Friday Tourney Chat
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What will osu be w/out Nash next year?
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Great story from Gary Bedore on KU sports! Jayhawks having fun!!! Please stay Kelly oubre!
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Bob Hugginsā West Virginia beat Buffalo earlier this afternoon, and youād think heād be all sunshine and roses, but apparently was dwelling on the haters who picked against his team. āIām going to have really lost my mind when I start paying attention to what Jay Bilas and those people say,ā said Huggins, via Tim Graham of the Buffalo News. āI mean, Jay always does those tweets, āGot to go to work.ā Iām trying to wonder what that is.ā
If, like Huggins, you donāt get the reference, it was explained when the ESPN analyst met Young Jeezy, the rapper whose lyrics heās always quoting:
Young Jeezy and Jay Bilas Talk āI Gotta Go To Workā Tweets 00:00/03:43
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OMAHA ā Perry Ellis is a fine, upstanding young man who would never intentionally try to deceive anyone.
So if he says he āfelt greatā in his 23 minutes during Kansasā 75-56 second-round NCAA Tournament win over New Mexico State on Friday, Iām inclined to believe he believes he feels great, even if he doesnāt.
This is the NCAAs. Ellis is determined to overcome.
But it didnāt look like Ellis, his right knee sporting a big brace and wrapped in adhesive tape, felt all that great Friday.
He lumbered. He missed an early dunk. His spring was not springing.
Ellis scored nine points and made a three-pointer. He played sporadically because KU coach Bill Self wanted to get him off that knee. More than two weeks after suffering the injury in a game against West Virginia at Allen Fieldhouse, Ellisā return to form is a work in progress.
Thatās what I believe.
āThereās still a time when I might feel a little hesitant,ā Ellis said. āBut overall, I feel great. No pain.ā
I believe the part about feeling no pain and so does Self, who said there is no structural damage.
It looks, though, like Ellis is having a difficult time letting go, trusting that the knee will hold up if he plays with a more no-holds-barred mentality.
āI think physically, Perry is pretty good,ā Self said after the Jayhawks breezed through New Mexico State by making 9 of 13 three-point shots. āHeās shown no indication of the knee bothering him during practice the last three days and that kind of stuff.
āHe just doesnāt have the same explosiveness, the same bounce. To me, he looked a little tentative out there, very tentative, and he got off to a rough start. He had the dunk that he missed and a layup right after that he missed and it looked like after that that he didnāt really explode on the knee.ā
When asked how close to full speed Ellis looked, Self gauged it at 70 percent with a caveat.
āWith the potential to be 100 percent later (Friday night) because I donāt think itās anything structural.ā
The Jayhawks are starting to right their ship from long range after an awful six-game stretch when they were 11 of 71 from three-point range.
A healthy and springy Ellis, though, would be a huge asset against Wichita State on Sunday. The winner heads to Cleveland and the Sweet 16.
Ellis is one of the best high school players to come out of Wichita, where he won four state championships at Heights. He never seriously considered going to Wichita State, though, because his heart was set on playing at Kansas from an early age.
Ellisā progression this season has been fun to watch. Heās an All-Big 12 player and KUās MVP. He was playing his best basketball before tweaking his knee and missing a couple of games before returning for two in last weekendās Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
Thereās still some rust left.
Ellis admitted that the knee is on his mind some. Thatās normal. He thinks about protecting it and not doing something that will cause a setback. His mind isnāt yet free.
āIām still trying to get through it mentally a little bit and trying to trust what I can do,ā Ellis said. āBut I feel like Iām almost there.ā
Wichita State-Kansas is almost here, as well. Itās been a long time.
Ellis wasnāt yet born the last time the Shockers met the Jayhawks, a 103-54 1993 KU win in Allen Fieldhouse. He didnāt have a lot to say about it after KUās win because Indiana and Wichita State were playing.
āI just know a lot of fans are talking about it,ā Ellis said.
Ellis and Wichita State junior Evan Wessel, who won three state championships together at Heights, will be reunited, much as KUās Darnell Valentine and Wichita Stateās Antoine Carr, also Heights graduates, were reunited for the KU-WSU 1981 NCAA Tournament game in New Orleans.
Landen Lucas has picked up some of Ellisā slack recently. The 6-foot-10 Lucas had seven points and nine rebounds against New Mexico State and has 39 rebounds in the five games Ellis either has missed or been at less than full speed.
But if Kansas is to win more games in the tournament, the Jayhawks are going to need Ellis to dramatically throw that knee brace into the stands and shout that heās back to being Perry Ellis. Or something like that.
āI talked to Perry before the game,ā KU sophomore Wayne Selden said, āand I told him, āYouāre the best player on the court, go out there and show it.ā Iām confident in him.ā
If Ellis starts feeling great, he can definitely be the best player on the court. But despite what he says, I donāt think heās quite there yet.
Reach Bob Lutz at 316-268-6597 or blutz@wichitaeagle.com. Follow him on Twitter: @boblutz.
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/bob-lutz/article15534218.html#storylink=cpy
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@Kip_McSmithers I did mine in about 5 minutes and it shows! I only did one bracket, I noticed the people winning have done multiple brackets.
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@wissoxfan83 guess I better hang around here and watch some of this game. See if it looks like the badgers are gonna be the first 1 seed to go down to a 16ā¦
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My day canāt be ruined, it was ruined by a speeding ticket earlier, so I can take anything now!
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@wissoxfan83 nah. Iām sure Wisc has this one
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Have you seen them play this year?
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@wissoxfan83 a couple games. Vs Michigan I think and Duke.
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@cragarhawk did you see Conner? I didnāt see him on bench, donāt think he can travel. It would be awkward for all!
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No secret Kominski is a force though. He cannot be stopped
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@Crimsonorblue22 we looked for him. Didnāt see him
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Nice article on him on the NYT today or yesterday.
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Better guard 44. Heās dropping fitty tonite
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@cragarhawk feel bad for him and Cliff, even though Iām mad he left!
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Me too. I wish heād have stayed.
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@wissoxfan83 how fast were you going? I got one last month, 183 bucks. I was following him, he said I was coming up to fast on him. I asked him how fast he was going! I was not happy!
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@wissoxfan83 Iām glad he left!
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41 in a school zone, before kiddos were out, and past the school in a semiresidential area, basically I had sped up a little too soon. Kind of a speed trap
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Trey guns a work in for the badgers
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Been one of their strengths this year. Especially when you see 6ā10āā Decker and 7ā Kaminsky making them
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This team theyāre playing is hot too. Our D is not bo ryan like this year.
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I was just going to say that thus far in this game. Their d hasnāt impressed but the o is working pretty well
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@cragarhawk Iowa surprised me tonight. I usually cheer for BIg 10 teams, but I really dislike them and have for a long time.
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Ya. I had Davidson in that one honestly. That was surprising
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@wissoxfan83 and youāre a teacher? Gasp!!! How much was the ticket? I have a lead foot, kinda go w/the flow!
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@Crimsonorblue22 Louisiana doesnāt put the amount on the ticket for some reason. This state is last in the country in education so they do a lot of dumb things here!
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@wissoxfan83 good one!!!
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KOenig on Wisconsin #24 is a stud sophomore and KU recruited him. I think it was a foregone conclusion he was going to UW though.
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Yes I teach. I just left a tough afternoon, I teach inner city kids and Friday afternoons has them restless, so I wasnāt in the greatest mood, and then the ticket!
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Wisc moves the ball well . And they can shoot . Eye test says they can beat anyone. Interior defense seems a Lil lacking for an upper big10 team though
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@cragarhawk Their D is good enough, not sure itās good enough for Kentucky, but I think our offense is good enough.
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As far as perimeter . I donāt see coastal hitting those shots all nite
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@cragarhawk Apparently this one kid who is scoring for them, Cameron is playing with a chip on his shoulder. Heās from Racine but UW paid him no mind. I donāt know anything about him.
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@wissoxfan83 y . I think they have the offense to give UK fit . Not sure on the defense. But I hope UK loses before they get the chance obviously
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@wissoxfan83 donāt you write? Seems like I checked that out awhile back.
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Oh yeah, forgot about that!! We got to get to that elite 8 against kentucky and then it will be a UW-KU final four!!
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@wissoxfan83 I would be happy with that. But right now. I just wanna beat WSU
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@Crimsonorblue22 No, not a writer, although Iād like to try it someday! The geography of basketball or something like that. Of course Kansas is the starting point
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Anyone know what time weāll be playing Sunday?
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@RockChalkinTexas Someoneās picking on oubre!
OUBRE LAUGHS OFF HECKLER ā Midway through the first half, freshman Kelly Oubre turned toward a yelling New Mexico State fan in the stands and smiled.
āHe called me ugly, and I was just looking at him like, āThatās the best you got, man? Youāre a guy, and youāre calling me ugly?āā Oubre said with a smile. āHe was doing anything to help his team give them a chance to win. I didnāt think anything of it.ā
It wasnāt the first time Oubre had been pestered by opposing fans.
āKansas State said I looked like a girl. They said I had a girl name. So I just think that they think Iām hot or something ā¦ I donāt know. I look like a girl? What does that mean? I guess they think Iām a pretty guy,ā Oubre said with a laugh. āBut itās funny to hear some of the things that they have to say.ā
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@wissoxfan83 somebody on here does.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Who?
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@wissoxfan83 donāt remember, itās been awhile. Maybe someone will know.
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@wissoxfan83 Damn, I didnāt know there was any educational level lower than misery !! You sure ??? JK !!
My comment did not post for some odd reason the first time-had to edit it.
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@wissoxfan83 game at 4:15 on cbs. Hope thatās right!
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@globaljaybird Believe me, itās evident in many walks of life here.
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Interesting stat on TruTV - if Providence wins tonight, it will be the first time every higher seed won in the round of 64 on the same day.
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Wowā¦ a chair was thrown by a coach and gets a Tā¦ That brings back memories.
