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MID-SEASON REPORT 1/30/06 Well, we’re half way through the schedule, so it’s time for my mid-season analysis – for whatever it’s worth. After watching KU strong-arm the Aggies and the Cyclones on the road and Texas Tech at home, I hope I’m not being premature in saying that it appears that the Jayhawks are finally becoming a team – and a tough one at that. The backcourt has developed into one of the nation’s better guard corps. When I first saw Russell Robinson last year, I thought he was the second coming of Jacque Vaughn. After going into a deep funk last year, and some less than impressive play early on this year, he appears to have found his role as the leader of the team. And, he can score better than Jacque. Mario Chalmers has found his role too at the 2, while honing his skills and confidence in leading the team when Russell is out. And Brandon Rush is now showing the kind of aggression he needs to be KU’s ‘go to’ guy. Just to show you how good these guys are, the Jayhawks rank first in the country in field goal defense. Hawkins had his chance to run the team, but has proven to be just a pretty good backup, who can occasionally light it up. Vinson, Case and Stewart are ideal role players who usually don’t cause too many errors. Actually, I’m kind of glad that Micah Downs transferred. While he could certainly put it in from long range, he just didn’t seem to fit in as a team player. With the exception of the recent development of Darnell Jackson and Julian Wright, the frontcourt has been a little disappointing of late, however. Kahn and Giles just haven’t provided the consistent post presence KU needs to become a top echelon team, and Christian Moody doesn’t look as good this year as he did last year with Wayne Simien covering his back. On the positive side though, they have all shown promise, and my bet is that with some additional coaching, Self will have them performing their jobs well in the near future. In any case, KU is now tied for 2nd in the league. With the exception of the Texas game in Austin on 2/25, the remaining conference schedule looks pretty good, with six home games and road trips to Lincoln, Stillwater and Manhattan. So, all looks pretty darn good at this stage. I hope my thoughts don’t “jinx” the team. Here’s some very interesting stats sent to me by Darby Ritter, comparing the records of KU coaches after their first 82 games, which Bill Self reached after the ISU game. It's amazing how similar they are. Bill Self: 60-22, one Big 12 title, 3-2 in NCAA
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