Some Perspective

I am as strident in my assessment of this team as anyone. This team has not been better than the sum of the parts by a long shot. Their individual and collective inconsistency is frustrating to say the least. But I would like to give this some perspective.

As per my DPPI we are still ranked 6th and one good win away from being in 2nd or 3rd. We are in the pack of teams vying for that top 5. Massey only has 13 computer projections compiled as on this writing (he does this Monday mornings so it will grow over the day) and Kansas is currently in 4th place and closer to third than to 5th. The biggest two complaints I have about this KU team is they are inconsistent and they are not fluid meaning they do not play well as a team. But both of these are somewhat fixable. Consistent shooting isn't always fixable but consistent defense is. We have had some stretches where we look like world beater and we have had stretches where we look like we all just met on the playground. Plus, arguably our best 6th man and certainly our 3rd big is sitting on the bench awaiting the Lords of the NCAA to render judgment. This team is 8-0 against the toughest SOS in all the land and while we are not playing as well as we all would like, we are playing like a top 5 team and they are nowhere near their upside. There are concerns as to how quickly and if they will reach this perceived upside but I see likely much better days ahead.

Very helpful perspective corpus. I love our high expectations but sometimes they can get a little carried away. Here we are no 1 in the country, undefeated and playing the countrys second hardest schedule. The talent we have is obvious, perhaps more than we have ever had at one time. But we dont always play well, just like any college team ever of course. We tend i think to compare ourselves to the prior years team at season end. Not fair of course. The amount of physical and mental work self throws at these guys non stop can create tired legs and over stimulated brains in early season games. Grimes espec seems to be overthinking and since hes an instinctive player he needs to gradually build back up to that thru lots of iterations of the self way. Dotson has caught on much quicker and is way ahead of where both mason and graham were as freshmen point guards. Lawson plays below the rim and we are not used to that but he is very effective at what he does and self will get better and better at figuring out how to use him with doke out of the line up. Vick is a head case of course and self will have to consistently discipline him to get him to play the right way, a luxery he has this year because of our depth. Garret and lightfoot will continue to give us good minutes because they understand what self wants. Doke is the designated dunker and will benefit from watching lawson from the bench to figure out how they can play off each other. I think by march lawson cld have 5 alley oops a game to doke. KJ and moore are mysteries for diff reasons —kj shld be playing more and moore shld be playing less. Coach will figure that out of course i think. He wants moore to be frank and he just wont because he doesnt have the judgment. The one really good thing abt the struggles so far is that i dont see any of these guys being a first round pick and i can envision them all returning except vick of course. All those guys plus agbaji, braun and hurt (im hoping) wld be an amazing team espec since we will have lots of veterans. So nobody beats duke this year come march (like villanova last year) but we shld get to the last weekend. Next year will be ours to win it all.

....that's why they play the games.....

We can do all the statistical analysis in the world, wring our hands over our rankings, but in the end, the ONLY thing that matters is your W/L against the schedule you've got in front of you. To that end, we're 8-0 against a tough schedule, which qualifies as an A+ in my book and we're as deserving the #1 spot as any of the top 3 or 4 teams.

Sometimes I think we're hyper critical of ourselves and ignore some of the flaws that other teams have. We might judge a little too quickly and harshly.

What I do know if that this team has a huge ceiling and we're nowhere near it yet. In the end, I think we'll get a lot closer to it because our HOF coach knows what he's doing.

Lots of games out ahead of us. If somebody wants to pencil in the Dookies as the national champs go ahead, but I'm not about to do that either. Lots can happen, and as we all know, once March rolls around, one bad night will end it for you.

In the meantime, there will be ups and downs, but we always look a little goofy early in the year, so I'm not worried. Right now, I just want to beat Villanova and then look down the road after that. If we run into Puke in March, we'll deal with it when it happens. Remember when 1997 when LaFrenz, Vaughn, Pollard and Pierce were all at KU? Far and away the best team in the country that year, but Arizona knocked us out in the Sweet 16 because some of the guys came down with the flu. Anything can happen...sometimes good, and sometimes bad.

As I said up front: that's why they play the games. I have a good feeling about this season.

I've come to accept that Self's "system" is to be tough on the guys from day one, not caring so much about output or on-court beauty until conference play, and then having them peak in March. We always look quite awful to begin each season, with no discernible personality or chemistry. It builds over time, and includes many close games that have to be gutted out.

I also now realize he may be the best coach to prepare OAD's who need some guidance to get ready for the NBA. We don't get the Zions and other guys who come in day one playing their own game, not wanting coaching, and charging into the draft lottery. Self takes the talented but timid Wiggins; the ferociously competitive but somewhat technically unskilled Jackson, the brutally raw Embiid, etc. and pressures them into learning the game and paying their dues. They all look lost for a period of time, and we all wonder what he saw in them when recruiting them. Then they - mostly - prove us wrong by season's end.

All of this leads to much success over the years, but much stress and angst on our parts while his "system" progresses and reveals itself over time.

I'll take the anxiety of his system, and will just hold my tongue until we hit our stride in January.

Rock Chalk !

I think that's very well stated, AZ87. You make some really great points. I've often wondered if the OADs are ever bothered by the fact that they are not "unleashed" from the get-go (like maybe some of the Duke or Kentucky freshmen). But HCBS continues to get about 1/year so clearly they must know what they're getting into b/c they're still up for playing for him.

Thanks Port.

We'll never know the behind the scenes conversations of recruiting, but I think Bill knows Duke and KY get first pick of the superstars, and he goes after the 1-A players who have a weakness that needs some work before going pro, and who generally accept that they need some guidance.

Agree with everything you said, AZ, except this:

...I think Bill knows Duke and KY get first pick of the superstars...

I agree that Bill knows that he's competing with different styles of coaches and programs in Duke and Kentucky, but I don't think he's surrendered to the idea. Looking back, it's not like we haven't gotten our share of top guys. I do think, however, that at some point in the process, Self (or his assistants) will tell a kid that he has the POTENTIAL to be a star at KU in their one-and-only year, but that nothing is guaranteed and that the team comes first. Everything is earned.

Meanwhile looking at personalities, Calipari just seems like such a used car salesman that I can easily see him being more comfortable making actual promises in his sales pitch ("If you come play for me, you'll be an all American, go to the final four and be a lottery pick."). I see Self hedging those expectations: "you COULD be an all American, help get US to the FF, and get to the NBA in a year...if you put in the work."

Not sure how I see Coach K recruiting. Maybe something like, "Come to Duke. Don't be a jerk."

Anyway, all speculation on my part, but I don't get the impression that Self has given up the high ground in recruiting, just that his personality is such that he's not going to bend over backward to stroke any kid's ego. It's not in his personality.

(I could also be completely off base as I've never sat in on a recruiting visit).

Calipari Recruiting Pitch -- "Come to Kentucky and I guarantee you will have fun playing free-wheeling playground ball with lots of other All Americans. You will party hard and live a deluxe life of a pampered athlete. Then you will drop out of school after the last game, fly around the country on private planes interviewing NBA franchises. Then you will sign a lucrative contract, be rich, buy bling, have a posse, and party some more."

Coach K Recruiting Pitch -- "Come to Duke where our our university TV affiliate and internet affiliate, ESPN, will cover you as the next coming of the Messiah. You will be surrounded buy ultra-rich pompous donors who are just waiting to have you over to their posh country clubs once you graduate or leave for the NBA. Every game, every practice, every good deed you do (or even the ones we fabricate for you) will be covered extensively by our university media group ESPN. You will not have to worry about too many fouls being called because of our university policy of disallowing referees to call too many. You will play with other more beautiful and talented players and forever be one of the elite members of society."

Coach Huggins recruiting pitch -- "Come to West Virginia where you can buy a gun and shoot at things in your spare time. The girls are pretty and I will only scream and yell at you if I like you unless I don't like you then I will scream and yell at you. If you give 100% you will survive. If you don't, there are guys with guns who shoot at things so you better give 100%."

Frank Martin's recruiting Pitch -- [just a scary stare wagging his index finger to come here]

Roy Williams recruiting pitch -- "Dadgum it, I promise, Wanda and I will love the heck out of you and dadgum it, we will cry when you leave. Dadgum it, God has season tickets to the Dean Dome. Dadgum it, you may not have to even go to class, or so I hear but I have never heard of that so dadgum it, don't ask me about that. Dadgum it, even though Allen Fieldhouse is the best arena in the country, and the Dean Dome is full of wine and cheese fans, dadgum it, come anyway because afterall, someone has to beat Duke, dadgum it."

Tom Izzo recruiting pitch -- "I promise if you come to Spartyland, every year you will improve and every season you will be part of a team that gets better and peaks in March but never quite high enough to win the NCAA."

Steve Alford recruiting pitch -- Come to UCLA because I am not Bob Knight in any way, especially in his ability to get teams to actually win games."

Shaka Smart recruiting pitch -- "Hey I once beat KU in the NCAA tourney."

Jay Wright recruiting pitch -- "Scoreboard baby!!!" [followed by mic drop]

Mark Few recruiting pitch "It's Gonzaga, with a "Z". It's in Washington State. Yes it is Division 1. Hey we play lots of good teams in non-conference play. No, Gonzaga, with a "G". G-O-N-Z-A-G-A."

Tad Boyle recruiting pitch -- "Yes pot is legal in Colorado."

Bruce Weber recruiting pitch -- [in an even higher than normal squeaky voice] "So Kansas didn't recruit you. Well, come to Kansas St. and you'll at least be able to play in Allen Fieldhouse once a year."

Corpus, you nailed it. Pretty funny stuff.

NotO, I don't think Self concedes in his recruiting, but history has shown that KU doesn't get the 5-Star superstars unless they pass on Duke or KY first. We even lost some guys to Mizzou, Indiana, etc. We get some 5 star guys, but I wouldn't put them in the "superstar" category. Wiggins was as close to that as we've had, and Self gave him as free reign as any player I can remember. But he was missing that "hustle" gene and often disappeared in games. It would be interesting to have seen him in a KY program where he could run free.

It just is what it is, and I think your and Corpus' descriptions of the Duke and KY recruiting are right on. Frankly, if I was Zion, or the typical guys who go to KY with explosive talent, I would probably go there too. The KY pitch sounds pretty amazing to me if I was a 6-10 freak athlete. We'll still get the guys who need some attention and help. They'll just need some patience from us fans who expect them to be amazing from day one.

Probably just semantics here. Self will pitch every 5 star recruit to the best of his ability, but the Calipari pitch is awful inviting. I don't think it's a lack of effort as much as simply having standards.

Corpus: totally made my day. I think you're hiding microphones in those recruiting visits. Too funny and well played.

Corpus: L.M.A.O!