Self named National Coach of the Year by peers

I was just beginning to make peace with another post season meltdown. But, this gets me going again. Why do "we" win everything BUT a national championship?

So it's a post season meltdown because of the 1 in front of Kansas during the tourney? It doesn't matter that they made it to the final of their bracket? It doesn't matter than Nova lost one more game all year than KU did and spent several weeks at #1 in the nation? It doesn't matter that everyone knows Nova was the toughest #2 seed in any bracket and really probably should have been a #1 seed?

Somehow if we make it to the Final Four...just one more game we would have been successful?

Whatever. Congratulations to coach Self on getting a team to come together and make a heck of a run. I'm happy with KU basketball. I'm not going to focus on National Championships...No matter what a team does it's NEVER good enough. Fans and media will find something to cry about.

Good for you. However, I am focusing on Final Fours and National Championships. When KU is the #1 seed overall, achieving less is unacceptable.

This year, making it to the FF would have been great, but I still would have expected a NC.

Replay, I absolutely know you did not direct your post at anyone in particular. However, I feel compelled to set the record straight for at the very least me, but also for what I perceive represents others as well. Do I think we unerachieved in the tourney? You betcha I do. Am I disappointed? You betcha I am. So does that necessarily mean I am disappointed in the entire season? Not in any way shape or form. I loved this season and I am thrilled at the many great accomplishments. It was a helluva run with some outstanding accomplishments. In fact I have listed them seriatim in other posts. So your conflation that dissatisfaction with the post season means dissatisfaction with the entire season is a complete non-sequitor. I am completely fine with people who are not upset with the loss to Villanova. In fact, I wish I could have such applomb. But I don't. I want to win each and every game. I don't ever ever ever want to lose, ever! And Getting to the tourney as a no 1 overall seed is good enough for the regular season. In fact it couldn't be better. But when we got the No. 1 seed I am not one that can say "okay, whatever happens from here on out is just icing on the cake". For me every game is the entire freaking cake. I want my cake and icing too each and every game. And when we lose I don't hate KU or I don't hate Self or any of the players any more than before the game started. Once again, I wish I could whistle my way to happiness after a loss and I sort of envy those like you who do. That would certainly be better for my blood pressure. When we lose I cope by examining the crap out of it and pontificating and calculating and statifying. It is just my thing. And it is Konza's thing to write amazing tomes in brilliant streams of consciousness. And it is Senex's thing to torture himself by rewatching the game to break it down like no one else. And it is HawkErrant's thing to strap on his zebra shirt after losses and referee all the differing opinions on the board (and he does a mighty fine job, may I add) I get that it is your thing to settle your mind and look for satisfaction in the great accomplishments and not dwell on the losses. That may actually be better than my coping mechanism. But cut me and others who cope in our own way the lattitude to do so without ascribing thoughts and feelings we do not have. Lord knows between the RCC and the RCB I spend countless hours and mucho mula to indulge this passion and believe me, I milk the joy to the last drop. Between the 90 minute Josh, David, Bob and Greg pregame radio show, the game itself, the 60 minute postgame radio show and the roughly 2-3 hours charting plays, the +/- data, downloading the box score, doing the NEP analysis, doing the DPPI and sending out my RCC email and analysis a Jayhawk game usually ends up being an 8-10 hour joy ride for me. I will never say I derive more joy from KU hoops than any other KU fan because we all do in our own way. But please understand that my hyper analysis of the losses and the tourney losses in particular does not mean I don't milk every last drop of enjoyment out of the amazing things that Self and this program accomplish. While it may be different than how others process their fandon, I can at the same time be filled with great elation at the amazing consistent and second to none success yet be concerned and unhappy about the mediocrity that is our post-season record. I just want to make sure to set the record straight on this.

Man Corpus that was an awesome post! I get it. I really do. It's funny to hear some of what you say because if you were at my house you would have seen a totally different side of me. The side that drops F bombs and yells and screams. I too go back and analyze things. I even look at the play by play and wonder what went wrong at what point. I do this for months. I have games recorded from years past on a Plex server so I can stream them on my phone and tablet at anytime. I can go back and watch the Sr. night of 08, the championship run of 08, the Big 12 championship of '08. I've got every game recorded this year. I extract them and keep them. I have the 88 championship game. In fact my two sons middle names are Collison and Ellis. I love the heck out of the Hawks. I was so dang disappointed with the Villanova loss. Especially because I truly believe we are a better team. I believe we are the best team in the tourney. Although UNC does look good.

But I get your passion and the passion of all the fans on this board. I get that you have a different way of coping with a loss and I should respect that. I should respect how everyone copes with a loss. I guess I get a little too sensitive about things. I do believe we should have won the Nova game. But we didn't and so I just try to adjust to that somehow. I wake up the day after the game hoping it was a bad dream but it's not.

But thanks for this reply. I gives me a perspective on you that I didn't have prior. Much appreciated. And keep the stats coming. I look at them all the time. It's funny. I used to keep a stats sheet of my own for every statistic of the players because I didn't think ESPN or CBS updated the overall player stats fast enough after a game...Rock Chalk for life!

Total alignment here my friend. Your post is an example of why this forum is the only place for me. Thanks and I too love your passion.

Konza, I wasn't bashing anyone. I wouldn't do that. What I'm trying to say is this....

World Games = Champs
Big 12 Regular Season = Champs
Big 12 Championship = Champs
NCAA = Not Champs

Those don't equate to a bad season or a failure to me at all. I think that is how I take the posts of some. Maybe that's not at all what they mean and I'm just inflecting things into their messages. That's just how it comes across. We lost to a great Villanova team that because we had a #1 in front of us, because we considered the overall #1 it was a bad loss, a failure. If we had been a #2 and Nova had the #1 seed would that have somehow changed things for anyone? If Self had not set any kind of expectations would that have been better? If we had played a masterful game and still lost by 1 or 2 points which was possible the way Nova had been playing all tourney would that have been any different? When we lost by 18 to OSU I didn't think we were going to do all that well this season. I told myself I'd be happy at that point to just make it to the Sweet 16. In fact this board was blowing up with rumors that Self was done and going to the NBA and all kinds of madness. That the team was imploding and no one knew what was going on. Then the ship got turned around and we rattled off win after win. So once again the expectations were there to win it all.

I really understand that we are all trying to figure this out and a loss hurts no matter what. I get that. I didn't watch the Nova game and say "Hmm well maybe next year." No I was upset. Big time. In fact I was really actually sick at my stomach. I don't even know why I get so invested in this team but I do. So I get what everyone is going through. I'm sorry if I come across as one who doesn't care about others opinions. That's not me at all.

Thanks Konza. I agree with you that this could have and really should have been a special season. I do understand what you are saying completely too. We have had so many close calls that it get's so dang frustrating.

So on a side note. Here is something for you since you mentioned the '53 season.

Marvin Deckert is on that team. That's my wife's uncle. He said Dean Smith was an a-hole. HAHA. It's something fun for you to get you mind off of Nova. It's awesome to talk to him and hear all his stories.

Here's another funny thing. I was just at a leadership conference in Orlando two weeks ago. Some guy was trying to get me to take online courses at the University he worked for. He said "It's a great program from a great University." I just found his card in my back pack as I was looking for something else. He worked for Villanova! I tore the card up!

Rock chalk...we'll get em next year.