Thoughts about an upside scenario...

We're all amateur rockchalkologists (formerly employed as kremlinologists) who are reading every article, parsing every pronouncement from Coach Self, and sniffing out ever clue we can find to make sense of this year's Hawks. To better divine just where this team is headed, and what their prospects for success going forward are.

It's been an odd year. To my mind, one of the oddest in memory, just in terms of how a team can look so good in one game (OU) and then fall off a complete cliff in another (OSU). Those were literally polar opposite performances, and when you throw in Coach's season-long angst and fitful shifting of the lineup with our bigs (not named Perry), it's made for a high-drama run so far. I would thrown in the fact that the KU fan base (yes, myself included) is clearly tiring of impressive regular season titles and postseason flameouts, and that has come through like a cascading avalanche all over the internet as we've hit some struggles.

Add all of that up and you have a really weird year.

And yet...

Today, as of now, KU is 16-3 and tied for first (albeit in a logjam) in the Big 12.

I don't have time to flesh out a full scenario, but what if...just what if...the OSU game was our lowest ebb of the season, and an oddly necessary nadir before we bounced back to begin our ascent as one of the best teams in the land? What if the "gang of four" meeting with Self was the critical nudge that Coach, the staff, and our veterans needed to right the ship, get their heads on straight, and regain perspective that they have the capacity to be a great team this year? What if the decision to go with Lucas/Traylor with an inordinate amount of the minutes against UT was just what Self and company said it was--a move to win one game. A must-win game. Versus Texas at home, in the midst of a tailspin. What if it was meant to simply stop the bleeding, with Self and the staff hereafter doing whatever is necessary to continue the win train (including going with whatever body, and matchup, best suits the particular occasion)?

RE the bigs, I happen to believe that Self wanted Lucas and Traylor to do one thing against Texas: perform your role. In other words, just do your job. Which in this case meant: Rebound. Defend. Be where you need to be on offense. Set screens. Rebound. Do no harm.

Beyond that, perhaps we begin to see some extra "gravy" from the young guys (Bragg, Diallo) going forward, when they're in the game. (I can't surmise anything on Hunter, despite the positive tone of this post, because I just don't have a clue what is going on there. See my "Churchill" post from a couple days ago.)

Bottom line: it would be truly bizarre for a team that was among the nation's best (albeit in what I truly believe is a pretty down year--no great teams whatsoever) to suddenly become completely mediocre. The only way that could (can) happen is if there is something going on inside the team that is cancerous or implosion-enabling. Watching the first few minutes of the UT game, I began to believe that is precisely what is happening. But then seeing us come to life, muster up some fire, and pull that one out (albeit, IMO, with immense help from the home crowd and some helpful calls by the refs) gave me some hope.

Let's see how the boys do tonight. If they can pull this one out, the future will look far brighter than it has the past several days.

Rock Chalk!

Riverhawk--it's great to see you on the new board. You've definitely been missed.

I hear you (en toto) on your points and concerns. That's why my post didn't constitute my "take" on KU, but was rather an attempt at projecting one upside scenario. As you know, the future is unknowable and there are many paths our season can take. That was meant to provide some hope going forward, even though with every sentence I wrote I found myself suppressing the urge to write "But..." or "However..." (That is, to caveat the heck out of it or careen toward the more skeptical view)

The lack of development of our 5 by the staff is by far the most disconcerting aspect of the season. If Coach simply digs in his heels and bases the future of our season on the UT game (i.e., giving up on anyone coming along to replace or augment Lucas and Traylor), I think we all can see where that path will wind up--whether we eke out another Big 12 crown or not. Groundhog Day, anyone?

konza63 wrote: Groundhog Day, anyone?

Phil Connors learned a little bit more with each iteration. Is Self?