I guess we were due for another run-in with the law.....

I'd "Thank you" for the info, but oi vey!
This stuff is killing me.

Guys --
THINK.
Please.

Thank you.

TCU crushed OU yesterday, so now KU will face a confident, determined foe without the benefit of our second-best player. TCU did a pretty good job hanging around in both regular-season games until KU finally pulled away. They were actually outplaying us in the second game in Lawrence until we finally decided to flip a switch. That was with Josh in the lineup. Dixon is a good coach, and obviously wants to beat us. His message to his team today will be "We have nothing to lose, and we're playing with house money. Be loose and let it rip."

Will it be enough to propel them to a major upset over the current-prohibitive top overall 1 seed? Let's hope not. But we can say two things with clarity in advance:

1) Josh's dumb decision at the time (and his thinking in the moment only of himself, not the team or program) has consequences. It means that the guy we're going to need to be fresh and at his best starting next week -- Frank Mason -- is now going to have to play probably 35 minutes (or more) in what will now likely be a tight game that might have otherwise been a less-tight game. He could've potentially gotten a little pine time, or at least might not have had to expend massive amounts of energy trying to will us to a win.

2) While the parking lot offense was pretty minor in nature (if it were the only offense or if viewed in isolation), it still speaks to character or at least judgment issues. And, in the midst of what is now national media attention on the cumulative KU crime blotter (thanks in part to the steady drumbeat of the KC Star), it just underscores the extremist impression (which the Star is doing its able best to make mainstream) that Self has little control over the team or program. Even if that impression doesn't succeed in taking hold, which would be horrible for the program, Josh's action -- coming on the heels of all the others -- conveys the impression that whatever remedial measures and messaging that Self has executed behind closed doors have not gotten through sufficiently to Josh (if not others). It also implies a sense of self-entitlement: i.e., that Josh (in this case) thinks the law doesn't apply to him because he's a known figure on a prominent KU basketball team. (Same thing with Devonte blowing off his expired tags court appearance, etc.)

We, as proud KU alum and fans, are now going to have to watch the tournament knowing that there will be stories run on national TV (and comments made during game coverage) about all the legal troubles the team has been in--and still may be in, if the McCarthy Hall issue winds up still coming back to bite.

Bottom line: This off-court crap stinks. It distracts from a truly exceptional season, and what should be a time of immense celebration: Frank potentially running away with most key NPOY awards (joining the great Sir Danny as the only Hawk to ever do so), Landen and Frank enjoying such a great senior year, KU making history with #13, and Self being on the cusp of HOF induction.

Josh and the other kids who have been in the spotlight (in a bad way) need to buck up and get a John Deere tractor to pull their heads out of...(you know where). FOCUS!!!!