Copied here for your convenience, a Recent Landen Lucas letter to KU fans

Kinda sums it up doesn’t it ?

“Dear Jayhawk Nation,

It might be strange to say, but I never truly understood what being a Kansas Jayhawk meant until my days in a KU uniform were over. It’s something I have learned in the two years since I played my final game in the Crimson and Blue. This week, when I have seen so many former players, coaches and fans, I believe I can now express what it means to be a member of this incredible community and how important that is to me.

Don’t get me wrong, I valued my time in Lawrence and as a member of this program. The wins we fought together for, the trophies we lifted and the memories we made are still surreal for me to this day. The epic triple-overtime win over Oklahoma, and coming back from 14 down in the final three minutes to beat West Virginia my senior year are just a snapshot of my favorite memories that we made.

But when you’re at the ground level, so invested in practice, in class, in games and everything else that 18-22 year olds face on a daily basis, it’s easy to forget to stop and take a look around to get a true appreciation of all the great things Kansas is.

Eventually it has all sunk in for me and I have realized what I was and am still a part of. I gained perspective and I now have a greater appreciation for what it means to be a part of this program, this school and this community. Playing in the games I played in and playing in front of the greatest fans in the country was truly the honor of a lifetime.

The fans – you are the backbone of this program. If you take one thing from this message, it’s this: Everything you do, it is noticed. From packing the Fieldhouse hours before tip-off, traveling in the thousands to road arenas, even writing letters and giving us words of encouragement. It all mean so much to this team. We might not always be able to show how much all these gestures mean to us, but everyone I know who has been a part of the program really does notice all of it and appreciates it.

My professional career has taken me all over the world and everywhere I go, there are Kansas fans somewhere. It’s hard to go through a day where I don’t run into at least one Jayhawk. You’re always so proud of the school and so appreciative of my small contribution to Kansas basketball and I’ll be forever grateful for that.

Being a Jayhawk is truly being a part of this family forever. Even once you leave, the feelings of belonging and legacy are still there. The continued support is like no other, whether it’s from the fans, donors or alumni, everyone comes together to form this incredible support structure that I feel very privileged to be a part of.

As a part of this KU family, you are a part of something that’s so much bigger than yourself. Every time we stepped on the court and wore the “Kansas” across our chest, we were representing something way bigger than the team. Being a part of something like that makes you want to strive to be your best and that is what being a Jayhawk is all about.

Thank you for all you have done for me, Kansas basketball and the University. It will forever be an honor to be able to call myself a Jayhawk.

Rock Chalk!

Landen Lucas ('17)”

You can say all you want about Landen’s skills as a player, but he gets it to the core. And that core is why l LOVE KU basketball.

Gee I wonder what kind of note a guy like Quentin Grimes is going to write someday?

History my friends History … let’s hope we all live long fruitful lives and never see this record streak broken - ever

If the ncaa tourney format were a 2 of 3 game series, or 3 of 5, Virginia would bounce back and win. But now they will go down in history as the first 1 seed to lose to a 16. Hard to shake that moniker. Virginia will live with it forever.

sooooo Glad it wasn’t us - glad penn didn’t shoot the lights out while we went dead cold.

This is a great example of why college age kids winning 6 games in a row is so damn hard. Luck plays a huge part as with everything else. I love the tourney, but it is NERVE-RACKING, and the older I get, the more nerve-racking it gets for me. Because KU is perennially a top tier team, not making the final weekend is always seen (and feels Like) a big downer way to end what had been a fun, often glorious season (14 conference championships in a row etc, great KU players, the fun, the magic… the whole wonderful experience of being a fan of arguably the greatest college bball program in history.) wish I could find a way to just enjoy it more rather that be full of nerves… part of it is also the impending knowledge that come what may, November 2018 when our boys start playing again is a LONG way away - although being Nat. Champs would make that wait SO much more fun lol.

One game at a time I suppose, and take it for what it is… the big ups, and the big downs. Find a way to win and play hard, and hope a few bounces and shots go your way. Completely abandon any thinking like “…wait we should be beating these guys by 30!! …”

I am going to be super pumped and positive today and on to the final four!

…just read this old string today about Nick T , in anticipation for game 2 in Puerto Rico today.

Nick, in my humble opinion, is EXACTLY who we want as a transfer. He grew up in Braintree Ma, a few towns away for where I’ve lived for 30 years. His father Jeff is a huge basketball junkie, and played for BU and he got to play in the first round of the NCAA tourney in 1988 ( they lost to Duke). Nick was a standout hard working player at Braintree high school but when it came time for college, not a single D1 or D2 school was interested. Zero. He and his family knew he was D1 capable, certainly a D2 level player, So he went to Kimball Union Academy in NH for a year, and worked incredibly hard to improve every part of his game, especially his shooting, taking between 300 and 500 shots before games.

After that year, Towson was interested, and his hard work paid off. He got better every year, averaged 17.7 a game there, and because of Covid he had one extra year of eligibility. Rather that go overseas to make some money, he wanted to know what it was like to play for a higher ranked D1 program. The memory of no one wanting him out of high school still stung, and he felt he had something to prove. He knew he would draw some interest in the transfer portal, hoping for around 15 schools to contact him but was shocked when over 70 schools reached out, including some blue bloods. Self didn’t meet him face to face, just over zoom. He picked KU essentially because of a chance to play under HOF Coach Self. When he visited the campus he and his family knew instantly they had made the right choice. Obviously, NIL $ is a good incentive, but he most definitely is not here for the Money (Hunter is here for the $). He is here to play for Kansas.

This is the kind of grown-ass kid I will root hard for.

!!! I thought this may happen… Kensucky losing!!! Makes this year less disappointing…

Man that was a TIGHT one. But the energy and enthusiasm and just plain volume in AFH was like nothing I’ve ever experienced - holy crap ! I’m drained

Since I have neither the basketball acumen nor the attention span to write a weighty analysis on KU’s play in the tournament or tonite’ game, I am left with random musings…

1. Frank , Devonte and Josh are never afraid to shoot no matter the situation - ever. Players like them with brass cahones are pure money in the tourney when the stakes get so high

2. swarming pestering help on D by our quick guards and josh neutralized purdues twin towers, even when it looked like they were going to take over. I am now not as afraid of whatever big men we now will face, because we seem to find a way.

3. josh does sooooo many things even when he is not shooting well and turning over the ball on offense. He is everywhere - I honestly don’t remember Wiggins throwing himself around like this- he finds a way to be a net positive. He has one speed - 11

4. one minute Purdue was hanging tough, keeping the score close, playing confidently and stoutly, and then in the seeming blink of an eye they were down by 15 and the wind knocked completely out of them. Commentators used the word "avalanche " to describe it - the Kansas Avalanche- I like it .

5. I’m a the-tournament-does-not-define-our-season guy. (I’m guessing I’m in the minority somewhat about this issue of how important the big dance is in defining success) 13 B12 titles in a row is a monumental Achievement, so I am already a happy camperino (Flanders ) But of course this team is certainly good enough to win a championship, (if only skill alone were the defining factor in winning the dance) so I stand by my statement a month ago that I of course would be disappointed by a first weekend loss, pretty disappointed by a 16 loss, and mildly disappointed by an 8 loss, and be happy for a final four. Anything past that is gravy for me, so let’s keep the gravy flowing !

6. West Virginia shot like 26% against 40-plus % shooting of Gonzaga and the game still came down to one possession. Gonzagas coach said it was the toughest most physical opponent his team has has in SEVERAL YEARS. Yes, folks the B12 is tough, and the west coast conference is not. I am not afraid of gonzaga at this point.

7. is it me, or is our defense waaaaay better in the past 3 games?

8 keep shooting the three ball boys… no time to stop fools gold avalanche now :

Speaking of re-watching the game, Garrett put on an absolute CLINIC defensively, and his boxing out should be shown to any team or player on how it’s done… spectacular.

Actually I think I may have discovered where he went…

a guy who writes just like him, apparently called BDevilbate, is on a Duke site writing voluminously long and zen-like meandering but crazy-brilliant posts… lovingly extolling the genius of krzyzewski and the glowing magnificent heritage of Duke basketball… and how he catfished us here for years simply to amuse himself.

It appears his “love” of KU was just nothing but a put-on… an abject sham. Hideous.

(Ok…Trying to piss him off enough to resurface just to rip me a new one in say 7 alliterative paragraphs…

Well, my wife does agree about better from behind… that way we can both watch the game …

(I’ll go away now)

All good points. I know, in the past, HCBS has played guys that are scorers, but couldn’t play defense (Perry Ellis, Dedric Lawson come to mind and I’m sure you guys could come up with a bunch more past players that fit this catagory). Or guys that could rebound and be a defensive force in the paint but really poor scorers ( Landen Lucas, etc) The reasoning is that Self had really no choice I suppose… but I still think that KJ’s lack of rebounding doesn’t bug Self enough, because if it did, he would limit his minutes or, because KJ will do whatever the coaches ask him to do, really try hard to get under the basket a lot more than he is now. As we all know , rebounding is a HUGE part of basketball and can be the difference between winning and losing.

And speaking of working on important things, is it just me, or does it seem that every dam team we play can shoot free throws better than us??

Just so I understand, the argument here is: Our hall of fame coach, a guy that is considered to be one of the best ever, is giving huge minutes to a favored veteran player even though he is limited offensively and can’t or won’t rebound? Is he that blind? Or is there more to the picture?

He plays GREAT DEFENSE, and he boxes out extremely well, pushing his man away from the basket, which puts him in a poor rebounding position, but clears the way for his teammates to rebound.

And the only thing I can think of on offense, where he does stand around and gets easily boxed out, is that the coaches WANT HIM TO DO THAT. Perhaps to be able to get back on D quickly is my only guess. Remember, the reason why Self and the staff like him so much is that he is highly coachable. If they wanted KJ to rebound, he would be fighting to get under the basket .

@BShark That is some fine photoshopping !!

So - in light of the comments about KJ on this thread, I re-watched the game and paid extremly close attention to what KJ did on both offense and defense.

Defense- KJ was excellent. When his man looked to drive and score, he never gave up, moving his feet constantly. He looked a lot like Marcus Garrett in my opinion. He communicated well with his teammates as a good veteran should about switching and helping his teammates get to the right opponent quickly. His boxing out in fact was fantastic. He always had his man in sight, and made sure there was no chance his opponent would get near the basket, except for when a teammate got beat and he had to shift in the paint to try and stop the opponents drive to the hoop. This of course put KJ away from the basket almost every time, thus never was he in a good position to rebound.

Offense - he mostly is a role player here, setting picks, moving pretty well away from the ball. Obviously he is not a prime target, but when he had the ball in open space he shot well in the first half. But when other KU players shot the ball he was passive, standing around really, and got easily boxed out virtually every time. Thus he had no offensive rebounds (he had one in the first half but I think that was it) Because of all the minutes he got, he was tired in the second half, and perhaps hurting a bit.

We all know Self has always had his “glue guys” and his favorites and we all know KJ is one of them. Self loves guys who play hard defensively and do what they are coached to do. kJ does both. And if Self and the coaching staff wanted KJ to become a rebounder, his playing style would be different. And if they wanted KJ to shoot more, he would be shooting more. Apparently they love what KJ is doing and has been doing the last several years.

As far as his scoring ability (and Juans ) after all these years, it is what it is. He will never improve all that much at this stage. He and Dajuan at least know this, and don’t force up too many bad looks.

Now if we can get the transfers to buy in to playing consistent high effort defense, (we know they can score) I think this team will be real contender.

Thanks all… next question - how many games can one play and still redshirt?

@RockChalkinTexas I missed it - was there official word on Jamari Mredshirting?

It is raining threes - sure fun to watch

let us hope these guys can hit em later in the season like in conference play

He’s def going in the 2nd round

Just read it too!
INTERESTING