Self on the fan base.

www2.kusports.com/news/2018/feb/12/self-...cus/?mens_basketball

I find many of the comments to be absolutely ridiculous. Yes I want to win #14 but honestly Self is doing the absolute best he can with the hand he's been delt. How quickly we forget that this team would be drastically different if Preston was allowed to play. That totally changed everything for KU this year.

There have been seven different National Champions the last 10 years. Does this mean all these others coaches, the Izzo's the Boeheim's etc. are not good coaches? We've played in two National Championships and won one. We've been consistently in the hunt. Yes there has been some frustrated losses but honestly I'm happy as a fan! Not sure what the rest of this board thinks.

Rock Chalk for life!

We have won the league 13 times in a row. That is so ridiculously good people are spoiled.

It is quite true that we are ridiculously spoiled, but it is incorrect to say that Self is doing the best with the hand that he was dealt, because he was largely responsible for dealing it.

Obviously it was his plan to have Preston playing big minutes. That didn't work out but shouldn't Self have seen that possibility? He is responsible for recruiting and with his experience, why didn't he see the immaturity that resulted in the issues that kept Preston off of the floor. Shouldn't he also have seen that Coleby might leave if he recruited on top of him?

Makes me wonder if it's 3-pt shooting or recruiting one-and-dones that is the real fool's gold.

THIS!!!!!———-^

Thank you for reading and speaking my mind. While it is true HCBS has had an incredible career and KU has benefited greatly, he is not infallible. If he takes credit for the program’s successes, he has to accept the blame for it’s shortcomings. “We’re so young, we’re too soft, we’ve got guys leaving”....and on and on...blah, blah, blah. Pretty sure he’s got the final say on recruits. How about recruiting locally and not just at the McDonalds AA game? No he didn’t count on Preston getting in a fender bender. Wonder how Dean Wade could have taken up that slack? How about letting Mitch play more last year? Think about how much he didn’t trust Cole...until he did. Think about how much he played Mickelson..oh that’s right, he didn’t play him. There are more.

I, like Rob am not sold on the excuses when the situation was generated by the person offering said excuse. Glad he’s our coach, just not ready to believe he walks on water quite yet.

With Preston he thought he could get by this year while he was really stocking the larder for next year. Didn't quite work out as hoped, but it ain't over til its over. Based on Italy and practices, HCBS thought Newman was going to be this year's star. That didn't work out but that ain't over yet either. And based on pre-conference games I thought Vick might be the star. That didn't quite work out in conference either, but that ain't over yet. Dok has incredible tools and incredible holes but he has been steadily improving. If Devonte and Svi can get a little rest between games...

In the meantime, we have an incredible RPI. We and Xavier have the most wins against top "quadrant" teams so right now the tourney sees us as a #2 seed. Seems ridiculous, but a lot of teams (e.g., Michigan St) had cream puff pre-conference schedules and not as difficult in-conference matchups.

If the pieces come together and we run off a good string to end the season, we might even be a #1. or we might be a #6. I'm betting closer to #1 than #6. In any case, it will be fun and we will maintain our longest consecutive string of being in the Dance.

And the worst case scenario is a loaded team next year.

Always a good time to be a Jayhawk

Agree with mtnMan. Self had anticipated not only Preston but also Coleby as post players. Add in Dok and we'd be fine.

Yes, Self gambled and lost by loading up on redshirts. DeSousa was a desperation move.

I don't think Self is looking to blame anybody but himself, but if you look at the fact that he lost 2 post players unexpectedly, it makes Self's redshirt gamble look less risky.

I'm still hoping for #14, and we can still make it happen. I'm officially entering the Al Davis "Just win, baby" mode. We won last night. Tough game coming on Saturday that we need to win too.

I had a perfect reply all typed up and then is said my session timed out. HAHA So short version...

Self does recruit locally, Morningstar, Reed, Frankamp, Ellis, Releford, Collie Stein, Agbaji etc.

How did he not trust Cole? He put him in in a FF game. Why would he have played him more with the bigs we had that year?

As far as preparing for Coleby and Whitman leaving or Preston not being eligible, I guess Self could use a crystal ball and recruit double for every position or something like that...I just don't know any other way that he could know the things that will happen when dealing with a bunch of teenagers. I have three and they are nuts!

I think he's done a great job this year thus far as we are a game back in the arguably the toughest league in the nation.

yes, easily his best coaching job this year since hes been here. delta between talent and results never greater. first half of the season with fresh team top 5 in the country. second half with best player averaging 40 mins struggling but still top 15. better than other bluebloods. stockpiling redshirts as a strategy, too soon to say if that works or not. if this season turns out respectable and next year we make a very deep run then yes probably a success. i think self cant help but hear the fan base saying they are bored with conf championships and they want more. the redshirt strategy is an attempt to do that i think. ku fans are famous for being informed and realistic. i hope we can preserve that thru this tough period firstly by not second guessing the best college basketball coach ever ( when we look back in 20years) and, more importantly, by not impuning the character of our players. they are hobbled, their faces are cut up and they are working their tails off. they deserve better from us.

"the fan base saying they are bored with conf championships"

The problem with fans with this mentality is that they're likely morons. Sorry. 13 in a row will never happen again without a major change in the sport, particularly in a power conference. Ok, MAYBE in some obscure league it COULD happen, but the odds are astronomical against this.

People who don't see this have absolutely no concept of history and just how huge this streak is, and are taking a truly historical period for granted.

Yeah, I want NC's too, and KU has more of them than 95% of D-1. I'm confident we'll get more. But anybody who can't appreciate the streak for what it is really needs to have their head examined.

violently agree Not O!!!

No need for violence, g.

Couldn't agree more Not O! I don't think people really think about how hard it is to be this consistent for this long in this day and age of sports. So many things change year over year. It's not like it was at all when UCLA put 13 straight together. Yes I enjoy National Championships and deep tournament runs but I enjoy continually winning the Big 12 too!