ytf23 (anonymous) says...

The only thing missing was Collins doing Sam Cassell's 'Huge Testicle Dance' after he hit those 3s!

February 24, 2009 at 2:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jayhawker_97 (anonymous) says...

vewy vewy strong leadership, confidence, with attitude and class..
great performance in 2nd by Collins! you're a superstar, dude!
Taylor, keep that 26 with you for all other games.. you're just as good as Warren, man!
and, pfiuh.. Cole is on the roll, that's impressive number, even without Blake!
Jayhawks are rockin'!!!

February 24, 2009 at 3:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kc_wildfire (anonymous) says...

Taylor should have gotten the top spot. His play in the first half kept us in the game and eventually into the lead. Collins was huge in the second half but a non-factor in the first.

February 24, 2009 at 6:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

nocaljayhawk (anonymous) says...

I checked the replay (on DVR, no thanks to stupid ESPN, who prefers to show crowd shots or players on the bench than controversial 'foul' calls), and Keegan's right on...both Morrises continue to get hosed by the officials. Yet ESPN continues to laud the top-notch officiating crews in the Big 12...

February 24, 2009 at 8:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jacobpaul81 (anonymous) says...

Umm, guys, why are you praising Collins for his leadership? I'm so pissed at the kid after watching that blatent lack of leadership. That was foul. The best player on the floor (Aldrich) didn't take a shot from the 25 minute point on because Collins and Taylor quit passing him the ball. I looked at 25 minutes, Cole was 5-10. Final box score: 5-10. He didn't take a shot! When did we lose our 20 point lead? When Aldrich quit getting touches!!!!!!! Hell Taylor and Collins didn't have an assist the whole second half! They totally shutdown, and started the dribble drive turnover bs that they both do. We're lucky they didn't lose this one. It really made me sick to watch how flat out dumb and selfish the play was from the 25 minute point on. . We do that on a night Collins doesn't get hot, and no one would be standing around patting each other on the back. Blech.

February 24, 2009 at 9:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

loudog (anonymous) says...

kc_wildfire,

No doubt Taylor was great in the first half, but when they score the points is probably more important than how many they score. When three different OU players tossed up threes in their run at the end of the game, Collins was able to come back down and answer with threes of his own to quiet the crowd for a moment and keep KU in it. Dude wants the ball in his hand in big moments, and that is huge.

February 24, 2009 at 9:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

JayViking (anonymous) says...

You've got a great point, jacobpaul81.

February 24, 2009 at 9:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ralster (anonymous) says...

i totally disagree, jacobpaul81. You, sir, epitomize pointless negative drivel. Why are you so ready to criticize your own team? After a win? Why are you arguing a hypothetical? What in gods name would you say if they actually lost the game? Save the negativity for an actual negative event (a KU loss). But maybe every KU game is a negative experience for you. Listen, if you have ever played this game on an intense level, maybe you would understand that gifted players can take things over...how many times have we seen Sherron do this? And true, sometimes it boils down to a fight between 2 guys--their McD AA (Warren) vs our McD AA (Collins). So maybe it is "ego" for Sherron, but since he delivered, all I can say is "ok!" You may not want to believe it, that a 5'11" college player is THAT good. I was somewhat critical of his decision making, but he won me over--he has his own style. Like Self said in the audiocast: not exactly what he had in mind, but Sherron had the ball in his hands, not Self's. Last year everyone whines because there is no go-to guy. This year you have one on a silver platter under your nose, who actually gives YOU the win, and you still Freakin' bitch about it???????????? Please shut up, jacobpaul81!!!!!!! I will take the win, while you apparently wont? And I understood your point, and postulate this to you: if instead of 5 3s from Sherron, we got 5 made 2pt shots from Aldrich--we would be 5 pts less, and maybe late, late in the game they tie us, or even take a 1pt lead? Where would Sherron's (and the KU team's) confidence be then to try to save us? Another maxim in bball is 'feed the hot hand'. Well since Sherron had the ball, and he felt "hot", it is his perogative. And maybe he knew we had a higher chance of getting the offensive boards, thus he had a little more confidence in his shot--that is certainly what I want! Been said over and over: this is Sherron's team. And the yoke of leadership can cut both ways. And most of KU nation has been waiting for Tyshawn to find his offensive output, as it keeps being said by bball gurus that KU needs a 3rd scorer. So I am thrilled by Tyshawn's output. Please reevaluate your perspective--or stick to your negativity, jacobpaul81. That, jake, is your perogative.

February 24, 2009 at 10:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kc_wildfire (anonymous) says...

loudog,

My point exactly!

OU was scoring in the first half and Tyshawn was the one keeping us in the game. Collins, I believe, was 1 for 5 on field goal attempts during the first twenty minutes. If Taylor doesn't hit the shots he did then it could of possibly been a 10-16 point OU lead at the half instead of what it was.

Collins did come up big in the second half, but Taylor kept scoring as well, adding 10 more. Taylor had an impact in both periods whereas Sherron only really made an impact during the last one.

I'm not taking anything away from Collins and the fact that he scored 26 points and hit some big buckets down the stretch but you've got to give props to Tyshawn for keeping KU afloat the first 16 minutes of the game and hitting one or two big baskets of his own in the second half.

February 24, 2009 at 11:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

janeyb (anonymous) says...

I agree Taylor kept us in the game and should have taken the number 1 spot. I also agree while Collins had the big finish last night---his game plan may cost the team down the road. There is a tendency to forget the big guy for long stretches. Brady is good at feeding the post, but foul trouble and the fact he was a lttle out-matched last night hurt him. I guess I am cautiously optimistic for team. Great Win Jayhawks!

February 24, 2009 at 12:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jacobpaul81 (anonymous) says...

Not exactly what he had in mind. Exactly. In otherwords, he didn't execute. He got lucky. That's what Bill said. I imagine there will be stern talkings to in practice too. If Griffins in the game, we lose it at that point, because we quit playing team ball. I was disgusted. I love winning ball games, but I'd rather Lose and Execute, than Win and Not. Self says that all the time, but I remember that was something Bobby Knight has always stressed. Winnings great, but when you win, you better execute. Otherwise it's just sloppy luck, which is what last night was. Sloppy luck. We can't count on 3 pt shots to save our butts every game like they did last night. We can't continually lose 20 point leads and expect to come out on top like we did.

There is absolutly no reason why our high scoring CENTER should be 5-10 from the field for 15 minutes of a game. That means someone isn't doing their job. Against Nebraska, we moved the ball well. We passed into the paint, and our PGs deserved the praise for that. But in this game, they hogged the ball, and in the end, got Lucky.

Some positive comments since I'm being marked for my negativity:

- I thought Taylor was amazing in the first half and the first 5 minutes of the second.
- Cole was a beast from the 10 minute mark on. He couldn't have played worse for the first 10 minutes.
- It's nice to know we are deep enough to handle a foul fest like last night. Something like 60 fouls called in the game? Can we all agree Curtis Shaw is a blind man?

February 24, 2009 at 12:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Hawkish4bigM (anonymous) says...

What a great win! Looking at the big picture I'd say to quote Collins, we're not rebuilding, just playing (well). That we were up 20 points on a team like OU says volumes to me. We have a great coach and players and I don't think we will see first and second round losses with Coach Self around. What mystifies me is why some top-notch players go to schools like OU to begin with. KU is going to be in the thick of it year in, year out. Sweet!

February 24, 2009 at 1:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

cap10d (anonymous) says...

But I'd rather lose and execute, than win and not".

You cant be serious? That is the dumbest quote I've seen on here. I think anyone with common sense would take a victory. As Herm Edwards would say: "You play to win the game." JacobPaul your an idiot. Your wrong about what coach thought too, listed to his postgame press conference. He wanted the ball in Sherrons hands with the game on the line, and as he said he trusts Sherron.

February 24, 2009 at 2:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jacobpaul81 (anonymous) says...

Oh, I'll gladly take a victory. But a sloppy win can be more a detriment than a well crafted loss. Think about it... do you want your team playing at their best every game, or do you want to be inconsistent. Especially come tourney time. I personally would prefer the well-oiled machine. Execution, especially at this point in the season is more critical than winning. And last night after we bungled things up, we did a good job finding a way to win. What I'm saying is, we shouldn't have had to.

And yes. on this team, I like the ball in Sherons hands at the end of the game, he's our best Free throw and outside shooter. As long as he doesn't try to dribble drive into the trees, i'm happy with him taking the shot. I'm not questioning his skill. He's an excellent sharp shooter, and when he uses his head (as he did against Nebraska), he can be an amazing player. This has absolutly nothing to do with skill, and I hope everyone here gets that. The boy can play. I'm questioning his affect on the game when he starts taking over when he needn't. Last night, this occured at the 25 minute mark of the game.

25 minutes in, with a 20 point lead, we stopped playing our gameplan. That's what I've been posting about since comment #1. We ignored Cole, our best player, for 15 minutes. It's the guards responsibuility to feed the post. We didn't do this. That's poor leadership and poor execution.

During the UNC semi-final last season, Billy Packer (I can't believe I'm citing Packer) points out that "Kansas has forgotten the importance of possession" during a stretch starting about the 15 minute mark and ending about midway into the second half. At the time, Sheron is playing PG, and I think if I remember right, he gets called for 3 charges in a matter of 2-3 minutes. About the same time, Packer points out that Kansas has "stopped passing to the big men". During htis period, Collins started trying to bulldoze into the paint. You can tell that it not only upset the overall play of the team, but it changed the speed and nature of the game. It was really organized up to that point, but for the 15 minutes this went on, the game was sloppy and out of control. Collins was making his "move" too often, and not looking for the open man. I remember at one point, Bill rips him real good on the sideline for charging into the paint, 1 vs. 4.

I've felt this way on several occasions this season, including last night. We've won some, we've lost some. But with 15 minutes left, and a 20 point lead, our center should of been the recipient of as many passes, screens, and picks as possible. Yet from the 25 min mark, our center didn't get credited with a single shot. I'll let you be the judge, but I personally felt this was poor execution, and bad floor leadership.

February 24, 2009 at 4:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says...

Jacobpaul81.....I truly see where you're coming from and your points have validity [except for the good loss vs the bad win thing...I don't think one coach in Division One would agree with you] but, anyway, part of the reason Aldrich disappeared was they started to double down on him, thus opening up the outside shot.

Two basic rules of basketball:

1] Take the best shot the defense gives you
2] Ride the hot hand.

Both came into play last night. It sometimes just works that way. Your passion is well placed and keep on cheering for our Hawks!!!

February 24, 2009 at 5:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kansas22 (anonymous) says...

I only read a few of the comments so hopefully I'm not being repetitive, but I don't know if Sherron's nuts even fit in OU's stadium anymore. That took some serious cojones to take the 3's that he did and then knock them down. Collins deserves the top spot because he stepped up to the plate and took over himself. He stopped OU's momentum and gave Willie Warren a vicious black eye with that last DEEP three. Man's Game...

February 24, 2009 at 10:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

IBRONNIEB (anonymous) says...

We won the game on the road, in a hostile environment. The young players showed toughness. They never lost their poise. The team leader stepped up, when we needed it. All signs of a team moving in the right direction. Sherron sometimes tries to do too much, but I never fault his effort. And the confidence he has rubs off on all the rest of the team. What an amazing job by Bill Self, to forge this team into a very real force for the tournament.

February 24, 2009 at 11:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

pmohr13 (anonymous) says...

I think our guards had the right game plan towards the end. We had ball screen by the other guard then a dribble drive to the middle was working perfectly. We were getting to the rim and either making the lay ups or getting fouled. Sherron took the game into his hands when he needed to. If he doesn't hit those threes at the end or we get twos instead of those threes, OU comes back to win the game because they were on fire from behind the arc. Plus Sherron's threes obviously quieted the crowd each time he hit them.

February 24, 2009 at 11:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

pmohr13 (anonymous) says...

Tyshawn - 1 TO
Sherron - 4 TOs

They did not turn the ball over nearly as much as your making them sound like they did. On a couple of those turn overs our guards got fouled by getting bumped off the ball and the foul was not called.

February 24, 2009 at 11:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

cjayb0905 (anonymous) says...

Don't forget jacobpaul, that Billy Packer also said during overtime of the National Championship game that he believed KU would win because of Collins.

"They've got Collins, who's strong with that ball," if I remember right, that's the quote.

Also, before the NCAA Tournament last year, Digger Phelps (who never goes KU), said that he believed the X-factor of the entire tournament was going to be Sherron Collins. And that is why he predicted KU would win it all.

February 25, 2009 at 12:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

BP2U (anonymous) says...

About Sherron - If I remember right, OU was throwing some zone and semi-zone..which made it hard for us to get Cole the ball as much as we should.

And at the end of the game, you can't really blame him for taking those shots. If he missed all 3 after taking all 3 of them, yeah - you could yell at him for not running the play Coach called. Esp. when those shots didn't take much time off the clock at the end of the game.
But he was feeling it and Coach trusts him. He had to heat-check it, and he had the competitor's heart to pull the trigger. That was clutch.

---
I didn't really notice the Morris' getting "hosed" the officials until last game.

I mean, I know they get themselves into foul trouble with some mistakes, but man - those were some ticky tack calls at OU on both of them (one's they didn't seem to get on the other end).

February 25, 2009 at 2:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jacobpaul81 (anonymous) says...

Oh, I agree cjay. I think Collins has his uses. If you've got a solid 1 whose both offensive and defensivly talented and good at keeping their head (we had two of them last year in Chalmers and Robinson), Collins is great at the two. He's good at finding an open shot, and the team can set things up to give him a lane to penetrate. You need a solid point guard though, cause Collins can't guard a talented 1 or 2. He typically needs to be put on the weaker scorer. Occasionally he can handle the top player, but typically someone else will need to guard them (on this team, see: brady... last year, see: Russell and Mario).

I agree with Phelps that he was a major X-factor due to his offensive abuilty from the 2. He's a scorer. No doubt. But I also have always felt he is a major question mark due to bonehead moves. He has a real bad tendancy to lower his head and drive in 4 on 1. If you watch the last minute of the National Championship, he blows the game for us by trying to go coast to coast, and drives into traffic. I do believe he gets blocked, because he's predictable. Dipsy-do to the right hand. Everytime. Thankfully in that situation, a Memphis player (Rose?) makes the same bonehead mistake and drives coast to coast and tries to score. If that Memphis player hadn't done that and had held onto the ball instead of losing his head, we would have lost thanks to Collins' poor choice of drive. Instead, we had just enough time for Chalmers to save our butts.

BP2U - Yea, they were throwing some zone at us, but they were throwing the zone cause Curtis Shaw was whistle crazy and their big men all had 3-4 fouls. That's the time you want to attack the paint and get the ball to your center. By taking outside shots, and dribble driving instead of forcing their big men to guard down on Aldrich (who at 25 minutes had either 0 or 1 foul, im not sure), was we allowed their big men to stay in the game longer.

February 25, 2009 at 10:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jacobpaul81 (anonymous) says...

That should read, "...the result was we allowed their big men to stay in the game longer."

I'm all for taking open 3s, but I'm also of the school of thought you do what gives you the best chance to win, and you attack the basket. If I've got Cole Aldrich with 0 or 1 foul, and my opponents big men are all in foul trouble (and short on players already!), I attack attack attack. They will either let you score to avoid the 5th foul, or they will all foul out of the game.

February 25, 2009 at 10:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kustrong (anonymous) says...

This might be the most blogs for a pod cast ever! Does anyone know where I can pick up the KU game online? I live outside the viewing area and desperately want to watch this game.

Rock Chalk

February 26, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Superheated (anonymous) says...

maybe you can get rid of the ratings...the best player on the team is the guy who does what it takes to win...thats not always about scoring points, but setting screens, playing tenatious d and hustling without the ball.

February 27, 2009 at midnight ( permalink | suggest removal )

drgnslayr (anonymous) says...

kustrong (anonymous) says...

This might be the most blogs for a pod cast ever! Does anyone know where I can pick up the KU game online? I live outside the viewing area and desperately want to watch this game.

Rock Chalk

---------

Buy a slingbox for around $100-$200 and slap it between a cable box in Kansas and it's internet connection (in the same house). You then televise your entire cable box over the internet to where ever you are in the world and can watch via the internet. If you really do it right you get a DVR cable box so you can also record games and then you don't always have to watch the games live (at 3am in Europe)...

I've been running mine for two years and love it. I get all the American tv I want while living in Europe.. though I mostly go for college basketball and US news.

February 27, 2009 at 10:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

drgnslayr (anonymous) says...

I think some of you are way too hard on Sherron. It's not always easy to just perform a game plan, like feeding into Cole at will. OU had something to do with KU shifting it's offensive play. And when OU made it's run they upped the defensive pressure all the way around, making it harder for KU to get the ball to Cole.

KU is young... and it's a team game. So others also have to contribute in order to execute punching the ball in the paint. It's more than Sherron.

But Sherron is willing to take the game in his hands... win or lose. And that takes cohonas.

KU would not have near the wins it has this year without Sherron Collins. I'd estimate he's been worth an additional 7 wins so far.

February 27, 2009 at 11:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )