This will never be mistaken for Self's toughest team, but I think Lucas has played a major role in changing its identity from the soft, finesse team of the past few years to what it is now defensively. And that would have been an unbelievable thing to say in December.

Pretty dumb statement in itself. Self plays to win. Mason was the best chance.

We're going to win this shit.

Agree to disagree. I dont care about the Big 12 tournament. I care about the conference regular season title streak and final fours

Here... :)

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...psyif3iex2.jpg


Couldn't pass up those matchups, especially since there's no way in hell I'm making it to Louisville.

Some posters on here need to remember this season the next time the Jayhawks drop a tough couple conference losses and they want to panic.

And winning the WVU big 12 champ game was absolutely vital to this teams mentality. They are done losing. Period. This team wins, no matter who or where they gotta play. If you didn't know that then you didn't watch the game in Norman.

They weren't playing well at the start of conference play. So there was reason for concern.

Then Graham started to come along. So did Lucas, while being a liability on offense, Lucas has come up huge as a rebounder (esp offensive reb) and defender. He's really come a long way and he's only going to get better. Hopefully he can develop some foot work over the summer and work on some post moves because he is not good around the basket offensively.

Selden is the best player on the team, and when the guy is in the zone it's not even really close. But sometimes the guy disappears. Sometimes the guy looks like a slam dunk top 5 NBA lottery pick and sometimes it almost looks like he plays lazy and takes plays off, especially on defense. He seems in the zone ever since the start of the Big12 tourney. Maybe he understands he can make himself a lot of money and he's turning it up. Whatever the case may be, its a great time for him to bring his A game.

Team has chosen a good time to start gelling.

This isn't even a great KU team. We have an inconsistent PG, a finesse low-post scorer that gets garbage points, a roll-player Big man that has been forced into a starting role, a litany of "great shooting" wings that aren't really great shooting, and a second PG that is just now starting to find his way. They aren't great defensively - much improved from what they were in at the beginning of the season, don't get me wrong. But they are NOT a great defensive team by any stretch of the imagination. I can't even really put what this team does well outside of Graham's great play recently...

You match this team up against '08 or even Tyshawn\TRob on paper they won't even compare... Yet they have risen above it all. Is it that this year is void of great teams? Is it that they are battle-hardened through a brutal conference schedule? I just can't figure this team out.

But to me, the season that this team has put together says all you need to EVER know about Bill Self as a head coach. What a masterful job.

In the end, this non-Great team may be one of the Greats.

Not a great KU team? Relative to the field they are great. #1 in Pomeroy, Sagarin and the RPI, top seed in the tourney, 14 game winning streak sounds great to me

That's just it, compared to the field they are very good.... this team has so many flaws and don't do anything great.... They don't pass well, they are inconsistent shooters, they aren't great rebounding, defensively this was one of the worst (at the beginning of the year) under Self, etc etc... Our star player is an undersized finesse junk scorer in the post.

There is nothing about this team that would make you think they are great or the best team in the country... except that they just keep winning... over and over again... against tough competition, too.

I agree that it kind of feels that way watching them at times but based on Kenpoms pythagorean ratings this team is equal to the 2012 Trob/Tyshawn team and best Ku team since 2010

This worked like a charm.

Mason was not good last night on offense especially. But yeah, he was pretty good on defense and the other things. I hope Self lets him rest all week.

wut?

ROFL

they share the ball more beautifully than any team in college, they're one of the best 3 pt shooting teams in the country, their offense is ranked 9th in pomeroy, and the defense is ranked 5th...they outrebounded conn last night by 20

you must be watching some other team


ku fans just can't accept success, this is by any metric, or any eye test, a great college basketball 'team'...the best at ku since 2008

Right? I don't know what team that guy is watching but it's not KU. Either that or he doesn't know what a great college basketball team looks like. I wouldn't say this is the best since 08. though. Those 2010 and 2011 teams were pretty great, too.