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#4696 |
Banded
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Oz
Casino cash: $-669308
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Sunday, February 17, 2013
![]() Opinion: KU makes it hard for recruit Julius Randle to say no By Tom Keegan ![]() Photo by Nick Krug Kansas recruit Julius Randle sits behind the Kansas bench during the first half on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 at Allen Fieldhouse. Julius Randle, ranked second by Rivals behind only Andrew Wiggins in the Class of 2013 among high school basketball players, had a seat behind the Kansas University bench Saturday night. He was treated to an evening that highlighted the past and reminded the audience that the present, somehow, never strays far from the glorious days of yesteryear. Freed from a funk that included a three-game losing streak, Kansas is back to doing what it usually does under Bill Self now, Roy Williams and Larry Brown before him. In a word, dominating. Randle watched Kansas destroy Texas, 73-47, one of the other schools on his short list, along with Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina State and Oklahoma. Not only that, he watched it sitting among seven active NBA players who played their home games in front of adoring capacity crowds, sometimes including fans who were in the building in the morning watching the ESPN “GameDay” crew do its thing, as was the case Saturday. Mario Chalmers, Nick Collison, Xavier Henry, Marcus and Markieff Morris, Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor all sat near Randle. Well before tipoff, students chanted “We want Randle! We want Randle!” They didn’t mean team orthopedist Dr. Jeff Randall, who happened to be strolling past at that moment. Their knees were fine, and so were their voices. They used them to speak from the heart. They want Randle, and they made sure he knew how much they want him. Randle also was treated to a slice of how Kansas treats its stars from the past when he witnessed the unfurling of Chalmers’ No. 15 jersey, stationed high on the south wall between those of Wayne Simien (23) and Max Falkenstien (60), both of whom also were in attendance. Kansas had Texas doubled up, 70-35, late in the game, and the recruiting chant again erupted: “We want Randle! We want Randle!” Sitting next to his mother and wearing a red sweatshirt and huge grin, Randle thanked the students with a wave. They responded with another chant: “Come to Kansas! Come to Kansas!” The celebrity list on this electric evening extended beyond those who made their names playing basketball. PGA Tour pro Gary Woodland, who drives a golf ball the way Ben McLemore dunks a basketball, took in the game. Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services since 2009 and Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2008, looked to be having a blast. Randle and the rest of the crowd caught a glimpse of how much fun the Kansas players have in the locker room, doing the Harlem Shake, captured by a video on which McLemore also looks the most talented. (“With the first pick of the 2013 NBA Draft ... select Ben McLemore.") After the blowout, Elijah Johnson shared that when he was in the throes of the worst slump of his career he received encouraging text messages from former stars who let him know they had been there, done that, a once-a-teammate-always-a-teammate reminder that surely would appeal to any recruit pondering a college choice. A 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward, Randle totaled 19 points and 10 rebounds Friday night for Prestwood Christian in Plano, Texas, in his season debut after missing most of the season because of a foot injury. If Randle doesn’t choose Kansas, it won’t be for lack of effort on the part of anyone emotionally invested in the program. He would be joining a recruiting class ranked second without him. Small guards Conner Frankamp and Frank Mason, wings Wayne Selden and Brannen Greene and 7-foot center Joel Embiid make up a class that has everything but a power forward. Randle certainly couldn’t hurt his NBA Draft portfolio by learning to play the sort of team defense KU played in harassing Texas into a .218 overall shooting percentage and a .095 three-point mark on a night the Longhorns had shot-clock violations on back-to-back possessions. And as McLemore showed in executing a 360-degree dunk, Randle also would be coming to a place where freedom of expression isn’t discouraged. Wiggins, a 6-7, 190-pound forward, has KU on his list, along with Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida State. It might be difficult to pry Wiggins from Florida State, reportedly the favorite because his parents both starred in their sports as Seminoles. Guard Mitchell Wiggins played in the NBA. Marita Payne-Wiggins ran the 400 meters for Florida State and in the Olympics for Canada. After the show he witnessed Saturday, it’s difficult to imagine Randle saying no to Kansas. Think about it: If you were in his sneakers, could you say no?
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Conversation would be vastly improved by the constant use of four simple words: I do not know. |
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#4697 |
Rabbi Goldmann
Join Date: Nov 2012
Casino cash: $5450159
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I heard Randle was bored and stared at his phone the whole time. There's really nothing left to do at this point. He was at Legends of the Phog, and he was there last night, and he's been there one or two other times. Either he gets KU basketball, or he doesn't.
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#4698 |
Banded
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Oz
Casino cash: $-669308
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Monday, February 18, 2013
Jayhawks ‘Shake’ funk Bill Self says dance video bonding experience for team By Gary Bedore ![]() Photo by Nick Krug Kansas players Travis Releford (24) and Kevin Young go wild after a 360 jam by teammate Ben McLemore against Texas during the second half on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013 at Allen Fieldhouse. Kevin Young, who has been rail-thin since his days as a cross country runner at Perris (Calif.) High, says he has discovered the secret to putting on weight his second and final season at Kansas University. “I just let my ’fro grow,” joked the 6-foot-8 senior basketball power forward, who is listed at 190 pounds but in actuality may tip the scales 10 to 15 pounds below that standard. Somewhat shy around the media, even in this, his senior year, the man with the expansive afro was in a jolly mood after Saturday’s 73-47 home rout of Texas. It marked the Jayhawks’ second straight victory after three consecutive defeats. Young gladly discussed his role in production of KU’s “Harlem Shake” video, which was filmed in KU’s locker room Friday, and since being posted on YouTube has had more than 450,000 views. “Oh my gosh. I got prepared for that video. I think I bought almost everybody’s costumes,” Young said of wacky costumes and props, such as guitars and hats that can be seen at http://bit.ly/VoAkOK “When they told me we were going to do it,” Young added of organizer Justin Wesley, “I watched a couple (Harlem Shake) videos. I’d never seen it before. I said, ‘If we’re going to do this, we’ve got to go all-out. We can’t just do a little half version of it. We’ve got to do it the best we can.’” The Jayhawks’ version of the Shake includes a starring role from coach Bill Self, who begins the video by writing the words “Harlem Shake” on the chalkboard. “I have no idea,” Self said, asked how filming dance videos helps a team. “The guys told me Thursday, ‘Coach, we need you in the locker room at 2 o’clock.’ They wanted me to dance, and that wasn’t going to happen. “Of course, if I knew I could wear a chicken head (like Ben McLemore in video) and nobody knew who I was, I might have done it. I didn’t know what the Harlem Shake was. They asked me to do whatever I did, which I’m sure added a lot of value,” Self added with a laugh. “I do think it kind of shows team unity, and the other thing (is), I think our fans like seeing that our guys are real. I think that’s as much as anything it does for us.” Of course, other dance videos have appeared featuring the Jayhawks in the locker room, such as one filmed after the Ohio State victory and available at http://bit.ly/Vy5ovz “It’s huge,” Self said of the importance of players having fun. “There’s not a team in America that has fun every time they go play. You go through ruts and lose your personality through the course of the season, at least every team we’ve had. Ours (funk) came at an inopportune time. We were duds three games. I think we got our personality back. When we play with energy, we are good. When we don’t, we get average fast. That’s the thing we have to learn.” The Jayhawks this past weekend received a jolt of energy from past Jayhawks on hand for the Texas game. They included NBA players Mario Chalmers, Marcus and Markieff Morris, Thomas Robinson, Tyshawn Taylor, Nick Collison and Xavier Henry, as well as Jeff Graves, Mario Little, Conner Teahan, Brady Morningstar, Jeff Hawkins and Wayne Simien. “They text us every now and then,” senior center Jeff Withey said. “The older guys don’t give us a pep talk or anything. We know what we’ve got to do, but it’s definitely good to have them back. They are our old teammates. You want to perform for those guys.” Seeing them, “gives you a good feeling that shoots through your body,” noted senior Elijah Johnson. “In the locker room, you can’t deny it.” Noted senior Young: “They let us know we’ve got to come out and do what Kansas does. They did it before us. It’s our time now. It’s more a support thing. They didn’t put pressure on us. At the end of the day, we’re all Kansas.” Self loves when former players return to town for games. “These are kids they grew up with,” Self said. “Thomas ... he was a roommate with (Johnson) for three years, and Tyshawn kind of mentored him. The twins, Mario Little, Brady … all of them care about these kids. I text Tyshawn the other day after he had 12 (points for NBA’s Brooklyn Nets). He texts me back. I said, ‘We’ve got to get Elijah going.’ He said, ‘I know, coach. I’m talking to him.’ These guys stay in contact. I think having those guys back will help him a little bit.” KU will meet Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla.
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Conversation would be vastly improved by the constant use of four simple words: I do not know. Last edited by Lzen; 02-18-2013 at 10:32 AM.. |
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#4699 | |
MVP
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Overland Park
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#4700 | |
Would an idiot do that?
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Arizona
Casino cash: $-1065069
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#4701 |
Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Shawnee, KS.
Casino cash: $-166127
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Very much so...great seeing the old guys and how they support the current kids!!
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DONGTARD "Trump's going to lose, perhaps badly." |
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#4702 | |
Like I woke up in Wonderland..
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: KCMO
Casino cash: $856558
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Do you know any teenagers? They get the shakes if they go 5 minutes without playing on their phone.
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#4703 |
Rabbi Goldmann
Join Date: Nov 2012
Casino cash: $5450159
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Interesting. Gonna be hard for him to practice 4 hours every day if he can't keep his attention on an actual game. I guess sitting 2nd row next to NBA players at a packed Allen on saturday night isn't exciting to him. Maybe the Soduku he was playing was more interesting than that?
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#4704 | |
Would an idiot do that?
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Arizona
Casino cash: $-1065069
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#4705 | |
Supporter
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: street
Casino cash: $9172208
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Clark Hunt: "Thank god for the Dominican pool boy" |
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#4706 |
Rabbi Goldmann
Join Date: Nov 2012
Casino cash: $5450159
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“It is the right fit for me as a person and a player,” said Selden, a Boston native who plays high school ball at the Tilton School in New Hampshire. “When we walked in the arena (for Late Night in the Phog), the roar of the crowd was insane. I was filled with excitement and to a certain extent overwhelmed.”
Filled with excitement? Why? Texting is so much more interesting than Allen Fieldhouse. |
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#4707 | |
MVP
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Overland Park
Casino cash: $10020882
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Stop being a douche. |
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#4708 |
BOOM!1!
Join Date: Aug 2004
Casino cash: $6565541
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Prison and wicked are related.
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#4709 |
Supporter
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: North Central Kansas
Casino cash: $2450201
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KU up to #9 in both polls
KSU at #13 and OSU at #14 |
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#4710 |
Supporter
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: North Central Kansas
Casino cash: $2450201
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oops double post, damnit
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