Your posts are normally so stupid I only skim them. So don't blame me for not reading their entirety. Given Self has always recruited the best players he could knowing they'd leave early (even back to his days at IL), your whole thesis is dumb from the beginning.

Yes, PB. Your stupidity is somehow my shortcoming...

I think, like any other coach, Bill Self will take the best talent he can get and let the pieces fall where they may.

I think Tharpe is a pretty good player, he just does such dumb shit. Why do you walk the ball up court and take a three with ****ing 30 seconds on the shot clock and not even one pass. How as a Junior do you keep doing these things. If he would just play like he did against Toledo, take the open shots, facilitate the offense, make clean crisp passes he would be a very good player for us.

Self's strategy has always been to recruit the best players. He doesn't care if they're one and done or not. Just get the best players you can get. It helps recruiting when you get the players he and Cal gets so continue doing it. Where the coaching shows up (not saying it hasn't or won't with the one and done guys) is with the guys that end up staying three or four years. That's why he's a better coach than Cal. He is the best of both worlds whereas Cal can only do it with a fab five and luck into a couple juniors or seniors staying on.

Baylor at Iowa State on ESPN2 right now. Both these teams are sporadic as ****. Throwing shots up like it's the playground. The quest for 10 straight begins tomorrow night at OU.

Craft and his rosy cheeks lol.

Not that it matters much but KU is #6 in ESPN's BPI.

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

HUGE game tonight.

It'd be nice to get these kids some confidence and momentum for B12 play.

Would you trade Selden straight up for Marcus Foster? I would.

Based off the alarmingly quick responses I think a lot of people here don't give a shit.

Alternatively, maybe people have lost faith in Selden being the player Self hyped him up to be. He needs to turn it on starting now.

All of these guys need to turn it on right about now. I can't say a single player outside of Embiid has actually impressed me, respective to what I expected from them.

I know kids are going to be kids, and the quest for 10 straight probably doesn't mean nearly as much to them as it does your average fan; but I hope a real leader emerges through conference play and they understand how important conference play is.

We have a bunch of passive personalities. That is something I don't think Self can fix, somebody has to have some fire in their belly.

Well it's a good thing that people don't have to judge their lives or performance based on your expectations, then.

If you don't see desire and intensity in Wiggins' defense, then you apparently didn't watch the last game. I'm blown away sometimes at how uneducated a seemingly educated fan base can be at times.

I tuned in and out for the SDSU game. I didn't make any note of Wiggins having a spectacular defensive game, but I certainly wasn't watching with great interest, as the Chiefs had removed my soul just 24 hours earlier.

Are you... just... what?

Huh?

This.

What I saw against SDSU was a team that didn't have the desire to rebound, to put themselves in position to have a chance to go for it. If they play like that in the Big 12, they're going to struggle. KSU, for one, doesn't have that problem. They are an effort team, the kind that was given KU problems so far. I don't know about OU, but I'm concerned about Saturday.

You should be more concerned about tonight. OU is just as good as KSU and this is a road game (KU haven't performed well at all on the road so far and as a young team, you wouldn't expect them to). Also, as you mention, this team is simply soft right now and leaving AFH won't help with that.

If they won tonight, I'd be a bit surprised.

Yeah, and OU is averaging something like 88 points per game. Rebounding and defensive effort have to be there to beat any of our next string of opponents.

I'm sure you would have done the same with Perry Ellis last year. You're an idiot.

It's like people have never watched a young team before. I'm simply flabbergasted by the lack of perspective.

Basketball is not all talent and athleticism and "want to." You have to be able to recognize the court. It isn't that the team is sitting there saying "Oh - there's weak side help. I know exactly where I'm supposed to be to box out, but eh... I think I'll skip it."

You have to actually learn these things. And then when you learn them, you have to recognize them. And once you recognize, you have to react. And when you react, you have to react on time. And THEN you have to execute.

It's like you people think that the coach says "you need to help the helper." and then IMMEDIATELY everyone knows exactly where to be and how and when to be there, and any failure to do so is either a lack of talent or effort.

It's called experience. You can't hurry it. You can't cut corners. You can't buy it or cheat it. It takes time. And more time. And more time after that.

The reason you have a brutal non-con is because you want the maximum amount of time spent on a court against experienced, well-coached teams. You want the maximum amount of rebounds where there is a weak side player crashing the boards. When you play cupcakes, you don't get that. You get young players who aren't in the right position, so you end up thinking that you DON'T have to block out. Or close out. Or hedge on screens. Or see the double team. Or find the skip pass for an open three. You get lackadaisical. You get lazy.

All of this has been for a purpose, and if you don't see the improvements in this team, you're blind or not looking. Bill Self has to stay on their asses, because he has to get them ready for the tournament.

But I don't. I am free to see how much better the guards are against the press. How much better the positioning is when the post is double teamed. How the shot selection has improved (for the most part, when we aren't taking long twos).

And most of all, how the defensive intensity is so much better. The defensive AWARENESS and RECOGNITION are what still have go up. But my god... just look at Wiggins at the start of the year and then watch him against SDSU. You can't see the difference in his defense? Really? REALLY??

What channel is the game on tonight?

ESPN2 at 6 Central.

espn2

You're absolutely right, and Self is the best there is when it comes to doing just that. The problem is that it's tough to do that with a bunch of kids who will only be on campus for a few months. With one and done players, you have to dumb down the system and hope they can use their overwhelming talent to make up for their lack of polish. It's not easy. Calipari did it once, but that is starting to look more like a fluke than a blueprint to me.

As I recall, Cal did it with a good mix of upperclassmen as well as freshmen.

Their starters were three freshmen and two sophomores. They got 10.7 ppg from juniors and seniors combined. It was a pretty similar roster to what Kansas has this year, actually.

We do not have a Darius Miller. That's the veteran guy that got all the talent on that team to buy into the team concept. Even though he wasn't a big stats producer, that guy helped mold that team as much as any coach did.

Saul is exactly right, they had only 1 upperclassman who did squat on that team

I totally agree with that point. I get sick and tired of media and fans indicate the reason a team won or lost was because they "wanted it more" or gave "110%" or some other stupid cliche about effort. When I played competitive sports, never in my life did I say to myself, man I need to try harder. That's it, I'm not trying hard enough. And then I tried "harder" and gave it "110%" and then that just fixed everything.

Several fans are in attendance tonight.

Agree.

I don't think selfs system is conducive to one and done kids.

I wouldnt pick a fight with Embiid

Neither do I. Self is a guy who likes to break kids down and build them back up. He will put them in his doghouse, call them out in the media for being soft and not playing defense, bench them for a while, etc. When you do that, it helps to have veterans to tell the kid everything will be fine and that it's just part of the drill. Cal pretty much puts in a simple system and turns them loose.

It will be interesting to watch Self adapt.

Prison bitch wrong again.

Say it ain't so.

Wayne raping errbody out here.

Looked like Tarik was there.

Wish they'd show a replay.

Just way too easy scoring for OU.

They need to figure out how to impose their style of play instead of letting the opponents dictate it. SDSU wanted to grind it out and make it an ugly game...and it was a grind it out ugly game. Oklahoma wants to race to 100...and it's on pace to get there.

8/19???

The **** are you talking about? They've hit a couple threes and the rest is all free throws.

35 points with 5 and a half to play in the first half is WAY too easy no matter how you spin it.

Officials think we foul every trip down the court. This is basketball, we're not playing a game of horse.

when they're hitting contested jumpers, I'm not concerned as much. They have, what, two points in the paint?

I'm talking about them just running down the court and running into us so that they keep getting the easiest shot on the court. A free throw. And they're scoring at will on them.

Because they've gotten fouled every time they drive...which is every other possession. Oklahoma's making Ellis guard the perimeter, and it's screwing up their rotation.

Good point.

Jamari has gotten caught on the baseline a couple of times, too, leaving that corner 3 open.

Anyone besides me think that Wiggin is just out there running around? He looks like he could care less if he makes a good play or a bad play. I'd sit his butt for a good long while. Let someone play who wants to be there. Sheesh, so much talent; so little effort. Sad.

I've not seen any DITB fouls tonight.

Stop posting.

If Wiggins wasn't playing in this game, they'd be losing by at least 7-8 points right now.

So, you obviously want more posts. Ok, tell me the last game you saw Wiggins actually SWEAT. I'm talking dripping wet from effort? I'm waiting.....

Self with his patented T. Look for Kansas to go on a run here. Kansas is shooting nearly 70% and trails. Wouldn't want to be in that locker room for halftime.

No.

Lol at the floor smacking.

****ing OU n00bs.

I wonder if this team will still be ranked next Monday.

Wiggins does NOT stick his nose into the middle of anything. He's playing simply to get to the next level. Nothing wrong with that, but I'd like to see at least a modicum of effort. Please?

They aren't losing this game.

Now they're calling a foul every time down the floor for us too.

It's about 50/50. Maybe slightly less because this team hasn't shown an ability to win close games at all.

****ing idiots in this thread, man.

Bill knows what's up.

Following Self's T...

Foul on Oklahoma
Travel on Oklahoma
Foul on Oklahoma

:)

Worst team KU has had in years and years. Lots of taken, very little team play. Guys, this just isn't a very good team yet. Sorry, but that's the facts, Jack.

Talent*

No foul that time...need another technical.

....why,..meatloaf?

I hope you're right. I don't know how we could shoot any better than we are and it's still a struggle.

just put the meatloaf troll mult on your ignore. he's worthless

Kansas is plus 8 since Wiggins went to the bench.

I misspelled talent in the prior post. So I attempted to correct it. My bad.

As to why they're not a good team? Heck, they're babies out there. All nice a soft and pink and stupid. Not the rugged, tough and gritting team that Self is trying to jam down their throats. I figure they'll eventually get it, but they certainly haven't gotten it yet.

There's that dbag Bennett...

SUCK.
HIS.
WHITE.
BALLS.

Christ, this thread is so full of chicken littles, Saul's become the voice of reason.

Frankamp not totally shellshocked to be playing college basketball anymore? Good.

OH SHEEEEEEIT.

Get some confidence, Connor.