Posts Tagged Kansas

Episode 83 – Big 12 Previewww

Posted on: December 28th, 2015 by jayhawktalk No Comments

The guys get together to talk after Christmas to do the annual Jayhawk Talk Big 12 Preseason Awards. They also preview the Big 12 slate and talk quite a bit about Self’s philosophy with veterans vs. youth. There is also a good deal of nonsense about Big 12 coaches and a little game called which white guy has a whiter name. It’s a long story. Come on in, and have a little listen to the Jayhawk Talk Podcast.

 

Find the Podcast on iTunes HERE! (Please rate, review, comment, subscribe!)

Find the Podcast on Podbean HERE (Non-Apple mobile devices)

 

As always, ROCK CHALK!

Episode 82 – Ma’am I’m Hunter Mickelson

Posted on: December 22nd, 2015 by jayhawktalk No Comments

The guys get together right before Christmas to talk about KU Christmas Carols, Big 12 upsets, KU Volleyball, the rotation, and Joel Embiid’s preferred drinks. There is also the unveiling of the smash hit, “Ma’am, I’m Hunter Mickelson” which of course is the spin-off Hunter-y version of “Bitch, I’m Frank Mason.” I apologize in advance.

Find the podcast on iTunes HERE (please leave us a review!)

Find the podcast on Podbean HERE (non-Apple mobile devices)

As always, Rock Chalk!

Episode 81 – Gifts for that Special Jayhawk

Posted on: December 15th, 2015 by jayhawktalk No Comments

The guys are in the Christmas spirit as they discuss the KU basketball team and this last week’s games. There’s talk of the rotation, Diallo, Brannen Greene’s threes, ugly sweaters, mini Andrew Wiggins, Hotline Bling, and more. Andrew also does a deep dive, Kevin talks about Selfisms at the Sprint Center, and there’s a little Big 12 talk too. Last but not least, the guys give you several gift ideas for that Jayhawk on your Christmas list.

Find the podcast on iTunes HERE. (give us a review!)

Find the podcast on Podbean HERE. (non-Apple mobile devices)

ROCK CHALK!

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Episode 80 – Diallo is back and all is merry

Posted on: December 7th, 2015 by jayhawktalk No Comments

The guys get back together after a brief hiatus to talk a little Diallo, Mailman dunks, Racks on Racks, Brannen’s outbursts, Maui, Homeland, and more. There’s  also talk of the rotation, three pointers, KenPom and Wikipedia rabbit holes. We might have done a little dance party about Diallo being cleared, too. And…there is also a brief little talk about football. It had to be done.

Find the podcast on iTunes HERE (please take a minute to rate, review and subscribe).

Find the podcast on Podbean HERE (non-Apple mobile devices).

ROCK CHALK.

Episode 79 – KU Basketball Preview Heyyyyy

Posted on: November 10th, 2015 by jayhawktalk No Comments

Hooray KU basketball is here, you guys!

Kevin and Andrew get together to talk about the upcoming season with their annual KU Basketball Preview show, complete with talk about the roster, the schedule, the rotation, and a bunch of nonsense like what you would give up to have Diallo cleared. We also talk Over/Unders, a revamp of the @FakeJoeDooley drinking game for 2015, and do a flash Big 12 preview.

The guys also answer the question on everyone’s mind: What will be the song to replace “Bitch I’m Frank Mason” in 2015-16?

Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy a little Jayhawk Talk Podcast.

Find the Podcast on iTunes HERE (please do us a huge favor and subscribe, leave a comment and rating!)

Find the Podcast on Podbean HERE (non-Apple mobile devices).

ROCK CHALK!

Episode 78 – SDST Uh Oh Plus K-State Star Trek Funzies

Posted on: September 8th, 2015 by jayhawktalk No Comments

The guys are back to talk about South Dakota State, K-State’s Star Trek-Jayhawk fiasco, and Memphis. They break down the game from Saturday and provide their perceptions of what the loss means for the state of the program. They also discuss how K-State needs to learn how to own their jokes and spend far too long breaking down the particulars of the K-State formation. Last, they preview the Memphis game and talk a little bit about the Big 12.

Come on in, have a beer, and enjoy a little Jayhawk Talk Podcast.

Find the podcast on iTunes HERE (please subscribe, rate, and comment).

Find the podcast on Podbean HERE (non-Apple mobile devices).

ROCK CHALK!

Jayhawk Talk Podcast – Season 4 Ep. 1 – Football!

Posted on: September 3rd, 2015 by jayhawktalk No Comments

Hey everybody! We’re back! Yes, it’s been several months. We’re a couple of a-holes for telling you we’d be podcasting throughout the summer. But we hope you can forgive us because we are now back with our regularly scheduled podcast. In this 4th season opener, we do our KU football preview, catch you up on some important news, get you ready for South Dakota State, and play a few rounds of everyone’s favorite game — KU football player or Disney Character?

Find the podcast on iTunes HERE (please take a minute to subscribe, leave us a rating and a comment!)

Find the podcast on Podbean HERE (non-Apple mobile devices).

As always, thank you for listening and ROCK CHALK!

Photo Credit (AP Photo/Ed Zurga, CollegeBasketballTalk)

Episode 76 – Season Recap, Recruiting, NBA Draft, Look to Next Year

Posted on: April 15th, 2015 by jayhawktalk No Comments

Sorry for the hiatus, but you can understand that we just didn’t feel like talking about KU basketball for a brief time while we were in recovery from the NCAA tournament. We have had time to recover. And we have had time to reflect. And now we are bringing you guys a new podcast talking season recap, awards, recruiting, NBA draft, World University Games, and a look toward the 2015-16 season. We also talk Game of Thrones, Perry’s swag camp, and well, Kesha lyrics.

Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy a little Jayhawk Talk Podcast.

Find the Podcast on iTunes HERE (please take a minute to rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes!)

Find the Podcast on Podbean HERE (non-Apple mobile devices)

ROCK CHALK!

 

Perry Ellis and the NBA and Kesha

Posted on: April 10th, 2015 by jayhawktalk No Comments

A coach once told me, “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.” It makes sense, I suppose. Rarely does one’s basketball value simply stay at a perfect constant and, well, “practice makes perfect,” or whatever. But in economics, we learn about the principle of diminishing returns — adding more of one factor of production, while holding all others constant, will at some point yield lower returns. Age, for instance, creates such a diminishing return in basketball. Otherwise, MJ and Kobe would play until their deaths. Last, Kesha famously told us, “We R Who We R” [sic]. It’s close to Exodus 3:14 (I am who I am), but more fresh because it’s Kesha.

What does the coach, professor, and Kesha have to do with Perry Ellis’ value as a professional basketball prospect, you ask?

They all tell us he needs to declare for the NBA draft right now. Following his junior year.  And if I were him, I’d do it too.

Let’s take a look at the current state of the NBA draft.

There’s an adage that the NBA only drafts on “potential” these days. Crusty old KU fans in their bath robes reading the daily newspaper about Kelly Oubre going pro after his freshman season — when he only averaged 9 PPG — just doesn’t add up. Alas, he’s still a projected lottery pick. And it comes down to potential, right?

A look at how NBA teams approach a draft should include a review of risk tolerance. After all, teams generally get one shot (per round) at adding a new piece to the team. With the rookie wage scale in effect (contracts are more or less predetermined by draft slot), teams with a higher risk tolerance should take the “riskier” player because the contract will not impact the team’s bottom line. The contracts are short and team options do not need to be picked up if the pick doesn’t work out.

In other words, there’s little to no risk involved in taking a “risky” player, especially in the last half of the draft.

[I should stop and note that obviously GMs have lost their jobs over bad drafts. There's certainly risk associated with choosing the wrong guy in the first 10 picks. But for our purposes, we're not looking at the top 10 picks. Even the top 20 picks. We're looking at the bottom of the first round and into the second round (where contracts are not guaranteed at all)].

But what defines a risky player over a safe one? Is it age, intangibles, off-the-court issues, or measurables? It can be all of those things, but risk, at least to me, involves exposing yourself to the unknown. If you watch a player for three years in college do largely the same things, you have a pretty good idea of that player’s risk (and upside). On the other hand, if you watch a player for one year in college struggle at times, but show glimpses of all-world talent, that risk (and upside) is higher and more attractive for a later pick.

The unknown is intriguing. And it’s tempting. The known is boring.

Sure, some teams have lower risk tolerance, but they are rare. Teams that are already “built” may be looking for a program-type guy, a solid if unspectacular bench player, a reliable option that won’t rock the boat. Those teams are not very common, though. So we can expect that most teams are looking for upside, especially throughout the last half of the draft. The unknown is intriguing, after all.

Let’s bring this back to Perry Ellis.

Coach tells us if you’re not getting better you’re getting worse. I personally believe most scouts think Perry’s value to the NBA is already known. If he leaves now, he’ll likely be a second round pick. If he returns and plays at an all Big-12 level again (which is more or less a guarantee), he’ll still likely be a second round pick next year. As a result, his value is probably not getting better.

Kesha would say that he is who he is.

If Perry’s NBA draft value is not getting better, does that mean it’s getting worse? Maybe not in terms of draft slot – but in time value of money, one additional year as a professional, and one more year of learning and harnessing his craft in a way that will give him a lasting role in the pro ball and not as a college power forward? Yes. It will be getting worse.

As a result, Perry has hit a point of diminishing returns when it comes to his professional basketball value. Putting in more time and energy in college basketball will likely return less in the long run. Declaring for the NBA draft makes sense, even if it doesn’t work out in the NBA and he ends up playing professionally overseas for the next decade.

Just looking at the past two drafts, in 2013, 3 seniors were taken in the 1st round and 15 in the 2nd round. In 2014, 5 seniors were selected in the 1st round, and 12 in the second round. Even though it’s probably not fair, unless a senior is a late bloomer, he is most likely to be taken in the 2nd round. There are obviously tons of reasons for this, but one is certainly that the player’s value (and upside) is mostly known.

Perry may want a degree. He may want to chase a 4th Big 12 title ring and he may want to make a run in the NCAA tournament. He may want to go down as one of KU’s all time leading scorers. Hell, maybe he just loves college and doesn’t want to be a grownup yet. If any of those things are true, he’ll be back and it will make sense because that’s his personal motivation.

But if his motivation is a career in professional basketball, as a vast majority of high major basketball players generally is, he’ll be wise to look at the NBA draft this year and forgo his senior year at Kansas. After all, the clock has already started on his professional basketball career.

TiK ToK, if you will.

 

Photo Credit: CJOnline, Huffington Post

Episode 75 – NCAA Tournament Preview

Posted on: March 16th, 2015 by jayhawktalk No Comments

The NCAA Tournament is finally here. The guys get together to react to the Committee’s placement of KU as the #2 seed in the Midwest Region and the insane path that KU will have to take to get to that matchup with Kentucky in the Elite 8. There’s also a short recap of the Big 12 Tourney, a chat with New Mexico State reporter, Mark Rudi, and a look at KU’s pod — including that potential matchup with the Shockers.

Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy a little Jayhawk Talk Podcast — Tourney edition!

Find the Podcast on iTunes HERE (please rate, review, and subscribe!)

Find the Podcast on Podbean HERE (non-Apple mobile devices)

ROCK CHALK.