tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post519612436237285102..comments2023-10-05T07:30:50.325-07:00Comments on Quaker Fox: Kansas and Roy WilliamsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post-38846942922443206612008-04-08T07:57:00.000-07:002008-04-08T07:57:00.000-07:00As I sit here on this Tuesday morning, perusing th...As I sit here on this Tuesday morning, perusing the paper about the 2008 National Champion Kansas Jayhawks, I couldn't help but wonder a bout a few things. <BR/><BR/>First, did WODL happen to see the game? I think this one was NATIONALLY televised, but it's possible that he, like other UNC fans, were still in shock from their Final Four exit and couldn't bear to watch. <BR/><BR/>If WODL had seen the game, did he see his beloved Roy, sitting behind the KU bench with his Jayhawk sticker on his sweater? What was that again about Kansas fans not being able to let go?<BR/><BR/>Is WODL, like the rest of the UNC faithful, still asking himself the lingering questions from Sunday morning? 'Why did UNC come out so timid?' 'What happened to the UNC team we saw in the previous four games of the tourney?' 'What does Roy mean 'he didn't prepare them? How does a coach not prepare his team to play in a Final Four game?' I, myself do not know the answer to these questions. And THAT is the beauty of being a Kansas fan, especially on this particular day. Because as a Kansas fan I NO LONGER HAVE TO SEARCH FOR THOSE ANSWERS. I don't even have to ask the questions. He's your coach now. It's your cross to bear now. You got your wish. Live with it. <BR/><BR/>Karma is a cruel bitch. And now, on this Tuesday morning, as the Kansas Jayhawks wake up as the 2008 National Champions, it begs the cosmic question: Did UNC pull off the perfect coaching heist in getting Roy Williams, or did the universe, with a perfect poker face, play a flawless game of Old Maid?<BR/><BR/>Will UNC be back next year and come even closer to winning it all? Or has Chapel Hill become that inescapable place in the Twilight Zone where falling short plays out forever on an endless loop? I can't answer that question. But as a Kansas fan, I don't have to.<BR/><BR/>Come back, WODL. Your pompous ass hasn't had much to say since Saturday. Perhaps you're too busy wondering.Swadeheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17459977389403498905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post-64691759130596414392008-04-07T21:49:00.000-07:002008-04-07T21:49:00.000-07:00Personally, I thought Williams showed a lot of cla...Personally, I thought Williams showed a lot of class in his comments about Kansas during halftime of the final game, and his choice of shirt decor surprised me greatly. Not that I was displeased, of course, but I wonder how UNC fans will react?<BR/><BR/>As for Self - not that y'all care - rumor has it that T. Boone is offering a four year $10 million contract plus a $4 million signing bonus. I think Kansas will match that now and give Self immunity from all criminal prosecution (including murder), taxes, and utlity bills for life.<BR/><BR/>They'd be crazy not to.Wayfaring Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13751379276577510809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post-8214301135079358502008-04-07T21:15:00.000-07:002008-04-07T21:15:00.000-07:00No timeouts, no adjustments, Jayhawk shirt in the ...No timeouts, no adjustments, Jayhawk shirt in the National Championship. Bill Self looking to go, Roy looking to come back?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post-45666173990339688432008-04-06T08:15:00.000-07:002008-04-06T08:15:00.000-07:00The results are in, and for many Kansas fans, this...The results are in, and for many Kansas fans, this one included, the outcome was purgative. I shall now no longer root for the Duke scum, as, I'm sure you'll agree, they have been poor proxies of late for a bitter Jayhawk. <BR/><BR/>And in the <I>insecurity department</I>, the game told us a lot of things, foremost among them that despite all the hype, all the ACC-focused media attention, all the "oh, and lets not forget the -what's their names - oh, yeah, the Jayhawks," Kansas had blood in its eye last night, confounded the Billy Packers and surprised a lot of East Coast types.<BR/><BR/>Good luck next year.Wayfaring Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13751379276577510809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post-90030071520837577732008-04-05T13:53:00.000-07:002008-04-05T13:53:00.000-07:00The OSU situation, while equally devious from a ti...The OSU situation, while equally devious from a timing standpoint, is not quite the same in that OSU does not have the shared history that UNC and KU have. Although, if memory serves, Henry Iba also traces his roots to Kansas as well. For years, Kansas and Carolina referred to one another as sister programs, until, of course, little sister decided to bed big sister's husband. Perhaps OSU has taken a page from the Dean Smith playbook and seeing if they will have the same success UNC did. But if OSU were to make the offer and Bill Self were to accept it, I think it would be less about basketball than money and going home. With all due respect to OSU, they simply don't have the heritage and tradition that KU and Carolina have. <BR/><BR/>As for Roy 'should have stayed' at Kansas, perhaps so, but who knows? I have often wondered if Roy felt the same way upon showing up to his first practices at UNC only to find it was still Dean's program and he was just allowed to blow the whistle. As a Kansas fan, I am perfectly happy with the results of what began with Matt Doherty's demise. Self is a genuinely good man and fantastic coach and I find that I enjoy his style of play more than I did Roy's. Something I wouldn't have thought. Fifteen years of Roy not quite getting it done got old as well. (Which of course made his winning the title at UNC all the more painful for KU fans, especially given that it was against Illinois.)<BR/><BR/>On the Manning issue, I can't disagree. But one can't help but wonder if the bitterness over that stems from Manning choosing KU or Larry Brown beating his mentor at his own game? And in the interest of full disclosure, Ronnie Chalmers, father of Mario Chalmers is on the coach's staff at KU now.<BR/><BR/>As mentioned in my previous post, most of the ill will over Roy is not directed at Roy. But rather at Dean Smith and the UNC athletic department. The 'KU's bitter/jealous/obsessed' story is just a convenient way for the Carolina faithful to deflect all the attention on the story away from the facts.<BR/><BR/>Not that Roy is above suspicion in some of the events surrounding his departure. There was some questionable contact with David Padgett after his departure and a move he made earlier that year to change the criteria for having one's jersey retired at AFH. Roy managed to get a couple of his players in the rafters, but apparently had no interest in going back in KU's storied history and making sure the likes of Darnell Valentine and Bill Bridges received the same honor, (Bill Self took care of that), leading one to wonder if, when the Doherty firing announcement was made, it was really news to Roy as it was to everyone else. And then there's his refusal to recruit east of the Mississippi in deference to Dean. Hindsight is 20/20, but that in itself shows he was always a Tarheel and never truly a Jayhawk.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I don't begrudge Roy making the choice to go home. From that standpoint, I understand it. In fact, I would contend that had Dean left well enough alone and Roy won the '03 Championship and then announced his leaving, Kansas fans would have been sad and hurt, but ultimately would have understood, thanked him for his service and said 'go with God.' Larry Brown left KU after the '88 championship with the program on probation and was welcomed with open arms at KU basketball's 110th anniversary this year.Swadeheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17459977389403498905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post-41685985544473302442008-04-05T10:36:00.000-07:002008-04-05T10:36:00.000-07:00I don't disagree with the comments about it being ...I don't disagree with the comments about it being bad form to not wait until the end of the 2003 title game to initiate contact with Williams. I watched that game on ESPN Classic and I still can't believe Kansas almost won, given how poorly they played and how many free throws they missed and maybe it did affect them but I guess there is no way to prove it.<BR/><BR/>What is happening this year with OSU is not much better. I think some of that is due to the fact that coaching interviews and decisions tend to be made at the Final Four site.<BR/><BR/>And let me say for the record, that I think that Roy Williams should have stayed at Kansas. I thought he made the right decision the first time by staying, but given that he chose to return, I cannot help but appreciate and admire his talents.<BR/><BR/>And that are not a few Carolina people who remember that Danny Manning was headed to UNC until Kansas's coach hired his father as an assistant. Surprisingly, though, Manning's dad wasn't the coach for head coach after Larry Brown left. Go figure.<BR/><BR/>If there was an overall point to the article, I think it was the hope that people might see some of the insecurity that Coach Williams has and cut him a break. I don't think he ever set out to hurt anyone and I think it is clear that he has had some hurt in his life. Both of the family members that he was concerned about and which affected his decision, have died since he returned.Jane Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13860550544008642749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post-37884555916229489432008-04-04T15:24:00.000-07:002008-04-04T15:24:00.000-07:00First, I must commend you on the absolute Everest-...First, I must commend you on the absolute Everest-level arrogance and self-importance in your writing. (Believe me, as a KU fan, I know arrogance, and yours is top-notch.) It is only slightly outdone by the depth of subtlety in your condescending digs at Kansas basketball. It is a bit surprising that a person with such obvious education and proper ettiquette would so blatantly disrespect the Good Book and not honor the father of thy program. <BR/><BR/>After reading a story in the Raleigh paper this week and now your own mind numbing drivel,I am certain that revisionist history is not only a phrase, but surely MUST be a major at UNC. I don't think I've ever seen such a deft touch at misdirection that wasn't associated with a political scandal. <BR/><BR/>While it is true that Roy is the object of some Kansas' fan's ire, he is not the sole target and for most not the target at all. That honor belongs to Dean Smith and the UNC Athletic Director. <BR/><BR/>I know I probably don't need to recount the truth to you, but since you've probably lied to yourself about it as much as UNC fans have lied to one another and anyone else who will listen, to the point that you all probably have grown to believe it, I'll tell you anyway. <BR/><BR/>What bothers Kansas fans is not so much Roy leaving, but rather UNC interfering with our title run in 2003. <BR/><BR/>It was just before our title game that UNC decided to announce the firing of Coach Matt Doherty. All of the speculation would, of course, fall on Roy (Or 'Fredo' as UNC fans liked to call him when he declined UNC's offer the first time). So instead of the attention being on the game, it was on what Roy's decision would be. Roy, not being very good at hiding his part in the sh*tbaggery, wouldn't just say 'no, I'm not leaving' and stop the speculation. The players, instead of focusing on the game, were worrying about if the coach they came to Kansas to play for would even be their coach the following year. (Things like this tend to throw off the concentration of 18-20 year old kids in front of a national tv audience.) And the whole spectacle cost KU the National Championship. <BR/><BR/>Dean, being more concerned with his own legacy than anything else figured he better not let Roy get that NC, lest that cement Roy's love for KU and he once again decide to stay in Lawrence. <BR/><BR/>Carolina fans, not wanting to see the cold hard truth of the actions of their Athletic Department first spun and then have gradually bought into the 'KU can't get over Fredo', I mean, 'Roy' angle to supplement their denial of what a snake oil salesman the great Dean Smith really is. <BR/><BR/>Kansas fans have seen The Carolina Way and it made us want to take a shower after.Swadeheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17459977389403498905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post-90981623206052987772008-04-04T09:44:00.000-07:002008-04-04T09:44:00.000-07:00Sir,Your post is one of the most well-written diss...Sir,<BR/>Your post is one of the most well-written dissections of the <I>Kansas v. Williams</I> dispute that I have read. Well done.<BR/>In the $0.02 department, I must, however, disagree with you about Jayhawk fans harboring the subliminal hope that they might lose in order that their whipping boy maintains his status as top straw man for the bridesmaid KU program. We don’t have as many Championship wins as say, UCLA, but then, <I>y’all</I> don’t either.<BR/>What really hacked people off here was the sheer meretricious-ness of Deputy Dawg’s exit after such a disastrous loss. And as die-hard Jayhawk, the reversal of the iron-clad "I'm Staying" guarantee certainly rankled me. But don’t get me wrong: we don’t want him back. All the cornball hokeyness, the lurid ties, the spitting in the river shtick, the Coca Cola: aw, shucks, dog-gonnit, you can keep him. <BR/>We’re finally recruiting good players from east of the Mississippi – something that never occurred during Andy Taylor’s tenure. We’re playing better defense, too. We actually use our time outs: that’s refreshing. We may not beat you in the coming game – UNC is incredibly tough and is to be respected – but let’s face it – if the roles were reversed, and we lured Dean Smith back here and then two years later he won the National title for us when he couldn’t get it done for you, <I>and after he said he’d stay </I>, well, that might just sting a bit, mightn’t it?<BR/>I can't say that I speak for most Jayhawks, some, or even any of them, but I'm hopeful that pounding a stake into the heart of The Turncoat will allow my anger to subside. Besides, it makes my skin crawl to have to pull for the villainous Duke scum and their loathsome, chitinous-haired, and seemingly ageless, android Coach Krryzzkjyzewjkzwwzkjzeerzzzkeriskwyzzzki, and I just as soon square our accounts with Roy so I can move on.<BR/>Good luck on Saturday. No offense, but I'm hopeful it's <B>WE</B> who get to make Roy cry this time.Wayfaring Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13751379276577510809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post-91137539132196518752008-04-01T11:56:00.000-07:002008-04-01T11:56:00.000-07:00Addendum: Some outlets are reporting that Oklahom...Addendum: Some outlets are reporting that Oklahoma State, which doesn't have a lot to offer except for oil, now wants its favorite son to come home:<BR/><BR/>http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10753551Jane Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13860550544008642749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378922590891457453.post-30805220135097350592008-04-01T11:36:00.000-07:002008-04-01T11:36:00.000-07:00I could not imagine having a legendary coach leave...I could not imagine having a legendary coach leave for another program. That said, Kansas supporters always knew it was a possibility. I think most of the KU fan base regrets his decision to return to Chapel Hill, but I doubt many of them actually dislike him for it. Those that do are missing what Roy did for that program and therefore not worth serious consideration.Bartholomewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12174529365202394848noreply@blogger.com