Two quotes from the LJW coverage that speak volumes:
“When we walked in the locker room, Lagerald (Vick) said, ‘We suck on the road; we’ve got to do something different,’” Lawson recalled.
No, LeGarald, it's not isolated to just the road. You dang near lost to Texas at home too because the team decided to take the last few minutes off. You beat ISU by 4, Texas by 2, and Baylor by 5. These haven't been games where the Rock Chalk Chant starts with 5 minutes left and we have the luxury to empty our bench. If you don't recognize the problem for what it is, maybe you can STAY on the bench.
“Based on where we’re at right now, I think (calling it) a rut is too strong, but I don’t think our ceiling is near as high as it’s been in years past. That’s not being negative. That’s being factual.”
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While part of this quote might be designed to light a fire under the players' butts, I think it's a brutally honest assessment of where this team is going to end up. With Dok out, and DeSousa in limbo, we have no presence inside. Lawson is great, but unless you're name is Danny Manning and it's a 6-game mini-season in March 1988, one talented semi-big can't carry a team on his own. Had the Dok/Lawson one-two punch been allowed to develop, Grimes and Dotson's faults would have been less obvious, and we wouldn't be so invested in Legerald "Fool's Gold" Vick hoping that he's magically become a leader or even remotely consistent. I think Self has sent the message that even he doesn't expect #15 from this group. They just don't have the combined ability to separate themselves from the pack.
Anyway, last night a bad Texas team playing crappy basketball beat us soundly. Hoping that this is rock bottom.
