Isn't It a Little Early for April Fool's Day?
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@Crimsonorblue22 Well, I don’t feel like I’m mean spirited or anything, but my goodness, he wasn’t even a very good college player - and he’s going pro? Is there a place for him there? I just thought it seemed odd.
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@nuleafjhawk I thought he was going to try out for the D league. I wasn’t thinking of it as “going pro”. I’m not sure how you get in the D league. Morningstar stayed in there awhile.
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http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/07/09/report-naadir-tharpe-to-turn-pro/
Wow, that says a lot about the manner in which he left the team. Doesn’t this have to mean that he had no good options in the East coast?
I’m not buying the statement about not wanting to sit out a year. Going to the D-League is hugely risky behavior in his situation (not regarded as an up and coming talent, and, like the little article pointed out, he was very inconsistent in his time in Lawrence). Also, he was pretty bad at running the point and he is undersized for a 2 guard by pro standards. For these reasons, I think he must have had no decent options. It’s sad but again I think this decision says a lot.
From the lack of options, and that now he states that he doesn’t want to sit out a year, I think we can only conclude that he basically got fired and shown the door by Self. And all of the talk about him wanting to get closer to his daughter in New England was he and Bill saving face. He could end up in any city in the D-league.
Amazing, I don’t think I’ve seen a player basically get fired, or at least not have any options.
As a former Jayhawk, I wish him the best.
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@SlickRockJayhawk so can anyone play in D league? I’m assuming from your response, you don’t think anyone is helping him out?
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@Crimsonorblue22 I’m just wondering… do you think that was really the plan from the time he left? Or has he exhausted all paths to play for a reputable D-1 school in the Northeast and then decided to go D-league, maybe from an invitation from one of the D-league teams. I still don’t think it’s a given he will make a D-league roster unless he got drafted and was sent to a team by the NBA team.
I’m just curious how the thought process all went down for Naadir. To me, this sounds like a Plan B.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Yes, even you can try out for $300 https://dleaguetryouts.nba.com/FAQs.aspx
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@Crimsonorblue22 I might do it just for the jersey!!!
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Naadir and decision making are like oil and water.
No personal offense intended, but that kid has been on a bad decision roll for quite some time. This is yet another, as he fades into obscurity.
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@SlickRockJayhawk I think JRGiddens got “fired”. I think CJGiles definitely got “fired”. Things remain murky about Tyrone Appleton. Self could have fired Mario Little, but didnt. Part of this may be his big-pix realization of the importance of recruiting his-kind-of-tough-kids out of Chicago…so Self not going to burn bridges in Chicago. Notice Self going the magnificent mile for Jamari Traylor…
Self likely fired Anrio Adams (not coachable!), and at times you just have to make an example out of someone, and Self had little patience with Adams antics, especially after the long duration growing pains with Tyshawn…Anrio can just be gone and eat cereal at some other table. And Selfie most definitely fired Naa. Another example needed to be made for a young and soft team. Naa provided the ammunition…
All the other guys who’ve transferred were legit transfers, as they were presented to be.
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I’ll wish Naadir the best…but I think he just did it for the little bit of money they make for playing D-league (about $30k/yr). Maybe playing for his own livelihood will restore Naadir’s confidence. He was not a bad player in 2012, and most jhawks maybe wanted him in helping EJ vs. Michigan. (Sidebar: * that team was flawed as neither BMac nor Releford were combo-guard level ball-handlers, so who do you bench to put Naa in place of, in those last few min? That idea is flawed. Naa only was in alongside EJ to give Releford or BMac a rest at times during the season. But you go with a PTPer (BMac, IowaSt-in-AFH savior) and a senior (Travis) in crunchtime. Self wasnt going to put Naa in late against Mich. No reason to, especially since EJ never prior showed such a 3min stretch in his 2yrs as a starter. We can all now definitively put down our retrospectoscope.* )
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“No personal offense intended, but that kid has been on a bad decision roll for quite some time. This is yet another, as he fades into obscurity.”
I’m not disagreeing with you.
I didn’t have a father around in day-to-day stuff, but he was around for the big things and when I needed my butt kicked and straightened out, I got it.
It seems like Naa doesn’t have that kind of guidance. He seems like a young man who doesn’t have anyone or the right person guiding him at this crucial time in his life.
I see it as tragic and I hope Naadir finds help going forward.
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@drgnslayr Maybe you don’t want to air your personal story to all on this board. But I’ve seen bits and pieces in your posts that intrigue me. If you are up to it, I’d love to hear your life story as in preKU, KU, and post KU years.
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@drgnslayr I’ve learned awhile back, never judge anyone until you walk in their shoes. Tragic it is! I hope some person can find the best out of Naadir, not just bb, but in his life decisions. I’ll always remember the OU game he clinched for us at home, to celebrate 10 straight. Many fans waited for him to finish his interview to celebrate him! Pretty cool! I know he loved his team and he loved being a Jayhawk. He just screwed up!
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I believe Naadir Tharpe’s father was a banker, but died before Naa ever graduated high school.
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The reality is that none of us knows what really happened and making conjectures, particularly negative ones, is highly unfair to Naa. Maybe when Beyond the Phog - Part 2 comes out we will read both sides of the story and then we will have a better view of what actually transpired.
I, for one, wish the young men the best and hope he get his life together…after all, once Jayhawk always a Jayhawk.
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@nuleafjhawk – Don’t get me wrong I liked Tharpe, but man the guy lacked focus or something. Also for some reason he thought he was a great shooter. I don’t know how many times he come down the court and jacked up a shot without even letting the offense run a set play. Sorry KU nation (go easy on me) but he couldn’t defend a soda in a coffee shop. I still can’t get this out of mind. I can’t remember the game but Tharpe handed the ball of to Embiid I think at the top of the key ( a big man mind you). Embiid gets swarmed and tries to pass the ball back to Tharpe who isn’t paying attention. It hits him in the face/head. What point guard does that? Just saying.
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@DoubleDD he got hit in the head at osu.
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@Crimsonorblue22 – Thank you. My memory gets a little foggy sometimes.
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@DoubleDD I couldn’t forget that! Ugh!
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I think I bore enough people already with my personal stories.
I will share another one about my father and how he impacted my life.
I was in elementary school when the Beatles landed on American soil and after the following summer, I adopted a “Beatle cut” (haircut by putting a bowl over your head and trimming around the bottom) and returned to school.
None of us realized it but at that time public schools in our town required boys to have a crew cut or shaved down flat top. The school sent me home.
My father worked 7 days a week, from the crack of dawn until late at night. He was always gone. He was also a big, very aggressive man with a horrible violent temper. When he heard the news he took my hand and we marched back to school. I’m not sure to what degree he threatened the principal’s life… but suddenly the hair restriction was lifted and I was allowed back in school. Other boys then proceeded to let their hair grow and hair freedom was a new reality in our neck of the woods.
Events like that helped shape me, both good and bad. But I always felt like he had my back and it gave me confidence moving forward. And when I needed to make a decision by myself, I felt like I should decide carefully and not make knee-jerk decisions.
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@drgnslayr Thanks much for sharing. I remember watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show on our small black and white TV. We lived in Chicago at the time and most boys had crew cuts. My dad served during the Korean War and ran a tight ship. I don’t think my hair touched my ears until after the football season my senior year in high school.
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@drgnslayr How times have changed! Mom bought me the coolest pair of pants for my first day of seventh grade. (1957) They were RED! Just khakis, dyed red, with a buckle in the back. Remember those? I was sent home because “They are disruptive.”
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Just to clear the air about Tharpe’s landing in the D-League, the reason for it is that he has no other choice, really. Although it’s been suggested that Tharpe was forced out (and he may well have been) and that his decision to pro, as well as the earlier chatter that Europe would be an option, is evidence of that, the reality is Tharpe did try to transfer to a school in or near the Boston area, but was unsuccessful. The only public D-1 college in the area is UMass and they were interested, but couldn’t offer him a scholarship because they’d hit their allotment. As for the other three, Providence (RI) and Boston College are Catholic universities, and, although non-denominational, Boston University is supported by the Methodist church. Unsurprisingly, these schools were unwilling to extend an offer to a kid that was rather publicly caught fornicating with a married woman. The D-League was basically all Tharpe has left (and if he’s lucky he can wind up on the Springfield Armor, if they’re still around).
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Wow… the clothes! How can we leave out the clothes from that time?!
Platform shoes… bell bottom pants… wild wild wild printed shirts…
I ran across a wild suit from my teens just a few years ago. It had to go to make room for the future, but it was hard to box it in with the rest of the stuff for Goodwill.
Women’s clothes have always been imaginative… but what about the fellas’ clothes today? The lumberjack look is kind of wearing on me.
Back in the 60s the guys had as much color and personality in their clothing as the gals had.
Seems the only thing remaining from that fashion period for men is the film clip of PeeWee Herman in the biker bar dancing in a pair of platforms.
Pity dat!
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@drgnslayr lol - my uncle used to own a clothing store and he kept me humiliated on a regular basis. Well, I thought it was cool then, but I’m kind of humiliated now. I remember one outfit with clarity:
Long sleeved lavender shirt with puffy sleeves. (Yes, it was a Men’s clothing store!)
Vertical striped bell bottom pants - carolina blue and white stripes.
Blue suede ( thanks Elvis ) platform shoes.
I was rocking the middle school fashion scene for sure.
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At prom I sported a blue jacket with rad/black plaid pants and thick crush red velvet tie about 4" wide. Recently I saw a greeting card making fun of a geek in the exact same outfit. Looking back I feel sorry for my date that night.
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@JayhawkRock78 dang! I’d love to see pics of these outfits!!! So Slayer, this is none of my business, but you have a newborn, and I’m guessing a much younger wife? Do you have other children? You don’t have to answer!!!
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@Crimsonorblue22 I have them both-I just might post them for fun.
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@JayhawkRock78 do it!!!
