Men’s NCAA

Locked and Loaded [Originally posted on sportsblog.com 11/7/13]

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With all the hype surrounding this year’s team in Lawrence, it sounds silly to say that the Jayhawks may fly under the radar. It even feels silly to even suggest that the Jayhawks are even slightly underrated. Or maybe I just think the Kentucky Wildcats are a little overrated. It seems like every major media outlet has pretty much guaranteed that Calipari’s squad will run unopposed through the rest of the NCAA. Maybe this is a good thing for Kansas. Maybe this will keep them focused and grounded. Maybe the more press Kentucky gets, the more less they will be inclined to over-analyze every jump shot Andrew Wiggins misses.

This is why the pre-season rankings and awards are silly to me. No one has played a single minute of ball and already people are saying this could be Kentucky’s greatest team ever. If history has shown us anything its that the best team usually does not win the NCAA tournament–it is usually the hottest team. Now I don’t know much about this Kentucky team that Calipari is fielding, but I have seen the Harrison twins play. I got the opportunity to watch Andrew and Aaron Harrison win the state title this year down in Texas.

Andrew was phenomenal and has a chance to be the best point guard to ever come out of Texas (T.J. Ford may hold that title for now) and the best in the country this year.

Aaron Harrison struck me as a knucklehead(There was speculation that a video posted by Aaron Harrison saying “F&*$ Andrew Wiggins, we don’t need him.” did not help them in the recruitment of the best hoops prospect since Lebron). His body language got sour when things went wrong. I remember watching him taking lots of bad shots and then hanging his head, sometimes forgetting to get back up court. During a time out, Andrew got onto him for his demeanor and told him to “get his head up and play.”

Enough about the Wildcats, because I’m all about these Jayhawks right now.

Some quick thoughts from the pre-season action:

This is easily the deepest team I’ve seen in the Bill Self era. It’s also easily the most athletic team. The closest thing to a stiff on this roster is Perry Ellis and his footwork has done nothing but improve since his first game as a freshman.

This will go down as one of the most entertaining teams to don the Blue and Crimson uniforms. The way people talk about the late 90’s squads, early 2000’s Hinrich-Collison-Gooden squads, and Wright-Rush-Chalmers teams, people will reflect in awe at this new era of Jayhawk.

People are expecting big things this year from Andrew Wiggins and they should be. I think he will live up to the hype. My prediction is that Jayhawks’ fans will only catch brief glimpse of Wiggins’ basketball brilliance.

Athletically he is off the charts and he can certainly get to the rim. I don’t foresee him having more than a couple 30 point games while he is here in Lawrence. For one, his 3 point game isn’t quite as developed yet (which kind of nixes the Kevin Durant comparison to me–he isn’t as good of a pure shooter. I think his game resembles Kobe Bryant’s if anybody’s. Kobe in his early days was more of a slasher then. People don’t remember how erratic his jumper was the first couple of years. Kobe worked tirelessly to get it as deadly as it is now).
The other reason is that they won’t need him to score that many points. As loaded as they are at the wings and in the front court, it won’t be necessary for Wiggins to have these scoring barrages.

I think the only time we’ll see Wiggins unleash the beast is during late game scenarios when KU needs a big bucket. The team has so many weapons down low on the block I do believe he can easily average 16-20 points per game.
Tarik Black will be a beast on the boards and down low. He reminds me of that kid who played at Florida Vernon Macklin. I think he can be a legitimate force. I heard someone say he was a bit like Darnell Jackson from the last championship team. I’ll take that.

Perry Ellis will be good for at least 16 points 10 boards a game. A real double double machine. I expect him to be a reliable option down the stretch of games whenever the team needs an easy bucket. Depending on how well he progresses, he could be a legit lottery prospect.

I think they will be able to count on Naadir Tharpe and Andrew White for clutch plays down the stretch. Tharpe will make his best Aaron Miles impression while White has the chance to be a better Michael Lee.

And I’m not even sure how high the ceiling is for Selden and Embiid. I think Selden will show flashes of brilliance and Embiid will be a work in progress. He will certainly make a few mistakes along with some outstanding plays. The learning curve for him may be the biggest for this incoming class.

Jamari Traylor has a chance to make an impact whenever he is in the game. He is big, runs the floor well and is an underrated passer. He could play himself into a lottery pick by season’s end.

I like Frankamp (the next Jeff Boschee in my opinion) and Brannon Greene coming off the bench and hitting timely 3 pointers. I think Frank Mason will give Naadir Tharpe a good run for his money by season’s end for starting point guard. At worst he will be a force to reckon with coming out with the second team. I can’t imagine the nightmare match up they will pose with both of them paired together.

I think the key to how far this team advances in the tourney depends on how well Tharpe and Mason can distribute the ball to the rest of the play makers. I’m curious how they will match up next Tuesday with the Blue Devils. I’m sure Coach K is excited to see how they will defend this Kansas squad. This KU squad looks pretty balanced. The front court is pretty physical but the perimeter players on this team will make it impossible to play zone.

I think for every Andrew Wiggins highlight that you will see on sportscenter, there will be 2 to 3 clutch basketball plays made by Andrew White III, Nadir Thaarpe, Perry Ellis and Tarik Black. Something about Selden’s demeanor tells me he is a gamer too.

Not only will this team be loaded this year, there’s a chance they will be an even more of a cohesive unit next year. This is still a super young team. Outside of Wiggins, Selden and Ellis and Traylor, I don’t see anyone else leaving for the NBA (maybe Mason goes but a lot would have to happen between now and April for me to be convinced he’s NBA ready).

This would mean that Greene, Frankamp, Thaarpe, Mason, and Embiid would return to a squad that is already prospectively landing more blue chip recruits. Thaarpe would be a senior next year and tourney history has also shown that veteran back courts can take a team far in the NCAA’s.

We are looking at what could be a mini KU dynasty for the next 3-4 years. Jimmy Johnson said that when he left Oklahoma State for the “U”, it was like trading in a BB gun for an uzi. Self has so many weapons at his disposal (outside of Wiggins) that I’m sure he’s chomping at the bit for a possible rematch with Calipari.

Kansas has the toughest non-conference schedule in the country, so we will know how well the rest of the teams match up with them.

I for one will not miss a single game of this year. I will probably watch more Kentucky basketball this year than I have in my whole life combined.

This Duke game on Tuesday will be like an AAU Nike camp game. I expect an uptempo, high intensity game that will rival anything played in the post season this year.

This is going to be the most fascinating NCAA hoops season in years. Bring on the Wildcats. Bring on the Blue Devils. It’s about to go down.

All I needed to see [Originally posted on sportsblog.com 11/13/13

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Last night was a nice glimpse into what is going to be a fantastic basketball season. I haven’t been this excited about college hoops since Kevin Durant was a one and done for University of Texas.
The hype dissipated and the truth unveiled itself. Here is what I took away from last night’s Champions Classic:

Julius Randle is the real deal. Bro put up 27-13 and could have had more had Kentucky been able to pass the ball effectively. His footwork is absurdly good for a freshman and he will undoubtedly dominate the paint for the rest of the year.

Unfortunately he doesn’t have much help. I’m sure Andrew Harrison will be fine come post-season time, his brother Aaron on the other hand, I’m not exactly sold on (1-7 shooting, 0-5 from 3 and 2 TO’s). This squad reminds me of some of Calipari’s Memphis teams where they were heavy on length and bigs but short on outside shooting. With no shooters to spread out the floor, teams are just going to collapse on Randle and dare the rest of the team to shoot it.

That being said, I feel like that Michigan State win was an aberration. They are good. They probably should win the Big Ten (I haven’t seen what Indiana or Michigan will trot out this year). I’m not sure that if they played a best of 7 that kentucky wouldn’t win 4-1. The Spartans looked good. I like Keith Appling’s game and Gary Harris and Adrian Payne had great games as well. I just don’t think that kind of game can be replicated. Kentucky looked very lost at times last night and Michigan State had a lot of easy looks, but also took a lot of bad shots that happened to go in the hoop. Of course, like most Tom Izzo squads, they played excellent defense. This alone will keep them in any game against any team.

Andrew Wiggins had a very quiet night at 22 points. I had predicted to some friends that his new haircut meant he was all business. I figured if the beast were going to be released it would be tonight on the big stage. Early foul trouble never let him get into a rhythm and it took a 16 point surge in the 2nd half to get it to 22. This should scare most teams because he hasn’t even gotten loose yet. It’s coming. Just you wait.

One of the reasons Wiggins didn’t have to put the team on his back the whole game was because Perry Ellis has broad shoulders himself. 24 points on 9-13 shooting, 3 steals, 9 boards, and a couple of really awesome hustle plays where he went to the floor for loose balls. In the words of Stephen A. Smith, Ellis “flat out balled.” If Ellis keeps this kind of production up, you can pretty much kiss him goodbye (especially if this year ends with a National Championship).

This may have been mentioned before, but KU is deep. Wayne Selden stepped up and made big plays on both ends of the court. Frank Mason showed no fear whatsoever. If for some reason Tharpe gets hurt or messes up somehow off the court, Mason could end up stealing his job. Mason is super fast and was not afraid to push the tempo. There were times he beat defenders down the court when it seemed impossible to get a transition bucket. He either got to the cup, or got fouled. I was really impressed with how well he played.

Duke is a pretty good team. Rodney Hood showed me something last night and 3 other players got double figures in scoring (Amile Jefferson, Quinn Cook, and Rasheed Sulaimon). They only had 10 collective turnovers (KU only had 10 themselves) and they played really well. KU just imposed their will near the end. With all the bodies Bill Self could just throw out there, it seemed like they just wore the Blue Devils down (foul trouble played a small part in that as well–who wants to pay good money to see Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins ride the pine?).

Jabari Parker may have vaulted himself into the number 1 draft pick with his performance last night. Dude’s game is so ill. There were a couple of shots he made last night that made me make faces only reserved for “his airness” Michael Jordan and the second greatest shooting guard to ever play, Kobe Bryant. Jabari is legit. I’m not crazy about making comparisons, but if there were a player in the draft whose games is anything like Kevin Durant, it might be Parker. He can sky, he can shoot, and he can penetrate.

I was so juiced after last night that it took me at least an hour and half to calm down enough to fall asleep. I was excited about the season before I saw Kentucky and Duke play last night. Now I’m just plain hype. Not only will I watch every single minute of KU basketball this year, but I won’t miss too many televised events that involve Jabari Parker or Julius Randle.

Last night felt very close to Final Four Semi-finals match-ups (I know Louisville is ranked #3 but I still feel like it was a very fluky win. Louisville had a lot of help from the officials in both games. Until they beat someone they gets no respect from me). In no way is it clear just how good these teams are or will be come post-season, however; I’m extremely impressed with this Kansas squad.

Kentucky has Randle. Duke has Parker. But Kansas to me has the best team of all the squads that played last night. Duke played about as good of a game as they could have and KU played no where near as good of a game as they are capable of. I think injuries aside, this Kansas team can beat anybody out there. I will not be surprised one bit to see Perry Ellis, Andrew Wiggins, and company, cutting down the nets in April. The beauty of the Men’s game of course is that it will be decided on the court and not in the polls.

New Recruits [originally posted on sportsblog 11/17/13]

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KU scored pretty big with the # 4 and #12 rated players in the country in Cliff Alexander (Chicago Curie High) and Kelly Oubre (Findlay Prep).

Alexander is a natural power forward who will add some needed muscle for next year’s front line (the Jayhawks could easily lose as many as four bigs to the NBA draft). He is 6’8, 240 lbs.
Oubre is a 6’7 small forward who looks like he can play some 2 guard as well. His game kind of reminds me of Brandon Jennings. I liked his mix tape in particular because the beats on the video went hard. So I’m going to at least give him props for picking some good music to accompany his highlights.

It’s hard to say how good these guys will be and where they will fit into the lineup next year. I can easily see Andrew Wiggins, Perry Ellis, Jamari Traylor, and Wayne Selden all leaving for the draft after this year’s run. There will definitely be minutes for Alexander and Oubre will certainly be used as Wiggins’ replacement on the wing.
Now that Bill Self has gotten the two allotted scholarships filled, let’s concentrate on this year’s team.

Community Quick Hits [originally posted on sportsblog.com 11/24/13]

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Random basketball thoughts from last week:

1) Indiana’s Paul George must have been inspired by Larry “Legend” the other night against the Knicks. Certain players know how to really dial it up whenever they are playing Madison Square Garden. Anytime Jordan played there you knew he was going for 30 points (at least). Kobe was the same way. If Kevin Durant or Steph Curry go to MSG to play, I’m going to at least look and see if the game is televised. It may be time to add Paul George to the list.

What he did down the stretch of the 4th quarter and in OT against the Knicks was reminiscent of the way superstars take over the game. He played D on Carmelo Anthony and still managed to make tough shots down the stretch. It was pretty hype. I’m all in on the Pacers if they get more bench help. Injuries aside, I’m saying it’s going to be a Pacers-Spurs finals.

2) Most blowouts are boring to watch, but a KU blowout is still pretty fun. Friday night’s game against Towson was exactly the kind of game you want to see if you are a Jayhawks fan. They didn’t play down to the competition. They came out aggressive and when the opportunity arrived they went for the jugular and put the game out of reach.

I don’t expect many teams to lay down for the Jayhawks. In fact, with all the scouts and hoopla surrounding the team, they will probably get teams’ best shot. If I were a junior or senior, I would want to ball out and leave something for the NBA scouts to remember about me. I don’t expect many more blowouts like the one they had against Towson where the game was over 10 minutes in. On a video game you can hit reset or turn the game off. In real life you just have to take the ass whupping. Scouts take note of how well players respond when getting blown out like that–whether a player crumpled up like a folding chair and mailed it in, or if they left it all on the court.

John Wooden used to say that when you are playing basketball, you are not playing against an opponent. You are playing against your best self. I like the way the Jayhawks went into that game aggressive and never let off the gas. That’s the way championship teams approach things every night.

Towson didn’t play particularly well. Everyone seemed to be looking for their own shot instead of moving the ball and moving without the the ball. Towson started out like 1 for 7 in the first half and for every miss, the Jayhawks took the long rebound and pushed it for a fast break. I was hoping that they would hit a 100, but I knew that Towson would probably score more than 16 in the second half.

3) Joel Embiid probably won’t be around for long if he keeps playing like he has been. His numbers have been nice, but you have to watch him play to get the full gist of how good he can be. He flashed some serious signs of basketball brilliance in both games this week.

Against Iona he showed how athletic and graceful he is, impressing me with how fluid his movements were. Against Towson, he made me squeal with a couple of beautiful Duncan-esque outlet passes. Right now on some mock drafts, he is listed as high as #7.

4) Andrew Wiggins made an excellent decision in coming here to Lawrence. Had he gone to FSU, he’d be in the ACC with Jabari Parker. Though this sounds titillating to have that matchup twice in one year (assuming KU and Duke don’t face each other again in the tourney), he’d be playing on a mid-tier team in a stacked ACC.

Could you imagine Wiggins playing for Kenutcky? The Wildcats already have spacing issues with their difficulties hitting the deep shot. Wiggins would have just added to that. Randle commands a lot of space in the paint and there would be little left for Wiggins to work with. How would they have found enough shots for everybody?

Without Wiggins, this would be a pretty memorable team. With Wiggins, this team has a chance to be one of the all time greats. I’m not just talking about KU history either. I think that (injuries withstanding) people will reflect on this team like they talk about 1990 UNLV, the Fab Five Michigan squads, ’91 Duke, and ’06-07 Florida teams with Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and Al Horford.

It is a long season which makes this talk sound a little crazy. The question becomes will this be one of the best NCAA teams of all time, or will they be one of the best NCAA teams to not win it all? I would hate to one day write a “lovable losers” essay about this team.

Bring on the Demon Deacons!

Good Teaching Moment [originally posted on 12/2/13 on sportsblog.com]

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The Lawrence Journal World typified the overreaction from Jayhawk nation when it ran the headline: “Paradise Lost” for Friday’s loss to the Villanova Wildcats.

You could tell that early on the boys looked sluggish and the combination of Villanova’s aggression, the dim setting for an “arena” (the ceiling was too low and the room itself reeked of a Las Vegas ballroom lounge), and Kansas’ body language gave me a bad feeling minutes into the game.

I think even Bill Self knew the score. The smirk he displayed during his sideline interviews was priceless. I’m not saying he knew that the boys were being boys on their all expenses paid trip to the Bahamas, but he had to suspect something right?

I’m not alleging that the team was getting ripped all weekend, and thus too dehydrated to compete effectively, but it does make you wonder.

The only guys who were able to bring it consistently energy wise were Joel Embiid and Frank Mason Jr.

Not to take anything away from the Wildcats. They played out of their mind and are a very good team. I would be shocked if they didn’t make the NCAA tournament in March. But they barely won and KU didn’t play even close to what they are capable of playing. I’m not worried in the least bit. I’d rather they lose now in such a manner than go undefeated and lose during the tournament. I hope this weekend teaches the team that they have to bring it every game because every team will be bringing their ‘A’ game to face KU.

From the look of things, they have a lot to work on, even Self himself says “that they got very little accomplished” during this trip to the Bahamas.

Seems like Self still hasn’t quite found his lineup just yet. 3 point shooting has been pretty hit or miss. When Selden, Wiggins, Thaarpe, Black and Ellis are on the court together, there is a bit of cluster going on inside the perimeter. Thaarpe, Selden, and Wiggins still don’t make enough outside buckets to keep defenders honest. Brandon Greene, and Connor Frankamp haven’t been good enough defenders to stay on the court for long stretches of time.

This is too bad because their outside shooting could stretch defenses out a bit and open up the lanes for Wiggins to drive and Ellis to get some space to work inside. Joel Embiid looks like he’ll soon be starting for the team (unless Self wants a legitimate scorer like Embiid to lead the second unit) by mid season. He has worked himself higher up the draft every game. As of the other night, I saw one draft board that had Wiggins going number 1 (debatable), Embiid as high as a number 3 pick, Selden at number 9, and Ellis as a fifteen pick.
Embiid is already my favorite player on this squad and by year’s end could make the pantheon of Jayhawks to ever come through Allen Fieldhouse. I’m digging it. He just needs to learn how to stay on the floor without fouling (Olajuwon had the same problem early in his career–so maybe the comparisons are apt).

Other noteworthy thoughts from last week:

I got a chance to watch some other teams this week.

The Duke-Zona game was interesting. I’m still not sold on Duke as a team. Besides Quinn Cook, Rodney Hood, and Jabari Parker, no one on that Duke team knocks me out. They will be a sweet sixteen team and maybe an elite eight, but the upper echelon teams will work them.

I like Arizona’s squad. Aaron Gordon didn’t particularly wow me as a scorer, but he surprised me with his passing. He’s a really good passer. I was impressed with a few of his dishes throughout the game. Someone (probably Bill Simmons) touted him as another Blake Griffin, but his game reminded me more of a finesse player (think Channing Frye with muscle). He may be the best passing big man I’ve seen on their team since Luke Walton. I could see them beating KU on the right day. Their pg TJ McConnell reminds me of Ohio State’s Aaron Craft and they play great defense. If they face KU in the tournament in March, look out!

Another team that scares me is Oklahoma State. Marcus Smart already has Kevin Durant’s ringing endorsement. I finally got a chance to see him this season the other night against Memphis. It was obvious that they had game planned especially for Smart and it was much more difficult for Smart to get to the rack. Every 3 pointer Smart jacked up was forced and contested and Oklahoma State ended up losing. Smart went 4 for 13 with 12 points and 5 turnovers. He did have a couple of sick assists and still threatened to take over down the stretch.

With Markel Brown, Le Bryant Nash, and Phil Forte, the Cowpokes have a chance to compete for the Big 12 title. I’m not sure if they have enough inside to challenge an opposing team’s big man on a consistent basis. Of course come tournament time, its all about the guard play, and this team may be just as good as the OSU team that went deep into the playoffs with Ivan McFarlin, Joey Graham, and John Lucas running the point. I can’t wait for that January 18th matchup. I’m going to have to find a 2nd job so I can afford tickets.

In the NBA, my award for Jayhawk of the week goes to Xavier Henry who has been down right balling for the Los Angeles Lakers. I’m pretty impressed because he came to Lawrence with so much hype and was even a lottery pick when he left school. I had kind of written him off as a bust. Just goes to show that some players take a little longer than others to develop (another reason why I preach to the Jayhawk faithful to be patient about Wiggins and temper the unrealistic expectations). I’m glad his talent is finally shining through. I’m sure he’s exchanging text messages with Matt Kemp and Blake Griffin about how the women in L.A. are even crazier than ones in Oklahoma City–but man isn’t the weather fantastic.

A quick shout out to Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide for blowing their three-peat chances in memorable fashion. Personal fouls, personnel screw ups, poor special teams, and some head scratching coaching decisions helped Alabama to a big fat L. It was amazing to watch A Nick Saban coached team uncharacteristically unravel. When the refs put time on the clock, and the field goal unit trotted onto the field, I could not believe my eyes.

It didn’t make sense to put a freshman kicker out there to attempt a 59 yard kick when he’d only kicked 3 field goals his whole career. The starting kicker Cade Foster had already missed 3 field goals that day. I figured they were going to call the Hail Mary play. That was like watching the end of a video game. I still can’t believe it. I was watching it live as it happened and my housemates thought someone had broken their foot, I was screaming so loudly. It was unreal. I saw the Music City Miracle as it unfolded, and this was much more spectacular than this. In my opinion this beats Kordell Stewart’s Hail Mary against Michigan, and Stanford-Cal’s kickoff return. Incredible. I bet the odds on Saban splitting for Texas now have increased by 33 percent.

Jayhawks go to Boulder and Gainesville this week. Let’s see how they bounce back.

Bowled over in Boulder and Other Icy Receptions [originally posted 12/9/13 on sportsblog.com]

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Much like most of the people in this region who are experiencing an early visit from the winter, I spent the majority of my weekend indoors. The football games, with the added elements were entertaining to watch, but I wouldn’t trade places with not a player nor fan this weekend. I felt rather lucky to be comfortably lying on the couch, vegging out on what turned out to be a spectacular sports Saturday.

Friday night found me at a buddy’s apartment, sitting in front of his television, praying that the Baylor-Kentucky women’s game did not go into a 5th overtime. Luckily I had taken a nap after work, and hadn’t lost all my juju, but I was worried that the delay would affect the quality of play with the Men’s game–played in a fairly empty JerryWorld.

I was happy to be proven wrong. Not long after tip off, both teams had traded dunks within the first five possessions. It ended up being a really entertaining matchup with Baylor’s front court length being too much for Kentucky.

Julius Randle still put up 16 and 8 but was not able to dominate the game like he had been for the past 2 weeks. Aaron Harrison “the knucklehead twin” had a decent game with 15 points and 6 assists. James Young continued his consistent efficiency with 14 points on 5 of 11 shooting (4-7 from 3 point land).

Kentucky only had 2 points from their bench. That will not cut it against a ranked team like Baylor. All that being said, Kentucky looks like they could be really good come March. This team reminds me of the ’08 Memphis squad that Calipari took to the Championship against the Jayhawks.

They have lots of length (I’m really feeling Willie Cauley-Stein’s game), inconsistent outside shooting, and their free throw shooting is pretty poor. A team can get pretty far with a makeup like this if they are blowing teams out, but the margin is much smaller in tightly contested games against good opponents.

John Calipari is a great recruiter but as X’s and O’s go, he’s been known to get out coached when the talent gap has been even between teams. I keep joking to my buddy, a lifetime Wildcat fan, that as soon as Calipari leaves (because of the inevitable sanctions that will creep up), Travis Ford will be his replacement.

Baylor looked really good. Their front court really impressed me. Isiah Austin and Corey Jefferson really brought it. The point guard Kenny Cherry had a great game as well, pouring in 18 points. I could see Baylor winning a couple of home games against Oklahoma State and Kansas on the right night. Their Achilles heel will be at the guard positions.

Cherry is decent but it took him 15 shots to get 18 points, and they had trouble getting the ball up the court without turning it over. They didn’t get very much production from Brady Heslip, Ish Wainwright, and Gary Franklin (5 pts combined from the 3). They messed up five consecutive pick n rolls during one particular stretch; either not seeing the open big man or messing the pass up altogether.

They’ll make the tourney but will get knocked out by a team with good back court and good head coach with a good zone defensive scheme (Syracuse maybe?). They shoot too many jump shots to be taken seriously as a contender.

*** I got to watch the Duke vs. Michigan game last Tuesday night. What a waste of time that was. If you want to know how Mitch McGary will look in the NBA, just watch the tape of this game. I’m not sure why everyone is so high on him. At best he reminds me of a poor man’s David Lee. McGary looked too slow for Duke’s pressure D and they took advantage of him and the Wolverines’ lack of an elite point guard.That being said he still managed to put up 15 and 14. If he learns how to play D at the NBA level and rebound he can be as good as Nick Collison, an energy and rebounds guy. Maybe I’m wrong, who knows.

Michigan looked horrible. The only one who showed up to play was that Levert’s nephew Caris.Quinn Cook and Rodney Hood got to the rack whenever they wanted to and Michgan couldn’t rotate fast enough to get out on the shooters. Duke made 8 – pointers but chucked up 23 attempts (many of them wide open it seemed). Had Jabari Parker shot been falling the game would have been a blowout. Let me tell you that the game never seemed as close as a ten point deficit. Duke was in control the whole time.

**** Saturday was a highly anticipated day around here. The KC Sporting were in the MLS cup championship and for the first time since I have been here, I was in a bar where the Jayhawks were second fiddle. Sporting fans would be rewarded for their diligence, with an epic win in overtime on penalty kicks.

KU fans were treated to a really exciting, but revealing loss to the Colorado Buffaloes. I liked how krunk the fans were in that building. I have been told that historically, their venue would joking be referred to as “Allen Fieldhouse West” The CU fans represented though. The ball players fed off it and it was definitely a tough environment.

I liked how the Jayhawks handled themselves. They didn’t fold up, they fought back to tie it, and almost came back and won a game they didn’t deserve to win. Wiggins came on in the 2nd half after playing sparingly the first half (picked up a careless reaching foul that put him on the bench very early). He had 16 second half points down the stretch (22 points on 7-11 shooting).

They needed his production too. No one else got close to scoring 20 points. Joel Embiid had only ten points as he struggled with foul trouble. Perry Ellis only had 10 points. Ellis only shot the ball 6 times .The team as a whole shot attempted 20 3 pointers and only made 5 of them. The team also only had 11 assists and were only got 8 offensive rebounds to the Buffaloes 15. These stats will tell you all you need to know about the game and why the Jayhawks were lucky to only lose by 3 points.

They made the Buffs look like a team better than what their ranking (currently unranked) suggested. Guard Jaron Hopkins was the only starter to not hit double digits in scoring. The Buffs found way to find the hole in the zone on almost every possession and seemed to hit every open jumper that was available. They looked in sync down the stretch, making the correct passes and getting the ball to the open perimeter player.

Spencer Dinwiddie (whose mustache and name suggest a future as a high school principal somewhere in the Denver area) played a great game. He had 15 points and 7 assists (3-8 shooting) and seemed to be in on every critical play (save the quarter court heave at the end by Askia Booker).

So bad officiating, foul trouble, and a little bit of luck and heroics conspired to hand the Jayhawks their second loss of the season to an inferior opponent. One could argue that this was the story line to the first loss out in the Bahamas (if you take away the distractions of alcohol, the holidays, the stomach flu, and the Bahamas).

There is no reason for Jayhawks fans to panic. The Buffaloes played out of their minds, good for them. We’ll see how good they are in March. I think this game on Tuesday will be a great revelation of what adjustments the team needs to make. Perhaps that means starting Embiid and Mason and going with a near all Freshman lineup. I’m excited to see how they do in Gainesville.

***** A quick nod to the NBA ballers who went HAM this past week. We’ll call it THACLICKPICKA’s ALL KOSHER ALL STARS for dudes who go ham throughout the week.

PG STEPH CURRY- BALLING!!!!

PG DAMIEN LILLARD- BALLING!!

SF PAUL GEORGE– Did you see his game against the Trailblazers last week? Bro went HAM!

PF KEVIN DURANT– dude was straight balling against Indy last night. FILTHY!!!

and lastly at

Center from Seagoville, Texas:

LAMARCUS!!!!!!!!

Overreaction Wednesday [originally posted 12/11/13 on sportsblog.com]

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Before last night’s game, I couldn’t tell you a single player on the Florida Gators roster besides Patric Young.

But oh did I learn. I learned today.

Florida is a legit squad. I can’t wait to see them play Kentucky this year.

Time to talk KU fans off the ledge last night. Expectations here in Lawrence are way too high for where the team is.

This is still a very young team that hasn’t quite found its identity yet. They haven’t made their bones off being a stellar defensive team like that 2011-2012 Final Four team. There aren’t established vets who know their roles and can help coach on the floor like last year’s squad. This is a very young team that is still learning how to play together. The majority of the non-conference games will comprise mostly of seeing where all the pieces fit. There was a lot to take away from last night’s game so let’s get into it:

In the words of Chief Keef; here’s some S&%t I don’t LIKE:

Turnovers. 16 of them in the first half. This put the Jayhawks in an 18 point hole going into the locker room. I knew they still had a big run in them, but I knew this was going to take some effort to knock back down into a 2 possession ball game.

Awful possessions (did I mention that KU turned the ball over 16 times in the first half? Yea thought so.) People at the bar watched in disbelief as the Jayhawks had bad possession after bad possession.

There was very little passing, and too many 1 on 5 attacks to the rim. That will not work against a Billy Donovan squad. The Gators have a very solid backcourt in Scottie Wilbekin and Michael Frazier II. Besides Patric Young, they have very little front court length. Florida countered this advantage by going small and just bum rushing Kansas out the gate, forcing the inexperienced guards to get the ball out of their hands quickly.

KU looked out of sync the whole night, and was not able to get the ball consistently into the paint to their bigs, Perry Ellis or Joel Embiid. Ellis only had 3 shot attempts and Embiid 6. Meanwhile KU settled for way too many jump shots and didn’t work enough to break the zone defense by making the extra passes (or cuts for that matter–lots of standing around). There was way too much hero ball going on, dudes trying to hit 8 point shots and beat 3 dudes on the dribble during transition.

The Gators shot lights out for sure. But when they did miss, there were too many times a rebounder for KU didn’t squeeze the ball hard enough, knocked the ball out of their own teammates hands or just not get to a 50-50 ball. Florida would retain possession and sure enough would score. This happened time and time again, last night.

There was a horrible no call at the end of the game after Wiggins put on his best Danny Granger impersonation and willed the Jayhawks to within 6 ( including hitting a deep 3 from well beyond NBA range). They stole the ball, and Wiggins appeared to be fouled on his way up for a dunk, and the refs somehow missed the foul. That wasn’t the reason the Jayhawks lost, but it was certainly a momentum killer, and viewers were robbed of what could have been a fantastic finish. Who knows what happens if the Jayhawks cut the lead to 4.

Going against a senior laden team on the road, it was very obvious that the Jayhawks are just too young right now. It is going to be a learning curve and a process, and frankly Kansas fans will need to learn patience. If you were to look into Bill Self’s smirking face, you would see his confidence in the process. Billy Donovan himself said that out of any team in the country, the Jayhawks has the highest ceiling. In the this one-and-done age, there just isn’t enough patience to watch a team develop for 3 years and take baby steps. Expectations are SKY HIGH right now, and people just need to realize that it may not even be until halfway into conference play before this team figures it out.

Passing seems to be an issue with the team only getting 11 assists for the second game in a row. Tharpe just isn’t ready to lead the team yet it seems, starting the game out with the second unit (Bill Self lit into him after one particularly dreadful run).

Frank Mason is a quick guard and can get to the rim anytime he wants, but he hasn’t been very good at setting up other players.

I was joking last night that they miss Julian Wright. Or a player like him. Wright was awesome at busting up zones by finding a hole in the middle and hitting a mid-range jumper, making an incredible pass to a cutting big, or taking two dribbles and dunking the basketball.

We don’t really have a zone buster right now. Wiggins could develop into that, and Mason can drive and kick, but there isn’t enough passing, or movement without the ball.

Maybe Self needs to go small ball when teams bust out that 2-3 zone. Go with Ellis or Embiid at Center, Wiggins at Power Forward, Selden at the Small Forward, with Greene and Mason in the backcourt. That could possibly stretch the defense and make them honest. This Jayhawks team is forcing too many 3 pointers, and ignoring the bigs. I said at the beginning that this team will only go as far as Tharpe and Ellis can take them. I don’t think there is an accident that in the games where they have not produced, that Kansas has lost. Ellis needs more touches, he should never shoot the ball 3 times in one half, let alone a whole game.

Florida is legit though. They have four seniors in the starting lineup. They can hit the 3 poointer. Patric Young is a man beast. We joked at the bar that he looked like a Mandingo fighter from “Django Unchained”. I could see him playing John Henry in a Broadway musical, until Tyler Perry discovers him and makes him a movie star (That is if basketball doesn’t work out for him).

No need to Worry Jayhawks fans. Saturday is pretty much a home game against New Mexico. Everything is going to be alright. Wiggins just needs help, and guys just need to learn their roles so they can do their individual jobs correctly. The team will be fine come March. I think this is the coming out party we have been expecting from Wiggins, now he just needs everyone else to step up. I’m certain that if they play the Gators again at a neutral site, the story line will have a different ending.

**** I got a chance to watch the Golden State game tonight against the Mavericks and was not disappointed one bit. Golden State was down by as many as 17 and Steph Curry had 17 going into the 4th quarter. He ended the game with 33, including the game winner with 1.2 seconds left. That means he had a 16 point 4th quarter, and some nice assists along the way (Dramond Green played clutch down the stretch). Between them, The Jayhawks, the Spurs, the Pacers, the Trailblazers, and the Thunder, I may not leave the house much until next June. It’s a terrifying and exciting thought. I’m battling a full blown case of hoops fever right now.

There a couple other teams I find myself peeping on the box scores and soon I may catch myself watching more of are the Mavericks, the Phoenix Suns, and the Sacramento Kings.

I like the combination of Monta-ball and Rick Carlisle’s basketball genius (Carlisle is 2nd best coach in the NBA in my opinion behind Gregg Popovich). I even like watching Dirk all of a sudden. Two of the better games I have watched this season (and the past week) involved them. Both games coming down to last second shots.

I fell asleep watching the Suns-Lakers game last night, but I was impressed with their team. I’d heard they were better this year and to quote Lily Von Shtupp from Blazing Saddles, “It’s twue. It’s twue!”

The Suns are balling. I love the uptempo game they play with Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. I like the Morris twins now more than I did when they were in college. They look like they both shed some pounds, and I like that they both were hitting jumpers. I won’t be opposed to watching them in the future.

I’m curious about how well Rudy Gay will fit on this Kings team. Maybe B-MacLemore will pick up some pointers from Rudy, and maybe MacLemore will force Rudy to play more inside. I’m not sure how the lineup of Isiah Thomas, Rudy Gay, Ben McLemore, Derrick Williams, and Boogie Cousins will play out. I will say that it’d be a fun lineup to trot out on NBA2K14. This may be worth checking into. I feel very fortunate as an NBA fan right now. This draft class for 2014 will make an already exciting league that much more intriguing. I can’t wait. Some good games this weekend. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s Blazers-Rockets game tomorrow. Lakers-Thunder play Friday night. Saturday is UNC-Kentucky, and of course I get to see the Jayhawks in person out in Kansas City.

Somewhere in between that time I have to get my grad school application turned in to KU. Basketball never stops–even while I nap. Which I’m going to need tomorrow if I want to stay up and watch the Trailblazers game.

A Hard 86 [Originally posted on sportsblog.com 12/25/13]

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The knock on my door at 9 AM surprised me because I went to bed with the notion that a visit to the Allen Fieldhouse would not be in order for Saturday’s game against Georgetown. I had imbibed a bit too much the night before at a happy hour that ran way longer than an hour. I fell asleep that night okay with just watching the game on the big screen.

Although the front of the jerseys said Georgetown, with Otto Porter gone, I was unable to identify any of the names on the back of the jerseys. They weren’t even ranked. But I knew that a John Thompson III coached team would compete, and I didn’t fight it when my buddy expressed his desire to still attempt to make it into the fieldhouse. As it turned out, we got really lucky and ran into a fair scalper who offered us the best deal I’ve ever gotten scalping Jayhawks tickets (floor seats for 90 bucks).

I’m hoping that I’ll be as fortunate come January 18th against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.I’m definitely looking for the same guy next time.

One of the cool things about KU games is that fans have such access to the players. There isn’t a bad seat inside the venue and before games fans line up alongside a taped area near the locker room corridor. Fans hang out there and then cheer the guys on as they run onto the court. It’s a pretty cool thing to see, unfortunately my brain wasn’t working properly (it rarely does before 1:30 pm but I was especially scrambled from the activities the night before) and instead of capturing them jogging out of the locker room I got footage of this .

At first glance Georgetown come off as very intimidating. They only have 3 players on the whole roster who are listed under 6’5. Seeing this I immediately knew that it was going to be a physical game. We were about to see the Jayhawks be tested by these tough looking east coast boys.

The Hoyas have the make up of an NIT bound team bound for sure, but they made Kansas earn every single bucket they got. There were not many transition points for the Jayhawks and the Hoyas used nearly every single foul they had. 3 players fouled out for the game and 2 other guys had 4 fouls. The Hoyas even snuck in a cheap shot on Perry Ellis and knocked him out of the game.

Eventually things got chippy enough to where Wiggins got into some smack talking with one of their players and immediately hit a 3 on the ensuing possession (something tells me Wiggins isn’t the kind of player you want to piss off). We all knew that the Jayhawks were talented, but this game would tell us if they were tough. That was a question I hadn’t thought to ask before this Georgetown game.

Kansas was up the whole first half but it always felt closer than an 8 point game. Besides Markel Starks (19 points) and D’Vauntes Smith Rivera (12), no one in the Hoyas lineup was a legitimate scoring threat (most of their first half points seemed to come on free throws). Toughness was the only thing that Georgetown had going for it. They stepped onto the court as if the Lawrence faithful were just another hostile Big East crowd, unfazed and ready to see if the Jayhawks could be punked.

I think this was the kind of game that Tarik Black thrives in. He was not phased at all by the amount of contact going on. The refs let a lot of pushing and physical stuff go on and Tarik seemed in his element, putting up some good numbers and making some noteworthy plays–including a sick block that led to a fast break and alley-oop on the other end of the court (5 for 5 17 points 6 rebs and 2 blks).

The Jayhawks put up 86 points on the Georgetown boys but there were not any easy baskets. As badly as Georgetown got beat, there was no reason for them to hang their heads. They played hard. KU just had a much better team.

Other notes from Saturday’s game:

Bill Self has some serious swagger. I was impressed with the way he and Coach Thompson eschewed the businesslike handshake in favor of the more familiar and less formal “brutha” embrace. I bet Bill goes to bed at night smirking before he falls asleep, then wakes up with that same smirk, thinking, “I’m Bill Self and I coach the Kansas Jayhawks.” It must be a pretty baller reality for old Bill.

Andrew Wiggins only had 12 points the other day. 10 of them came in the 2nd half. He only had 1 rebound for the whole game, but he did have 3 steals and 4 assists. Not a great line but its still a treat to get to watch him play in person. People say he’s too calm, but I’d rather have that than a hot head like J.R. Smith. I don’t buy the whole “we need to see more fire” theory so many people have. That steadiness is going to be important come tournament time. Do what you do Andrew.

I’m officially starting the “Feed Embiid” campaign. This guy is not only my favorite player on this year’s team. He’s one of my favorite big men of all time. By the time he leaves he’ll be mentioned in the same breath as Nick Collison and Julian Wright when it’s all said and done. He had 12 first half points and would have had more had it not been for Tarik Black going so hard in the paint in the 2nd half.

Speaking of big men, I wonder how differently things would be for Tim Duncan had he come up in this era? He was the last of the big men to stay all 4 years. Shane Battier did, but he was nowhere the prospect that TD was, despite winning Player of the Year. Would Duncan stay all four years in this era? Who knows? But seeing Embiid play makes me wonder how good he would be if he did stay in school an extra 3 years. Of course why not get the on the job training for millions of dollars if you are as good as he is. He will go into the league and immediately start. If you were a techie nerd and some firm offered to develop your software skills and pay you for it, you wouldn’t say ‘nah I’m good, being poor and having fun in college, going to classes and studying.” It does make you wonder though.

During a crucial stretch in the 2nd half we were told by an usher that we needed to sit down because we were obstructing people’s view. I wanted to say “tell them they need to be standing up” . I thought I was at a Jayhawks game, not at a dog show. I’ve been to NBA games where the fans didn’t sit for entire halves of play, and this usher is telling me to sit down? What is UP WITH THAT? I never thought I would encounter this at Allen Fieldhouse.

We spotted some former Jayhawks at the game Saturday, sitting behind the team bench. Travis Releford was there, sitting beside Aaron Miles and Wayne Simien. I randomly saw Tim Hardaway (yes that one) sitting in front of me and my buddy. What was he doing in Lawrence? Is he a scout now or something? I had seen him earlier and thought I was just being racist (Not all bald black guys look alike Mick.), but sure enough we realized it was him.
Not sure what to make of this photo here.

Collison and Hinrich are two of my favorite players, but the other side of me wonders if there is another message behind this “team photo”. I’m sure it’s harmless but it’s definitely one of those things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm.
That loss to Colorado doesn’t look so bad now. Colorado put up a fight against Oklahoma State and only lost by a couple of buckets (5 points). They are currently ranked number 20 in the country.

UCLA vs. Duke was interesting the first half. Kyle Anderson looks like he will be fun to watch in the NBA as a 6’8 point guard. He almost had a triple double in the first half, but neither he nor the rest of the tea played particularly well during the 2nd half. Zach Lavine looked good too and Bryce Alford looks like Steve Novak 2.0 (for better or worse). Their defense is terrible though. I could see them winning it all in the NIT or getting knocked out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It does make me want to watch them play Arizona on January 9th.

Happy holidays to all you readers and non-readers out there. It’s time for me to sit down and watch KD go HAM against the Knicks in MSG (As of me posting this he’s 6 for his first 7 shots. If this Clippers-Warriors matchup tonight is half as entertaining as I think it will be, then we are in for a treat.

Peace.

Looking Forward [Originally posted on sportsblog.com 12/30/13]

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These are the things I’m looking forward to in 2014:

Golden State Warriors

I’m so happy that they are relevant again. The NBA is always more exciting when the Bay Area is involved. I loved watching the Warriors in the early 90’s (especially when my boy C-Webb played for them). I lived in Oakland during the 2007 run that culminated with this infamous Baron Davis dunk. I took the opportunity to catch a playoff game against the Spurs in game 6 of the Western Conference Semi-finals. It did not disappoint. The crowd was just as animated as advertised and even though the Warriors lost, it was one of the most electrifying experiences I’d had at a sporting event.

This year, I have been following them pretty closely and at least six of their home games could easily be argued as some of the best of the season. I’m looking forward to watching them against any of the other 7 teams come playoff time. Any random game can produce an assortment of highlight plays that will end up on SportsCenter. I think they are a back up point guard and front court player away from seriously challenging the Spurs to come out of the west.

Lance “Born Ready” Stephenson

Dude is so raw and getting better every game. I love his new found demeanor and focus. “Born Ready” is an underrated passer and he is just as powerful as he is quick. And dude is so gritty too. He is like a more talented Deshawn Stevenson. The Pacers need his production as much as David West, Roy Hibbert, and Paul George. Now that Danny Granger is back, it seems like the Pacers are only a legit backup point guard away from wresting the Eastern Conference title away from the Heat. Which brings me to:

Miami vs. Indiana

Something that I liked in 2013 and am looking forward to seeing more of next year. These games bring to mind the old Heat-Knicks, Knicks-Pacers, Bulls-Knicks, Bulls-Pacers rivalry games. This is the premier rivalry right now; probably the best since the Kings-Lakers back in early 2000’s (Spurs-Mavs were fun, but I’m not sure if anyone cared about those games outside of Texas). Heat-Pacers games are played at such a high level,–even their two regular season clashes exhibited the same kind of playoff intensity you saw last year. They genuinely don’t like each other, but there is also an enormous amount of respect as well. It’s also a great match up of styles. Indiana has the traditional front court with the throwback center in Roy Hibbert. Miami has this new flash and dash, spread em out, small ball blitzkrieg they unleash onto opponents. It’s great theater.

NBA TV

I caught a program I had never seen before on this channel, called Open Court. It was the panel like discussion on various controversial locker room issues such as race (the N word), homophobia, and steroids. Inside a nice furnished studio was Dominique Wilkins, Tracy McGrady, Steve Kerr (a man with brilliant and insightful opinions), Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Rick Fox and Ernie Johnson. It was awesome to watch this type of forum take place and hear the varying opinions of guys from different backgrounds (Rick Fox, a Canadian, having an interesting perspective to offer). In a politically correct time where so many analysts, and former players have to give canned responses with regard to their financial opportunities. It was refreshing to hear such candid discussions

364 more days without NBA Xmas Jerseys.

Some people thought they looked like wrestling uniforms, one comedian said the NBA players looked like they were about to play volleyball . I kinda dug the Knicks-Thunder uni’s but only because they had this Star Trek vibe about them. All the other ones looked kinda wack. But hey what do I know? I majored in English in college, not Fashion Design and Merchandising.

The Clippers getting exposed as overrated.

I will give the Clippers credit. Doc Rivers is an upgrade over Vinny Del Negro (former San Antonio great), and Chris Paul is gonna do his thang. DeAndre Jordan has gotten seems more focused and Blake Griffin has definitely opened up his game as well but………No one besides CP-3 and Jamal Crawford can create their own shot. I kinda feel like they are still posturing. They have a couple of tough guys (Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson (I love me some Captain Jack no lie, and its great seeing he and Barnes reunited from their ’07 Warriors days) but their defense is terrible and their half court game is weak. I’m still not sold on them.

Russ Westbrook’s full recovery from yet another knee operation

Many people blame Patrick Beverly for Westbrook’s knee injury (I’m still not sure where I stand–bro was ust trying to make a name for himself and got a little too aggressive), but if you want someone to blame, perhaps the fingers need to be pointed at the Oklahoma City Thunder front office. Dig it, they don’t trade James Harden to Houston, the Rockets don’t make the playoffs, and Beverly doesn’t get the chance to knock Russell’s knee. This totally changes the landscape for the West altogether, perhaps robbing us of this NBA Finals moment. The playoffs won’t be nearly as exciting without Russell Westbrook blurring his way to the rim. So for selfish reasons alone, get well Russ and take your time getting back. It would be a basketball tragedy if Westbrook’s career was derailed in the same manner as Brandon Roy and Gilbert Arenas.

UCLA players in the NBA

Watching the UCLA game the other night made me appreciate the run that Ben Howland had while he was coaching there. How in the hell did they manage to spit out so many NBA players? Not just fringe/role players, but legitimate contributors. Let’s start with Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo, and Luc Mbah a Moute who were on those teams that got smashed by Florida (beating a much more talented KU team one of those years). The next crop brought us Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love. After they left there was Jrue Holiday and Darren Collison. That is quite a list. I never expected any of these guys to be as good as they are in the NBA, maybe that’s why Howland got fired–maybe he wasn’t getting the most out of his talented recruits.

More Louisville and Kentucky games

I fell asleep during the second half of their matchup on Saturday and missed the end of the game.

I wanted to see more of this Montrezl Harrell kid. He certainly looked athletic, I wasn’t that impressed with the rest of the squad–but boy did that Russ Smith dunk get me out of my seat. I still haven’t figured out whether I think Louisville is overrated or not. I personally think they got extremely lucky in last year’s tournament run, due to a weak field and charitable officiating.

I’m diggin on Cauley-Stein’s game more and more. I think he can be a serviceable player in the NBA If he focuses on being a rebounder and defender. And if he attacks the glass like a dope fiend he’ll always have a job. I could see him being a poor man’s Kenyon Martin but with almost better value, because no team would be dumb enough to take him as a number one pick.

NFL Playoffs

I’m not crazy about NFL football during the regular season, and since I avoided fantasy football this year, I had little reason to even watch. I think there will be some good games this January though. The games will be intense and you know there will be some hits, some scrums and some sideline crying. It would be nice to see the 49ers win it all. But not because I’m a fan but just because I don’t like Seattle, Peyton Manning, or Tom Brady. Go Niners!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR,

Click Picka

A Gauntlet of Aztecs Approaching [Originally posted on sportsblog.com 1/7//14]

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Bill Self described the upcoming five games against Oklahoma, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Baylor as “having to face five San Diego States”.

I knew the Hawks were in some trouble after they gave up 83 points to Toledo, a team without any NBA prospects on it. In fact the Jayhawks hadn’t played a complete game since their November win against Towson.

I hadn’t watched a single Aztec game this year, but I know what Steve Fisher is capable of as a coach, and he certainly had them ready to play. He and the Aztecs went into Lawrence with a great game plan and executed it near flawlessly.

They limited KU’s fast break points, out-rebounded the Jayhawks 51-39, and killed them in the paint–only attempting eight 3 pointers the entire game. The Aztecs did a great job of doubling the KU bigs on the catch and the Jayhawks’ front line only mustered 18 points; 12 of them coming from the always impressive Joel Embiid (the already lion quick Center tweeted this weekend that he’d be taking ballet classes this upcoming semester to help him with his footwork–I know this worked for former Longhorn and future NBA guard Royal Ivey).

Notables from Sunday’s game:

1) The Jayhawks are not a very good passing team. They can get out in transition, but when it comes to creating shots for other players, they come up short. This is in part to having guards who can’t create consistently. Doug Gottlieb touched on this during Sunday’s telecast and one of the few things he got right (Naismith Blvd,Massachusetts Ave, and Wiggins’ summer activities were three things he got wrong), was that the lack of a play maker at point guard is hurting the team’s offensive development. Gottlieb then went on to say that this has held up the progress of stars Wiggins, and Embiid (let’s throw Perry Ellis in there too who hasn’t played well since his neck injury against Georgetown).

Which begs the question of does Bill Self develop point guards? It could be argued that the last consistent play maker at point guard was Aaron Miles– a Roy Williams recruit. Sherron Collins was a good guard, but I feel like he was more a shoot first guard than passer. I’m sure one could argue Josh Selby or Tyshawn Taylor, but I’d just laugh at them.

The offensive woes they have had to begin games has been irritating to watch. Sunday they came out 3/19 on field goals, and 6/29 in the first half, and only shot 4 for 16 from 3 point range for the whole game. It may seem crazy to say this because of how talented this team is, but because they are such a young team, this would arguably be Bill Self’s best coaching job if he somehow manages to will this team to another Big 12 title.

Naadir Tharpe has not played as well as I hoped he would, and at the beginning of the season I wrote that the team would only go as far as he could take them. Depending on shoot first freshman Frank Mason to lead the team is expecting too much this early in his career. The Jayhawks need better guard play if they expect to win another Big 12 title.

2) I was happy to see a team (capable of beating the Jayhawks) come into Lawrence and compete. The Aztecs brought it on Sunday. Their interior passing and rebounding was beautiful to watch. I can’t recall seeing so many put back dunks in a college game. It was good to see at least one team brought some intensity (although the last five minutes of the first half was an eyesore).

3) Wiggins is so smooth;as graceful as a gazelle. He made me squeal a couple of times when he found a lane, lifted off, and took it to the cup When he develops that outside shot he will be unstoppable–people forget that Lebron and Kobe didn’t always have good outside shots early in their careers–people used to dare Lebron to shoot the jumper.

4) I’m not digging the Landen Lucas, Jamari Traylor front line combo. It seems like they basically the same skill sets. Neither have impressed me with their handles, or how well they move without the ball. Even though they got killed on the boards, I like how the small ball lineup of Embiid, Wiggins, Selden, Mason, and Tharpe opened up the floor. The lack of 3 point shooting is something that I didn’t see coming. I figured Andrew White III, Brannen Greene and Conner Frankamp would play bigger roles on the perimeter. All three players struggle to see consistent playing time.

5) San Diego State is going to cause some teams headaches come tournament time. They have a big, physical front line and they play good defense. But they’ll get beat once they encounter foul trouble and a team with a better bench. Of the 61 points they scored Sunday, only 6 came from the bench players.

It’s going to be a nasty stretch coming up for Kansas. It will be interesting to see what kind of adjustments that Self and the coaching staff make when conference play starts on Wednesday. I’m also excited to see if Kansas plays with the intensity and resolve they reserve for the last five minutes of every game. Self himself admitted that this team is not as good as he thought they would be at this point. He even shared some of the blame for being part of why they weren’t that good. It seems silly to say this early into season, but the next 5 games will reveal what kind of team the Jayhawks have. Maybe its time for a players only meeting. This might sound crazy, but anything less than a 4-1 start will have Jayhawks fans ready to hit the panic button.

This week will be a great stretch of games in both the NCAA and NBA:

For college we have KU vs. OU, KU vs. K-State, Michigan State vs. Ohio State tonight, Baylor vs. the Iowa State Hoibergs, Memphis and Louisville, and UCLA vs. Arizona.

I plan to sneak a peek at the (now) #8 ranked Wichita State Shockers with Ron Baker, Fred Van Fleet, and Nick Wiggins (yeah Andrew’s older brother). I’m certainly going to have to get out to Wichita and see them in person this spring. For now, I’ll have to settle for watching them on my laptop computer. It’s unfortunate that Self isn’t interested in scheduling them down the road, saying it doesn’t benefit the program to face them (perhaps he thinks this new found Shocker success is fleeting?) during the season. I personally think it would be great for the state of Kansas to see them face off every year and keep some of that money in state. It would be a fun deal for everyone, and I like that Wichita State is making some noise. Maybe if the Shockers keep it up, Bill will be more interested in putting them on the schedule. Hopefully I can make that trip out to Wichita and see for myself if they are legit.

The NBA games I plan to catch this week are Portland Orlando, Dallas- San Antonio, and Golden State- Milwaukee (Greek Freak!!!!).

I’m feeling a bit more honed in, after missing four key barn-burners over the holidays. I’m still kicking myself over missing the Warriors-Suns game from a week and a half ago (where Steph Curry almost got a triple double in one half), Portland-Miami (without Lebron) was a nail-biter. I fell asleep during the second half of the Kentucky- Louisville match 2 Saturdays ago and was stuck on a plane when Steph Curry (whose production has certainly gone up since the return of Iguodala) went NBA Jam all over the Heat last Thursday night (How was that game not on TNT?).

For the rest of this year I’m dedicating myself to sitting in front of the computer and watching basketball. No more nights off, no putting off hoops for romance, and no more going out. I’m putting all my energy into studying hoops. Nothing is worse than coming home, opening up the ESPN page and seeing replays of a game you vaguely felt was potentially intriguing and missing something amazing. Basketball never stops but……………..

Colin Kaepernick though ………

My little brother clowned on me when I told him that was my favorite qb in the league right now. I know he didn’t look great against Seattle in their first game, but I like his swagger. He’s only a 3rd year pro, first year starter, and he already seems like the heir apparent to Randall Cunningham. I love the fact that he didn’t wear sleeves during the Green Bay game. That 4th quarter was the kind of intensity that I love to see during the NFL playoffs. For some reason, SF-GB seem to more often than not have classic games. Some clutch play in brutal conditions provide for great theater.

I guess you could include KC-Indy in the great theater discussion, but that was more depressing than watching “The Pianist.” I knew the collapse was coming and still I kept watching and still the events that unfolded manage to surprise me. I’m not even a Chiefs fan and I was horrified.

I’m excited for this weekend’s games. I have watched more football in the last 48 hours then I have all season long.

Carolina-San Francisco might turn out to be the best game. I’m looking forward to seeing those defense square off. I think the Saints will play better this time against Seattle, but I still see them getting beat by 2 touchdowns. Denver-San Diego might be fun, and I’d like to see what kind of magic the Stanford boy produces against the Patriots.

While we are at it, how does anyone bet on that line from last night’s BCS game. Vegas probably made a killing. Florida State as 13 point favorites? Insane. Auburn will rue the fact that they didn’t try to score at the end of the first half, and the missed field goal early on in the game. They had FSU shook and couldn’t close the deal. It’s still hard to take college football seriously–more about politics than actual football–a bunch of rich old men investing in and betting on their alma maters. Although the NFL hypocrisy is pretty sickening. I don’t see how they can say they care about the players with Thursday night games, a push for an 18 game schedule and the legalization of Astroturf (you can tell how serious they are about alleviating concussions by the turf issue alone–they may as well been playing on concrete when the turf froze over in those stadiums).

Oh well, bring on the professionals. It’s going to be a fun week, and a really fun 2014.

Real fast before I go I wanna publicly admit that I did not think Trey Burke would be so good, nor did I think Michael Carter Williams would so spectacular. Also shout out to Kendall Marshall, who I’m very happy to see get another chance with the Los Angeles Lakers. Dude got 15 assists in his first game with them (and only 4th start of the season), and its not like he has that many people to throw the ball to. That Lakers team has been decimated with injuries. Keep fighting Lake Show. I hope they are able to get Westbrook and Kevin Love in the summer of 2015.

Enjoy one of the best months of the year. The doldrums of July will be here before you know it.