Any predictions? Will this war of brother against brother favor Kansas? Will we bounce back from our woefully under-viewed (I hate you, ESPNU) loss in the suburbs of Chicago?
I predict a KU victory--we need this one. Let's say 90-75.
Brother vs. Brother? East vs. West? I believe we at Jayhawk Nation can now officially call this ... a Civil War.
Looks like "Lod" Stewart should win the fraternal matchup; he plays 20 minutes a game and averages 8 points.
I'm sure Self will give Rod more playing time than usual, but probably not too much. Coming off this weekend's "DePacle," we can't afford to f**k around tonight.
Your score seems right, Yancy, but I'll up our total to 95; we have to send a message, especially against a USC team that's had a soft schedule thus far.
Yance wins the pool, but I don't think that was the decisive victory any of us was hoping for.
I was surprised at how positive Self's postgame comments were. Apparently he likes his wins ugly.
It was good that he wasn't too hard on Rush in his comments, despite another bad shooting night. There's no reason to spook the kid while he's in a slump. I thought most of his shots looked good; they just wouldn't go down. But by the end it looked like he was forcing it; I wonder if the slump is partly due to Self's constant harping on him to shoot more.
We also turned it over way too much--17 times. Russell had five TO's, Sasha had three in only 17 minutes. We could afford to turn it over that many times in the Roy years because those teams got a lot more possessions per game. Fortunately we forced 25 TOs from USC, but they were an unusually bad ballhandling team.
I agree with Deron's surprise at Self's comments. In a game we should have won from the tip, we struggled just to lead by halftime.
If there was a bright spot, it would have to be Darnell Jackson: 4 of 5 from the floor, 9 rebounds, 0 turnovers in 22 big off-the-bench minutes.
We did win, and I suppose that's the biggest thing at this point, but it's only about a month before we open conference play against a surprisingly good (and so far undefeated) OSU. Their schedule? Well, they did get a win at Missouri State, the same Missouri State who beat then #7 Wisconsin.
They (OSU) play Syracuse today, which should be interesting. (Syracuse, of course, being one of the teams Shocked by Wichita State just recently. Maybe Deron's onto something with these scheduling worries: next up for KU is Toledo, who lost to Missouri State (how did Missouri State get on everyone's schedule?), and lost to Iowa, and to Drexel . . .)
I am not surprised at Self's comments. They probably would have beat ORU or DePaul if they played that kind of defense. Rush played great defense last night, and was ineffective on Saturday. Coaches don't freak out over poor shooting - they might not like it - but if you can play tough defense and win shooting 38%, a coach like Self will be tickled. Especially as he puts toughness over finesse - and is the flipside of Roy in terms of putting defense first.
That is a shame that under Self, even when we play well, it's not as pretty as Roy's teams. It's only pretty when we get the transition game going. We better pray he keeps recruiting quick athletic guys - think of how ugly it will look if we get slow bangers.
I recall Self always being pleased with ugly wins where we tough it out - that's his whole thing. Right now we're playing like a good Big 10 team - I'd like to keep that toughness but show some more offensive savvy.
It would have been a blowout if we hit more shots. Hopefully we will when we need to.
LAWRENCE, Kan. - As they sat there, waiting in the locker room, the Kansas Jayhawks didn't know what to expect.
They figured coach Bill Self would either blast them for their poor shooting performance in Monday's 72-62 victory over Southern California or get nitpicky about the mistakes that led to the Jayhawks' 17 turnovers.
Coaches do those things when they're on edge, and Self has been that way all season. That's why the Jayhawks were surprised - actually, make that relieved - when the locker-room doors swung open.
"He walked into the room with a big smile on his face," guard Brandon Rush said. "It was good to see him happy."
Self has said all along that he wants the Jayhawks to win "ugly" games. Monday's clash with USC was certainly that. No. 12 Kansas won despite shooting just 38.1 percent while committing 17 turnovers.
Rush and Mario Chalmers each scored 13 points in the victory, which came just two days after an embarrassing loss at DePaul on Saturday. The Jayhawks will take a 7-2 record into this weekend's game against Toledo. USC is now 5-2 .
"We need to win ugly games," Self said. "You aren't always going to look pretty. We need to win games where we have to grind it out."
KU led just 48-45 midway through the second half before embarking on a 6-0 run that seemed to squelch USC's momentum.
Darnell Jackson started the march with a 16-footer before a scoop shot by Sherron Collins made it 52-45. Chalmers then capitalized on a USC turnover by swishing a floater in the lane that gave KU a 54-45 cushion and a momentum it would never relinquish.
The Trojans would never get closer than five after that.
"We tried to take it to them tonight before they ever got the chance to hit us," Chalmers said. "They still ended up making a run, but this time we kept our composure."
That wasn't the case in Saturday's loss at DePaul, when the Jayhawks squandered a 14-point lead in the second half.
The Jayhawks' defense, however, was too good Monday to allow a USC comeback. Kansas forced 25 Trojan turnovers and turned those miscues into 26 points.
Kansas also outrebounded Tim Floyd's team 39-30, including a 20-8 edge on the offensive glass.
"We played them well, but we have to play for 40 minutes," Floyd said. "Kansas is one of the best on-the-ball defensive teams that I have seen."
Still, the Trojans managed to stay in the game thanks to the outside shooting of guard Lodrick Stewart_the twin brother of KU guard Rodrick Stewart. Lodrick scored a game high 23 points on nine-of-15 shooting. That included a five-of-eight performance from beyond the three-point arc.
Rodrick Stewart played just 3 minutes, all in the first half.
" We have great players, so I'm not disappointed that I didn't get to play," Rodrick said. "But tonight was a night when I really wanted to go out there and lock my brother up."
One of the more disappointing aspects of Monday's game was a poor shooting performance by Rush, a preseason All-American. He made just three of 14 shots and is four for 21 in his last two games.
Self said he isn't worried about Rush. In fact, he commended him for being more aggressive offensively and for playing lock-down defense on Nick Young, USC's leading scorer. Young scored eight points on three-of-13 shooting.
"That was one of the best games (Rush) has played this year," Self said. "We all know Brandon Rush can shoot. I'll take my chances with him shooting the ball. Whenever he's open, he needs to shoot it."
Doesn't have anything to do with Jayhawks or basketball. Scott, have you heard Flaming Lips had an "alley way" named for them over in OK City? One of the band members thought it was appropriate because they never were mainstream. This from the Commercial Appeal this morning.
Brother vs. Brother? East vs. West? I believe we at Jayhawk Nation can now officially call this ... a Civil War.
ReplyDeleteLooks like "Lod" Stewart should win the fraternal matchup; he plays 20 minutes a game and averages 8 points.
I'm sure Self will give Rod more playing time than usual, but probably not too much. Coming off this weekend's "DePacle," we can't afford to f**k around tonight.
Your score seems right, Yancy, but I'll up our total to 95; we have to send a message, especially against a USC team that's had a soft schedule thus far.
Given our recent history either we will win by 20 or lose by 15. Go Hawks!
ReplyDeleteJiminy Christmas.
ReplyDeleteYance wins the pool, but I don't think that was the decisive victory any of us was hoping for.
I was surprised at how positive Self's postgame comments were. Apparently he likes his wins ugly.
It was good that he wasn't too hard on Rush in his comments, despite another bad shooting night. There's no reason to spook the kid while he's in a slump. I thought most of his shots looked good; they just wouldn't go down. But by the end it looked like he was forcing it; I wonder if the slump is partly due to Self's constant harping on him to shoot more.
We also turned it over way too much--17 times. Russell had five TO's, Sasha had three in only 17 minutes. We could afford to turn it over that many times in the Roy years because those teams got a lot more possessions per game. Fortunately we forced 25 TOs from USC, but they were an unusually bad ballhandling team.
I agree with Deron's surprise at Self's comments. In a game we should have won from the tip, we struggled just to lead by halftime.
ReplyDeleteIf there was a bright spot, it would have to be Darnell Jackson: 4 of 5 from the floor, 9 rebounds, 0 turnovers in 22 big off-the-bench minutes.
We did win, and I suppose that's the biggest thing at this point, but it's only about a month before we open conference play against a surprisingly good (and so far undefeated) OSU. Their schedule? Well, they did get a win at Missouri State, the same Missouri State who beat then #7 Wisconsin.
They (OSU) play Syracuse today, which should be interesting. (Syracuse, of course, being one of the teams Shocked by Wichita State just recently. Maybe Deron's onto something with these scheduling worries: next up for KU is Toledo, who lost to Missouri State (how did Missouri State get on everyone's schedule?), and lost to Iowa, and to Drexel . . .)
I seem to have become the Self apologist here.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised at Self's comments. They probably would have beat ORU or DePaul if they played that kind of defense. Rush played great defense last night, and was ineffective on Saturday. Coaches don't freak out over poor shooting - they might not like it - but if you can play tough defense and win shooting 38%, a coach like Self will be tickled. Especially as he puts toughness over finesse - and is the flipside of Roy in terms of putting defense first.
That is a shame that under Self, even when we play well, it's not as pretty as Roy's teams. It's only pretty when we get the transition game going. We better pray he keeps recruiting quick athletic guys - think of how ugly it will look if we get slow bangers.
I recall Self always being pleased with ugly wins where we tough it out - that's his whole thing. Right now we're playing like a good Big 10 team - I'd like to keep that toughness but show some more offensive savvy.
It would have been a blowout if we hit more shots. Hopefully we will when we need to.
Jayhawks pretty happy with ugly victory
ReplyDeleteBy Jason King
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
LAWRENCE, Kan. - As they sat there, waiting in the locker room, the Kansas Jayhawks didn't know what to expect.
They figured coach Bill Self would either blast them for their poor shooting performance in Monday's 72-62 victory over Southern California or get nitpicky about the mistakes that led to the Jayhawks' 17 turnovers.
Coaches do those things when they're on edge, and Self has been that way all season. That's why the Jayhawks were surprised - actually, make that relieved - when the locker-room doors swung open.
"He walked into the room with a big smile on his face," guard Brandon Rush said. "It was good to see him happy."
Self has said all along that he wants the Jayhawks to win "ugly" games. Monday's clash with USC was certainly that. No. 12 Kansas won despite shooting just 38.1 percent while committing 17 turnovers.
Rush and Mario Chalmers each scored 13 points in the victory, which came just two days after an embarrassing loss at DePaul on Saturday. The Jayhawks will take a 7-2 record into this weekend's game against Toledo. USC is now 5-2 .
"We need to win ugly games," Self said. "You aren't always going to look pretty. We need to win games where we have to grind it out."
KU led just 48-45 midway through the second half before embarking on a 6-0 run that seemed to squelch USC's momentum.
Darnell Jackson started the march with a 16-footer before a scoop shot by Sherron Collins made it 52-45. Chalmers then capitalized on a USC turnover by swishing a floater in the lane that gave KU a 54-45 cushion and a momentum it would never relinquish.
The Trojans would never get closer than five after that.
"We tried to take it to them tonight before they ever got the chance to hit us," Chalmers said. "They still ended up making a run, but this time we kept our composure."
That wasn't the case in Saturday's loss at DePaul, when the Jayhawks squandered a 14-point lead in the second half.
The Jayhawks' defense, however, was too good Monday to allow a USC comeback. Kansas forced 25 Trojan turnovers and turned those miscues into 26 points.
Kansas also outrebounded Tim Floyd's team 39-30, including a 20-8 edge on the offensive glass.
"We played them well, but we have to play for 40 minutes," Floyd said. "Kansas is one of the best on-the-ball defensive teams that I have seen."
Still, the Trojans managed to stay in the game thanks to the outside shooting of guard Lodrick Stewart_the twin brother of KU guard Rodrick Stewart. Lodrick scored a game high 23 points on nine-of-15 shooting. That included a five-of-eight performance from beyond the three-point arc.
Rodrick Stewart played just 3 minutes, all in the first half.
" We have great players, so I'm not disappointed that I didn't get to play," Rodrick said. "But tonight was a night when I really wanted to go out there and lock my brother up."
One of the more disappointing aspects of Monday's game was a poor shooting performance by Rush, a preseason All-American. He made just three of 14 shots and is four for 21 in his last two games.
Self said he isn't worried about Rush. In fact, he commended him for being more aggressive offensively and for playing lock-down defense on Nick Young, USC's leading scorer. Young scored eight points on three-of-13 shooting.
"That was one of the best games (Rush) has played this year," Self said. "We all know Brandon Rush can shoot. I'll take my chances with him shooting the ball. Whenever he's open, he needs to shoot it."
---
That's the KC Star article (McClatchy bought out Knight-Ridder and owns the Star now).
ReplyDeleteIt is true that we would have won handily if we'd just shot better. But damn, that was some sloppy basketball.
Doesn't have anything to do with Jayhawks or basketball. Scott, have you heard Flaming Lips had an "alley way" named for them over in OK City? One of the band members thought it was appropriate because they never were mainstream. This from the Commercial Appeal this morning.
ReplyDeleteThat does seem apropos. I've seen Wayne's house in OKC. It's nice (not exactly a mansion) but is in a somewhat seedy neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteLips got an alley?
ReplyDeleteThat's great. When their career ends, they will have a place to hang out.