Listening to HCBS on Jayhawk Insider tonight and contemplating what could have been.
As far back as 1986 (in just the 6th year of my affiliation with The University of Kansas), KU's postseason success has been impacted by injury. Some of the obvious occurrences:
1. Archie Marshall in 1986 (when his knee injury was a death knell) and 1988 (when it was an inspiration)
2. The fractured wrist of Jerrod Haase, the fractured foot of Scot Pollard and the deeply bruised shoulder of Raef LaFrentz in 1997.
3. The injured leg of Billy Thomas in 1998.
4. The sprained ankle of Kirk Hinrich in 2002.
5. The injured shoulder of Wayne Simien in 2003.
6. Joel Embiid's foot injury in 2014.
7. Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden spraining ankles entering the 2015 postseason.
8. Udoka missing the 2017 postseason, when KU could have quite possibly had its best team since 2008, if not 1997, if he had been able to play.
I'm sure I've missed some, and yes, other programs have had their hard knocks, too, but it does seem KU gets more than its share.
Watching the interview with Bill and clips of Udoka scoring and blocking shots and rebounding and thinking how he and LL would have been a great 1-2 punch at the 5. Made me wonder whose Bell might have been rung in the Oregon game if Udoka had been able to play.
>sigh<
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain "Innocents Abroad"
