So here's the deal

Let’s start positive. Kansas absolutely dominated one of the best—especially defensively—teams in the country with a 75-68 shakedown of Houston. The 13-point deficit felt like 40. Had KU not turned the ball over 17 times (!!!) the score line would have been something more like that. Self and Co nailed the gameplan, and attacked Houstons risk-taking defense constantly. They shot the piss out of the ball. If watching this strange team will ever approach some sort of spiritual experience, this was that.

Let’s dwell in this moment for a second longer. Johnny Furphy seems to be the solution to both KU’s fifth starter dilemma and its spacing issues. He is also 19, and effectively playing up an age level in a foreign country. That a minor “splat” happened in the K-State game occurred does not alarm me. In the Houston game, KU got great looks and made shots. In the K-State game, they got good looks and missed them. In the ISU game, they scored 1.44 points per possession—an insane number that wins you most ballgames—and still lost to a piss-shooting ISU. (Please read more on more useful stats and reporting resources

Lifting The Phog

and The Hearings. I’m a vibes guy!)

That may just be the nature of this years Big 12-based brutality. Old friend Patrick “The Solution” Sullivan may have accurately predicted a dogpile at the top of the standings—11-7 in the conference just might get you a title share. As The Hearings pointed out, KU is dreadful at the end of the clock. I don’t know what to make of that information… is that correctible? Will a healthier Kevin McCullar get the job done? As with most Big 12 campaigns, a lot of our starters seems to be going through nagging issues, and are playing through them as comfortably as possible. I’m speculating, but you can see it.

For the most part, Self has thrived in the NIL era. He delivered Remy Martin, who delivered KU a title. Hunter Dickinson is exactly what this offense needed, and when things get tough, they work it through the Dickman. He and KJ Adams are not ideal frontcourt partners, but they’re making it work, partly because they have to. KU has been able to locate talent in the portal, and bring them to Lawrence.

I’ll say it—this run-through the portal has been largely a bust. I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault, if we’re assigning blame, although I think some sort of GM figure is coming soon. Nic Timberlake is having the most Charlie Brown season I can remember, and I think it’s probably time to pull the plug. Parker Braun is athletic and plucky, but he can’t be trusted in important situations. Arterio Morris got booted from the team, and a suitable replacement could not be located in time.

The media coverage of this Draft has suggested it’s very weak, and it’s completely possible that KU loses three key players—KJ Adams, Johnny Furphy and Kevin McCullar—to the Draft. McCullar is out of eligibility, ESPN draft guru Givony is suddenly all over Furphy, and KJ Adams plays a game that’s highly coveted in the NBA right now, a wrecking ball with a 97-inch vertical that wants to do the dirty work so the team’s stars can be optimized. Sure, he will have to find a workable shot at some point. Is there any doubt he puts in the work?

Now, to land the plane a little bit. This is one of the stranger teams in the Self era—a top-heavy team with unproven reserves, one that is less resilient to changes in paces or styles of play. It doesn’t take crunching tape to see these things every game. Dickinson is slow. McCullar has cooled off and is shying away from contact right now. Johnny Furphy is 19, and five-star prospect Elmarko Jackson is still finding his role.

Here’s that deal I promised you—this is what this team is. No one is good enough that KU can’t make a tourney run—indeed, the letdown faceplant has become a seasonal meme all across the country—but the flaws feel start. That’s the proposition, and there’s more carnage ahead, certainly. Bounce back against Baylor and keep the train rolling wherever it’s going. The 23-24 Kansas Jayhawks, take it, or leave it.