That was pathetic

Jalen & The Strangers.

One man bands don't win conference or NCAA titles.

At this rate they will be lucky to not be the 4th Bill Self KU team not to record at least 25 wins in the season.

Great perspective, AZhawk. This is precisely where I'm at, emotionally and expectation-wise, with this team.

We can't have elite seasons every year. (Sad but true) I think this holds especially true this season, coming on the heels of last year’s glory, and then losing all those scorers and solid players in the aftermath.

As I told HawkE offline Saturday after the Clone shellacking, I'm going to relish last year's ride to get me through this year’s turbulence and shortcomings. As you said, we could get drummed out in the 2nd round of the Dance, or maybe (if the chips really fell our way and we peaked at the right time) advance a little deep - but not to the NC.

I just hope we retain our best (highest-ceiling) players in the coming offseason. Namely, Gradey (draft), along with MJ, Ejiofor, Udeh, and Clemence (portal transfer threats). I feel good about Udeh and Ejiofor (not transferring out). Gradey (draft) and the other two are anyone’s guess.

PS: One very specific closing thought centers on Dajuan. Last year, when we had all that scoring and a dynamic outside-in offense, his style of play as a steady distributor on offense (and good defender) worked out great. But this year? Man oh man do we need a scoring point guard, a la Frank or Graham. I miss the latter kind of guard running the show - and that's typically where the college game has evolved to. If Harris had great, consistent scorers complementing him, he'd be fine, but without that, he's not great. And honestly, one thing that has begun to really bug me is how he often walks or slowly jogs the ball up the floor (rather than keeping things in a fast gear and putting the foe on their heels with aggression). Anyway, just some specific thoughts on him, as it relates to our current personnel grouping and tendencies.

While I can agree with most of what you wrote, replay, I would note that things came together late last year in large part because of one thing that is not present this year...


Remy's return to health and play made the difference late last year, especially in regional play where he was the Midwest Regional Most Outstanding Player. And his play in the FF was key as well, although those two games were Big Dave's turn, after playing hurt all year and finally getting back into a semblance of healthy condition, to shine. But even with Dave's heroics (he WAS the FF MOP!) this late play by Remy, never giving up on defense and getting the huge block on Love after being beat off the dribble, arguably was the game saver in the NC game.


Who will be this season's Remy and Dave, improving week to week to finally shine when it counted most?

This year, after the last couple of games we are seeing signs that the bench guys are finally finding their footing. Hopefully Joe Yesefu can contribute the rest of the way as he did tonight, showing a return to his 2021 NCAA tournament form. Hopefully freshmen Ernest Udeh, Jr and MJ Rice continue to improve as the season progresses, they were key tonight!

This group this year, when "ON", has shown they can beat anyone. And looking at tonight's game, I am feeling much, much better regarding our Jayhawk's prospects as we see signs of Joe Yes, Udeh and MJ rounding into late season winning form. Self being forced to play them more due to injuries may just be the best thing that could happen for our team to have any real chance at repeating as Big 12 and NCAA champions.