KU-Boston College Game Thoughts

*KU 84 Boston College 66
*The first half was the best, and most complete, half of team basketball that KU has played this year. Right there with the first half of the Florida game.
*The second half included what has become a disturbing pattern for this team: When the opportunity is before them to go for the kill and put a team away, they let off the gas, lose focus, and let an inferior team stay in the game.
*Mario Chalmers is a STUD and is, hands down, the MVP of the team thus far. He is the only one who consistently brings it, night in and night out, on both ends of the court. He finished with 22 points. (9-16 FG, 3-6 3PT);*Pass it on: CBS SUCKS. Not only was the game not broadcast in HDTV, but a good portion of Jayhawk fans across the country didn't get to see the game because CBS didn't send the feed to DirectTV. And, before the game was even over, CBS breaks away from regional coverage and shifts the country over to A COMMERCIAL break during the Ohio State-Florida game, which was tied 2-2. Think CBS Sports, who is headed up by a Duke grad, would have done that if it was a Duke game being broadcast? Yeah, me either.
*The Jayhawks were very aggressive offensively from tip to finish.
*The officials in this game were brutal. They routinely stopped the momentum of the game and called several "ticky tack" fouls. There were 21 fouls total called in the first 12 minutes of the second half. 'Nuf said.
*The Jayhawks still need to work on finding that killer instinct. After having a 26 pt. lead in the second half, they let BC get within 13.
*Sasha Kaun, Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur were as physical and aggressive as I've seen them this year.
*The 4-on-1 fast break in the first half that ended with a Rush dunk that was one of the prettiest fast breaks you'll ever see. Perfect execution.
*The Jayhawks played VERY tough defense in this game (particularly in the first half) and forced Boston College into a bunch of turnovers.
*The crowd in Allen Fieldhouse was amp'd up throughout the game. Nice job, KU fans.
*This game was a blowout early and stayed that way for most of the game. Of course a big reason why is because BC is the first quality team KU has played that didn't hit 3-pointers like they were born to do it. They ended up 4-of-19 (21%) from deep, while KU was 5-of-15.
*KU won the rebounding battle 44-34. 18 of those rebounds were on the offensive end. Rebounding is about EFFORT and POSITIONING. KU did a solid job on both today.
*The key from here is whether the Jayhawks will build on this win/momentum and play with this type of energy every game. Or will they rest on their laurels of a good win and have a letdown? I'm not yet convinced that this team has the mental strength they need to win night in and out.
*A friend of mine, commenting on KU's sluggish second half, said "This team loses focus very quickly." I believe that one sentence perfectly summarizes KU so far this season. When focused, they are one of the best teams in the country. When they lose their focus, the are an average, and at times, below average basketball team. The most frustrating thing for KU fans is the team's focus seems to change about every 5-10 minutes during a game.

All in all, a good win over a quality ACC opponent and a nice Christmas gift for KU fans.

Keep Rockin' and Chalkin',

Mic

KU-Winston Salem State

This game was a yawner. I was going to post my thoughts about it, but then I read Gary Bedore's thoughts from the LJWorld and figured I couldn't say it any better myself.

That being said, I don't agree with him that WSSU hitting more threes is a "concern" because that was the only thing they could do offensively. They were just too small and not athletic to establish any kind of inside game.

Keep Rockin and Chalkin,

Mic


Gary Bedore, Journal-World KU men’s basketball beat writer

“There was nothing to be learned from this one, the opponent was so inferior. I did see fans smiling on the way out of Allen Fieldhouse, however, which I guess is a good sign. Folks enjoyed seeing a bevy of KU dunks and the return of the running game. Winston-Salem State did hit more threes than the Jayhawks, which probably is a concern. Again, however, nothing can be learned from this. If the fans in attendance enjoyed the rout, good deal, but really it meant nothing. Add a ‘W’ to the win column and move on.”

Why are KU basketball fans so negative right now?

This question came up the other day and below is my response:

My thought is what I've said several times before "There are ignorant fans in every fan base. MU just has a larger percentage."

It is TOTALLY hang over from Bucknell and Bradley mixed with a couple of ORU and DePaul cocktails. And for Average Joe KU fan, it doesn't help that KSU fans are overreacting with joy and glee to the hire of Bob Huggins and every recruit he signs, or having to listen to all of the "MU is 9-1 and better than expected" talk, or knowing that WSU has a better record and ranking right now while playing better team basketball than the Jayhawks.

Couple all of that with the fact that all of the above mentioned schools also have ignorant fan bases who relish the idea that KU is slipping, choke in the tournament, etc, etc., and they just flame the fires of an already frustrated fan base.

And, for the cherry on top, you have 2 players listed as the preseason conference players of the year, one player as a preseason All American, talk about losing 2-3 guys to the NBA after the season, returning five starters from last year while losing two walk-ons and adding two McDonald's All Americans...all of that leads to very high and typically unrealistic expectations.

The average KU fan doesn't think about all of the success we've had (Bill Self has 1 Elite Eight appearance, 2 conference championships, 1 conference tournament championship, a 75% winning percentage, in 3 years at KU), they just focus solely on recent tournament losses and a couple of early season unexpected losses. And the reaction is to "freak out" and think the sky is falling. Actually, that's the reaction of an ignorant fan.

The rest of us know that KU basketball will continue to be successful and be one of the best programs in the history of college basketball.

Just my $.02.

My Attempt to Understand the Jayhawks, Self

Here are some thoughts I've had lately as I've tried to get my arms around what is going on with KU and Coach Self.

*I don't really know what to think about this team. I saw what we could be against Florida, so I haven't completely given up hope yet. The bottom line is that, currently, this team can beat anyone and lose to anyone.

*I think there is an internal struggle between what Self is telling these players to do vs. what they think they need to do. Right now, they are doing it their way (thinking they are more talented and that will give them the win, backing off on aggressiveness, taking opponents lightly, etc.) Eventually, hopefully they will listen to what Self and the coaches are telling them and start doing what he is asking of them on a consistent basis. Self deserves a lot of the blame because it's his job to get them there, but the players deserve much of the blame too at this point.

*Self took a 3-4 team last year and won 16 in a row. I think this team is confused, lost and searching for an identity and a leader. I think Self should be tougher on them and drill into their heads that their current bad habits will no longer be tolerated.

*Again, I'm far from ready to throw in the towel. It's a long season. We have a lot of talent. We also have a lot of holes. Over time, those holes will start to get filled and the guys will start playing better team basketball. It won't be because Self suddenly became a better coach. It will be because the players started, as a group, to buy into what he's telling them day after day..and they will start executing the way he wants them to on a consistent basis.

*Self has said the players haven't been practicing well. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'm assuming there has been a lack of focus, energy, execution, etc. Again, Self should make them run until they puke to get the point across, but a lot of the responsibility for bad practicing falls on the shoulders of the players.

*Lack of a killer instinct. One of the players was quoted as saying "we didn't put our foot on their throats", which is one of Self's sayings. The players "eased up" when they were up 14 and thought they had won. Again, it's Self's job to stop that from happening, but the players are the ones who have admitted that they let DePaul back in the game. Honestly, and this may be far fetched, I think Self likes to put players in these situations and see how they handle it. And I honestly think he may be willing to take a loss, or a very close game, so that he has examples to use for the players when they try to win a game THEIR way. For this year's team, he can now point to ORU and DePaul as games where guys didn't come ready to play, didn't execute what the coaches were telling them, didn't buckle down on defense, didn't take their opponent seriously, etc. Of course that theory somewhat goes out the door when you consider that Self still has Bradley in his back pocket as a reminder. I would have figured that game alone would have prevented an ORU or DePaul situation.

But listen to Julian Wright: “We just came out too timid,” Wright said. “We didn’t attack. We just waited.”

*Lack of leadership. There have been flashes (Wright, Robinson) of leadership on this team, but no consistent on-the-court leader has emerged. That is not something Bill Self can control. Again, I think he wants the players to figure it out.

*Of Rush, Self said: “Really good players have to figure out a way a little bit and he’s got to do a better job of that,” Again, I think this is another example of Self putting the onus on the player. I think he helps coach and guide Rush, but he wants that inner pride/drive from Rush to emerge instead of pulling it out of him.

Again, I don't say these things to absolve Self of what has occurred. But I'm trying to understand why he coaches the way he does and what his possible motives could be in his methods.

Mic

KU-DePaul Game Thoughts

Well, exactly what I hoped would not happen happened today as KU blew a 14-point 2nd half lead to DePaul, losing by 7. I'll do the math for you: That's a 21 point swing to a 2-4 team whose 2 wins came against Eastern Illinois and Chaminade.

I was afraid that the players would get up for Florida and play out of their minds, which they did, and then think "we're back" and go back into "coasting" mode. And unfortunately that is exactly what happened today.

I watched the game in a crowded bar because TimeWarner and ESPN SUCK and therefore I won't be able to break the game down as much as usual because I don't have the benefit of watching the game again (or maybe I'm lucky that way?) because I couldn't DVR it.

That being said, here are a few thoughts. And I must warn you ahead of time that I tried my best to not be overly critical of what I witnessed today. That being said, sometimes the truth hurts. And sometimes the truth hurts more than I am able to rationally express after watching the team I love play like complete crap.

*50/50--At this point, my take is that 50% of the fault for KU's current situation is on the players and 50% is on Bill Self and his coaching staff. I honestly don't feel as though Self and his staff know what buttons to push with these players, with this team, at this point in the season. They are still trying to figure it out and their inability to figure it out thus far has led to the roller coaster up-and-down, turn it on, turn it off, mentality of this team. The players also don't know yet, as a team, what to expect of themselves and each other and think they can just show up against most teams and win on talent alone. They have bought into the hype of everyone telling them how good they are and aren't listening to the coaching staff as much as they should be. Anyone want to talk about this team's mindset now?

* "Our offense was terrible, and our defense wasn't any better in the second half," said Self. "It was a poor performance. We played nervous. Panic is not the right word, but we haven't showed any poise. We showed poise against Florida and we can't show poise against DePaul on the road in a crowd that's 70-30." Again, 50% on Self, 50% on the players.

*Lack of effort/lack of energy/lack or urgency--All season long, with the exception of the Florida game, this team and these players have been guilty of all three. This team can win on talent alone against some teams, but in this day and age of parity in college basketball, talent will lose out 8 times out of 10 to a team that plays as a team with effort, energy and enthusiasm. I, as a fan, don't mind as much when our team gets beat by a more talented team that plays a great game, but I cannot accept it when our players fail to do the "little things" because they think they can win on talent alone.

*Officiating: I don't recall all of the questionable calls throughout the game, but the foul called on Russell Robinson on the 3-pt attempt by a DePaul player (who then hit 3 straight free throws) was complete BULLSHIT.

*Lack of Leadership: I THOUGHT Julian established himself as a leader when he called the meeting in Las Vegas before the Florida game. And I THOUGHT Julian was going to put this team on his back and be more consistently aggressive offensively. I was wrong. This team has NO leadership. And it was glaringly obvious in the loss today.

*PRIDE: This team either has too much of it or none of it. I can't figure it out. They don't have the respect for the uniform that teams before them have had. If there was an excuse for the way they played against Oral Roberts (overconfidence?), there is NO EXCUSE for playing down to their competition again as they did today. They should, to a man, from the players to the coaches, be ashamed of how poorly they represented themselves and the University today.

*I wish this team would fall out of the top 25. Maybe THAT would send a message to them.

*I realize it's early in the season. I don't think the sky is falling. I am not pulling my hair out. But this team sucked today. And they sucked against Oral Roberts. And, with all of the talent they have, there is absolutely no excuse for it.

*I hope Self has these guys running line drills right now in some high school gym in Chicago. And they should keep running until every last one of them pukes or collapses, or both.

*DePaul outrebounded KU by 10=Lack of effort/energy and ZERO focus on blocking out.

*Anyone else notice us WALKING THE BALL up the court with about a minute and twenty seconds left while down by 5 or 6? What the hell is that?

*Brandon Rush looks as much like an All American right now as much as I do. 1-of-8 from the field, 1-of-3 from 3-pt range for a total of THREE points. Brandon's first, and only, points came when he hit a 3-ptr to tie the game at 5-5. He then disappeared the rest of the game. Brandon should spend the next week looking in the mirror until he sees a basketball player looking back at him. That line is embarrassing for someone of Rush's overall ability. For all the progress I thought he made in taking, and making, the game winner against Florida, he regressed just as much, if not more, with today's pathetic effort.

*Free throw shooting: Brandon and Russell miss the front end of 1-and-1's late in the game. One word: CHOKE. This team is simply not consistently mentally strong at this point.

*Bill Self needs to do some serious soul searching. His team has been the laughingstock of college basketball for losses to Bucknell, Bradley, Oral Roberts and now DePaul. It's not just the players. He must look deeply within himself and his coaching philosophies and beliefs.

* "When we learn to share and when we learn to become a team, I think we will get a lot better," said Self. "We are going to be a good team, but we aren't there yet. We are not a good team yet. We have a lot of holes. Guys have to really have some good things happen days and days in a row to create habits, and that hasn't been the case," he added. "We've got to coach them better. Today was very poor. They played great down the stretch and we didn't respond. We let this one get away."

* Sammy Mejia scored 23 points for DePaul. So much for Self being a defensive coach. At this point, I think Sammy Davis Jr. could score 23 points against the type of defense these Jayhawks are playing.

*Which team will show up on Monday vs. USC? More importantly, how many fans will be there?
Mic