It has been over a year since I have posted on here (still reading very often) but I think the fact that we are less than a week away from playing in the Big Dance is as good a reason as any to get back into the swing of things. I just wanted to share how incredibly excited I am about the fact that March Madness is happening!! The cancellation of the tournament last year was in many ways the start of what has turned into an incredibly difficult year for our entire country and as we find ourselves only 3 days away from real live NCAA Tournament action I am feeling very fortunate to be able to watch the games. Sports are obviously not as important as many of the other things we are all dealing with but sports help bring us together even if only virtually and Kansas basketball has always been one of the most enjoyable things in my life. I am so excited to see our guys out there and thrilled to be sharing everything that March brings with all of you. No matter what happens we are all heading in the right direction and a return to normalcy is in our near future.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

As always if and when we lose in the tournament I will be crushed but this season is one of my all time favorites no matter what happens from here on.

Beat Duke at MSG on a buzzer beater.

Beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena.

Beat ISU at Hilton and somewhere Hoiberg’s kid cried.

Beat OSU in Stillwater for the first time in years.

Swept our in state “rival”.

Won our conference by a healthy margin.

Frank Mason is likely POY in all of college basketball.

Josh Jackson has lived up to the OAD hype on offense and defense.

This may be my favorite regular season all time. I’m certainly hopeful that all that success will help us make our way to Phoenix!

Watching Duke win hurts. I will admit that I cheer for Duke to lose every game that they play. In all sports, they are the only team who produces a win and I actually lose sleep after they win a big game. It is petty and I feel sub-human when I enjoy other people’s misery but I truly hate this program. Coach K is a pious, self righteous, arrogant fake and I hate this team and all of his teams. I just wanted to get this out there with friends. Maybe the recent KU loss is still too fresh, but I personally think Duke is bad for the game. Before anyone places judgement please just remember that Bilas calls most of their regular season games and Grant Hill just called this one.

I woke up this morning thinking about the game last night and realized that I this is the least upset I have been about the end of a KU season in decades. It is all about expectations, right? This year we rarely if ever blew anyone out. We rarely if ever hung onto a lead. Often we blew leads and either won by very little or lost the game after a huge meltdown. We had injuries. Guys were deemed ineligible. These are not excuses. They are just reality.

Then reality sunk in even more on Selection Sunday. We were given a draw where we were going to have to more than likely beat 3 teams in a row who had all been in the top 10 this year including undefeated UK. My expectations for a deep run were low. Was I positive? Yes, of course. But I was realistic.

When we lost to VCU in 2011 I literally cried. Not like a single tear either. A full on weeping like an 8 year old girl. In 2013 when we blew our 10 point lead to Michigan I smashed a beer glass and told a good friend to f"ck off. Those are low points for me. My expectations for those teams was National Title or bust. This year after we lost to a very good WSU team that simply played harder and wanted the game more I shed no tears. I spared any pint glasses. I didn’t get in heated arguments with close friends. I simply had a cup of tea to settle down. Read a book and went to bed. It just wasn’t going to be our year and I am ok with that.

We are KU and the journey is always part of the fun. We had some great wins this year and we are going to be fortunate enough as fans to see almost this entire team back next year. Oubre may leave. Cliff is probably gone. But our heart and soul will return and I think we should all be excited that next year is going to be another top 10 KU basketball team. That is more than almost any other program in the country can say.

Rock Chalk.

To me this is all positive. Vick is being allowed to come back because he has agreed to Self’s conditions. In Vick we have a guy returning that will be playing his 4th year of college ball, knows the offense, can shoot 3’s, can guard multiple positions, and is a freak athlete.

And Vick is going to get a diploma. That is a huge bonus for this young man who may or may not make a living playing professional basketball.

Rock Chalk.

Best of luck to Josh. He had an incredible year in Lawrence. The best OAD player in KU history in my book. Looking forward to him being a top #3 pick in the draft and a future stud in the NBA which can only help our future recruiting.

I got up around 5 a.m. this morning and unfortunately my productivity to this point has involved reading the comments on that other site we all used to use.

I am sure a lot of you have already seen these but there is a pretty long thread about missing on Ingram, potentially missing on Diallo and essentially being “the same” team we were last year. Many of the what I consider pessimistic arguments revolve around the idea of this “same team”. Referring to next year as the same old team to me is really selling ourselves short. Honestly, 95% of the country would love to have this “same team” returning whether we land anyone or not and that is our reality.

So, that is at least how I feel. Even if we strike out on the rest of the big names left undeclared I personally think we are fine. We are going to have a team without an above average 5. It will certainly require Bill to change up his scheme. Playing through Landen and Jamari is simply not going to work. Luckily even these less than average guys that will play the 5 spot are old. Two seniors and a junior. Shouldn’t be a learning curve issue.

Also, we are returning more than most in the entire country. Think about the top 10 last year and the Final 4 teams. Everyone is losing a ton. Sure, they are all doing their best to reload but it is going to be tough for Wisconsin, Duke, Kentucky, MSU, Arizona and others to match the talent level they had last year.

What other pre season top 10 team is going to have more upperclassmen than KU? I honestly don’t have any stats to back this up but I have to assume we will be the oldest elite program. Maybe UNC will be up there as well.

This is just who we are for next year. A junior / senior team with one hell of a perimeter, one of the best players in the country (Perry) and a pretty big gaping hole at the 5 spot. Things have been worse and I expect a 6-7 loss season and a 1 or 2 seed from this squad even without any additions from the OAD circus.

As a KU fan my glass is half full in general. I tend to look at the amazing things that our program has achieved and feel thankful for Big 12 titles, Final 4 runs and National Championships more than I feel downtrodden about early exits in the tournament or teams not living up to expectations.

So, my glass is still half full regarding this years team! My thoughts on why are below.

1. We probably have the best backcourt in the country anchored by the best PG in the country. Guard play tends to thrive in March and I wouldn’t trade with any team in America as far as perimeter players.

2. Experience. Frank. Devonte. Landen. These guys have all played in a lot of games and know what it takes to win and have proven that many times in close games this year.

3. Bill Self. Last time I checked Bill Self has the most wins of any coach in the NCAA since he took over at KU. We have been a #1 or #2 seed in the NCAA for almost 10 years in a row and the one constant is our coach.

4. Chemistry. This team really enjoys playing together. When we are firing on all cylinders this is as fun of a KU team as there has ever been to watch.

5. Getting better. We are currently a team with only 3 losses on the season and we have plenty of room to improve. Our defense is still sub-par as is our ability to play 2 high level halves in one game. If we can tighten things up and peak come March (which I think we will) the sky is the limit.

6. Josh Jackson. He is the X factor on this team and similar to Frank at PG I would not substitute anyone in the country at the position for Josh.

7. We are due. Have we really not been to the Final 4 since 2012? Seems odd considering how amazing we have been but I think this is a year where we are lead to the promise land by the best PG in the country who is possibly the POY in the NCAA.

Rock Chalk.

@REHawk When I didn’t get the promotion at work I just decided I would take over the entire company instead. Seemed logical.

Good for Devonte. Well deserved if he ends up making 1st Team All American or even POY.

I know that just like Frank, Devonte is a team first guy and these awards mean far less than what the team he leads could still accomplish. A Final 4 would be the crown jewel in an already incredible career for Mr. Graham. We have been so lucky to have him.

@FarmerJayhawk couldn’t agree more! Coach K can’t go quietly like Roy. Partially because Roy is incredibly classy and Coach K is an arrogant, self righteous ego maniac. He just has to have one more time around the sun when he can hear his name constantly even though it will be a distraction for his own players, fans, alumni. He’s a horrific role model and a worse person and I hope that Duke is as bad this year as they were last year to spoil his self centered swan song.

@bmensch Wow! Thank you for sharing that article. I’m shocked by all of Bryce’s quotes. Makes it sound like he’s a pretty spoiled kid who didn’t like getting yelled at by Bill or having any pressure put on him. Too bad as life only gets harder and expectations are a constant no matter where you play or what you do.

@KirkIsMyHinrich ha! Love the 4 inch vertical part. Did Jalen dunk once on the season? If so, can someone post the video?

Love Ochai. Great kid. Home grown. Plays above the rim. Maybe he should learn how to dribble or create his own shot before trying to play against the best players in earth. Leaving now seems like a path towards obscurity and likely playing over seas.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!

It has been over a year since I have posted on here (still reading very often) but I think the fact that we are less than a week away from playing in the Big Dance is as good a reason as any to get back into the swing of things. I just wanted to share how incredibly excited I am about the fact that March Madness is happening!! The cancellation of the tournament last year was in many ways the start of what has turned into an incredibly difficult year for our entire country and as we find ourselves only 3 days away from real live NCAA Tournament action I am feeling very fortunate to be able to watch the games. Sports are obviously not as important as many of the other things we are all dealing with but sports help bring us together even if only virtually and Kansas basketball has always been one of the most enjoyable things in my life. I am so excited to see our guys out there and thrilled to be sharing everything that March brings with all of you. No matter what happens we are all heading in the right direction and a return to normalcy is in our near future.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

Braun seems to be answering the 4 guard lineup question. He’s a starter the rest of the year to me.

@HighEliteMajor I fully agree that we should go to 4 guards. I’m a bit shocked that Self has not made this decision after the recent success with guard heavy lineups that we have had.

I can’t say I agree on playing to March. To me, you play to win every game and it appears that Duke and Kentucky do the same. I watched the Duke game yesterday and they basically played 6 guys the entire game. Kentucky went a little deeper but was predominantly a 7 man rotation. This seems consistent to me with most major programs. A couple of guys who thought they would be major contributors simply don’t get a lot of minutes.

Ochai on the board! Let’s hope that takes the lid off the basket.