That was tournament-caliber basketball tonight

After the dominating TCU road win, the mood of the board (to include that of this fan) was still see-sawing between glass-half-full hope and glass-half-empty pessimism. It was in that context that I made this observation:

I will say this, however. I saw something in the TCU game. Something that might be a bit intangible and/or lodged in my hoops-filter subconscious, but it was something. I saw Coach Self coaching his $%& off from the opening whistle. He was super engaged, he was standing on the sideline far more than usual, he was patting kids on the butt, he was screaming (as usual), but in a way that underscored his passion and desire to win. His pride in KU and pride in self was very much on display. So any notion that Self is checking out, less caring than in the past, etc., doesn't seem to pass the eye test for this fan.

The other thing I saw (in the first half) was great body language and energy by all members of the team, and from those on the bench. Selden was dragging from the flu, but other than that, they were flying up and down the court, moving the ball crisply to one another, picking each other up when one fell on the ground, and showing emotion on made shots and big plays. This stressed to me that there is a beating heart inside of this enigma of a team. It might be feint at times, and it shows too-frequent signs of arrhythmia. But it's there.

What I saw in the TCU game, it would appear now, was a glimpse of the emergence of a KANSAS basketball TEAM. Too often this year, it's been a fitful, up/down display in which maybe one or two guys would have nice games but others wouldn't--where we often failed to hit on multiple cylinders. Where we often were out of sync, not moving the ball well, relying on "ISO" plays by individuals to bail out a possession. Where our defense was absolutely woeful by traditional KU/Self standards. And where we couldn't get into any sort of flow with a given rotation.

I felt that the first half of the TCU game was one of the prettiest team efforts I've seen all year. And I was hopeful that it might be a harbinger of things possibly (???) beginning to turn a corner and fall in place. Admittedly, part of that was just a hope that the "extrapolation" factor would kick in: that is, this team would step it up just as the 11 others before it had done when the chips were down. To frame a variation on Chris Berman's theme, "Nobody circles the wagons like the Kansas Jayhawks." (When the chips are down and it's crunch time in a conference race)

Tonight leaves me very heartened that this team is most definitely on the cusp of coming together. I say "on the cusp" because we have to see it play out over several games, not just a couple. But what we saw tonight was KU basketball at its finest. No, it wasn't a perfect game. But it was special. It would've been all the more so if the officials hadn't seen fit to cave in to Huggins' whining and work very hard to call the fouls evenly (in numbers) yet in gross disparity in terms of what truly constituted a foul. (KU was jobbed on numerous occasions in the first half, in particular--both bad calls and non-calls on WVU) But we overcame that. And we overcame the tenacious, clawing, annoying thug ball of Huggins' boys. We took their punches and punched them right back with greater force. We played like MEN. We stepped up, we fought, and we out-toughed them. I can guarantee you that Self is BEAMING at this moment about that aspect.

But here's the thing. We didn't just out-tough them. We played as a poised group and executed smoothly as a team. We moved the ball around perhaps the best we have all year. Guys were active at all times, cutting, screening, moving, and following their shots. On defense, despite Devonte's continued problem not holding his D all the way through a possession and too often allowing his man to get an angle, blast by him, and force our bigs to play help, overall I thought this was one of our better defensive nights--both individually and as a team.

Just look at these stats where KU came away the victor:

* Game FG%: KU 56, WVU 37 (Win-win on both ends of the court)

* Total rebounds: KU 33, WVU 28 (Nice! And Landon with almost half of our team total!)

* WVU 14 offensive rebounds, KU 27 (!!!) defensive rebounds (So much for WVU's stout edge there coming in)

* Blocks: KU 8, WVU 2

* 3-pt. FG%: KU 41%, WVU 25%

* FT%: KU 81%, WVU 73%

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Gaze at those numbers and let them soak in a bit, folks. And keep in mind that this was the top-ranked team in the Big 12 coming in (a game ahead of both OU and KU). The #10 ranked team in the land, and a very confident, capable squad. The tourney equivalent of a 3-seed (at worst) and 2-seed (at best).

This was tournament-caliber basketball tonight. This team is showing some signs of getting its act together. We need to see that become a baked-in trend, of course, but the signs are there. One need only point to how first Traylor (TCU) and then Lucas (tonight) stepped up and played BIG complementary roles in wins. Not just "do no harm" roles, BIG complementary roles. Ellis has become aggressive and is developing an emotional nasty streak (witness the thunder dunks). The team has rediscovered the lost art of pretty, energy-boosting ally oops (with around 10 of them since I published that lamenting post prior to the KSU game). Our guards beat the WVU press like a drum tonight. Brannen is getting useful minutes, knocking down shots and acting like he actually wants to play D. Svi has gotten useful, productive minutes in our recent run. Bragg and Diallo aren't getting many, but are smiling, clapping, keeping positive, waiting their turns, and saying all the right things about helping in any way they can. And last but not least, the guys are smiling out there. They're picking each other up off the floor. They're flailing their arms and shouting to the heavens after big plays.

There is a beating heart to this team. It appears to be growing stronger and more audible by the day. Here's to hoping it's not some temporary blip; rather, it's here to stay and is going to ensure a very fun, raucous ride the rest of the way for those who choose to believe.

Rock Chalk...

That was a very impressive win last night against a pretty solid team.

It was an absolute must-win game for KU if the Hawks were to have any hope of competing for another conference title. And with this particular team hoping to avoid being "the one" that breaks the successive championship streak, all the pressure was on them. WVU came in playing with house money. Not only that, but the Mountaineers arrived in Lawrence having won four of five Big 12 road games--essentially stealing a page from many past KU teams in its recipe for league success (hold serve at home, win some big games away).

We can dismiss WVU as a team that is very beatable if the opposing team does X, Y, and Z, but the fact of the matter is that only four teams had figured out how to do that all year. They came in as the top-ranked team in the Big 12, the #10 ranked team nationally, and (again) a tourney-team equivalent of a 3-seed (at worst) and 2-seed (at best). They took OU to the wire in a 2-point loss at Norman. They garnered a big win at Iowa State, while we got our rears handed to us there. And they took down a pesky K-State team in double-OT in Manhattan--something that the much more acclaimed OU team could not do.

But beyond the caliber of opponent, what I liked was how we came together as an integrated unit. (Per my long post last night) I felt it was arguably our best team game of the year. Definitely better than the OU game, where Selden just went off individually and helped carry us to the win. We were hitting on all cylinders, the guys were playing loose and relaxed, and they were having fun together. In that sense, to Minerscoach's point, I do think this was a "fist" game over individual fingers, and that bodes well going forward.

The caveats I put forth last night are still germane, of course. We need to see this become a baked-in trend (over several games), not just something over a couple games. But I sensed in the TCU game, and found it validated last night, that things are changing in Jayhawk-land. And changing for the better. I hope I'm very much right on this, after feeling rather down in the dumps during our mid-season swoon.

Rock Chalk...