KU **** OFFICIAL 2013-2014 Kansas Basketball Repository Thread, Part 2 **** - Page 31

ArrowheadHawk · 11:22 AM

#10 (23-8,14-4)

Players

Spoiler!

Non Conference

Spoiler!

Conference

Spoiler!

Big 12 Championship
3/13/2014 Texas Tech/Oklahoma State Kansas City, Mo. 2PM ESPN2

Prison Bitch · 01-22-2014, 07:09 PM

2002
2004
2005
2010
2011

Hit #2 in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2013. Hit #3 in 2012.
http://www.collegepollarchive.com/mb...2#.UuBrpNLnYsY

Chiefs Pantalones · 01-22-2014, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

2002
2004
2005
2010
2011

Hit #2 in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2013. Hit #3 in 2012.
http://www.collegepollarchive.com/mb...2#.UuBrpNLnYsY

Damn. Wow. Thanks that's amazing.

Chief_For_Life58 · 01-22-2014, 09:27 PM

jojo doesn't wanna go to the nba
http://barstoolu.barstoolsports.com/...o-eat-healthy/

**Shogun** · 01-22-2014, 10:32 PM

Mind = Blown.

Didn't realize Tyshawn got traded to the Pelicans and then waived immediately last weekend.

Pablo · 01-22-2014, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chief_For_Life58

jojo doesn't wanna go to the nba
http://barstoolu.barstoolsports.com/...o-eat-healthy/

Believe it when I see it.

That dude is going to the NBA.

No sense in getting excited otherwise.

Silock · 01-22-2014, 11:13 PM

LMFAO

Joel-Hans Embiid
@jojo_embiid
I think I m getting an Instagram account tomorrow��

Joel-Hans Embiid
@jojo_embiid
And I m only posting pics of lions that I killed

KC_Connection · 01-22-2014, 11:35 PM

Embiid is the only KU player Twitter account I've ever followed. And it's because of tweets like that.

**Buehler445** · 01-23-2014, 06:10 AM

I will admit. I laughed pretty hard.

Reerun_KC · 01-23-2014, 06:41 AM

Funny

Prison Bitch · 01-23-2014, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefs Pantalones

Damn. Wow. Thanks that's amazing.

Remember too, I just posted the AP. Not sure on the coaches. Or the computers/RPI. Probably would be even more amazing.

Mr. Plow · 01-23-2014, 11:32 AM

Embiid Sporting News article

Joel Embiid's pursuit of hoops greatness not just a Dream

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Everyone wants a timetable, because nothing in our current sports culture is as important as what’s next, but there isn’t one. This game, next game? This week, next week? This year, next year? “I don’t think it’s about time,” Kansas center Joel Embiid says. “It’s just about me.”

He understands now this is not about "if" but "when." Although he now is 7 feet tall, graceful as an Olympic skater and unreasonably skilled, it wasn’t always that certain. When Embiid began seriously playing the game of basketball — seriously meaning moving to the United States, leaving his home and family 6,300 miles behind — he found the physical demands so challenging “I couldn’t even breathe. I almost threw up.”

On an AAU team where future Florida Gators Chris Walker and Kasey Hill consumed all the attention and most of the action with the ball, Embiid was praised by Scout.com for having, unlike many who come to the game in their late teens, “some idea of how to play.”

When Embiid arrived at Kansas, not long after a performance in the Nike Hoop Summit that suggested there might be more to it, coach Bill Self began whispering that forward Andrew Wiggins was not the only freshman in his class with the potential to be a No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. Which means that in the space of a year, in Self’s words, Embiid had advanced from a player he thought had a chance to be “pretty good,” to one he thought might be “real good” to the player who now stands before you with the potential to completely overturn every expectation about how the current college basketball season will develop and what might occur in the game in the months beyond.

“He’s very, very, very bright, but I don’t think he’s caught up with what the world says,” Self said after Embiid wrecked Oklahoma State last Saturday with a near triple-double. “I told Joel as soon as he stepped foot on campus: You’re going to be the No. 1 pick. Now, I’m not saying it will be this year. I don’t think it should be a surprise to him, because he’s been told all along he is capable of doing this."

But you want it all now, do you?

“It’s experience,” Embiid told Sporting News. “Even in high school, I wasn’t consistent. I would have games where I’d have 20 and 15, and the next game I’d have 5 and 5. I need to get that consistency. I think I’ll be good after that. I’m working. I think over the past couple games, I’ve been good overall, but some good halves of basketball and other ones that are bad. “I think it’s just me. When I come to the game, I have to have the mindset: I want to do this. I’ve got to block that many shots, get that many steals. In my mind, I’ve got to be like, ‘No one can stop me.’ ”

JOEL'S EVOLUTION

The process began with a simple DVD. No, that’s not right. It began with all the basketball hoops that lined the walls of the gymnasium in Cameroon where Embiid regularly practiced volleyball. OK, that’s not really it, either. It began with him standing 6-foot-9 — and growing — by the age of 15, with remarkable athleticism and coordination for a young man so tall.

At that size, it was no surprise basketball would call to him. He would grab one of the volleyballs he was supposed to be spiking over the net and carry it over to the side, then toss it at the basketball goals that all but taunted him while he was polishing his volleyball skills. He was serious about that sport. He’d played for five or six years and expected he’d leave home at some point, with his father’s endorsement, to eventually move to Europe to play professionally. Basketball killed those plans.

“When I was 15, that’s when I had the thought that I wanted to play basketball,” Embiid said, sitting on an end zone bleacher at Allen Fieldhouse. “My dad wasn’t really — he was against it. But I had my uncle talk to him, and he finally convinced him to let me play basketball. And then I started playing.

“When I started playing basketball, my coach back in Cameroon the first day he gave me a video of Hakeem Olajuwon. He told me to watch it every day. After practice, after every practice, I’d watch every move he did — and I’d just keep doing that. I just fell in love with his game, his footwork, how he moves. I was so proud — I wanted to be like him, because he’s African, moved from Nigeria to the U.S. I just felt if I had the chance to come here, I would try to do the same thing.”

He attended a basketball camp and was spotted by Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, a starter for UCLA’s Final Four teams under Ben Howland, a regular in the NBA and also a native of Embiid’s hometown, Yaounde, the second-largest city in Cameroon. He told Embiid he had the chance to become a special player if he committed to basketball. That meant, most logically, moving to the United States and immersing himself in a culture that embraced the game.

Only 16, Embiid left his home and moved to Florida, where he enrolled at Montverde Academy. His coach was high school legend Kevin Boyle and his teammates included center Dakari Johnson, now at Kentucky, and Florida guard Michael Frazier.

“At the beginning it was kind of difficult for me, because it was so physical,” Embiid said. “Back home, it wasn’t the same. At Montverde, we had really good players like Dakari Johnson, we had so many guys. I think we had more than five pros on the team. I think that’s how I got better, playing against them every day. But it was hard at the beginning.

“When I got here, I wasn’t known, so I didn’t have any offers. I was just like, ‘If anybody recruits me, I’m just going to go there and try to get my degree.’ And then in summer I played AAU, and I think I did pretty good. So I started having offers. I had a chance to have my mentor Luc, he was helping me a lot. I started watching NCAA games, and I liked Kansas. And even Luc liked it, because he played against them when he was at UCLA. He was like, ‘Man, that school is for bigs,’ that I’m going to develop over there, they get bigs to the NBA.”

Kansas’ interest in Embiid deepened when he transferred to The Rock, a Christian school in Gainesville where he’d have a better chance to play. KU assistant coach Norm Roberts had sent his son, Niko, to The Rock while serving on the staff at Florida, and he brought Self to see Embiid. It didn’t take long for him to be convinced stardom was possible.

His belief only grew once Embiid arrived on campus this summer and began working out with the Jayhawks. Self saw flashes of intermittent brilliance mixed with moments when Embiid would drift through practices almost spectating.

“He’s got it,” Self told SN in July. “He just doesn’t know how to do it yet.”

Embiid is getting closer every day.

THE CHALLENGE

You could hear the groans when he took the shot. Some came from the Kansas fans who filled a few sections at the United Center in Chicago. Some came from right there on press row, behind the basket.

With 5:29 on the clock and Kansas leading Duke by a single point, Embiid found himself alone on the right wing. Nobody even in position to challenge the shot. There was a reason for this — who would think he’d shoot from there? But Embiid did, and some who saw it cringed.

He didn’t make the shot. He didn’t come close. And though it defied convention for a 7-0 freshman center to be shooting 3-pointers in a game that close, and maybe defied his coach’s wishes as well, it was as important as any moment this season for the Kansas Jayhawks. It declared that Embiid was here to be a basketball player.

Was it so crazy that Embiid would shoot an open 3-pointer? He makes them in practice all the time, and hit one in a home game against Kansas State just a couple weeks back. This is what makes Embiid extraordinary: Though playing the game for only four years, he is comfortable shooting from the perimeter, playing with his back to the basket, putting the ball on the floor to create room to shoot and defending the rim like the most polished shot-blocker.

He had nine blocks in his first six games combined; he had eight on Saturday alone, including one ridiculous rejection that developed when Oklahoma State All-American Marcus Smart, noting Embiid’s presence on the right side of the lane, switched his drive to a left-size reverse. That way, the rim would get in the way of a block attempt. But Embiid surged across the lane, reached to the Allen ceiling and got a piece of the ball, anyway.

“It wasn’t always just him sitting there waiting on us,” Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. “He came from nowhere a couple of times, which was impressive. Very impressive. Goodness, he’s so talented.”

Defense has come more rapidly for Embiid, but his promise as an offensive player is even greater. So many of the NBA’s most prominent centers are relatively unpolished, even the Houston Rockets’ Dwight Howard, but the lessons Embiid learned watching that Olajuwon video are hidden in the many aspects of his offensive skill set.

Only on occasion does he share them with us. For instance, the second half of KU’s road game at Iowa State. The game was tied at the break, and Embiid had contributed only four points. Self challenged him during the intermission to play with passion, with power, with confidence.

“He challenged me because I didn’t have a good first half. He challenged me, and in the second half I just had a different mindset,” Embiid said. He scored 12 points as Kansas broke open the game in the final 20 minutes, and he finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.

He’s had some trouble with understanding how to control his emotions against opponents attempting to unnerve him by roughing him up in the post. They have little choice; it’s either that, or surrender. Embiid was charged with flagrant fouls in three consecutive games.

“I would say during the game, there’s a lot of things that happen. If I did something, it means he probably did something,” Embiid said. “But I just don’t want people to see me as — I don’t do that on purpose, but I don’t want people to see me as like I’m weak or something like that. I just don’t take anything from anybody.”

This, too, is another sign Embiid is becoming the player Self needs him to be. Perhaps a bit too much of that player, but it’s easier to convince a player to do a little less than a lot more.

It is so easy to forget that when Olajuwon was a freshman at Houston, in much the same situation Embiid is now, he averaged 18 minutes and 8.3 points per game. He had to learn the game, but more so to embrace what his physical gifts made possible in this sport.

“I think I’m so much better. I don’t think — I don’t even understand it,” Embiid said. “When I came here, my coach back at Montverde was giving me advice: Just keep working, just work, just work. I did what he said. I kept working, kept getting better.”

The final piece might be the most difficult, but it is the line between proficient and dominant. Kansas can accomplish wonderful things this season, and Embiid eventually can become quite wealthy if he settles for being productive. That is not his horizon, nor is it his desire.

“In my mind, I’ve just got to be like: No one can stop me,” Embiid said. “That’s what I did against Iowa State when he challenged me: No one can stop me, I’m going to go out there, get fouled, score the ball. “

When will we see this on a regular basis? When Joel Embiid believes it is his time, and not a moment before.

Mr. Plow · 01-23-2014, 11:49 AM

Embiid WSJ artcle

The 7-Footer Who Snuck Up on College Basketball

Joel Embiid started playing organized basketball only in late 2011. Before that, he played volleyball and soccer in Cameroon, his native land.

Now he's projected to be the NBA draft's No. 1 pick come June.

In a sport that anoints superstars before they leave middle school, the 7-foot-tall Embiid is an outlier, a superstar college freshman who was virtually unknown until his senior year in high school.

Even after signing with the Kansas Jayhawks, Embiid received little attention compared with that program's higher-profile recruit, Andrew Wiggins, by many estimates the top recruit of his class. In fact, Embiid started this season on the bench. But he came off it with such promise and explosiveness that his performance has overshadowed that of Wiggins—and arguably everyone else in college basketball.

In his last four games—all against ranked opponents—Embiid has averaged 19.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6 blocks per 40 minutes, prompting many NBA scouts to declare him the likely No. 1 pick in the June draft. Some observers already are comparing him with Hakeem Olajuwon, the retired Hall of Fame 7-footer whose Dream Shake shimmy Embiid has studied on film.

Last week, after the No. 8 Jayhawks beat No. 16 Iowa State, Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg called Embiid "the best player in the country." Asked why, Hoiberg, a former NBA player, coach and executive, said, "Did you see him play tonight? That's why."

What distinguishes Embiid is his height and dexterity but also his lack of experience.

Like Olajuwon, who grew up in Nigeria playing soccer, Embiid came late to basketball. As a 17-year-old in Cameroon, Embiid was invited to a basketball camp there because of his height.

Coaching at that camp was Cameroon native Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, the Minnesota Timberwolves forward, who was immediately smitten with Embiid's natural repertoire of moves. "Those were moves that guys who had been playing for years were making," said Mbah a Moute.

Mbah a Moute brought Embiid to another camp in Johannesburg, South Africa and later convinced Thomas Embiid, the boy's father, to let Embiid come to the U.S. to play high-school basketball.

Basketball was still a foreign sport to the elder Embiid, a handball player himself, but its stars were known to him.

"Here in Cameroon, we see NBA players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron—he wants to be like that," Embiid's father said in an interview this week. "When he plays four or five years, he'll get better and better."

Embiid moved to Florida to play his junior year of high school for Montverde Academy. But he sat on the bench for Montverde, stuck behind better, more seasoned centers.

In search of more playing time, Embiid switched his senior year to The Rock School in Gainesville, Fla. So little had Embiid played as a junior that The Rock coach Justin Harden hadn't heard of him until Mbah a Moute called on Embiid's behalf.

Embiid gained national attention as a senior. But if his potential was suddenly clear, so was his lack of experience, as evidenced by a grading system that Harden employed each game.

According to last year's report cards, which Harden shared with The Wall Street Journal, Embiid received an A or A+ in 19 of 37 games. But in 12 games, his grade was a C+ or worse, and in only three games did he score more than 20 points, a small number of games for an elite recruit.

At moments, however, Embiid showed glimpses of the player many are seeing now. In a high-school matchup with Wiggins, his future teammate, Embiid dropped 18 points, including an Olajuwon-like hook shot that takes most big men years to refine.

Norm Roberts, a new assistant coach at Kansas, had come to the Jayhawks from Florida, where Embiid had come to his attention. Early last season, Roberts persuaded Kansas head coach Bill Self to come to Florida to watch Embiid practice. At that time, Embiid hadn't played enough organized basketball to produce a sizable bunch of statistics. But Kansas has a tradition of great big men, dating back to Danny Manning and Wilt Chamberlain, and has had four drafted in the last three years.

Watching the young man practice, Self was unusually quiet. When Roberts asked for his impressions, Self responded that he thought Embiid could be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft someday.

"We never thought Joel was a project," Roberts said. "From a skills standpoint, he was farther along than most big guys."

Embiid's coaches say his soccer and volleyball experiences left him more flexible than most basketball players, not to mention big ones. Kansas conditioning coaches have also added 12 pounds of muscle to him, even if Embiid prefers feasting on ice cream and brownies.

Despite his inexperience, Embiid's game already compares favorably to other big men. As a college freshman, he has attempted shots on 57 possessions after posting up near the basket and is averaging 1.3 points on those trips, according to Synergy Sports Technology. The last eight college centers taken as NBA draft lottery picks averaged only .91 points per possession on their post-ups.

Large players often require time to develop. Olajuwon, for example, spent four years in college. Embiid hasn't even played the game for three full years. But he might not need that long.

"I think he could play in the NBA right now," Mbah a Moute said.

saphojunkie · 01-23-2014, 11:54 AM

Latest bracketology -

Posted this in the Shockers thread, but I would honestly prefer if KU were the 2 seed and WSU were the #1. I want the Jayhawks to go into that game feeling like they've been disrespected, not the other way around.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

TLO · 01-23-2014, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Plow

Embiid WSJ artcle

The 7-Footer Who Snuck Up on College Basketball

Joel Embiid started playing organized basketball only in late 2011. Before that, he played volleyball and soccer in Cameroon, his native land.

Now he's projected to be the NBA draft's No. 1 pick come June.

In a sport that anoints superstars before they leave middle school, the 7-foot-tall Embiid is an outlier, a superstar college freshman who was virtually unknown until his senior year in high school.

Even after signing with the Kansas Jayhawks, Embiid received little attention compared with that program's higher-profile recruit, Andrew Wiggins, by many estimates the top recruit of his class. In fact, Embiid started this season on the bench. But he came off it with such promise and explosiveness that his performance has overshadowed that of Wiggins—and arguably everyone else in college basketball.

In his last four games—all against ranked opponents—Embiid has averaged 19.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6 blocks per 40 minutes, prompting many NBA scouts to declare him the likely No. 1 pick in the June draft. Some observers already are comparing him with Hakeem Olajuwon, the retired Hall of Fame 7-footer whose Dream Shake shimmy Embiid has studied on film.

Last week, after the No. 8 Jayhawks beat No. 16 Iowa State, Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg called Embiid "the best player in the country." Asked why, Hoiberg, a former NBA player, coach and executive, said, "Did you see him play tonight? That's why."

What distinguishes Embiid is his height and dexterity but also his lack of experience.

Like Olajuwon, who grew up in Nigeria playing soccer, Embiid came late to basketball. As a 17-year-old in Cameroon, Embiid was invited to a basketball camp there because of his height.

Coaching at that camp was Cameroon native Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, the Minnesota Timberwolves forward, who was immediately smitten with Embiid's natural repertoire of moves. "Those were moves that guys who had been playing for years were making," said Mbah a Moute.

Mbah a Moute brought Embiid to another camp in Johannesburg, South Africa and later convinced Thomas Embiid, the boy's father, to let Embiid come to the U.S. to play high-school basketball.

Basketball was still a foreign sport to the elder Embiid, a handball player himself, but its stars were known to him.

"Here in Cameroon, we see NBA players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron—he wants to be like that," Embiid's father said in an interview this week. "When he plays four or five years, he'll get better and better."

Embiid moved to Florida to play his junior year of high school for Montverde Academy. But he sat on the bench for Montverde, stuck behind better, more seasoned centers.

In search of more playing time, Embiid switched his senior year to The Rock School in Gainesville, Fla. So little had Embiid played as a junior that The Rock coach Justin Harden hadn't heard of him until Mbah a Moute called on Embiid's behalf.

Embiid gained national attention as a senior. But if his potential was suddenly clear, so was his lack of experience, as evidenced by a grading system that Harden employed each game.

According to last year's report cards, which Harden shared with The Wall Street Journal, Embiid received an A or A+ in 19 of 37 games. But in 12 games, his grade was a C+ or worse, and in only three games did he score more than 20 points, a small number of games for an elite recruit.

At moments, however, Embiid showed glimpses of the player many are seeing now. In a high-school matchup with Wiggins, his future teammate, Embiid dropped 18 points, including an Olajuwon-like hook shot that takes most big men years to refine.

Norm Roberts, a new assistant coach at Kansas, had come to the Jayhawks from Florida, where Embiid had come to his attention. Early last season, Roberts persuaded Kansas head coach Bill Self to come to Florida to watch Embiid practice. At that time, Embiid hadn't played enough organized basketball to produce a sizable bunch of statistics. But Kansas has a tradition of great big men, dating back to Danny Manning and Wilt Chamberlain, and has had four drafted in the last three years.

Watching the young man practice, Self was unusually quiet. When Roberts asked for his impressions, Self responded that he thought Embiid could be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft someday.

"We never thought Joel was a project," Roberts said. "From a skills standpoint, he was farther along than most big guys."

Embiid's coaches say his soccer and volleyball experiences left him more flexible than most basketball players, not to mention big ones. Kansas conditioning coaches have also added 12 pounds of muscle to him, even if Embiid prefers feasting on ice cream and brownies.

Despite his inexperience, Embiid's game already compares favorably to other big men. As a college freshman, he has attempted shots on 57 possessions after posting up near the basket and is averaging 1.3 points on those trips, according to Synergy Sports Technology. The last eight college centers taken as NBA draft lottery picks averaged only .91 points per possession on their post-ups.

Large players often require time to develop. Olajuwon, for example, spent four years in college. Embiid sn't even played the game for three full years. But he might not need that long.

"I think he could play in the NBA right now," Mbah a Moute said.

Great read. Thanks for posting.

Ceej · 01-23-2014, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saphojunkie

Latest bracketology -

Posted this in the Shockers thread, but I would honestly prefer if KU were the 2 seed and WSU were the #1. I want the Jayhawks to go into that game feeling like they've been disrespected, not the other way around.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

That would be awesome.

Some pretty good basketball being played in the state of Kansas this year.

01-14-2014, 08:54 AM
ArrowheadHawk Rock Chalk! Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Topeka, KS Casino cash: $7964961	** OFFICIAL 2013-2014 Kansas Basketball Repository Thread, Part 2 #10 (23-8,14-4) Players Spoiler! Returning Players 1 Naadir Tharpe Guard 5-11 170 Jr. 3 Andrew White III Guard 6-6 210 So. 4 Justin Wesley Forward 6-9 220 RS Sr. 10 Evan Manning Guard 6-3 170 So. 11 Tyler Self Guard 6-2 165 So. 20 Niko Roberts Guard 5-11 175 Sr. 21 Christian Garrett Guard 6-3 185 Jr. 31 Jamari Traylor Forward 6-8 220 RS So. 33 Landen Lucas Forward 6-10 240 RS Fr. 34 Perry Ellis Forward 6-8 225 So. Incoming Class SF * Wayne Selden C * Joel Embiid PG Conner Frankamp SF Brannen Greene PG Frank Mason SF * Andrew Wiggins Transfers Hunter Mickelson Tarik Black Non Conference Spoiler! 11/8/2013 Louisiana Monroe Lawrence, Kan. W(80-63) (1-0) 11/12/2013 Duke Chicago, Ill. W(94-83) (2-0) 11/19/2013 Iona Lawrence, Kan. W(86-66) (3-0) 11/22/2013 Towson W(88-58) (4-0) 11/28/2013 Wake Forest Paradise Island, Bahamas W(87-78) (5-0) 11/29/2013 Villanova Paradise Island, Bahamas L(59-63) (5-1) 11/30/2013 UTEP Paradise Island, Bahamas W(67-63) (6-1) 12/7/2013 Colorado Boulder, Colo. L(72-75) (6-2) 12/10/2013 Florida Gainesville, Fla. L(61-67) (6-3) 12/14/2013 New Mexico Kansas City, Mo. W(80-63)(7-3) 12/21/2013 Georgetown Lawrence, Kan. W(86-64)(8-3) 12/30/2013 Toledo Lawrence, Kan. W(93-83)(9-3) 1/5/2014 San Diego State Lawrence, Kan. L(57-61)(9-4) Conference Spoiler!** 1/8/2014 Oklahoma Norman, Okla. W(90-83)(10-4,1-0) 1/11/2014 Kansas State Lawrence, Kan. W(86-60)(11-4,2-0) 1/13/2014 Iowa State Ames, Iowa W(77-70)(12-4,3-0) 1/18/2014 Oklahoma State Lawrence, Kan. W(80-78)(13-4,4-0) 1/20/2014 Baylor Lawrence, Kan. W(78-68)(14-4,5-0) 1/25/2014 TCU Fort Worth, Texas W(91-69)(15-4,6-0) 1/29/2014 Iowa State Lawrence, Kan. W(92-81)(16-4,7-0) 2/1/2014 Texas Austin, Texas L(69-81)(16-5,7-1) 2/4/2014 Baylor Waco, Texas W(69-52)(17-5,8-1) 2/8/2014 West Virginia Lawrence, Kan. W(83-69)(18-5,9-1) 2/10/2014 Kansas State Manhattan, Kan. L(82-85)(18-6,9-2) 2/15/2014 TCU Lawrence, Kan. W(95-65)(19-6,10-2) 2/18/2014 Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas W(64-63)(20-6,11-2) 2/22/2014 Texas Lawrence, Kan. W(85-54)(21-6,12-2) 2/24/2014 Oklahoma Lawrence, Kan. W(83-75)(22-6,13-2) 3/1/2014 Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla. L(65-72)(22-7,13-3) 3/5/2014 Texas Tech Lawrence, Kan. W(82-57)(23-7,14-3) 3/8/2014 West Virginia Morgantown, W. Va. L(86-92)(23-8,14-4) Big 12 Championship 3/13/2014 Texas Tech/Oklahoma State Kansas City, Mo. 2PM ESPN2 Last edited by ArrowheadHawk; 03-10-2014 at 11:22 AM..
Posts: 15,672

01-22-2014, 07:09 PM	#451
Prison Bitch Rabbi Goldmann Join Date: Nov 2012 Casino cash: $5450159	2002 2004 2005 2010 2011 Hit #2 in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2013. Hit #3 in 2012. http://www.collegepollarchive.com/mb...2#.UuBrpNLnYsY
Posts: 87,025

01-22-2014, 09:27 PM	#453
Chief_For_Life58 Veteran Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: KC Casino cash: $9925938	jojo doesn't wanna go to the nba http://barstoolu.barstoolsports.com/...o-eat-healthy/
Posts: 3,859

01-22-2014, 11:13 PM	#456
Silock MVP Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Overland Park Casino cash: $10020882	LMFAO Joel-Hans Embiid @jojo_embiid I think I m getting an Instagram account tomorrow�� Joel-Hans Embiid @jojo_embiid And I m only posting pics of lions that I killed
Posts: 19,908

01-22-2014, 11:35 PM	#457
KC_Connection Perpetual Mediocrity Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $5212783	Embiid is the only KU player Twitter account I've ever followed. And it's because of tweets like that.
Posts: 49,106

01-23-2014, 06:10 AM	#458
Buehler445 Supporter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Scott City KS Casino cash: $2144734	I will admit. I laughed pretty hard.
Posts: 56,867

01-23-2014, 06:41 AM	#459
Reerun_KC Rock Chalk Jayhawks! KU!!! Join Date: Aug 2005 Casino cash: $8301160	Funny
Posts: 934

01-23-2014, 11:32 AM	#461
Mr. Plow In Search of a Life Join Date: Dec 2005 Casino cash: $1847391	Embiid Sporting News article Joel Embiid's pursuit of hoops greatness not just a Dream LAWRENCE, Kan. — Everyone wants a timetable, because nothing in our current sports culture is as important as what’s next, but there isn’t one. This game, next game? This week, next week? This year, next year? “I don’t think it’s about time,” Kansas center Joel Embiid says. “It’s just about me.” He understands now this is not about "if" but "when." Although he now is 7 feet tall, graceful as an Olympic skater and unreasonably skilled, it wasn’t always that certain. When Embiid began seriously playing the game of basketball — seriously meaning moving to the United States, leaving his home and family 6,300 miles behind — he found the physical demands so challenging “I couldn’t even breathe. I almost threw up.” On an AAU team where future Florida Gators Chris Walker and Kasey Hill consumed all the attention and most of the action with the ball, Embiid was praised by Scout.com for having, unlike many who come to the game in their late teens, “some idea of how to play.” When Embiid arrived at Kansas, not long after a performance in the Nike Hoop Summit that suggested there might be more to it, coach Bill Self began whispering that forward Andrew Wiggins was not the only freshman in his class with the potential to be a No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. Which means that in the space of a year, in Self’s words, Embiid had advanced from a player he thought had a chance to be “pretty good,” to one he thought might be “real good” to the player who now stands before you with the potential to completely overturn every expectation about how the current college basketball season will develop and what might occur in the game in the months beyond. “He’s very, very, very bright, but I don’t think he’s caught up with what the world says,” Self said after Embiid wrecked Oklahoma State last Saturday with a near triple-double. “I told Joel as soon as he stepped foot on campus: You’re going to be the No. 1 pick. Now, I’m not saying it will be this year. I don’t think it should be a surprise to him, because he’s been told all along he is capable of doing this." But you want it all now, do you? “It’s experience,” Embiid told Sporting News. “Even in high school, I wasn’t consistent. I would have games where I’d have 20 and 15, and the next game I’d have 5 and 5. I need to get that consistency. I think I’ll be good after that. I’m working. I think over the past couple games, I’ve been good overall, but some good halves of basketball and other ones that are bad. “I think it’s just me. When I come to the game, I have to have the mindset: I want to do this. I’ve got to block that many shots, get that many steals. In my mind, I’ve got to be like, ‘No one can stop me.’ ” JOEL'S EVOLUTION The process began with a simple DVD. No, that’s not right. It began with all the basketball hoops that lined the walls of the gymnasium in Cameroon where Embiid regularly practiced volleyball. OK, that’s not really it, either. It began with him standing 6-foot-9 — and growing — by the age of 15, with remarkable athleticism and coordination for a young man so tall. At that size, it was no surprise basketball would call to him. He would grab one of the volleyballs he was supposed to be spiking over the net and carry it over to the side, then toss it at the basketball goals that all but taunted him while he was polishing his volleyball skills. He was serious about that sport. He’d played for five or six years and expected he’d leave home at some point, with his father’s endorsement, to eventually move to Europe to play professionally. Basketball killed those plans. “When I was 15, that’s when I had the thought that I wanted to play basketball,” Embiid said, sitting on an end zone bleacher at Allen Fieldhouse. “My dad wasn’t really — he was against it. But I had my uncle talk to him, and he finally convinced him to let me play basketball. And then I started playing. “When I started playing basketball, my coach back in Cameroon the first day he gave me a video of Hakeem Olajuwon. He told me to watch it every day. After practice, after every practice, I’d watch every move he did — and I’d just keep doing that. I just fell in love with his game, his footwork, how he moves. I was so proud — I wanted to be like him, because he’s African, moved from Nigeria to the U.S. I just felt if I had the chance to come here, I would try to do the same thing.” He attended a basketball camp and was spotted by Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, a starter for UCLA’s Final Four teams under Ben Howland, a regular in the NBA and also a native of Embiid’s hometown, Yaounde, the second-largest city in Cameroon. He told Embiid he had the chance to become a special player if he committed to basketball. That meant, most logically, moving to the United States and immersing himself in a culture that embraced the game. Only 16, Embiid left his home and moved to Florida, where he enrolled at Montverde Academy. His coach was high school legend Kevin Boyle and his teammates included center Dakari Johnson, now at Kentucky, and Florida guard Michael Frazier. “At the beginning it was kind of difficult for me, because it was so physical,” Embiid said. “Back home, it wasn’t the same. At Montverde, we had really good players like Dakari Johnson, we had so many guys. I think we had more than five pros on the team. I think that’s how I got better, playing against them every day. But it was hard at the beginning. “When I got here, I wasn’t known, so I didn’t have any offers. I was just like, ‘If anybody recruits me, I’m just going to go there and try to get my degree.’ And then in summer I played AAU, and I think I did pretty good. So I started having offers. I had a chance to have my mentor Luc, he was helping me a lot. I started watching NCAA games, and I liked Kansas. And even Luc liked it, because he played against them when he was at UCLA. He was like, ‘Man, that school is for bigs,’ that I’m going to develop over there, they get bigs to the NBA.” Kansas’ interest in Embiid deepened when he transferred to The Rock, a Christian school in Gainesville where he’d have a better chance to play. KU assistant coach Norm Roberts had sent his son, Niko, to The Rock while serving on the staff at Florida, and he brought Self to see Embiid. It didn’t take long for him to be convinced stardom was possible. His belief only grew once Embiid arrived on campus this summer and began working out with the Jayhawks. Self saw flashes of intermittent brilliance mixed with moments when Embiid would drift through practices almost spectating. “He’s got it,” Self told SN in July. “He just doesn’t know how to do it yet.” Embiid is getting closer every day. THE CHALLENGE You could hear the groans when he took the shot. Some came from the Kansas fans who filled a few sections at the United Center in Chicago. Some came from right there on press row, behind the basket. With 5:29 on the clock and Kansas leading Duke by a single point, Embiid found himself alone on the right wing. Nobody even in position to challenge the shot. There was a reason for this — who would think he’d shoot from there? But Embiid did, and some who saw it cringed. He didn’t make the shot. He didn’t come close. And though it defied convention for a 7-0 freshman center to be shooting 3-pointers in a game that close, and maybe defied his coach’s wishes as well, it was as important as any moment this season for the Kansas Jayhawks. It declared that Embiid was here to be a basketball player. Was it so crazy that Embiid would shoot an open 3-pointer? He makes them in practice all the time, and hit one in a home game against Kansas State just a couple weeks back. This is what makes Embiid extraordinary: Though playing the game for only four years, he is comfortable shooting from the perimeter, playing with his back to the basket, putting the ball on the floor to create room to shoot and defending the rim like the most polished shot-blocker. He had nine blocks in his first six games combined; he had eight on Saturday alone, including one ridiculous rejection that developed when Oklahoma State All-American Marcus Smart, noting Embiid’s presence on the right side of the lane, switched his drive to a left-size reverse. That way, the rim would get in the way of a block attempt. But Embiid surged across the lane, reached to the Allen ceiling and got a piece of the ball, anyway. “It wasn’t always just him sitting there waiting on us,” Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. “He came from nowhere a couple of times, which was impressive. Very impressive. Goodness, he’s so talented.” Defense has come more rapidly for Embiid, but his promise as an offensive player is even greater. So many of the NBA’s most prominent centers are relatively unpolished, even the Houston Rockets’ Dwight Howard, but the lessons Embiid learned watching that Olajuwon video are hidden in the many aspects of his offensive skill set. Only on occasion does he share them with us. For instance, the second half of KU’s road game at Iowa State. The game was tied at the break, and Embiid had contributed only four points. Self challenged him during the intermission to play with passion, with power, with confidence. “He challenged me because I didn’t have a good first half. He challenged me, and in the second half I just had a different mindset,” Embiid said. He scored 12 points as Kansas broke open the game in the final 20 minutes, and he finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. He’s had some trouble with understanding how to control his emotions against opponents attempting to unnerve him by roughing him up in the post. They have little choice; it’s either that, or surrender. Embiid was charged with flagrant fouls in three consecutive games. “I would say during the game, there’s a lot of things that happen. If I did something, it means he probably did something,” Embiid said. “But I just don’t want people to see me as — I don’t do that on purpose, but I don’t want people to see me as like I’m weak or something like that. I just don’t take anything from anybody.” This, too, is another sign Embiid is becoming the player Self needs him to be. Perhaps a bit too much of that player, but it’s easier to convince a player to do a little less than a lot more. It is so easy to forget that when Olajuwon was a freshman at Houston, in much the same situation Embiid is now, he averaged 18 minutes and 8.3 points per game. He had to learn the game, but more so to embrace what his physical gifts made possible in this sport. “I think I’m so much better. I don’t think — I don’t even understand it,” Embiid said. “When I came here, my coach back at Montverde was giving me advice: Just keep working, just work, just work. I did what he said. I kept working, kept getting better.” The final piece might be the most difficult, but it is the line between proficient and dominant. Kansas can accomplish wonderful things this season, and Embiid eventually can become quite wealthy if he settles for being productive. That is not his horizon, nor is it his desire. “In my mind, I’ve just got to be like: No one can stop me,” Embiid said. “That’s what I did against Iowa State when he challenged me: No one can stop me, I’m going to go out there, get fouled, score the ball. “ When will we see this on a regular basis? When Joel Embiid believes it is his time, and not a moment before.
Posts: 30,825

01-23-2014, 11:49 AM	#462
Mr. Plow In Search of a Life Join Date: Dec 2005 Casino cash: $1847391	Embiid WSJ artcle The 7-Footer Who Snuck Up on College Basketball Joel Embiid started playing organized basketball only in late 2011. Before that, he played volleyball and soccer in Cameroon, his native land. Now he's projected to be the NBA draft's No. 1 pick come June. In a sport that anoints superstars before they leave middle school, the 7-foot-tall Embiid is an outlier, a superstar college freshman who was virtually unknown until his senior year in high school. Even after signing with the Kansas Jayhawks, Embiid received little attention compared with that program's higher-profile recruit, Andrew Wiggins, by many estimates the top recruit of his class. In fact, Embiid started this season on the bench. But he came off it with such promise and explosiveness that his performance has overshadowed that of Wiggins—and arguably everyone else in college basketball. In his last four games—all against ranked opponents—Embiid has averaged 19.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6 blocks per 40 minutes, prompting many NBA scouts to declare him the likely No. 1 pick in the June draft. Some observers already are comparing him with Hakeem Olajuwon, the retired Hall of Fame 7-footer whose Dream Shake shimmy Embiid has studied on film. Last week, after the No. 8 Jayhawks beat No. 16 Iowa State, Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg called Embiid "the best player in the country." Asked why, Hoiberg, a former NBA player, coach and executive, said, "Did you see him play tonight? That's why." What distinguishes Embiid is his height and dexterity but also his lack of experience. Like Olajuwon, who grew up in Nigeria playing soccer, Embiid came late to basketball. As a 17-year-old in Cameroon, Embiid was invited to a basketball camp there because of his height. Coaching at that camp was Cameroon native Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, the Minnesota Timberwolves forward, who was immediately smitten with Embiid's natural repertoire of moves. "Those were moves that guys who had been playing for years were making," said Mbah a Moute. Mbah a Moute brought Embiid to another camp in Johannesburg, South Africa and later convinced Thomas Embiid, the boy's father, to let Embiid come to the U.S. to play high-school basketball. Basketball was still a foreign sport to the elder Embiid, a handball player himself, but its stars were known to him. "Here in Cameroon, we see NBA players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron—he wants to be like that," Embiid's father said in an interview this week. "When he plays four or five years, he'll get better and better." Embiid moved to Florida to play his junior year of high school for Montverde Academy. But he sat on the bench for Montverde, stuck behind better, more seasoned centers. In search of more playing time, Embiid switched his senior year to The Rock School in Gainesville, Fla. So little had Embiid played as a junior that The Rock coach Justin Harden hadn't heard of him until Mbah a Moute called on Embiid's behalf. Embiid gained national attention as a senior. But if his potential was suddenly clear, so was his lack of experience, as evidenced by a grading system that Harden employed each game. According to last year's report cards, which Harden shared with The Wall Street Journal, Embiid received an A or A+ in 19 of 37 games. But in 12 games, his grade was a C+ or worse, and in only three games did he score more than 20 points, a small number of games for an elite recruit. At moments, however, Embiid showed glimpses of the player many are seeing now. In a high-school matchup with Wiggins, his future teammate, Embiid dropped 18 points, including an Olajuwon-like hook shot that takes most big men years to refine. Norm Roberts, a new assistant coach at Kansas, had come to the Jayhawks from Florida, where Embiid had come to his attention. Early last season, Roberts persuaded Kansas head coach Bill Self to come to Florida to watch Embiid practice. At that time, Embiid hadn't played enough organized basketball to produce a sizable bunch of statistics. But Kansas has a tradition of great big men, dating back to Danny Manning and Wilt Chamberlain, and has had four drafted in the last three years. Watching the young man practice, Self was unusually quiet. When Roberts asked for his impressions, Self responded that he thought Embiid could be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft someday. "We never thought Joel was a project," Roberts said. "From a skills standpoint, he was farther along than most big guys." Embiid's coaches say his soccer and volleyball experiences left him more flexible than most basketball players, not to mention big ones. Kansas conditioning coaches have also added 12 pounds of muscle to him, even if Embiid prefers feasting on ice cream and brownies. Despite his inexperience, Embiid's game already compares favorably to other big men. As a college freshman, he has attempted shots on 57 possessions after posting up near the basket and is averaging 1.3 points on those trips, according to Synergy Sports Technology. The last eight college centers taken as NBA draft lottery picks averaged only .91 points per possession on their post-ups. Large players often require time to develop. Olajuwon, for example, spent four years in college. Embiid hasn't even played the game for three full years. But he might not need that long. "I think he could play in the NBA right now," Mbah a Moute said.
Posts: 30,825

01-23-2014, 11:54 AM	#463
saphojunkie MVP Join Date: Aug 2011 Casino cash: $4596550	Latest bracketology - Posted this in the Shockers thread, but I would honestly prefer if KU were the 2 seed and WSU were the #1. I want the Jayhawks to go into that game feeling like they've been disrespected, not the other way around. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology
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