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Bill Self, whose head hit the pillow at 5:30 a.m. Sunday after Kansas University's red-eye charter flight back from San Jose, Calif., was back at work Monday morning, admittedly worn out after last weekend's season-ending Elite Eight loss to UCLA.
"Everybody is tired. It's a long season," Self said in a mid-afternoon interview in his office.
"Every college basketball player would tell you this: Nobody wants it to end, but whenever it does, they are ready for it to end. Coaches feel the same way. I didn't want it to end. I wanted to play another week, but by the end of this weekend, all those Final Four coaches will want it to be over.
"I'll get my batteries recharged like all the other coaches, and the players will. A lot of good things happened this season. Right now, we don't remember the good things. We remember the last game. As time goes on, we'll reflect on the good things and look at this year as a great success, though we're not satisfied by any means."
The Jayhawk players, who went hard from the start of Boot Camp on Sept. 25 until the conclusion of the season March 24, will be awarded a full week off - though, they will, of course, be expected to attend their regular regimen of classes.
"They will get their books back together if they are behind from travel," Self said. "After that, they'll get in the weight room. We'll make a committed effort in that area to get stronger, more mobile and more flexible. Another good offseason in the weight room will bode well for us.
"The big thing will be individual improvement. Everybody will be on their own routine and workout program that fits them."
For Self, the immediate future will include meeting with each individual player before heading to Atlanta on Wednesday for meetings at the Final Four. There will be no time for a family vacation until summer.
"My son (Tyler) will be playing baseball three nights a week. Lauren (his daughter) has a million things going on. We'll probably get away in late August," Self said.
KU's coach, who has answered question after question the past six months, fielded many more in a postseason session Monday.
Here's a sampling:
Even with no graduating seniors, the Jayhawks may not have same squad returning
With the NCAA Tournament now out of the minds of most Jayhawk fans, all attention has turned to the KU players who may enter into the NBA draft.
Q: When would you like to know for sure which KU player or players will enter the NBA Draft?
A: "I would like to know something before the (April 29 early-entry eligibility) deadline. Even if someone let his intentions known, the way the rules are set up, you could declare and not sign (with an agent, and pull out by June 18) or you could declare and sign (and not be eligible to return to college) or you put off making a decision and wait until the last second.
"I will need to investigate and look into some scenarios. I'll wait and talk to them and their families before I tell you what our game plan will be because I don't know right now.
"I do not believe our guys' minds are made up yet. We'll say, 'Do what's best for your family and yourself. We'll support you 100 percent, but don't make a bad decision and potentially ruin a career.' If guys are top-20 picks or guaranteed first-round picks, they may have something to think about. If they are not, there actually will be no decision to be made. Right now I don't know where our guys are on most draft boards."
Q: Brandon Rush considered turning pro last year. How do you see his decision-making process this year?
A: "He'll be totally up front (with me). His family will be totally up front. Whatever is best for him, I'll support him. Right now, I'm not convinced what is best for him. He needs more information. I thought he made a lot of improvement and played well in the tournament. He played pretty well on a big stage."
Q: What about the other players with NBA potential (Julian Wright, Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur, Sherron Collins)?
A: Based on what our guys have said, I'm pretty confident the rest of the guys (besides Rush) will be back, but that could change, too. I certainly hope it doesn't.
Q: What about Darrell Arthur's specific situation?
A: "I do think from a career standpoint, let's forget about next year, from a career standpoint we have guys that can benefit from another year in college. I think there would be a strong contingent of people who would say, 'For you to have the best chance to have a career in the league, you could use another year of school.' Then again, there could be another contingent of people who feel otherwise. We have to figure it out."
Q: Julian Wright is listed as a certain first-rounder, yet he has indicated he'll be back. Have you ever had a certain first-rounder who decided to return before?
A: "Frank Williams (Illinois) probably would have been a lottery pick. He came back. Julian is a guy ... I do think he has a chance to go high. I know he can graduate (in three years) and benefit from a year strength-wise too. We'll have to wait and see."
Q: (Amid Arkansas rumors and possible Kentucky rumors), will you be back at KU next year?
A: "Yes. I guess, unless Lew fires me," he cracked, referring to KU athletic director Lew Perkins.
Q: Are you committed to KU?
A: "Oh yes."
Q: Will you add any additional players in recruiting besides Cole Aldrich, Tyrel Reed and walk-on Conner Teahan?
A: "We are at such a disadvantage. Our hands are tied (because of a full roster and not knowing if any players will turn pro)."
Q: Will Aldrich and Reed contribute immediately?
A: "I would say we recruited them to contribute immediately, but we've got good guys. They are going to have to beat somebody out."
KU players reflect on loss to UCLA
After the Jayhawks disappointing loss to UCLA in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament, Julian Wright and Mario Chalmers speak about what went wrong.
Q: Could there be chemistry problems next year if everybody returns? (Sherron Collins could conceivably beat out Russell Robinson at guard and Darrell Arthur could pass Sasha Kaun at center).
A: "No. I hope we have our whole team back. Guys who practice the best will play, will start. Sherron this year was not ready. He really didn't start kicking it in and playing until after conference. We already had our rotation. Russell ... since he came back from (a foot) injury, I'd say he may have been as good a guard as we had. Mario (Chalmers) was great in Chicago. Sherron had his moments against Texas. Russell was a pretty consistent performer for us and shot it well, too."
Q: The fans appear to be pleased with the season. Do you sense that?
A: "I have not sensed fan stuff since I've been here other than what other people from the outside have come in and told me because I don't know. I don't listen to talk radio. I heard some people say, 'Hey don't listen to everybody else,' which basically tells me there are some people not very happy with me. I will not lose too much sleep worrying about that."
Q: Could you have done anything differently to beat UCLA?
A: "From an Xs and Os standpoint, you can always look back and say, gosh, I wish we could have done this, that. I never dreamed we'd get 17 steals and not convert. That is the thing that's frustrating. What have we done better this year than anything else? Convert on defense. We did get a lot of shots, especially early, but not turning 17 steals into points just blows my mind."
Q: Will you complain that your top-seeded team was sent to play on the West coast against UCLA?
A: "No. You could say, 'Why was Ohio State sent to San Antonio when (Texas) A&M was in the same bracket?' You can always say things like that. I don't think the venue had anything to do with us not playing as well. I do think it gave their team some energy."
Q: How do you feel after this year's NCAAs as compared to the last two?
A: "I would say my spirits were not as terrible last year. They were down but not rock bottom. The year before was pretty low. Last year I thought we gave ourselves the best chance and this year I know we gave ourselves the best chance. We came up short."
Q: How will you get past the Elite Eight and reach the Final Four in the future?
A: "We'll keep doing what we're doing; we've knocked on the door several times and we're going to get through it here one of these days, hopefully real soon. You've got to win a lot of big games to play in that Elite Eight game. I don't think we're too far off."
KU coach Bill Self talks about signing of Andrew Wiggins May 14, 2013
Kansas Half Marathon begins April 21, 2013
Ben McLemore interview March 28, 2013
360 QTR of Cowboy Stadium March 28, 2013
Jayhawks arrive in Dallas March 27, 2013
Comments
craigers 6 years, 1 month ago
Coach Self, you are a fine man and a great coach. Keep up the good work and I look forward to having you around many more seasons.
frompekka2sasha 6 years, 1 month ago
I sincerely want to thank you, Coach Self!! You did one hell of a job this year but things just didn't go our way at the end. All true Jayhawk fans appreciate what this team accomplished and the F4's and title will come down the road...
Go Jayhawks!
ViperBlue 6 years, 1 month ago
I am so happy to have Coach Self and the players he brings in represent the University of Kansas.
DerekR25 6 years, 1 month ago
Coach, you're doing wonderful things for the program and for University, and for the kids on the team! Keep up the great work and I know you'll be rewarded soon!!! As for the talk radio- that's all it is, TALK! You guys let your actions speak for themselves and that's what 98% of your fans love. It's the 2% who think it's their job to talk, speculate and critisize, and it makes me sick to hear some of the comments. You're a fine coach and a fine leader!!! GO HAWKS 2007!!!!
kevbo 6 years, 1 month ago
Nice season.
mariofan11 6 years, 1 month ago
Let's get to a Final Four.
jhawklifer 6 years, 1 month ago
Bill, define our guys' roles a little better so they have confidence to do (and can be depended on to do) the same things game to game. Start thinking about that now (or at least as soon as you know who's coming back).
bytheway 6 years, 1 month ago
Coach Self you have a great team and a great attitude. It isn't your fault that the boys didn't make it to the big dance. KU has a curse and breaking it is a challenge. Be positive and your boys will endure. God Bless and Rock Chalk Jayhawk KU!
Sporf24 6 years, 1 month ago
The following is an e-mail to Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy) at ESPN.com about the tournament. I don't agree with everything this guy is saying, but he did make an interesting prediction that unfortunately came true.
Brandon in L.A.: "Hey Bill, you more than anyone do a great job of calling out coaches that are killing their teams. So along those lines, how has Bill Self gone under the radar all year with you and ESPN? This should be the running subplot of this tourney. He almost single-handedly blew their chances on Thursday. Everyone knew what type of team Southern Illinois is and yet he has no counter to them and his teams are always ill-prepared. How do you not spread things out and isolate your quicker guards who also have a size advantage? And read his postgame quotes -- he says that Southern Illinois is a team you can't run plays against. What??? As you would agree (and I've been preaching all year), Kansas is by far the most talented team in this tourney. Hands down. Yet Bill Self is terrible at game planning and preparation. Look at his past tourney flameouts at Illinois and Kansas with ridiculous talent. If Howland were coaching them, they'd be destroying everyone. UCLA has half the talent as Kansas and yet will probably win Saturday because of game plan and execution. This topic has to start being covered and you are the man to do that."
(Important note: We received this e-mail on Friday. Thought that was funny. By the way, I will always be outraged that Kansas didn't make the Final Four with THAT much talent. It's absurd. Remind me never to pick Bill Self to win a title ever again.)
kylecisnum1 6 years, 1 month ago
Bill we all love you and love what you have done here at Kansas. It was an exciting year to say the least, it just ended in dissapointment. have a good offseason and good luck next year!
Robin Smith 6 years, 1 month ago
just for the sake of making this longer, and to see if anyone actually will read this far, let me contribute my two cents:
everyone knows that the way the ball bounces is out of the players hands (excuse the pun). The difference between a good or missed shot is slight.
the only way that KU came up short against UCLA was in the ball simply going through the hoop. They absolutely outplayed the bruins in every facet.
They stole the ball like the bruins were little kids and repeatedly penetrated their vaunted defense to reach the paint - and then had an historically bad shooting performance which compounds itself as their confidence is rattled seeing so many missed bunnies (like UNC went cold).
I don't think I've seen Rush have such consistent dominance on the ball - putting moves with both hands and slicing em up. He may have been surprised with how easily he got to the hoop early on (I was so optimistic). Add to the rattled feelings the pressure and it can unravel on you and all you feel is the time running out on your season.
I recall one moment where I think Darnell and Ju battled each other for the ball on a board and UCLA ended up with it - this would be considered trying too hard.
Sherron's knee turns out to be worse than let on, and Mario was not hitting his stroke and there goes substantial 3pt shooting. Perhaps Rush and Robinson should have been taking more attempts, but 19 missed layups is 38 pts and take away 10 or so on put backs and that's still 28 pts that could have gone their way and we see them coasting to atlanta - especially with all the thievery.
if that exact game is played 10 times but with slightly better point blank shooting KU could win 9-10 times especially since UCLA is not likely to make their lucky daggers very often.
one question I do have is why Sasha didn't see more action. He could have been a difference maker but I think I read Self say he felt he need the speed and athleticism of DJAX and Arthur.
anyways that's it.
lalawguy 6 years, 1 month ago
How can anyone say that Self has poor planning and execution? He outcoached the legendary Tubby Smith and Bob Huggins (twice). He took a KU squad that was down at least a dozen points against a hot Texas team and pulled out a win (twice!). He led his squad to a victory over national champion (current and probably next) Florida. His team won two Big 12 championships.
I think the pressure of the second weekend took these players out of their form. These guys had never made it past the first round of the tournament. I'm not saying Self could not have done anything different, but I thought he did pretty well with the hand he was dealt. UCLA would not have won Saturday's game if it had been played outside the team's home state (Living in L.A., I can tell you that UCLA fans do not travel well).
MGJayhawk 6 years, 1 month ago
Sporf24,
That guy is a complete idiot! How is it Self's fault that our guys missed easy shots? His game plan worked pretty darn well, only it was the players that couldn't put the ball in the hole. If we make half of our missed layups we win by 15 or so. We make a few more free throws, we win (possibly) by 20. But I'm sure if that would have happened, he still would have called out his game plan. What a moron. Roy Williams blew more "game plans" than anyone. He had one of best finishers of all-time in Paul Pierce, but would never run the offense through him. He would dump it down to Raef for a fade away jump shot all game. That's why KU didn't win in 1997. They didn't change their plan, and attack with "The Truth". Is the "Important Note" at the end of your post your opinion or his? Just curious.
Bill Self is one of the Top 5 Coaches in the Nation right now based on schedule, recruits and conference wins. I bet we make 2 Final Four appearences in the next 5 years. I bet my savings that we win it all in one of those two years.
If stations like ESPN, CBS and ABC weren't so East Coast/West Coast biased, you would hear more about KU on a daily basis. Instead we have to hear about Duke, Syracuse, UCLA, Oregon Arizona, UNC and Florida non-stop. Oh well, it's all talk, I'll trust our coaches and players to do their talking on the court.
Jacobpaul81 6 years, 1 month ago
Well done Bill. I somehow knew that we would struggle against UCLA. The atmosphere, along with that tiresome battle against SIU (I think SIU was a superior team to Pitt), just wore our players down. But I'm happy with an elite 8 apperance as I'm sure many fans are.
Around here, people are always praising the legendary Roy Williams for all he did at Kansas, and they forget that during the 90's, when he had the most talented teams in the country, he went 8 years with only 1 elite 8 apperance. 2 in 4 years seems like a pretty good thing to me, and with us returning most, if not all of this team, we will be prepared to go the distance.
I wish the press, and fans would quit with the SC replacing RR idiocy. It ain't going to happen. RR will be our starting PG next year, as he's been the previous 2 years. I don't even know why any of this has continued being discussed. In post-season play, RR was arguably the best player on the team (battling with Brandon for that honor).
caddie733 6 years, 1 month ago
So to everyone here...when KU wins, Self should get all the credit and admiration from the fans. However, if KU loses, he had NOTHING to do with it, right? That's such a joke...Bill Simmons of ESPN makes a really funny comment (from the same article as posted by Sporf24): "...three superb coaches (Thompson, Florida's Billy Donovan and UCLA's Ben Howland, who pulled Bill Self's pants down on Saturday)...".
Let's face reality, Self got outcoached...obviously, he doesn't care what I say or think, but I can still voice an opinion. Everyone knew KU was loaded with talent...I applaud Coach Self for his great recruiting, but Coach Howland showed that great recruiting doesn't win tournament games...no one can argue that. Saying the players were just trying too hard is a sorry excuse, a well prepared and coached team is unflappable.
I'm not here to say get rid of Self, but people need to stop kissing his ass when he obviously did not prepare the team to win. I have faith that the more experience he gets, the better his teams will get...which will eventually lead to a championship, but seriously, get real, and admit that you blew this one, Coach Self...don't blame the players for trying "too" hard.
adky 6 years, 1 month ago
It is time for Self to move to Arkansas!
He said, "it tells me there are some people not very happy with me. I will not lose too much sleep worrying about that." That's how much he thinks of Jayhawk fans!
jonas 6 years, 1 month ago
"Posted by caddie733 (anonymous) on March 27, 2007 at 10:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So to everyone here...when KU wins, Self should get all the credit and admiration from the fans. However, if KU loses, he had NOTHING to do with it, right? That's such a joke.."
Yes, when you commit logical fallacies and make unfounded assumptions, they tend to end up being worth little more than jokes. You're a fool if you think Self will get all the credit, or even most of the credit, should we win. Remind me, is the last championship team called "Larry Brown and the miracles?"
Sporf24 6 years, 1 month ago
MGJayhawk,
The "important note" is actually from Bill Simmons, I should have made that more clear when posting that e-mail.
That being said, I completely agree with your take on several issues. First of all, there isn't a coach in the country that can control missed lay ups and easy opportunities. After any dissapointing loss it's always easy to blame the head coach for whatever went wrong. I agree with you that Self is an excellent coach and that the we will get to and win a Final Four in the next several years. My only gripe looking back at the UCLA game is that it seemed they were more fired up that our guys. Maybe that's due to the homecourt advantage, all I know is that it was extremely frustrating to watch Affalo and their big guy with the head band that looks like a rat bumping into and pushing our players around during the game.
Lastly, I'm also more than a little tired of the East Coast/West Coast crap. Besides Fran Frischilla and Doug Gottlieb and a few others there aren't many who speak up for the Big 12. It's gonna take the Hawks going all the way before we get the respect nationally that we deserve.
jonas 6 years, 1 month ago
"Posted by adky (anonymous) on March 27, 2007 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is time for Self to move to Arkansas!
He said, "it tells me there are some people not very happy with me. I will not lose too much sleep worrying about that." That's how much he thinks of Jayhawk fans!"
No, just the unrealistic, overly negative, hater fans, who write off total seasons with deep runs into the tournaments as losses and proof that KU or their coach sucks because (gasp) we actually lost to a quality team. Why should anyone lose sleep over what those yahoos think?
pitthawker 6 years, 1 month ago
adky, your a moron...believe it or not, coach's dont and SHOULD NOT think highly of what fans think. Nobody what you do fans will be pissed off. As far as game planning and startegy Im sure EVERYONE here voicing their coaching philosophy has more coaching creditials than Bill....please.
RalkChalk 6 years, 1 month ago
No that's how much he doesn't care about idiots like you! He's a great coach and if his boss is unhappy, then he needs to pay attention, but obviously Perkins isn't upset with winning the Big 12 conference and tournaments. At my job, if the admin complains about how I do my job, then I really don't give a flip, but if the Director is unhappy, then I might care.
Way to go Coach and team. Hell of a season. Let's go get 'em again next year!.
Rock Chalk!
jhwkswn 6 years, 1 month ago
Coach Self, thanks for the great year. Here's hoping you have a good off season.
Forget about the naysayers... as you know they'll come out of the woodwork no matter where you are, and those loudmouths are not representative of the larger whole.
99% of KU fans are proud of what you have already done and anxiously await the coming seasons. later
caddie733 6 years, 1 month ago
Jonas...you are a moron, I was merely stating that everyone on this board seems to have a huge problem with even blaming Self a little for the loss to UCLA. If you look at lalawguy's ridiculous post, he is basically stating that every big KU win was the result of Self outcoaching the other coaches. If that's the case, when KU loses, shouldn't it be fair to say Self was outcoached (against UCLA, it actually happened in addition to our players missing "easy" shots)...he basically just said the kids "tried too hard"...in essence, it was the players fault. It was partly their fault, but also his. In our close game against SIU and our loss to UCLA, how many points did we score? (61 and 55), way below our season average. Therefore, which team's coach imparted their game plan more effectively?...not KU.
And for all of you who think I'm just bashing...I already stated that Self is a good coach, not great...yet. I said that I have faith that he will get better, but it's just the simple fact that he seems to not think it was in any way his preperation or game plan that might have been flawed.
karmaxs3 6 years, 1 month ago
I just hope he talks to the ethics committee about getting some Big 12 representation on the Selection Committee.....are those spots willed to people, or what? They're all east and west coast AD's! Lew? Oh, Lew? Get yerself on that committee!!!!!
Thanks Bill~for being a KU fan and a strong coach to our team! You Rock Chalk :)
jross1972 6 years, 1 month ago
People listen...
Why are people so quickly blaming the coach for the loss?
I'll be the first to say Coach Self isn't always going to get it right, but you can't blame the loss on the game plan. Besides, having a game plan is great, but no coach has the assurance that his game plan is the right one. No coach has the assurance that adjustments made are going to actually work. There are people that will rebut this, but it makes not a smidgeon of difference: forming a GAME PLAN is NOT an exact science. For people who think it means you can prepare against every possible eventuality as a game unfolds, they should realize that head coaches are not fortune tellers. Call the Psychic Friends Network if you're interested in predicting the future, and get back to me when you find out how that goes for ya.
Having said that, a game plan is necessary and tries to prepare a team to give it the best chance to win. Still, it is NOT PERFECT. Not for Roy Williams, not for Jim Boeheim, Bobby Knight, Mike Kryskiewski, or anyone!
It wasn't the GAME PLAN that missed the layups. It wasn't the GAME PLAN that missed the free-throws. The players did that. And for those of you who so easily blame the team (ahem..."APD"), consider all the accomplishments we made this season.
We lost to a decent team with a home crowd disadvantage. What more do you want? Be grateful!
Tuskin 6 years, 1 month ago
The odds of Kansas beating UCLA were 54-46, which is BARELY better than 50-50. It's ridiculous to spurn a coach, team, or season, because of losing what was virtually a 50-50 game.
If you can't get behind a team until they win the National Championship, go root for Florida. They won last year, and have the best chance of anyone of winning this year. But oh, look out. That chance is only 30%. So you might have to reject their team, coach, and season after the tourney.
Bill Self has put us into an excellent position of winning each game we played and going deep into the tournament. Great season, pretty good tournament. Great coach.
dan_mp 6 years, 1 month ago
First, I'd like to say that KU had a great season and thank Self for his hard work.
Second, I think the seeding favored most of the #2's -- Georgetown, Wisconsin, UCLA -- over the #1's.
And lastly, I think the only thing I would have liked to have seen more of in the UCLA game was more high-low. KU's big guys were much better than UCLA's and what we mostly saw was guards trying to penetrate off screens -- boring and not the bread-and-butter high-low offense.
I'm not saying Self's game plan was faulty, KU was getting to the rim, just not finishing. I would have liked some variety though, so UCLA would have had to adjust.
A lot of UCLA fans are saying they played "smothering" defense. But if half those close shots went in, the score would have been a lot closer.
kufan1975 6 years, 1 month ago
Hey ADKY, please quit being a KU fan you are worse than Kentucky fan and they are the worse; they just ran a coach who won them a national championship. Let me guess you would call for Coach Self to be fired after he won a national championship. Oh, wait you wish that Ol' Roy was still the coach don't you? Just shut up and please quit being a KU fan we don't want you anymore.
Roysoldboy 6 years, 1 month ago
Jross, you have beat the naysayers over the head in exactly the right words but none of them will be able to see what you have said.
All this game plan crap is just that and those who talk so much about it have been watching too much television and taken the words spoken by announcers as something other than words.
No game plan can take into consideration the fact that the game officials will allow lots of clutching and grabbing of arms and our team ran into a lot of that in their last two games. It is very right that the team that adjusts to the way officials are calling the game has a big advantage. When teams are coached to play that way they have all the possible advantage when they get by with it.
I agree with Self that those kids were trying too hard. They threw the ball away trying too hard to force it into places it wouldn't go. They failed to shoot the shots they should have shot but they were in a totally different situation than any of them had ever been in. UCLA had the advantage of having been in the final last year and our team was among 32 teams who had on wins in the tourney. These kids were actually young and in uncharted waters, for them. If they are still together next year they will know better how to get to the next level of play and not succumb to getting that far.
We should be thankful to all of them and the coaching staff that is headed by Bill Self for another fantastic season. Those who had bets and lost are the ones making the loudest noises about Self and the players.
It was a great season and only fools feel any other way. In every game someone is the winner and in that one the teams were actually pretty evenly matched. The three pointer at halftime had a heavy bearing on how both teams played early in the second half. So many things that can't be planned for influenced the outcome.
jonas 6 years, 1 month ago
"Posted by caddie733 (anonymous) on March 27, 2007 at 11:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Jonas...you are a moron, I was merely stating that everyone on this board seems to have a huge problem with even blaming Self a little for the loss to UCLA."
That's not what you were doing, or at least not only what you were doing, and what you were doing in addition to that was a logical fallacy. Sorry that sits so poorly with you. If you were responding to one particular person's post, then you made a fallacy by saying it was the view of "everyone," as one person is not everyone. If such was not your intention, then you need to be more specific, or no one will follow your intended points.
chase353 6 years, 1 month ago
You guys may have read SI.com, but I just seen it. We don't even get credit when we do win.
"The 6-foot-9 Durant, who led Texas to the Big 12 title, was the only unaimous choice ect..."
I did not know Texas won the Big 12.
weedwacker 6 years, 1 month ago
As a really good coach told me while I was playing for him. If it is not your day and your shots are having a hard time falling, I will pull you and set you on the bench, and let someone else try. Why did Coach Self keep the players in that were not making their layups? Easy coaching sounds like to me, put others in that might be on the key for the day, and let them get the baskets. There more to coaching than playing just 8 people, we had others on the bench that I'm sure would have been able to contribute. No, Self made himself look stupid for keeping the players in that he did.
MGJayhawk 6 years, 1 month ago
Weedwacker,
Name me 5 guys you would put in the game in place of Rush, Chalmers, Kaun, Arthur, Russ Rob, Sherron, D Jack and Julian. If I remember correctly those guys got us to the EE, brought us back twice against Texas and won us a regular season and big 12 tourney champioship. I understand by pulling 1 or 2 guys if they're playing bad, but not a whole team. They didn't play bad, just couldn't hit a freaking layup.
And if you remember, he did pull 2 players, Kaun and Sherron.
kcmostwanted 6 years, 1 month ago
umm...note to everyone who is a Kansas Fan.. "don't listen to ESPN..because Dickie V.. Digger (however you spell it).. or who ever they are, are worthless...All they know is the Big EAST, ACC, SEC, PAC 10 and Big 10 are great and who cares about the BIG 12...
Great Season...and obviously our players flopped that last game...we should have won.. they seemed a little too tense.. Mario did lots of things that made him look like a freshmen again ...same with Julian... But hopefully they'll learn from that experience and bring us a National Championship
goldlighting 6 years, 1 month ago
Dance with who brought ya, I think we tried to be a different team against UCLA and it backfired terribly. That and of course, it seems some of our great players decided to insert an "I" in TEAM thereby offsetting all of our mojo.
RockerBabe 6 years, 1 month ago
I don't know how many of you posting threads have ever played Duplicate Bridge. It really doesn't matter. You see, in Duplicate Bridge every table of four plays the same hand; the cards are exactly the same at each table. You would be amazed how many bid the game incorrectly and go set and while some bid correctly and make their bid, plus take some extra tricks.
My point is. . . . if it were possible, I would take all of you "arm chair" coaches and have you coach the KU/UCLA game. Each one having their turn at sitting in the coaches seat, designing plays, calling the shots, substituting players, calling time outs, preparing for the game, etc. At the end of each game there would be no memory of the previous game and the players would not be tired. Quite simply, the game would just reset itself for the next game. I would be willing to bet that 3/4's of you wouldn't even come close to winning the game. Proving the point that some of you are not nearly as smart as you think you are.
actorman 6 years, 1 month ago
Saying the players were just trying too hard is a sorry excuse, a well prepared and coached team is unflappable.
You just showed how much of an idiot you are with that statement. A well-prepared and coached team is unflappable??? A coach can prepare 18- and 19-year-old kids for nerves??? Give me a break! All the preparation in the world doesn't matter if a kid can't handle the pressure and tries too hard and forces things. It could be lack of experience in bigtime situations, or it could just be that some players are better at dealing with the stress than others.
Thanks, Chase, for bringing to light yet ANOTHER slight by the media against KU. If it's not ESPN ignoring KU being the last team to make back-to-back Final Fours and saying KU last made it to the Final Four in 2002, it's the S.F. Chronicle saying KU has made it to FIVE Final Fours. It's always something, and I'm SICK of it. I hope you wrote to SI about their mistake. Please let us know. It will also be interesting to see if CBS acknowledges that Florida and UCLA are the first teams to make it to back-to-back Final Fours since KU in 2003, or if they ignore us as well.
weedwacker 6 years, 1 month ago
MGJayhawk, I didn't say to take all five out. If you would read my post, I said, take the ones out that their shot was continuing to not drop. Yes, I can give you a couple to try, why not put Case in and Brady Morningstar. Case usually can hit the three pointer and Morningstar can hit from the outside and hit the layups. Everyone has a bad day, as a coach Self should have seen that and played others in their spot. The UCLA coach did just that, Mata was not producing against the Jayhawks, so what did he do, he set him, he didn't need him. ROCKERBABE--I accept that challenge. I would love the opportunity to coach those guys. Self was not "coaching" his team on Sat. He was just hoping that his All American's would bring it back. Even the best of players need to be coached. And like GOLDLIGHTING stated, too many of the players started playing I ball. It doesn't work, just look at Texas. Their one player couldn't do it all. And I'm not saying that Durant was an I person, but they relied too much on him. Collins everytime he would go down, he played "I" ball. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. A coach needs to play up to the other team and the refs.
marqjbm 6 years, 1 month ago
caddie733,
The UCLA loss had nothing to do with being out-coached. You cannot hold Self responsible for UCLA making guarded 3's at the end of the shot clock on four different occasions. You cannot blame Self for missing 19 shots which would be considered layups or dunks. Our defense was coached brilliantly and played brilliantly. We came up against a team which was equally well schooled on D and made more shots on a given night. The very best teams and coaches need a little luck to finish the deal in March/April. If we could remove luck from the equation--I'll take Bill Self and this Kansas team every time. Bottom line--great season that ended on an unfortunate note. Unfortunate not due to lack of effort or coaching, but due to a cold shooting team who came up against an unconscious scorer (Afflalo) who wasn't going to be stopped by any team on that night.
marqjbm 6 years, 1 month ago
weedwacker--Mata didn't sit for any other reason than foul trouble...the whole game. Go back and watch again. Based on all of your "observations" you weren't paying very close attention. Try watching a game using your eyes and not your emotions if you want to analyze it afterward.
craigers 6 years, 1 month ago
I know I'm late in the game here but think about it... I'm sure Self's gameplan was to get easy buckets. Steals that should lead to layups or dunks are always great and there is a reason why they are normally referred to as gimmies. We had tons of gimmies and I am pretty sure our percentage on layups and dunks was below 50%. We missed 19 or 20 of our layups and dunks. You guys want to blame the coach for those? Are you kidding me?! You make half of those misses and the game is completely different. They executed a great gameplan and had all the shots and baskets they needed to win, but they didn't convert them. Self can't put the ball in the hole for the players.
caddie733 6 years, 1 month ago
Jonas...that one person's post was an example of the general trend that is occurring on this message board. So stop trying to sound overly educated, as I'm sure you just learned the word "fallacy" (using it twice in your post).
As for what I have posted...how many times do I need to make it clear that I am not bashing Bill Self or saying he should be fired? I said he was a good coach on his way to being a great coach (he's not there yet as a great coach until he makes a Final Four, that's just a simple fact of life). I also said that i have FAITH that he will take KU to a championship (again, fully complimenting Self). All I was merely stating was that he simply did not perform his job to the best of his ability this one time, yet he doesn't think so. Look, say what you want about game planning and preparation not determining the winner. It was his lack of that and in game adjustments. It's not wrong to say he got outcoached this time...yes, the players making their shots would have helped, but they didn't. As a coach/qb/leader of any team, you get the credit when your team wins, so by that token, you deserve some credit when they lose. If KU had beat UCLA, I'm sure we'd be raving about what a great coach Self is, and rightly so. But they didn't, so the coach deserves part of the blame as well.
And couranna1, please don't tell me you're calling Bill Simmons an idiot. If people on this board can tell me to stop criticizing Self because I'm no coach, and if I was better, Lew would hire me, then don't go call someone an idiot when they have weekly to twice a week columns on the most respected sports website, and you do not.
DCSven 6 years, 1 month ago
Coach Self .... Thanks for a great 33-5 season, conference and tournament Big 12 Championships, advancing to the Elite Eight, a first class group of players that make us all proud to be Jayhawks and for your loyalty to this school, the program you are building and the outstanding talent you recruit.
The Mizzery fans on here posing as disgruntled Jayhawks only wish they could quote one of those stats above in any season, but they can't so they pretend to be KU fans to bash you because they don't have anything better to do in the post season.
I agree that Brandon (and others) should do what's best for them and their families but I hope that you, Danny and the rest of the staff will make the strong case that more experience, strength, and learning at the collegiate level (on and off the court) only makes them stronger prospects. It is their decision, but I think Florida and UCLA make strong cases that staying in school and acheiving at a high level in the NCAAs has made their prospects even better.
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
what coach gets everything right? Only one team wins every year, and we here at kansas certainly know all about that. It happens, grow up. adky, this is the first time i have ever seen you post on here, so get up to times. Also, you say you want self to go, who should come? Coach K lost in the first round, hall of famer. Roy lost in the elite 8, same as us. We beat tubby smith, who a national championship. won 33 games, a big 12 title, tourney title, and EARNED a top seed in the national tournament. Why do you waste our time posting on here, when few care to hear your input. If you have logical comments that benefit the rest of us from reading them, by all means lets hear your opinion. If not, dont get all upset when everyone on here calls you a FUKING idiot! Same goes for you caddie!
Roysoldboy 6 years, 1 month ago
Anybody who is interested in keeping Brandon and Julian around better help Self keep them from seeing this article from the Akron Beacon Journal today. It is about the house that LeBron is building in Cleveland. Scary. Very humorously written article. If you have little boys get a ball in their hands and keep it there for at least 3 hours a day.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/16980459.htm
weedwacker 6 years, 1 month ago
marqjbm, i have watched and re-watched the game, and don't get all high and mighty to me. Mata had foul trouble, but he could have come back in and played the final 10 minutes and the coach decided they didn't need him, he was slow, and wasn't contributing. Come on, face the facts that some times our All American's are not going to play that great. So a coach has got to adjust to the day. Self has always had that problem, even at Illinois. My family watched him coach at Illinois long before he came here. Same thing, great recruiter, there is no doubt, but again like someone said earlier. How hard is it to get kids to come to KU to play? Not too hard. Just like every girl wants to go play at Tennessee, not hard for Pat to recruit, they are waiting at her door. But Pat Summit still coaches each and every game like she is going to loose, whether they are 5 points or 50 points ahead.
caddie733 6 years, 1 month ago
notabandwagonfan...i'm sorry you can't control yourself. Obviously you did not read my post fully, as I completely complimented Coach Self and have numerous times reiterated that I am 100% in support of him. Just because I think he may have had a role in KU's loss does not mean I'm throwing him under the bus, like Kentucky's fans did to Tubby. I'm sorry you can't see that...And as for Roy, Coach K, and Tubby...the difference between them an Self right now is numerous Final Fours and a Title. Once again, I will say that I BELIEVE SELF WILL GET US THERE. But until he does, he is not in the same class as the coaches you mentioned. Please calm down and read fully before calling someone out.
jonas 6 years, 1 month ago
"Posted by caddie733 (anonymous) on March 27, 2007 at 3:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jonas...that one person's post was an example of the general trend that is occurring on this message board. So stop trying to sound overly educated, as I'm sure you just learned the word "fallacy" (using it twice in your post)."
Nope. I've known that word for a decade now, since my 1st year of college, and it's the correct word and usage to describe the point you were attempting, and failing, to make properly.
Just to note, I care not at all about your opinion of Coach Self, or consider it even that relevent. This is about saying silly things, not a difference in opinion.
Or maybe the capriciuosly evil part of me just enjoys goading you due to your stubborn defensiveness on a sub-par point. I haven't really examined my own motivations as of yet. I am having fun though.
4everjhawks 6 years, 1 month ago
Though I wish the ending were different, it was a great year to be a Kansas fan. I sincerely hope Rush, Wright and the rest of the guys will return, you only have four years to play as a Jayhawk and be part of something that's something pretty special, I don't think it's like that once you turn pro.
KURUSH1530 6 years, 1 month ago
It's hard to play an inside game when you run "fist" all second half long..which is the big's setting on ball screens for the guards. This went on the entire second half and I couldn't believe we weren't getting the ball into the post. But then i remembered that the only "post" who could actually pass the ball was Julian. Double teaming was a brilliant move our bigs weren't ready for, they just turned and threw the ball to a seemingly open player to only get it picked off. Maybe that is why Self ran his "fist" offense. Who knows..we're set up for a run next season..dare I say it though, is k-state going to be better?
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
consider this...........................Bill Self took the Kansas job in 2003. His current record is 103-29 with Kansas. Roy Williams went to 4 final fours in 15 years with kansas. Bill has been here 4. My point? Some of you people don't believe how damn hard it is to take a team to a final 4. I cant even imagine, so im not going to even try. The man has been here 4 years. Roy williams 1, and only won, came with a school that was far more talented than the squad he left. Same situation for Tubby Smith. Now, are these just coincidences? I happen to think so. North Carolina, as well as Kansas, underachieved greatly in the eyes of their fans. I however, think that this team will eventually get to the championship game, and win it. Bill will get his final 4, and his national championship with Kansas, as long as some of you dumbass fans dont run him out of town! It makes me sick to see what some of you people write on this board!
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
oh, and by the way, all of those coaches are considerably younger!
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
ok babboy, what does it mean if we get to the final 4, just to tank out again like we did the last 4 times we got there! What you are saying is r a man to be a great coach he has to reach the final 4? Roy williams is considered a great coach and a lock for the hall of fame, but he has won 1 national championship. I get sick and tired of hearing everyone bitch everytime we dont win a championship every year. I will agree that Bill Self has yet to prove that he is a great coach, but he is a great, great recruiter, and great man, very personable, and has a great passion and respect for Kansas. I dont think there is any other coach that i would rather have here than Bill Self. Also, I agree that he needs to start winning some titles, but I also agree that more time is needed.
scootja32 6 years, 1 month ago
did lalawguy just say that Tubby Smith is legendary???
merrill 6 years, 1 month ago
Coach self and the team provided many hours of fun basketball and great playing the far greater majority of the season and brought home a few championships....GOOD JOB!
Maybe we did not get the NCAA Championship but life could be a whole lot worse....again GOOD JOB!
KU is always on the list of teams to beat which is a big load to carry and speaks loads to the BB program so in the end all ended well. Carry on Jayhawks.
hawkaholic_kaun 6 years, 1 month ago
i hope darnell arthur doesn't pass sasha kaun as center because kaun can do a better job if he steps up as a center...good job on a great season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
exactly! Not just the Big 12, but the standard of basketball in the country! by the way, its not darnell arthur, its darrell arthur, and darnell jackson!
orioledw 6 years, 1 month ago
Didn't it take Dean Smith like 20 years to win his first championship??? It took Smith seven trips to the Final Four before winning his first national title, and then it took him nine more years to return. Just pointing out even the greatest coaches don't always win.
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
babboy, agreement in some things, some not at all. I am angry because I sit on here and try and read articles. and then i get to hear people say stupid sh!t that doesnt make any sense. I honestly believe that coach Self will get us to the final 4, and then some. The law of averages has to work in our favor sooner or later. I mean, come on now, it even worked for Roy in his second season, even if it was with somebody else's players. Give the man some time before everyone gets on here and bashes him for not being a great coach. Who out there actually is a great coach? 2 come to mind...........Roy and Coach K.
jaybate 6 years, 1 month ago
I still say the loss comes down on Coach Self this time. UCLA's hack and slap is tough to prepare for, so that's NOT where he slipped up. Where he slipped up involves his decision not to take the usual steps a coach takes to counter a team overplaying the guards and wings on the perimeter. What he was supposed to do was:
Back door. Back door. And then back door some more. KU never did.
Next the guy who drives over the pick HAS to pass the ball to the big man rolling, or its not playing pick and roll; its just dribbling off a pick. KU never passed to the big rolling.
Next, the guy who drives over the pick has to drive under it, when he is being overplayed and the big has to roll into the lane for an easy 5-10 J over a short guy. KU never did this.
Coach Self proved to me this season he was a great coach. He made all the right moves almost ALL the time. But he goofed this one time. He had his players alternate between two ineffective paths of action: 1) he used a gimpy Collins, RR and Chalmers to drive down the middle from the wing, where they could not get good shots because of all the hack and slap; and 2) he let players play one on one at a time when KU was being subjected to a withering man to man defense overplaying the perimeter. Why choose to play one on one, when the team work of backdooring and driving under the pick seem to make so much more sense?
If I've got it wrong, explain how. It just seems plain as day to me. I know he's a great coach, so maybe I AM missing something. But what?
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
jaybate, did you actually know before the game that collins was gimpy? I didnt even know that until monday, and even so, I still couldn't tell he was injured.
BigTrav 6 years, 1 month ago
Blame the Coach, the players nerves or whatever. I myself am blaming the officials, just like I do in most Jayhawk losses! LOL,
Seriously though, this was one game that baffled me. I'm sure most of you, like me, sat around watching most of the games up through the sweet 16. I remember KU's first two games and officials were calling the games tight as hell and was wondering why they were calling games so tight. I then heard or read somewhere about how the chairman that heads the tournament had a meeting w/ the officials and told them they wanted them to call games extremely tight. Well that seemed to be the case in the first two rounds for every team.
So I looked it up, in KU's first two round games they attempted 49 free throws as a team. In the next two rounds they shot 30. Their opponents in the first two rounds attempted 57 and the next two rounds attempted 32. That's a pretty significant drop.
Personally I feel, KU beat themselves by missing a lot of good looks because if they hit even half of those shots, KU wins by 10. I just find it hard to believe that out of all those drives and close shots KU took from within 5 feet of the basket there weren't hardly any fouls committed. Of course that means KU has to hit their free throws and we all know how that would of turned out! HA, so basically, KU would of probably lost either way.
jaybate 6 years, 1 month ago
notabandwagonfan,
No, I did not know his knee was seriously injured. i believe i read that his knee was a bit sore some time just before or after the SIU game. I only knew for sure that his performance had fallen off from his superb play when he had finally gotten the hang of D1 ball. and that Shady and others who have dropped off with similar suddeness have later been reported to have been injured. I then figured he probably was. But I do think a D1 coach rerunning game video hundreds of times and comparing several games worth of video would be able to recognize the kind and extent of injury a player like Collins had. They pretty knowledgeable of injuries and how they affect a player's performance.
Also, I'd like to say that it doesn't make me the least bit mad at Coach Self that I think he goofed against UCLA. Everyone goofs. I don't get mad at people for making goofs. I get mad at people for not giving it their best effort. I think Coach Self gave it everything he had in this game and since the day he stepped on campus. I think he's on the road to greatness and even though I was an early doubter, I plan to be on that bus when it arrives in Ringville. I'm a Self man. You were right about this guy and I was wrong. But I wasn't wrong, because I didn't care or wasn't thinking of what was best for KU. I was doing my best as a fan to understand the game and the coach KU needed. We've got the right guy. He doesn't know how to win it all yet. He hasn't played for or coached under a mentor who won it all. For that reason, it may take him a little longer "to figure it out," as John Wooden once said. But I believe in his ability to learn and grow as a coach. He seems to me to have matured a heckuva lot just in four years.
Go, Bill, go!
Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!
caddie733 6 years, 1 month ago
BABBOY, thank you for reading and understanding my posts. I never intended to fight with Self supporters, but if a coach is part of the team and a team loses, then he has to take some of the blame...this is just common sense. Saying it many times, I like having Bill Self here, I think he will do great things, but the reality is, he hasn't yet. I have faith that he will though.
Jonas, when you have something relevant to say about KU basketball (which this message board is about) then we can talk. I can tell you that you are impressing no one with your posts. Maybe we can chat on an "English Grammar and Vocab" message board sometime?
Notabandwagonfan...I glanced through one of your posts (and if you corrected yourself on this matter, then disregard this)...but you think the only great coaches right now are Roy and Coach K? By the credentials we have outlined, a few more come to mind for me:
jross1972 6 years, 1 month ago
This is why it's not Self's fault. The offense he was running was getting us easy looks. No adjustments needed to be made. We missed 19 easy shots. That's 38 points we left on the court right there. Then we go under 50% from the free-throw line. What good would opening the back door do if we weren't knocking down the easy shots? No! The problem wasn't the offense we ran. The problem was we had a bad night shooting, and that was NOT Bill Self's fault.
BigTrav 6 years, 1 month ago
But I can guarantee you, Self would be more than willing to take ALL the blame! He's a Class Act and there's nobody else I'd rather have coaching KU.
actorman 6 years, 1 month ago
If my memory is correct, Roy Williams, Larry Brown, and Ted Owens all had gotten their respective teams to the final four by their 4th year of coaching at KU.
Your memory is not correct. Ted Owens' first year was 1964-65, and he didn't make the Final Four until 1971--his 7th season.
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
no, i think that all of those are good coaches. However, i think that only Coach K and roy are truely great. What has Bob Knight done in the tourney in the last 20 years? Izzo? Tubby? I will say that Jim Calhoun did win a couple of titles, but look at his team this year. We were just as young last season with similar talent, we shared for a big 12 title, won a conference tourney, and made it to the national tourney. Uconn this year? NO postseason play. If self did that, 99 % of people on here would call for him to be fired. Billy Donavon, 1 title in 10 years. Dont even start me on Lute olsen.
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
also, I would rather have Bill Self than any of those other coaches on that list.
rockchalkjayhawk4ku11 6 years, 1 month ago
I think that next year cloe aldrich will take over sasha. I really like sasha but i dont think he has developed inot as good as a player that he can be.
PACP 6 years, 1 month ago
No one thinks that maybe the players were a little tired, after having to fight through SIU on thursday? I've always heard that what happens, when you're tired, is your shots fall short more often than not. Also, it's been pretty well documented that KU missed some 19 layups in the game... seems a pretty good game plan, to be in position to miss 19 layups, considering that on a normal night, they make a lot more layups than they miss.
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
you know, i thought about that to pacp, but after reading some people's post, i tended to lean more to the fact that Bill Self sucks as a coach!............................NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that them being tired had something to do with it, but it was a number of things. Defense, fatigue, and the pressure probably got to them.
jaybate 6 years, 1 month ago
jross1972,
As usual, you make a good case. I'm going to buy half your argument--the half about free throw shooting. We had an awful night FTing. We were 5 of 11. Alas, our FT percentage for the season is only 66 %, so even with some rounding we would only have made 3 more. As we were beaten by 13, better FT shooting would not have closed the gap even significantly.
And we can't turn to three point shooting as the problem because we shot 50%!
We are left with FG shooting as the obvious culprit. There we tanked at 41% on 23 of 56, while UCLA shot 53% on 24 of 45 FGs. Note: UCLA had 11 fewer FGAs and 7 more trey attempts.
You note that KU missed 19 layups, because KU was having a bad shooting night.
This is where I must respectfully part company with you.
Even on bad shooting nights teams make lay ups, unless something is making them miss.
Were they sick with flu? No. Were they injured? Only Collins supposedly. He took four and missed four. Perhaps Coach made an error playing him at all. Collins playing on one leg, as Self said after the game, probably cost us at least two baskets, or four points.
But the whole team was having tough sledding scoring lay-ups based on your 19 missed lay up estimate.
So what gives? Guys can make lay-ups on a bad shooting night, because they are point blank. Guys weren't hurt except for Collins and he played and shot little.
I think it is obvious, if we pause and think about it.
Collins, our offensive catalyst, was a nonentity, so the high percentage layups and dishes he generates in our offense was gone. Shooting percentage goes down.
6'4" Afflalo shut down Rush (he had to shoot alot of shots to get his points) and 6'5" Shipp shut down Chalmers (he was just shut down period). Shooting percentage went down.
jaybate 6 years, 1 month ago
Collison slightly outscored RR. Shooting percentage unaffected.
Overplaying the perimeter plus our perimeter players' determination to take it to the hoop anyway, overworked them and constantly had them shooting off balance. Shooting percentage went down.
The hack and slap got them to the point that they expected to get fouled even when they weren't and they missed alot of bunnies anticipating the hack and slap that didn't come. Shooting percentage went down.
They missed alot of bunnies because the hack and slap put them off balance and was never called. Shooting percentage went down.
The guards never passed to the big men on the pick and roll, so the bigs never got a chance to get in and play a power game in close. Shooting percentage went down.
All these factors dictated by UCLA's players' size and skill (especially at 2 guard) and strategy converged to produce a bad shooting performance by KU. The KU players were hearing footsteps even on the bunnies.
Had KU wings and guards back doored quite a bit and driven under the pick half the time, the big men could have forced a power game on UCLA and in time forced it back on its heels and out of its strategy of overplaying the perimeter; then two things would have happened:
A. one or two of UCLA's big men would have gotten in foul trouble, allowing us even more room to work inside and better percentage shots; and
B. KU's perimeter shooters would have had more open looks down the stretch of the game and our 50% three point shooting that night could have helped save us, too.
jaybate 6 years, 1 month ago
Coach Self gambled that Rush and Chalmers could get untracked for a bunch of isolation, because of UCLA's overplaying on the perimeter. He gambled they could drive into the mid range and to the rim and score. But he gambled wrong. He played to into our two obvious weaknesses. Chalmers was too short to play one on one with Afflalo and Shipp. And Rush hasn't been able to put the ball on the floor and score in the midrange game all season long. And by going to these two, he played right into the hands of UCLA's hack and slap. Why? Because hack and slap always starts the moment before a guy puts the ball on the floor and as he's starting his lay up. Against he hack and slap, you want the ball in the hands of your big men and you want it in close. And since UCLA's bigs were a match for our bigs, what was needed was for our big men to get the ball on back doors and pick and rolls INTO the lane rather than down toward the baseline.
Basically KU allowed itself to be forced out of its game and its good shooting possibilities, because of the choices it made about who and where it would attack UCLA.
The low shooting percentage stemmed from the way UCLA defended us and from the choices we made about how to attack it.
Now, maybe we did just have a mysteriously bad shooting night and it got us. It can certainly happen.
But I've listed seven reasons why we should have had a bad shooting night because of UCLA's defense and match-ups, and because of Coach Self's choices about how to attack.
That's the best I can do. I tend to be an empiricist first. If there are a lot of reasons why something may be happening, then I tend to think there is a causal chain. If none of the things I have noted as drivers of our poor shooting percentage were there to be found, then I would side with the argument that we just had a lousy night shooting the rock.
jross1972 6 years, 1 month ago
I've read everything you said. I respectfully disagree!
Getting to the basket was NOT the problem, and you seem to acknowledge this. NINETEEN layups missed. NINETEEN! One-nine...
You can't blame that on "feeling" the defense. That's not an acceptable excuse. We didn't play our best game, obviously. I don't blame UCLA because they gave us the looks. I don't blame the refs because in EVERY game they get a lot of it wrong. And as far as the "hack and slap" philosophy, SIU played us tighter than UCLA did and we still managed a higher point total against them. UCLA gave us the looks, we just didn't convert.
Loss.
caddie733 6 years, 1 month ago
notabandwagonfan...fyi, Bob Knight has the most wins in D-1 ball. Calhoun has multiple titles and misses the tourney this year, so he is just good. You just defined yourself as the opposite of your name because apparently a coach can't have a down year if they are great. Sorry to tell you this, but even Coach K has missed the tourney...so I guess he can't be great. It's not even worth my time talking to such an idiot.
notabandwagonfan 6 years, 1 month ago
no caddie, i didnt define myself as opposite. What has Bob Knight done recently? Calhoun is a very good coach, but not truely elite in my opinion. Im sure if coach K misses the tourney, he then takes his team to the nit at least. No nit this year for a team who was a #1 seed last season, and almost went to a final 4. There is something wrong with that. Bobby Knight was a great coach, but things change, times change, people change, and once again, things change. Great coaches run good, clean programs with little controversy, and a large amount of wins. Bob Knight has done neither of those in the past 10 seasons. Thats the same reason I leave Bob Huggins off of this list! Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I am most certainly entitle to mine.
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