The fellas are back to talk a little KSU/Sandstorm, recap the biggest stories from the past week, Poke-A-Doke theories and fixes, Big 12 and power ranks and a ton more. They also hit up some previews, talk about whether KU has it “wrapped up” in the Big 12, and finish up with some HEY BEEL!
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Rock Chalk.
After a huge week of hoops, the guys get together to talk Big 12 Champ10nships, Texas, OU, and the potential for a #1 seed in the tourney. They are also joined by KC Star’s Rustin Dodd to help them go go power rank the 10 Bill Self Big 12 Championship winning teams. Come on in, grab a beer, and enjoy a little Jayhawk Talk Podcast!
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Thanks and ROCK CHALK!
Photo Credit: Kansan
Quick, name the best NBA player that played for the University of Kansas under Bill Self.
Did you land on Mario Chalmers? I think I did too.
Self doesn’t lack many accomplishments over the last ten years. Top 10 recruiting classes, Final 4s, National Championship, average of 30 win seasons, tons of guys drafted into the league. But for all these accomplishments, he lacks one big one.
No real stars in the NBA.
Perhaps you’ll say this doesn’t matter that much. He is a college coach, after all. His job isn’t to develop NBA All-Stars. His job is to win college basketball games.
He may be the best in the business at the latter, but has unfortunately gained the reputation as a failure in the former.
It was this reputation that some insiders cited as the reason Self had been missing on many top blue chip recruits the last couple years. It wasn’t that the recruits themselves were worried about not getting drafted. Most kids think they’re good enough to get drafted either way.
It was other coaches, insiders, runners, and inner circles that were using it against Self in recruiting.
And their message had some legitimacy based in recent history.
Consider for a moment that you are a top 10 recruit. Your dream since you were a kid was to be an NBA star. All the big named coaches are courting you to spend your one and only year of college at their school. Calipari points out the many all-stars he has sent to the league. Coach K does the same. Roy Williams and Rick Barnes and Billy Donovan and Jim Boeheim show you more examples. They start comparing you to those guys and give you anecdotes about when they were in school.
“You remind me of Rajon Rondo.” “Your game looks just like “Kyrie Irving.”
Then you come to Kansas for a visit. And while you recognize and love the coach, the fans, the history, the Fieldhouse, the exposure, the town, and the team, you keep hearing voices of those other coaches in your head: “Look at Josh Selby. Look at Xavier Henry. Look at all the NBA players that came from KU. Self may get you to the league, but you will not be a star.”
“I’ll make you a star.”
As a fan, you might be thinking something like “who cares, we don’t want that kind of kid anyway.”
I beg to differ.
It’s easy to say you don’t want those kids when you don’t get them. Then you see the impact, albeit briefly, they have on a program for one year. Does Syracuse beat KU without one-and-done Carmelo Anthony? Does Memphis nearly beat KU without one-and-done Derrick Rose? What about Anthony Davis?
Let’s face it. Recruiting top guys takes your team from good to great. And the 2013-14 Jayhawks are a prime example. The addition of Andrew Wiggins changed everything for Bill Self. It changed the expectations from Sweet 16 to National Championship. It changed the starting lineup from Andrew White to Andrew Wiggins. In one afternoon, Kansas and Bill Self were the talk of college basketball.
But it’s even more than that for Self.
Unless every NBA scout, analyst, and front office person is wrong about Wiggins’ future, his commitment to Kansas will officially wipe away the narrative that Self can’t turn top 10 recruits into NBA All-Stars.
Because Andrew will be an All-Star. And he will have gone to Kansas.
It all changed in one afternoon.
It’s hard not to be excited this time of year. This is especially true given the unknowns surrounding this team (read: 9 freshmen). You can put 5 stars next to a recruit’s name and say he is the next big thing, but until you see it, it is wise to temper expectations.
This is why all eyes in Jayhawk nation were squarely planted on the freshmen in the Exhibition opener on Tuesday night. And, for the most part, they did not disappoint. In particular, one player stood out:
16 minutes. 15 points. 5-5 from the field. 5-7 from the line. 7 boards. 2 assists. 0 turnovers.
It should be stated that it is wise not to get super excited about a guy after one exhibition game. Perry Ellis was dominating ESU’s players just like he was back at Wichita Heights playing against far less superior talent. He’s used to that. It’s always been that way.
But come Big 12 play, that’s gonna change.
I think that’s why you could hear Self yelling at him during the game to be aggressive. And why he didn’t completely sing his praises in post game, even after what appeared to be a phenomenal box score. He knows what kind of defender awaits Perry. He wants him to get used to playing his butt off now against boys so it isn’t foreign to him when he plays against men.
Self stated in his post game comments that “if [Perry] can become aggressive as far as mindset, he could be a really good player really early in his career.”
I think this is going to be a common trend throughout Perry’s time here. He doesn’t need the Xs and Os as much as the other guys. He’s as polished a big man (for a freshman) as we have had at KU in a long time. His deficiency will be making sure he plays to his ceiling game in and game out.
And Self’s going to keep yelling at him until he gets there.
This is why you come to Kansas, especially if you’re a big man. Self will push you to your potential, design a game plan to make you successful, use strength and conditioning (Hudy) to make you a man, and eventually build you back up to be supremely confident in your game. You take care of you and he’ll get you where you want to go.
Perry will be an NBA player some day based solely on his talent. Whether he’s truly a special player, though?
That will be up to him.
Can’t wait to watch his progress as a Jayhawk.
