Posts made by Ralster

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.

Definitely will support, even Naads. But make no mistake, EJ + TT were that every so often dual-combo-guard tandem that fed off each other (RussRob&Mario, Frank&Devontae). EJ alone in 2013 proved it. He needed his buddy Tyshawn, both together = NC title game, and 3 missed dunks were not on them. TT was unguardable. Curious to see if that 2012 magical chemistry returns (goodTT + EJ).

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

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…

@Kcmatt7 Yep, agreed. More transparent id the journalist’s bias against Self/KU: he goes after a program that Mizzerians known to hate, while this program MAYBE lands an OAD, but not yearly…while KY and Duke bring in OADs 2-3 PER YEAR. So that makes Self the worst thing in Mizzoo…writer’s standoff distance hate cant stand up to the details & logic as kmatt so perfectly put it!

@jaybate-1.0 But how would you define “stack” for Nike-Nova? Thay have some top 100 type guys, but not McDAAs. They seem to be system guys. I think bigs are getting more versatile in 3ability coming out of h.s., with a growing % that can trifectate, more to choose from, even at sub-MickeyD level.

I would even postulate that Jay Wright is wreaking havoc with this anti-stack, craftily looking like a “traditional” roster w/2 bigs, but look at Spellman, effectively allowing Jay to still play as 4+1. Spellman hitting 3x3s in 2nd half just murdered KU literally, and they got Self conceptually, as we had no answer defensively. Udoka totally negated.

@JayHawkFanToo Very well said. Hmm, lets plot the trajectory of Shaka Smart: his peak was…*wait for it…wait…*way back in 2011…(but UTex is still waiting…). Meanwhile I’m liking Rick Barnes more. Shaka’s record speaks for itself, requires no translation.

@HighEliteMajor :”remember the YMCA defense”, ha…you just reminded some of us about the 2013 season…its ok…

Love this thread…my bro in law texted me during KSUs Tourney run that “this is Weber stickin it to his haters”. Personally this year I thought they were a scrappy tough B12 team, that was only an injured Dean Wade away from making a Final 4. They could disrupt a gang of kids like KY, but more polished teams can outshoot and outexecute them. And they can be absolute bricksters offensively.

@dylans Yep, imply that Brad Stevens is so far better than any other ncaa coach in the land, including coaches that have won multiple NCs? And he’s tearing up the nba too, he’s so good.

After his Celtics chpt, lets see if UNC or Duke goes after Stevens when K or Roy retire, if he’s such a fashionable pick. Throw in Mark Few and Gregg Marshall too, since we’re incl midmajor guys now…

Someone explain to me why some here are considering Malik, Devonté, Svi, Frank, Vick, as “less athletic” than Villanova’s NONkentucky level athletes? Just where does that come from? So I suppose that UNI team with Farokhmanesh, O’Rear, Egelseder was more athletic than our guys…just because they beat us??

@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.

@BShark (i like your cat avatar, but u realize he could have just spotted a little murine jayhawk AllenFieldMouse, trying to hide behind Sec.F, Row.2…)

I really think Self’s small ball was a function of his personnel limitations, will we actually have enough trey-competent 3shooter-guards to field a small team? While we have 6 playable bigs? Those other Cats, without Dean Wade, were forced to play small ball, but couldnt built a Final4 run with their 3bricker/4sh!tter offense.

See Self adapt once again to the strengths on the ‘18-19 roster…

We all saw Spellman in action, ad nauseum. Closest thing KU had to him were MorrisTwins. Next men up: Lawsons. HighLow with Doke/Silvio. Time to bludgeon again with the full playbook and real D.

How about we get the D back in the realm of a top 10 defense, which as long time Self watchers know, is a key piece of how his earlier KU teams would create big separation by the 4th period, so guys named Spoonie, Matt, Niko, & Tyler could get in the game.

I dont buy the insinuation or suggestion that anything’s wrong with ku’s offense, he’s shown great adaptability on that side of the ball.

But defensively, WITH the current rules, we aren’t getting it done (see top10 defenses, none named “KU”). How much more proof do yall need other than seeing unknown cats playing for WashSt, ASU, come in and blast us in AFH? I can still derisively imitate that loser BGreene in the locker room parroting what Self had hammered into that squads brains about “getting away from our defensive principles”. Verbal regurgitation doesn’t count. And this team unable to get any sort of stops, or apply any disruption to narrow the gap vs Nova, is squarely why we lost this one. Talk about Jay Wright—did anybody see his team limit KU to not even a single 3att for how many minutes that first half?

Self keeps preaching, some kids get it, some don’t/won’t/can’t. Self isn’t the one out there playing/executing/NOTexecuting. Players have to perform all the categories that Self’s system teaches.

Self is Top3, imho, with Krzyzewski likely #1. Why not stick Roy there as well? Self pulled a Final4 rabbit outta somewhere with this year’s team. Fix the D.

@BShark Ya, I was proud to actually see a Roy team actually win a grinder with rebounding, toughness, and D, and this despite Justin Jackson literally almost shooting his own team outta the gym. He jacked up some of the worst looking 3atts Ive ever seen. Yet UNC won despite him (NC game, but JJ certainly helped them get there). It didn’t even get a Roy-coat-unfurl/toss…

@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.

@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.

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.

The other fact worth mentioning was on the natl scene there were a lot of imperfect high-elite & royalty teams: KU, KY, Duke, UNC. AZ imploded. VA got surprise exit, truly a blemish on Tony Bennet, same as VCwho for Self was. Interestingly, I’ve never seen Coach K so subdued on sideline—definitely wasnt working the refs. He was armed with a less-than usual Duke team, and he knew it. Duke-MichSt was anybody’s game, as was KU-Duke. KU squarely in that tier this yr. Lotsa HOF coaches going to be working out their team flaws for next year…

@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.

@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.

@BShark Yes, I did elaborate a bit more on the “athleticism” thing under HEMs great thread: the D deficiency of ability definitely exists, we all saw it painfully evident all season, but I’d hate to do analytical injustice by assigning the reason to athleticism differences between 2 upper echelon D1 programs—is there that big of a difference in athleticism between Nova’s NOTkentucky-level of athletes vs ours?

I don’t pretend to have the answer, or else I’d tell Bill Self quickly to save him from more stress-related belly fat, but my question is why some athletes have the reflexes/instinct/footwork to play D, while others less so? Classic example was EJ couldnt keep his man in front him, so the less athletic Brady started in front of him x 2 yrs, because he could play D and feed the post. Nobody on this site would say that Brady was more athletic than 5star Elijah Johnson, but the difference in D ability was painfully profound—Why? It’s clearly not athleticism. 6’6 Rush could play great D, while 6’6 BGreene could not. Svi played great D on Bagley, while Vick did less well against nonBagley-level athletes. VanVleet great defender, not a great athlete, again, sorta like Brady.

And its not because of “heart” or “want to”, lets just put that to rest right away, as again too simplistic. You cant tell me these KU kids lacked heart, just ask Duke.

But we keep seeing too much help D sagging, time and again, year after year…

So, is it scheme, innate tools in each player, or a combination of many factors? … which is where I’ll put my vote. Just wish I could put my finger on why some of our high level athletes can play D while others cannot? Or lesser athletes like Brady can, while others more athletic couldnt as well?

The biggest question of the season (poor D) raised its familiar unSelfian head in various games throughout the season.

Forgive me if I missed it, either in HEMs excellent dissertation on 3att disparity, or in someone’s reply thereafter…but maybe Nova’s D plan had something to do with KU not even attempting a 3 for an (interminably) long period of time in the first half???

Don’t we simply conclude that JWright saw what extended perimeter D did to our O vs WashSt and ASU?

What’s exasperating is that we spread-drive-dish all season, yet we cant seem to defend the same??? Maybe the scout team could defend Nova better? If they were eligible, put them in the game, Roy-style. Ha, because this was, in reality, a pretty looking scoring team, like a Roy team, not known for consistent A-rated D, by any means.

I think Self has put the fools gold days behind him (credit Hoiberg, GSW, and Preston/Bragg fails), forcing Self to adapt to his personnel.

I disagree with Nova being “more athletic” than our guys. Remember those EJ-Brady debates, nobody alive would say BStar was “more athletic” than EJ, yet Brady played while EJ rode pine x 2yrs since EJ couldn’t keep his man in front of him on D. Its more complex, to me: why is it that some kids have the reflexes/instincts/footwork to play A-rated D, while others just cant? Its also too simplistic to say “heart” or “want-to”. The last thing I’d try to say is our kids lacked the heart or the desire, that’s just not the answer why our guys cant defend like past Self teams, and like Nova guarded us. It can be done with modern rules, as Nova and VA proved this season, as did KState (who can can downright ugly on offense, which is exactly what killed their F4 hopes).

@BigBad This is really a post-facto, almost pointless question, but since you put Malik has “ZERO” ability to drive the ball, it begs for further elaboration on your part. Perhaps I could be of the utmost help to you, & invite you to my house near Wichita, free beer, & show you KU’s last 7-8 games (prior to Nova), on my dvr. As Self says, “tape doesnt lie”. Just observational evidence, in case a good fellow Jayhawk fan mighta missed some games…?

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.

@kjayhawks Yep, it’ll be interesting. At least with the lineup shuffling, we can keep Prohm guessing a bit.

@jaybate-1.0 Ha, the reason you’re lonely on that 14th branch…is because there’s a spindly fiber of a dude (kinda looks like a cat, or a Vick with his hair flat back?)…who seems rather busy with a hacksaw near the tree trunk…

@JayHawkFanToo Yep, definitely agree. And I have to admit that if there ever was a team that seemingly gets more calls, it is Duke. Now Im not necessarily complaining, as whenever we aren’t actually facing Duke, we ourselves get perceived as another ‘Duke’ getting preferential calls…which I don’t really buy, case in point Baylor game. But man that game against Duke a few yrs ago when Tyshawn got tripped by their bearded 4man (no call), so it goes oobounds off Tyshawn’s knee, then a phantom “travel” call on either Tyshawn or EJ, then the Dukie guard who traveled twice before heaving up a 3 that counted of course…and we lost a game we should have won. EastCoastDollars at work, I get it…

Sad fact is Ratface wont even smile in acknowledgement…the facade doesn’t come down til they’re on the BlueDevil plane ride home…

@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.

@BShark Completely agree about a subtle shift in recruiting, we’ll see what happens.

(this not aimed at BShark personally but making a logic point in general). Sorry, just not logical to oversimplify it with an absolute “zero” statement. People can believe whatever you want, but where’s the counterbalance to the examples of pot-smoking players who could still play at a high level (Rush, Chalmers, Arthur), vs the players that it may indeed affect their grades, practice gym work ethic, or simply their attitude to be able to give a damn.

Come on, man, if anybody knows anything about any drug, they should admit it can affect different people differently! So give me the list of guys who played for KU that it DID affect negatively? But I doubt one may offer that, right?

Hey, I think Colorado is showing just how much $$ can be made off legalized pot, but you know, that’s not what this thread is for, really. Its about what statistical areas our team needs major improvements in & what our guys (all of them) are going to do about it? Stay focused. Do our guys have focus? Im not pretending to know which guys are affected by which possible issues, I’d just like to see they can statistically handle Bill Self’s business, something the team is not doing right now.

@dylans ha, funny thought: there’s role players (KU has some)…and roll players as in what kind of paper u using to roll that (KU may have a bag-o-dudes like that too). (laughter)

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!

Hey, its just weird to see our guys get left standing still by some quick crossover—on a recurring basis. Are other guards really that much quicker? The crux of the problem is unable to get defensive stops. And a lot of that comes from within…mindset, pride, & honed technique.

Are UVa’s athletes better than ours? (no). Is their coach better than ours? (no)

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!

Regarding hurting NBA chances with pot use…I believe BG did that. And I speculate & wonder if that was part of Bragg’s problem?

As far as Im concerned, any known factors affecting play & motivation simply need to be eliminated. For every kid fixated on recreational pot & trying to have work ethic to improve his high-D1 game (cancels out,eh?)…there’s 2 more athletes out there who dont use. But then when your Asst.Coach got busted for same few yrs back, & also one of your recent players (BG), maybe there’s more to this angle than I wish there was?

And this is but ONE angle to speculate about…

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.

@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.

@HighEliteMajor Very interesting read. And we wonder if Vick is aligned with Malik somehow, as his play stinks worse than Newman’s.

You always wonder about players who directly said (Doke) or who’s parent directly said (Malik’s dad) that they “will only play 1 year”. In my opinion that’s a bold prediction. So they gave us a great clue as to their working mindset—how can it not be me-first…unless they realize & learn where their own game is at, and show a little humility.

Take a lesson from Trae Young, who is all about his team, and whose dad said he may well stay longer than a year, depending on what he’s got to learn, & how it goes (I got no issue with that open-minded statement, be it for public consumption or not). At least play the part (of a team). The sad fact is Self’s play style needs all its role players and pieces, with most starters being multidimensional. But if we dont perform our jobs, the team breaks down.

Loser. You hope someone who leaves the program in disgrace would maybe fix their issues, & become a success/perseverance story. So far, that isn’t BGreene.

What else do we need to know about BG?

Self wouldnt even play him 1min in our March loss to Villanova. We needed another shooter that day to help Frank, DTae, Wayne, Perry…but BGs KU career culminated with his not being available right when we needed him the most.

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

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

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.

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…

What may be hidden from us sometimes is a nagging tweak or soreness, that 2 games/wk just causes it to pester longer. Sherron’s groin strain in Feb of his sr yr, still affected his explosiveness in March vs UNI, obviously, but we learned that from SelfNewsService only after that seaaon. Then there’s the curious case of one Elijah Johnson, who had healed his knee injury, but it bothered his mental aggressiveness long after. Which fueled fan speculation that he had “shot” knees. Nope, more of a mental snag, like DRose in Chicago.

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.

Entertainment? I just got on SBnation game thread for KSU: just hilarious reading, especially early when KU was 6of7 from 3. Beware, they call us Squawk over there, but we get the last laugh in the DEVONTAGON-O-GLOOM!!!

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

Credit Doke for improving his FT form.

@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.