KU Basketball / Other NCAAM

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  Key to becoming a sportswriting genius...
  • drgnslayr  

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  @Shanghai_Hawk - Only theories abound. It seems something will be reveled soon because the spotlight will brighten if he continues to stay MIA.
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  Beating 2 Contenders in 3 Days at Home or Giving Up Losing for Basketball Lent
  • jaybate 1.0  

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  @VailHawk, great question. Think Self’s range of emotions in a game. You have probably noticed that Self’s levels of emotion and intensity ebb and flow during a game. You have probably noticed he is modulating his shows of same based on whether he thinks his team is too lax or too sped up. Sometimes he is calm, almost neutral, letting them labor. Sometimes he exhorts. Sometimes he is anger and fury. How they play is often influenced by influenced by him. He knows what geeks them up and calms them. They want to give him what he wants. What he does on the bench he can do in the days before a game. He can be loose or intense. He can get them over or under confident, businesslike or intense in the run up to games. Sending them out flat just takes holding his own emotions to neutral and giving them a lot of “stuff” to think about. Amping them means overt appeals to their hot buttons, acting fired up, letting them know their reputations are on the line, or simply tapping into their trust and devotion to him. Think of how much you yourself notice Self’s emotions on the bench from a TV. Imagine being within feet of that for a day or 4 before a game. He can make you feel 10 feet tall or like you are inept, or most anywhere in between with just a few words.
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  Is the OSU game a "trap game?"
  • drgnslayr  

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  @JayHawkFanToo don’t like to give kstate to much credit on slowing down smart! He slapped the board all by himself to sit on the bench w/a lot of time left. I think smart gets his pts, but they don’t have enough to keep up w/us. I hope! Didn’t forte make the key basket for them last year? Off an offensive board?
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  Jan 15 Headlines: Tragic Magic Aftermath
  • bskeet  

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  @Blown I have been saying all along to trust Coach Self and that once the players embrace his system KU would be OK. It looks like is tuning out exactly this way.
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  OSU
  • jaybate 1.0  

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  Selden will be guarding Smart. Smart is powerful player and Selden is the best defensive match. I can see Coach Self having Selden and Wiggins drive on Smart to get him in early foul trouble.
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  FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU @ ISU - Jan 13
  • drgnslayr  

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  I thought Wayne Selden earned an “honorable mention” floor burn award when he flew from the opposite side of the court while Ellis was wrestling for a loose ball, and Selden comes flying horizontal and traps the ball and calls a quick timeout…check his right elbow for a real, legit, floor burn. Jerrod Haase would be PROUD, as that was true hustle-stuff…! Self’s genius: get a MickeyD to play a “glue” role (Selden). And it seems the best Self-era wing at KU (B.Rush) title is finally going to pass to Wiggins. Rush was a better 3 shooter, they are about equal on defense (as frosh), but Wiggybaby is definitely more the slasher we all waited and waited for Rush to become. Edge to frosh Wiggins over frosh+soph Rush. But just barely…
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  Match-Ups in an Age of Rising Talent Asymmetry
  • jaybate 1.0  

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  Withey vs. Mizzou was a good example of an opponent’s small ball taking a bigman totally out of his realm of effectiveness. Withey was almost useless on the perimeter other than that spectacular 3pt block & steal vs. UNC’s Hairston in the Madness last year. But Self had little depth to counter or adjust. Enter this season, however, and he has twice the options.
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  The Mayor, Citizen Kane Join Growing List of Liars
  • nuleafjhawk  

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  I don’t know if this is true… but it feels like Fred is a bit too focused only on beating Kansas. For example… talk about a trap game in Oklahoma! I don’t think there is any doubt that Hoiberg is a legit coach. He’s put ISU on the radar. But if he has a downfall it is his desire to skip too quickly to the top. It seems he wants to model his team in a Kansas mold without going through the 116 years or so of Kansas legendary basketball that got us to where we are today. He would do better to model his team after Marshall at WSU, who has taken their growth one small step at a time and it has been coming on for more than a decade. For that reason, it isn’t totally shocking that the Shockers made the FF. If Fred keeps pulling fast ones, he’ll lose the respect he was starting to earn by grinding out tough seasons and posting modest gains in victories. “The Mayor” is a good name for him… because he is full of political ambition! Slow it down, Fred… embrace honorable play and methods… and work hard… before you know it, you’ll have a shot at your goals! Respect Kansas, because without Kansas in the B12, this league would quickly become a dog league going nowhere. Respect us and we’ll respect you back! It is a win-win situation unless you continue being a trickster! There are a pile of bones of old coaches from other schools in our league that thought they could pull a fast one on Kansas… do any of these names ring a bell? Quin Snyder, Norm Stewart, Billy Tubbs… Right… they don’t ring a bell! Now look at some old coaches from other schools who do ring a bell, and didn’t make a living pulling fast ones: Eddie Sutton, Henry Iba, Tex Winter, Jack Hartman… to name a few! Only YOU can decide which pile you end up in.
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  I wonder as I wander.....
  • nuleafjhawk  

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  There’d be a whole lot more people yelling NBAMac during KU games on Jesse’s live blog if BMac was still here. There’d be a lot less announcers fawning over Wiggins on KU telecasts. There’d be no Wilt and Wigs SI cover. We’d not be discussing this right now. Ben’s mom would still be waiting for her dream house, so for that, we say, good choice Ben!
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  Jan 14: Hilton Honors
  • approxinfinity  

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  @drgnslayr , great post. I agree. While its no secret that last year’s stupidity by IowaState fans has totally soured me on them, I also was watching IowaState last night shoot themselves out of their own gym, just like KU did in AFH against SDSU, going 7 for 33 and 8-for-38 at one point vs. SDSU. Sometimes a team is its own worst enemy. Hopefully IowaSt doesnt get hot in AFH for the return match.
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  Jan 13: Post-game Roundup -- KU vs Iowa State
  • approxinfinity  

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  Great win that puts us in the drivers seat…although only 3 games in. While we wouldn’t have won without Tharpe or Wiggins having the game they did, the biggest impact was by Embiid. In the 2nd half he dominated at both ends. They couldn’t stop him on offense. On defense, not only did he block shots (even a 3!) but he changed shots and also got into their heads. No question that we need to clean up the turnovers…we can’t always count on a team missing so many 3s. If we can win the next 2 home games…we’ll really be in good shape.
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  WARM WARM WARM!
  • drgnslayr  

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  And JoJo might have carried the team, but Wiggins was everywhere last night. It’s very refreshing to see a new Wiggins. I think he got some good advice this time and took it to heart. It was great to see.
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  Duh.
  • bskeet  

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  @Blown I can replace the photo if you can suggest a better one.
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  ISU
  • jaybate 1.0  

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  @drgnslayr When I rehabbed the cuff tear, in 3 months they never once used heat-only ice. And until I figured out how to place the wrap correctly, that friggin ice hurt like someone beating me with a hammer. As you well know, there’s just no adequate way to fully describe the pain of that surgery & recovery. Wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy…well… again, maybe I could think of someone if I tried.
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  Jan 13: Game day headlines for KU vs Iowa State
  • approxinfinity  

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  If ISU wants to try to play us with a one legged point guard, I’m all for it.
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  FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs KSU - Jan 11
  • drgnslayr  

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  @drgnslayr this is my favorite award for the game, can’t wait to see who gets it tonight!
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  Jan 11: Post-game Roundup: KU vs K State
  • approxinfinity  

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  @justanotherfan or… Maybe they know Embiid like we do and could see the sorrow he had in his heart. I know, my glass is always half FULL!
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  ON SELDEN AND WIGGINS...
  • jaybate 1.0  

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  @jaybate 1.0 This is right on the money. I’d take it even a step further. Look at the body types. First, let’s get Lebron out of the way because nobody is built like that. Coming out of high school, he was listed at 6-8, 240. At that size (about the size that T-Rob was when he left KU), Lebron was as quick as most NBA guards, with the same ball handling ability, but as strong as some NBA power forwards, combined with the explosive leaping ability rivaled by few in the world (40+ inches). Nobody else in the world is built like that. Lebron is a Transformer. He can be a tank. He can be a sports car. He can be an ATV. He can be a jet. At times, he can be all of those things at different moments on the exact same play. Kobe, as you aptly pointed out, is not quite the same. Young Kobe could be a sports car or a jet, in much the same way that young Jordan could. The difference was that Kobe had a very good jump shot pretty early in his career. Wiggins is in the same sports car/ jet range as young Kobe. He has the agility and explosiveness, but lacks the power to just bull through defenders. He is different than many of the sports car/ jet players in that he is much taller and longer. People see his leaping ability and see Lebron, or a young Nique. What they forget is that those guys were both more power players. Wiggins is speed and agility. He’s a Ferrari hugging the turns. He’s a Lamborghini going 0 to 80. He’s a lear jet barreling down the runway for takeoff. Lebron is a different beast. He’s a tank boxing out a 6-10 power forward for a rebound, then a sports car exploding from the pack in the paint at high speed, converting to an ATV as he moves through the lane on the other end, then a jet as he explodes off the floor for the finish. On that same type of play, Wiggins is a jet soaring for the rebound, then a sports car using his speed and agility to weave through the defense. The problem for Wiggins right now is that he doesn’t yet have the power to convert back into a jet to finish, so he’s trying to finish as a sports car, careening around curves. He has to get back to being a jet and turning that forward momentum into upward momentum for the finish.
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  Did Anyone Else Notice Andrew White's Recently Reported Take on Transferring?
  • jaybate 1.0  

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  I think what matters most for AW3 is that he continues to develop his game. Whether or not he earns big minutes in the future is up to him and the talent we recruit. But as long as he is building strength and improving his game he’ll find a well-paid job after KU… perhaps in the Ukraine! (or more realistic, Europe). That’s what I care about the most for players like AW3. And I hope he snags a diploma while in Lawrence. Those tend to come in handy later, too!
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  Liberace Gets Candelabra Handed to Him On a Platter
  • nuleafjhawk  

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  @tundrahok +1