Big fan of Shak, wish he could stay for another year. Seems like a bulldog and a great leader with good energy, thoughtful guy that's clearly bought in. Would be an even bigger difference maker if he hadn't been hampered with the injury. Awesome to see AJ have a great game on both ends and cite his defensive effort in the post-game, too. These two, along with Rylo, will be key contributors down the stretch and if they can find their game, this group has a real shot. Still pieces right now, but becoming a team.
I respect Bill, and I respect his opinion on Hunter not letting go of the ball on that tie-up. Hunt wasn't the only player not letting go of the ball, and it didn't cost the team anything. That tie-up was going to TCU anyway, so it didn't cost KU a possession. The only thing that happened was that Hunt and the TCU player got a personal foul added to them because they both got a technical foul. To me I saw it as Hunter and the TCU player trying to fire up their teammates. Just like the times that Bill Self has intentionally gotten himself a technical foul when he has felt his players had come out and were a little flat to start a game. I think he's done that a couple of times, the 2013 Big 12 Tournament Final comes to mind. He got T'ed up and then winked at the commentators because they suspected Coach had done it on purpose. And it worked as KU ended up winning that game, and last night they ended up pulling ahead shortly after that tie-up and never gave up the lead again. I'm sure Hunter is going to be running a bit at next practice, but I think Bill might be making more out of this than it was.
Bill has always been a master of conveying messages through his interactions with the media. Calling his team soft, or saying certain guys need to focus on the less glamorous parts of the game, or talking up the other team to focus his guys up. He also pretty much has to condemn what Hunter did so as to not undermine the authority of the refs whistle for future interactions with that crew and others, even though I agree with you, the players agree, and the refs looked pretty fragile and insecure after assessing double techs for that. He also knows Hunter has made some really dumb, boneheaded decisions that selfishly hurt the team in the past, and not calling Hunter out for that could have subconsciously conveyed that Bill is okay with Hunter continuing to put the team at risk in situations where cooler heads need to prevail in these critical B12 and tournament games coming up. Agree with you though, that set the tone that this team was ready to fight and WIN on the road in a close game for the first time this season.
Big fan of Shak, wish he could stay for another year. Seems like a bulldog and a great leader with good energy, thoughtful guy that's clearly bought in. Would be an even bigger difference maker if he hadn't been hampered with the injury. Awesome to see AJ have a great game on both ends and cite his defensive effort in the post-game, too. These two, along with Rylo, will be key contributors down the stretch and if they can find their game, this group has a real shot. Still pieces right now, but becoming a team.
I respect Bill, and I respect his opinion on Hunter not letting go of the ball on that tie-up. Hunt wasn't the only player not letting go of the ball, and it didn't cost the team anything. That tie-up was going to TCU anyway, so it didn't cost KU a possession. The only thing that happened was that Hunt and the TCU player got a personal foul added to them because they both got a technical foul.
To me I saw it as Hunter and the TCU player trying to fire up their teammates. Just like the times that Bill Self has intentionally gotten himself a technical foul when he has felt his players had come out and were a little flat to start a game. I think he's done that a couple of times, the 2013 Big 12 Tournament Final comes to mind. He got T'ed up and then winked at the commentators because they suspected Coach had done it on purpose. And it worked as KU ended up winning that game, and last night they ended up pulling ahead shortly after that tie-up and never gave up the lead again.
I'm sure Hunter is going to be running a bit at next practice, but I think Bill might be making more out of this than it was.
Bill has always been a master of conveying messages through his interactions with the media. Calling his team soft, or saying certain guys need to focus on the less glamorous parts of the game, or talking up the other team to focus his guys up. He also pretty much has to condemn what Hunter did so as to not undermine the authority of the refs whistle for future interactions with that crew and others, even though I agree with you, the players agree, and the refs looked pretty fragile and insecure after assessing double techs for that. He also knows Hunter has made some really dumb, boneheaded decisions that selfishly hurt the team in the past, and not calling Hunter out for that could have subconsciously conveyed that Bill is okay with Hunter continuing to put the team at risk in situations where cooler heads need to prevail in these critical B12 and tournament games coming up. Agree with you though, that set the tone that this team was ready to fight and WIN on the road in a close game for the first time this season.