Posts Tagged Kansas

Episode 37 – KU-Duke, Champ Classic, Alexander and Hats, KU-WV, and GOALPOSTS

Posted on: November 19th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

Kevin and Andrew return for a loaded podcast after a huge KU week. We start with KU-Duke and also talk about Kevin’s escapades in Chicago breaking up fights with drunk UK fans. We talk in depth about Cliff Alexander’s recruitment and his hilarious diss of Illinois breaking the KU hat curse forever. We also talk KU-WVU and recap our favorite experiences with tearing down goalposts (complete with photos!). We also preview Iona and do our weekly Johnny’s Taverns giveaway.

Come on in, have a beer, and enjoy the Jayhawk Talk Podcast!

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Video: KU-MU Goalposts coming down! (2003)

Video: KU-MU Goalposts go swimming (2003)

More old goalpost pics:

 

 

 

Episode 36 – Duke Preview, ULM Recap, Champions Classic, Interview with BlueDevilLair.com’s Adam Rowe

Posted on: November 10th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

We are back with a KU-Duke preview and preview of the Champions Classic. We do a little recap of the KU-ULM game and talk plenty of nonsense about FOMOB (fear of missing out on basketball), Keith Urban, the worldwide leader, and more. We also have our man Adam Rowe of Blue Devil Lair (www.bluedevillair.com) on to help us preview the Duke squad. So pull up a chair, grab a beer, and have a listen to the Jayhawk Talk Podcast.

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Also, for a chance to win a free $30 Johnny’s gift card, remember to rate and comment on iTunes this week. One winner will be selected, so leave your twitter handle or email!

Thanks, and ROCK CHALK!

2013-2014 KU basketball preview and predictions

Posted on: November 8th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

My favorite quote about predictors and prognosticators comes from former Kansas City Star columnist, Bill Vaughan. He wrote: ”The groundhog is like most prophets; it delivers its prediction then disappears.” I generally have the same feeling about sports handicapping and preseason predictions.

They’re all made by groundhogs.

So let’s get this out of the way. I’m not a handicapper. I’m a fan. But I also hold my team to a higher standard than just about anyone else because I want what is best for them. In short, I like to think I can make impartial predictions, and I am happy to stand by them for the season and beyond.

This is the third iteration of the Jayhawk Talk season predictions blog post. The 2011-12 and 2012-13 predictions are linked. In 2011, I predicted KU to be a #2 seed in UNC’s bracket. Also predicted T-Rob to go from a 7 and 6 guy to a 17 and 10 guy. Nailed those. In 2012, I predicted KU’s non-conference and conference records accurately and said Withey wins defensive player of the year easily. Nailed those too.

I also predicted Big 12 championships for those two years, but that isn’t much of a prediction these days.

To be fair, I missed a bunch of stuff too. Namely that OSU would be #2 behind KU in 2011 (7th) and that Perry Ellis would lead us in scoring last year early in the season (lost his starting job). But the misses aren’t any fun to talk about. The same goes for this intro.

Let’s get into the 2013-14 Jayhawks, shall we?

(1) This Wiggins Fella. Forget talking about the Big 12 season or postseason. No Kansas blog post would be complete without spending an exorbitant amount of time on Andrew Wiggins. My prediction? He has a terrific season. Every reasonable college basketball fan will praise his athleticism and impact on the game. But to many, he’ll be a disappointment. That’s because I think he’ll average something like 15.5 points, 5.5 boards, 2 blocks, and 3 assists. He’ll potentially affect the game more on defense than offense (I think he’ll lead the team in blocks). And his presence on the court alone will open up the offense in other places. In short, I think he’ll be a difference maker. Even if his stats don’t bear it out.

(2) Non-Conference Record.  There are 13 non-conference games with marquee matchups against Duke, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, and Georgetown. It is a ridiculously difficult schedule — one that will be nearly impossible to navigate without yielding a loss. My prediction is that KU ends up at 11-2, which I think most reasonable fans would take. Most likely losses include Duke and Florida. The good news is that the Big 12 season should be an easier slate than the non-conference season, leaving the possibility for a great tournament seed and very high ranking by the end of the year.

(3) Conference Record. KU has an enormous advantage over the Big 12 due to its ridiculous home court advantage. Barring injury, the Jayhawks will be favored in every game played at home. With a 9-0 head start on the league, the team only has to go 6-3 or better on the road to pretty much guarantee a share of the season title. I believe that will be the exact record at the end of the conference season, 15-3. Losses could occur @KSU, @ISU, @OSU, or @Baylor. I will say this… I don’t think TCU will be one of the losses for the second year in a row.

(4) Big 12 Champs. It’s impossible to predict any other team to win the Big 12 regular season title until it actually happens. And, well, I don’t think it’s going to happen this year. It’s not that KU is overwhelmingly better than teams like OSU, Baylor, or ISU. There are some really good players in the league this year. The difference is KU’s incredible home court advantage, Bill Self’s in-season coaching, and the general pedigree of winning these things. The only remaining question is how long it takes to see a picture of Self wearing all ten rings.

(5) Rotation. The rotation seems to be the hot button topic among KU diehards. For the first time in a long time, there is a ridiculous amount of depth on this KU team. We know the starters are going to be Ellis, Tharpe, Black, Wiggins, and Selden. What we don’t know is how deep Self will go on the bench. I predict the main rotation to include Embiid, Traylor, White, and Mason. That’s 9 guys. Rarely has a Bill Self team gone beyond 8 or 9, much less 10. As a result, I don’t think we’ll see a whole lot of Greene or Frankamp this season, except when the team needs a spark.

(6) Don’t forget about the veterans. This team has a great deal of hype, largely due to the best recruiting class Bill Self has ever brought to KU. Wiggins, Selden, and Embiid will all play a lot of minutes and will be a huge part of the success of the team. But even though KU returns no starters from the 2012-13 season, it does have legitimate veteran presence. Perry Ellis is a monster (more to come on that) and if the two exhibition games are any representation at all, Naadir Tharpe is a different player (15 assists, 0 turnovers). Jamari Traylor also has a role on this team (reports are that Self has been having him watch tape of Kevin Young to show him the type of energy he needs to bring to get minutes). In short, the vets will be just as important as the freshmen, especially early on when the lights are still bright.

(7) Perry Ellis. This is a bad, bad man. He may be quiet. He may not do anything flashy. But Perry is a true assassin with the basketball in his hands. The last third of the 2012-13 season was his coming out party, even if some fans expected to see it earlier. My prediction is that he will lead this team in scoring. Even over that Wiggins guy. Sure, Baylor’s Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson have been named Preseason All-Big 12 first teamers and Ellis was not on the list. I predict Ellis will force voters to remove one of these guys at the end of the season.

(8) Offense. I believe the normal Bill Self offense will be on display most of the time. In fact if you aren’t watching closely, it may seem similar to past years. You’ll still see the high-low motion. You’ll still see the same ball movement and inside-out attack. There will be a few differences, though. Self will most certainly install a “Wiggins Package” of plays, designed to get Andrew one-on-one against a single defender. The same can be said for Selden, though his plays may revolve more around posting up his (much smaller) defender. These two players are too valuable on the offensive end not to feature them in NBA-type isolation sets. It will be interesting to see how often these plays occur and how they assimilate into the overall offense. It is also worth noting that because of the team’s depth, there are multiple opportunities for mismatches on the offensive end that could change game to game. We have the low block banger bigs (Black, Jamari), the skilled and quicker bigs (Perry, Embiid), the jet off the bench (Mason), and the 3-point assassins (Greene, Frankamp, White). Depending on the defense, the game plan could change from game to game when it comes to the rotation.

(9) Defense. It is impossible to replace Jeff Withey. His impact on the defensive side of the ball was immeasurable. He allowed our guards to gamble a bit because the guards knew Withey was behind them scaring penetration away from the paint. This team will need to be much more sound when it comes to on-ball defense because there isn’t a bonafide rim protector in the paint this year. Through two exhibition games, you have probably heard Self mention more than once that on-ball defense is the area where the team could use the most improvement. The good news is the starters should, in theory, be great on-ball defenders. Tharpe was a bit of a liability on the defensive end last year, but hopefully he has improved. Wiggins and Selden are both so long and athletic that they should, in theory, be able to learn to play great defense. Black also provides a new dynamic on defense that we did not have before he transferred to KU. Remember how Perry got knocked around the block by bigger guys last year? That won’t be the case with Black. He is the one who knocks.

(10) Overall Record. For those math majors out there, I have predicted 11-2 for the non-con schedule and 15-3 for the conference slate. That’s a lovely 26-5 record, good for a #2 seed in the tourney.

(11) Tourney. Last year I said the Jayhawks were an “Elite 8 caliber” team. This year is different. While college basketball as a whole has some great teams this year, it’s hard to argue with the sentiment that this team has the talent to compete at the very highest level. Success in the tournament has so many variables, including luck of the draw, so it is often difficult to predict. That said, I think most KU fans would be disappointed not to make it out of the second weekend this year. KU ran into a buzz saw with Michigan last year. I predict this team has a little bit of luck and the Jayhawks reach the Final Four in Dallas. Dallas…an enormous KU alumni city.

From there, you never know what could happen.

 

 

 

 

Episode 35 – Wiggins Preseason AA, Preview ULM and Duke, Recruiting Talk, plus interview with CJ Moore

Posted on: November 5th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

In this, the 35th installment of the Jayhawk Talk Podcast, the guys get together to talk about the exhibition games, preview Louisiana Monroe and Duke, give some thoughts on the latest recruiting sagas with Tyus Jones/Jahlil Okafor/Cliff Alexander, and invite head college basketball writer for Bleacher Report, CJ Moore, on the podcast for an interview. There’s also talk about dunks and Planet of the Apes and Christmas and Tyler Self and TJ Whatley.

So come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy yourself some Jayhawk Talk Podcast.

Find the Podcast on iTunes HERE (be sure to subscribe!)

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KU Basketball Preview Podcast!! (Episode 34)

Posted on: October 29th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

LJ World

Andrew and Kevin get together on KU Basketball Eve to discuss the upcoming season. We welcome all the freshmen and newcomers and give you a short introduction to the new faces on the team. We preview the non-con schedule and run down the competition in the Big 12. We talk expectations, over/unders, early season story lines, and more. PLUS, the annual Jayhawk Talk Preseason Awards!

Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy a little KU basketball PREVIEW! (Also be sure to tweet us your KU-Pitt St. score prediction for your chance to win a $30 Johnny’s Tavern gift card!)

Find us on iTunes HERE (all devices except non-Apple mobiles)

Find us on Podbean HERE (non-Apple mobiles)

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Jayhawk Talk Podcast Episode 33 – KU Basketball Preview Preview, Big 12 Media Day, Wiggins, Marcus Smart Talk, KU Football PLUS interview with KC Star’s Rustin Dodd

Posted on: October 23rd, 2013 by jayhawktalk 1 Comment

In this the 33rd installment of the Jayhawk Talk Podcast, the gang is back together again to talk KU scrimmages, season preview previews, Marcus Smart talk, Travis Ford, Big 12 Media Day, Cozart, KU-OU, KU-Baylor, and Twitter Questions. Plus an interview with KC Star’s Rustin Dodd regarding Media Day and some nonsense about Wilt Chamberlain contacting Wiggins.

Also listen in to hear how you could win a $30 Johnny’s Tavern gift card! (must be able to pick it up at Johnny’s Power & Light location).

To find the podcast on iTunes (remember to subscribe and download the podcasts app on your iPhone or iPad!), click HERE.

To find the podcast on Podbean (for all non-Apple mobile devices), click HERE.

Remember to rate/comment/review/subscribe on iTunes. It helps us spread the word about the podcast! Rock Chalk!!

Photo Credit: CJ Online

 

Episode 32 – Wiggins’ Shoe Deal, Okafor/Jones, Late Morning in the Phog, Interview with Rob Dauster and Fun with Fake Jeff Withey

Posted on: October 18th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

Kevin and (bye week fill-in) Ty Gardner (aka Fake Jeff Withey) co-host Episode 32, which includes an interview with College Basketball Talk’s Rob Dauster, Wiggins’ crazy shoe deals, discussion about Late Morning in the Phog scrimmages, Okafor, Jones, Tyler Self, Charlie Weis, preview of OU and more. Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy Episode 32 of the Jayhawk Talk Podcast.

Be sure to follow Rob Dauster on Twitter at @RobDauster. And feel free to annoy Ty Gardner on Twitter at @TyGardner.

Check out the podcast on iTunes HERE. (Be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and it will come up right away on your iPhone and iPad via the podcast app).

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ROCK CHALK

 

 

Jayhawk Talk Podcast – Episode 31 (Late Night, Oubre, Wiggins, Fake Punts, Football Rants)

Posted on: October 10th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

The guys get together for the first OFFICIAL KU 2013 basketball edition of the Jayhawk Talk Podcast. We talk Late Night in the Phog, the skits, the dancing, the movie shorts, and Riggle. We talk Kelly Oubre’s commitment and who could be next! We talk Wiggins hype and the SI Cover. We talk KU-Tech, fake punts, and rant about Weis a little bit. We close with Twitter Questions and Drake Horns. Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy the Jayhawk Talk Podcast!!

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Jayhawk Talk Podcast – Episode 30 (La Tech, GWFGs, Weis, Combs, The Hawk, Predictions)

Posted on: September 24th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

The guys get together over a beer to discuss La and Texas Tech, game winning celebrations, birthdays at the Hawk, Charlie Weis play calling, Pierson/Bourbon love, Marquel Combs, and what wins are left on the schedule. A realization is made that winning is kind of fun and we should endeavor to do it more often.

Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy Episode 30 of the Jayhawk Talk podcast. As always, please subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes if you like what you hear.

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ROCK CHALK!

Photos from the game can be found HERE.

 

Episode 29 – KU-Rice Recap, Weis Concerns, Cliff Alexander

Posted on: September 17th, 2013 by jayhawktalk No Comments

The guys get together to recap Andrew’s on-sight reporting of the Rice game. We also voice our grievances with Charlie Weis and ask whether he really is the guy to lead this program to the next level. We close with some basketball recruiting talk, including Cliff Alexander and JaQuan Lyle.

Come on in, have a beer, and enjoy the Jayhawk Talk Podcast. If you like what you hear, please subscribe on iTunes and give us a rating/review on iTunes.

Find the Podcast on iTunes HERE (all computers, iPads, iPhones)

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