KU Basketball

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  Jan 18 Game Day: Jayhawks focus on OSU; media focus on Wiggins
  • bskeet  

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  Sometimes I hate it when I call it right. I though that Forte might be the x-factor and darn it if the smurf-on-steroids part-deux (Keiton Paige was the original one) didn’t almost single-handedly steal the game. Gotlieb is a douche and the bag it came in. When Seth Davis indicated that KU is a legitimate final four team, Dougie started to whine and bring up the SDSU game. Davis gave him a look that basically said…you are moron, and told him…see you in March. Dougie tried to backpedal and looked even more pathetic. Doug Gotlieb has officially " Jumped the shark." The older posters will know what I am talking about.
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  "If I were them, I wouldn't want to play us either." Gregg Marshall
  • nuleafjhawk  

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  @drgnslayr I may never visit KUBuckets again after seeing that website!
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  What is the deal with UK and Coach Cal?
  • DoubleDD  

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  @DoubleDD You asked a question, the question was answered and yet here you are again asking the same question. Do you really want to know the answer or are you more interested having other posters to agree with you? As many have mentioned, Embiid was a complete unknown and unranked by all the reporting services at the start of his Senior HS season. Calipari’s bread and butter are top 25 players and McDonald All American candidates (where KU’s is more top 100); Embiid was neither and Calipari had signed Dakari Johnson, the #2 center. It was only later in the season that Embiid was noticed and a true stroke of luck that KU got him. Like Calipari, most every major college recruiting team missed on Embiid. By the time the season ended, Embiid stock had risen but he still did not even make the McDonald’s All American team; the first time we were able to really see hm was at the Nike All Star where he looked really tall, and really raw. We are extremely fortunate that Embiid is developing into a superb player; there are many tall, similarly built African players warming the benches at schools all over.
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  Fabulous Wiggins interview by Jason King.
  • REHawk  

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  “Everything was moving so fast for me at first,” Wiggins said. “Coach would get on me for not being aggressive or not running the floor hard every possession. He was hard on me. He was hard on everyone. He doesn’t care who you are.” That’s why Coach Self is the best! He pushes guys hard and the guys respond. That’s why more players reach their potentials under Coach Self. The Wiggins won’t regret their choice to come to Kansas because Coach will help Andrew to become ready for the NBA. It will never be merely a one year stop over. Love Wiggins’ attitude. Keep faith and work hard! And listen to your dad.
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  Jan 16 Headlines: Experts reassess KU and anticipate KU vs OSU
  • bskeet  

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  Jason King just produced a fabulous Wiggins interview, BLEACHER REPORT. Lots of comments from KU coaches, Andrew and family.
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  Who is doing the game for CBS?
  • JRyman  

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  @JRyman : I helped you out. Just put [ text here ] ( link here ).
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  Jan 17 Headlines: The World According to Tharpe
  • bskeet  

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  Little off topic but not worth a new post. Walking around during lunch in Austin today with my 9 Straight Big12 Conference Champs t-shirt, came upon a group of 6 from ISU decked out in their Cyclones gear. They play UT tomorrow. 5 of them sneered at me and only one told me “Good Game.” I think the Longhorns have a good chance to beat ISU as long as Coach Barnes doesn’t screw up taking the hot players out (which he always seems to do).
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  Scott Drew, meet Tubby Smith.
  • wrwlumpy  

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  @REHawk - Amazing to see so much money thrown around amateur sports!
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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.