Let's not forget ladies and gentlehawks . . . .

No question that these guys were prepared and amped to land on the court in Norman and take the attack to the Sooners.

We castigate him when the guys seem mentally out of it, when he rides horses we just don't see the value of and when he makes other moves that leave us wondering "huh?"

Only fair to recognize that this was a well coached and ready team that is returning to Lawrence with a major Win on the road.

Congrats, Coach!

He has been at the absolute top of his game ever since the tip at TCU.

I would LOVE to have been a mole or fly on the wall during the 3 days following the very odd, lethargic-looking win over K-State leading up to the game in Fort Worth. Because I'm here to tell you, our season turned behind the scenes during that 3-day period. I cannot prove this with anything concrete, but I'm willing to bet my house that this is when the season script flipped (for the good) and KU began to discover its higher upside and true identity.

Self lit a fire under both Lucas and Traylor during that period (Traylor responding first, at Fort Worth, and Lucas responding ever since). He smoothed out his subbing pattern, making really smart, deft calls in that department. He sucked up some pride on Greene (after Dunkgate) and put the kid back in, knowing that we needed his shooting help (even as he served as a liability on the other end of the floor). He called on Perry to believe in himself, be more aggressive, and push his game. Beyond that, he has been animated, engaged, and coaching his crimson and blue buns off ever since that game. He appears to be pushing all the right buttons, he has the bench warmers up and cheering for those on the floor, and he has KU playing as a true TEAM--a team that I now believe has deep tournament run potential.

Assuming, of course, all things stay equal. (The necessary caveat, since injuries can happen, dumb off-court things can happen, etc. etc.)

Bottom line: THIS is the Coach Self we've grown to know and love. Keep it up, Sir!

Rock Chalk...