Best posts made by joeloveshawks

It has been over a year since I have posted on here (still reading very often) but I think the fact that we are less than a week away from playing in the Big Dance is as good a reason as any to get back into the swing of things. I just wanted to share how incredibly excited I am about the fact that March Madness is happening!! The cancellation of the tournament last year was in many ways the start of what has turned into an incredibly difficult year for our entire country and as we find ourselves only 3 days away from real live NCAA Tournament action I am feeling very fortunate to be able to watch the games. Sports are obviously not as important as many of the other things we are all dealing with but sports help bring us together even if only virtually and Kansas basketball has always been one of the most enjoyable things in my life. I am so excited to see our guys out there and thrilled to be sharing everything that March brings with all of you. No matter what happens we are all heading in the right direction and a return to normalcy is in our near future.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

As always if and when we lose in the tournament I will be crushed but this season is one of my all time favorites no matter what happens from here on.

Beat Duke at MSG on a buzzer beater.

Beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena.

Beat ISU at Hilton and somewhere Hoiberg’s kid cried.

Beat OSU in Stillwater for the first time in years.

Swept our in state “rival”.

Won our conference by a healthy margin.

Frank Mason is likely POY in all of college basketball.

Josh Jackson has lived up to the OAD hype on offense and defense.

This may be my favorite regular season all time. I’m certainly hopeful that all that success will help us make our way to Phoenix!

Watching Duke win hurts. I will admit that I cheer for Duke to lose every game that they play. In all sports, they are the only team who produces a win and I actually lose sleep after they win a big game. It is petty and I feel sub-human when I enjoy other people’s misery but I truly hate this program. Coach K is a pious, self righteous, arrogant fake and I hate this team and all of his teams. I just wanted to get this out there with friends. Maybe the recent KU loss is still too fresh, but I personally think Duke is bad for the game. Before anyone places judgement please just remember that Bilas calls most of their regular season games and Grant Hill just called this one.

I woke up this morning thinking about the game last night and realized that I this is the least upset I have been about the end of a KU season in decades. It is all about expectations, right? This year we rarely if ever blew anyone out. We rarely if ever hung onto a lead. Often we blew leads and either won by very little or lost the game after a huge meltdown. We had injuries. Guys were deemed ineligible. These are not excuses. They are just reality.

Then reality sunk in even more on Selection Sunday. We were given a draw where we were going to have to more than likely beat 3 teams in a row who had all been in the top 10 this year including undefeated UK. My expectations for a deep run were low. Was I positive? Yes, of course. But I was realistic.

When we lost to VCU in 2011 I literally cried. Not like a single tear either. A full on weeping like an 8 year old girl. In 2013 when we blew our 10 point lead to Michigan I smashed a beer glass and told a good friend to f"ck off. Those are low points for me. My expectations for those teams was National Title or bust. This year after we lost to a very good WSU team that simply played harder and wanted the game more I shed no tears. I spared any pint glasses. I didn’t get in heated arguments with close friends. I simply had a cup of tea to settle down. Read a book and went to bed. It just wasn’t going to be our year and I am ok with that.

We are KU and the journey is always part of the fun. We had some great wins this year and we are going to be fortunate enough as fans to see almost this entire team back next year. Oubre may leave. Cliff is probably gone. But our heart and soul will return and I think we should all be excited that next year is going to be another top 10 KU basketball team. That is more than almost any other program in the country can say.

Rock Chalk.

To me this is all positive. Vick is being allowed to come back because he has agreed to Self’s conditions. In Vick we have a guy returning that will be playing his 4th year of college ball, knows the offense, can shoot 3’s, can guard multiple positions, and is a freak athlete.

And Vick is going to get a diploma. That is a huge bonus for this young man who may or may not make a living playing professional basketball.

Rock Chalk.

Best of luck to Josh. He had an incredible year in Lawrence. The best OAD player in KU history in my book. Looking forward to him being a top #3 pick in the draft and a future stud in the NBA which can only help our future recruiting.

I got up around 5 a.m. this morning and unfortunately my productivity to this point has involved reading the comments on that other site we all used to use.

I am sure a lot of you have already seen these but there is a pretty long thread about missing on Ingram, potentially missing on Diallo and essentially being “the same” team we were last year. Many of the what I consider pessimistic arguments revolve around the idea of this “same team”. Referring to next year as the same old team to me is really selling ourselves short. Honestly, 95% of the country would love to have this “same team” returning whether we land anyone or not and that is our reality.

So, that is at least how I feel. Even if we strike out on the rest of the big names left undeclared I personally think we are fine. We are going to have a team without an above average 5. It will certainly require Bill to change up his scheme. Playing through Landen and Jamari is simply not going to work. Luckily even these less than average guys that will play the 5 spot are old. Two seniors and a junior. Shouldn’t be a learning curve issue.

Also, we are returning more than most in the entire country. Think about the top 10 last year and the Final 4 teams. Everyone is losing a ton. Sure, they are all doing their best to reload but it is going to be tough for Wisconsin, Duke, Kentucky, MSU, Arizona and others to match the talent level they had last year.

What other pre season top 10 team is going to have more upperclassmen than KU? I honestly don’t have any stats to back this up but I have to assume we will be the oldest elite program. Maybe UNC will be up there as well.

This is just who we are for next year. A junior / senior team with one hell of a perimeter, one of the best players in the country (Perry) and a pretty big gaping hole at the 5 spot. Things have been worse and I expect a 6-7 loss season and a 1 or 2 seed from this squad even without any additions from the OAD circus.

As a KU fan my glass is half full in general. I tend to look at the amazing things that our program has achieved and feel thankful for Big 12 titles, Final 4 runs and National Championships more than I feel downtrodden about early exits in the tournament or teams not living up to expectations.

So, my glass is still half full regarding this years team! My thoughts on why are below.

1. We probably have the best backcourt in the country anchored by the best PG in the country. Guard play tends to thrive in March and I wouldn’t trade with any team in America as far as perimeter players.

2. Experience. Frank. Devonte. Landen. These guys have all played in a lot of games and know what it takes to win and have proven that many times in close games this year.

3. Bill Self. Last time I checked Bill Self has the most wins of any coach in the NCAA since he took over at KU. We have been a #1 or #2 seed in the NCAA for almost 10 years in a row and the one constant is our coach.

4. Chemistry. This team really enjoys playing together. When we are firing on all cylinders this is as fun of a KU team as there has ever been to watch.

5. Getting better. We are currently a team with only 3 losses on the season and we have plenty of room to improve. Our defense is still sub-par as is our ability to play 2 high level halves in one game. If we can tighten things up and peak come March (which I think we will) the sky is the limit.

6. Josh Jackson. He is the X factor on this team and similar to Frank at PG I would not substitute anyone in the country at the position for Josh.

7. We are due. Have we really not been to the Final 4 since 2012? Seems odd considering how amazing we have been but I think this is a year where we are lead to the promise land by the best PG in the country who is possibly the POY in the NCAA.

Rock Chalk.

@REHawk When I didn’t get the promotion at work I just decided I would take over the entire company instead. Seemed logical.

Good for Devonte. Well deserved if he ends up making 1st Team All American or even POY.

I know that just like Frank, Devonte is a team first guy and these awards mean far less than what the team he leads could still accomplish. A Final 4 would be the crown jewel in an already incredible career for Mr. Graham. We have been so lucky to have him.

I remember when I announced I was going to KU…to my parents…in our living room…with no TV cameras.

Hopefully last nights post game performance by Cauley Stein makes some of you feel better about not landing him. You lose one game all year and you don’t have enough class to shake the hand of the other team? F*ck him and the other UK players who disrespected the entire WIsconsin team by simply walking off the court.

I think Bruce Weber comes in at the last moment and lands both Diallo and Ingram. It has been his plan all along. Just needed to get rid of 5 guys to prove that they will get their playing time.

Man, I really hate Duke.

We are pretty well oiled if it is a game of comparisons with other top 10 teams. So far this year I have not seen any team that moves the ball better than KU and I have not seen a team that has the depth that KU has.

UK looks like they lack depth. Duke looks weak in the post. Michigan State showed last night what they have when Valentin is out. UNC has been playing really great basketball the last few games but I just don’t see a “great” team this year. I expect all of the teams I have mentioned to have 5 or 6 losses on the season. I think the well oiled Kansas Jayhawks will have less than 5. We have all the tools.

@Lulufulu thank you very much for sharing. B Rush is one of my all time favorites. Incredibly smooth and beautiful shooter who turned into one of the best defenders who won a national title. Hard to beat that.

I may take quite a bit of heat for this but is Diallo really that good? Just pretend for a minute that you have no idea that he is a top 10 recruit. Like all of us I love that we have him and I hope the light goes on or the game slows down or he learns to play without fouling…whatever cliche you prefer. But seriously, does he really past the eye test as a stud D1 player? He was just getting abused down low at WVU on D and is a liability for the most part on offense. Personally I’m far more confused about Braggs lack of minutes than Diallo’s. To me he and Skal at UK were way over ranked and need another year if school without a doubt.

On the eve of the Kansas vs. Duke Elite 8 game I find myself contemplating the last time I felt the level of excitement that I have for tomorrow’s contest. Was it last year for the Elite 8 matchup with Oregon when we had player of the year Frank Mason and were playing in front of essentially a home crowd? Was it the Elite 8 tangle with Villanova when Perry Ellis was potentially going to play his final game of his incredible four year career? While the Oregon and Villanova games the last two years were games where we were one step away from the Final 4 something still felt missing leading up to these contests and I think I have figured a few things out tonight as I soak in what this team has accomplished before tomorrow’s game is even played.

The biggest game that Kansas basketball has played in recent memory was the 2012 title game vs. Kentucky. This pretty much goes without saying. Since then we have had epic games at Rupp Arena, buzzer beaters at Madison Square Garden and heroic comebacks at Allen Fieldhouse. We have won more Big 12 titles and had players named All Americans. We have rattled off numerous 30 win seasons and collected a slew of #1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. Over the last 5 years we have all enjoyed watching brilliant basketball played by our beloved Jayhawks but tomorrow’s game will be the marquee game we have all dreamed of since Tyshawn and T Rob clashed with Anthony Davis and MKG.

A trip to the Final Four was on the line last year and it was on the line the year before but tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow is against Duke. The Duke who is coached by the winningest coach in history. The Duke who has the most Final 4’s and National Titles of any team since UCLA’s dominance in the 70’s. The Duke who beat Kansas in the '86 Final Four and the '91 Title game. The Duke that everyone is saying we can’t beat!!! Duke has been the golden standard of college basketball for nearly 30 years and if you take off your crimson colored glasses it is tough to admit for all of us. Myself very much included.

Tomorrow is Kansas vs. Duke for the Final Four. It doesn’t get any bigger than this at the college level and I expect our Jayhawks to rise to the level that this game deserves. Guards win in March and man do we have some guards!! Four amazing guards come to mind and one in particular. Devonte Graham has not looked himself yet in the NCAA tournament but I have a feeling that this will change at 4 p.m. CST Sunday, March 25. I fully expect a career performance from our stalwart who will play every single minute. And why not? This is the brightest the lights will ever be for Devonte and the team he leads and it is his time to achieve greatness.

Tomorrow is an epic clash with Duke.

Tomorrow is the biggest game we have played in 6 years.

Tomorrow is the premier game of the entire season in college basketball thus far.

Tomorrow is when we punch our ticket to the Final Four and take another step towards a Rock Chalk Championship.

I actually think this is kind of good news as far as the black cloud is concerned. It shows that KU is mindful of what is going on in New York. This is the first real quote from Bill Self about the trial, right? Did I miss anything other than Bill saying “No comment”?

Obviously I hope that we get Silvio back and it is proven that he was not involved or at least unaware. That said, I would hate to have him play in any games that could potentially be vacated moving forward.

@JayhawkRock78 I agree with all of your points except the “KU is young” argument. I know we occasionally say that Bill Self’s system is very complex and difficult to learn right away but I just don’t see why other teams have a lot of success with freshman and sophomores. UK is a machine this year and play freshman and sophomores. Duke looks better than they have in years and their best player is a freshman and just put up 20 and 20. Hell, even KU last year was “young” but our best two players were freshman and put up big numbers. Beasley, Durant, Melo, D. Rose…the list goes on of teams that have relied heavily on star freshman and done just fine. I don’t think it is an age thing. Cliff and Kelly came in just as highly acclaimed as Stanley Johnson and Okafor, etc. and are simply not having the same kind of year. Maybe they will eventually but I don’t blame their age and I also don’t blame the system. I just think some kids are not as NCAA ready as they were assumed to be.

Totally agree that we are too small and will likely lose at ISU and UT. Also agree that the Big 12 will beat up on each other and that KU will be right there at the end of the year for another chance at at Big 12 title.

Sometimes when I golf (which I do poorly) I hit a driver off of the tee. If my first couple of drives are in the fairway I don’t put the driver away. Why would I? Stick with what is working until it isn’t and then reassess. I have faith in Bill. Especially in March where 3’s tend to be a huge part of who moves on and also where Bill has the chance to gameplan for each team. For now, please just keep letting these guys hit 3’s. We are hitting more 3’s than layups!!

@truehawk93 I agree that most of the potential 1-2 seeds are taking care of business but hey, if we played in the awful SEC, awful Pac 12 or whatever f*cking league Gonzaga plays in we would probably be winning our games in more convincing fashion.

@drgnslayr I like it. “The team with no identity”. Let’s hope it is as successful as “the show about nothing”.

@jaybate-1.0 I had a dream last night that KU beat WSU with ease and that one of the announcers said “This is why Kansas doesn’t need to schedule Wichita State”. I was sad when I woke up as it was just a dream but I have a feeling it is prophetic. I feel a big win coming and a lot of crow to be eaten by all of the CBS/TNT/TruTV morons, excuse me “experts”.

After a couple of days I think we are over the sting of the loss and we have refocused and are looking for answers.

Was it Bill Self and his hi / low / I won’t shoot 3’s offense?

Was it Perry and his knee? Was it Selden and his inability to put up 1 point in an elimination game?

I think the answer is you just never know what is going to happen in the NCAA tournament and even the tip top programs have trouble achieving their goals and often. It is just reality. Just think of the other “elite” programs and what they have done over the last few years. I say this as the last few years (post 2012 title game run) is what most of the fans on this site are so up in arms about.

Duke. They look pretty great this year. Which is good for their fans as they lost in the 1st round 2 of the last 3 years and have not been to a Final 4 since 2010.

UNC. They have honestly overachieved even getting where they are this year and they are more than likely done as Wisconsin will probably thrash them. Since they won it all in 2009 they have lost twice in the 2nd round and have lost twice to KU. No returns to the Final 4.

Syracuse. Do I even have to elaborate on the trouble that Cuse is in? They are on rough streak and the NCAA just made it more difficult.

UCONN. Won it all last year which is great. Did not even make the tourney this year.

Florida. Great streak of going to the Elite 8 broken last year when they went to the Final 4. They were the best team in the country. Couldn’t beat one man team UCONN and this year they don’t get close to making the tournament.

MSU. Have not been to the Final 4 since 2010. Since then they have been to a number of Elite 8’s. Lost in the first round in 2011. As a 7 seed they were lucky to get hot late in the season. We will see what they can do the remainder of this year.

Louisville. They have had great results in the last few years. National Title. Final Four. It helps as they had numerous first round exits in a row. Pretty average year this year. Pretty favorable draw in the tourney. We shall see.

Wisconsin. Went to the Final 4 last year for the first time in over a decade. They live to underachieve in the tournament.

Kentucky. They are certainly the exception. Sure they went to the NIT a couple of years ago but the OAD circus in Lexington seems to work for them over in Lexington. Sad as it is.

My point is (which I am sure many will disagree with) that KU puts itself in position every year to do something in the NCAA. It may not work out how we all want it to but I think the 2008 run and the 2012 run will happen again. And soon. If we just keep getting 1 and 2 seeds it puts us in a better spot to achieve our goals. It is just a reality as a top tier program that we are going to come up short of our goals MOST years. See the list above. The harshest reality is that somehow UK is the exception to this rule.

@ralster I’m pretty sure I speak for most KU fans when I say I like Rick Barnes. Even during the seasons when UT was stacked and just as good as KU I never really said “I hate UT” and it was mostly based on Barnes. He was a great recruiter and luckily for KU not the worlds greatest in game coach…but he was always gracious whether his teams won or lost.

Shaka on the other hand appears to be flat our arrogant. He has played KU once and is already making nasty statements about what his “havoc” defense can do to upset the KU dominance in the Big 12. It is going to be different when the pressure is on. This is not VCU where 20 of your games are played against teams no one has heard of. This is Texas. National television. Oil family alums. McD’s recruits. Big 12 teams week in week out. I’d like to see Smart win a few games in the Big 12 before his head gets too big and to me success won’t come soon. The guys coming back are not his recruits and are not prepared for his style of play. Hopefully a few mediocre seasons will not him down a peg or two.

I could kind of care less about the Big 12 “streak” for KU but all of the sudden I care again. I truly don’t want to see Shaka win our conference. Watching him do a defensive slide on the sideline makes me want to do things that should go without mention.

I am glad to hear Wayne is back. Not sure that I was actually concerned since he is not on 1 single draft board but good to see it in print and I love his positive comments.

Wayne is a good example of why Self needs to continue to go after top talent. I am with you guys that feel the OAD players are often times an unnecessary circus but occasionally the presumed OAD ends up being Wayne Selden. Wayne was the #12 player in the nation coming out of high school and along with Wiggins was thought to be an NBA ready player after his freshman year. That did not happen. Now after a very up and down sophomore season we are going to have Wayne back. This happens and I know I speak for everyone when I say that I hope we see that #12 in the nation talent realized.

Some of the OAD kids are going to be just that. One season and done. But a lot won’t be. Cliff Alexander would probably be back next year if it wasn’t for the off the court issues as he needed some time to develop. B Rush was supposed to be a possible OAD. An injury certainly helped him stay for this junior year but I am really glad we went after him even with the risk of him leaving.

I agree with @HighEliteMajor and @FarSideHawk that Wayne is better than any OAD option this year. But when we have voids to fill such as we do this off season in the post I think you just have to go after top talent. Diallo might be an OAD but he might not. If he ends up being a huge piece of a Final 4 run as an OAD that is fine with me. The Duke mix of OAD and veteran leadership seems to be the recipe.

Now, please announce you are coming back for your senior season Perry!!!

I love this class. To me it is a perfect blend of players and talent levels.

1. It has an OAD and only one OAD. This is perfect. Get one guy who is NBA ready. You have to to try and keep up with Kentucky, Duke, etc.

2. McD’s guy who is not an OAD. I really love this. If Bragg can be another Perry Ellis I am all for that. I’d take this kind of player every day of the week.

3. A guy that is unheralded and just now getting the love he probably deserves from the scouts. Mason and Graham are proof that Bill gets these diamond in the rough players and turns them into studs.

4. A big body transfer who already knows how to play D1 level defense, etc. The guy has played against the bigs from UK and is a physical presence. Needs polishing and needs to learn how to make post moves. This is one of Bill’s specialties.

Yes. He can and he will. The starting back court of Mason and Graham will be one of the best in the country due to two guys who can handle the ball with ease, can shoot well enough to keep their defender honest and above all have grit and will to win. I can’t wait to see the lineup of Mason/Graham/Selden on the perimeter with Perry/Diallo in the post. That is a Final 4 starting 5.

@wissoxfan83 I actually think that Bill had to take a guy like Diallo no matter what. It was very late in the signing period and no one else was going to sign who could make a major impact. We could have signed a low ranked post player I suppose but not sure that makes sense. Other schools were all in on Diallo and I would bet they all had the same information on his eligibility. If he ends up playing we will benefit. If he doesn’t I don’t think anyone else we would have signed would play in front of Perry / Bragg / Mickelson / Bam Bam so it is sort of the same. Bill had to sign him.

Nothing ventured nothing gained!!

@HighEliteMajor I would say Tyshawn Taylor went above an beyond expectations. He was ranked in the low 70’s and then started 4 years at one of the most elite programs in the country and went to a National Title game. In 2012 only a few guys in the entire country were better than he was.

I love the Burke comparison. If Mason can take us to a title game I think you can feel pretty comfortable saying “no rank Frank” is our Burke.

@jayballer54 If this kid is the “next Sam Dekker” as Jeff Goodman states I think it is a no brainer that we want him. Sure he may not be ranked in the top 100 at the moment but I personally think it is worth the risk. McBuckets was not inside the top 100. Neither was Kaminsky. Just a couple of recent tall white guys that I can think of that have had little to no fan fare coming into college and turned out to be player of the year. I’m certainly not pretending that Lightfoot is going to be the best player in college basketball but the reviews from Goodman and Fran seem pretty legit and I like the idea of 4 year players. Call me old fashioned but they are still an important part of the game see MSU and Wisconsin in the Final 4 last year.

I’ll be at the game. Hopefully I’ll be able to stay somewhat sober through the first game. It is going to be hard to while being surrounded by UK and Duke fans. I wish somehow both of those teams could lose!

At the game and can confirm that UK fans are the worst in all sports.

KU was the favorite for Julius Randle. FSU was the favorite for Wiggins. Who the hell knows.

@stoptheflop I say yes. KU can win another Big 12 Championship and make a Final 4 run with the current game plan and lack of depth. Duke won’t all recently with no bench and essentially one big man. We all know that Nova won it last year with a similar look. The key will be getting hot and staying hot. Nova was on fire last year in the tourney and was able to cut down the nets. It is possible for a team to shoot its way to a title and this KU team has more shooters than any other contender.

The #1 seeds don’t necessarily always go to the best teams. They go to teams that take care of business in their own league. KU has won the Big 12 many many times in a row as we all know and that has resulted in a lot of 1 and 2 seeds. If we are fortunate enough to win the Big 12 again this year we will likely be a 1 or a 2 which is all you can ask for as it gives you the best chance of getting to the Final 4. Even if we lose to UK this weekend it is not a big deal. We just need to focus on winning the Big 12 and getting a solid draw that hopefully puts us in Kansas City in March.

Rock Chalk!!!

Or…

An unheralded guy steps up. I think this happens often in March. A guy that the other team does not aggressively scout for has a huge day. Sadly I can think of McNamara against us in the final in 2003, Spike Albrecht in the final in 2013 (losing effort) and Grayson Allen in the 2015 final. Those are of course just examples in single games but I think that is all it will take. I don’t see Frank having multiple off nights on our way to a National Championship. I think he will play well in 5 of 6.

My money is on Svi pulling his head out of his ass and hitting 5 or 6 3’s in one game when we desperately need him. Rock Chalk.

For me Frank is already the #1 PG in KU history and if he is able to lead us to the Final 4 this year it will only add to his already brilliant career. That is the missing piece of the puzzle that other guards like Miles and Sherron were able to put together.

I remember when I fell in love with Frank’s game. A friend somehow landed us floor seats to the KU vs. Duke Champions Classic game Frank’s freshman year. We were all wondering who this 5’7 kid was who came in and played incredibly solid and scrappy defense and was cold blooded from the free throw line. His game has advanced in every way since that performance but it was a fabulous preview to what has become an illustrious Kansas career.

This team is obviously struggling and as a fan it is frustrating to watch us get out hustled, etc. That said, there is a ton of season left. The 2006 team got of to a god awful start to the season and turned it around and ended up having a hell of a year (until the Bradley game). I personally feel that we are getting way ahead of ourselves to even consider where this team ranks vs other Bill Self squads. We are two games into the Big 12. One great win. One bad loss. We are the Super Bowl for essentially every team we play game in game out. We are going to take our losses and we are going to have some great wins. I propehecize a thread entitled “Is this Bill Self’s Best Coaching Job?” sometime between now and the end of Big 12 play.

I love the streak as it sets us apart from the other Blue Blood programs that have had down years on occasion. KU has been the model of consistent excellence during the regular season while UNC and Kentucky have found themselves as 8 seeds and even in the NIT. It’s truly amazing.

That said, what would I trade for another National Title during the last decade plus? A lot of those league titles. Sad but true…college basketball greatness is measured by Final 4s and NC’s. I didn’t make these rules and I wish it wasn’t the case but it is a fact. Another NC for Bill would solidify his position as one of the All Time greats. I am afraid that having 1 will be looked at as a chink in the armor if that is the number he has when he hangs it up.

So, personally I think we aim for both as fans since in reality there is no way to trade away league titles for Final 4 runs and National Titles. I am hoping to raise two banners at the end of this year!

Glad we play Friday. Another day for us to watch games on Thursday without any nerves and another day for Doke’s knee to continue healing!

@JayHawkFanToo Fully agreed. I re-watched the game last night and we dominated a great deal of the 2nd half and it really didn’t seem in doubt with about 12 minutes to play. Seton Hall hit a bunch of tough shots late to keep it close but that is what it is. If they miss one of those 35 foot 3’s and we grab a rebound we win by more like 10. I personally was very impressed with this KU win. Our star All American struggled offensively, our big guy has a bum knee and foul trouble, their two best players both have monster nights and we still win and advance.

@jayballer73 very interesting. To me that is a group of horrible fans if that is how they feel at Kentucky. I cheer for the Jayhawks, Chiefs and Royals in both good times and bad. I haven’t lived in Kansas for many years and only go to games that are in Chicago but being a true fan means you stay with your teams even when the chips are down.

For me the biggest disappointments as far as entire seasons go are 2003 (Cuse loss) 2011 (VCU loss) and 2013 (Michigan loss). My reason is simple. Those were teams full of incredible talent and / or lots of upperclassmen and each year we were in a great position to win it all even though we lost at different point of the tourney each year.

Unfortunately EJ and the Morris twins are easy to be mad at. EJ punching a guy in the nuts is probably why karma came back to bite us when we blew our huge lead. The Morris twins supposedly fired up the entire VCU squad by talking tons of shit before the game. I’m sure I have other players I am mad at but those are specific examples. That said, EJ and the Morris twins were both huge parts of our teams and I loved watching them play with the exception of those bad decisions.

@HighEliteMajor Good points, HEM. The points I am the most concerned about are #6 and #10. Self says we are going to shoot a lot of 3’s this year and we are all skeptical. Now I am very skeptical. If there is any team in the country that KU should bomb 3’s on it is Kentucky. We obviously can’t beat them down low so why not at least try to beat them from deep? I about lost my voice yelling for us to take 3’s but we repeatedly drove the ball into the lane where 3 guys who are 6’11 are waiting to swat our shit. I did not understand it then and I won’t understand the entire season if we don’t shoot more 3’s.

3’s. Something Greene is good at shooting. Why is he not in the game? Why is he not in the game for like 15-20 minutes? Again, I am baffled.

@drgnslayr And then Cliff said, “Make sure you say the wrong team. I already did the pick up the wrong hat trick”.

Regarding the Wiggins talk it is very hard to say that we did not benefit from him. Maybe last year he was not the Kevin Durant / Melo / Beasley we all thought he may be but he was a very good defender and of course lead the team in scoring.

But to me the above is secondary. He was the most coveted recruit in decades and we landed him. Now he is kicking butt in the NBA as a rookie and the fact that he went to KU will help recruiting for years to come. Oubre is here in large part because Bill said “You can step in and be the next Andrew Wiggins”. It says a ton. Coach Cal is of course known today as the best recruiter and I am sure he makes his own life easier by saying “You could be the next John Wall…D Rose…Anthony Davis…” You can fill in the blank. Wiggins being at KU last year is about the residual effect. We are going to land good recruits based on him. At least that is what I see coming.

@drgnslayr “How good can this team be?”

While watching the UT game I literally said out loud to myself “We could be a Final 4 team.” It may seem odd as a KU fan but it was really the first time I have felt that way all year. My assumption before this game is that we are a young team with guys who will take us to the round of 32 or Sweet 16 and that will be that. This opinion of mine changed while watching literally just this game. It showed me a glimpse of what we could be. If we even play close to this level in March we should make some noise.

Mason and Graham look really stellar at the PG. PG’s are often what take teams far in March.

Selden played well against UT and we can’t count on that sticking but Greene is starting to find his way and that is very exciting, especially all of the 3’s. 3’s often take teams deep in March.

Oubre and Cliff now seem to both be playing at a high level. Stud freshman often take teams deep in March.

Perry has looked solid. Just letting the game come to him and playing with poise. Poise takes teams deep in March.

You get the point. I think the sky is the limit for this squad.

@JhawkAlum Great point. I really hope we don’t recruit over Greene. He is a guy who simply needs reps to get to his ceiling which incredibly high. Has KU ever had a pure shooter this tall? He really is a rare breed.

I know Bill is looking at multiple OAD perimeter players but I honestly hope we don’t land them. I say go all in on post players. Landen / Mickelson are not the answer. Cliff may or may not leave but probably only get another year from him at the most. Bragg is going to be good but how good? We all thought Cliff would be more dominant than he has been. Jamari is a great energy guy and will be a senior along with finesse post player Perry (not an insult, a fact).

I have posted on here multiple times that next year is our year. I am not saying this year is a done deal but KU could be flirting with a 1-2 loss season next year if everyone comes back (except Oubre who is gone) and we get another talented back to the basket player.

Again, sorry that I have posted this multiple times but I am incredibly pumped that next years starting lineup will most likely be predominantly seniors and juniors. A rarity in the OAD era.

Sorry for all of the “next year” talk. I really do think we have a good shot to go far this year. Just hoping that someone, somewhere, somehow can take down the Evil Empire that is Kentucky. If not us, who?