Best posts made by StLJhawk

Well said both of you above. I’ve been a jayhawk hoops fan for many years. I used to enjoy the other site, but when it turned negative and the best posters went here, I felt lucky to have found this site.

I’ve been logging in with a new account recently, as my old one jhwkinTgrtown, didn’t want to work anymore, and while a not a big commenter, I’ve really enjoyed learning about the game from people who know it much better than myself.

And sometimes, like when HEM disappeared or someone shares a joy or a loss like rockchalkintexas has, I realize that its not just the knowledge and opinions - those can be found elsewhere on the interwebs - that keep me coming back, but the personalities behind the writing.

I can’t say I “know” of any of you (but feel free to look me up if you’re in st. louis) but sometimes our writing here gives glimpses of who we are. So in that way, I feel like I “know” some of you. Mostly kind, intelligent and passionate folk who share a common history of attending a great school during formative years of our lives.

I was bit surprised for the grief I felt for rockchalkntexas’ loss, someone I’ve never met, I think it speaks to the quality of people, and writing, on this site. Thanks everyone, for your wisdom and wit and efforts that keep this site alive.

Cherish the time with your loved ones and merry christmas to all.

Tim

Not quite a “team” stat, but a good one nonetheless… when we beat UMKC tomorrow night, Bill Self will get his 6ooth career win (8 more KU wins and he’ll be at 400 wins at one school). Not bad for a guy who’s only 53. We are lucky to have not just a smart, winning coach, but a class act as well.

Good article with more details here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article118845143.html

Earlier in his KU career, I used to cringe when Landen Lucas would get the ball. “Soft hands!” and “Missed another bunny!” and “Why is Coach still playing this kid when he has _________ (fill in the blank) ready to play” I would yell at the tv screen to no avail.

I changed my mind, and my tune, as this intelligent young man grew more into what Coach saw in him all along. Instead of cringing, I now feel assured when I see that big body near the basket. He’s not the best big man KU has ever had, but he has definitely earned his place on the team, and my respect.

And though I missed part of the game last night, it appears he has also earned the respect of his peers too. Every time I look at this clip it makes me laugh.

Now just LL’s *glare *can push a 6’ 8" 220lb Texan backwards several feet looking for his mama, er ref, to help him. Looking forward to seeing you intimidate more foes this year, Lucas-san, go get em!

I’m sure it was the refs fault Liberace lost again

I consider myself to be one of the more optimistic rats here, but as we pissed away that big lead in the final minutes, I too felt like we were toast. Not just in another disheartening road loss but in our quest for #15 too.

My hand was on the off button in anticipation of what I arbitrarily deem the point of no return in a game. One eye closed, the other squinted and my stomach felt a bit sick as it always does when we lose and My finger almost pressed down. A 17-2 run by the bad guys in the last few minutes coupled with 4 TOs and the inability for anyone to make FTs can do that to me.

But then… something happened that I didn’t see coming with this group given their recent past road performances. We played through our mistakes and fought back to send the game to OT with unheralded K.J. slipping in the last bucket in regulation.

I’m so glad I hesitated!

Yes, I should have been happy enough that they finally played with heart for 38 minutes. Yes, I should have kept my premature “that was ugly” comment to myself. But dang it sure looked like “deja vu all over again”.

This group proved to me that they are capable of fighting back from deficits on the road and I’ll keep my trigger finger in check the rest of the season. Like Beddie i too feel it was a turning point.

It’s good to be proven wrong like that and a good reminder that, as always, it’s good to be a Jayhawk.

I ran across the little trip down memory lane today and thought I’d share. Amazing player, classy fans, come from behind win for the good guys to keep our streak going…

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2745322-hes-going-to-get-80-on-us-how-kd-almost-toppled-the-jayhawks-big-12-dynasty

Also, nice spanking of Oakland tonight. It is good to be a jayhawk!

Nice balance of youth and experience. Consistenly finds new ways to win. Unselfish chemistry between kids that grew up so fast in the last couple months. Peaking at the right time. Uber conditioned.

This may not be the prettiest team at the Dance, but just might be the last one on the floor.

Good win seniors!

Yay! So we’ll probably be ranked preseason #1 again now, lol. Jeez I hope not!

9 consecutive wins against them… I say it’s a close first half then we relax and pull away. DG finds his stroke again and hits 5 3’s.

Down to the last two games in AFH games for most of our starters… and they make a statement (finally) against a lesser opponent.

@wissox

I watched the end of the Duke game too, what a perfect way to end a great weekend!

One bright spot for me in an otherwise somewhat painful game was seeing Cunliffe get some time on the floor. I think he should get more minutes based on the stats (granted a small sample).

Sam_________Malik______Garrett

9 min________21_________25

7 pts_________9__________6

3-5 FG_______4-8________3-3

1-1 3s_______0-2________0-0

0 TOs________2_________1

2 RBs________3_________6

I’m just not feeling it yet from either Malik or Garrett, though Garrett seems to have more potential to lock in. At 6’6" and 200lbs he’s taller and stronger than both of them. Plus he’s a good defender with experience at another program.

kjayhawks said:

The NY Post and NY Times are nothing short of total garbage.

Sorry to go off topic a bit here but while I don’t know basketball that well, being a KU grad in journalism I’m on more familiar ground for a change… well KJ, you’re half right anyways. In contrast to how some would like to portray it, (or even more dangerously try to paint all media as unreliable) the NY Times, while far from perfect, is about as neutral and respected as it gets in news these days.

While there are numerous ways to gauge this, and nearly all point to the same conclusions, the one I like is this…

“If a reporter gets facts in a story wrong, will the news outlet investigate a complaint and publish a correction? Does the publication have its own code of ethics? Or does it subscribe to and endorse the Society of Professional Journalist’s code of ethics? And if a reporter or editor seriously violates ethical codes - such as being a blatant or serial plagiarizer, fabulist or exaggerator - will they be fired at a given news outlet? While some may criticize mainstream media outlets for a variety of sins, top outlets such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, NBC News and the New Republic have fired journalists for such ethics violations. That is remarkable in a world where some celebrities, politicians and other realms of media can spread falsehood with impunity.”

Another way to gauge is to compare stories here with those in the UK where four of the top 10 trusted outlets for US news reside like the BBC and Reuters. Makes sense as they have little or no skin in the game here.

By any measurable standard you can find, the Times comes out at or near the top for print journalism in terms of trying to print verifiable and accurate news.

Oh and go KU tonight, dang we need this one bad.

Man, if Braun could continue his Svi impression from here on out,

@tis4tim

Hmm, while it is embarrassing, and really poor timing, the fact that a long-time, in-state rival pulled a bonehead move by stealing the ball when they are down by 20 with a few seconds left on the clock, followed by a really frustrated college kid legally blocking the shot then gloating for a second, followed by said instate rivals starting a shoving match, at our house, which caused more kids to get involved, to me, hardly constitutes “the complete antithesis of good”.

Sports and emotions are completely intertwined. Do you feel happy when we win? Sad when we lose? How about really really happy when we win an NC? How about really really sad when we lose to team at the Dance we know we can beat 9 times out of 10?

Now imagine you’re a testosterone filled college kid who’s had an incredibly tough time the past few years on the court last night in the above scenario.

Do we expect better of him? Of course we do. Was it a total boneheaded move not to just flex and walk away after the block? Of course it was. Was the stool thing scary and completely out of line and calls for severe punishment? Of course it does.

Does the emotional outburst of a kid athlete, and other kids rushing to his defense, mean the whole program is in the sh!tter? In my opinion, of course it doesn’t.

Is our squeaky clean reputation a thing of past? Yea, for awhile it sure looks like it. Had we better learn from this? Hell yes we better.

Am is still proud to be a Jayhawk? Well my pride is a little bruised right now, but, yea, hell yes I am.

Jayhawks improved to 30-0 during ESPN Big Monday games in Allen Fieldhouse in the Self era

UCLA losing would be the official death of my bracket this year, jeez. But, Don’t really care as long as we play well

Can you say PAYBACK???

Big D was player of the game

It also didn’t hurt that Lady Luck’s ugly step sister, the Injury Queen, who has waved her big ol hurtstick on us so many times in past Dances, took pity on us and used her evil powers on nearly all of our opponents this year.

Yep, I have 14 thoughts… Creighton LSU Auburn Alabama (2) Vanderbilt Mizzou Baylor Miss state Texas A&M (2) Tennessee Kentucky

We too will find a way to add our name to their loss column this year. RCJH amigo.

@kuballin10 I totally get being frustrated when the team is playing poorly - we all say some negative stuff. I also can see that you know a lot about the hawks and bball in general, and you like to chime with in with what they need to do from your perspective. Free speech and all that.

But jeez man, I feel many of us wish you would sometimes tone down that avalanche of negativity that pours out from you. It’s not just wissox or jayballer… even our gentle moderator approx had to ask you last night to turn it down a notch. I’m glad he did too, as that uber negative vibe had me ready to log off the game chat which is something I really enjoy. And a couple of other regular posters who no longer comment here have felt that way too.

This is a site for fans. We’re all here to support our team. Sometimes this means hoping the good guys win, and supporting each other, even if things look bleak - or else it can feel like the opposing teams site.

I don’t know if you have children or not, but maybe think about it like if your kid is playing ball. Of course he’s gonna suck sometimes, and of course you can see he sucks. But as a parent most of the time (not all) it’s way better to temper your frustrations and criticisms when you’re at his game and express them in a somewhat more positive manner. Not sugarcoat, not lie, not swallow your emotions… but not endlessly berate either.

Again, I can see you know a ton about this team and the game in general. And I see you do post some positive things too, it’s just they seem vastly overshadowed by the negative. I’ve been a board rat for more than decade and I’ve never looked into how to block someone until last night.

If you just tried to turn it down a notch I (and I think most) would really enjoy your posts.

Just my two cents worth.

Nice post. I feel smarter just reading “acrostically”. And I snorted at the Che-Vette reference.

It’s good to be a Jayhawk. Hope y’all Gobble til you wobble today.

Well crap, that was a sad ending to a sad season. Not too surprising, but I had such high expectations going into this season. Damn preseason #1 jinx. I mean usually players get better with more experience. But I think we can now definitively say - not always.

The one thing that made it a bit easier for me was that it was pretty obvious this team wasn’t going anywhere towards the latter half of the season, so I wasn’t really too upset when we lost for a change - my dog was much happier that I wasn’t yelling at the tv every game!

Well we will have a bit more of a clean slate to work with next year, hopefully BS learned some things and makes some adjustments.

So for now, Rock chalk fellow board rats, thanks for all the interesting insights, and stay well.

Advancing in the Big Dance is more about who’s healthy, drawing good matchups (players and coaches), and to a lesser to degree the degree of “hotness” a team has, than the tendencies earlier in the season to blow leads, not play tough D, worry about off court issues, and the like.

If a key player(s) is fighting injuries or are really tired, our chances go way down (Embiid, sigh),

If we draw a team that we don’t match up well against (Stanford’s height in 2014. plus Embiid being out, sigh)

If we run into the on fire “who is that guy shooting lights out” who hits everything he throws up, our chances go down (see most inter-conference losses). And woe to the other team that experiences us with the “hotty” on a particular night.

So, barring key injuries, we overcome all bad match ups, and on-fire guys, and advance, As we’ve shown time and again, we can win tough games on the road in spite of those negative things we review in great detail on this site (luckily all teams have negative things!). This team has Final Four written all over it.

Half-full, half-empty, not as important as the fact that both can be refilled with a bit of luck.

Yes, I know it’s a bit petty of me, but it still feels good to read about ESPN and the ACC having to face facts about how overrated that conference was this year…

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/18957070/acc-teams-ncaa-tournament-struggles-prove-conference-was-overrated

Also check out which team they like to win it all now… ahh, it’s good to be a jayhawk these days.

@KUSTEVE good call on the 100+

Hope you predict it again on Saturday!

I don’t believe anyone thinks Self doesn’t make mistakes and that he and the players are above criticism. But this is pretty much a “fan” board isn’t it? The definition of a fan being “If you are a fan of someone or something, you like them very much and are very interested in them.”

Discussing and criticizing is good and healthy, but if your posts insult or drags everyone else down who comes here to not only learn more about the team and the game, but to get fired up about being a fan, well I wonder if those posts might be thought out a bit more?

HEM and KU Steve (and Jaybate of course) are two of my long time favorites here. To see them trade insults kinda bummed me out. Even the topic of this thread is divisive (so much of that all around these days, sad to see it here too.

I used to teach a night class at a local college called Intro to Graphic Design. Sometimes the project critiques of budding creatives by their fellow students could be harsh. I was never harsh, because, well, they were budding creatives - even though sometimes their projects really stank. But as an intelligent and caring adult, I balanced the need to give honest feedback with being cognizant of peoples feelings, and with the reason we were all there.

We board rats usually do a pretty good job of balancing this too, hope it continues.

Laughed about Hollys prognosis on Doke knee looking great jumping up from the bench to support the team

truehawk93 said:

He’s careless and weak…

I’m trying to pay him a compliment…

Man, I’d hate to see you insult him!

@stoptheflop Yea, afraid I have to disagree with this too. NewMan has been awesome, but DG the floor general almost never leaves the game for a reason. His stats were down this weekend, but his mark on the games were not.

We don’t win without Malik’s offensive bonanza, but Malik doesn’t have offensive bonanzas with out the DGs senior leadership. Luckily we have both.

Vanillasofa is going down next week.

Yea, I’m pretty stoked. I usually don’t prowl the boards here much til fall, but ol Bill ‘damncanIrecruitforaNonNikeschool’ really outdid himself this time coming off a challenging year. Now if everyone can stay healthy and play nice we will kick some serious azz

Good guys win again, it’s good to be a jayhawk

Back to the speeding analogy, and a little injection of levity in this suddenly politically charged sports thread…

Regardless of actual speed, why is it that on the highway everybody going slower than me is a dumbass and everybody going faster than me is a crazy mthrfckr?

Ah, that was the best game I’ve seen in a long time. And the good guys win on the road. Jayhawks rock

Liked this quote giving coach some love from 24/7 sports…

“ Make no mistake. Saturday’s game was a coaching clinic — a masterpiece. It was a reminder that when Self has extra time to prepare he introduces wrinkles opposing coaches are seldom anticipating. It’s why his record in NCAA tournament rounds with extra preparation days — the Round of 64, Sweet 16 and Final Four — is 16-2 over the last decade.”

dang mr Martin, so good

Yea, crazy Big D was not MOP. When he was on the bench we gave up points left and right.

BUT, so happy for everyone, the kids, the school, and us board rats too, enjoyed sharing the ups and downs with y’all. Thanks Approx for keep this going. What a ride!

@approxinfinity lol, “This is the big one Elizabeth, I’m coming”

Their drama coach on the floor holding his head, whiney boy

Ha! I never watch NBA, but am on a business trip in Atlanta, turned the tv on and the LA Denver game popped up. Saw CB and watched as he totally swatted LeBron shot away. It was so cool I came to share and saw your post. Woohoo for Jayhawks in the NBA!

Yea, if only we had a Hall of Fame coach who was good at turning boys into men and consistently did more with less every year…

Whew, that was something. Good guys win again!

@nuleafjhawk I kept thinking that too about if other team’s fans came to our board and gloated over how crappy our fans are during a loss. That’s not who we are, well at least who most of us are.

Not that I really care what other teams think. It’s just the constant negativity sucks all the fun out of it for me. Almost like a troll stirring divisiveness on purpose here. Probably not but still, totally kills the vibe here for me.

I forget who posted it last night, but the “there were more blocks in the thread than were on the court” cracked me up this morning. Sad, but still clever and funny. Almost like something Jaybate or HEM would say back in the beforetimes.

A final thought on blocking… if you call in to a talk show and start talking crap, and I turn the volume down on my car stereo while you’re talking, that is not censorship. You’re still free to broadcast your crap, I’ve just chosen not to listen to it.

@nuleafjhawk yea, that’s always a thing isn’t it? Playing us is always their season highlight. But seems like we almost always win too, don’t we?

176–95 since first meeting in 1907, and more recently, the good guys winning 13 out of the last 15 meetings. Kinda warms my heart…

@Texas-Hawk-10 I haven’t seen a post from him in weeks, then remembered I blocked him. Enjoying the boards more.

I so wanted not to lose this game, anything after this is extra.

Good guys win (barely) again.

@wissox I’ve only blocked one person in all my time here, but it’s sure made a difference this last year or so. Doesn’t impinge on their free speech and allows for a much more enjoyable experience for me, a win win.

It’s pretty refreshing to see all the guys on the floor, regardless of if they’re starters or not, hustling, moving, wanting the ball, making good passes. I know Oakland isn’t Duke, but this is fun to watch.

@drgnslayr that was a great read, thanks for sharing!