Erron Harris leaving West Virginia, Wigs digs on Stanford and other topics.



  • Erron Harris, one of the West Virginia bombers is leaving the team. He is from Indianapolis and says he wants to be closer to home. A 42% three bomber this year averaging 18 points a game sounds nice. Is Lawrence closer to home for him? Probably not, but I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a Jayhawk Uni.

    Yahoo had a little ‘story’ about Selden and Wiggins being asked about Stanfords Chasson Randle at a Saturday press conference. Wigs and Wayne giggled and didn’t say much, pretty much acting like they’d never heard of him. Stanford noticed and made them pay a bit I’d suppose. Randle had 6 steals, which against our team is only average output 🙂

    I’ve looked around and haven’t been able to find much on next years schedule. We might as well start thinking about next year. Not too much info available that I could find. I’m all for tough scheduling, simply because the games are more interesting to watch than a 40 point blowout. I said it several times here that a tough schedule doesn’t pay off too much if you don’t win the tough games and we lost quite a few of them. I don’t think we would have had a real satisfying ending to the season even if our schedule was easier either. This team was too young and the loss of Joel was devastating. 4-3 in games he didn’t play is proof of that.

    I am optimistic for next year, and will be giddy, night before Christmas like a 5 year old type giddy, if Joel stays. I’m excited for seeing the development of Wayne, I assume he’ll stay, Connor, Perry and the others. Alexander I’m not sold on yet. Put up amazing numbers in Chicago, but some maturity questions give me a bit of apprehension.

    I don’t follow our recruiting enough to know if we have our eyes on other kids, but generally, freshmen players just don’t excite me too much, especially after this year.

    Will there be some increasing pressure on Bill Self if we have an early exit again? I can see some unrest at times, even on these pages. I know it’s mostly silly to diss on a man who won a ring, came close another time and who wins a lot of games.



  • @wissoxfan83 our kids thought they said Jason randle and they didn’t know who he was. KU kids hadn’t got the scouting report yet. They were not disrespecting the kid!



  • @wissoxfan83 Alexander is a man-child-beast…he’s so TRob-esque only ready made…he’ll be ready from the start…Hudy will tweak his body and the kid will be phenomenal.

    We really could’ve used him this last season. He’s very physical. I LOVE his attitude and fire on the court.

    Oubre is a bit obscure at this point.



  • @truehawk93 saw the 4 overtime win for his team. Looking forward to seeing the new Jhawks. Trying to be positive, but maybe turner and cliff will be stronger than Embiid w/shaky back issues??? Of course, IF we get turner. Just wish Embiid decides and we can move on.



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    @wissoxfan83

    No seriously, Oubre is pretty physical and I like these players that can play physical. This team is too soft. These two guys are going to bring it.



  • @Crimsonorblue22

    I agree. Embiid needs to make a decision very soon if KU is to have a shot at landing Myles Turner. I will guess that Turner is waiting on Embiid’s decision but probably will not wait for too long.



  • @JayHawkFanToo Turner took an official visit to UT. I think Turner is KU’s to lose. Embiid better not wait for Turner to commit against KU and then pull a kind of twin to enter the NBA. Remember when we lost both twins? Self was only expecting to lose McMorris, not MkMorris. They both declared and it left us in a lurch. I don’t think Turner will announce untill Embiid makes his announcement.

    I think Turner’s options in this order are:

    KU

    UT

    SMU - he said SMU is a dark horse

    UK

    TAM- too, not sure except Texas

    OSU - cowboys

    zona is in here too

    OSU

    I think he wants KU, but would like to stay in Texas if possible.



  • Will there be some increasing pressure on Bill Self if we have an early exit again?

    I can’t imagine there being pressure on Bill from the administration. On top of everything else (the '08 championship, the '12 runner-up, 10 straight conference titles, ridiculous overall winning percentage, recruiting success, charity work, etc.), a probably seldom thought of reason as to why there wouldn’t be any pressure on him is that I can’t think of anybody else better right now that would be available. Say Bill leaves - either retires, moves to the NBA, or is forced out - who would we be looking at? The only coaches who can match his success - Donovan, Izzo, Coach K, etc. - most likely wouldn’t make a lateral move like that, uproot themselves from the good thing they got going. So you’re left with coaches who are not as established & successful, in which case it is a gamble. Manning? He’d be the sentimental favorite, but he hasn’t shown enough at the D1 coaching level to guarantee we’d maintain the level of success now. Tad Boyle & Mark Turgeon would be other candidates from inside the KU family, but they’ve been D1 coaches for awhile, and have they really shown the chops to cut it at a place like KU? So maybe we do like we did with Self, and that’s look to perhaps the second tier of coaches from successful, non-blue blood schools. Jay Wright maybe? Sean Miller? I was pretty high on Buzz Williams who just took the Virginia Tech job, although he had a disappointing final season at Marquette. What about up & comers? Shaka Smart or (gasp) Gregg Marshall?

    Point is, anybody else is a crap shoot.

    Now what I could see in terms of “pressure” should we have another early exit is the AD sitting down with Self and asking him what he needs to be more successful, and perhaps “recommend” that he make some changes in his coaching staff to better complement Self in some areas in which he is perhaps not as much an expert.



  • @icthawkfan316-Unlikely, Self pretty much writes his own ticket. Who, in their right mind in a no football school, would have balls enough to ask Bill for a sit down? Tony Soprano…or uncle Junior?



  • @truehawk93

    I agree that Turner would come to KU if Embiid leaves;. However, he will wait only so long; he needs to start planning and the start of Summer school is only a couple of months away. Most players use Summer school to get a jump start and I ma sure Turner wants to do it as well.



  • @globaljaybird Don’t look now, but Stillwater is getting really impatient and Uncle Boon just may have the coconuts to sit down with Bill and write a check. But many think OSU is way off of Self’s radar right now. Self has too much invested in this team to even think of leaving due to “pressure.” I think Self loves a challenge and he definitely has a challenge as the head coach of KU.

    I wonder if the Booths could match the Pickens’ dollar for dollar? Some don’t think Pickens cares for bball as he does football.



  • @icthawkfan316

    My leading candidate to replace Bil Self when he retires, Brad Stevens, is now coaching for the Boston Celtics. Maybe, like Pitino, he will get tired of dealing with prima-donas that make a lot more money than he does and come back to coach college BBall.

    At this point, I cannot think of a single coach that I would take over Bill Self; this includes posters in this forum that think they can do a better job than Coach Self 🙂



  • @globaljaybird Well every year at the end of the year Bill & the AD have a sit down. Self has said so. I 100% agree that Self “writes his own ticket”, that he IS KU athletics, but he still has a boss. I’m not saying it would be confrontational, but I wouldn’t doubt them putting it out there like that.



  • @icthawkfan316 Sure they have a sit down. It all rolls down hill. AD wants a report. Self wants his team to decide what they want to do. The team has to make a decision as to what they want based on what the AD and Self discusses. It’s all normal and nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to alarm anyone over. Let’s all sit and enjoy the post season. We have a lot to anticipate.



  • @JayHawkFanToo I like Stevens too. He’d be up there on my list if available, I just don’t think he will be, at least for a few more years. I think Pitino returned to college coaching because he had little success in the NBA, not because he tired of the NBA dynamics.

    I agree too that there isn’t any coach I’d take over Self. It was just a hypothetical that gets thrown out there every so often. Usually it’s the “what if Self retires tomorrow…” type question, but since it was asked if there might be any pressure should we have another early exit, I thought it would be a good chance to illustrate just how lucky we are to have Bill 🙂



  • It’s all speculation but there’s some writing on the wall for a few players. I think AW3’s sit down with Self will be really up front and honest. I think Tharpe is going to get an ultimatum the pg is once again up for hire and right now Tharpe’s not a huge candidate going into his senior season. I think CF may have the pg. I think the Stanford game brought out the real CF. Tharpe is not a leader on the court.



  • LOL Self isn’t going anywhere folks.



  • @truehawk93 I’m not attempting to alarm anyone. Follow the original post. It was asked if Self would be getting any pressure should the team make another early round exit. I said I can’t fathom any real pressure, but I could see the administration sitting down and asking what he needs to succeed and maybe making some recommendations. Then another poster asks who “would have balls enough to ask Bill for a sit down?” My response was that they already have one. Of course it is all normal and nothing out of the ordinary. That’s why I said they have one every year.



  • @truehawk93

    The hat thing didn’t reveal something about the kid? A basketball mad state whose state university has fallen quite a bit and he disses them?

    After they got upset in the regional playoffs he laid on the court and pouted, wouldn’t get up. I wasn’t impressed when I read that.

    I hope I’m wrong, and look at my bracket to see how much I know about hoops!, but he’s just rubbed me the wrong way so far.



  • @wissoxfan83 I found this on Kusports.com: The schedule: In 2014-15, KU will play Kentucky in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis; Georgetown in Verizon Center, the home of the Washington Wizards; and Temple in Wells Fargo Center, home of the Philadelphia 76ers. KU will meet UNLV in Allen Fieldhouse and Utah in KC’s Sprint Center. KU also will play a team from the SEC in Allen in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The opponent likely will be Florida.

    The Jayhawks also will play in the Old Spice Classic with Georgia Tech, Marquette, Michigan State, Rhode Island, Rider, Santa Clara and Tennessee.

    As far as future tourneys, KU will likely play in Maui in 2015 and the CBE Classic in Kansas City in 2016. No tourney yet is on tap for 2016-17, with the Battle 4 Atlantis a possibility.



  • @truehawk93

    I like Kelly Oubre, but my concern is that much of his success from a shooting standpoint is on drive and kick plays. That will put pressure on either Tharpe, Mason or Frankamp to master a drive and kick game. I think he will be great, but for him to reach his full potential will require our PG contingent to step forward.

    As for Alexander, he is a BEAST. He is a true power post player somewhat like TRob, but probably further along than TRob was as a freshman. A very respected coach once said at a clinic I was at that big men need to finish with violence and authority. There is no way to violently finish a finger roll. But that’s what I like about Cliff Alexander. He is not trying to finger roll. He is not trying to make layups. He is trying to break backboards, and anything else that happens to get in his path along the way.

    I love the highlight you embedded, because all it shows is dunk after dunk after dunk, with a handful of jumpers and post moves mixed in, and the occasional thunderous block to punctuate the video. More than anything KU needs a bit of an edge. They need a little toughness, something we’ve lacked the last few years without guys like Darnell, Sherron, Mario, TRob and Tyshawn. More than his skill set, that’s what Alexander brings, and that’s why I am ecstatic to have him in Lawrence next year.

    KU wasn’t scary this year. SDSU and K-State turned the games against us into street fights, and we lost both. I bet a team with Cliff Alexander on it wouldn’t lose a street fight. That’s not the kind of guy you get into a street fight with.



  • @icthawkfan316 I hear you 🙂



  • @justanotherfan We were too soft.



  • @truehawk93 I too am super excited about Alexander & Oubre (and Turner should Embiid leave and we land him)



  • @icthawkfan316 nobody can replace Self, but if he left I like Tony Bennett. I’ve watched a few games, but love the way they play D



  • @KUSTEVE oh no, we didn’t schedule WSU? Looks like a terrific schedule, can’t wait!



  • @Crimsonorblue22

    My guess, as a Badger fan too, is he’s waiting out Bo Ryan, who’s in his upper 60’s and will go back to his home state. I sometimes wonder if us KU fans would enjoy having a team that kills on defense, but doesn’t have a high flying offense. That’s been Bennett’s trademark.



  • @Crimsonorblue22 LOL. WSU needs to save their strength for the likes of Indiana St.



  • @icthawkfan316 Watch their vids. Oubre especially can take a hit and finish. This is what hurt Wigs from time to time. He couldn’t take too much contact and finish. He missed several layups because of contact or sometimes no contact. Wiggins was pampered in high school. All these kids have to make an adjustment to D1, especially B12 style of play. I think that’s what they learn. You read the quotes from Wigs and Embiid, and they constantly commented on how physical the game was at the college level. The B12 was especially physical this year.



  • @truehawk93 wouldn’t it be fun to see a defensive hilite film! I’ve always heard Self says he can coach them up on D. I know he proved that w/wiggins and Selden , but the rest??? The rule changes were tough w/this team, I think. Would love to hear what coach thinks about that.



  • The thing too in discussing potential replacements is not that we want or expect Self to go anywhere, but a “plan for the worst” mentality. The administration no doubt keeps a list for such an occasion. No harm in guessing as to whom we think might be on that list, or who we would want.



  • @Crimsonorblue22 They were learning D late. I’d say as late as the B12 tourney. They were just not very intensive on D. The most intensity they showed was the press against Stanford. That press was outstanding. I was really impressed. Heck, I think it even impressed Self. I think Self was surprised they actually got the ball. They looked much like the '08 team.



  • @truehawk93 so maybe oubre will find that same thing out?



  • @Crimsonorblue22 Fraid so. But he doesn’t shy away from contact. I was a little shocked at Selden shying away from contact when he went away from the Stanford defender and was blocked, instead of going into him. Selden is big and strong. He needs to play to his body like Smart did so many times.

    As much as Smart goofed this year, I still think he should’ve been a Jayhawk. He was our missing piece of the puzzle folks.

    Dang it…everytime I watched Smart, I saw him in a KU uni. It hurt too. He was meant to be KU’s next pg. What we would’ve done with him last year and maybe this year is scary. Oh well…moving a long…dang it…I can’t…



  • @Crimsonorblue22

    I agree. The change in the contact rules affected teams like KU that rely on defensive pressure a lot more than it did teams that emphasize offense.

    I believe over the break, Coach Self will update his defense strategy to cope with the new rules and we will see a much improved defensive team next season.



  • @Crimsonorblue22 @truehawk93 Word is that Oubre is a plus defender as well. He’ll be a step back from Wiggins, at least initially, but should be quite a bit better than most freshman are out of the box.



  • @JayHawkFanToo I think all coaches will address the rule change. I think you’ll see the better coaches and teams find a way to beat the rule.



  • As far as Selfs job goes, everywhere Self goes, you see Zenger too! Can’t say exactly what I’d like too, but you get the picture.



  • @Crimsonorblue22 LOL…It will change as Zenger gains confidence and learns. Self has been here long enough to learn things Zenger has to learn. But Zenger is a truehawk too. He was born, reared, and educated in Kansas (minus ksu)…anywho…he’ll be fine. I like Zenger. He’s not Lou Perkins.



  • @icthawkfan316 Only sensible recommendation Bill could get from SZ is to advise all his friends to sign up for TWC in case they can’t get to a game in person. Maybe there is a skim scam in that deal, but most fans think it required a donut brain to take it. I know, I know there’s gold in them thar hills for the U with that deal, but there’s a lot of pissed off fans who now miss 6-8 games per year & have little regard for any real “sports knowledge” he could possibly suggest to Self. Some find that possibility downright humorous. Just saying…



  • @globaljaybird I was a lucky one to get all the games, 'cept that weird one over turkey day, but my family got it, so lucky again. My folks, other family members called and wrote letters about that mess. I felt so guilty that I could get them! I’m not a Zenger fan. Jmo



  • @Crimsonorblue22 Respectfully disagree.

    He’s a helluva singer, but he’s in his 80’s and doesn’t know any more about basketball than I do. (But I know enough that we should have played Frankamp more this year)

    Yes, I’m kidding.



  • @justanotherfan I thought we looked intimidated against Stanford, which is why we were 9 for 22 at the rim. Which is why we lost the game. I don’t think Cliffie would have the same problem.



  • @KUSTEVE question, why would we be intimidated w/practicing against some really good big guys? Does Perry go against Tarik every day? Just really wish we could get meaner, tougher!



  • @justanotherfan I’m pumped to see Alexander in Lawrence. Oubre too, although he seems like less of a known quality.

    What I keep asking myself is who is going to feed these guys the ball? Please don’t say Tharpe, I don’t think my nervous system can take another season of watching him.

    I’d be thrilled if Self has a JUCO pg or transfer stud in the pipeline that no one knows about…





  • @wrwlumpy-Kool !! I think slayr should give him the first pre-season floor burn award already !!

    But that clouds the sky for Greene, White, & Oubre. Damn, I don’t want to loose Brannen. Tharpe, backup, but not Greene.



  • @wrwlumpy

    Great news. Selden has the potential to be a lottery pick, no question about it.



  • Well, if Self should go searching for a transfer or juco pt. guard, he’s going to have to usher someone out the door. Unless, of course, Embiid leaves, and we go with the pt. guard hunt over the prospect of fetching Myles Turner. As has been suggested, it probably is in the program’s best interest for JoJo to announce his decision within the next 10 days. Solid news, Selden’s announcement. Personally, I view “pt. guard by committee” to be a shaky business. I could see us going in the direction of Frankamp 25 minutes, Mason 15. Tharpe subbing for Selden at the 2. Still too much congestion at the 3, esp. if Ellis gets some time at that position. Greene, Oubre, AW3 and maybe a touch of Perry? Something probably needs to give…



  • Great news about Selden. He should be able to improve his draft status by coming back. I think he is a key for us to be better next year. Even if Emiid leaves… which I expect. We need Wayne’s toughness and I think he will turn into a leader and more of a consistent scorer. We will have way more experience now and can work the 2 (or 3) talented freshmen in.


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