February 15: Our Daily Threads
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Also see today’s News Digest, February 15, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 14, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 14
##Our Daily Threads for February 15:##
##Hoops housing rejected: round up the usual suspects -@jaybate##
Here is where board rats post who voted against the basketball housing and why. Time to understand the politics of basketball housing.
###Feb 14:STAT DAT! - @drgnslayr###
Our man Tait, over at KUSports has posted a story on our 3-point proficiency to date. And while Matt isn’t quite the stat-grinder Jesse is, we appreciate his efforts in shining the light away from emotional views to hard facts. Thank you, Matt!
http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/feb/13/a-deeper-look-at-kus-three-point-shootin/
The season has played out long enough now that we can look at hard numbers and form a strategy around them. Might players play up or down as the season progress? Yes, of course… but then it is good to factor in recent games to estimate future proficiency. Players (and teams) go hot and cold… that’s what Las Vegas counts on… there is enough variance in the game to keep things unpredictable around their point spreads, creating a 50/50 jump ball where they net 10% on the overall wash.
###Feb 13: Is There a Bounty on KU OADs? - @jaybate###
Today is my day for asking an irreverent question, I guess.
Self said Selden was injured early and some times his uneven play hints that his injury recurs intermittently.
###Feb 13: Are the Gators the favorite to winning it all, and Why is Boeheims zone still so effective? - @Blown###
Just a short topic here but I’m curious to hear who our NC picks are right now and why on earth is Syracuse the dominant zone team in the country year after year? I am resolved to the hawks not making the FF, and along that thought, I’m also deciding on Billy D as my favorite coach and Florida winning it all this year. Looking forward to your opinions.
###Feb 13: Tight Calls, Less Injuries/Loose Calls, More Injuries? - @jaybate###
Increasingly, this season seems to be segmented into two seasons.
The first season was when fouls were called very tightly inside and out and there was next to no butcher ball.
###Feb 12: Post Latest Scuttlebutt on When Jam Tray Will Be Back Here - @jaybate###
###Feb 12: Welcome to Hedge Row Country - @jaybate###
Eisenhower assaulted Normandy with the most awesome military force ever assembled, but no one was certain the invasion would succeed. Weather could easily have wrecked the plan, but it did not. The inability to get many of the glider and paratrooper forces to their intended destinations followed by their inability coordinate into effective fighting units in the darkness could have wrecked the plan, but instead their own chaos caused so much confusion among the Germans that they did not know how to capitalize on the chaos. The Germans could have wrecked the plan by bringing their Panzers up immediately, but they did not. The miscalculations at Omaha that cost so many lives could have wrecked the plan by exposing a weak flank that those at Utah might not have been able to hold, but it did not. Montgomery’s left bogging down could have wrecked the plan, but the Germans did not amass enough force soon enough to exploit the situation. So: inspite of all the SNAFUs, the Allies, the greatest single amphibious invasion force in human history established a successful foothold and primed to begin to grind down their enemy with overwhelming ground and air force, plus staggering logistical advantage.
But then things ground to a halt in hedge row country in the American sector.
###Feb 11: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU @ KSU - Feb 10 - @drgnslayr###
It is always a tough loss in the Little Apple because, to be quite frankly, it rarely occurs!
I was not overly-optimistic about walking out of the Octagon with a win this time because we count on too much production from freshmen.
###Feb 11: Rest for Joel - @JRyman###
Rest him now get him healthy for the stretch run, and is a 1 seed everything? I’ll take a two seed and a rested Joel for the tournament run, over a slowed and hobbled Joel and a 1 seed any day.
###Feb 11: Freshmen Fairy Tale - @drgnslayr###
What stood out the most last night was the obvious reality of having a bunch of freshmen on the same team visiting a hostile environment. Everyone makes such a big deal out of the Hilton… I’d rather go play at ISU than KSU… any day of the week!
Wiggins is only 18. When I was 18 I popped more zits than long ball jump shots. All of our team is filled with kids. I think I’d make an exception on Tarik… he seems to be the lone adult.
###Feb 10: The NEW Rupp Arena! - @jaybate###
Since the University of Kentucky is having problems recruiting quality players to their basketball program, they thought an update to Rupp Arena might help!
Yikes… maybe we can pawn “the rules” and add some glass and metal to AFH!
###Feb 10: EMERGENCY! Batman to the Batcave! - @drgnslayr###
###Feb 10: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs WVU - Feb 8 -@drgnslayr###
This was a lot tougher game than many fans were prepared for. Two months ago, we would have viewed this game as a sure thing, but Bob Huggins has shown us, once again, why he is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame someday. WVU has several talented offensive weapons, one sticking out above the rest, Juwan Staten. Staten showed all day how easy it was for him to cut through the Jayhawk backcourt like it was warm butter. It has been realized for quite some time now that KU’s backcourt defense needs improving, especially at the PG position.
Staten gave Naadir Tharpe fits all day, and it didn’t take too long for Coach Self to make the strategic move to pull Tharpe off of Staten, if for no other reason than to save Tharpe from foul trouble.
###Feb 10: Smart: not so smart. -@REHawk###
The Cowboys’ (All-American?) guard quickly sliding into depths of despair. Time for Sports Illustrated to solicit a personal interview.
###Feb 9: Tharpe: Can We Get More? - @HighEliteMajor###
I left my viewing of KU’s methodical win today wanting more – wanting more from our point guard, Naadir Tharpe. The question is whether Tharpe is bumping up against his talent ceiling? We’ve seen Tharpe be near spectacular shooting the ball. We’ve seen him drop 12 assists against zero turnovers. We’ve seen Tharpe be the best player on this team at times. But many times, we’ve seen him play at a pedestrian level as a whole, and subpar in some of the other parts of his game. Today, to me, was downright frustrating.
Five areas I want more from Tharpe…
###Feb 8: JIE: Warning–WVU Dangerous - @jaybate###
jaybate intelligence estimate
RE: WVU THREAT LEVEL–HIGH
Bob Huggins team last season was one of his rare bad ones. He rebuilt his team this season and it looks like he designed it specifically to beat KU. Three combos and two bigs. The combos play a lot of minutes. The bigs are two deep. This WVU is modeled after SDSU and Florida and to lesser degree Texas. It is big, brawny, deep, and has long and strong guards. Couple this with Huggins thug ball and this means the threat level for an upset of KU is HIGH, I REPEAT HIGH.
Also see today’s News Digest, February 15, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 14, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 14
