Getting Healthy @ TCU?

TCU is literally the worst RPI rated team of any quasi-decent conference right now. KU has several days to prepare for them and I have a feeling that there will be some VERY unpleasant things going on in practice and in personal meetings this week after the dismal performance against Okie State this past Saturday. Bill Self has completely called out his entire guard rotation in the press and put them on notice. We'll see how they respond.

If KU comes out against this terrible team and struggles to score then I am going to start getting nervous about the mental makeup of this team. There is absolutely every reason in the world out there that KU shoul dtake this team to the woodshed. TCU avergaes a puny 54 ppg on the year, so KU should hold them to about 45 points if their starters get more than 25 minutes played.

The question will be on offense. Will we start seeing the guards start to make some things happen? Will we see our dumb turnovers begin to be eliminated? Will Withey start to try to impose his will on the offensive end? You're 7 feet tall for crying out loud. Stick your butt in a guys gut and call for the damn ball on the blocks. I am so sick of watching him hover around waiting for things to happen. MAKE something happen. Will Travis Releford wake up a get back to being a great player at both ends of the floor? Can he look to inject himself into the scoring by slashing into the lane and getting out in transition?

My guess is that we see Tharpe get the start at PG so Johnson can get a little refocus from the bench. When the ball goes up for the tip and you are sitting by the coaching staff and the walk ons, you probably take a second to reflect on just what has happened. Maybe that will be the harsh slap of reality needed to wake him up. Taylor got suspended for a few games and it seemed to get his brain pointed a little more in the right direction. We'll see. Unfortunately, Tharpe has been even more putrid at shooting the ball than Johnson has in Big 12 play. Hard to imagine that's even possible, but he has done it.

Wow, we need to sign a good PG for next year. BADLY.

Agreed - someone else will likely start at PG.  Because of the reasons you mentioned, this would be the perfect game to start White and see what he can do. 

Twocoach, what are your thoughts on Tharpe at PG?  lol, just kidding I won't go there.  All I'll say is Wednesday cannot get here soon enough.  I think we all need to see KU demolish someone and TCU is awful enough to be a 20 point victory.....even with EJ running the point.

"Twocoach, what are your thoughts on Tharpe at PG?  lol, just kidding I won't go there."

In THIS game, I would like to see a healthy dose of both Tharpe and Adams at PG. I honestly would be fine if EJ watched the game in street clothes. A little humiliation from a "DNP-Coaches Decision" might go a long ways.

"Agreed - someone else will likely start at PG.  Because of the reasons you mentioned, this would be the perfect game to start White and see what he can do.  "

I don't think White will start but I hope he gets a good amount of minutes. Reward the guy for going in at the end against OSU and doing even more than could possibly have been asked of him. The carrot and stick approach only works if you let them have the carrot when they earn it.

When I think of Tharpe, I'm reminded to an extent of Aaron Miles.  Miles could handle the rock and dish with the best of them but when it came to shooting.....um, yeah, that was awful.  Tharpe gives me that same impression of a guy that can and should focus on handling the rock and dishing and letting the guys that can actually shoot...shoot.

EJ is going to start, but that doesn't mean there won't be extensive run by several of our bench players, and I like the Aaron Miles comparison somewhat...but Tharpe is a decent shooter...at least from what I've seen of him. It would be bad logic IMO to sit your Senrior point after ONE Loss...and TwoCoach I thought you were the guy preaching patience?

there is a fine line between instilling humility and breaking the confidence of a player, and its not like EJ has been some mouth-popper or problematic off or on-court with his behavior. He has just been in a funk and is somewhat unsuited for being a PG in Self's System.

Behind BMac he is probably our most gifted player. No way he sits in the manner you speak of.

Self on a teleconference with the Big 12 said "Elijah is my guy. He’s my guy. We have the best [chance to win] with Elijah in the game."

I assume this answers any questions about a starting lineup change. Those comments atleast to me tell me he is starting wednesday. Now if he comes and stinks it up vs TCU I could see him on the bench for a good while and possibly not starting the 2nd half but I think this is the game he bounces back.

I mean come on.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcjROldxDY0

Self on a teleconference with the Big 12 said "Elijah is my guy. He’s my guy. We have the best [chance to win] with Elijah in the game."

you're probaby right (SM15 and Boo) and Coach probably will start him but I'd keep him from the starting lineup and see if he can play with a little more passion & focus off of the bench.  We need to develop another option at PG (besides Tharpe).  White or Adams may not be ready yet but we can't take too many more performances from EJ like we've been getting.  He may be working his butt off at practice but when that effort doesn't translate to the games then a good coach needs to consider options B and C.

Tharpe is a better shooter than Miles was....I guess my issue with him is he looks to shoot too much.  He should focus his efforts on getting others the ball and then take shots as they come...don't go looking for them.

We don't know what is wrong or if anything is wrong with EJ.  We know that he is not effective and his confidence has got to  be down.  Bad combos.  If SElf thinks he needs to play thru it, then thats what it is.  I am thinking that EJ is on limited time and Self has issued a warning that Adams and Tharpe are eager for more playing time and if things don't change, no choice.

I would like to think we could blow out TCU,  but I don't really know if this team can blow out anyone?  Our offense just doesn't seem right this year.  Its not all on EJ either.  We have some moments we shine, then we have the other 2/3's of the game we stink.

Too be perfectly honest, I would settle for a solid half.  Solid half with limited TO's and some good offensive continuity for a change.  Really a blow out against a bad team right now would do Jayhawk nation a lot of good, but a good solid game and winning by 20 would be good enough. 

Wow, I liked Aaron Miles, but Tharpe is a much better shooter than Miles was. Miles didn't actually knock down shots consistently until his senior year. I will agree that Tharpe may shoot too much, but EJ is shooting too much right now. I don't pretend to know 10% of what Bill Self knows, but the ball movement and driving to the basket has been lacking severely in conference play. EJ and Tharpe show signs of dribble penetration it is just lacking consistency. The pieces are there because I believe this team is far more talented than last years team. I just hope they can pull it together to win the Big 12 again and head into the tournament rolling. This team defensively can be unbelievable and can make up for a lack of offense. The issue against Ok. State was I think the effort was lacking to want to play D, rebound, guard, get loose balls, etc. that is very correctable and I think that loss will serve them well.

Self on a teleconference with the Big 12 said "Elijah is my guy. He’s my guy. We have the best [chance to win] with Elijah in the game."

Notice he didn't say "we have the best chance to win with Elijah playing point guard."  EJ is a good scorer and we need scoring, so yeah he should be IN THE GAME.   

"EJ is going to start, but that doesn't mean there won't be extensive run by several of our bench players, and I like the Aaron Miles comparison somewhat...but Tharpe is a decent shooter...at least from what I've seen of him. It would be bad logic IMO to sit your Senior point after ONE Loss...and TwoCoach I thought you were the guy preaching patience?"

I am not talking a permanent or even extended benching, but someone needs to rattle EJ's cage. I don't know if he is freaked out that he is being looked to for some grown up leadership, if he is simply not equiped to handle the PG position, or what his problem is. I don't think the PG position is the problem because last year we were saying that Self should put EJ at PG and move Taylor off the ball because those were their better positions. Maybe we all just suck at being armchair colleg basketball analysts!

"there is a fine line between instilling humility and breaking the confidence of a player, and its not like EJ has been some mouth-popper or problematic off or on-court with his behavior. He has just been in a funk and is somewhat unsuited for being a PG in Self's System."

Self has tried everything BUT benching him. He has tried him off the ball, on the ball, he has probably tried to encourage him and tried to enrage him. It's time for Johnson to clear the fog and step up and do what he is capable of. Like I said, people were saying last year that he was BETTER suited to be a PG vs. a SG in Self's system. Maybe the kid is just a flake that isn't suited to be the guy that everyone counts on to do what is expected of him?

When you take a step back and look at the plus/minus for EJ, the Okie State game is the ONLY game all year where he has had a net minus.

[http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/pl
ayer/kansas/elijah-johnson/plus_min
us]

Compare that to SEVEN games last year where Tyshawn Taylor was a net minus for KU as the PG.

[http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/pl
ayer/kansas/tyshawn-taylor/plus_min
us]

"Behind BMac he is probably our most gifted player. No way he sits in the manner you speak of."

Talent is just another description for "not as good as he will eventually be". At what point are we going to stop talking about what a gifted athlete EJ is? He is halfway through his SENIOR YEAR. He has played 119 games in a KU uniform. It is officially PAST time to start transitioning from TALENTED to GOOD.

Like I said, sit him for all or parts of ONE GAME against TCU, who happens to be the worst Big 6 conference team in America. Our bench should be able to beat them. What else is there to do? Hope that after 119 games he'll decide to get a clue? gifted players who are seniors with 119 games of experience don't make the kind of bonehead mistakes that EJ is currently making. GIFTED doesn't win games, GOOD win games. EJ is not GOOD right now. He has it in him, but he doesn't seem to have a clue how to get to it. Sometimes it takes a swift kick in the a$$ to make an 18+ year old reflect on where they are and what they need to do.

Have we been saying these things about EJ since he was a freshmen?  Gifted, talented, atheletic.  I think almost everyone that watches KU knows that EJ is no slouch.  He was a top 30 recruit coming into here.  Unfortunately some players never improve enough after high school.  I think some services and even coaches had EJ rated higher than Brandaon Knight coming out of HS.  If not rated higher, he was evaluated as having more up side.  Could EJ be a player who maxxed out early?  I can't hardly believe that, but we have seen players enter here, and leave so much better than when they arrived its not even a debate.  EJ really never has climbed that hill and reached the peak.

I would agree with those who think he should sit more this game.  I thought the Stats that 2coach has posted are interesting.  I would have thought from a viewers standpoint that this team has flourished more with Tharpe on the floor versus EJ.  Being fair, I think EJ's TO's are more magnified than others, just like some of TT's were last year.  We see them more and are more amped to critisize.  Wow, its funny but for parts of TT's career we were calling for EJ to get more PT!

I agree to a point that this team is more talented, but losing TT and TRob was more than just losing talent, we lost leadership.  We lost go to players in the crunch.  We lost a some toughness on the court.  Some of those things are not replaced by talent alone. 

Now we need a solid win.  A solid win where our play is better overall.  TCU is going to bring whatever they have to the fullest.  For Trent Johnson, this is a big game for him and his program in its early stages.  I expect to see them give there best effort.  If we are still mulling over our loss, it will be a grinder of a game no matter what they are rated. 

I was happy to see that Ku and the coaching staff had a three hour long meeting on Sunday and aired out a lot of issues. I am hoping that this will remove the need for Self to use playing time against TCU as the stick to teach a lesson. Hopefully Johnson has had his eyes opened. He always seems to say the right things to the media, but he hasn't taken the next step of taking action on those statements. At this point I will believe it when I see it. He has the talent and the ability. We'll see if he has the mental game to reach the potential of his physical game.

"He was a top 30 recruit coming into here.  Unfortunately some players never improve enough after high school."

LOTS of talented players lack the mental skills necessary to reach the peak of their physical potential. It's hard to keep grinding, to keep putting in the work, to keep driving to improve. Many get to a certain level and say "I am good enough for where I am". Once they mentally "settle" at a certain level, there is an inevitable lull in their effort, focus and intensity. I think Johnson is at that point in his basketball career. He seems to think that what he currently is is good enough to suceed at this level. We'll see if a little harsh dose of reality against Okie State and the post-loss fallout is enough to put his nose back to the grindstone. I am guardedly optimistic at this point.

EJ's level of ability when he is engaged and enthused is good enough to get KU a national title this year. As the leader of the team, if he is out there mentally locked in a driven to excel, the rest of the team will fall in line. If they do not, he needs to melt some faces and get them to. THAT is what is needed of him.

There is no pressure on EJ to WIN. There is only pressure to do everything you possibly can to TRY to win. If you come to Kansas and play at max effort and focus and still lose, fans will still love you. Fans will still support you. That is all we ask.

I don't think KU can "get healthy" versus TCU. As stated in your original post TCU is one of the worst teams in CBB. I'd expect a double digit KU win tonight that shouldn't be close in the last 5 minutes. If it is close than I'll be worried. We'll know how good this teams is based on the outcome of five games. KSU at home, Baylor, OSU, OU, and ISU on the road. If this is a final four calibur team, I think they find a way to win at least three of these games. If they win four or five we'll know they have championship potential. I doubt they sweep all five but if they're as good as I think they can be they'll win four.

As far as EJ goes, I think the reality is that he's not a natural point guard. He, like many PGs playing today, inherit the position or play it because of their size, or lack thereof. There are a lot of 6'3 shooting guards playing the point. Given this roster I think Self has to stick with him and hope that his defense and athleticism makes up for his turnovers and lack of play making ability. This team is going to have to rely on its defense to win and EJ can be an elite defender.

"I don't think KU can "get healthy" versus TCU. As stated in your original post TCU is one of the worst teams in CBB. "

Sure they can. KU's problem is they don't play hard enough long eough and they don't play smart. This needs to be a game where they rectify that and honestly, it's a lot easier to do that against a bad team. Additionally, there are a ton of KU grads in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and TCU draws no fans to their games, so there should be plenty of KU fans in the seats tonight. It's a great mixture of events that KU can use to get their confidence back.

I guess it depends on how you define getting healthy. To me it means playing well and winning against good competition. Beating a bad team that is overmatched won't reveal much to me. KU is getting a break in playing TCU this week. Coach Self has stated that this team has little margin for error. I don't think that applies tonight in Fort Worth. I hope the players confidence isn't so low that they need a blowout win against TCU to regain their mojo.

Boy was I wrong, Yikes!