This just in…Missouri reportedly offers Bill Self $7 million a year to be their coach, making him the highest paid coach in the game. Self looks at the contract, and heads to the Mizzou AD’s private bathroom with it. 13 minutes and two flushes later, returns and slaps the soiled contract onto the AD’s desk…butter-side down.
Conner’s minutes may have happened initially from Self rubbing Mason’s nose in that botched fast-break where he threw it to Oklahoma’s bench instead of a cutting Selden. I suspect he didn’t intend for Conner to be in as long as he was, but he performed really well out there, and Naadir was in foul trouble, so he stuck with him.
It was nice to see an inexperienced freshman look so under control in a conference road game. I won’t hold my breath for him to play big minutes going forward this year, but I do think he will be a special player by the time he’s a junior, and could provide some key minutes for us this year when his number is called.
It wasn’t always pretty last night, but with this team in this conference with this schedule, a win is a win is a win.
Great post. I had the displeasure of reading the comments on KUSports this morning, and several of them are ready to pack it in and call it a season. I still have a trophy on my mind.
The only mentality that will harm the team right now is thinking “we just need to survive this first weekend, then Embiid will save us.” The guys have to operate under the assumption that Embiid either doesn’t come back, or doesn’t come back the same. They need to believe they can win a championship without him. If they do that, and play like it, Embiid coming back healthy will just be gravy, and he’ll be plugged into a group that’s already poised to grab the title. If that happens, look out!
Ah, the memories. I was taught at an early age that you must taste the bitterness in life to fully appreciate the sweet, and that certainly applies to being a sports fan.
It’s funny, as I watched the confetti rain down in 2008, I had my own anti-One Shining Moment montage playing in my head. I remembered watching the Hurley-to-Hill alley-oop, UTEP, screaming at Eric Pauley to quit fumbling rebounds against UNC, wishing Glenn Robinson would freaking miss, seeing John Wallace dominate the post, the insanely good guard play of Arizona and Rhode Island, coming up just short against Maryland, knowing in my heart that Michael Lee’s 3 was going in, thinking Wayne would make that turnaround jumper at the buzzer, wondering if we’d ever make a layup against UCLA.
I thought about all those games, and all those teams and players, and winning that championship game made it all worth it, as if it avenged all of the crushing losses we’d suffered since Danny brought home the trophy in '88. All that bitterness made winning that title so, so sweet.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Darnell Jackson. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a player grow up so much in four years. There were times his first two years where he looked lost - he always gave it his best, it just didn’t seem like he would ever be a rotation player. I can’t remember which year his mother and grandmother were in that horrible car wreck, but he was a man on a mission after that. Hitting the gym harder than anyone, listening to Coach more than anyone, keeping his focus even when the minutes weren’t there.
Once he got his opportunity, he was probably as mature as anyone I’ve seen at KU. That was a grown man out there, with the soul of someone twice his age. He wasn’t as athletically gifted as say, Darrell Arthur, but he more than made up for it with his effort and quiet leadership. He developed into the greatest “garbage man” that KU has ever had (with apologies to Richard Scott, Tarik Black, Kevin Young, Jeff Graves, etc.). I was so proud to see the look on his face while the confetti rained down in the Alamodome. That was a great team, but nobody in that building deserved that ring more.
Well, now you’ve gone and done it…asking tougher questions than the local media ever does. Showing up the pros will get you blacklisted from the press room buffet!
My personal preference out of that group is AW3 at this point. For one, he’s “paid his dues,” as they say. I don’t think that alone should ever get someone playing time, but if you have three guys who are neck-and-neck for one role, that can be a tiebreaker of sorts. You’re giving the nod to that extra year of practice, that summer of Hudy, and the fact that he’s more adjusted to college life in general than the other two.
I also sat fairly close to our hoop for the first half of the Towson game, and White was really getting after it in transition. I thought he was one of our best players that game, and he showed more energy than I remembered ever seeing from him. He’s barely sniffed the floor since then, though, so maybe I wasn’t seeing everything. Also, it was Towson, so not terribly indicative of how he’ll do against top competition.
Whoever ends up being this year’s 3-point assassin, I hope the other two stick around. I see major roles for all three of those guys in future seasons, and hopefully they see it too.
I’ve never met a KU fan that wishes we had a different coach. Maybe after the consecutive 1st round losses in '05 and '06, but definitely not since then. That fact alone says what a phenomenal coach Bill Self is. BUT, he is flawed like all humans, and his sustained level of success does not put him above criticism.
Most of us come to sites like these to read and write perspectives that you don’t find on KUSports, or ESPN articles, or in other mainstream media. We are fans pontificating about our beloved Jayhawks because 35+ games a year just isn’t enough for us. We nit-pick, and think about things we might do differently, or things Coach Self did or didn’t do that may have yielded better results.
That does not mean that we are ungrateful for the program Coach Self runs, or that we think we could do better, or that we’re not “true fans.” It’s just something we do for our own amusement to enhance our enjoyment of KU hoops. That said, there’s nothing wrong with the folks that only have positive things to say, either.
We’re all different, we have different perspectives, we have different basketball backgrounds, we drink different beer during the games. Our one commonality here is that we all love KU hoops, so why not embrace the different opinions and analyses offered on this site?
Yeah, I suppose it was pretty morbid to list that one as a “favorite,” since obviously we all wish that had never happened to that young man. I just found it to be inspiring the way all the players, fans, and even the Texas personnel responded to the horrible news. I sure wanted our guys to come away with that win, but it was also refreshing that there was a collective shoulder shrug when we lost…that day was a reminder that even though we place great importance on winning and losing, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t truly matter all that much.
@wissoxfan83 Yeah, Langford really had some hops, especially in his freshman and sophomore years. I believe his knees wore down a bit, so he wasn’t quite as “showtime” in his later career. There were also plenty of quick possessions to go around in his first couple years under Roy, whereas Self liked to pound inside to Simien once he took over. I think poor Keith was the one player that never really adjusted to the coaching change, though he still had some remarkable games under Self.
Loved the mention of Darrin Hancock as well. I recall a couple sweet windmill dunks, and another where Calvin Rayford laid it off the backboard for him. He was pretty exciting to say the least, and he definitely had some solid contributions during the '93 Final Four run.
Agreed, great guy, and I hope he makes a career out of that big, athletic frame (hopefully in hoops for his brain’s sake). Wish we could have had him for his whole career. Our 2011-12 team could have really used him as a sophomore!
I was wondering where y’all went! I finally started posting on kusports this summer after years of reading (and a lifetime of KU hoops), and then they went and blew it up. Of course, I was still reading the articles, but the comments haven’t been worth registering again to participate. It seems I’ve finally come to the right place.
Here’s hoping for an ugly win tonight, chock-full of valuable lessons for the young fellas!
I sure like the idea of Embiid with a consistent mid-range jumper. That seems to be something that develops over an offseason, so we may never get to see it while he’s a Jayhawk, but it’s awfully fun to imagine. I’m not sure a team would be able to run a zone defense if we could put Embiid in the high post. If the D collapses on him, he can see over the top and hit someone cutting to the basket or find an open shooter. If they don’t collapse, he gets to shoot a free throw. We saw maybe one or two possessions in the Florida State game where we got him the ball there, but if he was more of a threat to shoot it, that would really open up our offense against a zone.
Regarding Tharpe, I think back to a quote Coach Self said about Russell Robinson. To paraphrase, he basically said that RR was great, but usually took one or two bad shots a game. With Tharpe, I would say similar things, though he’s nowhere close to the defender RussRob was. For him I would say he adds a lot of great things to the team, but you have to accept that in a close game, he is going to waste one or two crucial possessions down the stretch. He’s done this in every single close game this year, usually with a bad shot. He needs to realize that a guarded fadeaway 3-pointer will still be available to him with 5 seconds on the shot clock, so if there’s more time than that, there are better shots that we should be looking for. His shot selection may be the worst I’ve ever seen at KU, which is alarming for a junior. If he can’t get that under control, I would agree that Mason should be getting most of the PG reps.
Overall, we’re probably a bit behind schedule for the promised “when these guys figure it out, they’ll be pretty good,” but I still see 2014 banners that don’t have anyone’s name on them yet. If a few things are cleaned up, I believe this team will compete for them.
As mentioned by a few others, a sophomore BMac likely means no Wiggins, but hypotheticals are no fun if you let reality get in the way!
I say we’d be undefeated up to this point. A shooter like that would have blown a hole in Florida’s zone, and would have given us at least the few extra points we needed to get past Villanova, San Diego State and Colorado. Up until a week ago, we were getting minimal production from Ben’s position, so having a player of his caliber and experience there would have made a world of difference in our non-con schedule.
Now that Selden has rounded a corner, hopefully we can play at the elite level that this imaginary team played at in my mind!
There is some precedent for a team’s seed being impacted by injuries. Remember when Huggins had Cincy headed towards the overall #1 seed, but then Kenyon Martin broke his leg in the Big East tourney, and suddenly they were a 2-seed? On an interesting footnote, that team was knocked out in the second round by a scorching hot Tulsa squad. Most of us around here are pretty familiar with the guy coaching Tulsa that year 
Also, Okafor was mentioned above, and his team was dropped a seed as well when it was revealed he was injured. Obviously he came back and he and Ben Gordon got to cut down the nets.
I don’t see any way we can be lower than a 3-seed, but I suppose you never know. Either way, I think the talent to win is still there; it’s just going to come down to matchups and execution.
I hope we can avoid quick, penetrating guards in our region, as they seem to be our biggest killer of late. Blowing past Naadir, and then easily scoring on Perry is becoming way too common, and it’s the obvious way to beat KU right now. The two of them need to really dedicate themselves to the defensive end to keep our title chances alive. They are Self’s two most experienced players, and key offensive weapons, so it really puts the team in a tough position when the coach has to decide whether we can afford to have them give up easy points, or if benching them is the better option. Commit to defense, and the rest will come.
@DinarHawk Yeah, I agree, Self isn’t really an element-of-surprise kind of guy. Sometimes he’ll throw out a few possessions of triangle-and-two, or maybe press for a couple minutes, but usually by the time that happens we’re already getting lit up. Self’s answer to a situation like this is usually something like “alright, JoJo is out, so the rest of you need to be tougher.” We can’t argue with the success he’s had with that approach, but sometimes switching things up at the perfect moment can really get the other team backpedaling, which gives us a chance to either put a game away, or get back into it, depending on the situation. But, for today, let’s just keep Smart out of the paint and prove we’re still contenders!
Once again, the pins fall down in front of us, and we roll it into the gutter. Seemed like a date with Florida was inevitable. Beat the 10-seed and 11-seed, sure no problem. But instead we tripped on our shoelaces and lost to inferior competition.
We basically had three guys show up to play yesterday. Tarik and Conner obviously, and even though Jamari struggled some, and wasn’t nearly as good as he was Friday, I give him credit for staying engaged and trying to make plays. Tarik, Conner, and Jamari. Were those the guys we were thinking of back in August and September when we were talking about a championship? Or even last week? Is that the core of the 2013-14 Jayhawks? Our marquee guys completely shriveled up, afraid to penetrate, afraid to feed the post, afraid to set a screen, afraid to box out, afraid to THROW IT THE F**K DOWN…and even then we still had a chance. Unfortunately our best player was also afraid to take the shot. He couldn’t get rid of it quickly enough on that final possission, deferring to a guy that averaged 8 minutes a game (who at least had the stones to shoot it, even though he was well defended).
Now we pick up the pieces, figure out who’s back and who’s gone, and get back to work. It’s the only thing we can do now that the dance is over. I have to think after two years of attrocious PG play leading to early exits, that will be priority #1, both on the recruiting trail and in the gym.
I would say VCU is the worst loss I can ever remember, just because of the pitifully weak opponents we would have faced had we won. Not only that, but that team was loaded with experienced players, and seemed to be on a mission that entire season. Yeah, they lost a couple games, but they seemed as hungry as any team I can remember, and had the skill and depth to back it up.
We knew this year’s team was capable of some awful games, but the 2011 team was not like that. They seemed ready to play every night, and when the ball wasn’t going in, they turned up the defense and got to the line. They NEVER played as badly as they did against VCU, which made it that much more painful to watch. I’ve never been more certain that we’d make the Final Four, and could barely watch that crappy championship game. Ugh!
@JRyman Attaboy! There are plenty of unforgettable wins. For me, the UNC semifinal game in 2008 stands out. Not only was there so much hype because of the Ol’ Roy thing, it’s hard to overstate how intimidating that team was. Fortunately we played some of the finest basketball I’ve ever seen played, and took the game in about 15 minutes.
Some of my other favorite wins that I was fortunate enough to catch in Allen Fieldhouse: 1994 vs OK State, when Woodberry hit the three at the buzzer. 1995 vs UCLA, when we came back from like 15 down to win, featuring Jacque Vaughn’s spin move that is in virtually every KU highlight reel. New Year’s Day 2005, when we won against GA Tech in overtime.
The Durant game, where he was scoring at will before getting hurt…when he was lying on the floor, the entire place was dead silent. It was really something. We all knew we were seeing a truly special player, and the thought of him injured was sickening. Luckily he came back in, and KU got back into the game and pulled it out! To this day, I’ve never seen a more captivating player in person. Embiid was close, but the presence of Durant on the court was something I’ll never forget.
Another game that we lost, but it never really felt that way, was Texas in 2011. That was the game where T-Rob’s mother died the night before, and the boys were up all night with him. We saw the true meaning of FOE that day, and they played excellent to begin the game, but ultimately just ran out of gas. That’s one of many reasons that I’m still sad about VCU - that team flat out deserved a championship. Tough players, great teammates, and just pure winners all around.
Overall, I’ll take a loss before I’ll take no game at all. Something about gameday gets me going like few other things can. Great thread; plenty of wonderful memories from a lifetime of watching KU hoops!
@truehawk93 Tough not to respect what he’s managed to achieve in recent years. He’s created an environment that attracts elite talent, and can offer them playing time and exposure if they show up commited to give him their best for one year. While many coaches yearn for the bygone days before the OAD rule, Calipari adjusted his entire philosophy to make sure these kids will want to play for him. I have to give credit where it’s due; Cal is the undisputed OAD master.
@wissoxfan83 Ah, yes, Holy Cross. I believe Hinich hurt his ankle in that one, which had us all pretty nervous.
The reason Curry’s shot didn’t go in is because a brilliant defensive switch forced the ball out of his hands, so their other guard had to hoist it. Rush was on Curry, then lost his footing and fell, so Chalmers immediately switched onto him, luring him back towards Rush near the top of the key, so with both of them near him, Curry had to pass off. Can’t remember the other guard’s name, but he heaved it off the backboard. I have no doubt in my mind that Curry would have nailed a 3 without that switch.
@Crimsonorblue22 LOL, fair enough! The cupboard is getting pretty full over there…will be interesting to see who rises to the top of the rotation.
@Hawk8086 Yeah, he is so contrived and calculated that it’s like watching a politician go around kissing babies and shaking hands. He knows that recruits, and more importantly, their families, are watching him. I’ll take Self’s candid demeanor any day!
I agree that Kietzman is an ass, but I wouldn’t be so sure about Brooks’ job being safe. It would be a major disappointment if OKC lost this series to Memphis, and the front office may need a scapegoat to take attention away from the fact that they foolishly traded Harden for practically nothing while he was still on his rookie deal after the 2012 season.
NBA coaches are fairly expendable. In my opinion, there’s Popovich, then Doc, then everyone else. Brad Stevens could be great, but since his job this year was to tank the season, we won’t know for a couple more years. Side tangent - I hope Boston can snag one of the top 3 draft picks. I’d love to see Embiid or Wiggins play there.
If that job was offered to HCBS, he might at least take a meeting. That would have to be a pretty tempting job. It’s close to home, they have passionate fans, he’d get to coach the second-best player in the world during his prime, plus he’d have a stubborn, ballsy, athletic PG, which he loves. Throw in some solid defensive guys like Ibaka and Sefolosha, plus a KU great (Collison), and you’ve got a good shot at instant success as an NBA coach, with titles being a possibility right away. Seems like an attractive offer.
I think OKC will beat Memphis, and Brooks will keep his job, but unfortunately we have to accept that our coach is on NBA radars, and probably gets plenty of offers that we don’t hear about. The combination of the right offer and the right time may one day take him there. Personally, I don’t think he’ll seriously consider leaving until Tyler graduates, but you never know.
I also think he wants another NCAA championship pretty badly, but hopefully he can check that off about a year from now!
It’s definitely a different job…they’re probably more similar to baseball managers than college bball coaches. Managing minutes and egos is the name of the game. 82 games is freaking brutal, even on a 22-year old body, so in order to have a shot in the postseason, coaches need to make sure their best players don’t break down during the regular season.
That’s why Popovich is the absolute best. He’s probably the only NBA coach that I would say has “a program.” That program is designed to withstand the grind of the season, and then peak in the playoffs. That’s why his 37-year old legend played some of the best ball of his career in last year’s Finals, and also why his bench is prepared for those moments. Popovich would rather lose in January than play his stars more than their allotted minutes. Remember when he got fined for sitting Ginobli, Parker, and Duncan for a TNT prime time game? Nobody questioned that when they were within one shot of a title last year.
Anyway, enough gushing about Pop…I think Self is an attractive NBA prospect because he too is capable of building a “program” at that level. Damn near everyone that knows his name respects him, and he knows when to take control and when to say “okay, go make a play.” NBA guys love that. It’s like any job…nobody wants to be micro-managed, but at the same time, employees need direction in order to be successful. There are few in the game that can compare to Self when it comes to managerial skill.
Forgot about the “no mom Tom” chants. Absolutely disgusting. Fantastic post, @ralster. I don’t miss them one bit. Would rather keep building our healthy rivalries with Iowa State, Texas, Oklahoma State, etc.
Mizzou fans can keep on bragging about that time they made the Elite 8, and that other time they got second place in the SEC in football, and we’ll let them continue their pathetic existence in peace.