KU gets OSU tomorrow...
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@VailHawk well add the flopper to a list. Big country, pants on backwards, Eddie sutton, Sean sutton, keiton page, Travis ford, T Boone Pickens.
Those are the ones that were on top of my head.
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@JRyman I almost included T Boone!
Didn’t the big O hold big country to a goose egg once?
I liked Barry sanders but that’s about it.
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I liked Barry sanders but that’s about it.
@VailHawk Agree. I hold Barry Sanders in high esteem. And there’s one other OSU alumn that I hold in high esteem.
They are outnumbered by the knuckleheads.
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If any KU fans attending the game at the Sprint Center could organize a massive flop in the stands when Smart is introduced like ISU did last weekend, that would be great. It’s a shame that happened so late in the season, and most likely so late in Smart’s college career. It would be awesome if that was the M.O. that happened every time he walked onto an opponent’s home court.
As far as the game goes, if I were Bill Self I would show the tape of Kevin Young putting Smart on the ground last year, and tell them they have to go out and punch this team in the mouth. Gawd I hope they play with a chip on their shoulders tomorrow and absolutely bury those chumps!
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@icthawkfan316 or smart w/his post-game comments about the coaches showing him Selfs “supposedly” quote about cutting their nets! Bs!
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@Crimsonorblue22 Yeah, he’s classless, and a liar.
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After playing them twice now, we should be aware of what kind of game they have. Their ability to make this quick turnaround is going to be a factor and we shall see what their conditioning is. Will we be hungry? Will they be sluggish? We need to get a good start and play tough defense.
Rock Chalk!
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@JayHawkFanToo There’s 3 or 4 players in the country that won’t ever go on a 3 point drought. Forte is one of them. Someone will need to be in his face all day long. If we slack off on him, he will embarrass us.
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@nuleafjhawk In the last meeting Tharpe drew the assignment of guarding Forte and actually did a very good job. Forte went 1-6 from the field, 0-4 from trey. This is actually a good match-up for Tharpe, as he doesn’t have to worry about getting blown by, he just has to guard against the jumper and fight through screens to do it.
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@icthawkfan316 Yes! The question is can Tharpe keep his head in the game twice in one season?
That was just for effect, but he has given me reason to question his ability sometimes.
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@nuleafjhawk Well…he didn’t play great otherwise in that game. 2-8 and 6 TOs. LOL
I hear you, but he’s come out and played well after some of Self’s previous “wake-up calls” (following the 2 games Mason started, after he was benched late in the Texas game).
I’ll go out on a limb here and predict Tharpe to have a good game today. I think if nothing else, he rallies the team and shows some leadership.
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@icthawkfan316 you are right and boy I’m praying for that Tharpe that wins game for us to show up from now on!!!
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@Crimsonorblue22 Me too Crimson. Me too.
Here’s the thing: Tharpe will most likely never be appreciably better on the defensive end. Quick, athletic, long guards will most likely always give him problems. If they don’t, it’s more likely a function of that player being off their game than it is Tharpe shutting them down. There are things he can do to marginally improve, but physically he wasn’t as blessed as others.
Where he can improve is in his effort, leadership, and mental approach. Limit the turnovers. Get guys the ball in a position to score. Show some hustle. One of the things that stands out to me this year is the speculation as to when we would see Wiggins dive for a ball on the floor. Well that has happened. What I can’t seem to recall is an instance where Tharpe has done so. Maybe that’s a mental block on my part and an unfair assessment, but correct me if I’m wrong! More than anything he needs to take some pride in the fact that this is HIS team. He is the starting PG for the Kansas Jayhawks, and that is awesome! I mean, that is kid-in-the-driveway-pretending-to-be-you kind of awesome! Let that sink in, and raise to the level of responsibility that the role entails.
I think Tharpe has it in him. I hope we see it today.
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@icthawkfan316 not sure about Tharpe diving, but I do remember Tharpe guarding his man really well against Texas at home, also against the OU team. I know he can, but I can’t understand why he’s not consistent??? Does he play better at home?
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I agree with everything you say… except the part that he is incapable of playing good defense. Tharpe is fast and has decent lateral movement.
All of Tharpe’s issues are mental. That becomes apparent with all his unforced TOs.
Tharpe needs zen. He needs to get a grip on his mind before he takes the court for a game. His head is spinning… and usually his head spins most right at the beginning of a game because he needs to calm down a bit. If you look back over the season you will find that he almost always commits a cluster of TOs right at the beginning of a game. Those are mental TOs.
His defense stinks because he can’t shut his mind down while guarding. So his guy makes a drive and before Tharpe can respond, his mind has to give him the go ahead. No way that will work… he lags behind. Those reactions need to come from instincts without the mind having to signal ahead.
The right kind of sports trainer could help him with that.
Then he needs zen to visualize ahead and get his mind and body in sync, working at the right speed where he will be most productive. Right now, his anxiety/nerves get the best of him and keep him running at an unproductive pace. His mind is speeding ahead, not allowing instincts to make any decisions… so he appears to be both too sped up and too slow, both at the same time!
I really don’t understand why the coaching isn’t on to this and helping him out. This isn’t rocket science.
If they could work this out with him… we will easily win a national championship… and he would be in the running for MVP. Yes… you heard me right… MVP! Because the guy is capable of playing phenomenal ball and being a dead-eye from 3.
But instead… we sputter… we all get mad at Tharpe… and his confidence drops and he (and everyone) is frustrated because of his play.
Sometimes this feels like we are watching a train wreck in slow motion! We can stop it… so why don’t we?
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@Crimsonorblue22 Well I think most players are likely to play better at home. Just the overall familiarity of everything from the locker room to the shooting backgrounds.
I remember the re-match against Texas as well. Isaiah Taylor had a horrible game. But again, I don’t know how much of that was Tharpe, and how much of it was Taylor just being off his game.
Against Jordan Woodard of OU, I don’t remember much about the game from Tharpe’s standpoint on the defensive end. A quick check of the box score shows Woodard had 10 pts on 4-7 shooting, 1-2 from trey, with 6 assists and 1 turnover. A quick check of the season stats shows Woodard averages 10.3 ppg, while averaging 4.6 assists and 2.1 turnovers. So while it is true Woodard didn’t “go off”, statistics show Tharpe did little but hold him to his average amount of points, while allowing a slight uptick in assists and forcing 1 fewer turnover.
In any case, Taylor & Woodard are hardly two of the better PGs in the league, at least at this point in their careers. Taking Tharpe out, there are 9 other starting PGs in the Big 12. Staten, Kane, Smart are the elite. I’d also probably rank Kenny Cherry of Baylor & Kyan Anderson of TCU ahead of Taylor & Woodard as well. So they’re in the bottom 4 of competition Tharpe faces in league play.
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There is no reason why Tharpe couldn’t be one of our better defenders. He has big league speed! Look at him… and then look at Aaron Craft. I’d rather have Tharpe’s physicality. But as things are right now… I’d rather have Craft’s ability to play through his instincts!
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Sometimes Tharpe reminds me of a miniature poodle. Head is shaking… panting breath…
That’s all a mental thing. If he doesn’t work it out now, he will someday… probably after his ball days are over. And he will be saddened and saying… “wish I knew then what I know now…”
But he has coaches that are older and wiser. These guys should be able to help him get his grip. So why aren’t they?
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@drgnslayr Hmm. Well, I honestly can’t profess to being an expert on the subject. Perhaps I’m guilty of perception, and like many others can recall @Jaybate 1.0 commenting on Tharpe his freshman year and his “little legs”. And watching him get burned repeatedly, I just chalked it up to the little legs.
I don’t doubt Tharpe has speed. I don’t know that he has quickness, especially in his reaction time.
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I think he has plenty of quickness, too… we just don’t get to see that because he has brain freeze when a player makes him move. Then Tharpe tries to recover. Too late.
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I think he could get help from some kind of arcade games where he has to reach out and react to a flashing light or something. Make him work on it until he cuts his brain off and goes off instinct. Then… get him to start translating that into his bball game.
I’m sure their are sports trainers out there that know easy ways to accomplish it. They do it all the time in boxing and probably every sport.
I have no expertise in this myself… but I can see Tharpe’s problems clear as day!
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I would be thrilled if Tarik could get a couple of charges called on smart! Flop a little! We really need to frustrate smart, cut the head off ! Just watch out fans at sprint!
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@icthawkfan316-Have to give the fav for that one, at least at this point in his life he appears to be both.
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@bskeet-Surely that’s Bill & not his old chum Garth?
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It helps that Barry Sanders is from Kansas, Wichita actually.
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I like it. Tharpe on Forte and Wiggins on Smart.
