topcityjayhawker (anonymous) says...

this is fantastic!!!!!! 1st

December 4, 2008 at 3:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

topcityjayhawker (anonymous) says...

He will add much needed offense if Cole goes out early with 2 fouls. Also he has to better then Brady on the defense of end. So this is the best news of the week...by far!!!!

December 4, 2008 at 3:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

BackFat (anonymous) says...

"We’ll start slow and gradually build up... We’ll bring him along like we did Brandon,"

Didn't Rush get like 35 mins vs Arizona in his first or second game?

December 4, 2008 at 3:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

hometownhawk (anonymous) says...

I think Bill's referring moreso to practice than games.

December 4, 2008 at 3:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

stupidmichael (anonymous) says...

Great news. I can't wait to see this guy play.

December 4, 2008 at 4:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jayhawkinatl (anonymous) says...

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

December 4, 2008 at 4:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jayhawkliz (anonymous) says...

awesome!

December 4, 2008 at 6:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

NickMontana (anonymous) says...

I love Brady's hustle but we have enough talent someone needs to earn his minutes eventually if we are going to play against the big boys this year.

December 4, 2008 at 6:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

HighEliteMajor (anonymous) says...

This team, now, has Sweet 16 ability. If Little is a good as advertised, maybe a Cinderella repeat?

December 4, 2008 at 7:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

dmc8142 (anonymous) says...

This is awesome news! Hopefully Little will make our team so much better in the future.

This past summer I was lucky enough to be able to play three on three against Jeff Boschee, Tyron Appleton and Mario Little against me and two of my friends at a basketball camp I was working. I'm here to tell you guys that Little is a BEAST when he is healthy. Appleton is good but Little is on a whole different level. Obviously my friends and I are not D-1 basketball players, but I could definitely tell there was a difference in talent. If he can come along like I think he can, he will be a big factor come this years big dance and next year.

December 4, 2008 at 7:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Time to get a grip about Little. He hasn't played since Canada. He didn't do Boot Camp. He's completely out of shape and he probably never has been in the kind of shape KU players have to be in to play well. Rush was working out like a mother all summer and early fall in the weight room and on the treadmill. Little has not been able to do diddly for cardivascular. He couldn't get up and down the floor ten times right now. Yeah, he'll play his way back into shape, starting in two weeks, in a best case scenario. We're looking at February before this guy can play up to his ability.

Further, Brady is playing so well now that Little's playing time, whatever that may be, is going to come half out of the 4 and half out of the 3. If Little is as good as everyone thinks, then he's going to get time at the 4, because he's apparently got the upper body strength (you can still pump that weight when you're in a boot) to muscle and guard at the four when the twins and Thomas, aren't quite up to kill ball. Brady's going to get 20 minutes at the 3 no matter what. Self needs his gun bad. Brady has proven himself to be a player and a shooter.

Reed is the guy who may lose PT, because Brady has an equal gun and is a better defender than Reed. When Little is in at the 3, Self absolutely has to have a trinitarian at the 2, or the opponents will sag on the bigs and that will be the end of KU's inside game.

Little's future is as backup at the 3 and 4, maybe even at the 2 sometimes when KU needs a stop and one of KU's perimeter players is suffering a strength/height mismatch, or when the Morris Twins, or Quintrell lack the upper body strength to muscle at the 4.

So: unless Little is a super talent, I don't see him moving into a starting position this year.

Gotta have one or two trinitarians in the game most of the time to make the big man game work.

December 4, 2008 at 7:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jhawkdan42 (anonymous) says...

Jaybate- When Little is at the 3 we have to have The Father, Son and The Holy Ghost at the 2?

December 4, 2008 at 8:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

HighEliteMajor (anonymous) says...

Jayrbate: you really think Morningstar is playing well? Did you see his line last night? And no, he didn't do the little things well. And no, he didn't play defense. If Brady gets 20 minutes a game at the 3 in March, we won't get to the second weekend. If he gets 20 minutes per game in the February, we won't have a shot at winning the conference. He's Jeff Hawkins. Hopefully, by March, he'll be an emergency sub in case of foul trouble.

December 4, 2008 at 9:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

cap10d (anonymous) says...

Brady a better defender than Reed - i disagree
Little as a backup - i strongly disagree

While I give Brady credit for playing hard and doing some good things,Im still very surprised he continues to start and I guarantee when Little's healthy and up to par condition wise he will be in the starting lineup at the 3.Im still trying to figure why Relefords getting so little minutes.

December 4, 2008 at 9:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Axeman3173 (anonymous) says...

My understanding is that Little has been doing the stationary bike for some time now. Not that a bike is basketball shape.

December 4, 2008 at 9:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

cap10d (anonymous) says...

Im betting we see Mario against UMass.You heard it here first.;)

December 4, 2008 at 10:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

clutgen02 (anonymous) says...

Brady has been playing well.....against sub-par teams. Watching the last few games, it has been easy to see that Brady is a liability on the defensive end. He gets beat far too easily when his man does and does not have the ball. This leaves people like Cole, Kief, and Marcus hanging out to dry and thus producing more fouls. For this team to compete with some of our big boy brethrens we need Mario to be as good as advertised. If he is, we will see Brady's time diminish and completely be gone by next year with Cheek, Little, and Marcus splitting the time at the 2 and 3. For now, Brady will continue to shine offensively against weaker talent, until eventually becoming a 10min per game back-up to Little.

December 4, 2008 at 10:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ralster (anonymous) says...

Let me say Im optimistic about Mario Little. Ive heard too much from first-person observations of his game to think he isnt talented enough to be an immediate impact. 2 tangible facts: He is not a skinny, unfilled frame (think Releford) partly because he is older. He comes from an environment of tough 'kill' ball that is juco basketball (thanks jaybate, I learned a new adjective), that will serve him well as he plays 'Bill' ball (think toughness). That is the 2nd fact--he did something, folks, to earn #1 Juco Player of the Year. He earned the right to come play at Kansas, and Im itching to see him play. From a cardiovascular standpoint, Im not too worried about a 20yr old D1 athelete sitting out 4 weeks. While the first few practices he may need oxygen, my speculative guess is he will be 95% by early January. Michigan St. game, maybe. Teach Izzo about Bill-ball (think 'complete basketball'), just like Roy learned (UNC playin big D this year). Hopefully our kids will have learned well enough to teach by then? What a story this could be about Bill and his 'kids'...

December 4, 2008 at 11:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Don't misunderstand me. I want Little to be an impact player, a guy who takes us over the top in having all the pieces to play every which we we need to to surprise everyone and go deep. But...

A) Brady has looked D1 good starting with Syracuse.He is being assigned either the first or second best threat on the perimeter and his guy is never hurting us. He has excellent footwork on defense. He has excellent springs. He feeds the post well. He shoots the trey like a mother whenever Self gives him the order. His Assist/TO ratio is very good. He is a superb FT shooter. He is in his first season of playing games and he is improving steadily. Nobody playing the three as glue is going to have a big line score as long as Cole, Sherronatron and Quantum T are doing this much of the shooting. People keep wanting a super active and productive 3 like BRush was, but this team does not need that. It needs glue at the three this year just as RR provided glue at the 1 last year. When ,more than glue was needed at the 1 last year, Sherronatron entered. But RR got big minutos just doing glue. With Sherronatron and Quantum T,on the perimeter glue is what KU needs at the 3--glue and a guy who can trinitize.

B. Can Little do glue and trinitize and keep the defense from sagging? Dunno. Can he feed the post? Dunno. Can he shoot 80% from the FT line? Not! Can he defend the first or second best opponent on the perimeter? That's what the recruiting label on the bottle said. Can he board better? Yep.

So the question is this: how much are you willing to give up to get a little better defense and more rebounding? Are you willing to give up feeding the post as well? Are you willing to give up 80% FT shooting? Are you willing to give up having a guy on both wings (Sherron on one side and Brady on the other) that prevents the defense from ever sagging on Cole and the Morris Twins? Its alot to give up for a few extra long rebounds and an incremental, not an order of magnitude improvement in defense.

I reckon Self won't give all that up. I reckon he'll want to play both of them, about half the time at the 3. I reckon it will make us much harder to prepare for. When the opponent has a wing that can deny Brady his looks in trifectaville, then Mario Little comes in and takes the other wing into a street fight inside. When the opponents can't deny Brady the trifecta, when they have to respect him out there, and not sag, then I think Brady has got to be the man.

December 5, 2008 at 12:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

cap10d (anonymous) says...

Sorry Jaybate but I have to disagree again.While Brady has guarded the first or second best player at times,from what Ive seen Tyshawn and Sherron have done it for the majority of the time when in there.I dont mean to put Brady down cause I like the guy and he does some good things but Reed is a better shooter for one and Brady is always a step behind on defense.Dont get me wrong,I love his hustle,but he doesnt seem to have quick feet or slide well.We will need him,and he's an important part of the team no doubt,but there are several better players behind him and we'll see that by seasons end.

December 5, 2008 at 2:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

cap10d (anonymous) says...

Part of a writeup on Little.

His Kansas debut in June was even more impressive considering he hadn’t played regularly. Only a little more than 12 hours after moving to Lawrence, Little played in a scrimmage game with teammates and alumni as part of Self’s youth basketball camp.

The campers chanted the name of current NBA forward Julian Wright when he entered the gym. The player who had to guard Wright, Little, didn’t garner any applause.

But Little got the best of Wright on that day. Little’s team won the game after he held Wright to three rebounds.

“He’s coming here and expecting to produce,” Wright said. “I think that’s the thing he’s going to do. He’s long and athletic so he can give people fits on the defensive end.”

The scrimmage wasn’t Wright’s first run-in with Little. The two used to play together on a Chicago-based AAU team. Wright said some people made a mistake and forgot about Little after he went to junior college.

Fellow junior college transfer Tyrone Appleton had no trouble remembering him. Appleton’s junior college, Midland, beat Little and Chipola in the junior college national championship two years ago. Appleton said he joked with Little about it but that he looked forward to being teammates at Kansas.

“We should be pretty good together this year,” Appleton said. “He’s a great player and I like to play with good people.”

And he’s got the measurements and qualities that should remind Jayhawk fans of a great player.

December 5, 2008 at 2:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jchief40 (anonymous) says...

Little, Taylor, Collins. All three shut down guards... we are in great shape!!

December 5, 2008 at 8:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

lonestarjayhawk (anonymous) says...

I saw U-Mass in person last week against UW-Greenbay, and they are terrible. Their big man is out and one of their key guards is done for the year. Their new coach is trying to run the Memphis offense without an NBA ready 6'6 wing, a point who was the1st pick in the draft and other great athletes. If they use Little in this game it will be only for conditioning as U-Mass is terrible.
Lastly, in regards to the comments about Brady and Reed, I have seen them both first hand many times in the summer and Reed is by far the better defender. He can handle on the ball and this is going to be a key down the stretch. Having an off guard who can take pressure off Collins and Taylor is a big bonus and Reed can do this. Right now Brady is getting minutes b/c this time of year coach's are making statements to their better athletes that you have to play hard and smart. Brady is filling this role and coach is making his point.

December 5, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jchief40 (anonymous) says...

And Little is a lock down defender and I will bet money that it's Morningstar who gets unseated. Little is a guard - probably suited for the 3. Morningstar would be a great backup for all the reasons jaybate said. And yes I would trade all that for rebounds and improved D, jaybate.

December 5, 2008 at 9:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jchief40 (anonymous) says...

And btw, Reed is up there with Morningstar in my book. I think Reeds stroke is better. Another thing, Morningstar has been rattling buckets in - when Reed is on - swiiiiishhh.. I was under the impression that Reed as had a better shot than Morningstar anyway.

December 5, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

jaybate.......You're judging Morningstar's performance against low to mid major talent.

Watching UCLA last night.....Do you see any way in the world Brady could man up against Josh Shipp?

Watch UNC....Do you see any way in the world Brady could man up against Danny Green or Marcus Ginyard?

Watch UConn....Do you see any way in the world Brady could man up against Jerome Dyson?

These are the players you need to compare our 3 man to, not umkc or Washington or New Mexico State.

If Brady is still playing major minutes at the 3 spot in late January, we are in big trouble.

December 5, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

A little closer to home......Do you think there's any way Brady could man up against Damion James from Texas?

That's really the only Big 12 team I would worry about at the 3 spot, which doesn't speak well of the conference as a whole. I'm not sold on OU at all. I think they are very overrated.

December 5, 2008 at 9:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ChicagoJHawk (anonymous) says...

I was a little skeptical about having Morningstar in the game but I think I really wasn't giving him enough credit. Check it out, the stats don't lie: http://kuathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-...

He has the best 3 point percentage, 50% (9-18), 2:1 assist to turnover ratio, 80% free throw shooting & 7 points a game. I'm not saying he can hang with some of those other players that KU just mentioned but he's doing a better job than most people think. Right now he might be the best man for the job, for the 3 spot. Releford has way too many turnovers.

From what I'm hearing, Little is the real deal so hopefully he'll be 100% soon & maybe he will take Morningstar's spot, only time will tell....

December 5, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

cap10d (anonymous) says...

Take away the Coppin State game and Brady is 3-10 from downtown and 8-23 on field goals.Coppin State is not a very good team.He's done some good things,but shouldnt be starting IMO.

December 5, 2008 at 10:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

Chicago.....Brady would be a nice player for UMKC or Wichita State or K-State. So he has the best 3 point percentage.....against whom? So he's scoring 7 ppg.....against whom? He will do a disapppearing act on the offensive end against high-major competition, trust me. And on the defensive end, he will get manhandled by high-major competition at the 3 spot (like he did against #11 for Syracuse).

Your 3 spot HAS to be an asset in the rebounding department or you're going to get killed on the boards. Brady has 18 rebounds in 7 games against mediocre competition. Against the only major opponent, Syracuse, he had 1 rebound.

The fact that he's getting this much time doesn't speak to him being high-major good.....it speaks to our relative weakness at the 3 spot right now.

December 5, 2008 at 10:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jchief40 (anonymous) says...

Little, hopefully, will be the solution at the 3. Boards, shut down D + offense. Question is WHEN.

December 5, 2008 at 12:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jacobpaul81 (anonymous) says...

Wow, lot of dissing on Brady going on.

I never thought I'd ever say this, but from what I've seen, on the defensive end, Brady has been our top player. It's not even close. He's very good at staying in front of his man, very good at stopping dribble penetration. He doesn't foul, a problem everyone else seems unable to avoid this year. He's not a great rebounder, but when you don't allow many shots, there's fewer rebounds to grab. He's been pretty consistent at stealing the ball... not Robinson/Chalmers, but a hell of a lot better at it than Rush, who in his own right, was a terrific defender. And if you recall, although Rush got rebounds, they were often weak side defensive rebounds. He wasn't a big offensive rebounder, and was certainly no Dennis Rodman. He was very much a non-traditional 3. Not a block-out rebounder, but a quick-fast guard with some height.

I also never thought I'd say this either... but, Brady is our best "off the ball" player on the offensive end. All you had to do was watch either the Washington or Syracuse games to see that. Watch him play off the screen. Watch him draw defenders when he does get the ball. He knows the offense better than anyone, and it shows big time in those two games. There was one play against Syracuse where Brady pulls 3 defenders to the outside, setting Cole up perfectly for about a 14ft jumper. Cole blew it by trying to take it in, instead of shooting the open shot. That's not a stat you're going to see, but it sure as heck impresses me.

I suspect come March, there will be a 4 guard lineup, where both Brady and Mario will be on the court at the same time, just like last year with Rush, Robinson, Chalmers and Collins.

December 5, 2008 at 12:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

The team is set up for Little and Morningstar to share time at the 3.

If Little is a great player out of the box, as Brandon Rush was, then Morningstar will sit, just as Rod Steward sat, once Rush returned, because Brady, like Rod, is only a good player presently.

But if Little is not an extraordinarily gifted, multi-faceted player who can not only do what he is strong at (defense and rebounding), but also be glue, feed the post, and trinitize; all of which Brady is now proven at, then I would guess that they split time 50/50.

I can't foresee the future as clearly this time as last year with Rush and Rod. Rush was gonna play if he healed no matter what. If our bigs weren't such potent scoring forces, then I could definitely see Little reducing Brady to a 5-10 minute man. But they are scorers and they do benefit greatly from the defense not being able to sag.

On the other hand, our bigs at the 4 are young and not the greatest rebounders presently, because of freshman grade upper body strength. So playing Little could bring the rebounding that could then free the youngsters at the 4 to focus more on defending their man (i.e., not have to worry much about defensive rebounding) and being pure scorers on offense.

Because both Brady and Little bring unique dimensions that help the team, I just have to bet that they are both going to play about half the time, because I reckon opponents are going to want to try to deal with us different ways.

Having Little and Brady ready to alternate gives us 10 fouls at the position, which allows both to be more aggressive.Right now, Brady can't gamble on defense much, or drive and incur charges, because he has no legitimate backup.

What I think we are going to see when Little comes back is that he starts out getting 5-10 minutes and this makes Brady able to play much more aggresively and so have a much more active line score. But I think Little is so good physically that if he has a good skill set and a facility at being glue, he's going to get at least half the minutes, i.e., 20 minutes at the 3 over the remainder of the season and pick up 5 minutes at the 4 most games, too. This means he averages 25 minutes per game. On certain games, he plays more and on certain games he plays less.

December 5, 2008 at 2:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

But I just find it hard to believe that based on what Brady has enabled the bigs and the penetrators to do so far, and based on his defense so far, and what he will be able to generate when he has a legitimate back-up that lets him play more aggressively, well, I just find it hard to believe that he is going to spend the remainder of the season getting mop up minutes. It could happen. It happened to Rod Stewart. But again, I doubt it.

Post script: The recurring comments on Little is that he is a little big man. I never hear that Little is the next Aaron Afflalo,i.e., the next true two. Frankly, I'm expecting a Bill Bridges kind of player from Little. I'm expecting a guy who is such a good natural boarder and athlete that he can consistently handle guys bigger than he is. I'm expecting a guy who could, whenever the young bigs slack on defense, or lack the upperbody strength to really mix it up in kill ball, well, I expect Little to move down on the blocks and become a very physical player inside. He's 6'5" tall. So was Bridges. And unlike Bridges, he's got knees. But is he an alpha male like Bridges? Does he strike fear in the hearts of opponents just by looking into their eyes and preparing to play. Does he know EVERY trick in the book about how to play against bigger guys? Does he eat bigger guys for breakfast the way Bill Bridges did? We're about to find out. One thing I do know about Bill Bridges. He played after knee surgeries when no one knew anything about how to recover from them. He played after knee surgeries when no one knew how to control the pain. He played an entire professional career rebounding against guys 4-6 inches taller and he did it without knees and with constant pain!!! People forget that when you ask a shorter man to guard a taller man, your asking the impossible of 75 to 80 percent of persons playing the game. They hate not being as tall. They hate playing from a disadvantage. You have to be a special breed of cat to like to play constantly against bigger foes. You've got to be very physically gifted, but you also have to have a lion's heart. You have to be a warrior. You have to be a guy willing to get hit in the teeth and kick back in the nuts. You've got to be like Sherronatron. You gotta be like RR. You've gotta be like Bill Bridges. You've gotta be like Wes Unseld. You've gotta be like Charles Barkley. You gotta eat nails for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Is Mario Little that man? We're about to find out.

December 5, 2008 at 2:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

jaybate.....You can type endlessly, but I'm still tellin' ya: if Brady is playing more than 10 or 12 minutes a game in February we're not going very far.

I don't want you guys to think I hate on the kid. I recognize all the "glue" qualities you and Jacobpaul mention, too. I have told my daughter, an aspiring basketball player, to watch how he moves without the ball on the offensive end, not the wonderkid Tyshawn Taylor, because Tyshawn sometimes grows roots he stands in one place so long.

Brady's a good kid. In another thread, I said he's a "basketball player"--and I mean that as a compliment. He has a high basketball IQ. He does move well without the ball on the offensive end. He is a good positional defender. He is a good passer. He just doesn't have the body to man up against the big boys from the high-major teams for 20 minutes a night. Did you not see him get manhandled by #11 from Syracuse?? He has the body strength of a 17 year old.

December 5, 2008 at 3:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

InfiniteJ (anonymous) says...

Morningstar would be a baller for a in a mid-major conference........but at KU he should only be on the floor when there is some foul trouble or if it's a blowout.

December 5, 2008 at 3:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says...

Jaybate, I've got to give you credit...virtually every post from you illicits major comments both pro and con, but I have to join the majority in categorizing Morningstar as a bench, emergency, special situation type guy. If I was talking with my old friend, Bill James about baseball, Brady would be that "left-handed specialist" who excels at situational performance.

Elite Division 1 players need more than hustle and good defensive technique to be stopped. The match-up, physical tools are essential. Brady, God Bless him, just falls short. You can't coach height and you can't coach power!!

And everyone, don't forget about next year. I have seen Elijah Johnson play in person and this kid is a BEAST. I will not be surprised if he comes in excelling the level of play shown by Tyshawn this year.

predictions: Reed and Releford transfer after this season when the see the PT handwriting on the wall.

Just a general question to all..are any of you KU Bloggers out there girls, becuase if you are you are rare and precious gems!!!

December 5, 2008 at 5:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

KU,

I will not type endlessly. You may have the last word. I will simply beg to differ. :-)

OakvilleJHawk,

Yes, I was born with this ability to trigger powerful agreement and disagreement, and emotional response. It is not something I am proud of. It is just a fact, like having brown hair. I had to work a lot of years to learn how to make something occassionally useful out of it, rather than just an exploding cigar that keeps blowing up in my face. :-) That I can occassionally use it to do something constructive is the only thing about it that is worthwhile.

Regarding Brady's tools, I see more physical talent in Brady than you, or most of the other posters, do, but only time will tell. All I can say is: so far, Self has said he was hoping either Quantum T, or Brady would be his lock down on the perimeter; that's pretty high praise from Self. I agree with Self on this one. .But, who knows, maybe everybody else is right about Brady and Self is just pumping Brady up until Little laces up the tennies.

Oh, well, we're about to find out.

December 5, 2008 at 11:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Post Script to OakvilleJHawk,

Reed's as competitive as a pit bull.I don't see him bailing, but you are right that he could get squeezed if KU lands one of the BMW M Series guards. On the other hand, if Sherronatron jumps, that's going to free up 35 minutes per game. I also think there's a real possiblity that Quantum T will go pro. Yeah, the kid would benefit from another year, but this could be a thin year at the point and he might well go higher this year than next, given the slew of M-Series OADs everyone is talking about next year. So, I think there's a chance we could be looking at 60 minutes to fill.Elijah will grab 20-30. If we get an M-3 OAD then we're talking another 30-35 taken. That puts Reed right back where he is right now: at 10-15 minutes.

The other reason Reed won't jump is that he wants to be a coach for sure and there is no better coaching mafia than the Okie Baller mafia to get in with. Even Roy's tree, which looked so good for awhile, has pretty much withered. Self and the Okie Ballers are who you want to hook up with. Right now you can catch on with KU, UK, Illinois State, UNLV, Florida State, Marquette, St. Johns, just off the top of my head.

Regarding Releford, I'm guessing next year if Self has Elijah and a bmw m-3 oad, and Quantum T takes his wave/particle thing to the L, you're going to see a major return to high speed ball. Travis will fit into that perfectly and be a big minute man at the 3. The bigs next year will be all prison bodied up and ready to glassvac everything in sight. That is the kind of board control you have to have to run in Self's schemes.You're bigs have to be so glass-tastic that the 4 and 5 need no help and 1 through 3 release 60-70 percent of the time.

But if Quantum T sticks an extra year in Larryland, and the M-3 OAD shows, it could be tough on TR.

Bottom line for perimeter players, if you can't pop the triceratop, you need to say your prayers every night that you don't get displaced by those that can.

December 5, 2008 at 11:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

wischalk (anonymous) says...

The idea that Tyshawn is going pro after this year is ridiculous... and I say that in full agreement that this year's draft class is extremely weak as a whole and near barren of decent guards, while next year's class has a bumper crop of prized OAD talent on the perimeter. This will be a shallow draft, and in reality, I would take Tyshawn ahead of Ty Lawson for an NBA team. GMs, on the other hand, are going to need to see a whole lot more than he has done (and against some real competition). As much optimism as I have for the kid's progress this season, it just isn't happening after year one. We can come back to it come the summer... no chance.

On the unsolicited opinion front, jaybate, while I generally enjoy your writing (lengthy and self-indulgent as it is), I for one will begin to skip over all of it without a glance if you continue to try to be your own book of nicknames and catchphrases. I'm sure you don't care, but... that sort of thing is intriguing and funny in small doses, but unbearable at the frequency you've adopted recently.

December 6, 2008 at 1:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ralster (anonymous) says...

Maybe Releford could be an 'energy' guy off the bench, as he may bring a different skillset to the 3 position if he alternates with Mario Little. Reed and Morninstar can sub for Tyshawn & Sherron? Get Mario and Releford going, and we've got great depth. Or have Morningstar be a 3rd sub (quality sub) at the 3 position. And have Appleton sub for the 1,2 position. Atheletes on the floor. Let them learn by playing. Rather that be now, not in conference play. Just my opinion, though, as Self I'm sure has the best idea of all of where these players are at offensively/defensively. Speed-ball is only 1 or two lineup changes away THIS year, I believe. (emphasis intended)

December 6, 2008 at 8:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )