It feels like the Kentucky game was a reboot on our season

I for one am glad our mid season slump is officially over. Losing 3 of 5 on the road was not much fun and it was obvious the players were mentally and physically exhausted. We all know KU is the Super Bowl for all the teams we face on the road during the conference season and we have to play at our best to get a win. It just seems like this team has finally gotten out of their funk and is getting focused for the 2nd half of the season.

Many of us have been patiently waiting for Selden to take over a game and play like he did in the WUG. Well, we finally got our wish Saturday night. He had arguably the best game of his career and put the team on his back. It was truly a spectacle to watch unfold. It was also refreshing to see KU play a full 40 minutes again. We still made several bonehead turnovers, but it was nice to see what this team is made of when we actually try hard.

And how about Self busting out the "junk" triangle and two defense to prevent easy drives to the basket? I hope this finally puts to rest the notion that HCBS gets outcoached. He just outcoached Squid and Kentucky didn't have an answer late in the game. I also applaud HCBS's decision to continue driving to the basket to get Kentucky into foul problems. It worked even with our poor free throw shooting.

Now, thats not to say that HCBS isn't stubborn when it comes to which players are in the game. We all know he loves to play favorites. I'm looking at you Lucas. However, the more I thought about our big man situation, the more I realized we don't really have any better options. Lucas does provide size under the basket and he is a pretty good rebounder, but we all wish we had a bruizer PF or C who could dominate both ends. I long for the days of T-Rob or Withey. KU basketball has always been at it's best in the Bill Self era when we have dominant big men under the basket. Fortunately there is still time for Diallo to develop his offensive and defensive skills. I'm not giving up on him as I think he will surprise us once we get to the last few weeks of the season.

On a side note: Here are a few pictures of when I toured KU's basketball uniform storage facility and the practice facility on December 2013. It was so cool getting to touch the center court from the 08 Final 4 and Championship Game and I got to hold Wiggins actual game jersey.

Thank you. It feels good to post again. Crazy to think we have just over a month to go in the regular season. Gotta finish strong!!!

Sieverling wrote: Great pics, ATX. Welcome back.

Oh my....I just laughed out loud! I looked at your photos ATX before I read your post. I couldn't get my head around your closet!!! Thank goodness all that stuff isn't yours!

First off, amazing pics. How did you get access?

I always assumed that players got to keep most of their uniforms. Surprising that they keep it all. If I were ever lucky enough to suit up for the Jayhawks (I've still got 4 years of eligibility if they need an old, slow guy with questionable ball handling skills, and a 9" vertical) I'd be sure to "liberate" my game jersey.

As for the reboot, I hope you're right, but the jury is out until we see something happen. Take Selden out of the equation, and things don't look great. Perry was 1-4 from the field and 8-13 from the line. Lucas grabbed all of 3 rebounds and didn't get a block. Mason had 4 assists to 3 turnovers in 42 minutes. Mason and Graham got burned so many times that Self had to go to a "junk defense". Ok, so I'm cherry picking these stats and examples, but the point remains that UK took us to overtime, and Wayne didn't just have a "good" game, he had a "career" game to get us the win. You can't expect "career" output every night, so the other guys need to step up as well.

So to me, while this is a good sign, we need Wayne to play with this level of intensity EVERY game. Perry can't spend most of the 1st half on the bench, and needs to learn how to make free throws again, and Mason and Graham STILL need to figure out how to say in front of their guy.

Glad we won. Hopefully Wayne's night rubbed off on the other guys. We'll know more after tomorrow night.

I've still got 4 years of eligibility if they need an old, slow guy with questionable ball handling skills, and a 9" vertical. -- NotO, 2/2/2016

NotO--

I laughed out loud. Even tho I'm a "girl" I often say the same thing. I figure I can clog it up under the defensive basket AND I can "hack a Shaq." That's 5 fouls to give, if we need 'em! I would like to think that with a "not so little (5'10") old lady" toddling around under the basket that the opposing players might have a bit of respect and NOT flatten me! "pardon me, Ma'am! Excuse me, ma'am! I'm sorry, Let me help you up, Ma'am. Whoa, Hard foul, Ma'am."

AND I can walk on......I have a day job.

Mom, how's your eligibility? You and I could make a heck of a tag team rotation in the paint for HCBS!!!!

My fiance used to work for a large storage shelving company who did the equipment/jersey storage for KU. She emailed her KC contact to see if he wanted to meet up while we were there to talk business. One thing led to another and she mentioned how I was a huge KU fan. He then asked her if we wanted a tour of the equipment storage area. We ended up meeting with Larry Hare, the Assistant Athletics Director of Equipment Services who showed us around.

I of course was excited to get the chance to do something like this and see an area not many people get to see. I never in my wildest dreams realized I would get the chance to hold several of the players actual game jerseys; including Wiggins (which is now my profile picture here), tour the practice facility, and touch the center court from the 08 final 4. I was hoping we'd get introduced to Bill Self, but unfortunately that didn't happen. Still, it was a memorable moment for me and my fiance.

Does anyone remember the days when you could just walk into Allen Fieldhouse and go up and down the rows? Man, I miss that.

Here's a couple more shots:

Selden's apparel:



Ellis' apparel:

NotOstertag wrote: First off, amazing pics. How did you get access?

I always assumed that players got to keep most of their uniforms. Surprising that they keep it all. If I were ever lucky enough to suit up for the Jayhawks (I've still got 4 years of eligibility if they need an old, slow guy with questionable ball handling skills, and a 9" vertical) I'd be sure to "liberate" my game jersey.

As for the reboot, I hope you're right, but the jury is out until we see something happen. Take Selden out of the equation, and things don't look great. Perry was 1-4 from the field and 8-13 from the line. Lucas grabbed all of 3 rebounds and didn't get a block. Mason had 4 assists to 3 turnovers in 42 minutes. Mason and Graham got burned so many times that Self had to go to a "junk defense". Ok, so I'm cherry picking these stats and examples, but the point remains that UK took us to overtime, and Wayne didn't just have a "good" game, he had a "career" game to get us the win. You can't expect "career" output every night, so the other guys need to step up as well.

So to me, while this is a good sign, we need Wayne to play with this level of intensity EVERY game. Perry can't spend most of the 1st half on the bench, and needs to learn how to make free throws again, and Mason and Graham STILL need to figure out how to say in front of their guy.

Glad we won. Hopefully Wayne's night rubbed off on the other guys. We'll know more after tomorrow night.

Give her a snickers, huh?