Month: July 2015 (Page 2 of 2)

Crimson and Blue and Gold

When news first broke, about a year ago, that KU would be representing the United States in the World University Games this summer, I was pretty pumped up about it. KU basketball in the summer, extra practice for the team, and a chance to get new players adjusted to the KU system before official practice even starts? What’s not to like? Who knows, maybe the summer work would sway a key recruit or two to select KU over a rival school.

Come this summer, though, my enthusiasm had waned a bit. Yes, it was cool that KU would get to represent the U.S. Yes, the month of practice and games could be a huge boost to the team next year, especially with the rules changes coming into effect in the college game next season. But, with the time difference, I realized I wouldn’t get to watch many of the games live. And while KU snagged a few spring recruits, only one of them was eligible to play in the games (Lagerald Vick) and he is a kid who likely won’t play much for a year or two. So there was no top 5, difference making recruit (Jaylen Brown, Malik Newman, or Brandon Ingraham for example) who made his college choice based on the extra month of work he would get at KU.

So for the last couple weeks I’ve caught up on games in the morning after they were completed. I recorded several of the games, but after reading Tweets and game stories, I didn’t see much need to go back and watch them in full.

Until this morning, that is. The gold medal game against Germany began at 8:00 Eastern, which was perfect for me to watch live. So it worked out quite nice that not only did I get to watch a super competitive game, but I got two overtimes to get the day started off right. Despite being utterly exhausted, KU/USA somehow got the game tied in both regulation and the first OT, then had a huge five-point trip when down three late in the second OT to grab the gold.

I tried to be laid back about the game, but I’ll admit I was pretty wound up during crunch time. My expectations were awfully low, between the recent lack of success by U.S. select teams in the event, and KU missing four players who will likely be in the team’s top eight or nine next fall. Go to South Korea, play hard, get some experience, and represent your country well. But go undefeated and win the gold? That seemed silly.

But I suppose this proves the adage that a good team that spends time together over several years, with a coaching staff and system in place, will always have an advantage over an All Star/Select team.

It’s a shame a lot of us only saw this game. Because, by all accounts, Wayne Selden was phenomenal through the first seven games of the event. Today he looked tired from the beginning, leaving outside shots short, missing attempts at the rim, and even unable to get high enough to finish a perfect lob pass in the first OT. But he also played his ass off, hit the go-ahead 3 in the second OT, and knocked down some important free throws.

It sure seemed like Hunter Mickelson played with confidence he’s rarely shown before as well. Freshman Carlton Bragg played some valuable minutes and showed tremendous toughness, playing the entire tournament with a broken nose. Those minutes will, hopefully, help make his first season of college ball just a little but easier. That kid is going to be really good if he can add strength and is smart enough to spend at least two years in college.

How this will all pay off for the Jayhawks over the next year is still a question. The boost of confidence could finally turn Selden into the player so many expected him to be when he arrived two years ago with Wiggins and Embiid. Frank Mason just proved to the world what college fans already knew: he’s a bad man, especially in crunch time.

But playing without Devonte’ Graham and Brannen Greene because of injuries, and Cheick Diallo and Svi Mykhailiuk because they aren’t Americans makes me wonder how big the long-term benefit will be. I imagine Svi has been working his ass off in Ukraine and in Lawrence all summer. He should be fine. But Diallo is likely the wild card in how good KU can be next year. Will he be able to jump right in and get up to speed in the fall? Or will be be even further behind everyone else? I admit I, like a lot of KU fans, am a little gun-shy about a big man making the move from high school to college after Cliff Alexander’s struggles last year.

That’s off in the distance a bit, though. The important thing is they went out and swept every game they played and won the gold. Nicely done!

A few other observations from ESPNU’s broadcast:

• The announcers kind of sucked. But they were like the X, Y, or Z team and, I believe, were calling the action from the U.S. Perhaps that’s why they so often confused KU players for each other. But Perry Ellis and Hunter Mickelson really don’t look much alike. You could hear one of the announcers breathing into his microphone constantly, too, which was crazy annoying.

• I know it’s tough to do these international feeds, but ESPN struggled with providing accurate clock and scoring info. And the audio from the arena was terribly muted.

• Loved the international rules, for the most part. The shorter shot clock forced action. While college is going to 30 seconds and the WUG was played with a 24-second clock, I think we’ll see similar improvements in game pace. LOVED the time out rules. Players can’t call time outs and no live ball timeouts. Throw in the smaller number of time outs each team has available, and there were a lot fewer breaks in the action for no reason.

• Refereeing was odd. They’d call moving the pivot foot super closely for a couple minutes, then not call clear travels moments later. But I appreciated the lack of video reviews grinding the game to a halt.

• Another ESPN beef. On the ticker, there was a periodic entry for “Facts To Know” for the upcoming college football season. On July 13. And some of them weren’t even facts. They offered odds on Ohio State and Alabama going undefeated. Odds are not facts, even in Vegas.

• Why does Brett Favre do ads for a razor company when he is sporting a big, gray beard in his ads for the copper back brace wrap? Why should I take his word on what razors to buy when he clearly isn’t a regular user?

• Finally, I laughed at Bill Self’s insistence last month that he would play lots of different combinations of guys and “go over there and have fun.” That may not be an exact quote, but it’s close. Like he, or any other coach of an elite program, is going to go to any competition and not try to win it. He, Coach K, Ol’ Roy, Izzo, etc. are all way too competitive to just go over and let their walk-ons play more minutes than their blue chippers.

Whether this is a boon to KU next season remains to be seen. But it was an awfully good way to spend a few weeks in the summer. Is it a national championship or a Final Four? Of course not. [1] I would imagine most KU fans would have traded eight losses in Korea for a trip to the Final Four next year. And while I’m sure the players will cherish this go,d medal the rest of their lives, I doubt the kids who played for Duke last season would swap places with them.

Still, it was pretty cool.

Rock Chalk, bitches!

title


  1. One person kept claiming on Twitter this was bigger than a national title, because it was for the entire country. First off, I imagine about 99% of Americans had no idea they were being represented in the WUGs by KU. Second off, that dude is either being intentionally difficult or pushing his love of country just a little too far.  ↩

⦿ Friday Links

With the holiday last weekend, things have piled up a bit. So a veritable smorgasbord of interesting posts and articles to share with you this week.


Following up on our viewing of Back To The Future earlier this week, here is one ranking of the best movies of the summer of 1985. Just look at that list. I could be pretty happy with just these 10 DVDs for the rest of my life.

Ranking the Best Movies of the Summer of ’85, on “Back to the Future”’s 30th Anniversary


Any time someone talks to either Hall or Oates, I’m on board. Here John talks about the writing and impact of “She’s Gone.”

Q&’80s: John Oates on the Legacy of Hall & Oates’s ‘She’s Gone’

BTW, my top 5 H2O songs? “Say It Isn’t So,” “Out Of Touch,” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” “Maneater,”[1] and “Rich Girl.”


These lists are always fun.

20 Song You Might Not Know Were Covers

I love how sometimes even the biggest music fan can miss a piece of trivia about a huge song. For example, a good friend who is also way into music had no idea “Tainted Love” was a cover. And I had never heard that “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” was not a Cyndi Lauper original.


I’m familiar with Maciej Cegłowski’s computer work. I occasionally use his Pinboard bookmarking service. I had no idea until last week that he also is a fantastic travel writer on his personal site.

He is currently using Kickstarter to raise funds for his next big trip, Antarctica. Someone else linked to his campaign with links to some of Cegłowski’s best travel posts. I’ve been loving them. So here’s an oldie, and one that just dropped today about a part of the world I spent four years in.

Argentina On Two Steaks A Day

Confronting New Madrid


I have never watched Amy Schumer’s show, but I’ve seen some clips on YouTube. And I almost always find them hilarious.

As a father of three daughters, while Schumer’s comedy may make me a little uncomfortable at times, I can’t help but think it’s another big moment in the battle to erase the double standards about female behavior and sexuality that causes so many problems in our society.

The Sneaky Power of Amy Schumer, in ‘Trainwreck’ and Elsewhere


A pretty cool look at the science that goes into attempting to get pictures of a black hole.

Black Hole Hunters


Forgive me for getting political…actually don’t. Screw that.

Guess what? A bunch of dumbasses who claim to want to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancies and abortions have refused to fund a program that has done exactly that. Why? Because it involves giving birth control to women for free. And, you know, if you give women free birth control, it might turn them into raging sex maniacs. It’s been proven. Or something. Oh, and I’m sure there were the obligatory assertions by the folks that voted against funding this program that it offended their religious sensibilities. Which is fine. Keep your daughters and nieces and other female relatives from getting birth control if it goes against your moral code. But don’t use that excuse to stop other women from getting it. Not if you really care about the welfare of women and babies.

Colorado’s Effort Against Teenage Pregnancies Is a Startling Success


Finally, we are in the midst of summer travel season. So here’s a primer on how not to be a dick to people around you when you fly.

How To Be A Good Person On An Airplane


  1. I know it’s popular to hate this song. I refuse to hate!  ↩

Friday Vid

“So You Want To Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers covering The Byrds

A HUGE day in music history. No longer will new albums be released on Mondays in Europe and Tuesdays in the U.S. From now on, new albums will hit the shelves (virtual and physical) on Fridays around the world. Supposedly the the music industry thinks this will help prevent piracy and leaks. I say good luck with that.

Anyway, one of my favorite songs about the music industry, originally performed by The Byrds, which has been covered wonderfully by many bands. My favorite is likely a 2006 Denver performance by Pearl Jam. There is video of that night, but it’s shot from the crowd and has pretty terrible audio. I highly recommend the official bootleg audio. What makes that performance so great is Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench of The Heartbreakers joining Pearl Jam. So I guess this is the next best thing.

R’s: Oh No

Each of the past two Augusts, I’ve written about a Royals series against contending teams that came in front of big, loud crowds and wondered if that would be the high point of the season. It likely was in 2013. Last year, though, things got about a kazillion times better over the next two months.

I mention that because I can’t help but wonder if last night was as good as it will get for this year’s version of the Royals. The crowd wasn’t as big or boisterous as those crowds for the Red Sox and Giants series. It was a cool Wednesday night against Tampa, who are good, but not exactly a big draw, even with Chris Archer on the mound.

But the Royals were coming off a dramatic sweep of a double header on Tuesday, and won Wednesday with flair and mid-innings drama. At the end of the night, they were 16 games over .500 and 4.5 games up in first place. When you consider just that, it seems like a pretty great moment in a season that has been mostly very good since Opening Day.

Ahhh, but there is always a rub. And the rub last night was Alex Gordon going down with a fairly serious injury that will cost him, at minimum, a month of games, and likely multiple months.

I don’t know if Alex is the best player on the Royals. Lorenzo Cain can make an awfully good case for that over the past 12 months. And Eric Hosmer, despite his terrible slump, probably has more raw talent than Alex.

I don’t know if Alex is the most indispensable player on the Royals. He’s definitely in the conversation, but given his streaky bat at Jarrod Dyson’s defense, it feels like you can find a way to fill Alex’s talent void better than if Salvador Perez was to miss a month.

I don’t know if Alex is the clear leader of the team. Again, I think that’s a role he shares with Perez.

But if you think about all the ways that Alex contributes, about how he gives the team great at-bats even when he’s scuffling, about how anything hit to left field is likely an out, about how he shows up every day even when nicked up, I think he becomes the toughest guy to lose.

It’s not insignificant that he is likely the most popular player on the team, too. Losing him is a psychic blow to the fan base that has watched him go from brightest prospect in the game, to complete bust, through the process of totally overhauling his game, to becoming one of the most well-rounded and valuable players in the game.

Oh, and there’s the specter that, if this is a three-month injury, he may have played his final game for the Royals. Even with a nasty injury, he’s almost certainly priced himself out of the Royals budget. Unless he’s a way better guy than everyone thinks and willing to give up $4–5 million/year to stay in KC. And he’d be an idiot to do that.

The Royals are already fighting injuries and slumps all over the diamond. There’s always the hope, though, that the other injured guys will be back soon, and the guys who can’t hit their weight over the past month will get it turned around. Alex being out until the late part of the season, though? Man, that feels like almost too much to overcome.

Given the Royals place in the standings, and how many injuries, suspensions, and poor performances they’ve had to dodge this season, it’s kind of a miracle that they are still in the lead in the division and have one of the best records in baseball.

No, you know what it is? It’s a testament to Ned Yost and Dayton Moore and how they’ve managed and constructed this team.

Wow, things I never thought I would say for $400, Alex!

No one in the majors wanted Christ Young. He’s been the Royals best starting pitcher over the first half of the season. Joe Blanton may be turning back into a pumpkin, but he filled in nobly a couple nights, including the evening he out-dueled Felix Hernandez in Seattle. Kendrys Morales has been fantastic when everyone else thought his career was over.

Yes, Alex Rios has been a complete bust. And Omar Infante looks like a terrible signing with two-plus years left on his contract. But not everyone is perfect.

The Royals are in first place despite big, consistent holes in their lineup and three-fifths of their Opening Day rotation spending significant time on the DL.

Props to the guys who are running the team.

Now comes the real test. Can Dayton find someone to plug into Alex’s hole. The Royals already needed another bat badly, and were apparently looking (smartly) at adding one over going after another arm for the rotation. Now they need two bats.

The good news is Mike Moustakas should be back soon. The odds are that Eric Hosmer isn’t going to be a disaster at the plate the entire second half. Get Moose back and get Hosmer going, and that helps the offense a lot. But I think it’s going to take more than Ben Zobrist to give the Royals a chance to not only get into October, but keep it going deep into the playoffs. Be bold, Dayton!

The rest of the American League Central has been kind of awful this year. Everyone keeps saying the Twins are going to fall back to earth. But they haven’t yet and, honestly, feel a little like last year’s Royals. Detroit will likely spend some money and make an effort to get back in the race. Cleveland still has better starting pitching than anyone in the division, and will always be a threat even if they field about as well as my daughter’s softball team. And I can’t believe the White Sox are as bad as they’ve been through the first half.

In other words, the Royals are going to have to win this thing rather than coast through the second half assuming the rest of the division is garbage.

Losing Alex doesn’t kill that dream. But it sure as hell makes it a lot tougher.

June Books

Will Not Attend – Adam Resnick
A first-class collection of short stories by the former writer for Letterman and producer of The Larry Sanders Show, among other entries on his résumé. They are all utterly ridiculous – some to the point where you wonder how far the truth has been stretched in them. But most, especially those that feature his father, are laugh-out-loud funny.


Remember Me Like This – Bret Anthony Johnston
A book that seems written to be turned into a big, summer movie at some point.

It tells the story of the Campbell family of Southport, Texas, whose oldest son, Justin, is kidnapped when he is 12. After four years as the captive of a man who delivers newspapers for a living, Justin is discovered and returns home. Not only must he adjust and go through therapy and deal with the legal ramifications of his detention, but his parents and brother have to learn how to live with him again.

I know a lot of people really liked this book, and it appeared on some Best Of lists. I thought it was just ok. It’s an interesting angle to take, how does a kidnap victim and his family find a way to move on and develop a new normal after the victim is freed. And I liked how Johnston left so many of the big questions about Justin’s detention (was he sexually abused, why wasn’t he able to escape, how could he have a girlfriend but no one else recognized him for four year) unanswered. But compared to other books I’ve read this year that come with a huge emotional impact, this one fell flat.


Alligator – Lisa Moore
I’ve been wanting to read another of Moore’s novels for some time. But the library hasn’t purchased it yet and I’ve always been in the mood for something else when I’m in book-buying mode. So I decided to give her debut novel, which the library does have, a shot. It was critically lauded and has glowing back-cover blurbs from some important current authors.

To me, though, the book was a little too artsy. It meandered through a series of lightly connected characters, but never really pushed a central plot through. And with one exception, each character seemed too damaged or unfamiliar for me to connect with them.


The Confession – Olen Steinhauer
After a those disappointments, I went back to Steinhauer’s Yalta Boulevard series. In this entry, we are placed in the middle of the 1950s, just after Stalin’s death and some temporary loosening of the Communist Party’s control of the various countries of Eastern Europe.

In our fictional land, Ferenc Kolyeszar is investigating a series of murders in the local art community, of which he is a part thanks to having published a moderately successful novel based on his service in World War II. Meanwhile, his marriage begins to fall apart and he slips into a disturbing affair as a result. He has to balance a politically-risky investigation, a looming crackdown by the government he is expected to be a part of, and a Soviet agent who keeps an eye on everything Ferenc does.

This book is told in the first person, and as a confession of Ferenc’s sins against the State, his family, his lover, and his job. Which works well since we know he is an author. And there’s an epilogue which could be seen as gimmicky, but which I liked.

This book moved much quicker than the first in the series, and I really enjoyed it. I think I’ll stick with the series a little longer.

Gotta Get Back In Time

A pretty solid holiday weekend, all things considered. We had good weather; it did not rain for two days, which has been unusual over the past month, nor was it blazingly hot. We had our traditional family gathering at the LVS. Not as many people as the past few years but still a decent-sized crowd. The only downer was the air conditioner deciding not to work when we were crowding 14 people into a small area to eat dinner. Fortunately it was not too uncomfortably hot and then the AC decided to kick back on the next morning.

The highlight of the weekend for me, though, actually came Monday afternoon. Thursday I read that the weekend marked the 30th anniversary of the release of Back To The Future. On our trip to the library, I snatched up the DVD with plans to watch it with the girls over the weekend. We never got around to it at the LVS, but Monday afternoon we sat down together so the girls could learn all about Marty McFly and friends.

They loved it, and I was reminded what a great movie it is.

I don’t think I had watched it since 1990 or ’91. But I likely watched it a few dozen times between 1986 and then.[1] I was gambling a little that everything would be ok for my girls to watch. Other than the scenes where Biff attempts to force himself on Lorraine and a few assorted mild curse words, there wasn’t anything the girls haven’t seen on your average, terrible Nickelodeon teen show.

I tried not to explain too much to them as the movie progressed. I threw in a few cultural/historic tidbits in certain scenes, but tried to let them figure things out on their own as much as possible. Besides, where my generation had some basic understanding of what life was like in the 1950s thanks to Happy Days, The Hardy Boys, and Grease, I’m reasonably sure kids today are working with nearly zero knowledge of that era. It was a long freaking time ago! It’s a tough task to explain too much without stopping the movie every two minutes to talk through why the guy who runs the soda shop thinks it’s so ridiculous that Goldie Wilson wants to be mayor someday, why Marty tries to order a Tab and Pepsi Free, and why the music he plays at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance seems so outrageous.

I think they got it, though. They laughed at all the right parts, loved Marty evading Biff and his cronies on his improvised skateboard, and cringed at any romantic scenes. Best of all, when I asked “So why was Marty’s family so different when he came back to 1985?” they all quickly answered some variation of “Because he changed history!”[2]

L. had the observation of the day, though. When Marty returns to the mall parking lot and watches the Libyans try to kill Doc, she said, “Hey, that sign says ‘Lone Pine’!” After I explained to her sisters what she was talking about, they were pretty impressed. As was I. I honestly don’t remember if I ever noticed the change in the mall’s name from beginning of the movie to the end. But it has been 24–25 years since I watched it, too.

I have to say I really enjoyed the movie as well. I kind of forgot how fantastic a flick it is. Family-friendly (mostly). Great story and writing. Fine mix of humor, drama, romance, and action. Terrific performances from the entire cast. And a hell of a last 20 minutes.

Re-watching after all these years, I was especially struck by how good Christopher Lloyd was. Doc is just a great character, and it’s all because of Lloyd’s particular brand of physical madness. And I really love the way he plays the moments after Marty returns and he rises to reveal he had indeed kept and read the letter Marty left for him. There’s a very subtle tenderness in those moments that is just wonderful.

So the girls loved the movie and the moment the credits rolled, yelled how they want to watch parts two and three. Looks like I’ve already got my parenting win for the week in the books!

Like a lot of movies of my youth, I didn’t see it until a year after it was released in theaters. I’m 95% certain it was the first movie we ever rented after we bought our first VCR.  ↩

Teen Beach Movie 2 may have helped them here, since time travel changed history in it as well. And they’ve watched that movie like 95 times in the last couple weeks.  ↩

Friday Vid(s)

The official middle of summer – the halfway point between Memorial Day and Labor Day – isn’t for another two weeks. But, for all intents and purposes,[1] this is the middle of summer since so many kids will be back in school four or five weeks from today. Thus, we should have a good idea of what the Song of the Summer will be. Or at least several strong, early contenders. Here are my two favorite songs so far.

“Fool For Love” – Lord Huron

Of my two choices, this is the one I’m hearing on the radio quite a bit. If you like it, you’ll probably enjoy the album it comes from, Strange Trails. The LP is filled with moody songs about longing and rambling and whatnot. It fits right into the world where The War on Drugs and Phosphorescent live.

“All This Wandering Around” – Ivan & Alyosha

Man, what a great tune for summer car rides. That lovely, sunny, George Harrison-esque guitar just fills up every room or vehicle this song is played in and makes everything a little bit better.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend.


  1. Or “all intensive purposes” for far too many Americans.  ↩

2015 NBA Draft

For the second-straight year I was stuck on a swimming pool deck watching dozens of 5–14 year olds swim during last week’s NBA draft. I was far less interested in this year’s draft than any recent one, primarily because KU didn’t have any expected top 10 picks and my interest in the NBA has waned even further.

Although I never got around to doing a break down of last year’s draft, I might as well adhere to site tradition and share some thoughts on the 2015 draft.

Karl-Anthony Towns Goes #1

Perfect pick. Minnesota had to make this pick. I’m not super bullish on Jahlil Okafor, but I think he’d be terrible in Minnesota. You have Andrew Wiggins, Zach Levine, and Ricky Rubio. You do not need a plodder like Okafor slowing them down. Towns will run with those guys, protect the rim, and grab boards. If he can add weight and strength, he can turn into a beast down low. I’m giddy at the thought of he and Wiggins running crazy pick-and-roll action with Wiggs hitting jumpers when he curls off a screen or throwing ridiculous lobs to K-A when he decides to slip the screen. Minnesota is going to be so much fun to watch.

Uh Oh

Okafor going to Philly at #3 gave me a serious case of the sadzzzz. The Sixers already have Nerlens Noel and own the rights to a big Euro that may come over eventually. Oh, and they drafted Joel Embiid at #3 last year. And my boy Jojo is apparently having trouble healing from last summer’s foot surgery. Philly might have just taken the “best guy available” in hopes of maximizing their trade assets. Like I said, I don’t love Jahlil at the next level. In the right situation I can see him working out but he’s not a franchise cornerstone kind of guy.

But I have a bad feeling this means Jojo may not play meaningful minutes any time soon. Does Embiid mean Bowie in whatever language it comes from?

What if that glorious run where Jojo looked like the future of basketball for three weeks in early 2014 was the best he will ever be? That makes me very sad. As you may recall, his ridiculousness made me laugh out loud during his one year at KU. I want to see Jojo do more Jojo things. Hell, the whole basketball world needs Jojo healthy and playing insane again. There’s no one like him.

Pacers Take Myles

Since the Pacers got locked into the #11 pick, the most popular guess at who they would pick was Myles Turner. Which I was on board with. I think he got a bad rap in his one year at Texas. He’s versatile, deceptively tough inside, and still has so much room for growth. I don’t know that he’ll ever be a superstar, but he strikes me as a guy who can develop into an absolute bitch of a matchup that could be the perfect compliment to a guy like Paul George. In a couple years, if he works hard, he’ll be able to score down low, stretch a defense from deep, and provide defense and boards inside. I don’t think he’s a franchise center, but he’s mobile enough to fit into what most NBA teams are trying to do these days.

And then most of the national reviews I read panned the Pacers pick. Wrong guy for what they need right now, the experts seem to agree. Which I find kind of odd since many people thought the Pacers should jump on Willie Cauley-Stein if he slipped to 11. WC-S is basically a defensive version of Turner: a guy with mounds of raw talent but has questions about his motor, willingness to work, and passion for the game.

We’ll see, I guess. I think Turner’s going to work out ok.

Also, I wonder how serious the conversations in the Pacers’ war room were about taking Indy native Trey Lyles, who went next at 12 to Utah. I think it was wise to pass on him, but if Larry Bird wasn’t running the organization, there may have been more rumblings about taking an iffy kid from Texas over the local product.

Kelly Oubre to the Wizards

Taking Paul Pierce’s roster spot, apparently. I thought this was a strange move for Washington. They already have Otto Porter, who came on late last year, who is bigger and has a better shot than Kelly. And as much as I like Kelly, he seems like a guy who, if he makes it in the NBA, it’s not going to happen for 2–3 years. A classic example of a guy who came into college thinking he was only going to stay for a year, and thus had to come out even if he just had a “nice” freshman year at KU. He had spurts of very good play, but he never dominated like Wiggins, Pierce, or Ben McLemore did when they were first-year players at KU. I wish him luck, but I think his best case is he develops his outside shot and learns how to play shut-down D and fills that niche that every NBA team needs.

Cliff Chronicles

I hope things work out for Cliff Alexander, because his last year has been pretty shitty.

He gets hurt almost as soon as he arrives in Lawrence for summer ball. He misses pretty much all summer activities and begins fall practice well behind the rest of the team. Then he can’t stay on the court more than 30 seconds without committing a foul. Soon his head coach is either afraid or unwilling to play him big minutes, even in the occasional games when he is bringing it on both ends. Then he gets suspended because his mother apparently took some cash from an agent. He misses the last two weeks of the regular season and the entire post-season, and his stock plummets further. While the smart move would have been to return for his sophomore year and, hopefully, turn back into the old Beast Cliff. But with his eligibility in limbo, he pretty much had to declare for the draft.

Adding insult to injury, he not only doesn’t get picked in the first round – he was a consensus top five pick when the season began – but doesn’t get drafted at all.

Dude could use a reset button in his life.

I see him as a fairly limited NBA player, mostly because he’s only 6’8’’ and not super athletic. Now he can find a niche, with hard work, and a lot of analysts see him as a guy who can earn a spot on a roster and minutes in the regular season. But he’s a role player, at best.

Stats

June 2015

  • The War On Drugs – 78
  • Florence + The Machine – 46
  • Best Coast – 40
  • Lord Huron – 38
  • Courtney Barnett – 31

Complete stats available at my Last.fm page

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