"It's OK"
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Here’s an article with Self’s comments after the first practice:
Self: KU’s first practice ‘not great’
I thought Self made some revealing comments, so here’s another attempt to translate SelfSpeak into English:
“You know, you can look at teams and say, well, they look really deep, and then as you get into the season, they may only play seven or eight and you’re really not quite as deep as what you thought originally you would be.”
Translation: depth is overrated. True depth is how good are the guys you actually play.
“It’s going to be hard this year figuring out who to play, and that’s what I tried to explain to our players yesterday”
Translation: I don’t want to figure out who to play, I want you to show me. I want 8 guys to stand out.
“if somebody is not doing what they can do to help our team win, it’s not going to be that difficult to try to give somebody else an opportunity to do that.”
Translation: the guys who stand out better keep on standing out. The other “OK” guys better stay ready to play.
(Wishful thinking: it will take more than “energy” to stay in the lineup.)
“it’s OK to put Brannen in. It’s OK to put Svi in. It’s OK to put Hunter in or Jamari in or Landen in. That’s OK to do that. Those are good players that’s proven that they can do good things when they’re in there.”
Translation: we have 4 returning players (Ellis, Selden, Graham, Mason) who are not “OK”: they are the foundation. They are 30+ minute core starters around whom I will build my team. Then we have 5 “OK” returning players who will compete for spots in the rotation.
Interpretation: Graham starts, it’s decided. If Diallo is cleared, he must get good enough to start sooner or later. That leaves 3 rotation spots open for 5 “OK” veterans (not to mention the 2 freshmen).
Self Story: “Depth means never having to leave the bench.”
(apologies to Erich Segal)
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Foundational post, not just ok!
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That little chunk of SelfSpeak was more than a gentle boost to the fannies of Bragg, Vick, Diallo. Those fellers must be sensing a loaded 18-wheeler churning toward their backsides.
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I hate that he precludes a different rotation and style of play with extensive depth on the team. Realize it could be motivational technique at this point, but I don’t think so.
This predetermined approach hurts us. I think it can be agreed that, for example, he’s played Seldon too much in last couple of years based upon on the court performance. One might argue that he didn’t have the depth, but I don’t buy it.
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@Bwag Fair enough, but I think you bring up two somewhat different points.
You start by saying Self could change his style of play to get more people on the court. That would mean going from, say, an 8-man rotation to 9 or 10.
Then you say Selden played too many minutes. That might mean keeping the same rotation but adjusting the minutes, or sometimes playing a different 8-man rotation with Selden on the bench.
Reading Self’s comments, he’s for your second point (produce or get demoted / replaced) and against your first (we’re going to play as we always have, only better).
Past reality suggests he won’t pull the trigger on the second point as quickly as some of us would like.
I think when on the court performance suffers, fans tend to look at the glass half empty and Self looks at the glass half full - except for those times when we just don’t think the glass is as full as he does…
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Translation:
“We’ll start the season with 12 guys that could all be rotational players if I give them enough minutes to not only prevent from rusting, but to add polish. By early conference play I’ll be knocking it down to 7 or 8 guys from there on out, so don’t expect the guys who are out of the rotation to step up in March because they’ll be as rusty as the old skillet you forgot and left outside by the grill all winter.”
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Dear Friend we can come to KU Buckets and speak our minds not matter how crazy they may seem.
However we will not suggest that a barbeque grill would sit all winter with out use. That my friend is unacceptable talk. Thank you for your cooperation.
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@ParisHawk I was headed out the door early this morning, but I think you captured my concerns. He pre-commits to a number for rotation and then hesitates to make a change based on his early player determinations. It’s fine for Self to say it now, but don’t think I’ve seen him ever commit to a change.
New players come in, show some rust and get the quick hook instead of opportunity to play through and get in a rhythm. Mickelson, in my mind, is case in point. He showed glimpses of what he did this summer last year, but never got any extended time to get in rhythm with the A-team. He didn’t just get that much better between March and July.
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I am so sorry… I will try to practice more discipline in the future… and I totally agree with you!
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@DoubleDD Even when I was stationed up near Fairbanks, the grill got used in the winter months. At times had to run fast with the meat to keep it from freezing after taking it off the grill.
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@brooksmd be fun to see!
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@Crimsonorblue22 What, using the grill during Alaska winter or me running with my meat?
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@brooksmd you running the meat!
