@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.
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.
@dylans Well said. I am not even sure I would want Grimes back now that you mention it. At least Garrett is a lock down defender when healthy. He might be the only top 10 kid we have ever had that I literally forgot was on our team half the time. I would be an hour into a game and think to myself “who is that guy” and then say “oh, it’s Grimes, man he sucks” somewhat often. Passive on offense. Can’t dribble. Can’t take it to the hoop. Very streaky shooter. Occasionally missing from the stat sheet. Maybe we should just move on. Sad that his one stop on the way to playing professional ball (wherever that may be) didn’t do anyone any good, including himself.
A few thoughts after reading through all of these comments. Great stuff from everyone by the way!
Doke being back is the best news I have heard from a potential loss to pro sports since Devonte said he was coming back. Devonte is obviously the far more dynamic player and leader but Doke is a unique talent and his senior year will be special if he stays healthy. I’m excited to see him dunk on people. His dunks are as powerful as you will see at the college level.
I love Big Dave and what he brings. I actually think there will be odd times where he is in the game at the same time as Doke. That will be a big and lumbering group but we have seen it work in recent years. The UNC vs. Zaga final a couple of years ago comes to mind. It won’t happen often but it will happen. I plan to be talking about Big Dave a lot all season long.
Devon is back. Let’s be honest. He is not on any draft boards. He is going to come back and be the BMOC at KU. How do you do anything other than stay at KU and improve your stock? He could be one of the top 5 PG’s in the country next year. Maybe work his way into a 1st round guy. Control the tempo of the game. Play great D. Improve your 3 point shot. Throw oops to Doke. Draft stock will go way up.
Speaking of coming back. Is there any chance Grimes is back? Who drafts this kid? He has zero NBA level skills. He might be our biggest OAD dud ever. At least one who played. Throw the guys who sat the bench due to NCAA rules out of the equation. Maybe Selby was more of a bust? It really is hard to imagine how he makes a pro roster even if it is outside of the NBA.
We were the #1 team in the country when he was healthy and we all know how the season ended with him on the sidelines. He’s a monster difference maker even if he isn’t scoring he requires a lot of effort to guard and was becoming a much better rim protector. If he is back and Devon is back we are 1 good 3 point shooter away from being pretty damn salty.
4 guys now either gone to the draft or transferring. Maybe more to come. I can’t believe I’m saying this but is this a situation where there is smoke there is fire? Do these kids know that KU is going to be in some sort of legal trouble this year. Please let that just be my paranoia.
I love offense but I’m actually enjoying this rock fight. It’s like a classic pitchers duel. As long as both teams are playing this way, I think it’s a fun chess game.
I still can’t believe that Grant Hill is calling this fucking Duke game.
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.
Hawks have a miraculous chance here. Let’s win 2 games. Get to KC. Lean on our amazing fans and make this happen. Rock Chalk.
@HighEliteMajor I can’t think of many things better than ending Duke’s season two years in a row.
Currently Lunardi has us as a 4 seed with Duke the 1 in the south. That’s something we would love to avoid. Let’s get a win tonight and get up to the 3 line!! Rock Chalk.
Can someone post a video when Grimes drove the ball to the hoop this year and actually scored?
@BShark this score is insane. Does Tech feel they have nothing to prove?
This is the time of year where I obsess over Bracketology. We have been spoiled recently bring locks for 1 and 2 seeds. What do you guys think? Do we need to win the entire Big 12 tourney to move up to the 3 line? A win over Tech would go a long way. KU currently has the #1 SOS in the entire country. Hopefully that helps our case. 3 seeds get to avoid the 1 in the Sweet 16 on paper, which is simply a more favorable path.
@HighEliteMajor spot on. When the announcer during the Baylor game said he had a 20 and 10 I was sure he had 7 and 5. It’s incredibly efficient but very boring. But as they say, a layup still counts for 2.
Expecting a KU run to start the half. Down 6 with 10 to play. Rock Chalk.
I saw a post on social media today imploring Grimes to be this years version of Malik. Not saying that will happen but today was a nice step in the direction.
Another gem of a game from Grimes. He hit two 3’s. One of those was 10 feet long and banked in off the glass at 100 mph. He had five turnovers. He had four fouls. He had 1 rebound.
How was this kid the #8 recruit in the country and was a lottery pick on every board before the season started?
When does Bill put him on the bench? We have seen it before where Bill puts high ranked stars into the deep freeze. Why not Grimes? Not judging. Honestly asking. What is going on here?
@HighEliteMajor In addition to wanting titles, I also simply enjoy watching fun, high scoring college basketball. We have been so spoiled over the years to have fun offensive teams to watch all season long. Watching 35 games that are played in the 50’s does not sound appealing.
I like offense. Think about the Chiefs. This team is SO much more fun to watch than the “Marty ball” of the 1990’s.
This looked like our new starting lineup to me. It was our best game of the year. A start to finish butt kicking of a very very good team. I like Garrett off the bench as a defensive savant moving forward. The 5 guys who started the game are the 5 we want on the floor. Proof is in the results of the best we have looked all year.
@Woodrow Thanks for sharing this article. It is pretty spot on. The problem is simple. Lack of high level talent coupled with the lack of upperclassmen leadership. Typically the best college basketball teams either have young talent or junior/senior leaders. This KU team has neither. All that said, we have Bill Self and he rules the Big 12 every year until he doesn’t.
Last year the Elite 8 included two 9 seeds and an 11 seed. I think we should calm down on the we can’t win more than one game stuff. March is madness.
Unfortunate reality but we have had a number of setbacks. The main issues to me are below. Some out of our control and others that are hard to explain. These are the difference from us being a top 5 team and the current team we are. We are really a top 25 team at best. I hate to say it, but we seem to have 3 guys on our entire team who are putting up numbers game in game out. Dotson, Lawson and Ochai. Vick and Garrett are mercurial players on offense. At least Garrett gives us exceptional D every night.
Doke - Expected to be a 14 and 8 guy game in game out. Out for the season…again.
Silvio - Expected to be a 10 and 10 guy. Out for most of the season if not the entire season with eligibility issues…again.
Grimes - Expected to be a dynamic scorer. Top 10 talent. Potential lottery pick before he put on a jersey. Has had three good games all year and at least 5 games where he may as well not have played. Maybe the most disappointing guy in years. Selby level disappointment.
Vick - Has been what we all know him to be. A guy who can be incredible and a guy who can be flat out awful on and off the court. Unfortunately we have seen a bit to much of the “bad” Vick even though he won us a few games by himself early in the year.
Dotson - To me, he has exceeded expectations. Great ball handler. Great FT shooter down the stretch. Could be a Jayhawk to remember.
Ochai - Goes without saying that he has been incredible once the redshirt was pulled.
Lawson - Averaging nearly 20 and 10 a game as expected. Our best player by far.
KJ - Expected to be a contributor and has been a non factor.
Garrett - A defensive specialist who has been much better than expected on offense lately. I still think he could win us a game in March.
Moore - Expected to be a contributor and has been a non factor.
Big Dave - Not sure what we thought. I think we all assumed he would ride the bench behind Doke and Silvio. Now they are gone and he still rides the bench.
Mitch - Pretty much the exact same as Dave.
@wissox I am in Chicago as well. Completely insane weather. Stayed home. 50 below zero windchill does not sound fun while waiting on the El train.
Just saw that the McD’s All American game is coming up. How long has it been since KU has not had a future player in this game? I feel like we have at least one commit every single year.
This hurts my heart for the big fella. Any chance he can redshirt this year???
I love this win so much. Only two guys on our team leave the locker room. Our big man is on the bench. Our other big man is in NCAA prison. Nova’s best players both have great games. We don’t hit FT’s. We make countless bonehead plays down the stretch. We still beat the defending champs and remain unbeaten. RCJH.
@BShark you guys are kidding, right?!? Remember 2013 when we didnt kill Fort Hayes St and Louisiana Monroe in the preseason? No one could handle that we looked mediocre while Duke murdered teams. Then we beat Duke in Chicago in the same game we have this year with MSU. Lots of plays simply not being run. Have we literally run any real plays yet? I think we thump MSU.
RCJH
I actually think this is kind of good news as far as the black cloud is concerned. It shows that KU is mindful of what is going on in New York. This is the first real quote from Bill Self about the trial, right? Did I miss anything other than Bill saying “No comment”?
Obviously I hope that we get Silvio back and it is proven that he was not involved or at least unaware. That said, I would hate to have him play in any games that could potentially be vacated moving forward.
@Woodrow Thank you very much for sharing this article. It brings up a very very interesting question.
IF KU really truly offered Zion illegal benefits then how and why did he end up at Duke? He just really wanted to play at Cameron for the one year he is required to play before going pro? Something to think about.
I have personally always assumed that the major programs “cheated” to get the top guys, KU included. I have also always assumed that the major programs with the major players are what fans want to see and this is how the NCAA makes the most money. Based on this I highly doubt that the hammer is dropped on KU or Duke or Zona or anyone else involved in this current situation. Where would the investigation go from here? What about football? That is the more lucrative sport and there is simply no way that the top programs are “clean”.
It is an unfortunate reality as a fan but life is full of unfortunate realizations. I will personally watch every game this year as I always do. It may be a bit more tainted now that the veil has been pulled away but it is what it is. Real life is hard and I personally need the escape of college basketball.
@BShark I hope Doke is more of a force than 10 points a game. His size alone should be good for 4-5 easy dunks a game. Maybe another 4-6 points off of baby hooks and (gulp) free throws. I would love to see his average around 14 and 10.
My bold prediction is that Doke is going to be 1st Team All Big 12. I have heard very little nationally about him when the upcoming year is being discussed and I have been a bit surprised at how little we are talking about him on this site! I feel that he will average 14, 10 and 3 and will be an absolute beast. The NBA told him quite candidly what he needs to work on and I expect to see those improvements right out of the gate this year. His jump hook will be improved. His FT’s will be improved. His nose for the ball on rebounds will be improved. His awareness of how and when to block shots will be improved!!!
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.
@kjayhawks Agreed. This could be a really great thing for KU if LaGerald decides to return. Sounds like he is more than likely heading to the G League but if he chooses to play at KU for his senior year it will be a returning veteran who knows the offense, is a proven shooter, a proven winner, a returning starter and a guy who has played in countless big games. Seems logical to me to be excited about the possibility of his return since we all know how much we will have to rely on young guy in the backcourt. If he returns I trust that Bill and his staff will be ready for whatever baggage (if any) that he returns with.
@ReggieKansas Is he looking lost out there against more athletic bigs who can shoot from the perimeter? Looking out of shape? One dimensional? Thanks for the account!