Best posts made by Ralster

Tough to lose when we make the F4. But as Self said yrs ago, once you’re in the F4, anything can happen, good opponents, any weaknesses may show themselves, or an off shooting night can send you home as it did for Frank Mason’s final 2 KU teams (Nova in ‘16, Oregon in ‘17).

KU was playing well since Big12 Tourney, Malik had certainly turned a corner, and Silvio became serviceable, actually surpassing Ltfoot. But to me, what showed up vs Villanova was 2 glaring problems: Poor D/inability to consistently get stops, which the defensive stats of this season easily reveal. And secondly, that bothersome ability of opposing Ds to guard beyond the perimeter & shut down our 3 shooting. Put it this way, somebody was going to scout the KU losses to WashSt and ASU, & try to disrupt our O. How many 3s did we shoot the first half vs Nova?

Credit Jay Wright, his team BLITZED KU and werent afraid on a big stage. The only way to claw back from 22-4 deficit is to , uh, get stops, which is the biggest glaring statistical weakness for this team, compared to other Bill Self products.

Of course I feel the worst for Devonte & Svi, as they gave everything, just as Frank did.

To me, the Tourney hopes seemed to come down to if someone could knock off Villanova for us…. Dont like the sound of that? Neither do I, but that’s the reality of the fragility of this team’s statistical evidence. My fellow diehard KU alum brother-in-law says “you want to beat the best”, but I reminded him that NC banners and trophies do NOT come with asterisks, no one is going to remember years from now, nor really care, that KU got an easy path victory…

But, alas, that didn’t happen. Villanova was right there, waiting for us, and marched right thru WVU, TxTech, then blitzed right thru us. They looked like a NC team, and ended up getting Michigan as well. So, credit Jay Wright for upping his game, as I joked a few yrs ago (pre-Ochefu) that he was cant-recruit-a-big-Jay Wright, but he has clearly turned that around with Ochefu, Paschall, and Spellman…a guy who plays not like Marcus or TRob, but more like Andre Drummond of GSWarriors (NBA-Drummond).

I would slightly disagree with the above comment about Nova being more “athletic” than us. Its more about how that athleticism was deployed. Our athletes couldnt guard their athletes: story of the season (which is nothing new this season). Brunson was described by studio analysts as “slower” than Devonté, but his unorthodox turn-around, surprise shot/pass reminded ne of DJAugustin’s similar tendencies…catch people off guard, literally.

Final thought on our defensive ineptitude: if we could have turned up the D, 22-4 hole likely never happens. Self said by the time it was 22-4, we’d have to “play perfectly”, which includes D…

So, while I loved this team’s battle for #14, which truly does put them and KU in the books for a 30-40 yr record (like UCLA?), and their exhilarating Final 4 run, with a classic W over Duke, I realized as soon as Nova hoisted that NC trophy, that our countdown to ‘18-19’s has begun. I wonder how our team O and team D will look, considering Self’s past dominance in various key, telling categories.

I wish Devonte,Svi, and whoever else wants the NBA, gets their dream, we will love them always! RCJH. FOE. Our home is their home now.

Easy answer: #14 takes the record OUTRIGHT, this is different than NC. UCLAs record stood for 40yrs!! One of a kind record. Shows sustained success. Apples to oranges when talking about a NC.

As @HighEliteMajor said about small banners…but getting 14 would actually be its own pinnacle achievement. Does it morph into a big banner in its own right?

The easy part of this answer is that #14 is right in front of us. It comes first. They are not technically mutually exclusive. After the conf race is over, it becomes Tourney time.

You actually get to choose both. But #14 really means something, different that all the others. And 14 would make all of the other 13’s teams all bound together as one big KU family. Whereas Mario’s and Danny’s NC teams are their own exclusive club. Past players are rooting hard for 14 as it makes their own conf championships suddenly matter alot. Everybody couldn’t have done it without everybody else!

Best regards to him.

Saw highlights. Looked fun. Why arent there more games like that?

@HighEliteMajor Indeed, it is. Time to cuss/discuss the Jayhawks…well, mostly cuss the lack of D. Usual ‘soft’ comments from Self.

I must admit, my enthusiasm has definitely taken a hit the last 2 years. Watching 2 alpha dogs, Mason and Josh…lose to Oregon was an extremely bitter pill, especially after watching the 6-dvd set of the 6 game 2008 championship run. I keep waiting for a new ‘standard’ to be set, still hasnt happened. Current team has their work cut out for them.

Now that season is over, safe to say my favorite exTexTech player is…Patrick Mahomes.

I’ll go throw up behind the fieldhouse if Shaka can get those TX frosh to play better D/more ‘havoc’ than Self’s collection of basketball curiosities…

Personally, I think Lightfoot can play a little bit. He’s got a knack for blocking shots, he’s got range out to 3, although probably not encouraged in a tight contest. Obviously he is by no means a finished product. I’ve always referred to him as a Wisconsin-type 6’8 combo 3/4.

Im still learning to read Malik. So I’ll give him more time to show us what everybody was raving about in the practice gym…show us.

@JayHawkFanToo 100% agreed. I honestly thought this B- version of the CyClowns was going to get us in AFH. Svi looked lost on D, too often caught in no mans land. Opponents shed like sheep our defenders with simple ballscreens—another “fleecing” in AFH, no less. We hit key 3s only to allow the Clones to answer every KU run. This is ROYball (score 90s, pretty transition, not a lick or “shuck” of D, & get beat when shots not falling, & watch Self get beet). Self ball 101 for this team is that bball is played on both ends of the court, “make the other guy ugly on offense”, to quote Jankovich in about 2007, quoting Bill Self.

Im so sick & tired of this circus sideshow of bigs who cant play for whatever reason. Its like we only get to window shop them, don’t actually get them. Even Embiid was a test drive only.

We are also reminded tha true alphas just arent dime-a-dozen. Rebounding by committee can very easily degenerate into “oops, I thought he was going for that rbd”. Eventhough we lost to Oregon, Frank & Josh battling for same rebound shows the mentality they were wired with. I love Garrett but he’s just a baby yet. Adding DeSousa and Preston completely changes this team, the rotations, the energy level, and both onball, offball, & rim defense. More height by natural post players could help quick, as its more natural for them in the post play game.

Umm…topic change regarding IowaSt game: Franny Frashrilla is the BIGGEST Cyclone cheerleader there is, jesus…! He cant help spewing that stuff, basically whole 2nd half…

Look, yall, USE the IowaSt game to explore what each of us various KU people see, when talking analytically. We arent all the same, we graduated with different majors from KU (or are just KU fans, its all ok!), and we may even think very differently politically. Thats simply what America is.

Me personally, I’m having trouble seeing the current lineup get as far as we could if we got the 2 bigs eligible, although we all know it will take 3-4 weeks for them to become real contributors. Im the maddest at the NCAA, giving KU the shaft again!!

Again, differring views ARE what make this board tick. We should be ok with that. Many of us have played or coached at whatever level, so we are going to have basketball opinions, right? And why be just cheerleaders, when the actual KU cheerleaders are far, far better looking, I’d guess…

At the end of the day, we all want a KU WIN…

Part 2: Of course the BIG f—king elephant in the room is Doke’s riduculous FT shooting release. Has anyone in ever seen such nonsense.

So he’s played for only 3-4 yrs, which translated, means we cannot let that FT release get ingrained, teach him better, rt now, before it gets ingrained.

Sorry, Im old school: ANY of his coaches ought to physically imitate/mock his FT release right in front of whole team in practice gym, and ask him wtf that is, and if he’s EVER seen any pro or college player shoot FTs like that?!

Whats the real problem, when we are forced to concede we shouldnt have our 5star McD 7ft 270lb center in the game late? Why?

Udoka isn’t stupid, he just saw Self take heat from media & fans about leaving him in. He saw KU take a loss because of him. Maybe he needs to be told he’s hurting his NBA stock with that weakness. Whatever happened to spending hours on your game, by yourself in the gym. Now is time for Norm Roberts to lose sleep, stay up with Doke for LateNite in Phog v2.0: shooting 1000 FTs until he F’n figures it out!

Jeez, a whole generation of kids got it, trying to imitate the best, “Be Like Mike”, etc, and we saw Embiid practicing Olajuwon’s dream shake, and used it at KU (vs NMex). But we’re talking FTs. How many months has KU coaching been watching this kid shoot his stooopid FTs?

Trae had below avg game for him, OU was down most of the game, and critically they were down 10 with 3-4 min left. KU played Trae better than most all opponents this season, yet…?

The KU coaching fail on Doke’s FTs predated this game, and they share the blame with Doke. This loss is on him.

Okie, Dokey? (laughingstock). A chance to make history, yet we watch our royalty program pull this ignominious L. I’m eating some crow, as I admit Landen Lucas would’ve outperformed Doke on the FT line.

@JayHawkFanToo I like your points. But, as this particular B12 starts to near the halfway point, to me it is far far beyong next-day bragging rights— leave that to the KSucks of the world, let them rush their court at Sherrontagon-o-gloom if they pull the upset…what we are chasing this season (#14), is one for the ages, a record that may stand for 30+ YEARS, like UCLA’s has. Getting an L in the fashion we did, we can’t afford an L, not with this flawed team.

Just imho, any 1 game now matters most: All those years of gutting out OT wins against TX, WVU, OU (Hield), EJ39 game at ISU…all kept the streak going…. To lose the streak before owning it outright over ucla, would be a shame. So to lose a game by giving it away late, simply magnifies what’s at stake.

@JayHawkFanToo I think Self is the best coach KU has ever had. But I’m only speculating if perhaps he learned something by the way the KU OU game played out.

I want #14 almost more for Self and his legacy, than I do for myself or us fans, because he will have crafted it. Thats the macro view. But Udoka’s FT woes are unbelievably maddening, considering what’s at stake. We’ll see how this conf race plays out, we’re still in driver’s seat.

@mayjay Ha, “scared straight”. Man, I’d take anything that worked, any ploy, gimmick, or strategy that would tuck that elbow straight under the ball, and have a straight follow-thru & release. For god’s sake, show Doke video of himself shooting FTs alternating with gifs of nba centers shooting FTs, so that he can learn to laugh at himself, like most of espn’s natl tv audience did, and get it corrected.

@BShark Ha…Weber planned to foul Doke…but Kruger actually did. Kruger>Squeaky.

Credit Doke for improving his FT form.

The first pix on this thread sums up why I hate a BIG segment of KSU fanbase. That whole Nathan Power (crazy fool who shoved Jamari, & yelled “I hope you die!” to Self) episode, was just about as bad, and in a different way, as that IowaSt meltdown after the EJ39 game.

And, they tainted their superbowl win over KU by those ludicrous actions during the court storm, right on natl tv, earning a swift reprimand from BigXII, and brought themselves the ignominy of having to publicly apologize to the Univ of KS. KStoopid little herd mentality, orgy of dumb (not doom) on display. Wonder how many purple tykes got conceived that night…

Spare me the “fellow kansan” hogwash, why the F would I claim them? They’re like a Judas in the room. I was shocked they appplauded for Mitch.

Just think of UNC-Duke, a FAR classier rivalry. They saw those antics & wondered if this is what KU has to put up with? As Bilas would say, that was “entirely inappropriate”. I dont root for some mudmajor underslumdog who’s 6-24 in their own gym…I root for my blueblood/royalty program.

All malice, no fiction…

We’ll have to see what more we can improve going into March Madness, but I have my reservations about the BigDance with this particular KU team.

BUT, the big fire under us right now is NUMBER 14…Think about it: We’ll contend for a F4 almost every year, but if this team doesn’t take that record from UCLA, then they’ll have to live with that fact, that they ended the streak. Jason King’s book Beyond the Streak mentions many quotes from recent KU players about “not wanting to be the team that broke the streak”. I’m sure some of us here have read those quotes.

I know, I know that we’ve debated what’s worth more, conf championship vs NC…I personally dont get in that debate, as they are 2 separate goals, won differently. All Im saying is take care of #14, and it may set a record that stands for another 30-40 years. It ties together ALL of Self’s players, you know they’re watching, as their efforts built it to 13….

Worry about NC after reg season ends, although all the little Self details (that this team is sporadic about doing), will help get to a F4, if they can improve.

I want to believe Svi about not losing at home, but gotta beat OU, WVU at AFH, & TxTech on the road. Hate to get to a final last chance saloon/Stalingrad win-or-14dies scenario…but we’ve come so far…(remember TRob’s swat of Pressey, and EJ39 game in Ames). Make those battles mean so much MORE now!

RCJH

Great thread, enjoying everyone’s perspectives here. I was down on the team, & vented a couple of weeks ago…(like many royalty fans may be rt about now), but with this downward slide, its time to think macro, and analytically about what we may know, & speculatively about what we don’t know, that could be causing such poor performances.

As chances for #14 get dimmer, we naturally wonder about why…and question the behind the scenes stuff.

Regarding @drgnslayr’s theory about marijuana, I hope that’s not it. My 19 yr old son told me he thinks half his h.s. class was into pot, which I found astonishing. We wont discuss my fixed beliefs on pot x30yrs, as that’s not why we’re here…BUT Im very curious if BGreene was/is close with any current KU players…& if his plight is affecting those friends of his, which is natural.

Team chemistry is an ominous revelation by Self. Last time we had that, it was Carl Henry’s manipulation of his son’s and attempted it on Self, who made the most incredibly polarizing no-holds-barred comment Ive ever heard of him making. That team was a 2nd round bounce by UNI, a nobody/who-dat?-team. We speculated alot back then about the various angles, and there were many.

Why cant high-D1 athletes get it, when it comes to Self’s system? There’s enough years of examples to pave the way…didn’t Frank set the best example for most of these guys??

It requires work, why fight it? No player is bigger than KU ball.

@BShark Agree. Thanks to this team for all they did accomplish. The why’s & why nots become academic now, and things for coaching staff to address in off season & with nxt yrs team. We know we’ll compete, but will be interesting to see how fundamentally sound we get. And what our philosophy on O & D will be.

Its highly illustrative this season to a Self team not only be 4+1, but play zone D regularly. I understand we can be critical of Self in that loss, but just how many bullets did our Cowboy show up with to the shootout in SanAntone’? He had 5 days to prepare…its simply that this year’s scheme kit & plays kit & skill kit at this team’s best, simply wasnt enough when facing Villanova’s best, which we certainly got. Best game Nova played in their NC run was vs KU. Again the analogy: Self went in there with 3-4 bullets out of 6.

All that being said, this team has a #14Straight Natl record, and a Final4 banner.

@HighEliteMajor Yep, notice very late when KC switched to the “46”defense, they were getting heavy pressure on Mariota…maybe thru injury and age, our base D scheme no longer suits our personnel. This was not the KC D of 3 yrs ago. But then the KC O had a worse Oline, hurt Jamaal, and an aging Maclin WR. Prior to that it was the draft bust Dwayne Bowe era.

I also remember Trent Green‘s superbowl caliber offense getting wasted by a bad D, back under Dick Vermeil from 2000-2004, losing playoff shootouts, because couldn’t stop opponents.

Brewtal transfer rumors, gutted roster potentially…a dizzying time to even begin to contemplate next season. Getting completely outclassed in NCAA tournament only mitigated by fact we were up/down all season, lineup changes degraded from preseason#1 down to starting 4 frosh. At least McCormack got developmental experience. Dedric plateaued talent, might as well earn Euros or fringeNBA money. Good luck to Moore in some mid major conf, he can start rt away at D2 level. KJ passing on a chance to be a versatile wing at 6’7.

Hope Silvio’s appeal after time-served will allow some eligibility this coming season, can only hope. Garrett, Dotson, Mitch all better shoot 600 3s/day in practice. Learn to play D from Self like TxTech and Va. proved you can with current rules.

So far Bruce Pearl has proved he can beat a veteran KU roster with 4 walkons, or he can cut & paste a non-veteran KU roster into the Tourney-discard-heap with equal gusto complete with made-for-camera-replay coach poses. He has definitely figured out the biz-corp approach to college bball, and is surprisingly good at it. Not sure I’d go so far as to say I’m personally entertained though. The fact he gutted 3 royalty programs in succession is a remarkable occurrence, though. We just cant seem to get 3ball defense consistently. Sigh…

Need him.

@jaybate-1.0 Lots to consider for sure. Recurring themes regarding mil-industrial complex stretching back to WW2, heck, even to WW1. Sophie+ArchDuke Ferdinand getting assassinated was only used as a catalyst to start the Great War, the war to end all wars…oops, but history repeats, but greed is an innate human quality.

This is simply why there cannot be a utopia, but people can waste their lives dreaming, but then your 70-80-90 yrs are up…

Ineligible players, transfers, walk-ons actually playing. A football player suiting up shortly, possibly…Is this a sign of something??

I hadnt ever set foot in Nebr prior to 2016, for a job opportunity. Now that has turned into a fulltime job offer I cannot refuse, which means a TON of driving…as in a 4 hour commute about 5 times/month. I must say the people rural Nebr are very nice. Not much different than KS or OK, frankly. Sure, they root for different teams, mostly the Huskers, and Broncos, Packers, and some Chiefs fans. Seen a few Jayhawk shirts around also.

Women pretty much just like KS (gotta love the midwestern honeys).

Very high on Garrett’s potential. So far, the best newcomer on the team. His D is far ahead of his own offense, at this point, and also far ahead of everyone else’s D (other than possibly Devonte).

Best tidbit I heard from TV announcers during Stanford game was that Self was really getting after Billy Preston in practice…now just how excited should I be to hear Self is trying have him as ready as possible…?

My first comment seeing the thread title might’ve been a snide comment like “none”, but then I recall the lack of depth & the fact Devonté may be dinged up. But then we recall we played 4+1 last year also, and we witnessed just how tough TheRealBIFM was. As was Josh Jackson. Newman, Garrett, Sammy on steeeep learning curve. Malik may have just turned the corner.

Maybe we get Preston & DeSousa playing, then maybe a certain 7ft, 270lb kid would consider playing like a junkyard Trex? Right now, he strikes fear in exactly no one. Getting sealed off on rbds and for opposing layups. Not a OAD, not living up to that level of performance yet.

Seriously, the BIFMDog Award is still lockdown by Frank…he put that crown at an even higher perch than where Sherron or RussRob left it. Notice I refrain from using the term lockdown with any of current roster, although DTae & Garrett are reasonably close…

Meanwhile, we about to get BoomedprettySoon by Trae Young, as he tries to slice, dice, dime, & shoot us to death, be it in OK, KU, KC…(might as well add Africa…). Does anybody think our 4-5 guards can do to OU what PressVa did to OU? (I didn’t think so, but we can hope.

No nervous laughter from me, as I wouldnt want the numerals “14” to come flying out of mouth and get lost between the crevices of our own bleachers at AFH.

@chriz We all share your frustration. 4+1 isnt Self ball. Billy (Preston) is sitting because of his/mom/agent’s mistake with that godforsaken POS Charger (sorry, I’m a Mopar guy who thinks only real Charger is the iconic ‘68-70, current 4dr shld nvr been named Charger).

And so Billy (Self) is making sure any outside party’s mistake does not tarnish KU, himSelf, etc, which as the Streak can attest to: is bigger than any 1 person. The biggest taint on John Calpari is his vacated seasons at UMass and Memphis. As much as I find Cal’s on camera persona entertaining, I don’t want Self going down that path. There is a core genuineness and integrity to Self that is appreciated across the sport.

Billy Preston, like Cliff, Diallo, Bragg, CJGile, JRGiddens…is expendable, but hopefully not…

Well…just ask any KU fan about the eye test, not the I/me/we test: B12 Champs goes thru WVa, and possibly OU, as WVU beat OU with a clever disruption of how OU attacks. Anyone think KU defense is capable of doing that to OU? And how will we handle WVU without Frankian handles, and looking/playing gassed in 4th period already, prior to PressVa?

We had cartoonish turnovers from Devonte & point blank layup misses late vs Clones at home. ISU is proven nonfinisher, we just let them answer every run KU made, we made slightly less gaffes late than them.

Don’t bet the wife on #14, as watching her get rode out of our own barn could be very unsettling.

Loved the post! If we ever suffer a sustained reduction in the quality of our own product we put out on that hardwood, we wouldn’t be doing justice to the Fieldhouse either. Kudos to this coach for stirring up the Phog to the current level of Phrenzy. Lotsa banners have kept AFH’s relevance at the forefront.

RCJH

@HighEliteMajor hit this topic 100% correct. That Udoka photo of his retarded FT form, is just horrific. Literally, I’ve never seen such bad form on any level of bball, even down to jr high level. Its just moronic that a storied program’s alumni & fans, and its $52mil HOF coach have to waste time cussing & discussing Udoka FT form.

Every future KU opponent just took note of how & when Lon Kruger did what he did…

Scout on KU 2017-18: Defend the 3, no sagging…and Hack-a-Doke.

@REHawk wow, i cant imagine anyone roasting Kruger for hackaDoke, where did you see that? …why would anyone roast him? It was a brilliant, timely tactic when nothing else was working for OU the whole game…they never really closed the gap, until several empty KU possessions in a row.

Weird KSU didnt dribble-drive more, like they did in AFH.

Self > Weber-downdraft-carbaSqueeky.

Our surprise zoneD busted their offense.

Liberace’s players not highly recruited because they arent highly skilled at shooting. (Exception is the excellent DWade, good Kansas kid, like P.Ellis & R.Baker…and that frosh guard Diarra), everyone else a buncha yucksters. I sometimes feel sorry for DWade stuck on that team, I like his game.

I understand DWade’s family are KSU lifers, and perhaps they are amongst the few nice ones, as he’s a great kid—�ksu doesnt deserve him.

Sherrontagon, Tyshawntagon, Elijahgon, Devontagon…the TRADITION CONTINUES…

@CRH107 Interesting generational angle. We saw the old ball, baby boomer style fade out of relevance with Bobby Knight. But what of Gen X’rs? I happen to be in that group, as is Self, MJ, etc…I’d still put them in the earn it/work ethic category…but its much more individualized, than in other generations.

In support of what you said, I’d agree that my 19yr old son is fairly unflappable, cant seem to challenge his competetiveness for nuthin’, yet he’s a college scholarship tennis player & is able to compete in his own way. Whereas I still quietly & privately take it “personal” if someone Im guarding in pickup basketball scores on me.

How much of this plays into a kid’s fire & mojo, who knows. Each years team has its own mix of key personalities. God, I miss Frank and Josh! They were easy for my spirit to relate to, in how they played & carried themselves.

Alphas that get the big picture just dont grow on trees.

Also, if we’re talking about recurring themes, lets look at this phenomenon that seems to stick itself to these McDAAs/OAD-wannabes, this whole saga upon saga of will he leave early, just how early/when?..Which segues directly into needing to put up/show stats.

Half of these stupid, assinine sagas involving the McDs is if they’re even frickin eligible to play (Selby, Cliff, Diallo, Preston). Josh Jackson was the best OAD (in a KU uniform), because he played with a fire that equalled Frank’s, and it translated to almost every game he played in. He made his team better & he could even run the team with his court vision. But Josh Jackson is the exception to my point.

Ive about had it with Self diving down the rabbit hole, regarding that somewhat blind philosophy of “you get the highest rated recruits you can”, investing in the OAD media circus, and the kids’ psyche that comes with it. Why? Because Im just mentally comparing what WE ACTUALLY GET from those guys—compared to what we get from guys like DG and FM3, who absolutely play their ass off, chip on shoulder, something to prove, and 200% appreciative of the chance given to them. I’d include any McD that stayed for multiple years to work on their game, showing some humility to accept new challenges. (Rush, Arthur, Chalmers, Sherron, Ellis, Selden). I’ll include Malik in that group if he shows/plays/improves like our multiyear McDs did.

Its not like DG and FM3 were bench projects without talent…both were immediately playable as impact freshmen. BMac very similar after he got shafted by NCAA.

What did we say about KUs nonMcD 2012 NC runner up team? They played with heart, & they never quit, & were just as athletic as any other KU roster.

So, the questions for my fave college coach of all time (Self) are: How many McDs does Tony Bennett have on UVa’s 30win rosters? You still like defensive execution? Are you in a McD-ego contest vs Calipari, because KY is struggling mightily with me-first play (with Cal complaining publicly) from their golden collection of McDs—where are they ranked? Are ya ready to go back to coaching your exemplary system to a group of kids who’ll actually listen? Who actually give a damn? What is wrong, Bill, with pipelining a ton of 4star bigs, wings, guards, especially for YOUR system?

I guarantee these questions don’t sting as bad as the recent KU performances have stung us. This isnt 1-loss or 2-loss bitchin’—no, it’s actually seeing 15yrs of SelfBall, with all levels of recruits trying to learn & execute it, & with rare exceptions in both directions, recognizing what type of player thrives in it. The type of player who comes without extraneous, distracting pretensions or eligibility nonsense.

And this isnt to condemn the current team, but throw in a couple of chemistry issues, an attitude issue, and an eligibility issue…and we see what we get.

Analytically, to my SelfSystem lens, this team is several “shining moments” now on film, showing exactly what happens when the paramount rules of Self’s system are broken 1 by 1: high%looks in the paint, rebound margin, steals, and opponents FG% (make the other guy ugly possessions), & get to line (foul out opponents).

Understand this & you’ll understand where all those blowout KU wins went, and how those got created in yrs past by all the little battles of attrition by the time you get to middle of 4th period.

You can take a highlighter to the statsheet, in a very Brad Stevens sort of way, and precisely show, by subtraction of performance in just a few areas, how we simply dont measure up to past KU squads. Of course, Self figured this stuff out 18 yrs ago when he was still at Tulsa!

@wissox Agreed. People say that about Duke, UNC all the time. Coach K is infamous for working the refs, which is well known, and he gives his team an edge with that. But “they get all the calls” simply puts those complainers in an inferior position, implying they cant get (ref’s) respect.

Frankly, what’s there to be impressed by Baylor? Losing to this year’s Baylor is just disgusting about KU’s performance more than anything they did/said/complained about.

@justanotherfan Agree about the matchup mismatch. Theres a color picture splattered in USA Today sports section Monday, preNC game, showing Spellman launching a 3 “over” Doke, as Doke is about 6-7 feet away from Spellman. What perfect example, for the whole damn world to see…of poor D technique by Doke, how poor positioning totally negated Doke’s 7ft height. We of course know Doke isnt used to guarding stretch 4s, and it showed. Spellman hit 3x3s at start of 2nd half alone.

Is Moore the next Mason? Next Devonté? (For those that have seen enough tape of Moore), I don’t think I’ve seen enough to judge yet.

@Crimsonorblue22 i like your list. And I’d add Josh Jackson as the best freshman producer Self has ever had in his HOF career. (Injury cut Embiid short). Players like Josh and Embiid are why I utterly hate the OAD rule. Frank and Sherron were special, just as rare.

@HighEliteMajor Very interesting side thread about Mitch Ltfoot. Personally, it would be in his best interests to really develop his 3 game & handles. He’s got good swat instincts, and showing the athleticism to cash that check. But he’s also not going to be 245-250 lbs. Become a 3/4 versatile guy. Like those Wiscy 6’8 guys of recent yrs. Redshirt even an option, insurance, for both parties.

@dylans Let’s hope Dedric is mentally rougher and tougher than niceguy Perry. Let’s revisit Perry’s final crunchtime performance: couple of early charge calls, couple of top of key giveaways for Nova dunks, and didn’t attempt a single 3 with his 40% trey gun, while Frank and Wayne were misfiring from 3, and Mista3, BGreene was in such a doghouse that his 3gun was MIA also: didnt play a single minute. Of course we needed Perry to be Spellman, or Marcus, or even his senior yr self, but he was none of the above, when we needed him the most.

Alex Smith just had 1 of the best seasons by a KC QB going back to 1961. Statistically speaking, leadership, off field. Toughness, throwing blocks at age 34…

Remember every starting NFL QB is 1 hit away from season ending injury. See Carson Wentz. That could be Alex or Mahomes, u nvr know.

Keep Alex as backup to Mahomes. Or keep him as a starter. He wants a SuperBowl too.

KC season in a nutshell: horrific D stats, for the season, ZERO pass rush. Cant win in playoffs without above-avg D. D needs overhaul BAD when all its stars (other than Peters) are 30+.

ALEX FAILED BY KC D. The Alex-haters in KC can simply sit down, shut up, watch some other team in playoffs advance & maybe learn something.

I agree with QB bootcamp guru, analyst , and former SuperBowl coach Jon Gruden who said with a chuckle: “ha, I’d keep Mahomes on the bench another yr”.

Is this really on espn? For fans of past KU BB, seeing these guys play together is THE biggest treat of the summer bar none.

I see some logic on both sides of this debate.

What about a 32team March Madness, instead of 64+4? Or would that be a OAD/big-program fest? Far less cinderella runs. Far less no-namers, although that has been part of what defines ‘Madness’…

Pounding Nebr into submission, if that’s what happens, is still hard to call a “get-healthy” game. Defensively this team has a ton of ground to cover. Getting some of the bigs eligible will help. Cunliffe to give a few mpg of rest for the guards will help.

These guys let no-namers from ASU blow by them, pick their pocket, and also let those 6ft guards shoot over them. Repeatedly. Almost dropped a 100 on us in AFH, no less. We score 80+ and still lose. Shades of RoyBall. Certainly not SelfBall. A perfect example of why the trackmeet philosophy is flawed, imho.

Look at UNC’s NC last year, they actually won the NC by playing a grinder, and with defense. I didnt know they had that in them.

Dont bail out these guys by going zone. Put scrubs in for 5min, and then put the starters in to labor on D all game long to come back from 10pts down. That’s one entertaining way to teach 'em…

Dang it, cannot figure out how to get some Husker cheerleader pics to post here (saved in Pictures on windows desktop)???