ITS THE END OF THE WORLD
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@icthawkfan316 or will he have 3 years? I forgot. I thought he left in time so he wouldn’t lose his soph year. Not sure. Just wondered what Marshall would do w/him.
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I only want to know one thing:
What happened over half time? That was the softest basketball I’ve ever seen this team play in the first part of the second half, when OSU sort of fell in to a 11 point run.
It did really seem like they had taken a nap at halftime, or smoked some killer herb, or just decided to not come out and play.
If this was boxing, and a fighter suddenly quit like that it would be under investigation by the boxing commission as a betting conspiracy.
They did a bit better after that, but the damage was done.
I’d like to say it was the heavy pressure applied by OSU… but it wasn’t. In fact, they came out slow, too, but bounced on us after it was apparent we weren’t going to play.
I could never coach these guys. I would have called time out a few minutes into the second half and I would have taken my starting 5 and told them to go to the locker room because their day was finished. They can wait on the bus. The other guys would have been motivated and probably won the game.
Could Self had said something to them that made them all just decide to come out and protest with super soft play?
I am really lost here. Maybe someone in here can clue me in.
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I know what you mean. And I really get upset when they play so crappy in stretches.
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@icthawkfan316 This KUinLA is one of the maybe a handful of downers on buckets, maybe even less than that. I don’t mean to be facetious, but we have had very few bashers, trolls, whatever you want to refer to them as. People are mainly very polite & respectful & language is mostly a non issue kept to about a pg 13 level. Now when on the subject of misery, language may not get to a blue level, but maybe chartreuse or thereabouts
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@globaljaybird Yeah this site is great.
And again, there are definitely times when it is OK to be down on this team, certain players, coach Self, etc. I don’t ever want to come off like I expect this site to be a collection of cheerleaders just varying ways to say “good job!” I just kind of roll my eyes at people who are just haters and never have anything good to say.
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Thank you sir. I was half expecting to log on to KUBuckets and start a topic on how sad I was. Watching KU lose in grand fashion and watching UK yet win again left me somewhat sad. Yet your simple no nonsense words have renewed me.
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@icthawkfan316 Sure we all pick nits & no one likes a peckerwood that just agrees with everything. 99%of the rats here agree to disagree most all of the time. That’s what makes this such an informative discussion site. I learn new things here every time I log on.
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This reminds me of the TCU game where KU shoots great in the first half against a home team that is not playing well in the first half. The good shooting by the Hawks covers up blemishes where KU could have opened up an even larger lead because the home team was not playing that well. Then the home team plays a much stronger second half and KU struggles ugly. This time KU gets beat.
OSU is better than TCU so that is part of the lesson. The other part is that you have to play strong and smart in the first 5 minutes of the second half in each and every game of the season. A great team must own those minutes each night coming out of the half time break. Own those minutes in all of the games, all of them. Win the first and last 5 minutes of each half.
KU was so dead in the first five minutes of the second half they looked like kids. The KU players have to know that 7-9 in the first half from three against a home team that went 0-9 needs to be protected with solid D and smart play on the offensive end. KU had their best shooting half behind them so you have to play smart on offense and tough on defense when you are playing on the road. These young KU players gave another lead away with zero fight. Poof: all their good work given away. OSU was going to go into the second half tough, hard, defending their home court and KU did nothing to match the effort.
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@icthawkfan316 So do you disagree with what I posted or do you just not like the fact that I posted. I noticed that REHawk posted the exact same thing about ‘outcoached’ at the exact same time that I did. Are you gonna take him to task also?
And what’s unconstructive about saying Bill needs to figure out how to beat a press and how to get his 3pt shooters open? Of course, I don’t think there’s any ‘debate’ about that, so I guess I’m not contributing to that ‘debate.’
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@KUinLA Interesting that you didn’t answer my question but ask a bunch of your own. Guess your failure to answer pretty much answers it for me. The difference between you and REHawk is he is here often and isn’t a one-trick pony just saying “Self sucks”. If you were here for any other purposes than to do that yourself you’d know that.
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@icthawkfan316 Okay, I can’t even figure out what you’re talking about at this point, lol. I know you are, but what am I?
Go to bed and get some sleep, buddy–it’s late.
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I’m always sad when we lose, but as much as I hated listening to Van Gundy, he had one good thing to say before I couldn’t take him any more and switched the sound over to Bob Davis, and that was, the loss to Kentucky, was the perfect breakdown to give a coach a blueprint as to what he has and how to build on it. Jamari had to be in the game because wishing that Cliff is the one is just wrong. His telegraphed, top of the key pass to Greene allowed me to see almost a second ahead of time why Self needs hair plugs. Watching him try to guard Nash and Cobbins was painful. Jamari has come a long way but he will never be more than a big energy guy, however, he is actually more trust worthy tha Cliff. Our Freshmen were Freshmen in a road environment where even 2/3 of a usual crowd, watching a desperate team go crazy as their early press success led them to an even greater effort. Self had to play the hand he was dealt. Hopefully, Kelly, Cliff and Devonte haven’t hit the Freshman wall. Jamari and Brannen played against the press because they had to. I believe in Coach. This is a game that will make us better. I predict that more than 1/2 hour will be spent on breaking the press. WVU, by the way gave us # 11 yesterday. If anyone splits with us it will be OU.
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@wrwlumpy Well, I have to ask the obvious question…you’re not worried about ISU?
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You’re right, but OU impresses me more right now.
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****@icthawkfan316 Predictable.
Do you only show up after losses to blast Self? Has anyone EVER seen this guy (or girl, idk I guess) come in here and offer anything constructive, or contribute to a debate, or to celebrate a victory?
I haven’t, dating back to the kusports site…
Part of the enjoyment of being a KU fan is we win a heck of a lot more than we lose. Feel free to embrace the good once in awhile too.****
Slam dunk - I thought it …you wrote it. I would’ve added " Debbie Downer", or " Negative Nelly", but your response was more measured and mature than mine would’ve been.
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“This is just a loss. An expected loss, perhaps. But the way we lose and perform sheds great light on what to expect as we move forward.”
Well said and is exactly how I feel about this game. We gave them the game, we’ve given every road game to the other team for the taking except Texas. This is how we played at ISU, Baylor, TCU and now Oklahoma St. Notice the trend? We suck on the road, PERIOD.
Missed shots & turnovers lost this game and maybe a little pathetic defense thrown in there. The sequence in the 2nd half from the start to about the 10 minute mark was POOR coaching. Self’s didn’t find a way to stop the bleeding he only seemed to encourage it. I think we had 4 straight possessions without a shot, that’s reminiscent of last years squad against Florida. We missed something like 7 missed shots and now were down 4. The game was over then, I knew it I’m sure others did too.
The only reason this didn’t turn into a 15 point game the other way is because OSU is really terrible.
I said they needed one of their role players to step up well they got a combo of Luck shooting from Hickey and strong play from Newberry. Those performances won them the game.
We absolutely suck with pressure. They stopped us from running any tempo off made baskets and that totally made us a halfcourt team which we struggled with mightily. We got away aggressive play to the basket or drive to set up shooters. Mason for one of the first times yesterday showed how much he still needs to improve on being the PG. Some very poor play from him yesterday other than made 3 pointers. You think their pressure is anything, wait until West Virginia gets 25 turnovers on us. WVU isn’t playing well, but yesterday says exactly how we play on the road.
I don’t want to sound all negative, but these are the things that beat us in March. These are the games we should win that cement us as being the best team in the league. But it clouds doubt when you play so poorly against an average team and let one slip away. I will be shocked if we don’t come ready to play tuesday again on the road. Another place we tend to play down to competition. Let’s all move on now…
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This is the place to let out all your bad juju.
Get it out here and now.
We’ll all feel better and we’ll put this behind us. And we should all give allowance to those who need to vent out. There is a lot of stuff to process.
Kubuckets is not a lynch mob site… but we do have the luxury of not being affiliated with anything commercial or the university. So this is the place to vent out stuff just to feel better and get on with it.
I’m not going to get down on anyone for saying anything right now. It’s best to let things out. Healthier.
Once things are out, we can start rebuilding some trust and spirit.
Could it be that this loss will help these young kids?
This is one of the youngest teams in college basketball. They don’t have so many losses to draw from. Seems they will have a let down every X amount of games.
What alarmed me most about this loss was Frank Mason… our rock.
He seems to be wearing down. We were 5 days without a game, and he looked exhausted. He made mistakes he seldom makes. I think many of us have seen this coming over the past several games.
The question is… if Frank is now only firing on 7 cylinders, what is the chance he will soon be firing on only 6 cylinders?
It is crystal clear that Self needs to lighten his minutes now… right now. next game. And he needs to pull him off of the extra drives to the hole. Frank has been the savior for this team all year and it’s time the other guys step up and save Frank now. Freshmen need to man up now, but even more, what about our most senior players, like Perry? He had been coming on, but he reverted back into being mostly invisible this game.
Kansas needs to look at some areas where they are weak, and they need to protect those areas. For example, Wayne’s shot is coming around and we are all thankful for that, but his dribbling skills are very much lacking. He had at least 2 dribbling TOs in this game. And we’ve seen him make many ill-advised drives to the basket this year. It is a pity to handcuff part of his game, but someone needs to set him straight because this is really hurting the team.
BamBam’s role in the offense of coming out top needs to be reassessed. First… he’s not an outside shooter, so pulling him out top isn’t really effective. His man on D just mushes back in the lane to block the post area. BamBam is not a skilled passer. He is fine when others are wide open and he isn’t sped up, but when the game is on the line and our opponent steps up to play some real D, he becomes a liability. He is best used as a slasher, and in that role, he actually becomes a legitimate scoring threat.
We are going to need to pick up more offense from players NOT named Frank.
This team is NOT the team we had in '08. We can’t constantly run the top of the key weave. Teams are figuring out that they know what will happen next so a defender has started to step out in front of the next KU player to receive the ball. I can’t believe it has taken 10 years for defenses to figure it out… but now they know. It is a “flow” type movement, and the guy with the ball just wants to finish out his movement and pass. It is beyond being telegraphed.
Last… it would be great if this team could carry a chip on their shoulders again. I think we carried a small chip after Kentucky, because no one took them serious for a while. The Temple game provided a little extra momentum. These guys need to think to themselves… does it take a complete shellacking by another team to get these guys motivated moving forward? Really?
This is a great time for these guys to call a team meeting without the coaches. This is a great time for one or two guys to step up and take charge. What would really help the most is if Perry could step up and verbalize leadership to this team. He is the less likely guy and that means it has the most potential for helping get these guys fired up. They need to prevent having a big skid right now. There are many tough games left, and this team is lacking leadership and direction. Add that into their youth and we have the potential for a horrible skid and #11 quickly becomes out of reach. They should see that now, while they have time to get it together.
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@wrwlumpy After your comment, I did what I always do at this time of year…look at the remaining schedules of our competition and try to predict how they might finish…a worthless exercise, I know, but kind of fun. OU (and I agree with you on how they are playing) has @OSU @KSU, @ ISU, and us at home. Unless we beat them, I can see them only losing to ISU and finishing with 5 losses. ISU has a tougher schedule as they play at OU this week,@ OSU, @ Tex and @ KSU. I could see them, in theory, only ending up with 4 losses. Either way, our margin for error just got smaller.
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Lost by 5.
18 TOs.
That is 18 times we didn’t even get a chance to shoot!
DEFENSE STARTS WITH OFFENSE!
Even a great defensive team cannot get 18 stops to make up for 18 TOs.
TURNOVERS ARE OFFENSIVE STOPS.
@Jesse-Newell, your stats got you a solid prediction on this loss. It is time for spatial QA. It is time for some SPATIAL QA.
We need a TURNOVER MAP.
Where do TOs occur on the floor and let’s not go there. Let’s go some where else?
Are playing two point guards helping this?
Do we need to play 3 when another team goes small and pressures us, or just use one PG and go long and overhead pass it around the floor where they can’t reach high enough to strip or pressure is into bad passes?
MAP…TURNOVERS…NOW…PLEASE!!!
I just lost my win out prediction.
The Emperor is buck naked and facing an angry @REHawk!!
Map me a TO map, please!!!
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Still sticking to my tourney predictions. If we were to go back 2 months ago, and look at the standings and say we lost to OSU at their place, and we are still one game ahead, I would have taken that in a heart beat! Flat games happen. Even though I was extremely frustrated, lets put it into perspective.
The thing I noticed is why Mason is getting a free pass for this game? His shot looked better with his 3s, and got a nice steal, but that was it. He came out flat. Missed important free throws, didn’t push the tempo, never beat his man off the dribble but when he did, missed floaters. Frank is still a stud and will continue to drive this team. However, tonight he was not himself. Him and Perry had games that killed us.
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It’s the end of my prediction,
As we know it.
It’s the end of my prediction
As we know it,
And I feel fine…
–R.E.M.bate 1.0
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“They need to prevent having a big skid right now.”
We play TT on Tuesday in Lubbock.
Could this be our “TCU” game?
Could this be our 3-game dip?
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@drgnslayr I think we’re going to have a lot of “dips” until Oubre, Traylor and Selden figure out how to play basketball. And they’re not alone, just the three worst offenders in my book right at this moment.
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@Crimsonorblue22 On CF, he has 2 1/2 seasons left. Since he enrolled and attended school the first semester, that counts, whether he played, or not. The rule is each player has 5 seasons to play 4, unless there is a medical redshirt. He’ll be eligible after the conclusion of the first semester in the 2015-16 season.
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@jaybate-1.0 HA!
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For me the sky isn’t falling because this is not a loss in the NCAA tournament. If we beat Oklahoma St. yesterday and then go on to lose in the 2nd round to a team like Stanford I tend to forget about a great road win in Stillwater. If we lose yesterday (like we did) and go on to a Final 4 I could care less about this game and I will probably forget it even happened.
I certainly enjoy the ride and I watch every minute of every game with pure enjoyment win or lose, but for me and most of the posters on this site it is all about how we perform in March. If we lose 5 more games in the regular season and lose our first round game of the Big 12 tourney and get a 7 seed and then somehow turn it on in the NCAA I honestly don’t care. It is all about the year end. I’m obviously thinking of UK and UCONN when I say this but it is possible. Improbable but possible.
Speaking of March as HEM and other posters often site it is much easier to get to the Final 4 with a 1 seed. A loss like this certainly hurts our chances of getting a 1. UK, Gonzaga, Duke, Virgina, Wisconsin, Zona (even though they lost), Nova…these teams are probably all ahead of us if we don’t come close to winning out. Maybe only 1 more loss on the road. At WVU or at OU would be the toughest games left. If we win one of those and win out at home we still have a shot. RCJH.
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To me, it’s not as much as the number of threes we took, or didn’t take…it’s a matter of handling the ball. We are not a good team when we turn over the ball. I don’t know what is going on with Devonte, but his whole demeanor has changed, along with his play. I think Frank is gassed…exhausted, and was making mistakes we haven’t seen all year. I think Jamari should not be allowed to touch the ball outside of 10 feet in the paint. And Wayne…love the 3 stroke, where’s your head at handling the ball? We lost because we gave them a tremendous number of extra opportunities, many of them layups, or easy shots. We got out toughed by an inferior team. Not the end of the world, but I don’t feel nearly as good about our ability to handle pressure. We looked like that lost team in the NCAAs last year in the 2nd half.
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**@jaybate-1.0 Lost by 5.
18 TOs.
That is 18 times we didn’t even get a chance to shoot!**
You snuck in there, and I missed your more eloquent post than mine about turnovers. Great minds think alike!!!
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@icthawkfan316 Did you see the quote from Greene earlier this week?
"Greene said Self allows him to fire away ‘as long as it’s in the flow of the offense. His main thing is get the easiest shots. Sometimes me shooting a long three is our best chance at that point. Wherever the shot clock may be, certain parts of the game, certain times of the game.’ "
Sounds like a red light/yellow light thing to me.
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@HighEliteMajor I remember a couple of instances where Greene hesitated on shots he could have taken, as you pointed out. Were those after he got the 3 pt attempt blocked? Could that have been part of his hesitation?
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That yesterday wasn’t a very good day is abundantly clear. Giving the ball away about 4 times to start the second half gave OSU confidence that they did not have until that point. We were listless and did not play very well. Self wasn’t happy about the first half except for the made shots he thought we played poorly.
Now let us imagine how WVU fans feel today about having their lunch totally eaten AT HOME by Baylor. Talk about listless. Who would have thought that Staten and the rest could play that poorly.
And poor UofA. To get bounced by a middling team like ASU must be particularly galling.
Well at least UK kicked the bejesus out of Flordia. NOT! With the exception of Duke and Virginia yesterday was pretty unforgettable for the top teams.
It is gloomy and rainy here in the bay area (god do we need it). I imagine that the weather is similar on most boards for the top schools around the country. Even UNC can’t celebrate their win against that powerhouse BC wilh the news about Dean Smith.
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@KUinLA What @icthawkfan316 is referring to is, and if you visit your profile it is quite evident, whenever you post it is usually negative posts about HCBS. And as he points out, some of us question game plans, actions and so on of HCBS, but don’t dwell on it. Coaches coach and then it’s up to the players to implement. Someone else commented and I’ve said the same thing, if I was a coach I’d been tempted to yank the starting five and send them to the bus after the first 5 minutes of the second half. Anyway, try making some positive comments instead of just showing up once or twice a month to bash HCBS.
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@jaybate-1.0 How many of those TO’s were the result of Greene, Selden and I think Ellis trying to drive the basket and just losing control of the ball? I’m getting to the point where I cover my eyes whenever one of our guys drive up the middle. And then at the other end I watch guys drive unmolested.
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@icthawkfan316 Some people just don’t get it when their tone of voice sounds denigrating or demanding. To me it’s often how something is stated as much as what’s being conveyed that suggests a message. Also a demanding tone in a post tends to lean towards an indication of impatience that can seem abrasive, & when this theme repeats itself over & over, may be an indication of something beyond the surface or what appears obvious. JMO
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@HighEliteMajor I didn’t see that quote, but it is telling. I’d agree, at least a yellow light.
I’d be interested to see him expand on that a bit, because Self has to know an 11 point lead on the road is not safe with a whole half left to play. In that respect, I still can’t see them being instructed at halftime “no threes” (or again, whatever equivalent you want to insert). Could be Brannen just meant don’t jack it up if he finds himself alone on a 1-on-3 break. Or with a 5 point lead and a minute left in the game to not hoist one up with 25 still left on the shot clock. Or just don’t abandon the offense, try and beat your man off the dribble and end up shooting while double-teamed. I’m in favor of those type of restrictions.
So I’d be interested in what the red/yellow light might specifically entail.
The more interesting part to me is the “in the flow of the offense” comment. Brannen was out there a great deal in the second half. If not for his trey gun, then for what? Devonte would have been a better option against their pressure. I think Self still wanted Brannen to take open 3s. But as we’ve discussed, it’s still the hi-lo Self offense, and we’re not seeing the actions ran designed specifically to free up the shooters. And without adjustments and wrinkles to the offense it is easier for the defense to defend us, which I believe we did see yesterday from OSU. I thought they made guarding Greene and the shooters a priority and that it was difficult for us to get the same looks we got in the first half.
So I’m agreeing with you on that - that Self is not working to maximize the team’s strength as much as he should. I just still have my doubts that he is actively trying to stymie that strength by telling the team to quit shooting.
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@icthawkfan316 In others words, shoot the 3 when you’re open but we’re not gonna do anything special to get you open?
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@ParisHawk That seems to be the prevailing opinion. Like HEM has stated, Self has set plays that we may see out of a timeout or at end of game situations, but the overall offense doesn’t seem to include a whole lot of actions to free up shooters.
I have never coached basketball in my life, so I’m far from being an expert (or even a novice). I like to think I have a decent understanding of the game, but I won’t pretend to know how difficult it would be to install such motions into our hi-lo offense, how the players would pick such things up, etc. HEM seems to think it wouldn’t be difficult. He may be right. I don’t know if we’ll see it or not though…
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@brooksmd Gotta face facts ol’ bud, some of us are small minded people desperately trying to express ourselves. If I swear much & the wife hears, (ouch) that’s my pat answer. She says’ Saying that is Soooooooooo stupid!"
I think she’s finally catching on,LOL !!
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@icthawkfan316 said:
the overall offense doesn’t seem to include a whole lot of actions to free up shooters.
Hmm, where have I heard that before? No wait, I shouldn’t post unless I have something good to say
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@KUinLA Look, if you’re that clueless, it’s not worth responding to you. This will be it. You’ll be crushed I’m sure, but I’m confident you’ll get over it. Whether you ever get over yourself…
One more time, holding out hope that maybe you are a real fan and not the troll everyone thinks you: as I have said, criticism is justified. It’s OK to be down on the team, the coach, etc. But have you EVER came on this site and had one good thing to say? Or even one challenging thing to say that wasn’t rooted in your hatred of Self? You never answered before, so I’m asking again.
We get it. You hate Self. But are you that little of a KU fan that you can only come on here after a loss to bash Self?
Honestly, what is the point of doing what you do? You’re not rallying anyone to your way of thinking. No one is embracing you in the Jayhawk community (which is what I love about this place - the free flow of ideas between people sharing a common passion). You just keep coming out after every loss with the same tired drivel, and most tune you out.
It would be a lot easier to take you seriously if you weren’t the same broken record all these years. But if you only have one, unchanging, rigid, dogmatic opinion…why would anyone respect what you have to say, even if they might agree with you?
You ask “hmm, where have I heard that before?” I get the sense that perhaps you are implying that you said that. I wouldn’t know, because I read the first line or two of your posts and then dismiss you. You’ve never had anything new to say, why would you start now? I get the feeling that most of the site feels the same way.
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@KUinLA I think the question that you haven’t answered is where were you after KU blew out Texas, ISU, or any good game this season? If there is a legitimate reason, then sleep well with a clean conscious.
What I believe rubs @icthawkfan316 and others the wrong way is you treat this site like dog who gets beat after a bad day at work. I will assume the best and think that you actually enjoy this site and the Jayhawks and only feel the need to post when you can’t take it anymore. But maybe try and venting all your thoughts and not just the negative one. In the end, you are a KU brother (or sister) and I hope you are enjoying the ride as much as everyone else. Have a good day!
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I think our offense can use quite a bit of tweaking to open up more 3s. We need to run more than a Perry pick-n-pop, Perry at the top of the key, others running high ball screens etc. Most everything we are running now generates on the perimeter. Those kinds of plays usually don’t open up someone for a wide open shot. The shots remain contested. Even Greene has his limitations.
We should be running stuff where Greene has to cut through the pack and go from one side to the other side or out top and in an open area. Or get Frank to drive more and feed out.
I think our best shot is to run Frank, Devonte and either Brannen or Wayne. Frank and Devonte should be driving and feeding either Brannen or Wayne. With two guys very capable of driving like that it really shouldn’t be tough to free one perimeter shooter. Part of it is just clearing out a spot so team defense doesn’t get to the shooter too quickly.
We still don’t really make use of corner shooting. Brannen should be a marksman from the corners. This is the toughest spot on the floor to cover.
We were just having Brannen and another guard playing ball screen out on the perimeter in this game, and that isn’t the way to open up the long ball. That is a way to open up a driving lane by preventing drive hedges to be set.
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Guys… it doesn’t do us any good to vent our frustrations on each other.
Vent out anything you like but you will be taken more serious if you provide reasoning for your vent and possible solutions.
We should all bend and be open minded.
BTW: I do my best when someone totally picks apart my posts. Many times I need to be straightened out and I never seem to reach that point by myself. That is actually the most beneficial thing for me in participating here. All the knowledgeable posters help keep me straight. If I didn’t have that I would think of myself as a true know-it-all jerk. So now I’m just a jerk!
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@JhawkAlum Intelligent exchanges with a B & B troll, is like dueling with an unarmed man. Is Pretty clear this guy is not a legitimate fan, but the opposite. When he crosses the line, & likely will, he’ll be dumped like a few others have been. But honestly some of the funniest posts I recall from the old site were when some Butthead would take on jaybate head on. He’d chew on them as long as they wanted,; some seem to be simply absolute gluttons for punishment.
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@globaljaybird I think @drgnslayr is right. We’ve kicked this can far enough down the road and the light hasn’t come on yet so time to move on and enjoy the informative and sometimes amusing (@jaybate-1.0 are you listening?) banter we’ve become accustomed to. Besides, I fear we may wake-up @approxinfinity and then we’ll have to deal with his wrath. Cheers all, have a great week and if not before I look forward to the TTU game chat and the rebound butt whooping they will receive.
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One aspect of our game that I hope eventually gets addressed is how to run offense when the defense is tight and up in our face on the perimeter. It’s been apparent in many games through out the season that when teams defend us tight on the outside, our offensive production is low, and our turnover rate is high. This happened again in the second half. Beyond the arc, OSU’s defense was on us like cake on a fat kid…All over us. The result was an extremely low field goal %, and turnovers which gave them more runs, more momentum (especially playing at home), and utlimately the W. Let’s learn how attack the tight perimeter D, because West Virginia’s right around the corner, and we’ll be facing that pressure from tip off to the final buzzer!
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This is a tough situation.
To be honest, I never played on a team that could not score back to basket on the blocks AND from outside. And I’ve never seen one that could only score from outside before. I’ve seen teams that struggled with one or the other, but I’ve never seen one that just gets shut off inside.
As the season has continued, I am beginning to think that what happened with Kentucky was not so much about Kentucky, as it was with us.
UK had four footers. Check.
UK had played 7 games before we opened with them. Check.
But we have trouble scoring on the blocks against second division teams sometimes.
Self has tried more different ways to score inside than I have ever seen a coach try.
He is on the right track.
But the OSU game exposed the very deficiencies of driving abilities that we thought were getting cleared up.
I think part of this has to do with limitations in our players, but also has to do with how young our players are.
I have said this before.
Each time we come up against a smart coach, and we are playing young players, he is going to find some holes in their games and scheme to stop them. In the pre OAD era, it could take players 2-4 years to work all the holes out of their games. In the OAD era, we are trying to expose the holes and plug them much more rapidly. So: as the season goes on, and we are developing the ability to play the way Self has blue printed us to play, there just ARE going to be MORE times in a season, when smart opposing coaches find chinks in our young players’ armors, than say an experienced ring team like 08.
What I am trying to say here is that Self’s plan for this team still seems a winning plan, despite our complaining about wanting him to do more of this or that.
We lost by 5 on a night when Ford figured out how to really expose and exploit our weaknesses driving.
Our guys will learn from this and get better. Maybe not great, but better.
And so the next time they play a team that tries to exploit those chinks in our armors, instead of losing by 5, we’ll win by 5, or 10.
Its a process as they say.
Rock Chalk!!
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I looked at @KUinLA’s profile and his posts and I’m not sure why everyone’s piling on. He’s one of us it appears, barely posts anything anyways. Gee, he offered an opinion. Doesn’t like the way our 3’s are being set up. Fine. I don’t care if you agree or not, but he’s entitled to express what he sees.
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Despite the tough loss after being up double figures in the first half, I am really impressed with the talent on this team. Each player has certain strengths that I feel out weigh their weaknesses. I think it’s funny how people love to wallow in doom & gloom everytime we lose. I get it. It sucks. I say "Take it easy man, they can’t all be winners can they? There is so much to be thankful for with this team. Even though are strong points aren’t at the positions that they usually are, we still are extremely talented. Remember the days when every single Jayhawk fan was begging for capable guards? Frank Mason is an absolute beast at the point who can score from any where. Not only that, he has great handles and can seemingly drive at will, and he’s also very sound defensively. Selden’s more recently shown us he’s got a great shot from ouside, and he can defend well. Oubre is Uber athletic, has length, spark, with great hands defensively, and has the potential to be a consistent all around threat on the offensive side. Perry is a mature, intelligent veteran with an array of offensive moves, his dribble drive and shot are gradually getting more consistent, and he’s got sound D. Jamari has an incredible frame, spurts of phenominal hustle, despite the haters he can produce effectively down low on both ends. And that’s just the current starting 5! Off the bench, Devonte’s got the basketball IQ of a 4 year player, with great handles who’s always looking for the best shot, and above average on D. Greene is absolutely soaking wet from pretty much anywhere outside the paint, which can give the team momentum time and time again in tight situations, and is slowly improving his defense. And Cliff is an absolute monster with Thomas Robinson potential. The point is, even though we’ve had a couple of losses…We’ve had a couple of losses! It’s not like we go undefeated year in and year out, so L’s are going to happen. I don’t know about you, but I love watching this team. The key is figuring out how to utilize everyone’s talent, and have every piece work together consistently as one. There have been games where they have achived it, and might I add against extremely tough teams. Like Jaybate said a couple posts ago, “Its a process.” And I don’t know about you, but with Self as the leader, I like the odds of him coaching these bright kids full of potential to be able to reach a state of pure TEAMWORK! So to all the doom and gloomers, “Don’t hate, appreciate.” “Keep Calm, and Hawk on!”
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@icthawkfan316 Yes, you dismiss me–but you still can’t resist replying to my posts. You really should get over me. Just as you’re tired of me, I’m tired of you lambasting me every time I post something negative about your beloved coach. Especially when we often make the same points in our posts–that we don’t handle the press well, that we don’t run a 3pt offense, that the offense in general needs some tweaking. I wish you’d just get over your seemingly personal animosity towards me. Is it my hair in my avatar? Are you bald?
And yes, I do take a little gratification from seeing how many posters openly question Bill’s coaching on this site. Especially when that invariably got me pilloried on the previous site. But now, it’s pretty much acceptable and a normal topic of discussion here. I guess I was just ahead of the curve on that.
And yeah, I do pipe up after a loss. I guess that’s where my philosophy differs from Bill’s and the originator of this thread’s. I don’t wanna throw the tape in the trash. I believe you can actually learn something from a loss. Remember that thread from the previous site?
