That's the kind of game you knew KU was going/needing to experience. It just doesn't make it any easier to watch in the last minute and a half.
What I am looking forward to is Saturday, because I think this will be the first time in conference that Kevin Durant will face a couple of players who may be better able to guard him, mainly in Julian Wright and Darrell Arthur. Not that I'm deluded enough to think Durant is not going to score... just that Kansas might actually be up to the task defensively to limit his production somewhat. Though, Nebraska managed their game by allowing Durant to score whatever he wanted, and locking down the rest of the Longhorns. Granted, the Huskers still lost, but that is another way to handle the game plan.
Now, for something of mutual interest...
Really? Really? There are whispers of a coach about to be fired... just rumors really, and the first place the fans and media go are the coaches of the top 2 teams in the Big 12, another two coaches in the same conference in their first year at a new school and finally, a coach who looked to be ready to make the major conference jump last year.
I understand Arkansas has won a national championship, since the last time KU did, but that's basically the only thing in it's recent history the school has going for it. I don't see how you can use that as a selling point for either Bill Self or Billy Gillespie.
Yes, Fayetteville is closer to Edmond, OK than Lawrence... but only by an hour. Then there's the whole money thing. It'll cost quite a bit in salary in lure either Self or Gillespie... not to mention any buyouts to Kansas or aTm.
Now, if Doc Sadler were still at UTEP or Mike Anderson still at UAB, then those guys might be likely candidates, but not now. Not when they are both trying to build programs in year one.
One poster mentioned how South Carolina State was able to hire both Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier... well, yes... however Holtz was out of football when the Gamecocks called, and Holtz then, basically, hired Spurrier.
Kudos to the Razorback fan base for aiming high... but in this case... I think their aim may be off by more than just a little.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Okay, my heart feels better now...
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Not since Clarence’s shot in OT against OU...
...in 2000 have I seen a shot go as far down as Stefhon Hannah’s 3-pointer with 30 seconds left did without going in. Just a gut-wrenching way to lose a game, especially one that had some meaning to it.
Random thoughts on the game that sent us to 1-6 in games decided by 5 points or less...
• Marshall Brown should not be allowed to shoot the ball anymore until there are less than 5 minutes left in the game. And even then, he should only be allowed to shoot with under 10 seconds left on the shot clock. His shot (and, really, his entire game) just hasn’t been there all year, and while he’s made a couple clutch shots in the last 8 days, it really almost seems like Darryl Butterfield—who has plenty of his own flaws—has surpassed him in just about every facet of the game. I’m not sure why he hasn’t clicked like I thought he would under Anderson, but he hasn’t, and aside from that 3-pointer with about 4 minutes left in regulation, he brought nothing today.
• Seriously, how good was the defense down the stretch today—on both sides? Maric only got 1-2 decent looks in the last 8-9 minutes, and neither Keon nor Hannah could get any separation whatsoever.
• I like what Doc Sadler has brought to this Nebraska team, and their style works well against Mike Anderson’s style. The only thing is, I don’t know how much of it is Sadler and how much of it is Maric (at least offensively). Either way, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Nebraska could finish 5th in conference. Just think what they could do if they never had to play Kansas.
• If Arthur Johnson had played for Doc Sadler, he’d have averaged 20 PPG.
• I just have to accept it—we play a style that pursues chaos, and we have a large, old group of officials who will always be out of position if the game’s being played as we want it to—that’s a bad combination, but it’s not going to change, so I just to accept that there will be large numbers of bad calls (for and against Mizzou) in every game. However, I should still be able to expect that what is a foul with 15 minutes left in the first half is a foul with 5 minutes left in the game. This game wasn’t even close to the worst officiated game I’ve seen this year, but things still alternated between calling everything, then nothing, then everything, then nothing again. You just hope they balance out in the end, I guess, and each team gets screwed an equal number of times.
• Poor Leo Lyons...it did not balance out for him today. Kalen Grimes got away with a bit of contact (in the 2nd half, anyway, definitely not the first), and it seemed like Butterfield had 9 fouls, but Leo couldn’t breathe without a whistle blowing. Of course, that could be because he was guarding a guy who had 45 pounds on him, and he couldn't keep Maric from getting good position. I thought the charge (his 5th foul) was some crap, though. Yes, he lowered his shoulder, but Maric didn't have position on him anyway. It was a no-call if anything.
• This loss does officially knock us off the bubble, but our chances were on life support anyway. Our improvement has been encouraging, but we waited too long to bump up our level of play. An 0-4 start (with a loss at home to Iowa State) was too much to overcome. Still plenty of ball to be played, though. Keep this up, and we might stick around a while in the NIT for once.
• And hey, at the very least we can take consolation in the fact that we would have won the SEC West this year.
