Jayhawk Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (JOCD)
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I would say VCU is the worst loss I can ever remember, just because of the pitifully weak opponents we would have faced had we won. Not only that, but that team was loaded with experienced players, and seemed to be on a mission that entire season. Yeah, they lost a couple games, but they seemed as hungry as any team I can remember, and had the skill and depth to back it up.
We knew this year’s team was capable of some awful games, but the 2011 team was not like that. They seemed ready to play every night, and when the ball wasn’t going in, they turned up the defense and got to the line. They NEVER played as badly as they did against VCU, which made it that much more painful to watch. I’ve never been more certain that we’d make the Final Four, and could barely watch that crappy championship game. Ugh!
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I think I have to go back to 1957 and our triple-overtime loss in the championship game to North Carolina, 54 - 53. This was a match up of the AP #1 versus the AP #2. We had that game won and blew it in the last 2 minutes of regulation. Couldn’t buy a FT, and it was a missed FT in the 3rd OT that opened the door for UNC to nail two FTs and win the game.
Chamberlain went for 23 points and 14 rebounds. Curious how many blocked shots he had, but they didn’t keep that statistic. Maybe 10?
The win for UNC sealed a perfect season, 32-0.
I think if I could go back and change one score, this one would be it.
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@truehawk93 What’s a FarokManesh? A guy that turns the ball over if pressed.
@Virgil_Caine - VCU is the top of my list too. I’ve said this many times … silver platter. The national title was there on a silver platter.
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@drgnslayr-As old as we are there have been far too many heartbreaking losses. Have to agree slayr, if only one, that (57)would be it.
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@HighEliteMajor @truehawk93 What’s a FarokManesh?
I once heard it pronounced Farokmabracketup
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@Virgil_Caine Virg, the VCU loss is the worst of the past 20 yrs for me too. I was Shanghaied with a torn cuff & that pain may very well have something to do with it also, but as soon as I grabbed the rifle to head out in the truck & blow off steam after the loss…it started snowing hell bent for election-so decided to grab the jug instead. The things we do to relieve stress…
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@HighEliteMajor What’s a HEM? A guy that forgets Cole Aldrich had respiratory problems and couldn’t get back on D very fast…
That being said, 3 hours before that game I was wishing we would open with a press just to get them off balance. Let them worry about adjusting to something we don’t plan on doing for long anyway! Now there’s a tactic.
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@JayhawkRock78 don’t forget Rhode Island. Pretty good team that year too!
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@ Comet I just looked it up. That year my son was still in diapers and my daughter was born in February. We didn’t have cable and I was too exhausted to go to a bar and watch. Sounds like I missed out on the pain Rhode Island handed out that year.
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I do not have a post season loss that stings the most. I try to get over tournament losses in less than two weeks. I usually travel in the summer, reflect and enjoy life, it’s too short. I have taken much more positives out of Kansas Basketball than negatives over the past 30 years. I enjoy the ride, each and every year. I could never be a “if you don’t win it all, then I am I disappointed” type person. Kansas Basketball is not just about me or my opinions. It is much bigger than that. I am sure these kids are trying as hard as they can. I root for them as I would my own children. When the Jayhawks lose, I say to myself, “It’s okay, I am glad you are a part of my favorite school, and I wouldn’t trade any of you for anything”. I get ready for the next season, because I don’t ever see myself not being a supporter of Kansas Jayhawk Basketball. I certainly understand everyone’s right to be upset when we lose, but I have to draw the line somewhere. There is not a person on this website that is qualified to coach the Kansas Jayhawks, nor handle the day to day pressures that come with the job. Bill Self is an outstanding coach and should be praised for putting an excellent competitive team on the court each and every season. Everyone can be an armchair quarterback. Not everyone can coach and maintain an elite team at the University of Kansas. Sometimes we as fans get it twisted.
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@JayhawkRock78 We were loaded that year. 35-4. The last year of Pierce and LaFrentz. Lost in the 2nd Round to Rhode Island. Very disappointing.
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One painful loss was that to Texas-El Paso when JoJo’s shot was disallowed and UTEP went to beat UK in the NCAA title game. That UTEP teams was later portrayed in the movie Glory Road, a movie rife with inaccuracies.
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@JayHawkFanToo 1992 loss to UTEP was pretty painful as well. We were a 1 seed. A win would have put us in Kansas City with a great chance to make the Final Four. Tough loss.
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@ParisHawk I was just kind of hoping the press would come out at the 10 minute mark in the second half given the pace of the game.
And are you really implying an excuse for losing to UNI? Is that what I’m seeing?
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I told my friends and family that next year was our year before this one even bagan. I still believe that the next 2 years will be much more enjoyable for me to watch. The remedy for getting over our last loss is to think about next years team. Heck in about a month our new freshmen will arrive to enroll in summer classes and we will have our alumni game. Back to the grind in about a month guys. I am ready!
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Great philosophy… keeping looking forward and there is no time to look back and be disappointed!
I’m going to keep that one… Thanks!
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Arizona in '97 was the worst at the time and remains the worst in retrospect because we can see the talent that was present on that team.
This year’s loss was tough because of the hype, the potential… etc. But it became increasingly clear that this team had some flaws in addition to their youth… and they never learned how to compensate for their deficiencies.
It’s tough to pick a #2 most painful loss… I would probably pick Bucknell because I just didn’t see it coming. And my wife is an alumni, so I’m reminded of this frequently.
The Michigan collapse of 2013 is a close #3 - With 2:30 left in the game, KU led 72-62 and had the ball… and had a 99.4% chance of winning the game.
UNI would be #4 – That team was so talented and should not have lost.
UTEP in 92 is #5 – people forget, but I agree with @KansasComet It was was really a stunner.
Duke in 86 is #6 – The first time Johnny Dawkins messed with us. Archie Marshall was injured… we should have won that game and then we would have beat Louisville.
URI (98) #7 – yes… We lost to Rhode Island and Lamar Odom. This was the classic Roy Williams loss that should not have been. KU was stacked with talent again. But the previous year’s loss to Arizona softened the blow a touch.
VCU (2011) #8 The hubris with that team was its undoing.
Bradley (2006) gets #9 – only because we were numb after being knocked out by Bucknell the year before.
Stanford (2014) is #10 for now. The ‘Experiment’ ended one game before JoJo could make an appearance in the big dance.
It’s too depressing to go beyond 10.
Who was left out of this ignominious list? Syracuse (2003)? UCLA (2007)? Purdue in 94 with Big Dog Glenn Robinson?
(P.S. this list is based on my memory of KU Basketball… I was less than a year old in 66 when KU lost to Texas Western, so that is not on my list nor is the classic 57 game that @drgnslayr mentioned.)
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They all sting. But some of them, even though we had good teams, were out played by other good teams. Arizona, for instance. They beat 3 number 1s. During the tournament they were the best team. Certainly not all year, but during the tournament…they were. VCU, sure, silver platter. But…we never even hinted that we were going to win that game. Outplayed from the jump. Bradley…that team was so young. Deer in the headlights. After that near halfcourt shot before halftime…we were done. Michigan last year is the worst…not because it is recent. We played well and had the game in hand for 38 mins. All we had to do was not screw up and make free throws. Couldn’t do either one. We had the game and blew it in astounding fashion. Having the game won and blowing it in the last 2mins. is just worse for me. I need to stop talking about…I’m getting upset all over again.
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@Hawk8086 depressing thread!
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A UNI grad, that I occasionally work w/, has a-you guessed it- a framed score from our game! Barf!
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@Hawk8086 I somehow put Michigan out of my mind. I agree that is one of the worst.
I’ll amend my post above and put that at #3, though there are arguments to be made for #2 or #4.
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@KansasComet Like what you said- I will send a personal note later.
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@HighEliteMajor “are you really implying an excuse for losing to UNI?”
No, I was implying an excuse for not using the press, at least very much.
I understand there have to be adjustments during a game. Still, it seems hard to say “OK, we’ve done what we’re most comfortable with and we’re behind, so now let’s catch up by doing what we’re less comfortable with”.
I would have preferred “win the opening tip (we did), get the ball into Cole for an inside bucket (we did), then press immediately” when they don’t expect it. Get them on their heels, get them thinking, get them wondering about adjusting to something that we will then stop using.
Adjustment = reaction. Why not be proactive from time to time?
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The loss that hurts the most is all of them, simply because I have no perspective, and I feel like we should win every game. Welcome to the world of KU myopia - I live there every year…
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@nuleafjhawk Blame the state legislature who forced Allen to retire at 65. (Hard to believe.) Phog would not have lost to UNC!
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February 9, 1900
Topeka YMCA
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Oklahoma St, the Marcus Smart backflip.
Kansas St.
Missouri
Those losses hurt, they sting, they burn a hole in my soul and make me despise those teams that beat us and made a Tshirt, or DVD or got on SportsCenter for a win in AFH, or hung a banner for beating good ole KU.
Then again I’m happy like a room without a roof that I don’t have to be one of those fans that relies on one game every 7 years to make my life happy.
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@JRyman THANK YOU
I really wanted that song floating around in my head the rest of the day.
Although…it DOES make me happy !!
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Bravo… at least we beat Haskell twice that year!
We went 3-4 in 1900. Naismith was a better innovator than coach.
Oh man… you shouldn’t mention a song stuck in your head. Every time I hear that it triggers, “Dude looks like a lady” by Aerosmith. What is it about that song? If the CIA ever figures it out they will stop waterboarding and just play that song 24/7 until they talk. They don’t even have to know English for it to work.
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@drgnslayr I always hear " If lovin you is wrong, I don’t wanna be right " and I think of Roy Williams. Please don’t tell anyone.
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@bskeet Great list. My list is similar so I will just give 5.
No. 1 VCU 2011. The team we had was stacked. The draw in front of us was a joke. We should have won this title more than any other year except 1997. I hate Shaka Smart. Anything else I can add?
No. 2 Michigan 2013. This is probably the one and only time I have been guilty about making plans for where to watch the next KU game during a game that we then lose. Up 10 with a couple to play. Missed layups, throwing the ball away, giving up 3’s instead of 2’s…all of that hurts. But what hurts the most is that this was as veteran a team as you could ever have in today’s college basketball and we blew it.
No. 3 Arizona 1997. At least this team went on to cut down the nets and proved they were pretty stellar but when you have the most talented team in KU history it is hard to believe that this team did not at least get to the Final 4.
No. 4 Bucknell. This has to be one of the biggest upsets in tourney history and came against a pretty good KU squad. Senior years for a ton of studs. I was so intoxicated by the end of the game that it is a blur but it still stings to this day when I even hear the word Bucknell.
No. 5 Kentucky 2012. I know that this one is odd since it was an amazing season with an amazing run and we had no bench but god we were close. After getting sort of blown out early we clawed our way back into this game and missed a number of open shots late that could have made this a close one. I really hated that UK team which probably adds to my continued disappointment.
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@joeloveshawks I don’t even need my glasses for this!!
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Ah, the memories. I was taught at an early age that you must taste the bitterness in life to fully appreciate the sweet, and that certainly applies to being a sports fan.
It’s funny, as I watched the confetti rain down in 2008, I had my own anti-One Shining Moment montage playing in my head. I remembered watching the Hurley-to-Hill alley-oop, UTEP, screaming at Eric Pauley to quit fumbling rebounds against UNC, wishing Glenn Robinson would freaking miss, seeing John Wallace dominate the post, the insanely good guard play of Arizona and Rhode Island, coming up just short against Maryland, knowing in my heart that Michael Lee’s 3 was going in, thinking Wayne would make that turnaround jumper at the buzzer, wondering if we’d ever make a layup against UCLA.
I thought about all those games, and all those teams and players, and winning that championship game made it all worth it, as if it avenged all of the crushing losses we’d suffered since Danny brought home the trophy in '88. All that bitterness made winning that title so, so sweet.
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@nuleafjhawk no idea why the letters are so large. Certainly not on purpose. Sorry about that.
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@joeloveshawks No worries friend. I wonder - did you start your items with the # sign? I think that “blows up” the font. Something like that anyway.
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#why so large?
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Arizona, 1997. The worst because it was the best KU team ever.
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VCU, 2011. Silver platter.
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Syracuse, 2003. Free throws.
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Maryland, 2002. Winner of semi easily better than Indiana.
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UNI, 2010. Just embarrassing.
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Michigan, 2013. Because we were a veteran team, presumably with all the pieces.
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Kentucky, 2012. Mitigated because of our incredible, unexpected run.
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UCLA, 2007. A bit forgotten because we won the tourney the next season.
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Virginia, 1995. Thought Kemper was an advantage.
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Rhode Island, 1998. Arrogant Jim Harrick made it worse.
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Let’s not forget the Battle of New Orleans and 1 point loss Wichita State. Luckily the last time we played them we beat hem by 49 points.
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Let’s not lose track that all these loses hurt, and many if not most are considered upsets, because KU is such a good program. If KU was middle-of- the-road program these loses would not be considered upsets, would not sting as much, we would be glad we made it to the tournament in the first place and would not be talking about them at at all; in fact, this forum would not even exist. Every other elite program has a comparable or much larger list. If you think our loses are bad, they don’t look so bad when compared to UK and its band of superstars losing to Bobby Mo in the opening game of the NIT; now, that is embarrassing.
Let’s be happy that we have such good program where every loss is an upset and stings…after all, how many other programs can say the same thing?
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The wins that stay with me:
1988 vs OU title game 2008 vs Memphis title game The last Border War win! 2008 UNC tournament game The Nick Collison vs Texas game Beating OK st this year ISU EJ goes off for OT win
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@JRyman Attaboy! There are plenty of unforgettable wins. For me, the UNC semifinal game in 2008 stands out. Not only was there so much hype because of the Ol’ Roy thing, it’s hard to overstate how intimidating that team was. Fortunately we played some of the finest basketball I’ve ever seen played, and took the game in about 15 minutes.
Some of my other favorite wins that I was fortunate enough to catch in Allen Fieldhouse: 1994 vs OK State, when Woodberry hit the three at the buzzer. 1995 vs UCLA, when we came back from like 15 down to win, featuring Jacque Vaughn’s spin move that is in virtually every KU highlight reel. New Year’s Day 2005, when we won against GA Tech in overtime.
The Durant game, where he was scoring at will before getting hurt…when he was lying on the floor, the entire place was dead silent. It was really something. We all knew we were seeing a truly special player, and the thought of him injured was sickening. Luckily he came back in, and KU got back into the game and pulled it out! To this day, I’ve never seen a more captivating player in person. Embiid was close, but the presence of Durant on the court was something I’ll never forget.
Another game that we lost, but it never really felt that way, was Texas in 2011. That was the game where T-Rob’s mother died the night before, and the boys were up all night with him. We saw the true meaning of FOE that day, and they played excellent to begin the game, but ultimately just ran out of gas. That’s one of many reasons that I’m still sad about VCU - that team flat out deserved a championship. Tough players, great teammates, and just pure winners all around.
Overall, I’ll take a loss before I’ll take no game at all. Something about gameday gets me going like few other things can. Great thread; plenty of wonderful memories from a lifetime of watching KU hoops!
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@Virgil_Caine OMgosh! The Texas game after TRob’s mom passed, is the worst game for me! Wasn’t thinking along those lines. The pics of him and his sister, how KU and NCAA worked to help them, was a week I won’t forget! Would love to read a story about him and his sister. I was worried about him after reading about him driving over 100 mph and having a few accidents. FOE!
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Yeah, I suppose it was pretty morbid to list that one as a “favorite,” since obviously we all wish that had never happened to that young man. I just found it to be inspiring the way all the players, fans, and even the Texas personnel responded to the horrible news. I sure wanted our guys to come away with that win, but it was also refreshing that there was a collective shoulder shrug when we lost…that day was a reminder that even though we place great importance on winning and losing, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t truly matter all that much.
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@Virgil_Caine you are exactly right!
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@nuleafjhawk - Don’t laugh but my Dad played for the Topeka Y in the 30’s. He could still dunk when in his early 40’s-one handed. He was only 5’10" but was a pole vaulter/long jumper in college with extremely strong legs.
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This post is deleted!
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@globaljaybird Wow! I would never laugh at that - that’s way cool ! And to be able to dunk in his 40’s is one heck of an accomplishment - then throw in the 5’10" thing - your pops must have been quite the athlete! Thanks for sharing.
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@nuleafjhawk-Thanks leaf, he really was. In the mid 1950’s he could still take the grab irons on a caboose & hold his body straight horizontal like a gymnast. I’ve posted before that he ran track in the 25 & 26 KU Relays & was also a 3 sport letterman at Baker & Pitt. In those days an enlarged heart was thought to be an “athlete’s” heart, but he passed in 1959 at the age of 50. Decades later medicine learned that an enlarged heart is pretty much a death sentence without a transplant. But thanks leaf, he really was the guy that created my fervor & fire for KUBB. I listened to the 52 Championship & the 57 loss both with him on our upright Hoffman shortwave. Before my time, Mom said they used to pick up Tokyo Rose on it during WW 11.
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Man, if you were listening in 52 you must have a gazillion ku stories through the years.
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@JayhawkRock78-So many seasons have come & gone that far too many have become faded with age. That’s why I try to quickly let go of the bad & savor all the good things possible. You just never know when it’s your last tip.
