Is It Possible?



  • I don’t know why we played so terrible last night. I don’t know why it looked like our guys played in slow motion compared to WV guards. I don’t know why we shot so terribly again. I don’t know why we can’t get one of 5 other big guys to be a real force on the court. I don’t know a lot of things. BUT, I really don’t know why Bill didn’t set us up for success that game.

    • We tried to push the ball on them early. We tried to speed up a team that wants you to play as fast and reckless as possible. And we did just that. Instead of playing calm, like we had been there before, and taking the crowd out of the game, we threw half court bombs, played hot potato with the ball, and committed charges like we had never been on a 3 on 2 break before. Embarrassing errors that are very correctable. But one has to wonder why they would still need correcting this far into the season… Against a team we know we have to play every year…

    • We pulled anyone who made a mistake. Which was everyone. So we had a revolving door on the court. No continuity. None of those plays where players were just on the same wavelength and made a perfect pass. Nope. We couldn’t, because not only was the WV press and crowd breathing down our necks, so was our coach.

    • We let WV dictate the whole game. We let them play the style that they are comfortable with. And that is soley on Bill. I heard a pregame interview from him on the radio. He said we have to limit turnovers and keep them off of the offensive glasss. We did neither. So either our players aren’t good enough (which I find hard to believe) or we didn’t prepare well enough.

    • Finally, we got beat in the half court on defense. We got too far extended and caused our big men to foul drivers all night long. Why did we get extended out so far? They don’t shoot 3’s at a great clip. They don’t turn the ball over from extended pressure (they practice against far tougher defense every single day). ALL THEY CAN DO IS DRIVE THE ####### BALL!!! So, why were we playing defense 30 feet away from the basket (Where we can’t rebound from)? Why aren’t we packing it in the lane? Maybe, dare I say it, play a zone? Gasps Baylor destroyed this WV team twice last year, and I bet they do it again. Why? Because it forces a team that doesn’t run a great half court offense to shoot the long ball. And, with an emphasis on rebounding and boxing out, you don’t have to break the press either… Whatever happened to the 3-2 we used to run with Rush out top? It was a scary beast that threw opponents into a tailspin of self destruction. Or, imagine a 2-3 with Hunt or Diallo swatting anything within 8 feet of the rim. Whether we played zone or a packed in M2M, we did not take away WV’s best offensive option. And, that again wasn’t the fault our players, it was a gameplan error.



  • @ralster I agree about Wayne not being that kind of guy. But he usually looks at them like “why” and moves on. Last night he didn’t even raise an eye brow.

    Yes those three need to be ready to beat the press and be ready not only to do it at home vs WV but to do it in a few other games from here on out.



  • @drgnslayr I love this speculation – because it is educated speculation, grounded in our experiences with Bill Self, and what we know of him. Always on the alert for the forces of evil trying to pull him back in.

    http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=They+Keep+Pulling+Me+Back+Movie+Line&&view=detail&mid=91F33D50884E3E54A68691F33D50884E3E54A686



  • @HighEliteMajor

    I really don’t have a problem losing a game.

    But seeing our guys fold up like that… it clues me in to what to expect in March. Another early fold.

    My view on life: “If a bunch of thugs jump me in an alley, they will kick my butt. While I’m down on the ground, in the sewage and muck, I will reach out and bite an ankle.”

    That is who I am. I can’t stand people who quit. And people who quit continue to quit.

    Why should some fancy words convince me these guys won’t fold like this in March?



  • I think the “name on the jersey” is something to mention by coach at the start of a season, like after the 2 exhibition games. Then, no more.

    Why? Because every kid that plays for us already knows 500 times over the richness of what “k.a.n.s.a.s.” jerseys mean, but pride alone will not win tough games. Preparation, gameplan execution, aggression, and never-say-die is how to win grinder games.

    Its whats happening on the court in the current game is all that matters. You could say the “name” on the jersey works against us, and jazzes up the opponent more. (the we-get-every1’s-best-shot idea).

    So, in summary, if some “lesser name” school players out-play us in any 1 game, they can beat us in that 1 game…Lesser names can include, but not limited to: Bradley, Bucknell, UNI, WSU, Stanford, VCU, WVU, TCU, KSU, etc, etc, etc. (There could be one around every corner…)

    Msg to KU players: Play your/our game to the best of your ability, and quit worrying about names on jerseys. Execute what/how/when repeatedly, and even the scoreboard will take care of itself.



  • @drgnslayr You know, it’s weird. That team didn’t look like the team we saw all season. We seemed overwhelmed, to be honest. Completely playing WVU’s game – @Kcmatt7 mentioned that above.

    @Kcmatt7 Great breakdown above … you’ve got to do that more often. I love your statement … “But one has to wonder why they would still need correcting this far into the season… Against a team we know we have to play every year…” We were lost against the press.



  • @HighEliteMajor

    I am going into character. I am now Sergeant Slayr.

    I’m off to lunch right now but when I return… all HELL is going to break loose on this site!

    I am going into character of the two coaches that formed me as a person. One in 8th grade football, another who coached me in basketball from HS on for about 5 years.

    It isn’t going to be pretty.

    These boys need a foot shoved up their bungholes. Something to bring their egos back to earth and get their attention.



  • @drgnslayr Oh YEAHHHHHH!!!

    Wait that’s Macho Man Randy Savage.



  • @drgnslayr I think WVU & Huggy just shoved a big fat “L”, right where you suggested…

    Yes, back-to-reality motivation? Just provided…



  • As a fan, this is why we tune in to our team. Now what are those Jayhawks gonna do? How will they respond in the next outing? The suspense builds…now we are in a dogfight for the conf. race…

    🙂



  • @drgnslayr You might look talk to Frito Lay to see if you could get a sponsorship before you go preaching chips all over the site! Can’t wait!

    This team doesn’t have a narrative yet. What is the story this season will tell? I agree with most that 12 straight isn’t compelling enough to inspire the team in the big dance because that story ends too early.

    Some possible titles:

    Perry Senior Sensation

    Wayne Selden: A Redemption Story

    Bull Dogs in Basketball: How a 5’10" Point Guard Rises Above the Rest

    Cheik Diallo: Just in Time

    5 Men, 50 minutes

    Glorious Guards Repeat Gold



  • @drgnslayr

    There probably is no one excuse but I keep thinking this team hasn’t gotten over the OU game mentally and physically. We labored in Texas Tech and won but OU didn’t labor against K-St regardless of if it was at home or not. So we were at this peak after Baylor and OU, then Tech was a letdown and West Virginia was rock bottom.

    We had a bout a 3-4 minutes stretch where the lead went from 13 to 4 but 2 selfish possessions later that momentum was gone. The momentum in the arena was changing but this team went back to Selfish ball and we lost whatever heart we tried to muster up. I believe Hunter was in the game at that time of this comeback and then he was subbed things went downhill again. We had chances to keep the game within a few possessions but our 2 PG missed 3 1 and 1 opportunities seemingly in a row.

    We had the perfect storm of bad effort and the other team playing their super bowl. We’ve seen the script many times.



  • @HighEliteMajor ha thanks! High praise coming from you. I’ll try to post a little bit more often.



  • @BeddieKU23 Good point. Like OU got at their game in Norman, maybe KU needs a game in good ole AFH to give them some positive energy, regain some confidence and swagger. Much of basketball is about confidence and swag. That intangible can absolutely give very tangible energy…

    But I’m not going to give too much leeway to this bunch, who happened to win it all in WUG, away from home. And won it all in Maui, away from home. And also we should remind them that the 6 game run to a NC is not at home at all. Business trip. Need to bring more energy than the home team, period.



  • @ralster

    Saturday is a great start, TCU at home. Impose all our anger from last night into that game.



  • @Kcmatt7 I am not an X and O guy like a lot of posters. But even I thought at halftime…if we can’t keep them out of the lane…lay off of them a little and force them to beat us outside…they are not good 3 pt shooters…with the exception of Carter, I think.



  • I’m trying to do this…

    But all first draft is so rough and aggressive… so full of nastiness… I think I will get raided by the PC police. I’m trying to make it polished enough to not offend 100% of the fans in here. That is not the intent.

    I’ll keep polishing, trying to save enough rough edges to keep the bite while not trying to be banned from this site!



  • @drgnslayr said:

    I’m trying to do this…

    I’ll keep polishing, trying to save enough rough edges to keep the bite while not trying to be banned from this site!

    Hey you do what you gotta do and say what you gotta say.

    Those who are offended or hurt have one of two choices. 1) stop reading and move on or 2) suck it up and asses what you say and go from there.



  • @JRyman

    Okay… this is going to be in layers.

    I’m ready for Chapter 1.

    Here goes… I think it still has enough in it to get the ball rolling…



  • @drgnslayr In the voice of Hulk Hogan. “Bring it on Brother!”

    @drgnslayr see what you’ve done to me now all I can do is bust out old WWE stars. It’s all good though



  • @JRyman Let’s put them in tents! Maybe put them on Naked and Afraid for a few episodes. Toughen then up enough to at least compete with the girls teams…



  • @drgnslayr This is not a new phenomenon - Self’s teams always play like this when they are ranked highly. The only time they get gritty and play the way they should is when they are the underdog. Maybe we should change the field house as someone suggested a while back:

    underdog2.jpg



  • @ralster And you mean possibly there was someone on this sight that DIDN’T think we were going to be in for a dog fight for the conf race? if you know that there is one of the posters in here that thought it wasn’t going to be a dogs fight, cat fight, alley brawl, horse fight, women fight, or any other kind of fight, WWE, UFC fight, will you send them my way please, cause if ANYONE didn’t think it was gonna be a fight- - - -well then I have this gorgeous piece of land in FLORDIA I want to sell them real cheap. no money down, only 300.00 a month all luxuries included, please step up, will be going fast. ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @Hawk8086 And the fact that you and I saw that, and Bill did not, speaks to why we lost last night.

    What happended to Bill, and in turn, the team:

    • We had a few early turnovers. And whatever it was, (Maybe the snow? Maybe he had a bad toupee day? Didn’t have his usual pregame with J Howard because of the hour delay?) he put a short leash on everyone. He was in a bad mood and had a short fuse.

    • That extra pressure from Self caused two noticeable things. 1: Overaggression by some players (Wayne early). and 2: Conservatism and lack of confidence in others who were just trying to not make a mistake so they can get more minutes. (Svi)

    • That extra pressure caused a stagnant offense and even more turnovers. Turnovers lead to points for WV. Points for WV allow the press to get set. Which leads to more turnovers. And the cycle begins…

    • We begin to, by the direction of our coach, extend the defense so that WE can get some turnovers.

    • Because our defense extends, we open up driving lanes. More points. Cycle continues.

    • Because our defense extends, we ask our bigs to box out 1v1 with WV’s monster thugs down low. This allows offensive boards and second chance points. So the cycle continues.

    • Instead of realizing this was the opposite strategy we wanted, probably because he was so pissed at all of the turnovers, Bill stuck with it. And, boy was it ugly to watch.

    WV got OUR COACH out of sorts last night. Not our team. Our players can only do what they are capable of, while doing what our coach asks (wherein conflicting interests meet and you can only reach a certain potential with a certain strategy). Last night, Bill asked our players to do things that they were not capable of doing, so we lost. Simple as that.



  • Coach has had at least one brain fart each of the last couple of seasons in a game where he does not change his way of doing things. He KNEW they were going to press. He KNEW Mason/Selden/Greene/Svi/Lucas/Traylor weren’t making it any better yet he did not at least TRY putting in Vick/Bragg/Diallo. Maybe Coach wants the players playing the worst to suffer as much as he is.

    Better be ready for our “Topeka YMCA” rematch Sat. Don’t forget how badly that game was played/coached.


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