We took off when Preston bolted

Wonder how he is liking Bosnia?

I think their unis are flak jackets

Moar Garret, less Vick!!

Meh, I don't know that the two are related. Self's teams usually start hitting their stride in early to mid February.

They might be. Self made a comment about how the uncertainty messed with their practices, they practiced a lot with 2 bigs preparing for Preston (and Silvio) to be cleared.

Mitch the Bitch has turned into Mitch the Man. Not sure I can recall a guy who turned it on this rapidly, as Mitch did when conf play began. Used to roll my eyes when he came in but not now. You can tell how much bigger he's gotten and he's aggressive going to the rim. He also blocks shots and doesn't throw the ball away.


This is a guy who showed up last year and shot a ton of 3s in practice until Self read him the riot act and started making him run laps until he accepted his role: rebounder and garbage bucket guy. He's really taken to the role and Self and He get a lot of credit.

Yeah, it's been impressive.

I think he can end up being a really good player next year.

He reminds me a lot of Kevin Young. If his outside shot continues to develop, he could be an outstanding 4 year player in that role. I’m really excited about him.

Lightfoot does have 3 pt range. I somewhat cringe when he tries to back someone down.

We haven’t said enough about Malik Newman’s progress.

He’s scored in double figures in 10 of the last 12 games. He fell just short against Texas last night.

As a side note, after seeing Tech lose again and being down like 27-7 in the first half... it's a big reason I'm never concerned early on as far as winning the conference. Other teams that haven't been there don't generally do as well down the stretch, whether it's fatigue and/or pressure and/or whatever else... while Self's teams get better.

If De Sousa can start regularly providing impact minutes off the bench... then suddenly, this shallow team becomes one of Self's deepest in recent memory. With this being an off year for the NCAA, the sky is the limit**

**But I feel it's also a considerable candidate to be the first 1 seed to drop to a 16. You just never know which team will show with this year's team.

One thing the Kentucky boards praise Self for is always having developed 2-3 year bench guys he can actually plug and play. Young, Landen Lucas, Tarik Black, Kaun, Mitch, even Releford/Withey were bench guys getting no time until JR seasons. Self really manages his roster well in this era of turnover

I know that I have in the past snarkily (is that a word) referred to when other BigXII play KU it's their superbowl and I believe that every team that plays KU in conference or not plays with that extra spark and level to beat the great KU. It happens from time to time, but consistent play usually comes out in KU's favor.

Teams can get sick hot from 3 while KU gets cold and the game goes to the opponent...like the first Tech or Texas game, but once it comes down to the grind, KU wins merely by attrition. They're just the better team.

Last night reminded me of Shaka's last hurrah against KU...VCU in that game was over 50% from 3 while KU was 5% from three and KU lost by like 3 points. It happens...everyone wants to beat KU and it can happen if KU doesnt play well.