We need to change his initials from DP to DNP

We could name a Keanu Dawes and Christian Reeves front court "Keanu Reeves"

Taylen Kinney is on the US's U18 team. Should be a good stage to assess how college-ready he is.

If we win I will be psyched. If we lose without DP I will blame not having DP. If we lose with DP I will blame the short-term chemistry issues of working him back into the lineup. Either we win or I have an excuse!

Here are the takeaways.

Positives:

1. It was nice to be on the other side of an epic meltdown after the Houston and Baylor "games" last year.

2. DP played 32 minutes.

3. DP was clutch at the end of regulation.

4. We showed that, when we play with heart, we can be a very good team (though I guess we already knew that).

Negatives:

1. This result was more of a TCU choke than a KU victory, though there were elements of both

2. We played with absolutely no effort for an unacceptably long time

3. DP is still cramping

Once again, Melvin saved our bacon. God he is good.

Bill Self said on the postgame radio show that Flory is the best defender in the country and that he was tremendous tonight, citing that neither Toppin nor Watts could score on him

I am very proud of the guys. They had had so many "moral victories" where they played good teams close without DP but came up just short this year. And today they had had enough of that! They made damn sure to get the job done! What a special group

I will miss Kohl Rosario. I think I will always believe he would have turned into a fan favorite before the portal era.

At this point I think it is best to just assume he is done for the year. That way we are prepared for it and if he does come back it will be a pleasant surprise.

Jamari is playing such good defense. He has been a very pleasant surprise.

Dybansta is really good at drawing fouls. Like Tre White in a Duke jersey good. We have to defend him well without getting handsey to have a chance

According to Bill Self Elmarko "got (his tendon, which was the reason he sat out last season) bumped" earlier today and "was feeling it"

Rock Chalk! What a game! My god. Doing this without Darryn is so special

This season, 3 teams have come to Allen Fieldhouse undefeated. (Green Bay, Iowa State, Arizona). Those teams are 0-3 in the ol' barn.

It seems to me that there is a new ideology shaping the way the Kansas basketball staff is approaching the transfer portal this offseason. A couple of seasons ago their approach was to go after the biggest names in the portal (Dickinson, Storr, Griffen). That approach failed miserably. Last season their approach was to target players who fit the profile of a “Bill Self player” (Council, White, Dawson). This approach was better but still left something to be desired. This year, it seems their approach has been to target players who were playing their best basketball at the end of the season.

Let us assess each player who committed to Kansas via the transfer portal this offseason to demonstrate that this is indeed the coaching staff’s approach.

Leroy Blyden Jr.

Over the first 11 games of the season, he averaged 13.6ppg on 41% from the field (but 43% from 3), 2.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.9 turnovers (for a 2.4 a/to ratio), and 1.8 steals per game.

Over the last 11 games of the season he averaged 17.5ppg on 48% from the field (but 38% from 3), 4.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.8 turnovers (for a 3.0 a/to ratio), and 1.8 steals per game.

His numbers in every area were better in his last 11 games of the season than in his first 11. The only exception to this rule is three-point shooting, but that was very anyways strong in both samples. His improvement as a rebounder is eye-popping.

Bear in mind, this comparison of samples is especially telling because neither sample includes his 36 point explosion, which is a statistical outlier.

Keanu Dawes

Keanu Dawes scored in the paint and rebounded well throughout the whole season. His numbers in those departments do not change much from early season to late season, though it is worth bearing in mind that he was facing much better competition by late season.

However, one area in which Dawes did improve greatly as the season progressed was three point shooting. Over his first 11 games, Dawes was 3/25 from three, good for 12%. For the rest of the season, Dawes was 29/76 from three, good for 38%. He more than tripled his efficiency from three, and did so while continuing to take multiple attempts a game and against better defenses than he faced early in the season.

Dennis Parker

Dennis Parker is the only player in this portal class who does not follow this rule. His numbers fluctuated randomly throughout the season, with no clear patterns.

However, whatever Dennis Parker may lack in evidence that the staff is taking this approach, Christian Reeves makes up for in spades. Indeed, perhaps no player in college basketball improved more from the first half of the season to the second half than Reeves

Christian Reeves

In his first 18 games of the season, Reeves averaged a lowly 7.7ppg, a pitiful 6.2rpg, and a woeful 1.2 bpg. However, over the rest of the season (13 games), Reeves averaged a princely 15.7ppg, a herculean 9.9 rpg, and a stately 1.7 bpg.

Ultimately, 2 out of the 4 portal gets for Kansas were clearly better all-around basketball players at the end of the season than they were at the beginning. Then there is an additional player who might not have improved “all around,” but he improved a key area (three point shooting) so much that it still improved his overall impact on the game substantially (as his efficiency went up quite a bit and defenses have to respect a 38% shooter from downtown far more than they have to respect a 12% shooter). Thus, I think it is fair to say that 3 of the 4 portal gets were markedly better overall later in the season than they were earlier in the season, which suffices to prove that targeting improving players is the coaching staff’s new method. I hope it works out.

Chiefs draft haul:

Mansoor Delane: Touted as the best cornerback in the draft. Locked down opponents and not penalized once last year.

Peter Woods: Great measureables and arguably the best DT in the draft. Can stuff the run, rush the QB and lineup both inside and out. Some concerns about his production dropping throughout his college career but some argue that was because of Clemson's gap scheme and being double-teamed often.

R Mason Thomas: Pure speed rusher at DE. Not a good run defender. Arguably the second best pass rusher in the draft.

Jadon Canady: Extremely versatile DB. Can play any position in the secondary.

Emmett Johnson: Did not test well at the combine but was an elite college runningback. All-AMerican who can run, catch, block, find the endzone, and protect the football.

Cyrus Allen: Undersized WR who had a smidge under 700 rec yards but a Big 12 leading 13 touchdowns last season. Speedy and known as a good route runner.

Garrett Nussmeier: A talented QB but has a lot to learn. Probably drafted to back up Fields early in the season if Mahomes is still injured. Might become primary backup after Fields leaves.

What do we make of our draft class? I personally like it quite a bit.

I wouldn't have a problem with Sunflower State solidarity but the thing is, its a 2-way street. K-State needs to be classier as a program and as a fanbase. Their players need to not attack our players and their band needs to not arrange displays of our mascots performing sex acts.

Bill Self said on his radio interview with Greg Gurley (and I'm paraphrasing), DP had a minute restriction of 27 minutes, we played him too much in the first half so we limited him a lot in the second, he wasn't worried about his hamstring but was worried about him being sick.

NC State's strategy of not guarding Melvin early backfired. They allowed him to make a couple open ones and shoot with confidence. Once the Wolfpack abandoned that strategy Melvin was playing confidently and that was the difference in the game.