We lost the game....
-
We lost to MSU and as a team, we deserved to lose. MSU rode their superstar. Kansas did not. MSU’s Izzo coached to win. KU’s Self coached not to lose. The saddest reality is we were the better, more talented team. It doesn’t matter about the 7th, 8th, and 9th best players playing. What matters is we cannot close games. We could not close games last year, or the year before. The bottom line is, the best players, Frank, Wayne, and Perry did not finish the game the right way. They were nowhere near what we experienced with Chalmers, Collins, and Robinson. It is time for leaders to lead. I’m not depending on Hunter Mickelson to lead this team. That’s not what he was brought here for. He is a decent player, but he is a role player, as are Lucas and Traylor. They are not the go to players on this team. If Perry is the man, then get him the ball. If Frank is the man, then he should want and expect the ball in the end. If Wayne is the man, then he should run to the ball instead of away from it in times of crisis. The season is young, but now is the time for leaders to step up.
-
We took the Ricky Bobby approach last night!
-
@Statmachine I’m takin your word on that STAT !
-
@globaljaybird We must have been last yesterday lol.
-
My question to you is what leaders?
Nobody on this team wants to rally the troops when they face opposition. This is still largely the same team that Bill Self had to bring in a drill instructor for last season during boot camp and the drill instructor straight up told them none of the players leaders. There is nobody on this team that gets on to someone else to snap them out of a funk.
Frank Mason might be the only Type A personality on the team, but he doesn’t use that to his advantage. Nic Moore may not have played very well in Korea, but that kid was/is a great leader and wasn’t afraid to get on his teammates when they needed it. As much as KU needed Diallo’s rebounding abilities yesterday, they needed Nic Moore’s leadership even more and that’s going to become more and more obvious as the year goes on and nobody on KU steps up and rallues the team in tough situations.
-
I have to admit… early in the game, the announcers mentioned how Self proclaimed this game to be a Selden breakout game. That goes way beyond jinxing him.
Wayne Selden = Elijah Johnson
I don’t mean that to be a negative for either guy. What I’m talking about is psyche. Both of these guys get spooked from their own shadows. So Self “drops the hammer” on Wayne… I knew he wasn’t going to have a big game after that when I thought he would have (if he had been left alone to do it).
We all remember EJ… and the potential he brought to Kansas… and was never realized.
Wayne should be pushed to perform. He has been given a kind of “special pass” since arriving at Kansas, and I’m not sure why. Maybe he was promised minutes.
But he shouldn’t be pushed under the spotlight in public. This is all stuff that should be done within the walls of a practice facility.
All we really needed to win this game was to have one guy step up and lead… Valentine was the only player on either team to do so and it was enough to give an inferior team the victory.
-
I think Devonte is our man for Type A.
He is going to have to step up and lead this team. Frank is very gifted, but he isn’t a leader. Sometimes we mistook him for a leader because he closed out a game here and there. But he doesn’t have the right personality to do it. Devonte is known as “big man on campus” for a reason. He is extremely social and capable.
Maybe this loss is the first step into anointing Devonte into that role. Maybe. Plus… he is the only true PG we have!
Someone is going to have to lead or we are in for a disastrous season!
-
@drgnslayr Devonte isn’t a leader either. Real leaders don’t need to be told to step up or wait to be pushed into that role. Leaders lead from Day 1 without prompting. That’s what always stick out to me the most about Nic Moore. He just came in, saw there was a void of leadership and filled the need. Graham might be a sociable person, but he isn’t a leader. The leader doesn’t have to be a PG, they can play any position on the court. Thomas Robinson was a great leader for KU, the Morris twins were leaders, Cole Aldrich was a leader. Those guys may not have been the only leaders on the team, but they were leaders and took charge when they needed to.
-
I think Devonte is our only real hope to have a leader on this team. Wayne… completely disappears in games and Izzo tagged him right as “streaky.”
This wasn’t Devonte’s team from Day 1. It was Frank’s.
No matter what, the PG needs to share in leadership because plays start at the point.
I don’t see any of the guys you mentioned as leaders. They were quality players but none of those guys were directing traffic on their teams… well… I’m talking about the Jayhawks you mentioned. Nic Moore definitely has leadership skills… he is also more experienced than Devonte.
Someone is going to have to do it and it is between Frank and Devonte.
Devonte is the only PG on this team. Period.
-
@KansasComet Hunter ranked player…Lucas/Traylor not so much.
-
@Bwag said:
@KansasComet Hunter ranked player…Lucas/Traylor not so much.
Hunter Mickleson is not on any Wooden Watch list, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd team list. He is not one of the leaders on this team. I’m not saying he can’t play. I like him quite a bit, but he is not one of our top 4 options. So Hunter/Lucas/Traylor not so much.
-
@drgnslayr I think you need to get past the PG has to be the leader because that’s not always true. Is it ideal? Yes, but it’s not always reality. T-Rob absolutely was a leader with Tyshawn. The Morris twins were the undisputed leaders of the 2010-11 team. Cole and Sherron were both leaders from 2008-2010.
Teams typically take on the personality of their leaders and what is the personality of this team? You look at this team’s personality and compare it to Perry’s personality, I think you’ll see who’s viewed as the leader of this team and it’s not Frank Mason, it’s Perry Ellis.
-
you are exactly right. We started the game, Fed the ball to Perry and they had NO ONE to stop him, so here is the question- - - how can Perry finish the game if they stop getting him the ball, they quit looking for him, ya he got some but why do you ever go away from whats got you to where your at? Michigan State sure didn’t stop making sure it was in Valentines hands, huge difference. Michigan State kept riding their horse, Us? we put our stud in the stable and brushed him down. They had no one in the 1st half that came close to stopping him, but what do we do ? we start jacking up wild ass 3’s making ridicilious drives with no where to go, THEN when we decided to get Perry back involved- - - it was to late. he had like 14-15 pts in the 1st half- - - you ride and ride and ride tell he is wore out. If they can’t stop it, then why do you stop, makes no sense.
-
@KansasComet said:
@Bwag said:
@KansasComet Hunter ranked player…Lucas/Traylor not so much.
Hunter Mickleson is not on any Wooden Watch list, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd team list. He is not one of the leaders on this team. I’m not saying he can’t play.
HS ranking & Stats for 2 games: Hunter Rivals 100 (17 at position) 4 stars 8MPG, 1.5 BPG, 4 RBG, 1 PPg and 0 TO’s
Traylor Rivals 141 (27 at position) 3 stars 19.5 MBG, 0 BPG, 7 RBG, 7 PPG, and 0 TO’s
Lucas Rivals NR 3 stars 11 MPG, 0 BPG, 5 RBG, 5 PPG and 1.5 TO’s
Hunter significant shot blocking potential, nice offensive touch if inconsistent over inconsistent PT (short of the WUG). Brings energy and gets hands on lots of balls when he doesn’t get RB.
-
@Bwag We are talking about two completely different topics. You are showing me that Mickelson is a better option than Traylor and Lucas and apparently you have stats to support it? Okay, that’s great. As for me, and this is just my opinion, the best players on the team need the ball when it’s. winning time. The best players generally want and demand the ball. There are games when your best players need to take over. Last night was one of those games.
-
@jayballer54 Well said. Do what works until they take it away. Unfortunately, we took it away from ourselves.
