NCAA Tournament 2024

[AlOerter]

Kevin has shown through the years he's a gamer and a winner. Part of his stated reason for coming to KU was to win a championship. The writing is on the wall this time around. Even if he played, clearly notat 100%, the chances of KU even making the final 4 are slim to none. I'm sure he realizes it. Still one of my favorite players.

Still hoping against hope that Bill pulls off his most amazing coaching feat and gets us there.

[pdub]

I'd put our odds at 900/1 so yes, there's a chance.

[Shirley]

Can you now make the last sentence or two of illy's post bolder?

As the Admin, one might assume you'd know how?

Perhaps this will be illuminating?

[pdub]

Fine. I'll do it for you.

.....but you'd have to chop Frank Mason's leg off for him to miss his final year NCAA tournament and last chance at a natty. The doctors would have had to stop him from playing.

[MICHHAWK]

I have been predicting a first weekend exit for some time now. except now maybe we go 0-1 rather than 1-1.

[pdub]

We lost to WVU, UCF and ksu - all of whom are not in the NCAA tourney.
I'd put tomorrow's game at like 60/40 KU.

[KUTradition]

i’d have said that WITH KM

i think it’s pretty much a toss up now

[pdub]

Yep, pretty close to a toss up.
Vegas has it at 57/43 KU.

[jfish26]

Yep, pretty close to a toss up.
Vegas has it at 57/43 KU.

Which doesn't mean their predictive model says 57/43 KU. I think it's pretty much a toss-up.

And I think we'll know pretty quickly how it's going to go.

[pdub]

Yep, pretty close to a toss up.
Vegas has it at 57/43 KU.

Which doesn't mean their predictive model says 57/43 KU. I think it's pretty much a toss-up.

And I think we'll know pretty quickly how it's going to go.

Yes.
First 4 minutes.
At least we'll have longer ( and more frequent? ) timeouts where Self can calm us down if there's a flurry of ohwearefucked.

Also, very fittingly for this season, I mean, we paid good money for him, we will need a max game from Hunter.
He will have to completely dominate.

[DeletedUser]

I don't think it's completely a business decision, but it's definitely part of it. And that's fair. The NBA draft is a big deal.

If it was just an injury issue there is no reason to say you're out for more than the first game.

I'm not mad at Kevin.

.....but you'd have to chop Frank Mason's leg off for him to miss his final year NCAA tournament and last chance at a natty. The doctors would have had to stop him from playing.

This ignores the fact that he's had the problem for nearly 2 months, resting it hasn't made it any better, and continuing to aggravate, i.e., injure it, can make it worse.

I am not ignoring that. I totally get he's in a difficult spot. I am not trying to shit on the guy either way.


....but he was fine to play against Houston....until we were down 20. Then it hurt too bad.


I think he's making the decision he feels he has to make. I do not think it was an easy choice for him.

How Self said what he has said about it was telling to me. And of course I am reading between the lines. But the response by Self when asked about what if we advance another weekend and it feels better and him essentially saying Kevin has already decided he's done for the year made it seem like Kevin was telling the doctors and team he is out and not the other way around.

Regardless, I get it.

Do I think if he had no NBA future and these were the last games of his basketball life (say like a Mitch Lightfoot scenario, even though I know Mitch has played overseas) that he'd be trying to play through it? Yes.

I don't think the heat he's catching from KU fans (and it's been bad on social media) is fair or deserved. It's so bad that he had to turn comments off on his account yesterday afternoon.

[jfish26]

My feeling, and my tone is intended to be pretty meh, is that the last time we saw Kevin play he very obviously was not in a position to contribute to winning, and he limped off the floor.

Would that be much different tomorrow than it was two weeks ago? Not sure any of us can know (it's possibly instructive, on this, that Remy took ten weeks to recover from a bone bruise).

Is a major part of his decision tied to concern over his future (whether making the injury worse, or even merely pushing his recovery window closer to the combine)? I think one would be foolish to assume otherwise (it's possibly illuminating, on this, to consider that Kevin appears to be right on the tipping point of two very different pro trajectories).

Is part of this that Bill is frustrated by the will he/won't he? I think would one be foolish to assume otherwise (it's possibly telling, on this, that Bill went right to a full-tourney shutdown).

Would the calculus on the whole thing be different if we hadn't looked like microwaved dog shit for the last two months? Not sure any of us can know, but I think one would not be foolish to wonder.

[pdub]

The most telling thing here, beyond how Self has talked about it all season, is what's been mentioned - how they are shutting him down all tournament.

I would be willing to bet all my crimbucks that Self asked Kevin if he was going to be able to go tomorrow and he said no and then Self just came out and said well then we're shutting you down all tourney if you don't think you can go in the most important games of the season for us.

This puts the ball in Kevin's court here.

[MICHHAWK]

km's salary was not much less than hd's. hd will be on the court. km will not. that is mostly all i need to know.

it's mass st's money not mine. la de da. the new normal.

[MICHHAWK]

this puts km in my same boat with je.

[jfish26]

The most telling thing here, beyond how Self has talked about it all season, is what's been mentioned - how they are shutting him down all tournament.

I would be willing to bet all my crimbucks that Self asked Kevin if he was going to be able to go tomorrow and he said no and then Self just came out and said well then we're shutting you down all tourney if you don't think you can go in the most important games of the season for us.

This puts the ball in Kevin's court here.

I have no issue with anything you said here. I do feel that trying to play against Houston is something that speaks TO his competitiveness and basketball character, though, and certainly not something that should be used against him.

If his heart was truly in shutdown mode, he would have shut it down. He'd be getting the same arrows he's getting here, only his recovery would (in theory I guess) be further along and the last image of him on the floor wouldn't have been what it was.

[zsn]

Fine. I'll do it for you.

.....but you'd have to chop Frank Mason's leg off for him to miss his final year NCAA tournament and last chance at a natty. The doctors would have had to stop him from playing.

None of us know if the doctors stopped him. Or at least influenced his decision heavily.

[pdub]

Or, it's possible that he thought an 0-4 half where he couldn't do much could continue into March Madness where all the BWW Chad's would be watching.

BWW Chad's don't matter much individually but as a horde, if Kevin went 1-9 or something and KU lost, it would be well known on the socials...and that would be a non zero factor in the hype going into the draft.

[jfish26]

Or, it's possible that he thought an 0-4 half where he couldn't do much could continue into March Madness where all the BWW Chad's would be watching.

BWW Chad's don't matter much individually but as a horde, if Kevin went 1-9 or something and KU lost, it would be well known on the socials...and that would be a non zero factor in the hype going into the draft.

Aren't we saying the same thing? He clearly had no bounce, no lift. Absolutely if that didn't change and he went 1-9 or something in a loss to Samford, it would affect his prospects more than the 0-4 against Houston.

[DeletedUser]

Fine. I'll do it for you.

.....but you'd have to chop Frank Mason's leg off for him to miss his final year NCAA tournament and last chance at a natty. The doctors would have had to stop him from playing.

None of us know if the doctors stopped him. Or at least influenced his decision heavily.

Self's wording in the interview sure made it seem that Kevin told the doctors it hurts too much to play well enough to contribute.