Self. Where would anyone get that info from Cameroon?

Yesterday WHB brought back a Spinal Specialist for a second time to delve into Coach Self knowing more than he really was saying about Joel and went down the road to accusing him of being a coach who plays kids when they are hurt. This brought back memories of his 3 day rant wanting to portray Roy Williams as a person who disrespects the American Flag and all of the brave men and women who have fought and given their lives for this country - http://cjonline.com/stories/021502/spo_kuflag.shtml ↗

In the meantime, Joel has not been on the court, he has not played and every KU Player and fan and Coach Self wants him to be well and no one wants to jeopardize his career at KU or in the pros.
Last week after Senior night he accused Self of saying one thing and doing another when Self said it was a night for the Seniors. " Then why would he ask for applause for Wiggins, Joel, Perry and the rest of the players and why would he have Harbaugh come to speak to the players if he knew that Nikko would be overshadowed by Harbaugh sinking a half court shot while shooting with the ball boys and having that shot shown on ESPN." Even the other sports writers that listen to Kietzman were making fun of him in tweets.
It's all about the ratings...

@jaybate 1.0 I knew you were going to bring Chester back today.

Joel out for Big12 and first round of NCAA. Just tweeted.

!IMG_0079.JPG ↗

The announcer said it was unfair for a big man to try and guard Juwan Staten. Releford and Morningstar both threw up after this play.

@Crimsonorblue22 I agree, this year there have been so many great, great players in this league.
Interesting first team and I agree with you. Two Cyclones, Two Jayhawks and Juwan Staten.

I listed this game as our toughest after watching the WVU game in Allen. Staten makes all guards in the Big 12 look crippled. What he did to Greene on a circle/pivot/drive was the most embarrassing defensive play of the year for KU.
Self says to Andrew, "This is a disposable game, I'm going to give you the green light to build your draft stock, so I want you to steal inbounds plays and dunk right after you hit a three and account for 5 points in 2 seconds. I want you to get all the steals you can today since I've been holding you back from doing that. But don't make it too obvious."
The guards stunk, the bigs were horrible and Andrew was magnificent. It's Self's fault.

This is one time I disagree Jaybate.

Congrats to Danny Manning, Steve Woodberry and Brett Ballard for winning regular season championship with the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes in the Conference USA. They finished in a four way tie, and their tournament is this week. Will Danny possibly coach against Bill in the Tournament?

New Tournament Uniforms!Capture.PNG ↗

Jaybate, your point seems to be that somehow Self should not have recruited the top players in the country if there was a possibility that they would be so good that they would leave. Also, it would have been a good thing not to win the Big 12 again so that we would be better in the future. I can't imagine any coach telling Wiggins that he was not wanted. As the season wore on we all could see why Green, White, and Conner had to sit on the bench. Complaining about the defense this year not being what it used to be is a false argument. We lost 4 Senior starters from last year and expect things to be better on defense this year when playing for a Self team requires a flow from the previous years upper classmen which were Ellis and Tharpe. Why do we always doubt the best coach in the country? Each of us on this site would have done all of this better than Bill. Only at Kansas do people bitch about currently being a # 1 seed.

@justanotherfan People used to say that about KU playing round-robin with the Big12 North and only 1 game with each of the South.
If you are not a Jayhawk in the mid-west, there seems to be an awful lot on resentment, anger and jealousy towards the Jayhawks through the local media. Kietzman's rant about how KU gets all the call with Wiggins every time he drives and how tired all of the BIG 12 schools are with KU winning every year. Then there is Jack Harry with his hatred and now the Financial editor of the KC Star calling Self a $5,000,000 Jerk because he wouldn't let his players cut down the nets at OSU.
You can always tell if KU ever loses on the road by the court storming. I'll give Marcus Smart a break because he is only 19 but someone needs to find out which Coach gave him the Idea that Bill Self would cut down the nets at his Alma Mater or if Marcus just actually slandered Bill Self on National TV.

I liked the one during the last Missouri game that said, "Now you're Kentucky's Bitch!"

Speaking of Saturday, what will the defensive matchups be for this game? Who guards Smart? Will Wiggins be put on whoever Mr. Hot Hand happens to be? Do we remember what we did with Forte in the second half as opposed to what we didn't do to stop him in the first half?

Christian Garret and Nikko Roberts each have 4 championship rings.

!BhSySXcCIAABkSe.jpg ↗

When the son of a bootlegger was coaching football and so many of the team members had been incarcerated that year, the story was that the State of Kansas had 4 major university sites. the "Shockers" in Wichita, the "Jayhawks" in Lawrence, the "Wildcats" in Manhattan and the "Sooners" in Leavenworth.

"This is Kansas, We don't rush the floor at Kansas." - Kirk Heinrich
Following the Texas game where Nick had the greatest game of any Jayhawk.

Tharpe was awful, but his assist to Selden for the 3 was lightning quick leaving him wide open.

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Do the Jayhawks read KU Buckets? I remember Taylor getting in trouble with social media. Coach probably shut that down among players, but, do you think what we say as fans is reading material for the players here at KU?

I'm sure the Athletic Dept. follows the fan base, One KU Sport's blogger thinks that the Avatar change at the site was the responsibility of the school requesting actual names of the bloggers be put with their comments.

Things never go better with Koch.

found on twitter

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/231935/Kansas-Has-Played-Toughest-NCAA-Schedule-Of-Any-School-Over-Past-20-Years ↗

@jaybate 1.0 " wild stork the opponent for as long as it takes to disrupt them, no matter how many air balls, fumbles and other incomprehensible bungles he makes. " Perfect description of Greene. Last night was a cleansing of sorts. After the game, Self had a smile on his face in the press room talking about how difficult it is to win in the Big12 on the road. I was actually more shocked at the 30+ ass whipping WV put on ISU last night. I'm not too bent out of shape over this loss. I am worried about Joel. KY became part of the team when on the last play against Mizzou, coach put him in and the camera showed him smiling as the ball was put in play.

" wild stork the opponent for as long as it takes to disrupt them, no matter how many air balls, fumbles and other incomprehensible bungles he makes. "
Perfect description of Greene.
Last night was a cleansing of sorts. After the game, Self had a smile on his face in the press room talking about how difficult it is to win in the Big12 on the road.
I was actually more shocked at the 30+ ass whipping WV put on ISU last night. I'm not too bent out of shape over this loss. I am worried about Joel.
KY became part of the team when on the last play against Mizzou, coach put him in and the camera showed him smiling as the ball was put in play.

http://mellinger.kansascity.com/entries/maybe-bob-huggins-beat-ku-contract-isnt-all-weird/ ↗
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I look at this as Bob Huggins paying Bill Self a compliment.

Fraschilla alluded to Smart being a bully last year and enjoyed Black standing up to him during a fracas Wednesday night. Players are less and less intimidated by him this year. The double flop against ISU where he received the foul was a classic with all of the BIG12 applauding the ref that made the call.