Best posts made by approxinfinity

• For helping Frank become the finest college player in America.
• For helping Frank get a 4 year degree.
• For helping Frank become a good man and father to his kid.
• For helping Landen develop into a quality big with a solid post move and best FG% in the B12.
• For never giving up or saying one defeatist thing when Udoka went down.
• For giving an interview after a heartbreaking loss and conducting yourself with dignity, throwing no one under the bus, appreciating the efforts put forth on the other side, and helping me to get a grip and accept it.
• For bringing Tyler on board these 4 years so that you could work your ass for this program and still help your son know you better and be close to you.
• For recruiting likeable guys every year. Guys we can look forward to getting to know even when the finest KU point guard of this generation now must move on.
• For being open minded enough to, out of necessity, turn your offensive philosophies on their head this year and allow the guards to be great. It is your ability to mask our weaknesses that make us all see our team as an unbeatable juggernaut each March.

Rick Pitino, you are a trifling egomaniac. Come on man. I thought you were better than this.

At UNC down at the half, Pitino got irate and had to “be restrained” yelling at a fan whom ESPN reported to have told Pitino “Pitino, you S-U-C-K” as he made his way to the locker room. At least that’s how ESPN reported it, gun-shy about saying the word “suck”, and opting to spell it instead like the profanest of words. Pitino in his post game, called the fan a coward for turning his back on him. The fan was ejected. Are you f’n kidding me? If I got ejected from a front row seat for telling the opposing coach that he sucks I would lose my sh**!

And so Rick, you get my COWARD OF THE WEEK award. How sweet it must be for your entitled lily white butt to point at a passionate fan and have him ejected from his own home court.

Shame on you UNC, for turning the Dean Smith Center into King Pitino’s personal safe space.

And seriously, you can’t say “you suck”, you have to S-P-E-L-L it O-U-T on ESPN at 10:30 pm, but you can play trailers for horror movies at noon on a Saturday when little kids are actually watching?

Another one in the books… Another fun season. The ride this year was pretty great. Glad to share it with you guys.

I’m sure some people will peel off. Before you do just wanted to say it’s been fun!

Run! Run! Run!

This team had me at Diallo.

And not because Cheick was great in his debut, which he was. Because it was at that point forward that Self relaxed, with his full complement of talent. Since then, it’s been like a dream for us Bucketeers. Self’s decision-making and our thoughts have been pretty much completely in lock step: Mick’s got the run he has deserved, we’ve been playing to our strengths (shooting, running), and Self has come out and said as much. It feels like love.

I’m riveted. Goosebumps flush my arms. The 20-2 runs that absolutely bury competitive teams have me on cloud 9. Disruptive defense from guards and bigs, the outlet passes from Mick, Cheick and Bragg, the breakneck push down the floor from Frank, and Devonte, the spread wings ready to bury threes, and the smart decisions that fill the space between these elements. It feels like love!

But to me, it doesn’t start with the 3. It starts with pushing the ball, and that means good outlets to Frank and Devonte, with Selden, Perry [and Svi/Green] rolling to the wings with the green light to bomb in transition. That’s the stuff that makes 20-2 runs, and championships are made of.

Don’t break my heart Bill. Let these Hawks run! What’s a 3rd side? Never heard of it.

Run! Run! Run!

@jaybate-1-0 is a wonderful writer, capable of turning over rocks and tapping untapped wells of thought and emotions in places you might assume to be all tapped out, by always going a little bit further, lingering a little bit longer, savoring a thought, and turning it once more until it sparkles in the light. I miss the guy deeply.

I’ve come to understand that some people didn’t appreciate him as much as I do, that he did not resonate with them as much as he does me. But I ask those people to at least see how different and thoughtful he is, even if it doesn’t float your boat, and even if you do not see him as a friend.

Tough loss. Our shortcomings were on display today, and they were numerous.

Doke is not enough in the post, even if he stays out of foul trouble, and plays his best. He has tremendous strength, but also serious weaknesses. He does not high point the ball on rebounds, nor does he get up quickly. He does not have a great vertical, but has great length. He does not secure rebounds by getting his hand on the other side of it. He does not shoot beyond bunnies. He will be exposed by quick athletic bigs. Some issues can be corrected, others can be smoothed over, but smoothing over takes time. Probably another season. We need DeSousa and Preston. We just do.

Lightfoot is more agile than Doke, but strength is still an issue and will be. This too will take time, and probably another season to really address.

Malik is a bit of a headcase right now on O. I think he could learn a lot from watching video of Frank in transition. Remember Frank got swatted repeatedly early on. Sherron too. Should watch before and after Tyshawn tape too.

Vick did his best, but he looked tremendously uncomfortable at the foul like for 2/3 of the game. Every shot looked a little different, like he just didn’t know what a 10 footer should feel like. If he’s expected to be that guy against the 2-3, he needs to practice that shot over and over. And over and over.

We need to get the ball moving against the zone. This sitting around while the ball goes into the high post to an out-of-sorts Lagerald for the shot every single play is mind numbing. Our guys were standing around on the perimeter when they should have been getting open for the kick.I’m pretty sure Self knew that he was playing with PlayDoh and the other side had modeling clay about half way through the first. He partially owned the loss in his postgame, and I think thats fair. We were flat and our gameplan uninspired. Also, with a non-elite rebounder who lacks quick twitch hops / mobility, options are pretty limited passing to the interior.

Svi’s shot from the corner was just not going to fall tonight. Devonte seemed to not know what he was supposed to do besides passing in to Vick. Garrett looked lost for a 3rd game.

By the end of the game, we could not run or did not run with Washington. Very likely we were gased and shellshocked. Our lateral quickness was either timid or slow and got torched, and they dictated pace to ice the game. At one point Devonte (?) waited for Doke to get down the floor so he could throw an errant lob as the defense recovered.

The good news is, we exposed a lot of weaknesses at once. Plenty of motivation to work our asses off in practice. The bad news is, some of this stuff can be corrected over the course of the next month, and some of it can’t be with this personnel and lack of bodies.

Billy Preston probably would have been useful at the high post tonight. DeSouza probably would have been useful in the rebounding department.

I really hope we get them this year, otherwise I’m tempering my expectations on being competitive to win the Big-12, and hoping to make it to the Sweet 16, with the certainty that some team lurking beyond that can exploit our weaknesses.

I’ve had some time to think about the banning/blocking thing and here’s my take. I think of this site as a community. That means that we do our best to hear and respect everyones voice.

I think of the gamechats as a home. We are there to enjoy the company. Think of crowding around a tv in a single room. Now think of someone talking negatively, loudly after every single play about your coach, your best players, and the lack of talent on your team. No one in their right mind would invite that guy back if he cant tone it down.

So thats the policy. With the gamechats in particular i reserve the right to ban someone who is excessively annoying too many people and off the rails. I plan to then reinstate them after the game and i hope that this is only extenuating circumstances. I remain committed to the enjoyment for the greatest number and a sense of good will, creativity, and community. I also appreciate that people have bad days, but a blatant disregard for other peoples enjoyment will be a problem. Finally, i still believe he who governs best governs least, and i do this only due to perceived necessity. I dont want anyone to feel they have to tread lightly. It goes back to our first and possibly only basic rule, written somewhere and pinned i think: dont be a dick.

As always, if anyone feels like something doesnt sit right, Im available to talk about it.

Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving.

I appreciate you all and look forward to hitting the boards with you.

Havent tested this out, but i turned on a post queue for new users. Hopefully this means you guys dont need to see bot garbage going forward.

Frank Mason take no prisoners farewell tour is already in full swing. Ripping out hearts, one team at a time!

I’d take the last 4 years of Frank over any other guard options Self could have pursued in 2012. You done good, Bill.

Silvio is coming to toooown…

Merry Christmas all my fellow KU basketball addicts! I have a deep and pervading affection for all your affectations! Thank you for being you!

I’ve been voraciously reading Beyond the Streak. Great stuff! Would love to start a book club thread with a spoiler alert disclaimer to discuss some of the things that they address. Let me know who has it / is getting it. I’m on page 40. That is right about the 2005-06 Big 12 championship revenge game against Texas. It’s slow going because I find myself reflecting on every game or event they discuss, and then what it has meant for every subsequent generation of Jayhawks and our perceptions, recruiting, Self’s philosophies, etc. It’s like reading this board except where @jaybate-1-0 has turned into Stephen Vinson, @HighEliteMajor has turned into Matt Kleinmann, @Crimsonorblue22 has turned into RussRob and @wrwlumpy has turned into Mario Chalmers.

Anyway… merry Christmas and remember, the streak survived Aldridge, Daniel Gibson, AJ Abrams and PJ Tucker when we had Vinson, Moody, Hawkins, Kleinmann and a bunch of freshmen and sophomores! Buckle up guys, it’s going to be a hell of a ride.

Hats off to the staff for recruiting an absolute star at PG in a can’t miss situation. This is the first 5 star PG recruit after Josh Selby, and the best freshman PG Self has ever had.

Imagine this team without Devon Dotson.

Sounds like we just need to stay out of Haarms’ way.

(Sorry. I’m weak and it was right there.)

Oh man. Hubert gave credit to kansas first thing. Classy man. Love it.

In Kevin Mccullar’s senior speech, I noticed a few things:

1. He loved this team.
2. He felt a little like an outsider to me. He talked like a guy who has gone through the fire with his teammates, but the anecdotes werent there. The lack of 4 years of history was apparent.

Now, he is one of 3 returning players. No longer will nice guy Kev have to defer to players with more history, save Dajuan and KJ, also nice guys.

Its time to go all out Dawg. This team demands it of Kev.

The stage is set. This was the script I was waiting for. Kev is the hero I want to watch. I cannot wait!

Once Cheick De Alexander gets reinstated we’re gonna tear up the Big 12!

Devon is my current favorite.

Frank will always be the first player whose game I really loved. And this is probably why Devon is my favorite. Devon’s last game was 100% vintage Frank Mason. He did all the things, capped by getting to the line repeatedly down the stretch and calmly eviscerating TCU. It was captivating and unstoppable.

After the Dark Ages at point guard (Naadir, preceded by Tyshawn and EJ), plus having to start 4 Freshman his first year, Frank’s evolution was the Renaissance. The light came back on. The head was restored. Coherent play returned. Lobs, drives and kicks, 40% trey balling. Frank touched our withered playbook and made it green again. The 4-1 became possible. And when Frank left us, the continuity was not broken when Devonte took the reins.

And when that ended without an understudy, I feared the worst. But Devon came. And saw. And conquered. What a freshman PG! WHAT A FRESHMAN PG! Without the tutelage of Frank and Devonte, he has managed to achieve everything I would hope he’d achieve with them still here.

And the chain remains unbroken, miraculously. When Vick left, it seems to me that this was the moment that @drgnslayr mentioned. Devon’s coronation. The King has returned. Long live our young PG King! He did not disappoint! On Monday, Devon wielding his vorpal blade as it went snicker-snack, the Frogs fell before him, and could do nothing to stop him except perish underfoot.

But Agbaji, Agbaji is not of this lineage. His lineage seems lost in time now, a distant epoch, maybe harking all the way back to BRush, or maybe further, maybe he is something we have never seen at Kansas. I haven’t quite figured out where he falls among the stars. A 6’5 wing with a 40% trey gun, tough defender, excellent hops and athleticism, intelligence, and perhaps what might separate him is his maximum effort and competitiveness. This separates him from the Xaviers and Oubres and Wiggins. If there is not greatness in this kid then count me in as one of the fooled. I believe we have a better Brandon Rush on our hands. And that is tremendously exciting as a floor. But, this is a tale that has yet to unfold.

Whereas with Devon I see what he is, I know what he is, and it comforts me that we have a ball dominant lead guard that can control a game like he controlled the game Monday.

The future is now! I want to see what these kids can do the rest of this reason. Must see TV!

The point of this board was originally to offer a place to talk KU hoops without having to provide your identity to Facebook.

So, in that origin story there are two things being championed:

1. a love of Kansas basketball
2. a love of freedom

The decision to expand the opportunity for discussion into politics (among the other buckets we added over time) is in line with the second reason for our origin.

I believe the stigma against political discussion as a country has not been good for us. I believe we should be able to discuss and debate anything and still be able to coexist and appreciate each other. I believe now more than ever we need to learn how to not be polarized and pit against others who see things differently. And given this, and the fact that the whole political section can be ignored, I think it’s a good thing to have.

The year Bill paid for the pro subscription….

@drgnslayr I was amazed in reviewing the stats from last game that I think Devonte shot 50% for 10 points 7 Reb and 6 assists. It seems to me that our expectations for devonte might still be so high that some games he’s being the glue we need and we aren’t giving him any credit for it.

Yeah I said it. Barring injury, he’s going to be ridiculous this year.

Just amazing energy! WOW! JUST WOW! from rags to mitches! 99 problems but a mitch aint one! #mitchismo!

@wissox

This is our game. We are the better team. Nobody on miami scares me. We execute, bring the toughness, and dictate the terms of this game, and we advance.

16 rebounds 17 pts yesterday in a finals win. I wasnt a Mike Brown fan as a head coach but Im wondering if he is having a large impact on helping Wiggins realize his all around game.

Good job Andrew!

JCL didnt get the role a 1500 point scorer might have expected. Never seemed once to complain or suffer because of it. Team player and wearing a championship ring. Would love to see him catch on as a coach.

HM’s 13 minutes 8 pts 2 Reb 1 ast 3 stl 2 blk and… Exactly 1 dribble! And no traveling calls.

THAT is a guy who knows what he wants to do with the ball!

Dude please censor yourself. I won’t be here to censor you all the time. I appreciate your passion, and I understand that most of the active readers are adults, but the biggest reason I draw a line in the sand on dropping the f bomb is that it’s a slippery slope. Your usage of the word might be innocuous, but I just don’t want that language here because it has the potential to be extremely offensive quickly.

Fran, let me make it easier for you. You only need to count to zero.

On LaGerald’s 360 dunk the other day, I thought of how he has the capacity to make both fans and foes alike uneasy. He’s got an edge. A chip. He’s out for blood. He’s a shark. A killer. He wants to win by making you lose. Badly. Its everything. On a good day he will destroy someone. Break them down. I contest that he is exactly what we need.

Look at Oregon’s Bell. Damn if he wasn’t effective. What @KansasComet pointed out was spot on. Altman whipped up a hate for Kansas and his players were under it’s spell. For 40 minutes I don’t think Bell had a single thought other than that he was on a mission to destroy us. He did just that. In his post-game he couldn’t put much of a sentence together. It was like he was in another place.

I believe LaGerald is significantly smarter than Bell, and he does not need a complete duck of a coach to get him all pissed off. He comes out of the gate with that edge. I think that edge could be razor sharp and something we need. Josh had his creativity. Devonte had his swag. But only Frank of our big 3 didn’t lose his edge once we got punched in the face. Frank has the edge. He came to Kansas with it. He’s refined it. He’s a complete human being, can call that intensity and rein it in. But the edge is all important to basketball. I will win and you will lose and you cannot stop me and I will stop you.

That is not for the feint of heart who do not like competition. One can be a gentleman off the court. But on, until the fate of the game is sealed, I want the guy who will never give an inch to the opponent. That is only bound by the rules of the game.

And then there is Greyson Allen. Someone who is not bound by the rules of the game. And I would argue that he did not find salvation in basketball. The rules are not a holy code for him. They are an inconvenience. He would just as well stab you in the back with a knife. Take the ball from you as you lay dying and shoot it.

The rules are holy because it is within the rules that we have a standard means of assessing who has won. If the rules are bent then it invalidates whether I have beaten you. And as an executioner, I want it known by me you and whomever happens to be watching that I will break you on fair terms.

I believe LaGerald has the edge and we need it. I want more ballers with the edge. Guys who want the taste of iron in their mouth. And I hope more of these guys coming in have it too.

@BeddieKU23 Mickey D Big Macs with Geez.

I’m sad about this one but think it makes sense for Carlton to start over. Coming back from last year’s issues is hard anywhere and especially at Kansas.

I will not be surprised if he still turns into a beast by senior year.

Wish him the best. Will root for him wherever save at the axis of evil (Andrew White was an exception)

The San Antonio Spurs select… Frank Mason!

Happily Ever After.

Mitch did take a couple charges when the game was still in the balance. I felt he impacted the game a bit more than Garrett. Garrett drew a ridiculous foul by moving laterally into a guy I think. That was about it for positive (?) impact.

I had older siblings, and I went to college when I was 17. Was always younger than my classmates, and I felt it; always there. While I was confident, I was willing to defer to my elders, which happened to be most of the kids around me most of my youth.

Svi is 20 now, right? Still younger than many of the guys that are his peers. When Svi’s subconscious weighs his social status, it may find him to be his peers’ equal, without attempting to be their superior.

Last night Svi’s autonomic basketball superiority kicked in. The sweet stroke that had the Spurs organization salivating took over in a moment that might have caused Svi to freak out if he had thought about it. He didn’t think about it. He elevated, released and stuck a shank in 15,500 Pinnacle Bank Arena dreamers that thought they were watching a Nebraska W.

I hope that as a basketball player he realizes that he’s neither young nor old. He’s just a smart player and a great teammate with a finely tuned trey cannon that can be fired accurately at will to the lament of 15,5.

I’m going with it now after A&M’s dismantling of a hapless UNC team.

Clearly the ACC is overrated and had been exposed.

Going to enjoy kicking Syracuse’s ass.

Going forward, I’d love it if we could avoid recruiting guys with tragic flaws. In an effort to avoid being exposed for lacking certain capacities when one or two of our guys are out for the season, it would be nice to have a redundancy of well rounded players.

If we could ensure the following of our recruits, it would help:

• No bad shooting form.
• No mysterious inability to make a single shot.
• No bigs that can barely jump
• Nobody who shoots every time they touch the ball
• Nobody who jabs himself in the head with his fingers after making shots instead of getting back on D.
• No easily disgruntled players.
• No guards that can’t shoot 3s.
• No bigs that don’t attempt to play D, rebound, and box out.

EDIT: Appending with good suggestions.

• No headcases.
• No presumed one-and-dones protecting the goods.
• No players that like pot better than basketball.
• No guards that can’t dribble.

Generally speaking, I hope the Transfer U era is over, and we focus on freshmen.

I’m not ready to character assassinate Bryce from the quotes in this article. He got injured, he never again saw the season high in minutes / points from the first game. I’m sure the entire season was stressful and he worried about falling out of the rotation. I think he’ll do well on a smaller school where he doesn’t have to handle some of the concerns that you have at a school like Kansas.

Dajuan knocking down open 3s is so nice

So Georgia is going back to back in football. Kansas will go back to back in basketball. And people will speak of dynasties.

@nuleafjhawk I don’t think we should worship anyone, especially young men going to college to try to prepare for a career.

We should give them our support.

But I’ll stop preaching.

@BShark lol

“I felt like it was a bit odd with the team; I (didn’t) feel like it was the right fit, so I left when I had some time,” Adams told The Star The Spokesman Review in July August.

@KirkIsMyHinrich said in What to Expect at the Champions Classic?:

Juan and Hunter.

Hunter’s such a troll and it’s enjoyable when he’s on our team

“When you have the most wins in ncaa history….” Lol. Well played.

Kansas was a 31-point underdog at Caesars Sportsbook, making the Jayhawks’ victory the largest spread upset ever in a Big 12 conference game.

How refreshing are these two (Reid and Mahomes) arm in arm instead of Bellicheck and Brady.

I feel bad for Snacks. He’s as much one of our own as Wayne Selden or Frank Mason, imo. Maybe more so being that he played four years for Bill Self at Illinois prior to two years of coaching for KU. This is a lifestyle choice, considered illegal in some parts of the country. Most of us have gambled in office pools, drank in public, trespassed and broken God knows what other petty laws in our life. It is my opinion that the government should only be dictating what choices I can make in so much as how they may harm others. You may disagree, but please let’s consider Snacks one of our own and hope this all works out for the best.

Beat Oklahoma? BEAN THERE, DONE THAT!

I play an online game. Most of my opposition is college kids. So frequently I hear them say in their chat “ez” and brag about their accomplishments when they do well. Much less frequently, I hear people call out specific things others do well.

I make a point of praising particular plays that are executed well, and call people out for disrespecting their opponents.

I’ve coached a lot of youth sports and seen some atrocious behavior from kids in handshake lines that does not get corrected by their coaches.

I’m concerned that we are creating a culture of “me” with little investment in others. Our standards are getting inverted.

To me, children insult. Children brag. Adults praise others, or offer constructive feedback.

To me, this is a big problem that is not being addressed. Sport is a facsimile of life.

Does every kid need a participation trophy? Really, I don’t care about that. That’s a talking point that people hung their hat on that is arbitrary.

Much more importantly, kids need community, where they are recognized, encouraged to interact, and they recognize the positive qualities of others and challenge them to be better people.

@RockChalkinTexas The kid is amazing. After all the guys we’ve sent off to the league thinking they had a chance at being rotation guys only to see them riding pine and quietly exiting to foreign leagues, finally, a guy for whom we had no presumptions about sticking in the league, and Devonte goes out and CRUSHES IT.

I hope nothing changes for him. May the wind always be at his back.

We’ve sat on this version of the board for a while now, and I had planned to upgrade during the slower Summer months. We’ve been pretty active so it’s kind of slipped a while.

Just wanted to give you guys a heads up. It is on my radar and one of these weekends sooner rather than later I will upgrade.

Calipari didn’t watch any tape in preparation for this game, supposedly. Make him pay!

@nuleafjhawk

found original.