This Team Wasn't Tough Enough

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We've all seen this story unfold before. We've seen the unfulfilled 1 seeds. We've seen the missed free throws. We've seen the media hand games over to Kansas before ever being played, and we've seen KU blow those games. We've seen the mid-majors showcasing the name on their jerseys, while we've seen the KU players use them to cry into. We've seen the rejoice from Missouri and K-State fans. We've felt the heartbreak.

KU's loss to the VCU Jay Bilas's summed up the season perfectly. You never knew whether to take this team too seriously because you never knew if they were going to take their opponent seriously. This team was defined by cruise control. They possessed very little killer instinct. They played with a sense of entitlement, believing that they would win the game because they were Kansas, and probably wouldn't have to try their hardest to do so.

All of that is fine and dandy until somebody punches you in the mouth. With such a sparse amount of superior teams around the country this year, we only saw one team really do it to KU all season: Kansas St. That game played out very similarly to what we witnessed on Sunday. Let the opponent surge out to a giant lead before finally deciding you'd better give it everything you had, only it was too late, and you didn't have the extra gear that you thought you had. KU never learned how to play from behind all season. Simply put, KU wasn't tough enough.

The lasting image of this team in my mind will be Brady Morningstar nearly in tears on the bench in the first half of Sunday's meltdown. THE FIRST HALF! They didn't get mad about VCU's hot start, or a few calls going against them (their excuse, not mine), they got sad. That's about as un-tough as it gets. I lost a good amount of belief in the team when I witnessed this. I couldn't believe it. And M-Star wasn't alone on the bench, with T-Robb the Sobb boohooing along with him. At that point, I had counted both of those players out for the rest of the game.

In fact, with both of those players counted out, Markieff seemingly uninterested in seeing his draft stock rise at all, and Tyrel Reed falling prey to the white guy March shooting slump syndrome (file that under the "we've seen that before" category), this team simply didn't have enough players to trust. Tyshawn played his best ball of the season in the Tournament (as might've been expected from his big game experience), and Marcus Morris did all he could do with a collapsing zone defense with no outside threats. Beyond that, who are you looking to? Mario Little (nowhere to be seen)? Josh Selby (should've been playing over Tyrel)? Frankly, it was more amazing to me what this team accomplished over the season than the fact they bowed out of the NCAA Tournament at this point.

However, it would be un-Dirkness like if I didn't offer a glimmer of hope for my optimistic readers out there, and here it is...The 2008 Championship team had to work their way there. They bowed out in the Elite 8 the year before they won it all. Not only did that provide crucial Tournament experience (which this team was somewhat void of), it gave them the drive going into the next season to get the job done. Remember B-Rush blowing out his knee that offseason? That's magical. I never felt the magic with this team. There was no midseason players-only meeting at Henry's like with that team. They never took joy in beating teams by 50 points like that team. This team was set on coasting. That team never coasted. They knew what was at stake and they knew that any one bump in the road could derail them from their goal. Hopefully, this team has learned that now. Oh yea, and I believe the Morrissii will be coming back.

Lastly, I remind all of you that we are analyzing kids that are between 18 and 21 years old (excluding Grandpa Morningstar). To believe that anything is a given with kids that young is silly. They are very impressionable, and if they are told all week that they are going to beat a team, they're going to believe it. And when pressure is applied to kids that young, you never know what you're going to get. That's what makes the NCAA Tournament so unpredictable and beautiful. Here's to hoping KU never enters another Tournament as the favorite.

Wiping away tears with brackets,
His Bracketness

State of the Union Address: Kansas Jayhawks

I'd like to start by accepting the shout out from ol' Billy Boy Self for reading the blog and yanking Tyshawn from the starting lineup, even though he had to go and one up me by choosing Brady Morningstar over Tyrel Reed- eh, the Tighty Whiteys are interchangeable. This move has resulted in, or at least contributed to, the best two-game stretch of the season (@Iowa St, Missouri) from the team, with only the Temple game being comparable. This should come as no surprise, as this is the time of year that KU always gets it in gear, right at the start of conference season. And since some of the players are confused about what's expected of them, and the fact that Self loves to read my blog so much, I will now lay out the roles for each player (ranked in importance to the team's success):


Sherron Nasty- The man. Has the balls necessary to lead a team to a National Championship. Doing a great job of figuring out when to take over games, and when to defer to teammates. Think of his legacy if he can lead Kansas to a National Championship this year.

'Cus Morris- Turning on beast mode. Averaging 19 and 8 in conference games so far. I rated him as more important than Cole because he has a better chance of becoming the go to low-post scorer. To win it all, you need a man you dump the ball down to and expect a basket. Shadyyyyyy.

Colehelm Aldrich- The Funnelcake. I've given up on Cole at the offensive end, and Herm Edwards tells me that's okayyyyy. It's okkkkk. Just focus on the defensive end. The rest of the defense funnels the offense into Cole sitting right under the basket for some sweet swat action. Funnelcakez.

Brady 'Cornbread' Morningstar- Dude does it all. Every KU fan would understand why he is this high on the list. Every non-KU fan would be confused why he's this high. Defense, passing, and court awareness are the reasons why. A mere 9 points as a season-high causes the confusion. There's more to basketball than scoring.

Xavier Henry- X-Man. The Phader. The Snipah. Has been in a shooting slump for a while now, but I prescribe for him to just shoot his way out of it. Needs his confidence to be high come tournament time.

Tyshawn Taylor- The Pine Cone. Should thrive coming off the bench. Seems to be playing with more passion since his inoffensive demotion, especially on the defensive end. At the beginning of the season, I wanted him to be the steady hand of Russ Rob from '07. Didn't work. Now he needs to become Sherron's spark off the bench from '07.

'Kief Morris- Rebound da ball like a man.

Tyrel Reed- Shoot 3's.

Jeff 'Kill' Whitey- I like him off the bench before Thomas Robinson. Needs to be ready in every first half in case two bigs pickup two fouls.

C.J. Henry- Kid X. Kid Snipah. I'm convinced he might be the best shooter on the team. I'm also convinced that he is definitely the worst defender on the team.

Thomas Robinson- Still makes too many dumb plays. Will be the man next year along with...

Elijah Johnson- Study Sherron's every move (except for elevator behavior).

Conner Teahan- Look pretty. And change your name if you ever want to play.

Chase Buford- Keep rockin that 'stache.

Jordan Juenemann- Work on those cankles Ju Wanna Man.


Prediction for tonight: Kansas @ Kansas St~~I feel like all the pressure is on Kansas State in this game. College Gameday. Just beat Texas. Kansas has the rematch at home to fall back on. I think the fans will be ready, I don't think the team will be. KU does not fear K-State in anyway. This is a game Kansas wins.

Kansas 71, Kansas State 64