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Kansas guard Tyrel Reed pulls up for a three over Central Arkansas forward Tadre Sheppard during the second half, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse.
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KU guard Tyrel Reed snaps out of funk
KU guard Tyrel Reed took the figurative cover off of the basket Thursday night, draining four three-pointers.
Kansas University junior Tyrel Reed’s personal stat line wasn’t pretty heading into Game Three of the 2009-10 basketball season.
Reed, a 6-foot-3, 183-pound combo guard from Burlington, was 0-for-6 from the field — zip-for-5 from three — while playing 33 minutes total in victories over Hofstra and Memphis.
“I wasn’t really worried about it. It wasn’t going in the first couple games,” Reed said after scoring 12 points off 4-of-5 shooting — all his attempts were from beyond the arc — in Thursday’s 94-44 rout of Central Arkansas in Allen Fieldhouse.
“The lid is off now. I’ll go out there and keep playing,” added Reed, who had three assists against no turnovers.
Reed — his only miss Thursday resulted in a put-back dunk from Markieff Morris — said it was just a matter of time before his shots started dropping.
“I hadn’t lost any confidence. It just wasn’t falling at that time,” said Reed, who had a knack for knocking down big shots his sophomore season — one in which he averaged 6.5 points a game off 38.9 percent (49 of 126) three-point marksmanship.
“In practice I’ve been shooting the ball fine. I feel I shoot the ball the same about every day. I’m a good shooter. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go in. The guys gave me the ball in good position to score and they did against Memphis (when he went 0-for-2). I just didn’t knock ’em down.”
Reed — who wasn’t down on himself — was equally confident about the entire team despite Tuesday’s narrow 57-55 victory over Memphis in St. Louis.
“Memphis was a tough game for us. Coming back and watching film taught us a lot,” Reed said. “We needed to get better offensively ... and defensively,” he added.
The Jayhawks, who committed 21 turnovers versus Memphis, had just seven against outmanned Central Arkansas.
“I think it was really good for us to have an early game against such a tough opponent,” Reed said of unranked Memphis. “Going out and having to fight and grind one out was good for us.
“I’m proud of the way we bounced back after having a close game. We brought a lot of energy. We could have been deflated after playing Memphis, but we did a good job of coming out and executing and playing hard.”
The Jayhawks actually had more success passing the ball inside to junior center Cole Aldrich against Memphis than they did versus Central Arkansas.
Aldrich hit three of seven shots, good for seven points while playing 24 minutes against UCA. On Tuesday, he hit seven of 10 shots and scored 18 points versus the Tigers.
“As guards, we’ve got to be better,” said Reed, who has six assists, no turnovers through three games. “Anytime we get the ball to the post, it seems good things happen. Us turning it over before we can get a chance to get Cole a touch or Markieff a touch, the offense doesn’t run as smoothly.
“We have to give it to Cole in position (so) he doesn’t have to do a lot of work. Cole is down there battling every possession. We have to get it to him where he can make a move and not have to do all the work himself, throw it over the top or a lob, however he’s posting.”
KU coach Bill Self addressed a lot of offensive concerns after the Memphis game.
“Trusting each other and sharing the ball better, understanding where our shots are going to come from,” Self said. “Understanding that a marginal shot on the first or second side isn’t as good as an open shot on the third and fourth side and being patient.
“In the Memphis game, we had 17 wasted possessions the first half where we gave ourselves no chance to score. We either had bad shots or were playing too fast. You are going to turn the ball over when you are playing against athletes, but we tried to thread a needle. We just didn’t play.”
Things improved against UCA.
“We moved the ball and took care of the ball better,” Self said. “We got a chance to play everybody where they were out there for a considerable amount of time and could get some rhythm.”
Self was able to use a lot of combinations on a night 11 players scored.
“I’m glad we had a game like that where everybody can play,” Reed said. “It happens every day in practice, so it’s not a big surprise to any of us,” he added of so many Jayhawks faring well.
KU (3-0) will play host to Oakland at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m. Friday in Allen Fieldhouse with the Thanksgiving Day holiday sandwiching the pair of games.
KU ends season with second-round loss March 20, 2010
Bill Self addresses media after NCAA loss March 20, 2010
Sherron Collins talks to media after loss March 20, 2010
GameDay Cram Session: Northern Iowa March 20, 2010
KU vs. UNI preview March 20, 2010
Comments
jbrownjib (anonymous) says…
No body really plays well in the first couple of games. That is one reason the Memphis game was so sloppy. Even Memphis played bad.
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thmdmph (anonymous) says…
I'm kinda sick of keep hearing coaches and players saying we need to involve Cole Aldrich more and give him more touches, year in an year out. Last year, this was a problem. This year, it's the same. Most dominant team has a good center and KU has an All-American center in Cole and yet he only gets enough touches to produce single digit scores against undersized teams is embarrassing. Rather than repeatedly hearing about how we need to go to Cole more, I'd very much like to just SEE it happen.
Having said that, I also understands Cole's weakness in that he's not great at dealing with double teams and passing the ball back out to the open guys, but that just seems like a very teachable skills.
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halogenlamps (anonymous) says…
Just for humor's sake, shouldn't it be "the two games sandwiching Thanksgiving," and not "Thanksgiving sandwiching the two games?"
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Lebowski (anonymous) says…
thmdmph... i agree with everything except your last comment. I think for a true big man, Cole is an above average passer, although it doesn't always translate into assists. That's why they say good things happen. He finds someone who's open most of the time, the d rotates and a second or third pass usually results in a wide open shot. He gets no assist, but the d started breaking down when the ball went through him.
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soobawls (anonymous) says…
The problem is we have the same team we had last year. Two great players and a supporting cast. Teams will continue to shut Cole down with double and triple teams and dare our only other scorer, Collins, to beat them. Perhaps Henry will become our the third scoring option we will need to have ANY chance of getting far in the tournament but if the Memphis game is an indication that doesn't look like its going to happen. Dropping 27 on what amounts to a high school team doesn't mean much. His next chance will be UCLA.
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rockchalkxii (anonymous) says…
For us to win the tournament, Cole is going to have to demand the ball and dominate games, a la Dayton last year. If Cole demands the ball, he will get it. Im not worried about it right now, its still November. As long as he keeps getting double doubles than we will be fine. RCJHKU.
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lighthawk (anonymous) says…
sowball:
you claim the problem is that we are the same as last year. and 'perhaps' X will become (in my view has shown he will become) a 3rd option.
almost true.
you are leaving out the towers, yes the twins vast improvement over last year makes all the difference.
let's all enjoy how HCBS molds his stones. Will this year be another KU pyramid or another 'what might have been' year. It will fun to watch it unfold. enjoy the ride.
RCJHKU: love the twins - investment off season paying dividends. Lesson for us all.
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KU (anonymous) says…
Just looking at the first several games, perimeter defense may prove to be our biggest challenge this year. So far, we don't have any guards that can keep a man from driving. Not many good things can happen when the opponent can get in the lane with ease. Hudy better get those boys working on some salsa music on that Dance Revolution game they all lauded as the reason for their "quickness".
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chalky (anonymous) says…
C.J Henry seems to have some of his brothers swagger. So much of shooting is confidence. I think He will have a larger role than first thought. The added maturity He has cant hurt.The kid has been seen alot the last few years.
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ParisHawk (anonymous) says…
As lighthawk says, the twins have arrived. We have 4 players and we need 3 more to have an "effective depth" of 7 as the Champions did.
Clearly, two of them should be Xavier and Tyshawn. Self is counting on them, X for offense and some defense and TT to be the defensive stopper on the perimeter and an effective team player on offense.
I think before the season started Self was looking at CJ for the seventh spot and EJ for a redshirt, but CJ kept missing practice and EJ started looking better and better.
For me, the key right now is Tayor: after Sherron, he should be the best blend of talent and experience at guard and we need him as a difference-maker on both ends of the floor. Until he really comes around, I'm taking it one game at a time.
4-0.
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chuckberry32 (anonymous) says…
if TT can become our defensive shut down man then this team will be unbeatable
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KU (anonymous) says…
TT needs to improve his lateral speed/quickness to be a perimeter stopper. I can't see him doing it within this season. I thought we'd see a higher level of play out of him right out of the gate this season after seeing the reports of his summer with the national team. He has the length like RussRob, but not the cat-like quickness of RR or Mario. The only kid on our roster that reminds me of RR or Mario is Elijah.
CJ has some rust to knock off before we can judge whether he is quick enough to be a perimeter stopper on D. They say he's 6'4.......looks closer to 6'2.
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jaybate (anonymous) says…
KU,
You are right to point out perimeter defense as an issue.
First, our perimeter defense is lacking our only lock down defender, our only guy who can get stops, our only guy who can dog a star an entire game, even a star four inches taller than he is. Our perimeter defense is lacking Brady Morningstar. Now people are seeing the difference between athletic bodies, even NBA bodies, and a great defender. Brady wasn't red-shirted, because he could shoot the trey. Conner Teahan can shoot the trey and he wasn't red shirted. Tyrel wasn't red shirted and he can shoot the trey. Brady was red-shirted, because he could defend like nobody's business and Self knew stoppers on defense, no matter what height they are, always scarce as hens teeth. Mario Little and Travis Releford got red shirts, not because they are scorers, but because they are almost certain to become lock down perimeter defenders. And Self knows that without a dominant big man next year like Cole, he is going to have to stack next year's team with perimeter stoppers to achieve Self Defense. And you can bet that the more he watches Xavier and Tyshawn Taylor play defense this season, the more tempted he is going to become to yank the red shirt off from either Little, or Releford, give them 20 minutes a game, and give Brady 20 minutes a game at the 2.
Second, our perimeter defense was made to look worse than it is by Memphis spread and ball screen offense. That offense always makes M2M defenses look worse than they are.
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soobawls (anonymous) says…
" the twins vast improvement over last year" - yes, they are now average D1 college forwards that any team we face in the tournament will have.
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truehawk93 (anonymous) says…
Can we let the stupid Memphis game go and call it what it really was: a really bad game. It's no indication, test, idea or etc, etc, etc... HCBS even said all the mistakes are correctable from that Memphis game...ok? next?
Dang you act like the Memphis game was/is the end of the entire season. It was a preseason game that did exactly what it was suppose to do. The media and many fans over-hyped the game as the 2008 rematch. It had nothing to do with 2008.
It was two totally different teams meeting in a preseason game and the best team prevailed.
Also, you can't judge players based on one bad game. KU was extremely unselfish last year. I remember in the tournament game against msu, the shooters failed to take charge and take shots. The solution to that problem is X and possibly CJ. They are not afraid to take shots. SC will not be forced to force shots now that we have some other firepower. sc, x, bm, treed, CJ, EJ, TT can all shoot, but which of these based on the games this year will you have shooting when the game comes down to a much needed shot to either tie or take a lead with the clock running? Note the order I listed each shooter! I am really concerned about TT's shooting consistency and I'm basing BM's shooting on last year's shooting. I would put CJ ahead of Reed and BM. We need to see how consistent CJ will be. I want to say he will be our third reliable shooter in the lineup.
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thmdmph (anonymous) says…
I agree with truehawk, it's always funny and sometimes annoying to see fans (and the media) react to a loss or a disappointing win. On Tuesday, we had a much closer win than expect and everywhere you turn, you hear how KU is not that good and overrated, ect... Give me a break. KU is that good and if I were to pick any teams in the country to represent KU, I'd still pick this team with HCBS.
Nothing has changed about KU's talent and depth. HCBS is still going through his trials of different sets of players. And because of the incredible freshman class, they are now playing a bigger role on the roster. As a result, team chemistry changed and some of the players are still figuring out their roles on the team. The players are still learning some basics of Self's BB.
To me, KU's prospects are still the same - championship caliper team. The only thing we've learned over the past week is that there are some fundamentals that needs to be worked out, which according to coach, is very correctable. Some of these deficiencies are truly surprising, considering the majority of the team from last year returned.
Over the course of the season, I'm sure there will be games where we don't perform well. There will most likely be one or more losses (hopefully not), but this team is still that good. And remember, winning a championship requires talent, but also some luck.
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milehighhawk (anonymous) says…
soobawls -
Your schtick is getting a little tired.
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BleedCandB (anonymous) says…
soobawls:
I am glad I don't have your outlook on things. It is almost depressing to read your comments. Do you really have to be a negative nancy all the time? Do you? Really?
Rock Chalk soobawls!
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HighEliteMajor (anonymous) says…
It is appreciated the Reed can hit some threes against a joke of a team. Reed is a liability, plain and simple. He'll have some bright moments, maybe in some big games, but come March, if he's playing by necessity, that's a major weekness.
I have great confidence that either Johnson or CJ will step up.
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soobawls (anonymous) says…
Well milehigh, its a big scary internet out there filled with stupid people who just won't do, say, and think what you want them to no matter how much better than them you are. Perhaps you should petition to be made an admin here and you can ban my IP address. But then you might lay awake at night thinking about soobawls out there thinking whatever thoughts he wants and posting them someplace else and you would have to put a stop to that. Perhaps a law might be needed in this case. You could call it the "Soobawls isn't a real KU fan and should be forced to shut up" law. Or you could strap on a pair like someone who can deal with life like big boy and directly refute my points or just ignore me.
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jayhawkintx73 (anonymous) says…
I'm quite fine with Aldrich not getting touches in against Central Arkansas. He's real good, but we need the other guys to expand their comfort zones for when we start playing against teams like, let me see, Michigan, Tennessee, UCLA, TEmple, and of course the Big 12 games against Missouri, Oklahoma, OSU, and Texas, and those are just the toughest in the Big 12 and that doesn't mean the others won't be tough.
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BlownJay (anonymous) says…
Although winning the regular season championship, tournament championship, and going 42-0 would be fabulous....I hope that we could all be okay with day to day improvement, and winning the last 6 games. Gah, we fans can be so demanding.
In 2003 when Roy left I was terrified that we couldn't get an appropriate replacement to continue KU's excellent tradition. Since then, I have always been thankful for landing HCBS. I hope none of us ever take for granted what effort is put into having THIS successful program. WE are so lucky to have something to be proud of year in and year out. I went to KU, but I'm also a K-State graduate....I know the difference in what Kansas has, and what lessor programs do not.
It's great to have all these expectations, but be thankful for their achievements, even when they are not perfect.
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jaybate (anonymous) says…
soobawls,
Stick to your approach. We don't always agree (who does?), but yours is a distinct and valid voice and POV.
Beware of the word "tired," as criticism. It is always a sign of intellectual laziness on the part of the critic. Usually it is proffered by a nob who read to much Wired magazine to young in life. Wired. Tired. Expired.
Truth time: calling posts tired has expired. :-)
The Legacy has room for tough, ascerbic criticism just as surely as it has room for persons who want to "ac'centuate the positive."
Yin and yang.
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lighthawk (anonymous) says…
soobawls I for one appreciate your banter and reality checks. keep them coming, as you said previous, yes we'll have D-1 average forwards which remind me, I don't recall having last year.
Since we can't go to games with Gale Goodrich or Walt Frazier then I'll take the twins plus the stars with an added shot from wing, in X.
You are on target the next peice missing is the B Rush lock down defender. Wished it would have been TT, if not, we'll be hunting other candidates.
back to your 1st post, not sure we have the same team as last year, if so, then it will be a very good, not great year. I'm willing to watch it unfold, as I have high hopes.
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jaybate (anonymous) says…
soobawls Post Script:
Some persons have a writing style. Some don't. You do. Don't know why this is. Just how it be.
Some styles please, others get under skins, and some styles can do both. I'm not here to judge yours (WTF do I know?), but I will say some style is better than none.
Persons who resort to "tired" for criticism invariably lack a style.
I used tired a few times; then I realized how uncreative and thoughtless I was being, then I dropped it. Boooooriiiiiiiiiiiiing. Always try to edit it out of my takes now.
Rock Chalk.
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jaybate (anonymous) says…
Regarding the Twins, we are lucky to have them.
Last year, our arses would have been in slings without them, even though they often could barely compete effectively.
Ya gotta play with what the cat drags in.
The cat didn't drag in anything better than the Twins last year and we won the conference and got to the 16 giving two freshman bigs a lot of PT.
As we are witnessing with Thomas Robinson's fitfully youthful play, so far, the cat didn't bring in anything better than the Twins this year either. Self is backing Cole up with Robinson. He is not starting Robinson at the 4.
Imagine having to start Thomas Robinson this year from game one the way we had to start Marcus Morris last year! Oh, lord! What an ugly vision!!!! Marcus could barely do it. Thomas just could not.
The entire USA is going through one of its periodical big man slumps.
Look around D1.
Cole Aldrich is probably the best big in D1 this year. Cole is a load. Cole is KU's first really good true 5 in some time, but he is not, yet anyway, a once in a decade big man, certainly not a once in two decades big man.
Look around D1.
A Russell? No. A Wilt? Not! A Nate Thurmond? No. Even a Willis Reed? No. A Moses Malone? Hardly. A Jabbar, Walton, Shaq Father? No, no, no. An Olajuwan? You puttin' me on? A Kevin Garnett? Nyet. A Tim Duncan? Negatizan.
There's not even a Kevin Love in D1 this year.
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jaybate (anonymous) says…
Cole could join the lessers on this list, but he is not there yet. He's at least one, maybe two years of incremental improvements away...if he makes them.
In today's D1, with the dearth of good bigs, the Twins are better than everyone else's bigs but for the Top 10 teams. They are the equivalents of most of the Top 10 teams' glue man bigs. They are probably not yet as good as the Top 10 team's star bigs.
But these guys are likely to be among the best big men next year, as they continue to add weight and strength, and as Self re-rigs the offense for their particular strengths.
Right now, Self is asking both of them to be glue at the 4 and Marcus to swing at the 3.
Next year, Self, unless he lands a once in a decade post man, might well to go to a high post offense, or adapt the hi-lo post, in order to get the Twins a lot of trey attempts. These guys can shoot.
Neither of them has much offensive power inside. Neither has much offensive finesse inside either. But each can pot the trifecta.
Next year's offense could be very cool with Kieff out at the trey stripe at the top of the circle (a la Steve Patterson) and Withey and Marcus working the wings the way Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe once did for UCLA.
Most important of all, Marcus and Kieff are getting efficient...Marcus especially. More than any other positions, the 4 and 5 require efficient scorers. If a team has bigs that are efficient scorers, that team is going to be very, very good, even if the bigs don't beast.
The Twins are not superstars, or even stars yet, but Darnell Jackson wasn't even a star his senior season when we won the ring. But DBlock is still in the L.
More to the point, though, is this: our butts would be in slings again this season without them.
Self, it seems, is in a bit of a personal slump at landing super athletic bigs, in the midst of a general slump super athletic bigs across the USA. Kevin Love said no. Greg Monroe said no. Adreian Payne said no.
Why any big man would go anywhere but KU is a mystery to me, given Danny Manning's proven effectiveness at developing bigs.
But its happening.
Fortunately, the can keeps dragging in bigs that can get the job done, whether or not they are marquis players.
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PikesPeakSmitty (anonymous) says…
soobawls now has style?
I'm picturing Debbie Downer from SNL. 2 all americans, #1, coach of the year, X, Twin towers and this guy thinks we are mediocre. I'm curious, did you think the '97 team w/Pierce was overrated too? He even says 'big deal' of X opening his career with 27. I don't find his writing 'stylish', just flat out pessimistic. I'm surprised he even turns on the game long enough before the terrible jayhawks underwhelm him.
I find it impossible to be a jayhawk fan if you're that critical, especially with the team/coaching that we have this year. Take your prozac soobawls and please stop pissing me off on this site. This site is for true fans with constructive criticism / comments.
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rockchalkchampionship (anonymous) says…
what's your prediction for KU's average victory of margin for their current 4 game stretch? (central arkansas, oakland, tenn tech and alcorn state)
i say 41.5 ppg
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jaybate (anonymous) says…
rockchalkchampionship,
I predict 41.4999999999999999999...
:-)
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jayhawkcomet (anonymous) says…
Did KU beat a Florida NC team by 2 in 2006? Wasn't that the second Florida NC team a bit tentative and sloppy in the early season their second time around? -- and wasn't this that the same starting 5 that won the first NC? I remember being surprised at how KU beat them. Just saying, it's early, the kids need to learn from their mistakes, and keep on winning.
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OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says…
As a person who most of the time sees the world as a glass overflowing, let me put in a word for sooballs, not that he/she needs any validation. There's a lot of ways of expressing your passion for something close to your heart.
I don't see it as a downer trip, I see it as a person who cares so deeply for Kansas basketball, that every negative, whether large or small, is an isue to be considered.
I am with Jaybate on free expression, because the last thing I want is any restriction whatsoever on anyone from allowing them to fully express their opinions because it is the opposite ideas that help us evaluate and rejudge our own.
If not, we'd all still think the world was flat, men would think they are superior to women [four brothers and three marriages have taught me the opposite] and that the only good idea is "my idea".
Can Kansas go undefeated?...sure. Will Kansas go undefeated?....probably not. But all we truly need is a six game winning streak at the end of the season.
Everyone, sit back and enjoy the ride!!!!!
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dagger108 (anonymous) says…
Is T playing the 2 this year?
I realize that traditionally, players' relative heights correspond to their position (1's being the shortest on the team up to 5's being the tallest), but it seems to me that Coach Self has TT playing the 1 and SC playing the 2. That would also make sense in a lot of ways, especially this early in the season.
- Sherron is the better scorer/perimeter shooter
- TT playing the 1 takes pressure off of SC, which is beneficial over the long haul of a game and season
- Coach Self is grooming another team leader, which can only help in case SC gets injured, foul trouble, cramps, or TT stays for next year. Notice I said grooming, with no indication of any current sense of competance, tho the summer stuff was mostly encouraging.
- It's best to teach the new person while you still have a more than capable "back-up".
- Ultimately, it is better for the development of TT long term/league.
It would seem that this adds a bit of pressure to TT's game, which makes the first few games very bearable. It's also good to remember that while we are a fairly experienced team, we're also very young. If you throw out the outliers (SC & X) we still only have 1 yr / player of significant D1 experience. That just shows that all the players have plenty of room to grow individually and as a team.
It's a long season, and we're not a finished product - yet.
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ralster (anonymous) says…
Well said, Oakville, about us really needing a "6game win streak at the end of the season". Regarding soobawls...there is a difference between "consistently negative" and "constructive criticism". Reading the above comments, I am not alone in surmising that soobawls is consistently negative...his tone is just going to bother alot of people at this time of year. Not even Bill Self knows what this team will look like in January (no one does), yet here we have to listen to the prophecizing soobawls. Hey, I work 300+hrs/mo., still play this sport competetively, watch/dvr every KU game, and still find time to discuss my beloved Hawks here. I get just as ticked off at certain things (like TT's recent play), but that cannot outshine the overall good I see. The Twins now deserve that 'capital T', yet they will certainly improve even more. MkM couldnt shoot FTs last yr--this year he is nearly leading the team(!). So, if we lose or play badly, sure it sucks, but my analytical side kicks in, reminding me these are but 18-22 (uh...23) yr olds who arent perfect. Any loss just needs analysis to understand it better and thus move on. Best example: the Twins analyzed their own shortcomings after MichSt and showed up at Hudy's office 6 days after we got bounced out of the NCAAs by a more physical MichSt. They were interested in improving. Message to soobawls: this time of year is all about improving, and while we have areas for improvement, there is huge upside at this point in the season!
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So, is this an elaborate defense-mechanism for soobawls? Constantly negative, so he looks like such-the-prophet (yay?) if/when KU loses, that his ego is somewhat protected by wildly typing the ever-lurking 'I told you so' it seems he is waiting to pop on us after a loss? Heck, he cant even wait till we actually lose a game to share his negativity.
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Challenge to soobawls: Go ahead and post a positive comment about your Jayhawks. I dare you. Show us something more. There is a difference between constructive criticism vs. constant negativity--and the sentiment above is forming that you just show us constant negativity (not just my opinion). Evolve your brain--show/type us some balanced comments.
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If he cant do it, I just bet "soobawls" might be a nickname for "pig squealing" , ie, maybe a Ark. Razorback fan trolling here or something...it might explain it, because he/she is just as consistently negative as those other trolls from Memphis, KY, Mizzou, KSU...
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dagger108 (anonymous) says…
Soobawls (and a few others)
All the recent talk on the FB part of this board concerning Mangino has reminded me of a message delivered by a division manager I worked for 20 yrs ago.
He returned a public relations memo I had written with his review comments on it. Before handing it to me tho, he said while it was factually correct in its original form, he wanted me to make the changes. He said there are always 2 ways of stating anything - a positive and a negative way. "We always want to choose the positive approach to communicating." I'm still not good at it, especially when situations get intense, but it is still a goal to work towards, because it helps people relate better.
IMO, this is the downfall of Coach Mangino as well, and robably the biggest difference with Coach Self. There are plent of accounts of CM being a great FB mind, but if your communication skills hinder peole from hearing what you are trying to say, it is really no benefit to anyone.
ps
The glass isn't half full or half empty.
The glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
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ralster (anonymous) says…
dagger,
I like your points. I think I read some comments by Self recently that he isnt too concerned who starts, and regarding the positions, that is fluid as well--X, McM at 3 (but then could put any of the guards in at the 3, if needed). The 1/2 position under Self simply doesnt really exist, as he has always called them 'combo' guards, and recruited accordingly. So when he chews the player's hard (Chalmers, RussRob, TT...)he knows they are capable of making the required adjustments. Positions 1-3 can bring the ball up in this Self system, as we have seen. We gotta have that ability to distribute and pass from all positions, as proper ball-reversal, patience (built-in? by having multiple ball handlers in game at all times), and scoring ability are key to busting a zone defense, and for overall offensive balance. We were a 2-star team with role players last year. This year we could have a return to the balanced scoring attack of the 08 Champs. We looked ragged vs. Memphis because of still-not-cohesive guard-play. The bigs were fine. But I think already this will be a way better team once the newbies learn the schemes and the vets get a few games under their belt. We will be tested in non-conf: Mich, UCLA, Cal, Tenn. and that is fantastic. And this team will also get better when Brady's defense and shooting return as weapons on both ends of the court. Its a simple blessing for the development of the guards (tt, ej, cj, x, Reed), that Brady sits now...or a very wily move by Bill Self. Great fun to watch this unfold.
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jaybate (anonymous) says…
@ Dagger and Ralster,
I am going to do something I rarely do anymore, since I swore off the activity in therapy a decade or so back. I am going to be the reconciling little brother with the quarrelsome family; something I was conditioned to be at an early age. :-)
Life is a journey with many stages, a river with many bends, if you will.
You two are presently blessed with thoughtfulness, intellect, basic kindness and insight. Dagger admits he has learned to reign in some of his negative tendencies in conflict with these virtues. Ralster, I believe, is simply a person born with an above average helping of inner peace and fairness.
You both reach out to persons, at times, and do so without surrendering your usually firm points of view. You are among the chosen few that wish to and can express your points of view in sufficiently positive ways to keep your points of view sufficiently unthreatening so as to be heard, rather than attacked, or fled from.
soobawls, at least his online persona and writing style, suggests he has thoughtfulness and intellect and insight, also, but that he is at a stage in his life, at a bend in this river, when getting at the truth, and putting the truth on display for others, is his paramount concern. He appears to think diplomacy and gentility can dilute the truth and so obscure recognition of truth.
Since we do live in the age of perma-spin and ultra-hype and disingenuous bosses and disingenous colleagues, it is easy to see why and how soobawls chooses to express himself in the ways that he does. I have been at that bend in the river. Sometimes I even find that part again in subsequent bends.
A thoughtful, reasoning human being does have to adopt some kind of defensive and offensive postures in this high tide of horse dung.
soobawls' is not the only adaption. Yours are two others. Mine is another. And so on.
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jaybate (anonymous) says…
I trust that all of us are on the same journey. It is a journey down a the same legacy river polluted intermittently by the same dung tide, but still the journey flows forth on the legacy river of KU basketball.
We are all riding the same river.
We are each at different bends.
soobawls is at the bend that he is at.
No bend on this river is truly bad.
The best that any of us can do for the other is authentically convey the nature of the bend that we find ourselves at.
soobawls may be ascerbic and critical, but he seems as authentic to his bend in the river to me as do you two, and that is most authentic.
As I have aged, I have come to appreciate that the one thing a human being is particularly weak at is understanding what future bends will actually feel like. They can be described and foretold with some accuracy at times. But we can never know what it "feels" like to be older than we are. We can look backwards, and partially recall and partially forget the course we have travelled. But the future course is not just viewed through a glass darkly. It is, in a fundamental sense, even when anticipated with a good map, essentially incomprehensible until lived.
soobawls offers us what is at his bend of the river.
We ought to take it.
Let us offer him in return what is at each of our bends of the river, rather than try to tell him how he could be better off viewing and expressing things as we see them at this, or that, point, or sand bar, or bend.
Our examples, not our advice, are what he will remember at the next bend.
And, who knows, perhaps he is farther down stream than we. The river has many branches and can widen and shallow to so great an extent at times that knowing who is up stream and who is down stream can be uncertain.
As I float in my dug-out, with my bloodied grail avatar, it is okay that one part of the legacy river I have travelled is tumultuous, even hostile, and another part is placid, and harmonious.
It is all one river and it ends in the same ocean.
Now let me retire that reconciling little brother once again, as if it were a KU red uniform only worth dragging out once in a great while for purposes of altering momentum, and resume my usual colors.
Rock chalk.
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ralster (anonymous) says…
Well said, Jaybate, and I see your point about someone's perspective being colored by their point on life's highway. My belief in the principles of Self's style of basketball being the complete game is the reason I am the perennial optimist regarding KU bball. The devil is in the details of executing it properly--and we have a ways to go at this point. I was optimistic last season until late in the MichSt game when it was clear we were going to lose. But I cant be too critical of the team since I already know Self will do what it takes to make them shine. I find it incredible that a supposed KU fan can find nothing nice to say about this particular team when its future is so wide open.
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