Posted on: February 26th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
In the 16th episode of the Jayhawk Talk Podcast, Kevin and Andrew talk about the crazy game that took place in Ames, hit on Kevin’s stories from Hilton Coliseum, talk about Elijah Johnson’s ridiculous night, and close with a story about how Kevin bought his ticket from a former Big 12 basketball player. Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy the podcast. Rock Chalk!
Find the podcast on iTunes here. (Computer, Apple products)
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As always, please do us a huge favor and leave a positive rating and comment on iTunes. It helps us a bunch. Rock Chalk!!
Posted on: February 21st, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
In the 15th episode of the Jayhawk Talk podcast, former Kansan beat writer, Tim Dwyer, joins Kevin and Andrew for a happy 45 minutes as the guys talk about the biggest win of the season so far in Stillwater. The guys also talk about the Big 12 race, the TCU game, and the upcoming games for all the contenders. Come on in, have a beer, and enjoy. Rock chalk!
Posted on: February 16th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
I’ll admit it. I’m kind of a slut for flash-in-the-pan Internet crazes.
You know how it works. You receive a link in a chat window, a message on Facebook, a retweet into your timeline. It’s a video, a picture, a “meme” or a dance. You watch it, you love it, and you find yourself searching out other examples.
Only thing I love more than awesome things on the Internet is KU basketball. This team has found a way to marry these two wonderful things.
What follows is a beautiful little video from the KU basketball team. It’s their version of the “Harlem Shake.”
It makes sense if you think about it — this team getting on board with a dance craze. As we’ve surely all seen by now, these guys are all about dancing. Who can blame them? Dancing is awesome.
There are about a million different Harlem Shake videos out there right now. This is obviously my favorite. First, a quick background. The Harlem Shake meme generally requires three things (1) at the beginning of the video one person is dancing with the crowd not paying attention; (2) when the bass or hook drops, everyone is dancing, usually with some sort of costume or general ridiculousness; (3) well, that’s it, really.
I thought it’d be interesting to take a closer look at this video, person by person. I urge you to re-watch the video each time you read a paragraph and focus only on that one person or group. It’s worth the individual attention to detail.
Bill Self: He doesn’t really fit into the meme recipe described above, but I appreciate his involvement in the shoot. He’s pictured drawing up some spectacular inbounds plays (I’m particularly impressed with the top left play, which aims to open up Ben for a corner 3). Self’s cameo ends with him erasing four of the six plays (he keeps the good one) and writing “Harlem Shake!!!” on the board and walking away. Note: Evan Manning is the only player pictured and he doesn’t seem to give one shit at all about what Coach is drawing up.
Ben McLemore: Of late, he has been the star of the Kansas basketball dance troupe. This video probably wouldn’t be a thing if not for Ben’s previous escapades, first documented in a post-Ohio State locker room celebration and later in a post-KSU dance. Ben gets us started with a solo version of “The McLemore” dance — a healthy mix between Hava Nagila, the C-Walk, and Saturday Night Fever. In any event, it’s freakin’ awesome. So there he is, dancing away while everyone is suiting up for practice — everyone except Elijah Johnson, who seems to have discovered nappy time. Ben’s also wearing the head of a chicken costume, just because. Cut to the new scene and Ben has shed the mask but found the rest of the chicken costume, again, just because. His chicken walk through the last few seconds of the scene is pure amazeballs.
Justin Wesley: Of any Jayhawk, Justin should know what it takes to shine in front of a camera. He spent the offseason playing Wilt Chamberlain in the upcoming movie, Jayhawkers. It makes you wonder why he chose one of the easiest theatrical stunts — that is, struggling to put his practice jersey on over his head — during Ben’s dance. He certainly makes up for it after the break, center frame, going full on kilt and chains. I have 10:1 that look will be in a new Chief Keef music video within the next calendar year. Flawless.
Naadir Tharpe: We’ve seen his dance moves a few times this season. His default move seems to be the “Robot.” You probably have that buddy that has a default move to the “Robot” too. Your buddy isn’t very good at it. Neither is Naadir. But it’s still sort of endearing. You have to think his teammates told him to wait in the wings and then when the time is right, just sachet across the shot from stage left to right, employing that signature move. I also tend to think that Naadir owns that green vest and did not need to make a visit to the KU Theatre Department’s prop room before filming.
Niko Roberts, Christian Garrett, and Landen Lucas: These three really need to be discussed together because of their roles in a truly meta sub plot going on inside this video. We first see Niko, in full-on onesie pajamas, a bib, and a pacifier. He seems to really be into his dance moves until he is completely distracted by a gigantic fly hanging from a 6-iron. What pacifier-sucking kid wouldn’t want to follow that? Especially if that pacifier sucking kid is also armed with a butterfly net!!! Too bad we couldn’t see just three more seconds of the video. I hope he caught that pesky fly. Meanwhile, Christian decided to go with the half-KU football player in December after a workout coat, half-Roman soldier look. He has some nice moves with that shield before taking Santa Landen on a ride in the equipment cart. Landen is holding the 6-iron/fly thingy while seemingly jamming to his own Keith Sweat slow jam that only he can hear.
Jeff Withey and Jamari Traylor: Jeff is attempting his best Slash impression, but is failing miserably. I would have preferred to see Jeff play a more vital role than “awkward white 7-footer with wig that plays fake guitar in socks,” but that’s just me. To his credit, he actually makes out a couple legit power chords between the three or four times he adjusts his hair. Like a true 80s guitarist. Jamari, on the other hand, goes with the mini-acoustic, black leather vest, and sombrero get-up. He seems to be the most accomplished musician in the bunch, with most of his focus going toward his craft. He’s also, umm, very muscly.
Travis Releford: He is probably the one in the video that makes me giggle the most. He is sporting the black boots, shorts, and soccer jacket of one of those club teams or countries or something (Germany, maybe? Clearly a huge soccer fan here), and is swinging the everliving shit out of some beads (?). His facial expressions are the real sell, though. Absolute gold, especially in slow motion.
Elijah Johnson: We know he’s been struggling to find his place on the court of late. Not here. He plays the creepy, masked joker Santa PERFECTLY. You might miss him the first couple times you watch it, but he emerges from behind Ben and finds his way to orchestra right by the end of the shot. He looks confused, but don’t let him trick you. That’s what he wants you to think.
Kevin Young and Company: Speaking of creepy, let’s talk about the guy in the back wearing the Jason mask and holding a knife. Oh, but he’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt, so it’s not near as bad. He’s standing on a chair, slashing at the air with all his Kevin Young might. You’d think Evan Manning next to him would be just slightly scared, but once again, he’s still not giving one shit. Perry Ellis looks a little scared, but that’s probably more about his discomfort with being in a group setting than a Hawaiian with a huge knife. Then there’s Andrew White III with a big goofy hat. Like Jamari, it appears he’s jamming to a different song as well. Maybe U2 or Bonnie Raitt or something.
Tyler Self: Tyler made the mistake of going shirtless in this shoot. He’s standing near Jamari Traylor, who can pull of shirtless. Tyler, not so much. I do appreciate his decision to play jungle gym on the water pipes running across the ceiling, although I think he geared up to try a “pull-up” and realized he didn’t have the arm strength for it yet. He does earn some points for his mink throw he has draped across his shoulders. Keeps him warm and hides his underdeveloped delts.
Not pictured: Supremely disappointed Rio Adams was not involved. He is the best dancer on the team not named Ben McLemore and he has an argument that he’s even better than Ben. Not sure where he was during the filming, but I’m sad he wasn’t there. Same goes for Joe Dooley and Andrea Hudy, both of which could have added a lot to this just by making a one second cameo.
I hope you enjoyed my write up as much as I enjoyed watching the video 35 times. Happy gameday!
Posted on: February 12th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
(Editor’s Note: The following dating advice column comes courtesy of @FakeJeffWithey, the entertaining alter ego to KU basketball player, Jeff Withey. Follow him on Twitter for lively in-game commentary and general shenanigans and rascality. Warning, explicit/awesome language to follow).
What should I get my girlfriend for Valentine’s Day?
In a perfect world you would be enough to satisfy your girlfriend and you wouldn’t need to buy her a gift. But since you’re not me, a gift is probably a good idea.
I really feel that Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake brought gift giving to a whole new level with D*** In A Box. Unfortunately this isn’t always practical. For example, I have only pulled this move off one time, when I was able to track down an old box that was previously used to house a refrigerator (Side Note: Don’t give this gift at your girlfriend’s grandmother’s 70th birthday. Awkward for everyone).
Since I am laying claim to all the dimes in the area, I assume most of you are dating uggo’s. With that in mind, I think the best gift you can get her is something that benefits both of you. Pick something about her appearance that you don’t like. It could be anything from her weight, to her complexion, to her boob size. Next, find a way to subtly suggest that she improve this area. You might think this is insulting, but trust me women are a goal-driven species. And nothing is going to drive home your point like buying a bra two cup sizes too large, or a scale with a target weight written on the base. Be careful not to set your goals too high though, because if they get too hot they’re probably just going to leave you for a basketball player.
Do you condone online dating?
Online dating is tough. The best-case scenario here has you banging a 7 or 8 with trust issues. Worst-case, your Ms. Right turns out to be an overweight Mizzou fan named Steve. I’ll share a story below on why I think the positives of online dating do not outweigh the negatives.
The names of those involved have been changed to protect the victims’ identities.
The year was 2011 and a young man on a college basketball team was having a tough time meeting women. This was an uncommon problem for members of this particular basketball team, but senior guard Gordan Guenemann had high expectations for his women. Because of these expectations, Guenemann turned to dating website ChristianMingle.com
Through online chats and late night phone calls, Guenemann fell in love with a wonderful, kind-hearted woman. Then early in the season, tragedy struck and Gordan Guenemann’s girlfriend was killed in a car accident. Amazingly, he was able to turn this tragedy to triumph as his inspired play in mop-up minutes propelled his team to within one win of a national championship. It wasn’t until after the season that Guenemann was told his girlfriend was actually his teammate (and international sex symbol) Jeff Witheyasosopo playing an elaborate practical joke on him.
In the end, Guenemann lost the big game, lost the big award, and is generally considered to be a weird dude for falling in love with a woman who never existed. Moral of the story…online dating is sketchy.
How do I land an older woman?
The key to landing any woman is to find common interests. Unfortunately, in your question you didn’t mention the age of the older woman you’re going after. To help solve this problem, I have put together a table of common interests broken down by age, which should help you through your journey. Cut this out and keep it in your wallet for advice on the fly.
Age
Interests
16-18
Prom, posting duck face pictures to Facebook, Dollar Night at The Hawk, shoes
19-30
50 Shades of Gray, posting pictures of their food to Instagram, yoga pants, any one of the Kardashians, shoes
31-40
HGTV, their ex-husband, Adele, gluten-free meals, that cute thing their kid did once, shoes
41-60
The way things used to be, Stephen King, Home Shopping Network, gardening, shoes
61+
The Great Depression, naps, Roosevelt (either one), shoes
My girlfriend is great, except she doesn’t know anything about basketball. Is there anything I can do to fix this?
Posted on: January 27th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
LJ World
Notes:
This was the 800th game played in Allen Fieldhouse, and like many others before it, KU emerged victorious. Oklahoma was held in check for most of the game, and while the Sooners pulled within a couple baskets a few times, this one never really felt in doubt. Kansas has won an NCAA-leading 17 straight games.
Player of the Game:
My player of the game was Jeff Withey. He finished with 13 points, 9 boards, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. He was a game changer on the defensive end the entire day and was efficient on the offensive end. McLemore ended up with 18 points on just 10 shots, but Withey made his presence felt on both sides of the court.
Not Player of the Game:
Elijah. Just two assists against 4 turnovers. He was in foul trouble early and just never got in the flow of the game.
Water Cooler Conversation Tomorrow:
The offense once again was not stellar. This is now 5 games in a row the Jayhawks have failed to score 70 points. Luckily, this team has been extremely solid on the defensive end and has consistently outrebounded opponents. That said, the offense has not been great, especially in the half court. Today there was a dedication to getting the ball inside, which I think is a great start. We established the post early and often, which led to more open looks on the outside. The Jayhawks were 6-11 from 3 in the second half. Hopefully this will be a start to better scoring outputs. One of these days we’re going to need it.
Podcast:
Find the podcast on iTunes here (please subscribe, rate 5 stars and comment if you like what you hear!)
Posted on: January 23rd, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
The guys spend a few minutes discussing the Kansas victory tonight in Manhattan. If you’re into making fun of K-State, Sandstorm, and their fans, come on in and have a listen. Rock chalk!
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Posted on: January 20th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments
CJ Online
“Bill Self is one of the best college basketball coaches of our generation.” – Everybody.
I’m not here to question Bill Self. I just want to get that out of the way now. You’ve all seen the message board posts where some brave soul attempts to say something like “I disagreed with Self’s game plan because of _____.” And then all the crimson and blue internet warriors attack the guy that even dared to disagree with him. “Well until you win 8 straight Big 12 championships, I think I’ll trust HCBS.”
It’s quite silly, to be honest.
Those that may “disagree” or even question a game plan or strategy aren’t doing so because they think they can outsmart Bill Self, but because they want to win so bad, they hold their team to a higher standard. I fall into that category. And to me, this offense has been pretty ugly to watch the last few games. I thought it was worth a little discussion.
Let’s start with some numbers. In four of the last five games, the Jayhawks have scored in the 60s. For some comparison, KU had only scored in the 60s twice over the first 12 games. Many of you might point to the quality of opponent increasing throughout the year, and I agree there is probably something to that. But three of of those four teams we recently played rank 105th (Temple), 135th (Baylor), and 266th (Texas Tech) in scoring defense this year.
Often the difference between scoring 65 and 75 in a game can come down to whether you make your open shots. Bill Self generally runs a motion offense that should, in theory, create open shots (more on that later), but he can’t put the ball in the basket. The Jayhawks have made 28% of their 3-point shots in those four games. The naked eye would also indicate quite a few misses around the basket as well — “missin’ bunnies” — as Self would say.
Perhaps that’s all it boils down to: temporary shooting slumps and missed layups. Those things can be fixed overnight.
I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to it, though.
Weak-side hi-lo setup
Most casual basketball fans have heard of Bill Self’s patented “Hi-Low Motion” offense. It was an offense that he has used with great success all the way back to his Tulsa days, where he reportedly installed it in four days time. It is not an offense that any team can run, however. It works best with two quality post players and versatile perimeter wings that can penetrate, and more importantly, can shoot. The #1 goal of the hi-low motion is to get the ball deep into the paint for a high percentage basket. That said, it has a number of iterations that can create open looks for every person in the offense.
Self has used the hi-low to some degree ever since he’s been at Kansas, but he is not tied to it the way that some coaches are tied to their system. This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions about Self’s coaching out there on the AAU circuit — that he is only a hi-low guy. This misconception should theoretically bring in talented big men because it means they will get the ball a lot. Unfortunately, a silly percentage of big men (6’8+) think they should play the 3 and won’t accept “playing with their back to the basket” (See Padgett, D.). More damning is recruiting the slashing guard. The biggest complaint about the hi-low is that it means you generally have four guys in the paint (O4, X4, O5, X5), making it difficult to find an angle from the top of the key.
I say all this because you can largely throw most of it out the window when you watch this year’s team. For one, the 2012-13 Jayhawks don’t have a dynamic post scoring threat. Withey is a phenomenal basketball player, but dynamic scorer will not be on the back of his basketball card. And the rest of our front court is either undersized or inexperienced.
Kevin Young had some success early with his post entry passes from the point forward position. However, Temple and Iowa State put the blueprint out there on how to stop this practice. Whenever Young would catch the ball near the top of the key, Young’s man would sag back to front Withey, giving Young a wide open look. Unfortunately, Kevin doesn’t have that shot, and, for the most part, doesn’t have much of an offensive game in general. He has been pretty ineffective during that stretch, overall.
Perhaps right on point, Perry Ellis is playing with a lot more aggressiveness of late (and he does have that 15-16 footer in his repertoire). I think we’ll start to see Young’s and Ellis’ minutes even out and perhaps even tilt in favor of Ellis over the second half of the Big 12 season.
LJ World
To counter the change in defensive strategy (sagging the X4), I think Self is starting to urge his guards to attack the basket from the top of the key. Against Baylor, the normal “weave” out front between the three guards turned into a weave and penetrate. The four man cleared out giving a look of a “dribble drive” offense. I personally think this is where we are going this year. Against Texas, I believe it was part of the game plan but Texas’ on-ball defenders were pretty effective (as Self would say “we couldn’t get our shoulders past them”).
Look for a continued emphasis going forward of Releford, Elijah, Ben, and Tharpe attacking the rim, often with all four on the floor at the same time (See: last six minutes of the Texas game). It won’t always be pretty because I don’t think any of those four would be considered natural slashing scorers. But this team needs them to be. It will create some open looks for the big guys, open looks for corner 3s, and a much higher percentage of second chance opportunities around the rim.
Also look for Ben to start averaging 15+ shots per game. If this team is going to make a run deep in the tournament, I think we can all agree it will come down to him. Self has to know this too. He needs Ben to understand that he is better than the guy trying to guard him. He needs to understand that his team wants him to shoot. I think he’ll get there. And when he does, watch out.
I think a greater emphasis on attacking the basket will do wonders for this offense. It will open up passing lanes, open up scoring angles, create mismatches, and at worst, cause the other team to foul (over that same 5-game stretch, we shot 95/123 from the free throw line, good for over 77%). This team has a great defense and fast break, which will need to continue at a high level. The half-court points will come too, and when they do, this team will be last standing on a lot of brackets.
Posted on: November 27th, 2012 by jayhawktalk No Comments
Check out the photo gallery for the KU-SJSU game at Jayhawk-Talk or on Facebook at. Some pretty good ones this game, especially with coaching reactions as the second half got uglier and uglier.
As always, feel free to download and use the photos.
Posted on: November 14th, 2012 by jayhawktalk 1 Comment
Editor’s Note: The following comes from Jayhawk Talk contributor, and good friend, @HailToOldKU (give him a follow). Glad to welcome him back and look forward to his contributions over the course of the season.
Here’s the good news: it’s November. This loss really doesn’t count in the grand scheme of things. It’s not going to keep Kansas out of the NCAA Tournament. It won’t affect the Jayhawks’ run at a ninth consecutive conference title. It won’t matter, really, at all.
The bad news is that exposed a lot of holes in KU’s armor, confirming what most of us already suspected. This Kansas team, while talented and high on potential, is a flawed unit that’s not ready to compete with the best in the country.
The biggest hole Tuesday was the lack of production from Perry Ellis. Ellis was timid offensively and couldn’t hold his own on the defensive end. The latter issue we knew about. Ellis could stay for four years and I’d be willing to bet he would never be an all-conference defender. It’s not in his game.
But for Ellis to struggle like he did on the offensive end is a legitimate concern. He should and has feasted on the lower ranks of the college basketball world in the Jayhawks’ two exhibitions and season opener. You could make the argument he was Kansas’ best player in those games (although I’d have to give the nod to Ben McLemore). As soon as he faced top tier competition, though, Ellis completely vanished offensively, putting up just four points in 17 minutes and offering little on either side of the ball.
That’s an issue that can be solved, though. For one, Ellis has at least a few weeks before he’ll face that kind of frontcourt talent again. Colorado returns Andre Roberson, who’s a defensive stud, and Ellis will definitely be challenged when the Jayhawks visit Ohio State. That’s three weeks and five weeks away, though. Ellis is working with Bill Self. He will develop.
Self can also relegate Ellis to the bench. He’d provide great scoring punch as a sixth man, and there are options for the starting four that will likely be more steady. Jamari Traylor was impressive in relief. The statistics (six points, four rebounds) aren’t otherworldly, but if you watched the game, he just looked infinitely more comfortable. That’s no doubt a product of working against Thomas Robinson every day for a year in practice. Kevin Young can also start at the four. Young only played three minutes last night, he’s coming off an injury, but he’s a quality spark plug and Elijah Johnson’s on record as saying he hates not having Young out there.
The second concern for me was Jeff Withey’s total disappearance, and this sheds light on something I’ve been worried about since the offseason. Are we already seeing the effect that losing Danny Manning will have on the Jayhawks? This is an overreaction to a tiny sample size, but Kansas’ front court was seriously underwhelming for the first time in recent memory. It’s not fair to expect the same kind of jump from Withey as we’ve seen in the Morris twins and Cole Aldrich (and Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun and Darrell Arthur), but we Kansas fans have gotten spoiled. There was no ceiling to what Manning was able to do with a big man, and every guy I just mentioned both flourished and completely overachieved under Manning’s watch. Withey did as well, last year. If he’s not ready to be the focal point of Self’s high-low offense, and if Perry Ellis is struggling against top-flight competition, is it because the Jayhawks lost Manning? It’s too soon to say yes, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
There are issues in the backcourt as well. Elijah Johnson, Ben McLemore and Travis Releford combined for just eight assists – the only eight assists Kansas had all night, which accounted for just 33 percent of their baskets – and had nine turnovers among them. To be totally fair, that’s not just on them. Watching the game last night it became apparent that the Jayhawks problems getting the ball into the paint are maybe as much a product of the posts failing to seal off their man as it is the guards making weak entry passes. But for those three guards – and Naadir Tharpe, who had zero assists and one turnover in his 13 minutes – to be so unsuccessful at distributing the ball and generating offense, is disheartening.
As much as I love Elijah Johnson (and it’s a lot) he’s not playing point guard. There was a moment last night when he jacked up a three from NBA range with 10 seconds on the shot clock, and it was like he reverted to what he was able to do last year. He can’t afford to be a gunner this year, not when he’s a senior and the primary ball handler. He needs to be aggressive, but in the form of getting into the paint and either drawing contact or finding an open teammate. Even though some fans couldn’t stand Tyshawn Taylor – they were crazy anyways – he’s exactly what the Jayhawks need right now. They need a point guard. And a four. And better production from the five.
Posted on: November 13th, 2012 by jayhawktalk No Comments
In the SIXTH installment of the Jayhawk Talk Podcast, the guys preview the KU basketball season, give their predictions for the year, preview the Michigan State game, and talk about how to improve halftime entertainment in Allen Fieldhouse. The guys also talk a little KU – Texas Tech and preview the all-important Iowa State matchup this weekend. Oh, and pizza parachutes.
Find the podcast on iTunes HERE (please rate 5 stars and leave a comment!)