North Texas

Loveable Losers: 2002-2003 Kansas Jayhawks

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Basketball season has only been over for a couple of weeks, but for anyone who suffers from the “Jones” as badly as I do, there are remedies. I’ve been traveling a great deal for the past month, but anytime I hit a lull, I go to the NCAA Vault and pull up an old game–usually from the 2002-2003 era.

Why that time period? Well in my honest opinion, I think it was the golden age of Big 12 basketball. The Big 12 was littered with big name coaches. Kelvin Sampson was over at Oklahoma coaching Hollis Price and Quannis White.

Eddie Sutton had some great players at Oklahoma State in John Lucas III, Tony Allen, Ivan McFarlin, the Graham brothers, Desmond Mason  (a few years before), and Victor and Andre Williams.

Rick Barnes had some guy named T.J. Ford who is only the best point guard in UT history. Lastly, you have Roy Williams coaching at Kansas (they had some sweet uniforms those years).

It is no secret that the 2002-2003 team was one of my favorite college basketball teams of all time. Watching that squad get up and down the court was a thing of beauty with the backcourt of Aaron Miles and “Captain” Kirk Hinrich (Wichita States’s Ron Baker and Fred Van Fleet kinda low key remind me of them).

Keith Langford is one of my all time favorite wing players. He was dazzling and flashy, but he was also almost always in control. “K-freeze” just got buckets, and could finish once he got to the rim. Don’t let me get started on Nick Collison. We’ll get to him in a second.

For those of you tapping that vein, and in need of some good ass games to watch, I give you the best five Kansas Jayhawks games from 2002-2003. Honorable mention goes to this match from the 2001-2002 season affectionately know as the Juan Dixon game.

#5 Senior Night

Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich go out in style vs. the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Definitely worth the stop in, even though the clip ends pre-maturely. You also get to see glimpses of Tony Allen’s world class NBA defense in this game and see why he has become such a good pro.

#4 The Nick Collison Game

This is one of the best, most intense regular season games you will ever watch. I remember it like it was yesterday. Texas and Kansas were in the top 5 that year; both having lost to Arizona (a team that everyone thought was going to win it all that year).

T.J. Ford puts on a clinic in this week, and almost willed UT to a Big Monday win in Allen Fieldhouse, but Nick Collison put up a nasty double-double; taking James Thomas to school, before fouling out after the game was already in hand. It is as beautiful now as it was to watch live.

#3 The Nick Collison Game part 2

With Duke’s weak ass front line that year, I knew the Jayhawks would do well in the paint, but how many people expected Collison to put up a 30-20 night? There were many reasons to hate Duke back then. Dahntay Jones (who I’m shocked to find had one of the highest scoring averages in that tournament–look it up if you don’t  believe me. It was something crazy like 24.6 pts) was a star on that team.

Sheldon Williams was a poor man’s Carlos Boozer (that isn’t meant to be as harsh as it sounds. Boozer was pretty nasty in college and was a big reason why they won it in 2001). J.J. Redick was always great until he got to the big stage and had to play against taller and faster players. Anyway, Collison carried them to victory that game, because Hinrich didn’t play all that well in that game.

#2 The Carmelo Anthony/ Gerry McNamera Show

Despite the outcome, this was a good ass game. Kansas had no business being as far behind as they were. I feel like Roy Williams got outcoached in this one. After Keith Langford picked up his second foul guarding Carmelo Anthony, I would have switched it up, gone zone or put Michael Lee on him.

Langford was too important for their offense going against Syracuse’s 2-3. He made it a lot easier for them to get buckets with his passing and penetration. Sure he picked up a phantom foul that disqualified him during “winning time”, but he shouldn’t have been put in that position to begin with.

The Jayhawks also shot less than 50 % on the free throw line. Everyone on Syracuse had big moments in the biggest game, while the moment seemed a bit too big for Kansas. Even though Syracuse was slightly deeper, I still to this day think that if the teams played a best of 7 series, then KU would have won 5 of those 7 games.

This is also why I cannot in good conscience put this as # 1. Its a shame that this was the last college game for Hinrich and Collison, because I’d have liked to have seen them go out winners. Even though Kansas lost the title game, they were anything but losers. They came out of arguably  the toughest conference that year, and the road they took just to get to the title game was extremely difficult.

Which brings us to #1 The Arizona Game

Arizona was the best team all year that season, and they were heavy favorites. They had beaten Texas and Kansas already that year and they were deep. Future NBA champions Andre Iguodala and Luke Walton were key cogs on that unit, along with Jason Gardner, Salim Stoudamire, and Rick Anderson. Plus, Lute Olson was doing some of his best coaching.

This was the game to be nervous about. Kansas played a great team game and pulled it out, but it was a nail biter. It was a good ass game (Just one of many good ass games that tournament). If I were to recommend any of these five, I’d say jump on this one first. But they all good ass games if you ask me. This was a special year, and you could look up at least 20 games from that year’s tournament and by halftime you’ll be saying, “Damn. This a GOOD ASS GAME.”

Peace.

BM

@clickpicka79

bobbymickey@gmail.com

It’s Kentucky’s World (and everyone else is just in it)

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Are you ready to read the fastest college basketball preview ever?
This year’s title is Kentucky’s to lose. Why do I say that?

Let’s start with the number 9.

That is how many McDonald’s All Americans John Calipari has playing for his team this year.
You know how many NBA teams have nine McDonald’s All Americans playing for them?
One–the Charlotte Hornets.

With a front-line of (Olathe’s own) Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, Trey Lyles, Marcus Lee, and a backcourt of the Harrison twins (who led the team to Final Four during their freshman year–think about THAT), Kentucky is the hands down favorite to take the championship this year. People from Syracuse, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Lawrence ain’t gonna wanna hear that but it’s the truth.

If you are a hoops fan, this is the year to just watch for the players (There won’t be much drama–hate to say it). This draft could be just as deep as last year’s–if not deeper. The majority of those lottery picks will be coming from two programs, Duke, and Kentucky.

Kansas will be good of course, they reloaded after losing Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins. Cliff Alexander stands to become the next Thomas Robinson, and Kelly Oubre is a great replacement at the wing. Wayne Selden will be returning to have an even bigger impact as the leader of that team. Perry Ellis will continue to quietly put up his double-doubles.

The biggest question (again) will be at point guard. Conner Frankamp, Frank Mason, and newcomer Devonte Graham will all get chances to handle the rock. I’m curious how much improvement we will see from Frankamp, Mason and former “Mr. Georgia Basketball” Brannen Greene. There is also some hype surrounding this new kid from the Ukraine, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (though I do wonder how an 16 year old from a war torn country will handle being away from his family). I’ve seen his highlights and I like what I saw from him (I was really impressed when I played with him on NCAA basketball on X-box–he was the only one who could consistently hit 3’s).

If you look at the Jayhawks roster, you’ll see that they are still pretty young, with only one senior on the team–benchwarmer Christian Garrett. If anyone other than Rick Barnes coached the University of Texas basketball team, I’d say the Horns were ripe to pluck the Big-12 title away from Bill Self. Texas will be entertaining to watch though, with Cameron Ridley, Isiah Taylor and newcomer Myles Turner as the top stars. Barnes will figure out a way to lose at least 3 games they should win this season.

If anyone is close enough to snatch that streak from KU, it is Fred Hoiberg and Iowa State. The “Mayor” always seems to get the best out of his players, and not in a Tom Izzo “scream at the players until he’s hoarse” kind of way. Iowa State will miss DeAndre Kane and Melvin Ejim, but don’t sleep on the Cyclones. They could easily grab second place in the Big 12 standings.

I just looked at Duke’s stacked roster for the year and was tempted to write up a quick blurb about them, but then again what is there to say? They’ll blow through the ACC with that loaded roster and put up points against every team they face. They’ll win 20 plus games and lose maybe 5 (one of them to Carolina of course), and then they’ll get knocked out in the Elite Eight (yawn). Wake me up for the next lacrosse court case, otherwise I don’t wanna hear shit about Duke University.

Don’t sleep on the boys out of the Missouri Valley Conference–Wichita State. Sure they lost CleAnthony Early, but they return Tekele Cotton, Ron Baker, and Fred Van Fleet, along with coach Gregg Marshall. they won’t go undefeated this year, but they will still “play angry” and win their conference (and could go deep into the tournament depending on who they draw).

Living back on Tulsa time, I am right in the middle of things. I can catch a few Jayhawks’ games up in Allen Fieldhouse, down in Texas, or right here in Oklahoma. I’m honestly more excited about the NBA this year (again), but I have a couple of games circled this year. I want to be there in person for the KU-ISU game in Lawrence, KU-Texas is worth a drive up as well, and on December 5th, Florida visits Kansas for what should be a pretty hype affair.

Depending on what you are looking for, it will be a pretty entertaining year. There will be tons of draft hype, and there will be some good games for sure. If you are hoping for somebody other than Kentucky to win this year, you’ll more than likely be disappointed. Otherwise just enjoy it for what it is. If you saw how close Kentucky came last year to winning it all, then it won’t surprise you to see the Harrison boys and Alex Poythress cutting down the nets in April.

Next post: NBA Preview Click-Picka style!

What tha Kentuck? [Originally posted 4/7/14 on sportsblog.com]

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Since I started watching college basketball back in 1991, I have never correctly predicted a tournament winner. This year was the most perplexing field to predict this year because there was no clear cut favorite and the region that had my favorite teams to watch, was also the toughest one to win. What Kentucky has done to emerge from the Midwest is nothing short of incredible. Aside from the opening round (in which I incorrectly picked K-State beating them), every game they ended up being the most entertaining game each round. As much as I dislike the history of Kentucky hoops, I find it hard to root against Texas boys, Julius Randle, and Aaron and Andrew Harrison. I don’t see them spitting the bit in what amounts to a home game for those three young men. Now with Myles Turner and Emmanuel Mudiay both stepping onto the scene for next year, Texas hoops has to be on the map for putting ballers out into the spotlight.

I watched the game on Saturday with a die hard Kentucky fan, and hanging out with him, reminded me of the downside of blind fan loyalty. Instead of enjoying what was a classic game, the guy sat on the couch, red faced and screaming, agonizing over every possession. It didn’t look like fun. After he went nuts over the Aaron Harrison game winner (again????), he slumped down onto his sofa in relief. I’d forgotten how nerve wracking rooting for your favorite team can be (because it seems like forever since I’ve watched a Jayhawks game). I had a brief flashback of the Christian Laetnner shot back in 1992, and instantly wanted to inch out of his apartment in case, another one of those miracle endings happened. I don’t feel sorry for people very often, but I would have if that Traevon Jackson shot had gone in. As exciting as buzzer beaters can be, but you can’t help but feel for kids who lose in such heart breaking fashions.

I remember the ulcer I nearly gave myself during game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals, when I sat up in LOUD CITY, screaming at Danny Crawford as the refs gave Miami the W, in one of my more frustrating basketball experiences. My buddy invited me over to watch the championship game and I wonder if I should go. I think if it were me, I’d be so stressed out, that I would want to watch it alone. My dude was almost in tears when Traevon Jackson for Wisconsin, got fouled at the end of the game to set up his three free throw attempts. I asked my buddy if he was going to buy some bubbly, but he’s too superstitious to set up a post game celebration. Frankly, unless its a blowout, it doesn’t sound very enjoyable, and isn’t that the whole point of championships–to enjoy the experience? The more I think about it, the better off I am going up to Henry T’s and eating some wings and drinking a cola beverage. I don’t want to watch him crying after a defeat, and I don’t want to celebrate a Kentucky win.

Even if UCONN wins I won’t be happy. I’m still smarting over their win on Saturday against the Gators. I didn’t think I need another reason to dislike the University of Florida, but their loss on Saturday derailed my last chance at winning the house money from my bracket. A Florida win would have put me over the top in points, but thanks to Shabazz Napier (who was in control of the whole game despite only taking 6 shots) with his 12 points, 4 steals and 6 assists, a guy who picked his bracket winners based on the strength of every school’s mascots won the pot. I hope that UCONN wins, but watching tonight will be like monitoring the 2008 presidential election, I don’t care for either party, but it just so happens that the blue state represents the lesser of two evils.

At about 10:30 tonight, people will either be writing about 5 freshman putting together an unprecedented run, or they will be writing about how a senior point guard put a team of average ballplayers on his back, and willed them to an unlikely championship. Either story line works well for the tournament. No matter which teams prevail, Jerry Jones will be the real winner. Despite my dislike for basketball games being played in huge domed football fields (with elevated courts that can lead to players injuring themselves on loose balls and fans being so far away from the action), there is not a bad seat in the house. The place is gigantic, but every seat is tailor made for good viewing, AND there is a enormous screen that makes it impossible to miss any action (you might even find yourself just watching everything on the big screen–which seems a little silly). The city of North Texas (Arlington gets no love do they?) will be in for a treat tonight. Hopefully there won’t be a lot of drinking and driving or shootings at the strip club tonight.