National Media Blackout!
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…which begs the question…how come Kansas did not get blacked out on ESPNU? He musts be slipping now…
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@JayHawkFanToo maybe he’s looking for a new job!!!
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That would be the icing on top of a gold medal cake
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@JayHawkFanToo surprised he didn’t go. He doesn’t leave Selfs side. His saving grace!
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At least NBC Sports has had articles:
Kansas/USA defeats Russia to advance to World University Games gold medal game
Scott Phillips Jul 12, 2015, 9:30 AM EDT
Kansas/USA continued its undefeated run in South Korea at the World University Games with a 78-68 win over Russia to advance to the gold medal game. Led by 23 points from forward Perry Ellis and 22 points from guard Wayne Selden Jr., the Kansas/USA squad will attempt to bring home gold to America in the event for the first time since 2005.
Bill Self’s team trailed by a point during the fourth quarter before Selden started making plays as he helped put the team in the lead for the rest of the game. Big man Landen Lucas also had a key stretch during the third quarter in which he scored seven consecutive points to give the Jayhawks a 12-point lead.
The gold medal game tips on Monday at 8 a.m. EST as Kansas/USA (7-0) will face Germany. Among the players on that team are Columbia guard Maodo Lo and Princeton forward Hans Brase, with Lo being a first team All-Ivy selection last season. While Lo accounted for seven points and five assists in the Germans’ 59-49 win over Brazil, Brase was one of two players to score in double figures as he tallied ten points to go along with four rebounds.
Also on the team is Kevin Bright, who played one season at Vanderbilt in 2012-13 before deciding to return to Germany to begin playing professionally.
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They can keep the publicity - I’ll take the experience we’re getting as payment in full.
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I think the games were great for us as a team. Clearly the reaction to the win from the players was amazing and created a great bond.
BUT, I am honestly very upset with the lack of coverage by major sports networks. I wouldn’t be, except for last summer Kentucky did their little stupid Bahamas tour, and it got HUGE coverage on ESPN. And, why that may seem small, that is extra marketing for UK that we didn’t get. I just don’t get how Coach Cal has turned himself in to such polarizing figure for the sports media.
Side Note: Duke looks to be bringing in #1 and #2 recruits… We could REALLY benefit from an early commitment…
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Now that we won the gold we are bound to finally get some coverage. This will surely edge out the big news sports story today about how many MLB players wear women’s panty hose to keep their legs warm.
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@Kcmatt7 blame it in SZ!
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Guys relax, they did a clip on ESPN after they won gold for 15 WHOLE SECONDS. We would have to watch Dickie V climaxing after every win if Duke was representing to USA.
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Thank God for the Sporting News.
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@JhawkAlum so true!
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We are now front page of ESPN’s home page …
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@HighEliteMajor ESPN still botched it.
"Team USA…was coached by Bill Self and composed of all Jayhawks as well as SMU guard Nic Moore. "
And Julian DuBose,
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@HighEliteMajor Yeah, second story behind ACC preview highlighting Duke & NC…which is light years (months) in da future.
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@RockChalkinTexas quickie!
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@Crimsonorblue22 I think that was what was on SportsCenter right after the game.
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Did you miss USA winning gold this morning?? @ESPNU has your back with a replay tonight at 9 pm CT! #KUinKorea
My tweet to Fran Fraschilla:
3h3 hours ago
@franfraschilla We didn’t even get to watch the Medal presentation. Sorry coverage on ESPNU or any ESPN outlet for that matter.
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I am surprised Fraschilla was not more involved since he is big on foreign players, particularly Euro players. I Imagine the Pan American games will have more exposure and we get to see Keith Langford.
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@JayHawkFanToo Someone else tweeted to him after he said “we didn’t have to play against any good euro players” something really sarcastic like, “so we had no competition, yeah right.”
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@RockChalkinTexas when Fran spoke of the game today, he mentioned how good their ivy leaguer was, nothing good about KU. He’s a big time butt kisser.
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Seems as if commenters at ESPN site (facebook which I don’t do) are representing!
Glen Miller · Top Commenter · Draftsman at Braden Shielding Systems
The lack of coverage of this event and not just in men’s basketball… blows my mind. The fact that one of the most storied programs in the history of college basketball went and won the 1st Gold Medal for team USA since 2005 and got ZERO coverage from TMZ… I mean ESPN until today. Doesn’t make any sense.
Reply · · 11 · about an hour ago
Derek Mathews · Top Commenter · Box Handler at FedEx Federal Express
Yeah, it blows my mind too. ESPNU didn’t even stick around for the ceremony. Kansas is one of the most elite, and successful programs in college basketball. They go over to South Korea to win gold playing against teams that have been playing together longer than them, and nothing. If it was Duke, Kentucky, or Carolina, they would have shown the ceremony, which KU fans should find equally insulting, and they do.
Reply · · 5 · about an hour ago
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I will have to check the ESPN Facebook page; I do have a private account that I use quite a bit, to send mostly family information to relatives and friends all over the world with relative ease.
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I asked Fran yesterday about it, here was his reply on twitter:
Fran Fraschilla @franfraschilla · 21h21 hours ago
@HighEliteMajor it’s a great experience for Kansas but it is not considered a high-level international event. No university hoops in Europe. 2:05 PM - 12 Jul 2015 · DetailsI included Mike Decoursey, Goodman, Biancardi, and Wetzel. Decoursey then tweeted some info about the event a bit later yesterday that got some snide remarks from some.
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It is a non-sensical statement since the best Euro players (pros) would not be playing against a KUSA level team but in an Olympics or World Championship type of tournaments against the NBA laden USA senior team that would give them an even bigger whooping. The majority of Euro players at the WUG play professionally.
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I’m not surprised that there wasn’t wall-to-wall national coverage about this tournament. Frankly, I’d never even heard of it before this year. Keep it perspective. It’s not the Olympics. If it’d been UK or Duke playing/winning it, I know exactly how I’d feel about it: "WUG What? Well, good for them. Yay, USA. golf clap "
I tried to get a bartender in Seattle to change the channel on one of their 400 TVs to a game last week, and he was like, “What the hell are you talking about. Who gives a sh*t about that. People here want to see the Mariners.” (and the Mariners suck, so that’s about where this tournament ranked outside the KU fan club)
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@wrwlumpy Thanks lumpy. This one got my blood boiling however. Wish you had voiced over that idiot of ESPN announcer. She (don’t care which gender) obviously hadn’t watched any of Mason’s games with her stupid comments about how “(Mason) can’t even get the shot off”. Someone please tell her that he’s been playing 35+ mins for the last 8 games in 11 days? Why ESPN have idiots vs. hiring wo/men announcers who are smarter, more articulate, and better know about the sports they’re commenting on compared to average Joes/Jills like me?! Hate ESPN!
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From Rustin Dodd - he gets it:
In 10 games over the last three weeks — including two exhibition contests against Canada — Selden averaged 18.9 points and 6.5 rebounds while playing 34 minutes per game. More impressive: Selden posted these numbers while shooting an efficient 58.2 percent from two-point range and 39.6 percent from three. Here is Selden’s game log from this summer:
Selden’s summer performance comes on the heels of some well-documented offensive struggles during his sophomore season. For much of last season, Selden was an offensive liability. He shot an astoundingly poor 50 percent on shots at the rim, according to Hoop-Math.com, meaning he converted on just half of his dunk and layup attempts. For the season, he shot 39.5 from two-point range and his offensive rating was 98.0, which translates to well below average for a starting perimeter player on a Kansas team.
Selden looked dead tired on Monday, shooting just six of 28 from the floor and four of 17 from inside the three-point line. But after playing eight games in less than two weeks, perhaps the shooting performance can be excused. For most of two weeks, Selden was the best player in South Korea.
Selden likely won’t be this good during his junior year — nobody is expecting him to average 19 points and six rebounds, of course. But playing alongside Mason and senior forward Perry Ellis, he won’t have to be. At the very least, Selden offered a strong rebuttal to any lingering questions after a sluggish sophomore season.
- America, Frank Mason. Frank Mason, America.
During a breakout sophomore campaign, Frank Mason averaged 12.6 points, 3.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds while earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. It was easy to assume, based on his recent trends, that Mason would take another step entering his junior season. But if this summer was any indication, we might be seeing the first steps of a true star turn for the junior guard.
Mason began the summer by scoring 28 points — including 16 in the fourth quarter — in an exhibition victory against Canada. He finished it by recording 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the United States’ gold-medal victory.
Senior forward Perry Ellis could be Kansas’ leading scorer next season. Selden appears poised for a breakthrough. But more and more, it appears that Mason could be Kansas’ most important piece, a junior guard ready to break through on the national scene.
- Hunter Mickelson made his case for more playing time.
In the weeks before the tournament, Mickelson conceded that the games in Gwangju could be an important personal opportunity after a disappointing junior season. Mickelson, a former Arkansas transfer, played sparingly during his junior season. Now he enters his final year as part of a crowded frontcourt. From that standpoint, the trip to Korea was a success. At times, 6-foot-10 Mickelson was the United States’ most productive big man, an active presence on the boards and a decent rim protector.
He put up seven points and five rebounds in 20 minutes against Germany, and in hindsight, he might have deserved a few more minutes.
- How will the rest of the guys fit in?
Kansas represented the United States in Korea without five scholarship players, including four potential regulars. SMU guard Nic Moore offered solid production in the backcourt, and Florida Gulf Coast guard Julian DeBose provided some depth. But this was not the Kansas roster that will take the floor this fall at Allen Fieldhouse. Sophomore Devonte’ Graham and junior Brannen Greene missed the tournament with injuries, while sophomore guard Svi Mykhailiuk (Ukraine) and incoming freshman big man Cheick Diallo (Mali) couldn’t play for the U.S. at the international level.
It’s the time of the year to ponder possible rotation combinations, and one could easily imagine Graham starting alongside Mason and Selden in a smaller backcourt, or Mykhailiuk developing into a weapon on the wing — either in the starting lineup or off the bench. Freshman wing Lagerald Vick earned some invaluable experience in South Korea, and his athleticism and finishing ability is impressive. But for the moment, he will likely enter the fall having to surpass Mykhailiuk and Greene to earn a substantial role as a freshman.
Kansas coach Bill Self, meanwhile, has said that Diallo could challenge for starter’s minutes on the block, praising his motor and rim-protection ability. Diallo projects as a solid complement to Ellis in the frontcourt, but as a freshman, he could be subject to the usual growing pains. The frontcourt puzzle will be an interesting thing to track when practice begins this fall.
- Will the international game influence Bill Self?
Before the tournament, Self talked about the World University Games being a learning experience for him as well. The United States team played with a 24-second shot clock and was exposed to all sorts of international styles during eight games. It remains to be seen if the tournament will have any effect on Self’s core philosophies as a coach. But after a successful trip to South Korea, the Jayhawks have built a solid foundation for 2015-16.
To reach Rustin Dodd, call 816-234-4937 or send email to rdodd@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rustindodd.
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Andy Katz @ESPNAndyKatz · 1h1 hour ago
WUG gold for @KUAthletics @CoachBillSelf over Germany in South Korea. Mason and Selden combined for 40, Ellis 19. KU is title good in 2016.
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@HighEliteMajor Frans comment of “No university hoops in Europe” makes this acomplishment all the better. Where does he and all of the other ESPN clowns think Euro players come from then??? Local YMCAs?? Radio raffles?? Minus the NCAA kids involved all of the player are then playing in some sort of professional league if they don’t have university ball… Fran tries to down play KUs feat but actually make KU look better.
And like someone else pointed out. It’s the second story on the NCAAM site. Not even the headline. And on the front page there is no mention of it. But we’ve got SEC Media Day coverage!!! Wooohooo! What does Mike Slive have to say?!?!? Scroll down to find out about TMZ star K. Jenner!!!
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More Dickie V love (no mention of Julian DeBose tho. WTF?)
Kansas’ gold medal will help its season
Dick Vitale, College Basketball analyst
It has already been a busy summer for Kansas coach Bill Self.
Congratulations are in order to Self and Kansas. The team that represented the U.S. in the recently concluded World University Games was comprised mostly of Jayhawks. The American squad won the gold medal in South Korea, beating a tough Germany squad in double overtime in the final.
The Jayhawks/Americans (Nic Moore from SMU was also on the squad) went 8-0 overall at the World University Games, an impressive feat. The competition was challenging, and there were a few close calls.
That experience will mean so much later in the coming season when Kansas tips it off for real come November. Winning the gold will provide a lot of confidence for those young men.
This was a great team-bonding experience for a club that already had a lot of veteran talent. Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden Jr. and Frank Mason III all return for a program that won its 11th straight Big 12 Conference title.
Selden is developing into more of a scorer as displayed during the World University Games. Selden and Ellis did not shoot the ball well in the final game (combined 12-of-49 from the floor), but they were not afraid to take shots.
During the eight games of the tournament, Selden averaged nearly 20 points per game. Last season, he averaged less than 10 points for Kansas.
The Jayhawks also have Landen Lucas, Jamari Traylor, Arkansas transfer Hunter Mickelson, and several newcomers of note via recruiting, such as Carlton Bragg and Lagerald Vick, who played in South Korea during the tournament.
You have to appreciate the effort in winning the tournament. I am sure Self appreciates the opportunity for this group to gain so much valuable experience.
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Talking about media black out…
I wonder if we can point fingers at our local press for a lack of national attention?
Publications like the Journal World and KC Star… Surely these publications have an AP wire tap and can post news on the wire. This is where 99.9% of the media goes to get their news. If it wasn’t posted, they don’t publish it on their sites and papers.
I checked directly with the AP wire right after our gold medal victory and didn’t find our story on the wire.
